Sorry for the delay with the Sonic Generations review, truth is its such a good game its been near impossible to tear myself away! I hope to make up for this by providing not just a regular review of this title, oh no. What you have here, indeed, is a level-by-level synopsis.

Released on the 4th November 2011, Sonic Generations brings together and ties 3 major periods in Sonic’s lineage : the first being the 16-bit era, the second : 2000-2004, and the last being everything since. There are 9 regular levels, which are further supplemented by numerous boss battles, trials and other little bits.
Sega have confirmed that the pre-order figured for Generations is a new record for the franchise which I, as someone who has played the game through to the end, believe is nothing if not deserved.

Green Hill

The title starts off with a bang in the series’ most iconic level. And, gosh, let me tell you, you’ve never seen a Green Hill Zone quite like it! Never before has our beloved verdant haven exhibited so much variety. You’ll find twisty loops, rails, dash rings and more! All meshed side by side with the traditional sites of Totem poles, Crabmeat badniks, and of course, those unforgettable chequered hills!

One thing that really impressed me is not only the sense of deja-vu I get from the days of playing Sonic 1 on the Megadrive, but also how this level brings my mind back to other Sonic games I have loved in the past. For example, the darkened little enclave towards the end of Act 1 instantly (whether intentionally or not) reminded me of the tropical Jungle Zone from the 8 bit Sonic 1. Where as the roses Sonic runs past a little earlier in the Act remind me of the joys of playing the first level of Sonic Advance as a teenager.

The music is fabulous beginning with the housey/basey Classic rendition of the classic green hill zone tune then evolving in to a stomping Ska piece. Very fitting opener that instantly draws you in.

Chemical Plant

At first I was surprised to hear that Sonic 2′s Chemical Plant had been chosen for a Generations remake, thinking it a little too ambitious. Then I remembered that mecha levels (particularly in 3D) is something Sega excel at! They have the benefits of near-enough 20 years of experience making games since Chemical Plant’s original inception, and it shines through quite clearly. Sega have really done well to breathe new life into this old gem.

The 3D level, for example, has clearly taken many nods from levels such as Sonic Adventure’s Final Egg and Heroes’ Final Fortress. Neon-lit tunnels are in abundance, as are mesh flooring and hazards galore (but don’t worry, you now have Omochao to patronise help you!).

The blobbish blue poison, one of the level’s signature features, has been used in some interesting new ways. The 3D level, interestingly, incorporates it as avoidables for when skydiving, where as the Classic level features vats of the stuff, swirling away like the most ominous of lava lamps. The music’s pretty groovy too.

Sky Sanctuary

I want to begin by saying that the 3D level in Sky Sanctuary was my most pleasant surprise while playing Generations, and also my favourite level. So masterfully have The  Sonic Team managed not just to re-create that Star Wars-esque sense of anticipation, but also to weave that in with an eye-watering 3D rendition of the Athenian backdrops of the original. It boggles my mind quite frankly! This Act’s music was also drop-dead gorgeous, full of nifty electronic bits and sparkle, while also sounding slightly on the classical side, if that even sounds possible!

The 2D Act wasn’t quite so good… the music was poorer for a start. Aside from that it just felt like an amalgamation between the original stage and the 3D level found here, which was disappointing and, thankfully, something not found across the game as a whole.

Speed Highway

Speed Highway was perhaps my biggest disappointment in Generations. Sure its got the twisting roads, the floodlights, the rockets, the rails… even the helicopters of the original, and in many ways its better. However I felt it just didn’t have the same magic. Maybe its the absence of that glorious purple sky, or the simplicity of the original, but I think the main thing that makes this version less enjoyable than its Sonic Adventure incarnation is the removal of ‘Speed Highway at Dawn’, the much-loved mini-level at the very end of the original.

If I judge Speed Highway purely on its own merits, however, I cannot deny that it is a very fun stage! Among the things it manages to carry over and improve on is the flow of the level, which serves to demonstrate momentum-based platforming at its very best. It also needs to be noted that no effort was spared on this level’s visuals, and at any one time the screen is filled with a multitude of exciting things going on in the background.

City Escape

Its easy to see why this was chosen as a demo level for events like Eurogamer : it really is an outstanding piece of both art and of level design. The original City Escape itself couldn’t have come at a better time being smack bam in the middle of the Dreamcast era. Ah the Dreamcast era : a time when Sega were really out-doing themselves, particularly in the field of recreating bustling metropolitan scenes (see Shenmué and Jet Set Radio) the result was as it only could have been : the best level in Sonic Adventure 2.

As you might imagine from my enthusiasm, the Generations version actually manages to improve on this, not an easy task. The Generations version manages to squash more ideas into what feels like the same amount of time, with expanded parks, actual choice when encountering crossroads and an even more sinister and invasive evil monster lorry (atleast during Classic Sonic’s level. Meep!). The fan service featured in this level is unrivalled it has to be said. That’s quite a claim given this is Sonic Generations we’re talking about here! References include, but are not limited to, WANTED posters featuring Bark the Polar Bear, Bean the Dynamite, Fang/Snipe the Weasle, among others. There are also buildings entitled things such as ‘Coffee-Blaze, ‘Tails’ Pizza’ and ‘Amy’s Market’.

Music-wise I must say the tune featured in the classic level is one of my absolute favourites in the soundtrack. But I don’t think the 3D level’s track works so well. Laid back, almost country-ish rock can’t do justice to such an upbeat track as ‘Escape from the City’. Atleast not in my opinion.

Great level.

Seaside Hill

Oh, Seaside Hill. Its up there with the Green Hill Zone as one of the most featured level in the series’ entire lineage, despite being a poor man’s Emerald Coast. Its featured in at least 5 games so far, and will no doubt feature in many more. As you may be able to tell, I’m a little bit sick of Seaside Hill, so can’t say I particularly enjoyed this level. Particularly the 3D stage, which was very similar to the original (although at least this time you’re not restrained by Sonic Heroes’ seriously annoying play style).
The 2D version is a little more original. Its a traditional water level with a temple-inspired background. It actually has some nice touches, such as when the whale propels you up by the stage by head-butting you. The music’s also good, a housey update.
All in all not an appalling experience by anyone’s standards, but certainly my least favourite level from the selection thats on offer here.

Crisis City

I laughed when reading SonicYoda’s review of Sonic Generations on SegaDriven.com. He wrote : “It should… be commended that Sonic Team made a Sonic ’06 level enjoyable!”.
Enjoyable it certainly is. Crisis City is a brilliant, suspense-filled jaunt through a high-rise city in lava-quenched peril. At times it reminds me of the first level of Shadow the Hedgehog, other times Chaotic Inferno from Sonic Rivals 2.
The music is somewhat reminiscent of that found in the Bowser castle levels from the original Mario Bros games. Oh the irony Its quite up-beat and housey, despite the impression of impending doom it simultaneously manages to convey. Brilliant.

Rooftop Run

Rooftop Run is based on the joyous, sunny level Spagonia from the mighty Sonic Unleashed. It’s quite an impressive home-coming it has to be said! Act 1 sees you navigating through buildings and streets built in that Western European many of us have missed so, while a continual flow of confetti descends from the sky, creating a really jubilant, summery feel. Later in the level you work your way up a glorious clock tower, which invoked in me happy memories of Nights : Journey of Dreams.

Act 2 looks a lot like the original level from which this was based, except more colourful, with an abundance of hot-air balloons! There’s also the breath-taking moment when you’ve finished running up this really high building and suddenly begin sliding down, spying a million tiny rooftops in the distance.

The music on both Acts is really good, and overall I’d say this is one of my favourite stages.

Planet Wisp

Like Seaside Hill, Planet Wisp doesn’t show a massive amount of deviation from the level from which it was originally inspired. Which, given how recent Sonic Colours still is (it was released in 2010), might not be that surprising.

Planet Wisps sees you strewn into what seems like an endless valley of flowers and mint-green grass, which soon gives way to a devious mecha red jungle. Like the Colours’ version (and, indeed, that whole game in general), it is actually quite challenging, and one you’ll certainly need to use your brain to get through. The 3D level also, unforgivably, has a bad case of Bottomless Pit Syndrome.

Not one of my favourite levels, but it was good to see the return of Wisps, the little creatures from Colours who’s fondness for I didn’t even realise until I saw them return while playing this! An interesting return to Eggman’s Amazing Interstellar Amusement Park.

So in conclusion what you have here are a wonderful set of levels that really draw successfully on, and exhibit well, the long history of Sonic, if not indeed Sega itself. The variety is top-notch, and gamers will find plenty of different play styles to keep them amused as they traverse these 9 fields of home.

I’ve got heaps more to say, but quite frankly it would take me another 1900 words and quite frankly I’m exhausted now. Instead I’m going to be cheeky and do a bit of a journalism no-no : just summarise the rest of my thoughts among the Pros and Cons section below.

Pros:
+ Jaw-dropping visuals that improve on everything that’s gone before.
+ Implements old ideas in awesome new ways
+ Nothing has been spared on the fun factor
+ Many different ways to play
+ Fan service is immense
+ Brilliant sound track

Cons:
- Some of the levels not quite as fun as others. But thats more me being nit-picky than anything
- The 2D levels don’t revert to 3D, so its annoying how the 3D levels go back to 2D sometimes

Score: 9.5/10 – Honestly the best-looking, best-sounding and, most importantly, funnest game I’ve played this century so far. No Sonic fan should be without this, heck, buy an Xbox/PS3 if you have to!

~HelenBaby

We’d like to share our excitement for this upcoming gem by offering one lucky PlusXP reader the chance to win this rather sexy 6 pack of classic Sonic figurines :

Featuring Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Metal Sonic and Super Sonic, this delightful box of treats has the charm of 10 salesmen. So enticing are they that Garvaos was positively vexed when we reminded him that staff weren’t eligible to enter our contests

The contest

So finally we get on to what you need to do to win our lovely prize. Just send us in a photo, or an amalgamation of photos, that you feel sum up the theme Sonic Generations. It could be a picture of your Grandad with a Sonic plushie, a pic of you wearing a Sonic t-shirt as a kid… whatever you can think of. You probably already have a photo in your hard drive that’ll be perfect, don’t ya?

The Rules

• Contest closes on Sonic Generations’ release date. So, to clarify, that’s the 4th November.
• Only one entry per person. But you can change your entry if, before the contest’s end, you think of a picture you’d prefer
• All entries will be featured in an article summing up the contest, so by entering your consenting for your picture to be used in this way

How to submit

Just link us to your entry either via Twitter, where you can find us @PlusXP, or send it to us via email at competitions@plusxp.com

We look forward to receiving your entries guys.

(By the way, those of you who live in London and are over 18 should totally join SonicLondon, run by your’s truly. We have meet ups around the Capital about 3-4 times a year, where we drink, draw, play games and generally lark about : http://www.facebook.com/groups/107060975984482/ </shameless plug>)

-HelenBaby

The last game I got my hands on at this year’s Eurogamer was one of the many sequels I’m looking forward to next year – Mass Effect 3. While I found the original title took a little getting into, it was a fantastic experience in the end, and Mass Effect 2 was even more enjoyable, offering one of the best “space adventuring” style titles I’d ever seen, allowing you to captain your own crew in a galactic adventure in a brilliant mix of RPG and Third Person Shooter style gameplay. With Mass Effect 2 taking your own decisions from the first game into consideration - affecting the story and characters you meet depending on various events – and Mass Effect 3 promising to carry this on into its own story, it sounds like quite an undertaking and is said to be the conclusion of the saga.

The demo itself was presented as a ground based mission, and I was happy to see some familiar faces on my squad – Garrus, who has been by my side for a large portion of both ME1 and ME2, and Liara – who returns as a squad member from the original Mass Effect (while she did play a part in the second game). Also involved in the mission was Mordin (Mass Effect 2) whose goal was to evacuate a lone female Krogan, with my squad helping him through checkpoints and keeping the Krogan safe – from indoctrinated (Reaper-brainwashed) Cerberus members, who apparently wanted to stop him.

Before the actual level began, however, I was prompted to assign ability points – I assume to match me to the level of the mission I was about to tackle. I wasn’t given a choice of class, so I was stuck as a Soldier – not that I minded. The general system is very similar to that of the previous games – assigning points to level up various skills and abilities. However, when selecting a certain type of ability to level up, the game opens up a new screen specific to that ability tree, which is more aesthetic and informative than before. There seemed to be more options than the previous titles – with a decent selection of upgrades, and also branches in the ability trees that allow you to tailor your class even more to your liking. I personally upgraded my damage, grenades and Concussive shot skills, though there were options for different ammo types and such as well. Given the scenario, I didn’t delve into the influence/dialogue stuff. I really liked the look of the upgrade system – with more options than Mass Effect 2, yet more key skills than that of Mass Effect 1.

As the level began, I instantly noticed that the graphics had been given a definite overhaul – while nothing game-changing, the areas looked great, and Bioware are clearly keeping things up to date, the area looking vibrant, and character models looking that little bit more detailed. While I wouldn’t consider myself to be particularly shallow in the whole issue of the importance of good graphics, I must say that the improvement between Mass Effect 1 & 2 was one aspect that made ME2 better – it’s larger range of locations and appealing vistas making the various galaxies more exciting to explore – not just endless grey spaceship corridors. It seems Mass Effect 3 will be following in this trend – which I’m happy with, so long as the game’s size hasn’t been compromised in any way!

Now for the mission itself. Sadly, I was disappointed that the demo didn’t show off the new Omni-blade melee kills – while it’s one of the features I’m most excited to see, it didn’t seem to be available in that particular build – or if it were, the game didn’t tell me how to do it. However – that’s not to say that I was disappointed with the combat itself. Battling Cerberus troops has never been more fun – the general combat feels much like any other third-person shooter, although with all the usual Mass Effect RPG abilities we’re accustomed to. Shepard can now blind-fire – a favourite ability of mine – which makes all the difference in a shootout, and his abilities seem to tie into the action well. The concussive shot felt more useful than I remember, offering a high-impact round that can pack a punch when available, and the new conventional grenades are satisfying for some heavy damage.

Another noticeable difference in the game is that Shepard can now use ladders, and also drop down from upper levels where there is a ledge. While it doesn’t sound like much, it really makes the game feel less flat, and a bit more realistic – as they say, it’s all in the details. Once I had battled my way through a quite a few enemies, I eventually found myself face-to-face with a large Cerberus Mech that acted as a boss. It’s heavy attacks meant it was important to keep moving – staying in cover wouldn’t keep me safe. However, it didn’t take too long, and after plugging it with shots and a few grenades it went down without too much trouble.

One feature I almost forgot to mention was the inclusion of a weapon load out area that I discovered during the mission. While I didn’t have many options, it seems that you are now able to change weapons and upgrades mid-mission, which could come in handy. I am a little worried that this might suggest that there may be long periods where you don’t have access to the Normandy where you would usually do this – but hopefully my fears are wrong. Otherwise, it’s a nice addition for a few mid-level tweaks to your arsenal.

Overall, what I’ve seen of Mass Effect 3 is looking good. While the combat is only one aspect of the game, it does seem that Bioware have pulled out all the stops in perfecting Mass Effect’s RPG/Action combination – with plenty of upgrades and improved combat controls for the best of both worlds. If all the other aspects of the game have been improved equally, I think it’s easy to say that Mass Effect 3 will be the best in the series – and considering Bioware have stated that it’s been easier to produce than Mass Effect 2 (since it doesn’t have to link into a following title), I hope that they won’t disappoint! I just hope all my favourite characters return as recruitable squad members…

- Leon

So what games do I speak of? Well, for me, they are usually games with the potential to be mastered - each time learning a little more, making the overall experience feel as though I are learning and adapting, which can feel extremely rewarding. Amongst my list of special games are God Hand, (PS2) Street Fighter IV (X360), Capcom vs SNK 2 (PS2), Rock Band 2 (X360), Gunstar Heroes (Sega Megadrive) and Devil May Cry (PS2).

While this generation has brought us a solid fighter or two, and some older games hold up well against time, I’ve really felt like I’ve been lacking something lately. Devil May Cry 4 was a disappointment to me, but sadly the older titles haven’t aged too well either – although games such as God of War III and Bayonetta have given me good runs, nothing seemed to compare to DMC1 and DMC3:SE, and those titles are slowly gathering more dust on my shelf as the snobbery of modern graphics (and lack of PS2 functionality on my PS3) kicks in. That’s why I’m happy to announce that earlier speculation has proven to be true – Devil May Cry HD Collection has been officially announced by Capcom!

This is excellent news for me – but it’s also good news for Xbox players, the HD Collection coming to both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Currently planned for release “early next year”, the collection will bring Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition into the current generation in full HD.

Of course there’s also the usual updates for Trophies/Achievements which is nice to add a few more things to earn when playing, but better yet it seems we’ll be getting all of the content we’ve seen thus far, with additional content to boot. DMC HD Collection includes the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 3, which allows you to play as Dante’s brother Vergil through the whole game, as well as extra unlockables, features and difficulty modes that weren’t in Dante’s Awakening. Capcom stated there would be “Bonus Content”, which suggests there will be extras exclusive to the HD Collection, although there have been no details so far.

Aside from that, the main thing we do have are some screenshots – one image from each game for your HD viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

- Leon

E3 kicked off today with the first of this years majour Press conferences. Microsoft took the stage with some key announcements that could get even the most hardcore of gamers jumping out of their seats.

So without further a-do, here is the lowdown:

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

First on the cards was a Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 live demo showing. The demo showed a squad of marines infiltrating a submarine through a plethora of dead bodies and wreckage. Turns out Manhattan is under attack and this is where the MW3 story line picks up. Not much is shown other than an epic battle at sea, but it looks like the 3rd installment of the Modern Warfare series is set to be an epic one.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be released 8th of November.

Tomb Raider

The reboot that we have (or maybe haven’t?) been waiting for was up next with Crystal dynamics. Another live demo was shown with Lara this time battling to survive an mysterious island that appears to be trying to engulf her. From what was released today the new Tomb Raider appears to be more survival horror based this time round and will be hitting our consoles in Auntumn 2012. I’m a little dubious to be honest as this reboot seems quite different from the Lara Croft that we all know and love, but more on that story later.

EA Games

Today EA announced some new titles for Kinect and the Xbox 360. Tigerwoods, Madden and FIFA will all be Kinect compatible, promicing players a whole new range of sporting activities.

After that brief  insght into the EA sports,  EA then gave us a look at the Sims 3 Pets which they revieled will also support Kinect.  Eye-pet mixed with Ninten-dogs maybe? More will be revealed at a later date.

Mass Effect 3

Dr Ray Muzyka announced details on the higly anticipated Mass Effect 3. He stated that the Galactic War has begun, and that Earth has been taken. Like many of the games showcased today  Mass Effect 3 will also support Kinect. Want to know how? Well one feature is that you can talk to your team mates through Kinect. Whilst playing, speech options will appear on the screen and when you respond to them Kinect will recognise your voice. A pretty nifty little trick which could work rather well. It doesn’t stop there though, you can also use Kinect in battle. With this new element you can gesture to your team mates and give orders whilest in battle. Pretty cool.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier

Yves Gullemot stated that Future Soldier will also use Kinect for some of its game play. Gunsmith is a new  feature in Future Soldier that will let you customise your own weapons down to the very core. You can break the guns down by using the Kinect motion sensors and construct your perfect weapon literally using your hands. A handy feature.

Xbox LIVE

Xbox  LIVE will soon also have some new features. The new Xbox Live experience will feature dashboard improvements which will work more with Kinect. The microsoft search engine Bing will also be added to the Dashboard. Sadly it wont be a full on web browser within Xbox live but it will give you the opportunity to use the Bing search engine to explore all Xbox Live content. YouTube will also be joining the Xbox dashboard family.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition

It has been 10 years since Halo Combat Evolved came out for the original Xbox, and it is now being remade. This time it will use the Halo Reach engine giving it an HD makeover for 2011 . To me this is fantastic news as even though Halo CE is an awesome game compared to more recent releases it does look rather dated. It is set to be released on the 15th of November this year.

Forza Motorsport 4

Another Kinect enabled game Forza will be bringing back the driving simulation that we have come to love on the Xbox. The game will feature Kinect head tracking, community car clubs, rivals mode, 16 players and an epic world tour.

Fable: The Journey

From the looks of things the this new Fable title will be fully connect compatible.The demo showed the game being played using Kinect by using gestures to creat spells and also holding invisible reigns to drive carriages. Could be good but so far I’m not that impressed by it, yet.

Kinect Starwars

Ever wanted to be a Jedi Knight? Well this is the closest you are going to get. Using Kinnect technology you get to shout things like “Light saber on” which surprise surprise activates your light saber. You can also  Jedi tricks such as force push by using the right actions. Surprisingly to me all of the action takes place in the 3rd person, as I assumed a game like this would keep the action close to give the player a full immersive experience. On the other hand I suppose might be a better vantage point.

Halo 4

It has finally been announced. Halo 4 will be making its way to Xbox 360 consoles Christmas 2012. A little while off yet but its official, Master chief is back!

And that was it for the Microsoft press conference. With some great announcements today we have a lot to look forward to in 2011 and beyond. Here at PlusXp we cant wait to hear what the other Press confrances will have to offer as the week progresses. Stay tuned for more E3 coverage.

Garv.

The Worlds Most Awesome Gaming Keyboard......Apparently

As for me, I am a semi converted FPS fan. Most of you are probably thinking, what the hell do you mean? Well first off I was playing First Person Shooters on the PC. But this was back in the days of Doom, Wolfenstein and Duke 3D. Basically the FPS games that didn’t require you to use the mouse. You could happily go along with the arrow keys seeing as there was no way to look up or down. It wasn’t till the end of my PC FPS game days where Quake 2 implemented the mouse. I couldn’t really get on with it so I just tried it out with the keyboard and somehow made it through the campaign.

With the new control set up for FPS games, I actually feared that my shooting game days were long gone. So I went to the Playstation 1 and 2 for games like WWE wrestling, Tony hawks skate boarding and Devil May Cry. It wasn’t untill I got my original X Box and Halo where I got my FPS gaming back. I then was evermore glued to the console way of FPS gaming. So you could say I have really been playing FPS games the same way all my life, mouse free.

The Perfect Combination Of PC and Console Controllers Perhaps?

But back to the question in hand. What is the best platform for FPS games? If I were to put this question to the Plus XP team I will have a vague idea of who will say what. Leon would say console but then go back to playing God Of War or something similar. Mark will probably say console as well, but then start day dreaming about Jessica Chobot. GuitarGirl’s reaction would probably be ‘does it involve a guitar so I can melt the enemies faces?’. Then there is That Bloke In The Beanie, a hardcore PC gamer who has an X-Box in the corner of his room which he does play every now and again, but I know straight out he will say FPS games are better suited to the PC. This will probably stroke up a heated debate which I will endeavor to post on this site when the time comes.

lately I have revived my original silver clunky DS and have been playing Metroid Prime Hunters. Possibly the best shooter you are ever gong to get on a hand-held ever. Ok so it may cramp up your hands like a bitch but still it utilises the FPS game mechanics perfectly. Possibly not the best platform for FPS gaming by any stretch of the imagination, but defiantly something to look at, using the touch screen as your mouse if you would like, you then use the D pad to strafe and move forward and backward and then use the left bumper button as your trigger finger. Very interesting way at looking at game mechanics indeed.

I feel it is time now to give the Wii an honerable mention. If it were to drop it casual/party game facade that so many people pin down on it these days, I think that this console could be the next big thing for FPS games. Oh c’mon you must have thought at some point that shooting games would have been perfect for the Wii when motion plus came out? Metroid corruption used the Wii controls perfectly, and is today still the game that is making me think about getting a Wii. Red Steel 1 we probably won’t talk about here, just mention it for the sake of mentioning it as it was, quite frankly, a shite game. Red Steel 2 on the other hand looks a lot better with the time I had with it at Eurogamer last year. Then you have games like house of the dead which just turn the console into an arcade cab. But I must say the Will has stunning potential for being the Next FPS platform as you pretty much have a gun in your hand.

So the best platform for FPS gaming? Well I am going to have to hand it to the consoles, A) because I can’t get on with the mouse that well, B) because if it wasn’t for Halo I would have probably never touched an FPS game again, and C) the Wii has so much FPS potential it just makes me a tad sick that it has had this casual gaming marker put on it.

But that’s all my opinion, what do true FPS fans out there think? Feel free to voice your opinion.

Garv.

While I’ll easily admit that I love the idea of the Xbox Live Arcade allowing smaller developers to create unique and imaginative games at a smaller price point, allowing for a fun diversion to the monopoly of AAA games out there, it’s a lot harder for me to admit that I’ve not used the service to truly enjoy some of those titles. I’m still yet to delve into Limbo or many of the other great games out there, but there’s an upcoming game available soon that may change that and highlight how great the service can be for creativity and some of the more imaginative games out there. I present to you ilomilo.

I’m not sure how best to explain it, but ilomilo is a puzzle game with 4 worlds and nearly 50 different levels where you’re responsible for reuniting ilo and milo as well as trying to help restore their memories through a series of different puzzles and involving a lot of cubes. As a set up, think the pure platforming sections in Super Mario Sunshine sans FLUDD, but in terms of what it originally looks like. Instead of nail-bitingly frustrating platforming with an average camera, think instead a nearly zen-like puzzle game that charms the pants off you and has you in its bed before you realise its the next morning and it’s made you breakfast in bed.

The puzzles don’t just use one plane of the cubes, and you’ll frequently find yourself running upside down and every which way with the carpets that allow you to walk to a different side of the cube you’re on and giving you another way to think about what you’re doing. Throw in movable extra cubes, creatures that eat apple cubes, creatures that pop out of the cubes and block you, and ones that stretch over long distances. Throw in the ability to swap between ilo and milo at any time on top of that and the deceptively simple in concept puzzler becomes one with many levels of depth and forces you to think about how you’re best going to proceed with the levels and challenge yourself to maximise how many of the pickups you can get as well.

Even though the main objective of each level is to reunite ilo and milo, that’s not the only thing you can be doing. Throughout each level are fragments of their memories, and collecting as many fragments as you can helps unlock parts of their memories, presented as fragments of a picture with writing that suggests this is a way for players to uncover the background story by themselves, instead of having it forced on you unnecessarily. However, even in the trial there was a hint of heart-warming moments that may pluck at gamer’s heartstrings, minimalistic as it is.
Not only that, but collecting the Safkas in each world helps to unlock a special bonus puzzle to boot, meaning there’s no reason that any gamer shouldn’t be getting everything on every level they can.

I mentioned earlier that this game has a strong sense of charm. It’s almost undeniable. The game has an incredible art style that teems with details at every orifice and doesn’t let go. It’s simply beautiful in its own unique way that helps give it that charm and draws you into the world before you even realise you’re addicted. It helps that the camera works fantastically and always allows you to see what you’re doing from the default view, with even a little peep-hole showing up if your character is being blocked from your view by scenery. There’s not much else than I can add to that as hyping up graphics in a game isn’t my forte, but this is a game with a great sense of style and if you’re not even the tiniest bit engrossed or interested by how it looks, I may have to call you a liar, a cad and tell you we duel at sunrise.

Don’t forget to add in the fact that even in the trial world there were lots of little bits of humour scattered throughout, though mainly delivered by that dashing tutorial guide Sebastian. It helps add to the experience with all the little noises and silly sound effects around that help put a massive smile on your face and want to laugh. Even the loading screens are at it in this game! It just helps to show how much love the creators put into the game and makes you fall in love with it just that little bit more.

Then there’s the music as well. The music that seemingly perfectly compliments the action of the game and pulls you into its world just a little bit further. Even all the sound effects too contribute, with there even being an achievement for using the sound effects to play along to the main menu music. It’s simply and utterly genius and I found myself downloading the soundtrack sampler the creators had on their site just to listen to it outside of the game.

Even with just a short trial, I found myself falling for this game in a big way. Did I get through the trial quickly, yes? Is there much room for re-playability? Maybe less than there’d seem, which could be a potential problem. Is it still one of the most refreshing gaming experiences I’ve had in a while? Heck yes. And most importantly, is the game fun? Most certainly.

ilomilo is out on Xbox Live Arcade on January 5th and will be available for 800 points. However, you can also play the trial now and play the full game in advance by clicking the following link:
http://wp7supersecretaccess.ilomilo.com/
Click the following link for the available songs from the game’s soundtrack:
http://blog.ilomilo.com/category/music/
Disclaimer: Some of the images used in this preview are from the Windows 7 Mobile version, which the game is also available for, containing more puzzles and portable puzzling!

-Jokesound

We live in a wonderful world. A world where technology is bringing people closer together than at any other time in our history. Gamers from the US can play against those in Japan and China, and even Welsh players can be heard. However, all is not well in this 21st century world. Apart from economic stagnation, the cold war in Korea warming up, Russia as a mafia state and the possibility of Sarah Palin being president, there is the trouble of how we play games together. I’m talking about XBox LIVE, or to put it another way, those who have it and those that don’t.

I was feeling stressed the other day and since almost all of my mates were not available for drinks down the pub, I decided to power up the Xbox and get some of my Plus XP pals in a good old frag session. So I ring up Garvaos and say “Hey dude, feel like killing some zombies with me? Or perhaps some terrorists?” Only for him to reply “I’d love to, but I don’t have XBox LIVE Gold.”

This would be Beanie and Garv right now if we didn't have to pay for gold...

This annoyed me greatly. Why is multiplayer reserved only for those who buy the XBox LIVE Gold service? Surely shouldn’t all gamers be able to play with their friends without discrimination? Of course, the answer is not straight forward, or rather it is but has many layers. Multiplayer today is of course, vastly different to that which we enjoyed 10 years ago. The split screen was a far more common occurrence, huddling you and your mates round your tiny telly playing Golden Eye, Mario Kart, Medal Of Honour you name it, most games had a split screen option for multiplayer.

It was the PC of course utilising a much more stable internet and OS that took advantage of online multiplayer gaming. Doom, Quake, and then Half-life were some of the first. The joy being you didn’t have to share a screen with 3 other guys trying to aim at them in poorly lit rooms. However, with this came the need for dedicated servers to host the games. This wasn’t too bad if you were in a small area like your computer lab at school, or a basement with enough power for all your computers. But stretching it out from house to house was more difficult, especially in the 56k dialup days.

Quake 1 multiplayer. Those were the days!

Nowadays, because the majority of multiplayer is done across the net, servers are required for hosting the various games being played from every branch of the gaming genre. FPS, RPG, Sports, racing, just to name a few. Of course, because there are so many players and also with varying degrees of internet speed, finding a good host is key to supporting a decent online game. Maintaining this takes time and effort and so, people had to charge for it. Which is not unfair, you offer a service you want to be able to support it, we all gotta eat and pay our bills.

World of Warcraft could not be free to play after the upfront cost because of the sheer size of it. Guild wars has an easier time having fewer players, but being able to maintain that must be a job and a half. I don’t blame Microsoft for charging for XBox LIVE Gold, you can still download updates for games without it, which is important. I just wish it didn’t cover every single multiplayer aspect of every game. But I guess if you want you have to pay for it. To be fair, the amount of extras that now come with the service make it much better value for money. Still I am jealous of PS3 owners who can play for free, but it is an expensive console.

-That Bloke In The Beanie

Dynasty Warriors, like Marmite, is often met with a bit of a love/hate attitude. On its surface, the series appears to be a simple matter of hacking down hundreds of enemies at a time - and in a way, it sort of is. However, below the surface, I have grown to love a game that tells a colourful re-invisioning of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, ancient tales of the struggle for supremacy over China. The real beauty of Dynasty Warriors, in my eyes, comes in with aiding your allies and helping them with their tactics. Sure, you can run all the way to the enemy general and attempt to kill them alone (not recommended), or you could try to win the battle by lowering the enemy’s morale, taking out vital strategic points, and bringing your army to their door. Covering some of the most memorable battles in the legends, no-one manages to pull off ancient war games quite like Koei. While some argue that they simply re-release the same game multiple times - take a look at sport games and the like. The format is there, and it’s good – but of course we always want to see the latest version with the best graphics, and the newest engine. And of course a ton of new characters, DW‘s roster being famous for their huge numbers.

Dynasty Warriors 4

Dynasty Warriors 4 was my favourite – perhaps it’s nostalgia, but it just seemed to have the best mix of characters, levels, and equipment system. Dynasty Warriors 5 again pulled out a winning title, albeit with a slightly grittier feel. Dynasty Warriors 6, the first title to grace the next generation of consoles, was a little bit of a disappointment to me. The stages were lush and interesting and the story was good, but although it was a good game – the characters were vastly overhauled in design, and most of them lost their unique traits in the process, all being given rather generic weapons. Zhang He’s claws were replaced with a sword, Zhou Tai’s katana replaced with another sword, and Xiahou Dun’s legendary Kirin Fang scimitar being replaced with a rather boring club. With the Renbu combo system offering seamless yet repetitive combos, in place of the classic Charge system that allowed for a variety of techniques, along with the least inventive weapon system so far, I feared that the Dynasty Warriors I had grown to love had been lost to the tides of change.

However, it seems that I was wrong. At last, we have word of a new title, and it seems that Tecmo-Koei have acknowledged the mistakes that were made with DW6. For the first time this generation, a brand new Dynasty Warriors is on the way, bringing back the old ideas and evolving them into something that looks even better than ever. Dynasty Warriors 7 will be reverting back the old charge system, the characters’ unique weapons, and overhauling the title completely. So what’s different?

New Abilities

While it’s great that they’re bringing back the classic Charge system (which involves pressing Triangle/Y at certain stages of a combo to execute unique finishing attacks), that doesn’t mean that they’ll simply be copying what they’ve already done before. Oh no, it’s much more. For the first time, aerial attacks and even aerial Musou (super attacks) will be present. Perhaps inspired by more recent projects such as Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage, that means more room for juggling, and a whole range of new attacks. Even better, characters will also be able to hold a second weapon – so while you can happily fight away with Ling Tong’s Nunchuks, you can switch to a sword or spear on the fly if you feel like mixing things up a bit. It’s said that it’s even possible to execute special “Variable Actions” by swapping weapons mid-combo for special attacks. These weapons can be picked up from defeated enemy soldiers, even including a type of cannon for long-range attacks. With other tweaks, such as stronger, secondary musou attacks and improved horse controls, the combat looks to take the game to a new level, expanding on the best qualities of the past titles.

As far as the weapons go, I’m afraid we don’t yet know how characters will gain new equipment – but here’s hoping we have weapon growth – it’s always good to have plenty of extra challenges with worthwhile rewards. It’s unknown if the game will use the four-tier weapon system, with each version more powerful and more ornate than the last, or whether it will be using a more DW6 approach with different weapons having different pros/cons in terms of strength, speed and range, but I definitely hope that it will be the former. However, it has been said that there will be “ultimate” weapons in the game – so that sounds good to me.

A New Clan

Now there’s one other aspect concerning DW7 that’s really got me excited. Now, Dynasty Warriors has always focused on the battle between the rivalling clans of Wu, Shu and Wei, as they battle to control the land – the story usually starting with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and leading up until around the battle of the Wu Zhang Plains, with the final showdown between Shu and Wei. However, Dynasty Warriors 7 will expand the timeline further than ever before – introducing the whole new clan of Jin (of whom strategist Sima Yi belongs to), who will eventually unite China under their flag – as happens in the legends of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. This means we’ll be having a whole new clan of characters to enjoy – so far confirmed to consist of at least four brand new characters, as well as Sima Yi himself. It’s not only Jin who will be seeing new characters, though - Cai Wenji will be making her debut in her first main numbered title for Wei (having first appeared in Strikeforce 2), and Bao Sanniang will also be added as a new female character as a part of Shu.

As with Dynasty Warriors 4, there will be a Musou mode (Story mode) for each clan, rather than character-based stories as with DW5 and 6. Personally, I think this should be for the best – as it will mean no character will be of less importance than another in terms of gameplay, but hopefully we’ll still be seeing a decent amount of plot around the various characters and their parts in the overall plot. It’s said that the “Other” category of characters (mainly consisting of characters such as Lu Bu, Zhang Jiao, Yuan Shao and Dong Zhou) will not be given a Musou mode, though the characters will more than likely be playable in the other the other modes, assuming they are included in the game (so far only Lu Bu and Zhang Jiao have been confirmed in the Other category).

New Modes

As well as the upgraded combat system, new clan and general overhaul of the game – there’s also a new mode. While the game still supports Musou mode, and no doubt Free Mode (for playing any mission with any character), which would be good enough for me as it is, there’s going to be a whole extra mode to explore, Chronicle Mode. Little is known about Chronicle Mode in terms of detail, but what we do know sounds very intriguing. Apparently, you’ll be able to take characters into a sort of “free-roam” China, where you will be able to visit towns, talk to other characters and enjoy “create-your-own-story” style gameplay. It sounds very adventurous so we’ll wait until we know more before we can pass real judgement, but it’s said that you’ll be able to unlock new characters and also ultimate weapons – so it definitely sounds like something worth playing. No word on whether there will be Create-A-Warrior included, but that would be a nice touch.

There’s been little word in terms of multiplayer functionality – Tecmo-Koei’s Warriors type games seem to focus more on local split screen rather than online multiplayer – including Fist of the North Star that came out recently. Hopefully we’ll be seeing some online functionality for once – as split screen is good, but both (or more if possible) players having their own screen would be even better.

Dynasty Warriors 7 is coming to Europe on March 25th 2011, so it’s a few months wait yet. But it looks as though it could be shaping up to be one of the best Dynasty Warriors games to date.

-Leon

The Story

The game is supposedly going to be a little more plot oriented than previous games – I’m not sure whether or not this is a good or bad thing yet, but it sounds interesting. While previous news has made Marvel’s Dormammu look like the game’s main villain, it seems that the title will have an alliance of bad guys from both sides – namely Capcom’s Dr Doom, and Marvel’s Albert Wesker. It seems that the dastardly duo have come up with a plot to join their worlds together and conquer them as a team, by unleashing some powerful threat. Granted, it’s not that original, but hey – it’s a fighting game, and if they want to add some flashy video scenes to spice it up between matches, I say go for it.

The Roster

The roster has now reached a total of 28 characters, and is still growing. We revealed the first 16 characters earlier on, here are some of the highlights of the latest additions to the title:

Spider-Man

A staple character in the series, Capcom almost fooled me into thinking he might not be included in the game – but there was a sigh of relief when he was. Perhaps more popular than ever, after the trilogy of live-action movies released in the decade since MvC2, Spider-man returns with his fast-paced web-slinging fighting style. He’s seen with his symbiote suit at times – so I’m sure we can expect this to be used as a plot device at some point in the game’s story mode.

She-Hulk

The much more visually appealing female counterpart to the Hulk, (and his cousin), She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) was a member of the Avengers. With superhuman strength, agility and regenerative powers, She-Hulk brings the power of the Hulk to the game in a much smaller package.

X-23

In a similar way to She-Hulk, X-23 is something of a female take on an existing superhero – this time Wolverine. With both hand and feet claws, and a much more agile frame than Logan, X-23 has more focus on speed and aerial combos, and looks pretty cool to boot.

Albert Wesker

Revealed to be the main villain behind Capcom’s side of the game, Wesker is the renowned bad-guy of the Resident Evil series. His powers having become more and more superhuman as the series progressed, Resident Evil 5 portrayed him as a complete powerhouse, and he brings that might to the MvC series for the first time. With a mix of fast, teleportation-type attacks, and M. Bison reminiscent power attacks, Wesker definitely looks like a force to contend with. Oh, and his super attack involves throwing a missile into your face.

Zero

When Tron Bonne was announced as a playable character, I was a little worried that she would be the only representative of the Megaman series. Not being a Legends fan, I’m glad to announce that Zero has now been announced – Megaman’s sword-wielding counterpart from Megaman X. I still hope we’ll see the Blue Bomber make an appearance later on, but if not – Zero is an excellent member of the Megaman series and a force to be reckoned with. 

Arthur

Ghosts ‘n Goblins is a well-loved series for some of the older gamers out there – famous for running around in his pants and fighting with his spear. With a mix of spear attacks and elemental abilities, the pint size hero is a lot stronger than he looks – and perhaps it’s about time he got some recognition among the other heroes of Capcom.

DLC

It seems DLC is likely to be on the way – leaked by GameSpot, it seems the Resident Evil 5 version of Jill Valentine, and the tentacled Shuma Gorath from Marvel will both be available as pre-order bonuses in the form of fully playable characters. Although I’m not a huge fan of Shuma Gorath, it’ll be very interesting to see what they do with Jill this time around - perhaps with a revamped, more hand-to-hand style than her MvC2 version. The special edition is looking very nice – so I just hope we’ll be seeing it released in Europe. 

Release Date

So when’s the game due out? February 18th, 2010. That’s right – only three months away! That’s the day I’ll be dedicating to awesome super-hero clashing mayhem. I’d better set a reminder.