RipTen Videogame Blog » Starcraft 2

Geeked Out: LEGO StarCraft II Hyperion Battlecruiser

Drake Hess — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:39:12 +0000

Are you big into StarCraft 2? I’m talking about tedious LEGO upon LEGO stacking big? Well, even if you aren’t, you can still appreciate the fine work of this SC2 LEGO enthusiast. See the rest of the images up close and personal at Sven Junga’s photostream.

Source: Brothers-Brick (via: Geeks Are Sexy)

Hungry for more hand-made swag? Take a leisurely stroll through our Geeked Out collection.

Buy 2 Get 1 Free Game from Amazon

Dave Ernst — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:02:31 +0000

Through Saturday, November 6th, you can purchase three games for the price of two via Amazon.com. Unfortunately, you can’t pick just any game but the list is quite extensive. There’ s plenty of good stuff to choose from, including new releases.

Here’s a quick list of some notable titles:

PS3:

Xbox 360:

Wii:

Remember, these aren’t the only games you can choose from. Check out this list to see the complete set of games available

Blizzard Suing Starcraft II Hackers

Garrett Hartman — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 12:13:43 +0000

Blizzard started the month of October by banning 5000 cheaters in Starcraft II. Out to show they mean business, the developer is now going after the hackers who created the cheats and taking them to court.

Last week Blizzard filed suit in the Los Angeles US District Court against 3 suspected programmers:

“Just days after the release of Starcraft II, Defendants already had developed, marketed, and distributed to the public a variety of hacks and cheats designed to modify (and in fact destroy) the Starcraft II online game experience. In fact, on the very day that Starcraft II was released, representatives of the hacks Web site advised members of the public that ‘our staff is already planning new releases for this game.’”

The three accused go by the ID’s of “Permaphrost,” “Cranix,” and “Linuxawesome” have been accused of “multiple counts of copyright infringement”. Blizzard is seeking more than just damamges and want a cut of profits the hackers made.

They are further accused of encouraging other to enfringe on Blizzard’s copyright:

“When users of the Hacks download, install, and use the Hacks, they copy StarCraft II copyrighted content into their computer’s RAM in excess of the scope of their limited license, as set forth in the EULA and ToU, and create derivative works of StarCraft II.”

While the hackers reside in othe countries (2 Canadians and 1 Peruvian) the case is set to be heard in a Los Angeles US District Courtroom. While some question what jurisdiction the court has over the accused, Starcraft II’s end-user license agreement specifies Los Angeles as the locale to settle disputes.

Source: Gamespot

StarCraft 2 The Most Pirated Game of 2010 So Far

Sam Naylor — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:04:11 +0000

According to statistics collected and analyzed by the popular torrent blog TorrentFreak, StarCraft 2 is the most pirated game of 2010 so far, with over 260,000 copies downloaded illegally.

The data shows that close to 100,000 copies were downloaded via BitTorrent on the first day alone, which is an astonishing number of pirates all in one place. The data also points out that “50,000 people [are] actively sharing the game” at the time of writing. 2009′s piracy champion was Modern Warfare 2, with a staggering 4.1 million illegal downloads.

Although BitTorrent appears to be a bit of a thorn in Blizzard’s side, they aren’t afraid of using it to their advantage, either. Blizzard have used a ‘BitTorrent-based distribution client’ to distribute StarCraft 2 to legitimate users, bringing them fast speeds as well as reduced server load on their part. It just goes to show that the system of torrenting is not an inherently bad one- it’s just made a bad name for itself.

StarCraft II is Biggest PC Game Launch of the Year, Fastest-Selling RTS of All Time

Dylan Duarte — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 22:21:45 +0000

Blizzard announced today that StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty sold more than 1 million units its first day of release, making it the bestselling PC game of 2010 in just 24 hours. In 48 hours, it had sold 1.5 million copies, making it the fastest-selling strategy game of all time.

“We launched StarCraft II in 11 different languages and on 5 different continents because we wanted to make sure as many players as possible were able to log on and play on day one,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re pleased that so many people around the world have already picked up a copy of the game, and we look forward to welcoming even more players to Battle.net in the weeks and months ahead.”

So here’s a lesson to game developers everywhere: if you want a game to be successful, release it’s predecessor 12 years in advance.

Ripten Review: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Ripten Staff — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:54:55 +0000

The year was 1998 and Blizzard was releasing its hotly anticipated newest Real Time Strategy, StarCraft. They knew it was a great game and they knew it was going to be huge, but I doubt they ever really anticipated the effect the game would have on the industry. How many games consistently made it on the December sales list multiple years in a row? Game life is measured in weeks and if you’re lucky, months. Not for StarCraft, a professional sport and a game still going strong a decade past its release. Now, 12 years after the release of the original we finally get the sequel to the story that many of us desperately wanted. But let’s get to the point, is it worth the money? Simply – Yes.

The same… and yet so very different.

Blizzard understands that the franchise is an exceptionally strong one with a massive passionate fan base. Drastically altering the game play would be detrimental and so they’ve elected to keep things very similar to the original game. A side by side screenshot makes it very clear that not only are both games very similar but that the art has been drastically updated – so much has changed and improved in 12 years!

The original and the updated. They may be called “stalkers” now, but they’ll always be goons to me.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer has always remained my haven, my home, the place I spent 5 glorious years of my life. However I’m the oddity – I went to tournaments, played at massive LANs at a friend’s house, and minored in StarCraft at my college (though my college still is unaware that I had a minor). Multiplayer is still the same glorious game that it was back then with some changes, but I’m glad to see that the major components to the game are still fully intact. The balance will be an ongoing process as it is with every Blizzard game, but hopefully we’ll see some changes in the future. Why? Because people still only create Ultralisks as a way of telling the other player just how much they suck (the ultimate put down). And sadly templars have a beautiful ability that is easy to avoid and can’t attach to a unit, so combined with their slow movement… well, they’re simply not useful. I’m not suggesting that we return to “Warcraft 3 v1.3: Caster Domination”, but they could use a little help. Macromanagement on the field seems worth much more than micromanagement at the moment!

Updated with less phallic symbols

Looks the same and yet so much cooler.

Even more disgusting than the original but I can’t take my eyes off of it.

Single Player

Before I start this section I will simply be frank with you: I never finished StarCraft or StarCraft: Brood Wars Single Player Campaign. Yes. I played the game for over *5* years straight and failed to finish the campaign. The whole “playing with friends” and “mercilessly destroying the dreams of my opponents” was too much of a draw for me to settle down and just play the single player. However, the single player in StarCraft 2 looks much too interesting for me to skip with upgrades, achievements, gorgeous cinematics (covered below), and interesting mission design.

However, I do think it’s a bit odd that you have to log into StarCraft to play the Single Player Campaign. I do understand that it’s about piracy and other odds and ends, but in the end I’ve known more people who chose to play Starcraft because they played their friend’s game on LAN and loved it (more on LAN below). Oh, and one final thing – if you’re expecting the single player to teach you to play online, I’d suggest instead trial by fire instead. Learn a cookie cutter build and practice against the A.I. first if you must, but really the most you’ll learn is from playing other people and just watching replays! The single player has many units that are not available in multiplayer and the upgrading system won’t help you in multiplayer.

The concept art is absolutely stunning.

Cine… wow

As always, the cinematic team has completely outdone themselves and created absolutely gorgeous movies. The team has obviously grown in size and ability. The number of cinematics in this game is easily three to four times as many as any previous game and they are absolutely stunning. Don’t take my word for it though – the picture speaks for itself. And if the picture isn’t enough, the thing I love the most is that my friends can message me during a cinematic and it actually shows!

The picture is worth many words, but only one comes out. “Wow” *falls over from forgetting to breathe*

Critters Go Pop

Even though Blizzard has been acquired by Activision it’s nice to know that their quality and pride in their games has not diminished. It may seem small and minor, but it’s those final touches that really make a game special and memorable long beyond other games have come and gone. And I smiled, giggled, and otherwise was thoroughly excited when I clicked on the Lyote multiple times until he exploded. Ah, some things haven’t, and shouldn’t, change.

Exploding things is still fun. This will never get old.

Sound

The sound is what you would expect of a high class game, but I admit most of the time I don’t listen to it because I’m caught up in the amazing game play. It’s wonderful in that you can listen to it for hours and it doesn’t detract at any point from the game play and yet offers very important cues to alert the player to major events. In Single Player I spend more time listening to the music and it brings back memories and is quickly working on making more (especially music in the hub – I laughed a lot at the country twangs). My favorite game music still goes to Act 5 City Music for Diablo 2 because the sweeping orchestral was the absolute best I’ve ever heard (I’d load the game and sit in the city just to listen to it), but Starcraft’s songs are perfect for the genre and game.

Watching this in action as the tentacle goes through all the holes in the ground is disgusting. Then there’s the “squishing” sound that accompanies it…”

No LAN Support!!

This is a big negative about the game. Gone are the days of 20 people in a single house, wired to a network, playing StarCraft and killing each other while actually smack talking face to face in a friendly manner. I understand the issues of piracy and other problems, but I’m hoping they will reconsider their position on LAN in the upcoming expansions. Though I admit there is one thing I won’t miss from LAN parties – a bunch of drunk guys sleeping together on the floor and having one snuggle you in his sleep. Ew.

No Chat Rooms

I miss hanging out with my old friends in StarCraft and had looked forward to possibly chilling out with them in Starcraft 2. Unfortunately, since I fell out of touch with them and I don’t know their RealID, there’s no good way for me to actually talk to them! Without that level of personal interaction and guild building that the original had, the social aspect of the game is much lower than I had anticipated. So in the meantime if those guys from PGL 4 are around (such as Jolly, Kain, Montaro, Grrrr…, and many others), well, I miss you! I still remember Olive Garden in NYC during the Battletop Competition and that restaurant trip during PGL4.

Conclusion

As expected, Blizzard has done a wonderful job creating a gorgeous game that will be enjoyed by millions for years to come. For Real Time Strategy lovers like myself who enjoy a vast array of strategy and tactics, this is the next major era for us! Now enough of this article, I’m off to play some StarCraft. I hope you’ll join me!

Daily Deal: StarCraft 2 Wings of Liberty Deals

Brandon Fenty — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:06:31 +0000

I’m always on the lookout for a good deal on a great game, which is probably why I never have any money. When I find a great deal, I pass it on to you guys.

Today’s deal is actually several deals, all for StarCraft 2. There are lots of places to buy it, and a few are offering extra money off or some other incentive. Here we’ve got a compilation of all those deals, so you can compare and figure out which one is best for you. There’s a lot of pre-order options that you can still take advantage of, so take advantage of them!

Amazon has the game available for $59.99 w/ release day shipping or free super saver shipping.

No taxes in most states saves you around $5 (varies).

Release day shipping is only $5.98 or free for Amazon Prime members (free 1 month trial available).

Steps:

Click here: Amazon – Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Buy.com is currently offering StarCraft II for $58.99 with free shipping.

No taxes in most states saves you around $5 (varies).

Steps:

Click here: Buy.com – StarCraft II

BestBuy is offering StarCraft II for retail at $59.99 (regular edition) and $99.99 (collector’s edition).

If pre-ordered, you will receive a bonus 500 Reward Zone points.

Order online, and select In-store pickup to get the game on release day.

Steps:

Click here:

BestBuy.com – StarCraft II

Select ‘In-Store Pickup’

Midnight Store Openings:

Don’t miss a minute of this intergalactic sequal. Find out if there’s a Best Buy store opening at midnight in your area.

Check it out: BestBuy.com Midnight Openings

Reserve StarCraft II (Regular or Collector’s Edition at Gamestop.com and choose:

Free In-store pickup
- or
Free 3 Day shipping

Also, they are offering this title w/ their overnight street date guarantee option as well:

Pre-order StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty by July 26 at 11am CST with overnight shipping and get guaranteed delivery on the street date of July 27! If your product does not arrive on the street date, we will fully refund your shipping charge.

Available online and in-store while supplies lasts.

Steps:

Click here: Gamestop – StarCraft II
Select ‘in store pickup’ to guarantee it on release day

Midnight Openings:

Gamestop is having Midnight Launch Events for StarCraft II!

Check out the list of locations: Gamestop Midnight Openings List

Starting Tuesday, July 27th (release day) Kmart is offering StarCraft II for $59.99 w/ a free $20 credit.

This is in-store only promotion, and will likely sell out come Tuesday…

Walmart.com is offering StarCraft II for retail at $59.99 (regular edition) and $99.99 (collector’s edition).

$0.97 Shipping to home as well…

Steps:

Check it out: Walmart – StarCraft II

Midnight Openings:

Walmart is having Midnight Launch Events for StarCraft II!

Check out the list of locations: Walmart Midnight Openings List

Got any other great deals? Post them in the comments below.

Blizzard Revises Real ID And Posts a New FAQ

Brandon Fenty — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:12:20 +0000

Blizzard has been in a lot if hot water ever since they started on RealID. Many gamers opposed the idea instantly. Online games such as World of Warcraft offer players a certain amount of anonymity, and they are wary of giving that up.

The system allows friends on battle.net to see each others real names, as well as friends of friends. The biggest issue is with the friends of friends, as many players aren’t comfortable with people they don’t know to be able to see more than a username. The new FAQ reads;

“The in-game Real ID ‘friends of friends’ list is designed to give players a convenient way to populate their Real ID friends list with other players they know and trust in real life, allowing them to quickly and easily send Real ID friend requests to these people without having to enter their Battle.net account names”

If you ask me this really isn’t a bad idea… but Blizzard is also offering an opt-out solution for those who aren’t too keen.

“We recognize that some players would prefer not to be displayed on friends lists in this fashion, so we plan to include an option that will allow players to opt out of appearing on their Real ID friends’ ‘friends of friends’ lists.”

If you’re looking for more info on RealID then make sure to check out the full Frequently Ask Questions from Blizzard.

Download StarCraft II Right Now For Free!! And Then Buy It Later and Unlock It.

Dylan Duarte — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:12:26 +0000

Those who plan on purchasing Blizzard’s upcoming RTS sequel will be happy to know that the game can be downloaded right now, free of charge, and then paid for and unlocked on the day of release.

I imagine that downloading the game on the actual release date will be more like a Zerg crawl than a Zerg rush (fun Starcraft joke!), so if you plan to purchase the game digitally, it’s definitely something you should do sooner rather than later.

If you choose to download the game this way, keep in mind that it will unlock on July 27th at 10:00 AM PDT, which is when digital copies of the game go on sale. Why they don’t go on sale at midnight, I do not know, but if those first 10 hours of the day are too long for you to wait, you may want to line up a boxed copy.

StarCraft II Getting 3D Support in Patch Post-Release

Dylan Duarte — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:42:53 +0000

According to Chris Sigaty, StarCraft II production director, Blizzard will patch 3D support, among other features, into the game once it’s released on July 27th.

“We will be releasing 3D in the first few months, for those Nvidia cards and screens that support it. We’re optimizing for all systems.”

Like so many others, I’m not too excited about 3D gaming (3DS is the exception), and I think that 3D in an RTS is even more pointless. I can understand the appeal in something like Killzone 3, but I see no aesthetic advantage to my StarCraft units popping off the screen. Granted, it’s optional, so I realize that nobody is forcing an extra dimension down my throat. Still, I don’t like how much focus 3D is getting.

On the other hand, it will make for the most intense Zerg rush yet.

(VG247)

Ripten’s Starcraft II Beta Key Giveaway!!

Dave Oshry — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:38:54 +0000

Are you the only Blizzard fanboy left on your block without a SC II Beta Key!? Well, NOT ANYMORE!! Ripten.com is giving away it’s VERY LAST Starcraft II beta key to one lucky gamer so they can finally get in on some of the action. “How do I win?” you ask? GOOD QUESTION!!

Here’s the deal . . . Whoever submits the best SCREENSHOT from a BLIZZARD GAME will be given the beta key.

This includes, but is not limited to:

Warcraft

Warcraft II

Warcraft III

World of Warcraft

(Fear my Army of Swine)

Starcraft

Diablo

Diablo II

I’ll even accept screens from The Lost Vikings and Rock n’ Roll Racing!! (seriously)

Send all screenshots along with a preferred e-mail address to me (Dave) at CrzyFooL@Live.com by MONDAY, MAY 3rd.

I will announce the winner and post the winning shot on TUESDAY, MAY 4th!!

GOOD LUCK!!

Update: Keep em comin’ guys, I’m getting a good laugh outta these screens you’re sending.

Also, if your picture isn’t obviously epic in some way, you may want to give me a little explanation as to why it’s so awesome.

Starcraft II Collector’s Edition Announced, Cool Stuff Included

Dave Oshry — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:31:45 +0000

Blizzard has announced the collector’s edition of their supremely anticipated (currently in beta) game, StarCraft II. This edition will come with an art book, dog tag shaped flash drive, behind the scenes DVD, soundtrack CD, comic book, and of course, an in-game WoW vanity pet.

It can all be yours for just $99.99!! Here’s how to order!! (just kidding, you can’t order it yet nerds.)

For more details, check out the full press release below.

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that its highly anticipated real-time strategy game, StarCraft^®II: Wings of Liberty^™, will be available both in a standard edition and in a limited-release Collector’s Edition packed with exclusive bonus materials. Players who purchase either edition will be able to play online for no additional fee through the new version of Battle.net^®, the premier online gaming destination for Blizzard Entertainment gamers.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows^® XP/Windows Vista^®/Windows^® 7 and Macintosh^®. The standard edition will sell for a suggested retail price of $59.99 and will also be available shortly after release as a download through the online Blizzard Store. The special Collector’s Edition package, which is priced at $99.99 and will only be available at retail stores, will include the following bonus items in addition to the game disc:

The Art of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, a 176-page book featuring artwork from the game

An exclusive 2GB USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor’s dog tag, which comes preloaded with the original StarCraft and the StarCraft: Brood War^® expansion set

A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, cinematics with director’s commentary, and more

The official StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty soundtrack CD, containing 14 epic tracks from the game along with exclusive bonus tracks

StarCraft comic book issue #0, a prequel to the comic series

A World of Warcraft^® mini Thor in-game pet that can be applied to all World of Warcraft characters on a single Battle.net account

Exclusive Battle.net downloadable content, including special portraits for your Battle.net profile, decals to customize your units in-game, and a visually unique version of the terran Thor unit

“We’ve been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe with our players for over 10 years, and we wanted to offer an epic collector’s edition that commemorated the occasion,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “This special version of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty — easily our biggest collector’s edition to date — does just that, and we think StarCraft II gamers will really enjoy all of the exclusive contents.”StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the sequel to Blizzard Entertainment’s 1998 hit StarCraft, which has been hailed by players and critics worldwide as one of the top real-time strategy games of all time. StarCraft II will once again center on the clash between the protoss, terrans, and zerg, with each side deploying favorite units from the original StarCraft, along with numerous upgraded and brand-new units and abilities that allow for fresh tactics and strategies. The game’s new 3D-graphics engine maintains the speed and responsive control of its predecessor while rendering hundreds of units onscreen for massive battles.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty’s solo campaign will continue the epic saga where it left off in StarCraft: Brood War. The storyline chronicles the exploits of marshal-turned-rebel-leader Jim Raynor and features both familiar faces and new heroes. Players will be able to tailor the experience, choosing their own mission path and selecting technology and research upgrades to suit their playing style throughout the 29-mission campaign.

Several challenge-mode mini-games will also be included, with focused goals designed to ease players into the basics of multiplayer strategies. In addition, dozens of multiplayer maps will be available for competitive play through the new version of Battle.net, which is launching alongside StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. This new version of the service has been built from the ground up to offer an unparalleled online play experience, with new features such as voice communication, character profiles and achievements, stat-tracking, ladders and leagues, cloud file storage, and more.

Additional information about StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, including the release date, will be announced in the coming weeks.

BlizzCon 08: StarCraft II Three Games For You, Plus Hands-On Impressions

Chad Lakkis — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:34:39 +0000

Word from BlizzCon 08 is that the new StarCraft II single player game is being split into three separate campaigns. According to Blizzard, the game was becoming so large that they felt it would be best to split it into three separate products — each with their own respective ending.

Each of the products is listed out below followed up by its focus.

Wings of Liberty: Terrans
Heart of the Swarm: Zerg
Legacy of the Void: Protoss

I am guessing that your jaw is somewhere near your feet right now. Those who played the original StarCraft who that it too contained three seperate campaigns, however they were all enclosed in one pretty little box.

To some, it may seem that the merger of Activision and Blizzard is already seeking out new ways to make even more money, but it may make sense to reserve a little more judgement until the final products are released.

The news regarding the game doesn’t end there, as our own Donne Ingalls just finished spending some quality time with the build on hand. His comments can be found below:

I was unimpressed with the sinlge player gameplay of Starcraft II. It seems very slow at this point, and I found myself constantly waiting around for my drones to gather resources.

I was also able to play a multi-player match against another writer, during which he grabbed Terran and I took on the role of Protoss. The result — I destroyed him with little effort.

As in Starcraft 1, little has changed as far as tactics. As Protoss, I built four Carriers, waltzed into his base, and proceeded to watch the carnage unfold.

In terms of pure aesthetics, the game does look much better, and I must add that the game is still in its early states of development in terms of balance between factions.

There is little doubt in my mind that once complete, StarCraft II will eventually corner the Strategy RPG market.

Afterthought: What say you? Are you impressed or taken back by what you have been hearing?

Hands-On Previews From PAX 08

Wade Larson — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:12:31 +0000

PAX is all about games, and the massive show floor had plenty of them on display. Here are the impressions from the show floor demos. Keep in mind, many of these are at different stages of production, so things could change. Read on for impressions of Starcraft 2, Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead, Resistance: Retribution, and more.

StarCraft II

The long awaited sequel to arguably the best real time strategy game ever was open for public testing in Blizzard’s booth. The lines were long for a chance to get 15 minutes with the game, but well worth it. Everything about the original has been built upon and improved. The graphics look perfect and the controls are familiar. Everything has been improved, often with subtle changes that leave an impact as big as a siege tank barrage.

The Zerg look organic and slimy, in a very Aliens sort of way (the creep actually glistens menacingly) the Protoss fields are shiny, with powerful units brimming with lasers and teleportation, and the Terrans have upped their arsenal with big guns and good ol’ fashioned attitude. The game feels faster as well. Maybe I haven’t played the original recently, but it felt like I was able to advance the tech tree much faster than I remember, and by the end of my 15 minutes I had battle cruisers and a Thor (walking death!) up and running.

The game is familiar enough that I was able to use hotkeys right off the bat. It’s everything you’d expect from a Blizzard sequel, and no heroes in sight. It’s going to be a difficult wait for this one, but after 10 years, what’s another couple of months?

Left 4 Dead

Zombies, zombies zombies. Gotta love it. Its easy to see why people were waiting upwards of 90 minutes just for a few precious moments with the game. Left 4 Dead is basically Counter Strike meets 28 Days later, as swarms of angry zombies come screeching out of dark corners to bash the characters to death. Shotgun usage is mandatory, and cooperation is imperative, as any member of the four-person team who wanders off will die a swift death, and players can revive fallen teammates. At one point, our team set off a car alarm, and “alerted the swarm.” Within seconds, half my team was dead, and I was desperately trying to fight off a dozen infected and raise my one remaining team mate. I did manage to get him up, but we were both so low on health that we died moments later.

Taking sufficient damage doesn’t kill you right away– your character gets knocked down and you can continue to shoot with your hand gun, similar to the CoD4 last stand perk, except that a teammate can pull you back up. Unfortunately, if you and your teammate are both down, it’s only a matter of time. Even if there are no zombies around, you cannot heal yourself from the prone position, as I found out.

This one is destined for greatness, and when it hits shelves, the hungry moans from the hordes of gamers banging on the doors of their local game store will be heard throughout the land.

You can also read our E3 preview here.

Darksiders

Darksiders starts with a promising idea: As the fourth horseman of the apocalypse, War, you are out to kill things, a la God of War. Throw some Zelda elements of puzzle solving and item collecting in and you should have a nicely blended game stew. However, the demo failed to impress. The camera was buggy, the level (and puzzles) felt like a cheap copy of a Zelda dungeon, and the combat was bland. THQ better inject some serious badassery into this game before it releases, or it’s going to be just another clone.

Gears of War II Multiplayer

New executions and easier chainsaw usage were on display with the Gears of War II multiplayer demo, and they looked slick (and violent). The other thing I learned while playing the demo? I suck at it. Other than that, it feels the same as the first.

Red Faction: Guerrilla

Taking destructible environments to new heights (or razing them to new lows), Red Faction: Guerrilla was a surprise hit. Using a space sledge hammer to destroy anything standing (including opponents’ skulls) was fun, but dropping an entire building on a camping sniper should prove to be even more satisfying in the final build. Throw in 10 different back packs (five were available in the demo) which can make you fly like the rocketman or beef up your damage output, amongst other things, and you’ve got a recipe for an intriguing new multiplayer. The graphics were nothing special, but I have a feeling the map is going to look like a pile of rubble at the end of the match anyway.

Check out our in-depth PAX 08 preview here.

Ecocism

A fun little game from a pair of guys who’ve done all the work themselves. You speed around in a hovercraft planting trees and gun turrets while shooting giant metal spiders. It’s still in development, but the early build showed some definite potential. Look for this one on the Xbox Live Arcade in the future.

Legendary

Taking on mythical beasts unleashed by Pandora’s box in the streets of New York city sounds like more fun than another first-person shooter full of Nazis. After all, variety is the spice of life. However, the demo was only “decent,” despite plenty of action going on during the hectic first moments of the game.

Legendary also felt way too linear. At one point I stood in the street and waited for something to happen and move some cars so I could move to the next part of the level –which ended up being a series of cleverly disguised corridors. The gun play was nothing remarkable, and I found that using a fire axe was much more effective than wielding a pistol.

In addition to taking on Gryphons and little fire dragons, a private military force made an appearance just in time for target practice with a machine gun. Despite the cool concept, the game felt underwhelming.

Resistance: Retribution

A Resistance title for the PSP, set as a side story to Nathan Hale and the first Resistance, the Retribution demo takes place in a Chimera Conversion factory as a human resistance fighter and sabotage expert makes his way deep into enemy territory. The graphics were sharp, but combat was a bit unwieldy. The use of auto targeting and auto cover (just stand behind anything short enough and the character automatically ducks down) made things a bit easier, but it was tough to move and aim simultaneously.