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PC Review: Total Extreme Wrestling 2008

Adam Montgomery — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:59:31 +0000

Mainstream professional wrestling has more in common with the cast of Saturday morning cartoons then any television drama. Man’s best and worst traits are identified and amplified in the larger than life characters: the snob, the hero, the witty, and the racist. There’s no room for a personality of vague definition.

If the entertainment itself demands such extremes, it’s little surprise that it has such a polarising effect on viewers – it’s something people either enjoy or ridicule.

It’s that fact that brings me to a necessary warning: this is not a game for non-fans. If you’re not interested in wrestling, just walk on by, because there’s nothing for you here. Total Extreme Wrestling 2008 is every bit as narrowly focused as the name suggests.

TEW is the opportunity to step behind the curtain, remove the distortions, and get to grips with the reality behind the fake world of wrestling, to tackle the business at the centre of the spectacle.

Your goal, as with any other business, is to make money. Build a local hero up in the fans’ eyes and they will pay through the nose to see him face off against the villains of the world. Bring two long-term rivals together in a huge contest and you will have paying customers lined up around the block. There are many more routes to success, but if you give the fans what they want, they will keep coming back– and they might bring their friends, too.

Unlike any other wrestling game in stores today, most notably the WWE franchise, this is actually a simulation, a simple text-and-numbers affair. A particularly charismatic youngster could receive an “A*” grade for his abilities, whilst your company as a whole may be rated as having “E-” popularity.

It’s this reliance on letter grades and numbers that has always been the biggest problem with this long-running series. After a time spent playing, it can feel like you’re not actually leading some fast-growing company, but are simply shuffling numbers on a spreadsheet, and the experience deteriorates into a repetitive logistical task.

2008′s sequel attempts to combat this by bringing greater life to your employees. Personalities differ from person to person, and it has an effect on others in your locker room and on your business as a whole. For instance, a professional and humble person would be quite happy to lose in front of any number of fans, simply for the good of the company. However, a more arrogant person may complain about your decision to have him lose – possibly leading to him putting it weaker performances, and upsetting the harmony among the group.

Largely, this addition adds immersion to the game. The decisions you make have more visible consequences as you see the people you have control over moulded by your decisions. It’s a great high to see a once-irresponsible member of your crew transform reform into a reliable, successful star because of your handling.

This interface has been tightened up, with many of the frustrating mouse-clicks needed to navigate between menus having been removed. The visuals are generally clean and simple, but there are odd instances where you come up against some very cheap, rushed-looking graphics.

While many will be excited by the prospect of controlling “real-world” wrestling companies such as World Wrestling Entertainment or Ring of Honor, it’s worth mentioning that TEW only allows you to do so if you install a fan-made mod for the game. By default, you can play in a fictional universe which, while featuring imaginary workers newcomers to the series won’t be familiar with, offers a much more balanced and stable experience then anything unofficial, as this fictional data was designed with knowledge of the game’s inner-mechanics in mind.

Despite this, Total Extreme Wrestling 2008 remains an addictive and satisfying challenge for anyone interested in stamping their own personality on the cartoon world of professional wrestling.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

Wii Review: Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

Adam Montgomery — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:53:59 +0000

If Sonic fans are waiting for the hedgehog’s next great game (or even the first good racing game) then there’s bad news ahead: all Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity manages to do is scratch his legacy once more.

The game begins with Eggman trying to act out his evil plot in a story which is actually weaker and more contrived then the usual standard for one of Sonic’s games – even when compared to the spin-offs – and has a duration that will see you complete the game in a few hours.

Anyway, it sets up some reason why Sonic has to stop running and hop on a hover board and race. Unfortunately, once you’re on that board things don’t really improve.

A Sonic the Hedgehog racing game should be fast, and, at times, this game reaches levels of speed appropriate for a game bearing the blue mascot’s name. When using the Wii-mote, however, it’s hard to properly control your character even at a snail’s pace – imprecise to the point your poor avatar gets a beating as he’s slammed into each side of the track in turn. To salvage anything, you’re going to have to dig out a Gamecube controller.

When a particularly sadistic corner approaches, you’re able to slow your character down by holding a button. Now you can position yourself suitably to make it around the bend, until you decide to release your racer off again. It’s a great idea that does shine in the few moments the game allows it to.

Using this turn technique is one way you can use up your energy points, earned through jumping. The other way is to dash, giving you a quick boost to overtake some rivals. Crashing into things can speed you further, although it’s best not to ponder the logic of this (as is true of many elements of the game, including the aforementioned story).

There are different boards to ride, with different types of board allowing you access to different shortcuts on levels. One grants you the ability to grind your way to victory, cutting seconds off your lap times by making use of the various rails dotted around. There are other styles of shortcut, which could have lead to interesting play if used properly.

This feature is another victim of the weak and infuriating level design — often demanding several runs before you can find a successful route around the course. None of the techniques (such as turning) or other intricacies built into the play are properly explored on each track, leaving the whole thing seeming another missed opportunity.

It looks and sounds like a Sonic game, but Zero Gravity is another failed attempt at a worthy addition to the Hedgehog’s once great franchise, and is best left alone.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

Preview: Condemned 2: Bloodshot

Adam Montgomery — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:41:01 +0000

Sega’s invite to play games and eat cakes was too tempting, so Ripten arrived with pockets deep enough to hold a week’s supply of food, and pilfered enough grub to fill them. As well as the iced-goodness, Sega were keen to ram Condemned 2 down our throats. Fortunately, Monolith’s bloody, brutal horror also left a rather sweet taste in our mouths.

Ethan Thomas, returning protagonist, is having a rough time. His past has twisted him into a burnt-out alcoholic who must now struggle with himself as much as the world around him. If he has been metaphorically giving “the system” a view of his prominent middle finger, Ethan can decide to give individuals a similar treatment – as demonstrated during our play test

Punching is an uncompromising affair: the enemy’s face suffering desolation under your resolute fist, flesh and bone breaking with jarring realism. It would be off-putting if it wasn’t so satisfying.

Offensive moves can be strung together into a combo, or the more creative player can relish the opportunities for environment-based kills. One resilient foe met his end getting his skull rammed into a television, succeeding in bringing out a disturbing smile.

His grittily realistic world plays host to a number of contrastingly surreal events. Are they real? You will have to play to find out, but Ethan’s adventure will be an interesting trip either way.

The game’s audio is particularly impressive. Every crunch, smash, and snap of combat suggests the researchers may have spent an hours working in a torture chamber. Putting on headphones and sitting in the dark reveals the effort of the developer’s in crafting an unnerving atmosphere.

One of Sega’s employees played out an investigation in front of us: a diversion where normal players are asked to make assumptions in answer to questions, with these responses being based on what they see in their environment. How did he die? The bullet hole in his back might be a clue.

We also sampled a multiplayer deathmatch, which proved to be frantic fun – although opponents didn’t clearly react to our attacks, leaving players wondering if they had actually made contact.

Our brief taste can’t hope to represent the finished mode, however, and the true test of its value will only be evident when the game is reviewed later.

What was clear from our test is that Condemned 2 is a relentless experience breaking out very soon, and when it does it just may be a horror worth surviving.

Sega Previews Guns ‘N Gore with Chips ‘N Doughnuts

Adam Montgomery — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:40:17 +0000

Inside Sega’s Lair

With The Club’s release imminent and Condemned 2 on the way, Sega invited Ripten down to their headquarters for a nice chat and an early look.

At the Guns ‘n Gore event, everyone competed on the linked consoles for some nice prizes, including a highly sought after Sonic the Hedgehog coffee mug that went to one lucky journalist. A less fortunate attendee received a T-shirt featuring gun-toting failure Shadow the Hedgehog.

If Mario’s missing, then I know what happened to him.

Coffee and doughnuts were available to anyone feeling drained by all the competition, as well as fruit salad which was predictably ignored by the majority. By the end of the day it was rapidly deteriorating, forcing Sega to vainly plug the snack alongside a great bowl of crisps nobody touched.

Sega’s world domination begins here.

Silly Sega, nobody eats a bowl of crisps where all the flavours are mixed up – it’s not worth the risk.

You can read our final thoughts on The Club here, and can look forward to our musings on Condemned 2.

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New Alone in the Dark Illuminated

Adam Montgomery — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 11:06:10 +0000

As well as announcing its website’s launch, Atari have released several screenshots of the new entry to the long-running survival-horror series Alone in the Dark.

The shots are predictably dark and atmospheric, one showing more of long-time series’ hero Edward Carnby with a next-generation face, and the other demonstrating a creepy location within the game.

Cryptic information will be leaked about the game each Thursday up until its May launch, so fans of the series should stay tuned.

Currently the game seems infatuated with Central Park, the famous New York landmark. It questions why such a valuable piece of land exists free in a money-focused city, but all is not as it seems.

Form your own opinion on the images below.

Xbox 360 Review: The Club

Adam Montgomery — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:15:03 +0000

Tight, controlled movement is at the heart of Bizarre Creation’s work. They produce score-chasing games that entice players with addictive self-improvement challenges. When driving, you must brake and turn perfectly. When shooting, you must move and attack flawlessly.

It works, of course, especially when tied into online multiplayer and competition. Project Gotham’s ranking boards are sought after in hours of practice by millions of players. Geometry Wars was hailed as the greatest Xbox game of its early stages – an impressive achievement for a tiny Arcade game.

But what else can they do? Can they take their brand of play to new frontiers, to new genres? The developers sought to find out with The Club.

Its experimental nature roused interest in the product early. People looked twice when hearing that Bizarre weren’t working on a driving game. Playing the game, it feels a speculative effort – a test of both the developers and the audience.

So much of the game is described by its genre: third-person shooter. You run and shoot – it’s a bare-bones approach that will engage some as much as it repels others. Deciding which group you fall into will depend on if you yearn for a simpler style seen a decade a go, or you love today’s elaborate approach to videogame design.

To make things interesting, you get score multipliers. Kill in a big sequence and you get a big score – even bigger if you manage to kill with “style”, getting headshots or killing several goons with one grenade.

There’s no issue to be taken with the controls, except for the intended simplicity of it all. Shooting is accurate and your character’s responses are fast – everything you’d expect for a game which demands such perfection from you.

Killing is justified by a light story. The Club itself is a shady, powerful promoter of death matches intended to entertain the world’s elite. Your chosen character (one of 8) has either chosen to compete or is forced to fight.

Its narrative is structured in similar manner to beat-em-ups – your character’s motivation is set up before the game and then capped with a conclusion after you’ve won. It’s all a weak justification for some shooting-related challenges, with the stories being stock tales already seen in gaming.

Multiplayer competition is based upon a leaderboard. Players must spend hours working away until they achieve a high score that ranks highly. If this sounds a turn-off then you already know how you feel about the game. Alternatively, there’s some rather more traditional deathmatch competition, but this feels rather dull without the score-chasing element seen in solo play.

The game’s love of dirty, gritty environments means the eyes won’t be impressed by what’s here. It’s all painted with an uninspiring gloom which lacks any character. It’s no as love or hate as the gameplay itself, but nobody will be impressed by what’s on display.

If you stick to the easiest difficulty level on your first play you will easily overcome the opposition – it’s devoid of challenge. However, stepping up to the next setting results in a much harsher test that many will find difficult. This renders the whole game rather unapproachable, with some serious work needed to achieve any satisfaction. Possibly this was the intention, but the execution could have been improved to make this less frustrating initially.

The Club is a staunchly simplistic and focused challenge. If you’re crying out for a narrow-minded skill test then you will really enjoy this game — it contains a near-caveman charm about its gameplay (even if its visual design is charmless). It’s everything an expectant fan would want it to be, but offers nothing for those seeking an elaborate, nuanced adventure.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

Zack and Wiki: The Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure Review

Adam Montgomery — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:26:11 +0000

Zack and Wiki set off to save adventure in video games

Monkey Island was a merry union of pirate and adventure; two familiar elements of much classic fiction. It was a challenging, light-hearted quest centered on the endearingly useless Guybrush Threepwood that proved successful enough to warrant a series of sequels.

Now that series has slipped away from the spotlight, as has the genre itself.

Today, things can change. The Wii and DS, ideal formats for point-and-click play, are dominating, and audiences are really buying into cerebral challenges – evidenced by Brain Training’s huge success. It’s time for sorely-needed saviour.

And, like an aged hero, the pirate theme has returned, swinging in to help his partner adventure one more time. Now together again, can the pair rescue the genre? Can a much-missed part of videogame history be rescued with Zack and Wiki: The Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure?

It certainly achieves highly in the core test: the puzzles. Its variety of stifling problems, solved by scavenging the area for items and then applying your new inventory to the halting issue with an array of remote movements, are satisfying to work through.

Yes, some items are gained by shaking your friend (he doubles as a magic bell) to turn them into suitable objects. Please don’t question this.

There’s complexity behind the disarming graphics

Using the tools with remote movements works as you’d expect, although there’s a few occasions where the control doesn’t respond as it should, or is centered around a movement with seems abstract compared to how you would naturally act.

The collection of puzzles which comprise a “level” are located in a pleasingly tight space – to have employed larger environments would have lead to discouraging long-winded searches.

Zack and Wiki paints those areas in the most devious graphics seen on the Wii. “For kids,” they scream, reminiscent of Windwaker’s cel-shaded appearance, but are really the enticing mask of a challenge worthy of any adult, and beyond young children. Still, they are a bright, pleasing cartoon look that features some vivid animation of the game’s characters.

This cast isn’t the memorable feature of the game: you won’t gain any special attraction to Zack, Wiki, or anyone else as you progress along a quest for treasure.

The games focused environments make clue finding easy

The greatest flaw is easily its “die and retry” mechanic, though. On occasion, it is possible to perish and be warped back to the beginning of a section – something both unnecessary and infuriating. While many are wishing the game to be a return to former glories, nobody wants a return to the old nightmares such as this. It belongs on a “just say no” list for game designers that would also list “escort missions”, a modern frustration equivalent to adventure game deaths seen years ago.

But Zack and Wiki’s strengths easily overpower its flaws, and it deserves to pick up the genre’s strewn crown from the floor. A creative set of challenges accessed with the Wii’s remote (proven an adventure designer’s dream) make this the finest point-and-click experience seen in a long time.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

PC Review: Universe at War: Earth Assault

Adam Montgomery — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:28:33 +0000

Earth’s got some new noisy neighbors in Universe at War

Real-time strategy developers must feel particularly anxious when releasing a game: their product will undergo the scrutiny of thousands, if not millions, of skirmishes and campaigns.

The slightest issue will be pounced upon by the internet’s forums. Communities will rage over a minor imbalance which can then be exploited by experienced players. It’s extreme play-testing that pulls apart those of superficial quality and only leaves the enduring, well-realized games standing.

Universe at War: Earth Assault is set to endure such deep inspection. Three rival factions are now battling on Earth’s surface: Hierarchy, Novus, and Masari.

The Hierarchy are keen to harvest the population for their own needs, and rely on lumbering resource-gatherers in battle – acting as mobile bases. Their forces are powerful, hard-hitters.

Attacking the Hierarchy are the Novus, who use an intricate network of nodes to transport their forces across the map with a speed previously unseen in the RTS genre. Their ability to be anywhere at any time means they can defend ably, and can also send offensive forces with disruptive pace.

The Masari were hidden on earth, but now are engaged in conflict with the other two factions. This faction’s play is a more familiar base-centered approach, with a fixed area to amass resources and units. Flexibility is this group’s strength: they can change from Light (attack) to Dark (defense) mode which means they are hard to anticipate and plot against.

Novus can travel great distances in seconds with intricate transport networks

This “rock, paper, scissors” style can be infuriating when you’re losing to a small number of the opposition’s well-focused forces, but is a joy when you can dominate with a limited force thanks to your patient, tactical play.

Each faction’s balanced strengths and weakness, as well as variety, is the game’s greatest achievement. A variety of play-styles has been well-incorporated into this single product, meaning the online play is particularly pleasing. Mastering your faction’s strengths, whilst playing against the enemy’s weakness, offers a cerebral challenge against others online.

It’s a shame, then, that Petroglyph have clothed the game in cliché – everything in the game is standard sci-fi strategy. Even the voice-acting is typically weak, hackneyed to the point of damaging the atmosphere the developers have sought to build.

The game’s larger units are a spectacle, but can crowd the screen mid-play

Direct X 10 is due a bashing, too. An unspectacular standard of graphics fails to run above 10 frames per-second when one of the DX10 effects are employed. Turning off this feature results in a smooth, only mildly less visually appealing experience, as is the recommended course for anyone planning to play the game.

If the team have spent many months perfecting the balance of play, they seem to have spent minutes considering the camera. Perhaps a misguided attempt to convey scale, the camera will only zoom out a small way – leading to the screen often becoming crowded and confusing.

Despite the problems mentioned, the developers need not worry – they have crafted a product which stands as a well-realized addition to the RTS genre. The supremely balanced factions shine particularly during online play, where the battles aren’t limited by the AI’s creative-block, and is a recommendation for anyone looking for a strategic fix. The war’s at your door –open it up and let it in.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

DS Review: Advance Wars Days of Ruin

Adam Montgomery — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:38:27 +0000

It’s said that war changes a man. Fresh-faced and eager, he works his way through training, and before long, is shipped off to battle – carrying boyish dreams of valour and glory alongside his new helmet and rifle. Then, he loses something. Midway through the fighting and bloodshed something is broken off from him. He returns home a hero – a cynical, bitter hero.

Advance Wars is the best example of this. After serving for over a decade solely in Japan, it was thrust into international conflict. Now seeing millions of battles in the West, a few campaigns saw its unique, fragile and bright spirit crumble.

Days of Ruin is the new man, the returning hero.

Previously the series seemed rather pleased with the war; it was the opportunity for everyone to get out in the fresh air and shoot at each other. Now it seems the game has realised that those bullets hurt. War is beautiful no more. This means that the colourful depictions of the series are now gone and have been replaced with a darker, grittier look.

It’s a post-apocalyptic nightmare where mankind is nearly all-dead. What’s left is the charred remains of earth and a roster of gritty veterans – a sadly soulless re-imagining of a series that formerly boasted a light, approachable visual style.

Really, though, this is an unimportant aesthetic change. The game’s back story was an often-skipped diversion and the graphics quickly become unnoticed as you wage war –any tactically-minded anticipators of this sequel will be interested in the latest version of the addictive battle system.

The core remains as it was; the same turn-based strategy with a focus on exploiting weaknesses and employing strengths. But there’s a key shift in emphasis: tactics over power. Now the focus is on elegant advanced planning, with many of the previously overpowering (and perhaps damaging to the game’s balancing) units have either been removed or reduced.

So you must forget about the Neotank, it’s a casualty of refinement. Now you must befriend the Flare, capable of illuminating the dark covering seen in fog-of-war contests and uncovering the enemy position. There’s a distinctly pleasing absence of the Pipe Runner – the enemy of balanced, tactical play that spent its time frustrating players.

Your Commanding Officer is now a more influential and consequential presence in battles. The chosen authority figure now rides with the forces of one unit and gradually progresses towards the activation of his power with each conflict. Officers also have an area of influence which grows as they battle, in that units within this zone receive a slight boost defensively or offensively.

The eventual CO power isn’t as all-conquering as the tag powers seen in the previous DS incarnation, which granted the enemy an infuriating extra turn, or the player a cheapening shortcut to victory. However, it is a welcome change once it’s accustomed to, leaving tactical skill as the only road to victory.

The package has lost volume since the last sequel, with many game modes dropping away. Combat Mode has gone, but it was a weak and pointless part of the game anyway. Rather saddening though is that dual-screen usage has been abandoned. Having two, often vastly different conflicts to focus on, was a pleasing variety from the normal style of play.

What’s been anticipated, and delivers, is online battling. Surprisingly, voice-chat is available even when battling a randomly selected opponent. For personal vendettas the friend code system is available, but either way the contests run without issue.

This game doesn’t mark the ruin of what is a classic portable game franchise. Like the rest of the Advance Wars series, Days of Ruin is a campaign of addiction and satisfaction, as well as being one of the most accessible strategy games available.

Yes, the man has changed. He’s lost his innocence and realised the truth of his struggles: wars are ugly and crippling – but the Advance Wars have never been better.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

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Mass Effect Critic Retracts Her Comments

Adam Montgomery — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:16:27 +0000

Cooper Lawrence, current internet hate-figure, has relented over her ignorant comments regarding Mass Effect, as issued in an infuriating Fox News broadcast.

Beginning with the authoritative statement of “No” when asked if she had played Mass Effect, Lawrence went on to misrepresent the contents of the video game and belittle the medium with her baseless, light-hearted condemnation.

Geoff Keighley, now established as gaming-hero, attempted to cut down her comments with well-spoken responses but ran into a wall of ignorance. The main point of contention was the unfounded nature of the criticism levied at Mass Effect.

After having a legion of angered gamers chopping down her book’s “Amazon rating” to just one star with a number of scathing reviews – one which parodied Lawrence’s attack on gaming – she has retracted her claim.

“I recognize I misspoke,” said the embarrassed author, “it’s not like pornography – I’ve seen episodes of Lost that are more sexually explicit.”

While we can be sadly certain that this won’t be the last time gaming is misrepresented in the media, all for the sake of chasing a moral panic, we can be glad of this small victory. What would really set matters straight, though, is a Fox apology and correction.

Source: The New York Time and Wired for the Image

Manhunt 2 Banned Again in the UK

Adam Montgomery — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:11:14 +0000

Rockstar’s battle to get Manhunt 2 released in the UK has taken another turn, effectively resulting in the game being banned once more.

Previously, the British Board of Film Classification’s decision to ban the controversial game was successfully overturned by an appeal. However, the BBFC has continued the matter by taking it to the High Court, who has now ruled against the appeal that overturned the original banning. Manhunt 2 has been “re-banned”.

It was argued that the decision to have the game released, as decided after the appeal, would “undermine the BBFC’s authority,” and not just in the medium of video games.

Presently things look bad for Rockstar’s game, but something tells me this matter is far from over.

Wii Review: NiGHTS Journey of Dreams

Adam Montgomery — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:44:08 +0000

In a medium so focused on control, it’s refreshing to play a game that makes you feel so free.

Nights: Journey of Dreams proves itself a true successor in this way, and despite working in a 2-D gameplay plane, flying is liberating. Sweeping through the sky as you deftly manoeuvre, surmounting each hurdle and meeting every challenge, is an experience of graceful serenity.

This makes it so dispiriting to see the game tethered to mediocrity by some awful platforming sections– periods of numbing banality– and an inconsistency that sees the game jump from moments of impressive design flair to testing lows.

As if the extremes of flying glory and platforming shame weren’t enough of an example, there are many designed elements of this game that can substitute as a demonstration. Visually, there’s a general level of quality, a pleasingly bold style, but this is infrequently exploited and instead we’re left with several unremarkable regions which clash with the game’s oddball personality.

Nights herself (himself, maybe?) is rather less magnetic since discarding her aloof persona on the Wii. What seems to be an overly enthusiastic voice performance is damaging during the many cut scenes of the game, and this is true of all the characters’ voices.

If you’re looking to enjoy this game, then refrain from using the remote, because it’s ruinously difficult to employ. Switching to the classic controller or adding the Nunchuk is a relief, unlocking old memories as you are freed into a flight both smooth and accurate.

The non-flying sections are the gameplay’s clear sour note. It’s hard work to find any similar off-note in the high-quality collection of updated Nights into Dreams tracks and a set of originally produced themes.

This music’s key to what make’s Nights curiously stand apart: it nearly strikes me as gaming’s equivalent of a great children’s’ tale. This is rooted, though, in an innocent nature and a spirited, youthful world. New audiences may struggle to adapt to what’s a staunchly retro style of play.

To experience Nights’ roaming flight once again is a joy. Sega has produced a enjoyable and suitable tribute to a gaming great. Unfortunately, with such an amount of unwelcome elaboration it doesn’t embellish the series in a way that would truly be a dream.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

Wii Review: Ghost Squad

Adam Montgomery — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:20:11 +0000

Light gun gaming has suffered since the 90s. Arcades continue to struggle in the west, and advancements like high-definition are killing off the old technology behind the shooting mechanic.

It’s surprising, then, that developers have failed to jump onto Wii. With a standard controller like the Wii’s remote, it’s the ideal new home for the genre. Additionally, casual audiences would revel in its short-burst, shallow gameplay.

Sega’s Ghost Squad is one of the few logical consequences of this theory.

Even when dashing, tilting, and twisting in your unit’s search and rescue attempts, shooting is easy. It’s second-place to the GunCon’s intuitive accuracy, but still holds a suggestive position – everything that has worked before works here.

When Commander screams warnings (often followed by a clearly scripted studio response from a team-member – the voice-acting’s of striking imbalance), you know you have a diversion coming. Defusing bombs and similar work is a successful change of pace, a satisfying task in the middle of constant-warfare.

Sniping is a repeated task players will relish. Spraying bullets around hostages and into enemies is well balanced by this more considered, pain-staking challenge.

Ghost Squad is everything expected if it were the 90s, yet it’s curiously pleasing to behold. There’s a self-awareness apparent in the characters’ hackneyed qualities, aforementioned weak dialogue, and scripted video that demonstrates a global inability to shoot straight. It’s as if the developers are enthusiastically patting your back and chuckling with you.

There are visible scars from an arcade port: despite embracing branching level-advancement, this game experience won’t last ten hours, and there are a few frustrating moments where taking damage seems unavoidable (formerly a ploy to earn more money from one completion’s play).

Whether a doting tribute to the genre or a parody of it, Sega’s attempt remains successful – a return of the oft-recalled joy of light gun shooting. It demonstrates the feasability of anthology series for Time Crisis and House of the Dead, and, hopefully, should signal a rebirth of a missed genre.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

Dragon Ball Z Announced for PS3 and Xbox 360: First Screenshots

Adam Montgomery — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:03:06 +0000

Atari have announced that the next of Dragon Ball Z’s franchise of fighting games will be on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Follow the jump for the first screenshots.

Recently Street Fighter 4 demonstrated some gorgeous cartoon-like visuals, so the prospect of having Akira Toriyama’s classic work vivified on next-gen hardware is a tantalising one. Especially when players will be able to battle over the internet in this latest offering.
Fans have enjoyed the Budokai Tenkaichi in the past. Recently, however, the series has lacked any innovative movement, so let’s hope a new set of formats will inspire developers to take the series to new heights.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit will be released later this year. Enjoy the screenshots below.

Ripten Talks Total Extreme Wrestling With Grey Dog Software’s Adam Ryland

Adam Montgomery — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:52:17 +0000

The “reality” of professional wrestling is as shunned as it is guarded. Adam Ryland, Grey Dog Software designer, however, cracks this world open with a new update to his deep simulation, Total Extreme Wrestling, where fans are given the chance to tinker, crafting the industry into their own vision.

And they do it for hours; Ryland’s product’s addictive nature means many players have amassed days of gameplay, perhaps weeks, in the year-and-a-bit stretch since the last entry in the series.

It’s not surprising, then, that fans erupted with the announcement of TEW 2008.

The game’s community, which the designer keeps so close to, wants to know more. People are desperate to hear any information about the anticipated next instalment in the series.

Well, Ripten’s got it. We sat down with Adam to discuss his latest launch, and the game behind it.

Adam Montgomery: Total Extreme Wrestling 2008 was announced at the end of a series of cryptic videos on Youtube. They were reminiscent of Chris Jericho’s return videos, rife with suggestion and ambiguity. Were you involved in this?

Adam Ryland: Yes, it was my idea to experiment with viral marketing. About 50% of the clues left in the videos were created by me. The rest, and the actual video production, was handled by the game’s lead artist Steve Smith.

Adam M: Many wanted a new TEW, which was finally revealed on January 1st. What were the hints pointing to this in the video?

Adam R: There were many. The “product ID” that flash across the screen was actually “TEW08” in base-8 format.

Some of the references and phrases were taken from the game’s design document. “Neural Networks” is mentioned – the basis for one of the suggested features.

Adam M: How much work have you put into designing this sequel?

Adam R: I read through every thread in the suggestions forum, as well as going through my own notes. Then, as ideas have been expanded upon, it’ll be continuously updated until the game is completed.

Adam M: How many new ideas for the game have a base in a suggestion you read?

Adam R: That’s pretty tricky to answer. My own notes had numerous duplicates in the forum. Probably about 60-70% I read in the suggestions forum, whether I had also thought of them or not, and about a quarter were “originals.”

Adam M: Many developers don’t have such a direct relationship with their audience as you have. Do you appreciate this link?

Adam R: Well I won’t be initiating a group hug any time soon – not least because I suspect a great deal of my audience is still in school, and I think the authorities would frown upon that, but, in all seriousness, yes, I do. A fan base that doesn’t talk wouldn’t be much fun.

Adam M: Onto your MMA foray, then. It seems to have gone down well. Despite being centred on a legitimate competition, will World of Mixed Martial Arts have an impact on your new wrestling game?

Adam R: The two worlds are so deceptively far apart there are very few features that are appropriate to bring across, but there are definitely still a number of new WMMA features that can be taken to the TEW party. I think the feedback is that the speed, simplicity, and streamlining that WMMA has are a step forward.

Adam M: When factoring that this is the first of these games to be designed with Vista in mind, do you believe you can manage to improve on 2007’s performance?

Adam R: There’s a two-step answers to that.

In terms of writing specifically for Vista, there’s a limit as to how much can be done – many issues are down to things like motherboards and chipsets, which can’t be beat by code techniques. That said, WMMA is very stable on Vista, so some techniques clearly do help, and they will be ported to TEW. So, in that respect, performance will be improved.

Secondly, in terms of loading times, that’s guaranteed. That work has already been done; the times measured in this early stage are considerably fast and smoother then the last installment.

Adam M: You pre-empted queries with a “frequently asked questions” post. Inside that, you mentioned that one of your objectives was to refine. What will you be refining?

Adam R: The interface. A lot of people have mentioned that there is too much clicking. It’s not a coding task, more of a redesigning one. We’ll be relocating things and ensuring everything’s easier accessed.

Adam M: Do you feel challenged by the charge to improve upon TEW 2007?

Adam R: No: I’ve never felt challenged with coming up with new stuff for any of my projects – computer gaming or otherwise. I just seem to have one of those mindsets where I’m constantly spitting out new ideas and concepts. The only difficulty is in self-editing (separating the good ideas from the bad) and choosing what fits into each project, and choosing what needs to be left out.

Probably the hardest part of my job is knowing when to stop. When I finish a project, I already have a fair idea of what’s going to be the major features in the next one. There’s many new features I’ve added that I knew would be since prior to the last game’s release.

Adam M: Now, the Cornellverse. When we begin a new game, are we going to see something, some happening, that will shock us?

Adam R: Well, I keep things realistic in terms of time frame, as there’s only so much that can happen in a year. There’s plenty of smaller changes as characters have changed.

But, in one area, there’s a big change to the landscape.

Adam M: I’m sure people are looking forward to finding out what that is. Something people are discussing now is “auto-booking,” delegating control over shows to the computer. What’s your take on this issue?

Adam R: I’m not a big fan. Players would have to put so many restrictions on it, such as “don’t use this guy because he’s resting” or “no, he’s in a feud”.

I think a lot of people remember auto-booking with rose tinted glasses. In the past, it wasn’t detailed. In TEW, it would have to be something much more then that skeletal system, which would be a big problem to add.

Adam M: Do you plan changes to the contract system?

Adam R: The whole negotiation system is going to be re-written, so contracts will likely change as a result of that. We haven’t got far into the specifics of it yet.

Adam M: As a matter of your own opinion, what new planned feature do you believe fans will be particularly happy with?

Adam R: I’ve mentioned that not many features of WMMA are applicable to wrestling. I know one that is: the Hall of Fame. The concept will be making its TEW debut in 2008. The difference will be that it’s name “The Hall of Immortals,” and will be reserved for the very best of the best – only the legendary will get in.

Adam M: A lot of people are calling for a promotions “back catalogue” to be a feature of the game. Suggestions include the ability to pick a “Best Of…” collection or air highlight shows. Do you plan to include this?

Adam R: At the moment, no. With my Designer Hat on, while I can see why people are suggesting it, I don’t think it’s really been thought through very well – I can see it being cool the first couple of times you put together a Best Of… video, but I can also see it getting really boring, really quickly. I see it as more of a novelty item, and given how much information would need to be added to have it working correctly, I don’t see the rewards being worth the effort.

It’s a lot like the often-suggested feature of being able to pick what songs your wrestlers come out to – it’d be fun the first few times as you get a killer song for your fastest-rising star, but six months into the game are you still going to be that excited about picking songs from a list, songs you can’t even hear? A year into the game? Two years….?

Adam M: Finally, developmental. Will this change? Specifically, will you have more control over child promotions? Will you be able to birth a child promotion, or send a worker to development without requiring them to sign to a new contract?

Adam R: “Re-design it” constitutes my entire entry for it in the design document. I like how it works in 2007 – it does the job – but I don’t think the majority “got” the feature. The team will discuss it and we will come up with something more detailed in the future.

Adam M: Thank you, Adam.

Total Extreme Wrestling 2008 is set to launch June 1st 2008.

Impressions: The Club

Adam Montgomery — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:30:47 +0000

Bizarre Creations’ perspective on the action genre made The Club an intriguing inclusion on the release schedules. They lack the genre-experience for this game to be conventionally interesting; it’s a new type of product from a developer known for racing and two-dimensional retro.

Yet between Project Gotham Racing’s time-attack, perfect-run appeal and Geometry Wars’ relentless assaults, there seems to be great potential. This tour of The Club suggests positively about Bizarre’s success in realising that potential.

You play a talented killer inducted into a sick voyeurs’ service: the world’s financial elite pay to see you, the gladiator, murder in the “best” way possible. It’s a third-person rampage; the action genre stripped down to an endearing purity.
The spectators are aloof, but you have your own cheerleaders: score and multiplier. Kill, and keep killing, to live in the Club. Finish an enemy and you receive a few points. Do it again and you’re multiplier grows. If you get a long chain then you can achieve the score target –something strongly familiar, so strongly Bizarre.

Style is at the heart of this secretive Club. As the introduction runs, you are treated to glamorous, chic shots of the “stars”, with the ambiguous Secretary commanding you from his high-class office. In a natural extension, then, stylish behaviour is promoted. Here, that means shooting for the head, breaking open doors, and demonstrating marksmanship with long-distance kills. A booming commentary on your action, with the visual recoil, brings a smile. Such detail can’t bring a deeper experience, though; it can only heighten the fast-paced reward of the game.

It’s impossible to tell now if the game will be a fleeting pleasure. The developer’s greatest games have a veil of simplicity covering a wealth of tactical deviations that lead to a long-term relationship. Here, with this limited scope, such depth of gameplay is only demonstrated as a possibility, rather then an actuality.

Bizarre is playing to their strengths. It’s the same system that requires the player to become hooked into a cycle of self-improvement. By now you should know how this suits you, and you’ll already know if The Club is right for you.

Note: This analysis is based upon the demo version of The Club, as released on Xbox Live, which, while likely having a resemblance, does not fully represent the final product.

Europeans Get a Live Tour of The Club Tomorrow

Adam Montgomery — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:01:19 +0000

Tomorrow Sega will be releasing a demo of Bizzare Creation’s The Club onto Xbox Live, just for those European and Australian gamers who deserve it so much. A similar event happened for Playstation users two weeks ago.

Your free tour will be set within a depressing, dilapidated environment; “The Prison”. You embody Renwick, an NYPD detective close to the mysterious Club. Pleasingly, this preview chunk also features split-screen play.

The game’s developers take on the action genre, and should proudly boast the experience and honing gleaned from Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars. It’s already clear that the product will feature score-challenging and multiplayers – familiar markings of this creator’s brand of gameplay.

This demo suggests the 8th February European release date will be met, followed later on the 19th for those in the US. Whether disappointingly flimsy or refreshingly shallow, Xbox 360 owners can get a taste of what’s on offer in The Club very soon.

Metroid Themed Arcade Machine

Adam Montgomery — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:26:14 +0000

There’s long been a group of committed, tech-savvy people who like to produce their own custom arcade cabinets. Their latest design is an excellent Metroid themed masterwork, which cannot fail to bring forth nostalgic feelings for the gamers able to recall the era of gaming dominated by Nintendo’s NES.

The cabinet features Mother Brain housed within its MDF structure. For those inclined, you can shut off your entire knowledge of physics and pretend that the brain’s actually powering the machine. Not with good thoughts, though; she’s actually creating energy as she comes up with a series of plans to attack her captors and control the universe.

From the retro moulding to the glorious side-art, this machine is something its creator can be proud of.

Along with the bubble-topped joystick and 6 buttons, there’s a Trackball and support for NES, SNES, N64, and USB controllers. Yes, it’s got a modern heart, but the machine’s artwork ensures the machine’s got a convincing retro feel.

There’s a diary for those inspired, with all kinds of technical-discussion I can’t comprehend.

Ripten’s hats are collectively off to John Keeler, the man responsible for the machine.

XBLA Review: Sensible Soccer

Adam Montgomery — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:34:32 +0000

It’s the elegant, immediate control system of Sensible Soccer that makes it so enduring and influential. To play soccer, you need to kick, so give them a “kick” button. Oh, and we should let them run too. Finished.

Simple, and yet so effective, it makes you question the supposed “evolution” seen in gaming over the past 15 years. It makes you question shiny graphics, dynamic audio, cinematic sequences, and voice acting. It makes you wonder why so much has been added.

Everything you have seen in every football game since Sensible World of Soccer, the series’ pinnacle, is found within that classic’s code. It is possible within its game-space and a testament to the design genius of Sensible Software.

Aftertouch, that hallowed gameplay element most recently seen in Heavenly Sword, allows you to direct the ball onto the most fantastic flight-paths – up, down, and around the opposition with the minimum of intuitive input.

New players will be taken aback by the game’s pace, but will quickly overcome their initial troubles and grasp the game’s tactical underlay. Know your team (who’s talented enough to run with the ball and who kicks like a horse) and you can dart the ball to those able to make a difference.

Before matches, you can bring in, push out, and swap players. Your decisions’ clear impact on play is hugely satisfying when it’s successful, although rather heartbreaking when not. The football league’s structure, in whichever country you elect to play in, is perfect for videogames – the mix of immediate and long-term reward found in the points and ranking promotes a prolonged relationship between you and the game.

A faithfully styled graphical update is the great success of what’s otherwise a rather lazy port. Online play is functional but disappointing, often featuring lag and vulnerable to those quit-early undesirables of online gaming. The ranking system also favours those with the most time to play, ahead of those most talented.

The port’s the problem, though – it’s impossible to harshly criticise what’s a true gaming classic. Even if Kuju Entertainment struggles to pay homage, Sensible Software’s work remains design genius.

It’s my belief that Sensible World of Soccer is one of the most important games of all time. Playing it again today demonstrates that it’s one of the finest, too.

Pre-Christmas Price Cut for 360 Steering Wheel; Festive 360 Bundles Too

Adam Montgomery — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 21:48:59 +0000

Microsoft has dropped the price of its popular racing wheel by $30, hoping to target Christmas shoppers sporting a new $99 price-tag.

The wheel features force-feedback and is compatible with the format’s top racing games, including the recent PGR4, but shines when used with the excellent Forza 2 – with this tandem of peripheral and game creating the experience of a true driving simulation.

A potential trap for Holiday buyers is an Xbox 360 bundle including two games; Forza Motorsport 2 (why not get a wheel too?) and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. You’re looking at $349.99 for the standard Xbox 360 and these games, whilst an Elite system takes the price up to $449.99.

Being Christmas, now is the time to sell consoles, and Microsoft are doing all they can to get their share of the shopper’s cash this year.

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