This Week's Releases: The Prince is Back Edition

Well, first, sorry I haven't been updating recently. I've been having some computer troubles I've been dealing with. I'm going to try and get a post up tonight while I have the chance. So, for the last big release week of 2008, here are my picks for games to get this week.

My Game of the Week

Prince of Persia (PS3, 360)-12/2

Was there really any doubt what I would be picking this week? Not only is this a down week for releases when compared to the last month or so, but my most anticipated game of 2008 is finally coming out. Prince of Persia hits the PS3 and Xbox 360 this week. This is a bit of a new beginning for the series with a new main character, a slew of new platforming moves like the gripfall and roofrun, and a reworked fighting system that has you taking on one enemy at a time. You also have a new partner Elika who uses magic to aid you in combat as well as help you perform amazing acrobatic maneuvers. This all occurs in a more open-ended game world and presented in the beautiful new illustrative artstyle. I'll finally get to see if the game lives up to the hype I've been giving it.

This is the part of the article where I tell you what other games are coming out, but I really think you should just get PoP for PS3 or 360 (or maybe pick up something you missed last month). If you're a PC gamer who hasn't gotten in on GTA's latest installment, GTA IV comes out for PC this week. There are also a pair of Mushroom Men games for Wii and DS. You can also pick up the Prince of Persia: The Fallen King for the DS, but I have to be honest, having played the demo I wasn't too keen on the stylus controls for the game and I'm not sure how it will turn out. Well, that's all for this week. I'll be sure to be back when I can with some more posts and hopefully some reviews.

Hands-on: Tomb Raider: Underworld

It will soon be time to get reacquainted with everyone’s favorite sexy spelunker, Lara Croft. With Lara’s new adventure Tomb Raider: Underworld releasing soon, Eidos and Crystal Dynamics decided to let loose a demo for 360 and PC late last month. Now that I’ve been able to play through the 360 demo a few times, I’m here to give my impressions of how the new TR is shaping up.

The demo opens with Lara on a boat off the coast of Thailand. After a cutscene that talks a bit about why you’re there, you’re put in control of Miss Croft. From here, you’ll take a quick swim to the shore fighting off a few sharks on the way and make your way up the cliffside through some caves. Next you’ll make your way into the jungle and to an ancient temple that you’ll work through for the remainder of the demo. The gameplay’s focus is mainly on finding a route through the environment and making the appropriate moves necessary to make it through the level. Lots of moves from the past two games are back, so, you can expect plenty of ledge shimmying, swinging on poles, hopping on top of columns, and swinging with your grappling hook. But they’ve augmented the platforming with plenty of new moves, too. For instance, by simply moving the left stick you can climb around on different outcroppings (sort of like those rock-climbing walls or how climbing was in Assassin’s Creed). You can also balance on beams and poles and bound between walls (think 3D Mario or Prince of Persia). The level design in the demo section was quite impressive. It was generally linear, but there were areas to explore and offshoots you could go off on to find treasures and health items. Some sections have alternate paths you can take to get places as well which is neat. The final section of the demo puts you in a large room and let’s you start what looks like it will be a large multi-faceted puzzle to get through that section, but cuts the demo off before you an really get into it.

Lara's new rock-climbing skills (plus the walljump shown in the image at the top of the article) add more depth to the platforming and exploration.

The game also has a bit of combat. In the demo, you’ll face off against a handful sharks underwater, a couple groups of tigers, and bunch of random spiders and bats. The combat feels a lot like the last couple games which is to say it isn’t very good. Basically, you lock on with the left trigger and shoot with the right. You’ll run around jumping and rolling to avoid the enemies and shoot them. There’s a new trick to getting headshots which is pretty good, but not all that much better than it was in Anniversary. You can also melee enemies and the addition of shooting while hanging on a ledge or on a balance beam is nice, but overall the combat just feels sub-par compared to similar games on the market.

There were a few other new features present in the demo. For one, the game allows you to adjust different things to help tailor the experience to your likings. Basically, you can make combat or platforming harder or easier or access hints or a map from your PDA for those that get stuck. The game also added a sprint button which should come into play during the game’s time trial mode. It acts as a dolphin swim of sorts to speed you up underwater, too.

Lara shows her passion for tigers and other wildlife throughout the demo.

It must be said that Tomb Raider: Underworld is really nice to look at. Lara’s character model looks great and they’ve added some new animations like how she braces herself when running into a wall or pushes brush away from her face when moving through the jungle. The environments looks fantastic as well. There were some glitches like a strange effect around Lara’s shirt in the opening cutscene and some clipping here and there, but it’s a demo. If they can polish off some of the rough edges, this game should look really good when it comes out. The music and voice acting featured in the demo also seem to be on the right track.

Overall, I came away pretty happy with the demo. New moves and less linear level design look to make platforming and exploration more enjoyable while the new engine really improved the look of characters and environments. The combat certainly isn't good, but with only a few confrontations in the demo to base my opinion off of, I'll wait for full game to really judge it. I think based on what I've played and seen, this could be Crystal Dynamics' best Tomb Raider game yet. In just a few days, we'll get a chance to see how Lara's latest turns out, with Tomb Raider: Underworld releasing on Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii, PS2, and DS. I should be back with a full review later this year.

Hands-on: Mirror's Edge

It’s nice to see original concepts in gaming and new takes on familiar genres. That’s what we have with Mirror’s Edge. And after getting my hands on the PS3 demo, I’m here tell you how DICE’s latest is shaping up.

The demo opens with a cartoon cutscene that introduces you to the story. I’m not sure this game wouldn’t have been better served with a Half-Life-esque story telling that kept you in first-person throughout the game, but I’ll hold off judgment on that part of the game until the full release. Now, I really want to focus on the actual gameplay. Mirror’s Edge is a game that you play from the first-person perspective, but it isn’t focused on shooting like most FP games. You play as Faith a female runner who has to make her way through the environment using different parkour and platforming moves. After a tutorial that teaches you the basic moves, you’ll be thrown into what is presumably the first level. Just like your typical FPS, the left stick strafes and the right stick looks. After that the most important buttons are L1 and L2. L1 jumps and generally moves upward (climbs up ledges, vaults over obstacles) while L2 generally moves down (slides, rolls when landing). You’ll use these commands along with a quick turn button (R1) and an interact button (X) to move around the levels. Chaining these moves together, you’ll be jumping from building to building, sliding under objects, climbing over fences, shimmying along ledges, balancing on pipes, and running on walls. Keeping your momentum is the key as you make your way over rooftops and through buildings to give a bag to your fellow runner Celeste. The controls are a bit odd at first, but once you get used to them the game becomes pretty addictive. It’s really fun to try and get through the level without having to slow down. There are some enemies in the demo, but the best way to handle confrontations is again not the norm. You’re better off avoiding or quickly disarming enemies (with triangle) and then just dropping the gun and moving on rather than shooting foes. The game uses a couple of things to help you get through the level. One thing is what they call runner-vision. This highlights objects in the environment in red to show you which way to go. I’m not sure this game won’t be more interesting with this feature turned off though. You can also hit the square button to activate slow-motion to help you navigate the environment.

Mirror’s Edge really has a pretty original look to it. The world the game is set in is very sharp and bright with tons of white and some vibrant blue and red accents amongst the tall skyscrapers. Things in the demo did look a bit jaggy, but nothing too bad. With focus on platforming in first-person, the game features some interesting animations where you see Faith’s limbs as you move about which DICE has a done a good job on. And it’s worth noting you stay in first-person when you roll which is quite strange when you first see it. If you’ve seen trailers of this game then you know that soundtrack is pretty catchy too especially the main theme.

Mirror’s Edge really is a breath of fresh air. As a big fan of platformers and parkour, it’s really interesting to see this type of game in first-person. Once I got used to the controls and perspective, I had a lot of fun trying to string together moves and find new routes through the level. Because of this the time trials that the full game will have should be great. If they can give you plenty of interesting scenarios and levels to work through in the full game, DICE could have a winner on its hands. Mirror’s Edge hits store shelves in the US this week for PS3 and Xbox 360.

This Week's Releases: Shooter Face-Off Edition

The great time for gaming that is Fall 2008 just continues to roll along this week. The focus here is on two big shooter sequels. Here's what we have this week:

My Game of the Week

Resistance 2 (PS3)-11/4, Gears of War 2 (360)-11/7 (tie)

Resistance 2

Do you hear that sound? Yes, it is in fact the sound of me copping out this week. I can't really choose at the moment between these two games. While I will not be picking up either this week (still busy with LBP), I will almost certainly have both these games by year's end. They both look great. Personally, I would pick up Resistance 2 first (which may make it my pick of the week... I don't know). But this is partly due to the fact that Insomniac is one of my favorite developers and I like Resistance's story a bit more. I really enjoyed the first game, but I'm not too happy with the decisions to not have local competitive multiplayer and move to a two-weapon load-out. I'm not much of an online player, but I really enjoyed playing 4-player offline with friends (still do actually). Not being able to do that (unless of course I got a wrong answer about it's inclusion on the Playstation Blog) or choose from a number of crazy weapons at once is a bit disappointing. Having said that I'm sure I'll really like the single-player and co-op campaigns and for those that are into online, there's not much to complain about.

Gears of War 2

Then, there's Gears of War 2. I really got a kick out of the first Gears. I mean I really have only played the co-op campaign, but it was still a lot of fun. I did try the local multiplayer, but one-on-one is pretty lame. But with Gears 2, they're adding bot support so that local will be more fun and adding the sweet new Horde mode. Plus, the campaign should be longer, so, I'll definitely be getting more value from this game then the first.

Despite a bit of complaining (games getting rid of local multiplayer is a pet peeve of mine), I'll probably get Resistance 2 first, personally, but I really think both of these games are going to very good and I'd advise either. If you only have a PS3 or 360, your decision is probably made for you. But until I play both, I can't say which will be better, but I'm guessing you can't really go wrong with either.

Other games of note this week include Tom Clancy's End War and James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace appearing on multiple platforms and the PS3 exclusive Valkyria Chronicles. Anyway, enjoy killing some locust or chimera if you guys get the chance. I should be back soon with some hands-on impressions of Mirror's Edge and Tomb Raider: Underworld soon.

My Legend of Zelda Jack-O-Lanterns

Well, I haven't managed to find my memory card with my Jak and Daxter ones, but as the title of this post says I have some new Zelda-themed pumpkin carvings to show off. I did two new Jack-O-Lanterns this year based around a couple of the main characters from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (one of my favorite Gamecube games) and it's sequel The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (probably my favorite DS game). I have one of Link's face and one of Tetra's face and I'm happy with how they both came out. Well, here are some pictures of the finished works (again captions refer to the picture above them).

A close look at my Link Jack-O-Lantern in the dark.

A close look at my Tetra Jack-O-Lantern in the dark.

A look at my Link Carving and pumpkin in the light.

A look at my Tetra carving from a bit further back, where you get a better look at the pumpkin.

My Link and Tetra Jack-O-Lanterns side by side.

I actually did them on Halloween night and here it is two days later and they're kind of a mess already. This is how it is with these type of carvings though. Tetra was a bit tough at times and due to her hair continuing down on either side of her face, after one day I had to start using a fork to prop up her face so it didn't just fall into the pumpkin. Her little curly hair thing at the top started falling down a day later, too. Also, since I started doing my own designs, I don't think I ever popped out a piece as big as Link's hair. That fact combined with some silly decisions I made on what parts to cut first (not sure what I was thinking) made it rather hard to cut out his hair without breaking another part (though luckily I didn't break anything). In the end, they both came out well without any mistakes. It's really satisfying that first night when you see your creations come together even if it is a bit sad to see them kind of fall apart the next few days. But I got plenty of good pictures, so, I'll always have them to remember my carvings with. Anyway, I hope you liked them and hopefully I'll be back on here with more at some point in the future.

This Week's Releases: LittleBigEdition

It's another good week for new games and here are my picks for this week:

My Game of the Week

LittleBigPlanet (PS3)-10/28

If you've been following my blog, you know that LittleBigPlanet is one my most anticipated games of the year. Having played the beta, I'm pretty convinced that this game will be a load of fun. Whether you want to just go through the story mode, create some levels, or play with some friends, this game will have you covered. LBP promises to be a truly unique experience and it's my pick for the game you should get this week.

Fallout 3 (PS3, 360, PC)-10/28

I have to admit that I wasn't too impressed with the demonstrations of Fallout 3 at E3, but it just doesn't seem to be able to demo well in a short period of time. Everyone who's gotten a chance to play it speaks very highly of it and I thought that Bethesda's last effort, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, was a really good game (even if it wasn't necessarily my cup of tea). So, despite not being too initially impressed, I have faith that the game will turn out well. RPG fans should check this one out.

Motorstorm: Pacific Rift (PS3)-10/28

I really liked the original Motorstorm. The driving mechanics were really well done and the graphics were some of the best ever when it released, but it was a little lacking in content. While Pacific Rift's graphics won't blow you away like the first one, they are looking to fix that whole lack of content thing. Twice as many tracks as the original and splitscreen multiplayer look to give this new game a lot more life. The demo played pretty well and this should satisfy Motorstorm fans and other racing junkies.

Fall 2008 continues it's stretch of great releases this week with two games that will probably be two of the highest-rated of the year (LBP and Fallout 3). Any of the above games should provide some serious fun for gamers this week. Next week will have another solid slate of releases and I'll be back with my picks.

This Week's Releases

This is a new weekly feature I'm going to do that will talk a bit about each week's biggest releases. I won't cover everything, but I'll try to hit up some games that look really interesting to me or are pretty popular and this will be just retail stuff (I may do another post for download stuff after things release on the online stores). I'll also have a pick for what I think is the best game coming out that week. It's a good week to start as there are a bunch of huge games coming out. Unfortunately, LittleBigPlanet is no longer coming out this week, but there should plenty for those looking for a new game. Here's what you guys can get this week (oh and I listed "ship dates" whether they will release that day or the next is usually a mystery and depends on the store and game):

My Game of the Week

Far Cry 2 (PS3, 360, PC)-10/21

I really feel with the big hype surrounding Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 (and deservedly so it seems) that Far Cry 2 may be kind of a sleeper in the shooter-genre. The new Far Cry ditches the jungle of the first game for an African Setting, but retains the open-world gameplay that should help set it apart from the other aforementioned shooters. The game also gives you a lot of choices in how you tackle missions and has a pretty sweet map editor, too. If I was going to get one game this week, it would be this one (though I'm going to hold out for some others later this year instead).

Fable 2 (360)-10/21

I've been hearing good things about Fable 2 lately. I'm not really an RPG player, but this one actually did look pretty interesting when I saw some demos a while back. It's co-op feature seems neat as well. 360 owners looking for a good RPG should check this one out. Oh and it features this awesome tree monster pictured above (at least I think that's what it is). That has to be worth something.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)-10/21

Castlevania is almost always solid. This is your typical Nintendo handheld "Metroid-vania," but it has a few things to keep it fresh like a new female protagonist, more outdoor environments, the new glyph system, and this cool new ability where you can fling yourself around environments. This was my pick for the Best Handheld Game of E3 and it looks like it should be one of the better handheld games released this year. Order of Ecclesia is likely a must for Castlevania fans and definitely worth a look for those looking for some good handheld action this week.

There are some other games worth noting. Guitar Hero: World Tour comes out this Sunday for a bunch of platforms. There's also a DS game coming out called Tornado which looked alright when I saw a preview of it a while ago. It's got this Katamari-esque feel where you suck a bunch of stuff up into a tornado. PS3 owners can finally explore Rapture when Bioshock hits the PS3 this week (unless they also own a 360 or capable PC, then they may have done so already). Also, for those interested Spiderman: Web of Shadows and The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon are coming out for most relevant game systems (unless you want Spyro on PSP, I'm pretty sure you're going to be let down then). Well, there's plenty of things to like here though I'm not sure another Spiderman game is one those things. And for those of you who were hoping to pick up LittleBigPlanet this week, I'm with you and it'll only be another week now (unless you don't live in the U.S., then a bit longer it seems).