Fairytale Fights Updated Hands-On

t’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry with Fairytale Fights. Aren’t these the same characters that coloured your childhood imagination and helped you sleep at night? Yes. So why are they hacking each other’s heads off with bloody implements? We don’t know. What we do know is that it doesn’t take long to start enjoying Fairytale Fights--it appeals to that blood-and-gore-loving side of us that rejoices in the disintegration of human values. We recently had a chance to play through the first three chapters of the game on the PlayStation 3 to try to understand why on earth Snow White enjoys being a sadomasochist.

Don't be fooled by the cute, colorful characters. Bad things happen here.

The story element in Fairytale Fights was covered in our last preview--the gist of it is that a giant has stolen a bunch of very important fairytale books from our well-known fairytale characters, and as a result, everyone has forgotten who they are. Bent on setting the record straight, Little Red Riding Hood, Beanstalk Jack, the Naked Emperor, and Snow White patrol the kingdom searching for tales, completing quests, and spilling as much blood as their tiny hands will allow.

Once the game loads up, you’ll be able to pick which of the four characters you want to play, but be warned: they don’t speak. Instead, Playlogic has gone for that rather endearing method of expression where the characters give little sighs here and there (high-pitched to indicate joy, low-pitched to indicate peril). However, there are screams aplenty.

The opening chapter of the game had us learning the controls while walking through the woods in search of a magic-porridge-producing kettle that once belonged to Goldilocks and her three bears. Since this game is part platformer, there isn’t much room for exploration: you can go straight, up, and down, which proves a little disappointing given that the surroundings are so brightly coloured and inviting--the whole world looks like it has been built out of colourful plasticine, and it’s a shame you can’t explore all of it.

After a few encounters with the magic mirror from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs--who gives you tips and updates your objectives--we were finally able to jump into our first fight. Fairytale Fights has put its own spin on hack-and-slash with something that Playlogic is calling "picture in picture salami-slicing." While that sounds like something you’d find in a butcher’s shop, in the game it’s really just a screen that pops up and that zooms in on the action below so you can get a better view of your character doing very bad things to other characters during a fight. This happens only when you’re doing particularly well in a fight, which seems pretty easy to do given the control scheme. All you have to do is move the right thumbstick from side to side, and your character will go into a hacking and slashing frenzy. You can use L2 to block, but that seems rather counterproductive, when the objective is really to kill everything that moves and you have unlimited lives (at least we did in our demo).

This is "salami-slicing" in action--carve up your enemies in style!

Of course, fighting is even better when your character is armed with a weapon--there are more than 100 weapons lying around the place or stored in treasure chests throughout the game. Their nature is a testament to the game’s dry humour: blunderbuss, axe, carrot, branch, bird’s nest, chicken drumstick, fishing rod, swordfish, wizard’s staff, and so on. Anything you can pick up and use as a weapon will have a faint glow around it; you simply use R1 to pick it up. During combat you can also pull off a "glory attack" by pressing R2--this is essentially a finishing move with a meter which you can build up by performing well in combat.

But it’s not all about hack-and-slash. After a fight is over, you can skate around in the blood of your fallen enemies and earn yourself an in-game trophy appropriately titled "Wheeee." Or, if that’s not your thing (and why wouldn’t it be?), you can read the hilarious rhetoric of the magic mirror, which fancies itself a comedian with lines like “Grand Theft Kettle.” Even better are the platformer puzzle elements, which appear to be evenly balanced with the combat elements. We had a chance to see plenty of this kind of action in the next chapter, set in a land full of waterfalls and mine carts. The puzzles proved challenging: we had to make our way through a passage of rapidly dropping butchers' cleavers, rising and falling wooden bridges, and spinning razor-sharp wheels.

We noticed that the puzzles became harder as we progressed through the game, and it took us a few tries to successfully navigate through a section of falling tree trunks, slippery rocks, and a rapidly moving waterfall towards the end of the chapter. This is where we faced our first boss: a giant beaver who tried to knock our character from a wooden platform floating in the middle of a lake. The objective was to let the beaver attack the platform while avoiding his wrath and attack him when his large teeth got stuck in the wood. After a successful fight, we entered the town of Hamlin, where we came face-to-face with a new enemy--rats--which proved refreshing after two levels of lumberjacks.

Based on our time with the first three levels of Fairytale Fights, it seems that a lot of thought has gone into making this game. Everything from the look of the game to its uncomplicated yet fun gameplay, puzzle elements, and off-beat humour makes this title one to watch out for. If you agree with the magic mirror that “beating people up has never been so easy,” then stay tuned for Fairytale Fights later this month.

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Assassin's Creed II Hands-On

gfter two years in the development oven, Assassin's Creed II is finally ready to be served next month. To celebrate the game's completion, the development team from Ubisoft Montreal flew out to meet with us in Florence, which is the first city featured in the game. It was a no-holds-barred gameplay session--they let us tear through the first few hours of the game while remaining on hand to answer questions. The game is looking very impressive, with the new locations and the historically accurate setting, and the hours flew by as we played. But, before we begin our preview, here's a substantial SPOILER ALERT: This preview contains some major plot reveals from the beginning of the game.

Lucy prepares Desmond for Renaissance-era Florence in the new Animus 2.0.

As has already been revealed, ACII starts out almost immediately after the first game. You take control of Desmond moments after Assassin's Creed ends, and he's lying in his room when Lucy enters in a panic, covered in blood. She has just minutes to get Desmond onto the Animus, the machine that can visualise his genetic memories. This time, though, instead of heading back to the Third Crusade, he wakes up in Renaissance-era Italy. He is literally born as the new character Ezio Auditore, at which point you have to use the face buttons to kick your feet and shake your hands. Just as your father enters the room to meet his new son, Lucy is interrupted and you both have to escape from the lab.

After running to a nearby warehouse, you meet the new team that Lucy has been working with, who are armed with the new Animus 2.0. She introduces you to Shaun Hastings, the spitting image of actor Danny Wallace, and a brand new Animus machine. Using intel that Lucy has stolen, the team uses the new Animus on Desmond to explore more of Ezio's life, so you jump in the machine to rejoin Ezio as a young adult.

The first proper action sequence is apparently an homage to Scorsese's Gangs of New York. Ezio and his friends get into a fight with a rival family, allowing you to get to grips with the combat mechanics in the game. In the Xbox 360 version we played, you can strike with X and grab with B, which allows you to string basic combos together. You can combine the two to hold enemies while punching, kneeing, or head-butting them, or you can just throw them over a nearby bridge or into other enemies. You can also block, and counter incoming attacks with some brutal combos.

With our adversaries dispatched, our brother arrived to find that we had taken a bit of a beating. He instructed us to raid the bodies for cash so that we could pay a doctor. By going over the bodies and holding B, you can rob people for cash, which is important as money plays a big part in the game. You follow your brother to the doctor, who will heal you completely for 50 Fiorinis. However, he'll also sell you healing vials for a premium of 75F, meaning that you don't have to find a doctor if you're in the middle of a battle.

Once we were healed, the next hour of the game was spent getting to know the family. Your brother challenges you to a rooftop race, your sister asks you to beat up her cheating lover, and your father gets you to deliver important letters. In between, you also perform more perfunctory tasks, such as collecting feathers from the rooftops, which will act as the new hidden collectibles in the game, and visiting your girlfriend, where you press buttons in order to kiss her and undress her.

These introductory missions merely act as tutorials for the fighting and exploring in the game. The real thrust of the story is the framing of your family for treason, which results in your father and brothers being taken away to prison. Once you learn of this, you climb to the top of the Palazzo della Signoria (do a Google image search for this incredibly impressive building) to consult with your father. He instructs you to deliver evidence of your family's innocence to a judge called Uberto. However, the next day, you witness Uberto's betrayal as he leads the public execution of your family, and you see firsthand the horrifying sight of your brothers and father hung to die.

It's not long before you're donning the familiar assassin's outfit and running across rooftops.

Thankfully, by this point you've picked up your father's assassin equipment--the familiar hooded cape, his armour, and his trusty sword. It's not enough to cope with the huge guards that chase you after the execution, but it's enough to give you some protection from regular enemies, who are stronger than the street thugs from before. Combat looks to be a big part of ACII, but there's always the option of running and hiding, as there was before.

At this point, producer Sebastien Puel jumped a little further into the story to show us the fist "dungeon" area from the game. These dungeons will be optional side quests, but they will extend the life of the game considerably, making this a much larger experience than the first Assassin's Creed. These areas are made up of complex physical exercises--the sorts of things you might see in Uncharted or Tomb Raider--where you have to explore the environment and occasionally beat up a guard. In the first secret dungeon, which is the only one in the game that's compulsory, you make your way down to a sarcophagus and find out Uberto's secret plans to assassinate other prominent Italian families.

Jumping forward through the game again, Sebastien Puel showed off another important feature--your villa. This will act as your home space, but it will grow out to be a home for many other people as you progress. Basically, you can build shops, churches, and even brothels, which will attract non-playable characters who will in turn pay a tax to stay there. This will encourage you to improve the area over time, which will increase your income--proving the old business adage that you need to spend money to make money.

While Ezio may be a wanted man, he still manages to run a pretty pimped-out house at the villa. He has rooms where you can install the best art, show off your weaponry and armour, and fight it out in practice arenas to unlock new special moves. This guy sure isn't modest--his bedroom is decorated with portraits of all the major people he has killed, and his immense basement is filled with statues of famous assassins through the ages. You'll be able to install plaques on each of these statues by playing the aforementioned dungeon missions, which will unlock the statue at the centre of the hall--that of Altair, the character from the original game. Your reward will be access to his armour, which is the most powerful in Assassin's Creed II.

The villa is certainly an interesting new twist to the game. You'll be able to ride your horse there if you desire, but acknowledging the complaints of excessive traveling in the first game, the developer has included travel shops around each city that will take you there for 100F--a relatively small amount of in-game currency. We particularly liked the way your family continues to play an important role--your mother is distraught by the death of your father, while your sister takes up residence in the library, where she handles the finances. The developer also explained to us about your uncle, Mario, who will introduce himself to you by saying, "It's-a-me, a-Mario!"

Our final experience was of Venice, but sadly we're prevented from reporting on most of it. The city looks stunning though, and you can steal a gondola on the huge canal--Grand Theft Ezio, as someone joked. We also got to play around with the different groups of people in the city--hiring thieves to distract enemies or stabbing an incredibly annoying guitar player using our concealed blades.

Money plays a large part in ACII, and you can loot from enemies to buy a whole variety of weapons, armour and other upgrades.

Much has been made about the new setting of ACII, and as anyone who played the first game would expect, the environments look stunning. More than 30,000 images were taken of the real buildings in Italy, many of which have made it as textures in the finished game. The buildings are also much bigger than before, such as the Duomo in Florence, and many of the characters actually existed in the time the game is set. No attempt has been made to hide the seedier side of 15th-century life, either. Characters swear at each other and use extremely crass terminology, and you can hire prostitutes to distract enemies if you so desire.

Assassin's Creed II is set for release on November 20 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and in 2010 on the PC. We'll have a full review for you in the coming weeks.

LEGO Battles Review

Recent Lego video games have featured gameplay that is cutesy and kid-friendly but still solid enough to appeal to more seasoned gamers. Lego Battles tries to take this trend into the realm of real-time strategy, embracing the basic concepts on which many successful RTS games are built. Resource acquisition, building construction, unit production, and combat are the main gameplay elements here, and the game bears strong similarities to early RTS games like Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. Sticking with what works is generally a good thing, and Lego Battles does that well enough to appeal to folks who don't have much RTS experience. The downside of imitating a 15-year-old game is that Lego Battles lacks the sophistication to appeal to a more experienced audience. The vexing pathfinding issues and slow-witted friendly AI are often frustrating, but the solid core mechanics and humorous Lego charm make the light strategy of Lego Battles fun and rewarding.

There are six different campaigns in Lego Battles, each featuring a different Lego faction. Medieval knights, skeleton warriors, pirates, an imperial navy, astronauts, and aliens each have a unique campaign that takes a couple of hours to finish, making for a robust amount of single-player content. Each faction is set against another, and these rivalries create some interesting situations. For example, at the beginning of the astronaut campaign you are tasked with capturing an alien specimen. Meanwhile, in the alien campaign, you are miffed to learn that some strange creatures have run off with your buddy, so it's off to the rescue. These mission briefings are often amusing, and there are a few cutscenes per campaign that contain the uniquely charming humor found in recent Lego adventure games.

Each campaign begins with easy missions and slowly ramps up the difficulty, and the first available campaign has an extensive tutorial that walks you through pretty much every aspect of the game. In order to construct buildings and recruit soldiers, you'll need bricks. You can earn bricks by building a mine, but not all maps have a conveniently located mine site. Given that, your main brick supply will usually come from chopping down trees and carrying the logs back to your castle or your yield-boosting lumber mill. The castle is your home base where you can replace a fallen hero and recruit builders, who are the only units that can harvest trees and build structures. There are structures that produce units (barracks, special factory, and shipyard) and fortifications that help you defend your territory (walls and towers). You won't need or be able to build all these structures on every map (bridges, for example, are rarely needed), but they will all come in handy at some point in your campaigns. Constructing a bustling brick-reaping, unit-producing settlement gives you a great feeling of progressively becoming more powerful, and you'll soon be ready to extend your influence out into the world.

Building a barracks lets you recruit a few different kinds of troops, and as you amass your army you need to build farms to feed them all. Each farm supplies four regular units (such as soldier, archer, or knight) and one special unit (such as boat, tank, or dragon), and you can have a maximum of 20 regular units and 4 special units in any given level. You can explore the map and battle enemies by selecting a maximum of nine units with the stylus, then tapping a location or enemy. While this may sound simple, your movements are complicated by the fact that your units aren't very good at navigating the map. If you tell them to cross an open landscape, they'll do fine. But if you send them around a bend, some of them will get hung up on the scenery and forget what they were doing in the first place. Narrow bridges and winding paths are even more problematic. You can tap the destination at regular intervals during your units' journey, reissuing the movement command and making sure all your units arrive, but this gets tedious and makes it aggravating to manage more than nine units at a time.

Recruiting and assembling a spaceman strike force.

Fortunately, a squad of nine units is usually sufficiently large enough to achieve your objectives, provided you manage them well. The most important combat element is your lone hero character. This unit not only has much more health than all the others, but can cast spells that can give you a significant edge in combat. You can boost your nearby allies' attack or defense strengths, or attack your enemies directly with fireballs or laser strikes, depending on your hero. Perhaps most crucial is the hero's ability to heal any friendly units in the immediate vicinity. Attacking in a tight cluster means that your hero will be constantly replenishing your army's strength and can cast area spells that benefit every unit. By attacking this way, occasionally regrouping to fully heal, then attacking again, you can get the best of all but the most staunchly defended enemy outposts.

Most of the time you can execute this strategy and reap a satisfying victory. However, your not-so-bright units also have some trouble in combat. If you tap on an enemy unit or structure while your units are selected, they will usually attack without issue. If that unit happens to be around a corner, some of your ranged units will start shooting at the enemy but not recognize that there are impenetrable trees in the way. Most enemy units are pretty small on the touch screen, and you can easily click right next to them and issue a move command instead of an attack command. Your army will run right up next to the enemy, but not necessarily begin attacking. Units who are attacked will usually fight back, but allies will often stand next to a battling teammate and twiddle their proverbial thumbs. This is merely annoying in small encounters, but it can be absolutely devastating in large assaults when you need every unit you have. Bizarrely, sometimes allies will get feisty only when you try to retreat to regroup and heal. Halfway to the destination, they will turn around and sprint back toward their assured demise. During some missions these miscues can cause you to fail outright, but even when you can rebuild and take another stab, it's still frustrating.

Captain Brickbeard heals his fleet before sending them off to harry naval transports.

Missions aren't particularly long, so even having to restart one doesn't sting too badly. Primary objectives are reasonably varied, including destroying enemy camps, rescuing allies, searching for treasure, moving your force from point A to point B, and defending against enemy onslaughts. Once you achieve victory, you can continue exploring the map for as long as you'd like in order to find all the Lego studs, minikits, and red bricks that are scattered about. Collecting these items will allow you to unlock concept art and cheats, as well as maps and characters for multiplayer matches. Lego Battles features multicard wireless matches for up to three players. Battles against humans are much more engaging, and there are a wide variety of maps, as well as three different victory conditions to choose from that favor different strategies. Players can customize their rosters from the characters they've unlocked, allowing you to field pistol-wielding pirates alongside skeletal knights. Among each class of soldier there are slight attribute differences, though the unlockable characters aren't necessarily better than the default ones. There is also a broad variety of heroes, each featuring different attributes and different spells. Tweaking your army can give you an edge in a hotly contested match, and ensures a satisfying degree of replay value.

In-game achievements add an extra goal to strive for, ensuring that you'll be reaping rewards even after you've spent hours and hours with Lego Battles. The movement and combat issues can certainly be vexing, but with some diligent stylus work you can bull your way through the frustration. And it's worth it, because the solid fundamentals make this game fun and satisfying, and the Lego silliness adds a welcome spark of humor. It's not complex enough to satisfy seasoned strategy buffs, but Lego Battles offers a lot of enjoyable action into a small package.

Hot Shots Tennis Portable Hands-On

t's easy to scoff at the Hot Shots Golf series--wild-eyed characters in silly costumes almost maniacally enjoying a round or two of golf while wearing headwear that could draw a life sentence from the fashion police. That unrelenting cheeriness has a way of winning people over--thanks in no small part to accessible gameplay and enough challenge to keep serious sports fans interested. That same formula looks to be intact in the upcoming Hot Shots Tennis Portable for the PSP, which we played today on the show floor at TGS 2009.

Located on an upper level of the PSP section of the Sony booth, Hot Shots Tennis Portable featured a single match between a male and female player. After choosing our player, we could dress him up in a couple of atrociously cute outfits--the male player had the option to wear a bumblebee costume, which makes no sense on the tennis court or anywhere else. We could also choose from a couple of different rackets available to us--it's a safe bet that, as with other Hot Shots games, you'll be able to unlock new costumes and accessories as you play.

Once on the court, we played a best-of-three match against our rival. Controls in the game are as easy as can be. Each of the face buttons is tied to a specific shot type--lob, standard, and top spin shot--and you move your player around the court with the analog stick or the D pad. What did require some practice was the timing of the swing, which requires you to press the button when the ball gets close to your player.

The timing is delicate on these shots, and following the small tennis ball on the PSP screen can be a hassle. To help you out, a horizontal line appears when the ball gets close to your player, and it scrolls down toward you, giving you a better indication of when you should swing your racket.

With the timing under our fingers, we were able to quickly dispatch of our opponent in straight sets--a good thing too, since the 10-minute time limit for PSP demos on the show floor was in full effect. It wasn't long before the pleasant and attractive Japanese helper lady politely told us to scram and our time with Hot Shots Tennis Portable was done. The game's easy controls and impressive graphics--the grass and environment textures were some of the best we've seen on the PSP--make this game tough to ignore, silly costumes and all. Look for more on Hot Shots Tennis Portable in the coming months.

Super Street Fighter IV Impressions - First Look

Now that Street Fighter IV has successfully revived the Street Fighter franchise, Capcom is looking to keep the series going with a new expansion. The new game, Super Street Fighter IV, aims to build on the foundation laid by this year's SFIV by adding new content that includes more playable characters, improved online features, and rebalanced characters. We got a demonstration of the work-in-progress Xbox 360 version from producer Yoshinori Ono and have much to report.

Before we dive in, we should explain what Super Street Fighter IV is, and more importantly, what it isn't. This is not a downloadable add-on for Street Fighter IV. You may be wondering, as we did, why Capcom didn't simply release Super Street Fighter IV's additions as downloadable content in the same way that Fallout and Grand Theft Auto IV received massive updates by way of DLC. However, Capcom has decided that the new game will come on a separate disc. Ono explained that when Street Fighter IV was originally being developed, certain aspects of the game code weren't laid out in such a way as to support the features that are being added in Super Street Fighter IV. While Capcom had initially considered making SSFIV's content a download pack of some kind, it became clear that just tacking the new content onto the old game wasn't going to be possible. As a result, SSFIV will be released as a stand-alone disc that won't be sold at full price. But, the producer explained, before you get rid of your SFIV disc, be advised that SSFIV will offer current SFIV owners a bonus that Capcom isn't revealing at this time.

T. Hawk and his mighty typhoon grapples return in Super Street Fighter IV.

This is what you can expect from the new game: Super Street Fighter IV will offer a mix of content that's directly related to the Street Fighter community's feedback about Street Fighter IV, as well as content the team had originally planned to add in a future installment after wrapping up SFIV. The topic of new characters was an area where fans and the development team were both in sync. As a result, the game's original roster of 25 characters is being bumped up by roughly eight new playable characters. Our demo showed off two of them: a brand-new, original female character named Juri; and the returning character T. Hawk, who originally debuted in Super Street Fighter II. The remaining additions to the roster are still up in the air, and Ono stated that although the team is currently planning for eight additional characters, that number may change based on the course of development, as well as fan feedback now that word on the game is out. The current plan is to pull in more classic characters, as well as toss some new ones into the mix. From the sound of it, exactly how many classic characters versus how many new characters make it in still hasn't been finalized and may change, depending on fan feedback--so it'll be interesting to see the final lineup. It's also safe to assume that there will be new background stages for the new characters as well, although we didn't see any in our demo.

As ever, T. Hawk is ready to rise to any occasion with his trusty tomahawk buster.

Based on what we did see in action, fans should be pleased. T.Hawk has undergone the same update that the classic characters did in SFIV. His 3D model is faithful to the look of his old 2D sprite, and his moves have also been carefully translated to 3D. His super and ultra combos have gotten a spectacular, special-effects-laden face-lift that make his typhoon grapples look painful (and satisfying) to see in action. But whereas T.Hawk is the same powerhouse we all know and love, Juri appears to offer an alternative for players looking for speed and finesse. Juri is a Korean fighter, a first for the series, who uses tae kwon do and relies on an extensive array of kicks that reminds us a bit of Kim Kaphwan from SNK's King of Fighters and Fatal Fury games. The amazingly flexible and sensibly dressed vixen is fast and appears to use a variation of the soul energy Bison and Rose use. In addition to the expected array of kicks, Juri uses the energy for projectiles and an enhanced radial kick that looks to be pretty handy at dealing with enemies in the ground or air. Her supers are painful to watch; one starts with her breaking her opponent's back with a mighty slam and then lifting him up to taunt him before finishing the move.

SSFIV will also make another less-flashy-but-key addition in the form of a comprehensive tuning to each of the existing fighters. The work will include balance tweaks the team members wanted to include based on their own experiences, as well as feedback from fans. Returning fighters will get new ultra combos in addition to those seen in Street Fighter IV, which will require players to refine their fighting strategies. This work will be key to SSFIV's online matches, which are getting some serious work done to them. While Ono wouldn't go into specific details--mostly saying that SSFIV will feature an online experience that is considerably enhanced over the one in SFIV--he dropped a pretty big hint that some form of a lobby system may be added. The only downside to all this is that SSFIV won't be compatible with SFIV online because of all the upcoming changes.

The visuals in the game haven't undergone a tremendous change from SFIV. The returning characters and stages we saw looked pretty much the same. Juri and T.Hawk are done in the same art style as the rest of the roster and fit right into the game. Even though the demo we were being shown on the Xbox 360 was a work in progress, the game was already humming along at full speed.

Juri is a new femme fatale with fast feet.

Based on this early look, Super Street Fighter IV is shaping up to be a smart evolution of the groundwork laid by Street Fighter IV's revival. The new content and gameplay tweaks seem like meaty additions that will offer fans a lot to tear into and master. While the incompatibility with SFIV is a downer, we're happy to hear that Capcom won't be selling SSFIV at full price (although our happiness will be directly tied to exactly how much it sells for). Super Street Fighter IV is slated to ship in spring of 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Look for more on the game in the coming months.

Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope International Hands-On

Last year at the Tokyo Game Show, we were able to try out Star Ocean 4 for the first time. Now, just a year later, the futuristic space opera will be appearing on the PlayStation 3 with some additions that are sure to please the fans. The Last Hope International is virtually the same as the Xbox 360 version, but the Japanese language track is now included so you can choose to play the game in Japanese with subtitles if you wish. Also, as a bonus, you can switch back and forth between 2D and 3D character art, depending on your preference. The avatars that are shown at the bottom of the screen during combat can be 2D anime-style portraits or the 3D character models that you're used to seeing onscreen.

We spent some time playing through the PlayStation 3 version and found it to be identical to the Xbox 360 version in terms of gameplay. It might have been the television, but visually, it didn't seem as sharp as we expected. There was also a bit of motion blur as we played through a couple of battles. The game still looks great, though, and will likely end up being very similar to the Xbox 360 version. The Japanese version is set to come out February 4, and the rest of the world can get its PS3 copy on February 9. Check out our review of the Xbox 360 game here.

Preview Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Updated Hands-On

t wouldn't be Tokyo Game Show without a truckload of Dragon Ball, so we quickly headed down to the Namco Bandai booth to spend some time with one of the most anticipated upcoming Dragon Ball games, Raging Blast. Serving as the next game in the well-received Budokai Tenkaichi series (although not in terms of story progression), the title is slated to ship with a whopping 70 playable characters, which is plenty of kamehameha in anyone's language.

What's New: The TGS build playable on the show floor features eight characters to choose from, including favorites such as Piccolo, Goku, and Vegeta. Combat takes place in a full 3D environment, with characters able to fly up in the air and down into lower areas with ease (or, in this case, by pressing the left shoulder buttons). Environments will also be destructible to a degree--one level we played in was set in a ruined city, and we giggled with glee every time one of our more powerful attacks sent our opponent crashing through walls and high walkways.

Melee attacks are mapped to one button, as are signature move attacks and ki projectiles. Mix this with the ability to quickly move in any direction--up, down, left, or right--and you get a system that's easy enough to pick up and yet feels incredibly true to the wacky, over-the-top battles the Dragon Ball series is known for. But in addition to these standard attacks, flicking the right stick in one of four directions will unleash a super-flashy super attack.

What's The Same: Dragon Ball: Raging Blast's colorful graphics are still easy on the eye and truly evoke the look and feel of the popular anime. What's best is that despite the rapid movement across large, open terrains, the in-game camera never seemed to have trouble keeping pace with the action during our fights, nor did the game engine slow down during even the flashiest of attacks.

What Impressed Us This Time: Even though we had only eight characters to play with, we enjoyed the ease with which we could pick up the game and wreak impressive-looking havoc within seconds. We also liked the small touches--such as characters visibly starting to pant and grabbing hurt appendages as battles wore on. We can only imagine the depth the full 70-character roster will bring, so stay tuned for more previews of Dragon Ball: Raging Blast soon.

The Beatles: Rock Band Review

It has been just under two years since Rock Band ushered in the era of full-band rhythm games. Subsequent games have refined the formula, offering increased accessibility, new songs, and sharper visuals, but they all still rest on the same basic appeal: it's a lot of fun to rock out, especially with your friends. The Beatles: Rock Band stands out from its peers because it magnifies this basic appeal by better channeling the excitement and camaraderie of being in an actual band. The all-Beatles songlist creates a strong sense of continuity between songs, yet it is musically diverse enough to keep things lively and varied. Follow the Beatles' career in the excellent Story mode, and you'll unlock a bevy of photographs and videos that give you an endearingly human look at the larger-than-life stars. These bonuses, along with the beautifully creative artistic design, help you identify with the Fab Four and engender a sense of unity within your own band. When you have a few members singing in harmony, the bonds grow even stronger and you have that much more fun. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of other music games, The Beatles: Rock Band brings you and your bandmates together in joyful musical partnership and makes your living room rock sessions uniquely rewarding and entertaining.

From the first moments you fire up The Beatles: Rock Band, it's clear this is a different breed of music game. You are treated to a lengthy animated video that charts the arc of the Beatles' career both musically and artistically, connecting you to the world you are about to dive into. Throughout the Story mode this connection to the band is reinforced as you play in iconic venues, from the small, raucous Cavern Club, to the massive, screaming Shea Stadium, to the intimate, introspective Abbey Road studios. Stylish cutscenes bridge the different chapters in Story mode, and unlockable photos and movies provide interesting snippets from the Beatles' career. Whether you are a Beatles scholar or can't even name all the band members, these bonuses help draw you into the experience by showing you a more casual side of the superstars themselves. A video of the guys playing with headphones and a boom mic on their first trip to the US offer a quirky glimpse of the youthful energy that suffused their early songs, while the background studio noise that precedes their later songs gives you a window into their more mellow mind-set.

Every song has a unique video to accompany it that reflects the song's themes and its place in the Beatles' career. The bouncy energy of "Paperback Writer" is mirrored by the animated Paul McCartney's brisk strumming and singing in front of thousands of screaming fans, while the whimsical "Octopus's Garden" video transports the boys to the ocean floor, where big colorful lyrics appear all around them. This intertwining of music and art is unmatched by any other game in the genre, and it makes the game a lot more fun for players and spectators alike. You will actually want to look at what's going on behind your note highway, not only because it looks great, but also because it adds a new dimension to your own performance. The artistic elements complement the music beautifully, and the game looks great on every console.

The gameplay elements are very similar to those of Rock Band 2, with a few notable differences. Gone are the sweet freestyle drum fills and end-of-song jam sessions; you can only play the music as it was recorded. Almost all of the songs are immediately available in Quickplay mode, and the one exception is unlocked by completing Story mode. There is no character creation, and you can't customize your band's appearance because you always play as the Beatles. Songs you have downloaded for previous Rock Band games are not compatible here, and you will probably find that some of your favorite Beatles songs are missing from the songlist, though there are at least three full Beatles albums planned for future downloadable release. There are cooperative and competitive online modes, but, like any Rock Band game, The Beatles: Rock Band really shines when played locally.

The background videos add some extra spice to your performances.

The most significant new gameplay feature is vocal harmonies. Every song in the game contains one, two, or three vocal tracks, and before playing you choose your vocal style, either "solo" or "harmonies." Harmony parts are displayed in the same area as the lead vocals. Harmony parts are orange and red bars, and the lead part is blue; harmony lyrics are displayed on the top of the note highway, and lead lyrics are on the bottom. The display does a good job of visually differentiating the parts, but it's up to you to sing them. Folks who like to sing along to Beatles songs will have little trouble with the lead vocal parts, and many of the harmonies are easily identifiable. Some are so clear that your lead singer might naturally jump up to the harmony part in a certain section. It doesn't matter which microphone is receiving which vocal part; as long as you have all the parts covered, your score won't suffer. If you are having trouble picking out a harmony or staying on your part, Practice mode is a great place to sort things out. You can highlight the part you want to learn by assigning a guide pitch to play that part, and then you can drop the pitch out to make sure you've got it.

Practice mode is great for experienced and only-in-the-shower singers alike, and even if you are a shy singer, The Beatles: Rock Band is a fun, encouraging place to overcome your reluctance. With up to three vocalists, a guitarist, a bassist, and a drummer available, you can have six players in your band for the first time in a music game. The added members make your sessions more rockin', and the three-part vocals are a great way to get instrument-averse friends to join. Having multiple vocalists takes the pressure off of individual performance, because they are essentially teaming up to play one instrument (vocals). This creates a feeling of unity that spreads to the other players and makes your band camaraderie stronger. One of the best ways to capitalize on vocal harmonies is to get a few mic stands and then have band members play an instrument and sing at the same time. You can do this with other Rock Band games, but it's more thrilling when you're playing Beatles songs because you share the vocal part with your bandmates. Belting out a solo while playing guitar is great fun, but having your drummer join you on a harmony part is a whole different kind of awesome. Strumming, drumming, and singing just like John, Paul, George, and Ringo used to do is an absolute blast and is one of the richest music game experiences to date.

To a certain extent, this game is great because Beatles music is great. The Beatles: Rock Band is packed to the gills with excellent songs, but its real genius is the way it captures the excitement of playing in a cohesive band. Following the arc of the Beatles' career wouldn't be as engaging without the interesting bonuses and the stunning art design that so elegantly complements the music. Vocal harmonies add an invigorating new dimension to the gameplay, encouraging you to either get more people involved or challenge yourself to be all the rockstar you can be. The Beatles: Rock Band doesn't just let you play the music of one of the greatest bands in history; it knits your band closer together so that you can better experience the camaraderie and excitement of playing in a unified, talented group. This makes any Beatles session great fun and makes The Beatles: Rock Band something special in the world of plastic living room rock.

NHL 2K10 Review

nce again, NHL 2K10 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is the hockey game for the other guy. 2K Sports' treatment of the sport is the yin to NHL 10's yang, boasting arcade accessibility for casual fans instead of its rival's rigorous attention to on-ice authenticity. While the game is unlikely to be taken seriously by members of the hardcore shinny set, it really wasn't made for them. This is a quick pick-up-and-play game for people whose interest in the real NHL doesn't go much beyond watching a few Stanley Cup final matchups every June after the primetime TV schedule has gone into repeats. There isn't a lot of depth--either on the ice or in the GM's office--here. Scoring is plentiful and pinball passing is a necessity. And, yes, there's a speed burst button. Still, as long as you know what you're getting, you'll make out fine. Even though this isn't a hockey simulation, it is an enjoyable hockey game for those who want to sit down and put the biscuit in the basket right away.

Visuals are much improved, especially when it comes to player faces and uniforms. Still, this isn't exactly a cutting-edge production.

One of the biggest gripes about NHL 2K10 is that it hasn't changed much during the past year. Aside from a few tweaks, the new game is just about identical to its predecessor in terms of feature set. Game modes once more offer the usual grab bag of sports stereotypes. You can jump into a match immediately with quick game, go for the long haul with season or franchise play, head right into the playoffs, try some four-on-four pond hockey, or just mess around with few-minute frills, such as three-on-three action in a miniature rink. While all of these options offer exactly what you would expect and come without any big flaws, there isn't anything here as addictive as NHL 10's Be a Pro mode. Multiplayer has been more thoroughly integrated into the overall package of game modes this year, though. Alongside holdovers, such as online one-off matches and online leagues, you can now invite a buddy to play in just about any possible way. If you're starting up a quick-play game, for instance, you can send out a friend invite to get a pal lined up on your wing. It's a nifty idea that really builds on NHL 2K10's casual personality, making it a great party game whether your friends are with you on the couch or spread across the country. Lag can be a bit of an issue on both Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, though it only really becomes noticeable when you're playing with almost full six-on-six squads.

Gameplay is also quite similar to what was featured last year. If anything, the feel on the ice is even more arcade-friendly. The emphasis here is firmly on flow and scoring. You can easily fly down the wing with speed-burst button pumping, turn a defenseman, and either move in for a great scoring chance on your own or flip the puck into the slot for what is almost always a killer onetime shot. Defense here is quite permeable. Even the best defensemen let passes go right between their skates on a regular basis. This isn't exactly realistic, of course, although it does go a long way toward making you feel like Gretzky with a gamepad. It is also a lot less frustrating than dealing with NHL 10's defenders, who can poke-check the puck off your stick with ridiculous ease. So it goes without saying that making highlight-reel passes is a cinch. Turning these feeds into goals is also pretty easy. Drive the net, and the goals will come. If you have traffic in front of the net, pucks shot from all over the ice will find the twine, giving the game a run-and-gun vibe somewhat akin to old-school arcade hockey, such as EA Sports' NHL efforts in the early- and mid-1990s.

Controls also afford you a lot of leeway. As with NHL 2K9, the emphasis here is on ease of use rather than lots of unfriendly fiddly bits that require very dextrous thumbs. Players wheel and turn on a dime, allowing you to easily pull off amazingly agile skating feats. The sluggishness that marred last year's game seems to be a thing of the past, although players still seem to have a pretty low top speed in comparison to the wheels on display in the real NHL. Special scoring moves and dekes are handled with quick button presses, too, allowing newbies to mimic Alex Ovechkin. Buttons are still the default options for passing and shooting (although you can use the right stick for shooting), which makes it a snap to become a credible NHL superstar. This makes for a huge difference between NHL 2K10 and NHL 10 because the latter has been built around using the right analog stick for just about everything related to the hockey stick. All in all, this is a much less demanding game than NHL 10.

Now that's what you call pond hockey, NHL-style.

The look and sound match NHL 2K10's old-fashioned style of play. The visuals are enhanced over last year as the bizarrely stretched jerseys and blocky Frankenstein-faced players have received an overhaul. Animations have also been smoothed out; a nifty picture-in-picture box now shows line changes, as well as players getting out of the sin bin; and Pond Hockey mode has been spiffed up with a background that looks like a real outdoor rink in any suburban Canadian neighborhood. But there's still a sense that the graphics have passed their best-before date, and new weirdness has been introduced to the mix, such as oddly big-headed goalies. The interface has also been completely reworked, although it just swaps last year's convoluted nested menus for a slightly less confusing method where choices pop up on your screen. Audio is also stuck on repeat, especially when it comes to the generic commentary of play-by-play man Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda. The only change seems to be more bizarre anecdotes from Remenda and a couple of insane jibes about on-ice mistakes, like "Hey, Stan, pick up my guy. No thanks, I don't like cappuccino." The music is much less obnoxious than usual for a hockey game, however. Instead of the usual nu-metal and three-cord rawk that turns hockey into a kissing cousin to the X-Games, the soundtrack is loaded with pop indie tunes from such bands as MGMT and Phoenix. Some might not find this fitting for a hockey game, although it's sure a nice change of pace.

Fewer demands come with fewer rewards. Even though NHL 2K10 is an improvement over its predecessor, its continued lack of depth means that experienced gamers will soon master it and look for greater challenges. You can increase the difficulty, of course, but that only appears to increase the speed of the game rather than test your hockey abilities. So this is really sort of a starter hockey game that you might play for a while before graduating to a more serious effort like NHL 10. There isn't anything particularly wrong with that, of course, although the game's long-term value seems limited to social gamers who want something accessible to play with their less hockey-inclined buddies.

xbox 360 :Snoopy Flying Ace: Hands-On Impressions

noopy Flying Ace is an upcoming XBLA title that brings a whole new meaning to the term "dogfighting." Yes that’s right; this is actually a dog fighting in a dogfight: an online flight shooter where players take control of Snoopy and the whole Peanuts gang to shoot up the skies in cartoon airplanes. Cute, right? We had a chance to check the game out at this year’s Tokyo Game Show.

Who’s Making It: Snoopy Flying Ace is being developed by Smart Bomb Interactive and published by Microsoft for Xbox Live Arcade. Its release date is still to be announced.

What’s It Look Like: A Snoopy cartoon. There are 10 different maps in this game, which we are told are a nod to the heroic world of Snoopy’s imagination and his famous thirst for adventure. In the demo we played, although the action was taking place largely above ground, we could still pay close attention to what was happening below. There was an Egyptian-themed map with rolling sand dunes, oversized cacti, and even a Snoopy-shaped sphinx. The best thing we found, however, is that you get to choose which member of the Peanut gang you want to be--even Charlie Brown or Peppermint Patty. If that’s not your thing (although, why wouldn’t it be?), then you can also opt to play with your Xbox Live avatar.

What’s There to Do: This is a very basic arcade-style flight shooter. You can pick and customize 16 airplanes in total before doing battle, including--wait for it--the Red Baron’s dreaded Fokker triplane. There are 15 weapons to choose from, and you can move up in rank in the nine different game modes, including 16-player free-for-all dogfights and team-based airborne rugby. If you want to keep it simple, there are also solo and co-op challenges. In our demo, we flew as Snoopy doing battle with about six or seven AI planes.

How Is It Played: The game has a pretty basic control scheme. The aim is to shoot down other planes, but the way you go about doing this is up to you. You can be serious and just fly around, controlling the plane with the left thumbstick and shooting with the L and R triggers. If you want to be creative, however, you’ll be in no short supply of tricks to pull off: loops (right thumbstick), barrel rolls, boosts (A button), looking back (Y button), and, of course, getting creative with your equipped weapons (press B to change).

What Aren’t We Seeing: In the demo we saw, there were only three planes to choose from and a handful of maps. We really wanted to try out flying with Charlie Brown, but I guess we’ll have to wait.

What They Say: “It’s not the size of the dog fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”

What We Say: Anything with Peanuts characters is worth paying attention to, so we look forward to seeing more of Snoopy Flying Ace later this year.

Avatar Updated Hands-On - Verdant Pinnacle and Stalker's Valley

As the release date for both the Avatar film and game draws near, Ubisoft is showing two new areas from the upcoming game set to be a companion to the ambitious film project from director James Cameron. Although we've been getting peeks at the game since our first look in June, we've now been able to get our hands on two new areas and also get a feel for character customization and advancement. The game is being shown off in a private media area at a nearby hotel as well as on the Tokyo Game Show floor.

What's New: There are two new areas to play--Verdant Pinnacle and Stalker's Valley--which continue to highlight the play experiences between the human soldiers and the Na'vi on the beautiful but hazardous world of Pandora. The Verdant Pinnacle level let us play as a Na'vi and make our way to an objective point deep on the other side of the massive level. We were able to use the different Na'vi skills in addition to standard melee attacks and weapons against enemies. The area featured a twisting path that offered detours onto tree and rock formations jutting out in places to give us a good view of where we needed to go, as well as a clear shot at human and mechanical enemies. There were also ample pickup items to help keep our ammunition pretty well stocked, although it dipped precariously during some of the more-intense firefights that cropped up as we got closer to our goal.

The Stalker's Valley level had a different tone, since the enemies that popped up to stop our soldier character amounted to most everything in the forest. The level kicked off with a military aircraft getting knocked out of the sky and our character getting tasked with clearing out the local wildlife obstructing the military forces on the ground. Whereas Verdant Pinnacle resembled the lush forests we've seen in the movie trailers, Stalker's Valley is a darker place that is anything but welcoming. The level's darker color palette, some fires and wreckage at the start of the area, and all the local wildlife trying to murder anything human all made the valley about as unfriendly as possible. The result was a hefty amount of tension that didn’t let us relax or enjoy the scenery as we did in the Na'vi level.

What's Different: The chance to see the menus and the customization possible as you level was interesting. We got a better sense of how both characters are going to evolve over the course of the adventure. It looks like there's going to be tons of weapons to swap out for the human soldiers to suit a player's style. The Na'vi don't appear to have as large an arsenal of traditional weapons. However, they have special skills, such as special attacks, sprinting, and self-healing, which seem to offer a comparable number of customization options. It was nice to see extras like the Pandorapedia, which will track all the creatures you come across in the game. One difference in the work-in-progress version we played was that Na'vi characters seem a little more fragile now. We jumped down from what we thought was a reasonable height for a large alien to safely land, and our character died. We spoke with representatives from Ubisoft, who told us that the version we played is currently undergoing some balance tweaking, so the Na'vi's seeming vulnerability to falling may change in the final game.

What's The Same: The gameplay seems solid and offers some distinct variety between the human and Na'vi, though the two character types definitely have things in common as well. The human soldier is all about tech, hardware, and shooting in the traditional sense, while the Na'vi has abilities that are comparable but that deal out less collateral damage to the surroundings. The 3D tech is still a cool feature for those who can support it, although the game looks sharp without it.

What Impression The Game Made This Time: Even without 3D, Avatar is shaping up to be a unique movie-licensed game. The game seems to be making smart use of the universe and the characters that inhabit it to create an experience that's in line with the film but is all its own. If the game delivers on the potential we've seen, there's a chance it will break out from the movie game herd and stand on its own as a solid game that happens to be based on a film, rather than an experience that's dependent on a movie license.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Q&A - Early Details

2007's The Witcher was a pleasant surprise for all fans of traditional "Western" role-playing games because it was a great game in its own right, but also because it went in many new directions not previously seen in such games. The original game was based on the fantasy fiction of author Andrzej Sapkowski, whose novels star the Witcher--a cynical monster-hunter with supernatural powers making his way in a dark fantasy world where brutality and bigotry are common. Recently, a preproduction video for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings somehow made its way onto the Internet, prompting a lot of speculation about the sequel. Though it's still a bit too early to go in-depth, CD Projekt's project lead Adam Badowski did give us some information about what we can expect.

A screen-capture from the mysteriously leaked Witcher 2 video.

GameSpot: Details of the sequel to The Witcher have finally started popping up here and there. What kind of general overview of the game can you give us?

Adam Badowski: The Witcher 2 is the sequel to our first game, The Witcher, which won lots of awards and sold more than 1.3 million copies on the PC. The leaked video, which wasn't intended for public viewing, caused a lot of confusion and generated misinformation based largely on speculation within the gaming community. The reason for speculation was very simple--the movie mostly presented the improvements we've made in [certain] aspects of the game without providing a general overview. It didn't really convey what The Witcher 2 is at its heart, which is an RPG with a strong focus on an intriguing and expanded story. It's important that we make this as clear as possible because, in our opinion, that will be one of the game's strongest points.

GS: CD Projekt RED seems to believe very strongly in improving its game products. For instance, the Enhanced Edition of the original game added numerous improvements to the base game. What are some additional areas that you're looking to improve in the upcoming sequel?

AB:We believe that we can always improve our products, bringing them closer to the best we can achieve. Even though we have released improvements like the Enhanced Edition, we will still be aiming to make The Witcher 2 as good as possible at release. That's why we've decided to use completely new technology and to redesign many of the game's features.

We cannot talk about many of the new features yet because it's still much too early, but I can say that the new technology will really stand out. We've built a brand new engine for The Witcher 2, with lots of amazing new visual effects--improved day and night cycles, a new dynamic camera, and much more--to present even more impressive graphics. We are also improving a number of gameplay elements, making combat even more exciting and helping players become even more immersed in the gameworld.

GS: What can you tell us about the story in The Witcher 2? Will Geralt still be the main character throughout the entire game or will there be other new characters taking the lead as well?

AB: Geralt will certainly be in the game, as we've all seen. I must admit we plan to build the story of The Witcher 2 around Geralt, but it's too early to reveal any more details.

GS: There were some very interesting and very adult story themes in the original game--betrayal, sexuality, and bigotry. Will these themes be expanded in the sequel? What other themes with the sequel explore?

AB: We want The Witcher 2 to be even more mature, so we'll be placing a lot of focus on the design of the story. Gamers will face a very real and brutal world. The way in which we explore sexuality will be greatly improved, and we'll be putting a lot of work into showing the erotic dimension of life in a more natural way, rather than as a sort of minigame. We'll be using cinematic means to flesh out characters, who will differ from each other as they would in real life. These differences will come through in their behavior, their attitude toward Geralt, and how they react to the world.

Once again, the game won't offer any choices between good and evil. Rather, it will force you to decide what is important to you and whom can you trust. Many times you'll be left with real doubts about the choices you've made because the consequences of your decisions will be unpredictable.

GS: Many fans enjoyed the unusual three-style combat system from The Witcher. Will this system return in the sequel? What changes and improvements will be added?

AB:We're perfectly aware of all the strengths and weaknesses of the combat system we created for [the first game]. Our goal is to eliminate all the glitches and to develop solutions that will make combat more dynamic and bloody, extending players' control over Geralt's moves in battle.

GS: We recall that in the original game, alchemy was a significant part of gameplay and Geralt could craft powerful potions, but failed potion brews could actually poison him. Will alchemy return in The Witcher 2? How will it be different and better?

AB: Our approach to alchemy will be very similar to what we aim to do with the combat system. We're intent on improving and redesigning any features that players found less "usable." In general, usability will be our main concern as we develop the alchemy system for The Witcher 2.

GS: The original Witcher was built on BioWare's Aurora engine, and you mentioned that you will not be returning to this technology for the sequel. Can you elaborate on the tech that will power The Witcher 2?

AB: The Witcher 2 will not be built on the Aurora engine. We've developed our own cutting-edge technology, designed and created specifically for RPGs. We decided to do that because we wanted to implement all our ideas without facing all the obstacles we might encounter if we built the game on an existing technology. The leaked movie merely shows some of the improvements we'll be introducing, but there'll be many more in the future. Remember, the video is six months old! The comments we've received from fans are very positive, but we still have so much to surprise you with!

GS: Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add about The Witcher 2?

AB:Given the enormous amount of feedback we got from fans and the media after the leak, we realized just how big the expectations are and how many people have been waiting for this game to be announced. We're going through and summarizing all the comments that have been posted about the video on various Web sites, and we'll be comparing them against all the ideas we have for the game. As always, we're taking our fans' opinions to heart, and I can say we already know some of them will affect the game's development. I can assure everyone that we'll be putting every effort into making this game a truly outstanding RPG experience. People can keep up on game announcements at our official Web site.

I'd like to add one more important thing: We are planning to release The Witcher 2 for consoles; however, more detailed information will become available after the game is officially announced.

Championship Manager 2010 Review

With increased depth, a better match engine, and endless training tools, Championship Manager 2010 should be a triumphant return to form for the football management series, but its lack of attention to detail means that it ends up falling well short of its lofty goals.

The thrills and spills of League One can be yours for a price.

At first glance, the 2010 iteration of this troubled franchise looks to do a lot of things right. The team behind it didn't put out a game in 2008 in an effort to rebuild Championship Manager into a game worthy of the name once synonymous with the best in the genre. That work is obvious from the moment you start up the game, as the menus look cleaner and the animations are sharper.

Unfortunately, this veneer starts to crack the moment you come to pick a team to manage. There are more leagues to choose from this time around, but that said, there are a couple of glaring omissions. While Championship Manager goes into some depth across a total of 32 countries, these are mostly European. And, while there are leagues from the likes of Japan, Argentina, and Brazil, the MLS from the USA is entirely absent.

So you choose your team and get thrust into the preseason, and this is where problems really begin. Small details can be inordinately important in some games, and this is especially true of management games that rely on massive amounts of detail to draw you into their version of the football world under the premise that it's the closest thing to reality. The first thing that strikes you in this regard is looking down your team roster at the start of the preseason and seeing that all of your players are 100 percent match fit and ready to go. This means that your challenge at the start of the season has more to do with making sure none of your players are too tired for the big kickoff rather than the more realistic challenge of trying to get your team and new signings up to speed after the summer break.

The problems then continue off the pitch. Whether it's dealing with transfer rumours dominating your news ticker after the window has closed, learning that thousands of fans took to the streets to celebrate a Chelsea Community Shield victory on penalties, or having bans being applied in the wrong competitions, Championship Manager never quite gets it right.

Similar but more serious issues about detail bedevil the improved match engine. It looks like a massive step forward when you first watch a game play out because the models actually look like people running around for the very first time, many goals look really convincing when knocked in, and strikers' celebrations add great flavour to the game. However, it just goes to show up the underlying code's limitations; defenders are liable to make suicidal passes, strikers and wingers have an alarming habit of leaving the ball behind when they tootle off on runs, and goalkeepers often catch the ball when facing the wrong way. Add to this the seemingly arbitrary system for doling out cards--often no contact seems to be shown in the engine while more serious challenges that give away penalties go unpunished--and you have a match day experience that lets you down. These odd issues even out between teams so their influence on results is minimal, but they do make the game significantly less engaging and fun.

But where is the option to kick a boot at him?

It's not just the engine that is found wanting as you play your matches out either. While changes of personnel and formation are your main weapons, the actual control you have seems limited. As with a real game of football, there is nothing more frustrating than playing with one striker upfront only to see him holding the ball up near the corner flag or knocking in crosses to spaces simply occupied by eager defenders. While this does give you the feeling of impotence that is no doubt felt by many leading manager as their charges go astray, it's also very annoying in the context of a game. To make matters worse, there's no option in your post-match team talk to give your individual players the tongue-lashing they deserve for not following your instructions, though you can aggressively express disapproval at the entire team for not scoring goals should you wish.

Other than the engine, the most obvious changes have been made to scouting and training. You can now mould your players to dive more, go around the keeper rather than shoot when one-on-one, or spread the ball wide from defence rather than punt it up the middle--among an almost immeasurable host of other things. All of these changes look really promising, but without a solid match day experience, they ultimately count for nothing except to indicate missed opportunities. The same is true of the set piece creator that's integrated in the training section; it's really very satisfying to see one of your practiced goals go in, but the pleasure is tempered somewhat by the fact you won the free kick from one of your strikers randomly falling over with no apparent contact.

The improved scouting system is a notable highlight, however. You can choose in which countries to allocate your budget and how much money you want to spend researching each area. As you get to know areas better, you get more and better suggestions from your team on which players to take a closer look at, and the ones suggested are generally around the same level as your squad. This ensures that you're not constantly scouting players who are well out of your team's league, if you happen to choose to play as one of the game's smaller clubs.

Eventually seeing a goal you've practiced on the training ground go in is one of the game's highlights.

The game does implement a few other things well; the news reports are excellent at adding some real-life flavour into your season (once you find them--they're not linked from the news ticker, unfortunately) and the stadium sounds are generally excellent. Hearing a massive crowd convincingly "ooh" and "ah" as the ball ricochets off the crossbar or sneaks wide of the post does serve to increase your emotional involvement with each game.

While Championship Manager 2010 is not the triumphant return to form that had been hoped, it is showing signs that it could once again challenge for the title if the details that have derailed it this campaign are addressed. The game looks and feels much better on the surface than in previous years and is--for the first time in a long time--showing serious promise for the future, despite falling short this time around.

Game Coming soon

Developer: Aksys Games, Inc

The Story So Far… When a strange girl hands Ernesto, the young prince of Valencia, a mysterious sword and tells him to save his friends, he thinks nothing of using the magical blade to fight off an undead attack. Little does he know that such a small choice will spark a war that will rage across the continent of Yulamecca and beyond… “Hero’s Saga Laevatein Tactics really brings back the spirit of SRPGs of old,” said Frank “Bo” deWindt II, Project Lead, Aksys Games. “You can definitely see bits and pieces of many SRPGs, like Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre, lending their influence to help inspire a stellar game.”

Developer: RockStar Games

Category: Action

Release Dates

Xbox Live Arcade - Fall 2009

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Cheat Codes

Codes

Never Wanted:
L1, L1, Triangle, R1, R1, X, Square, Circle

Money Cheat - $250,000:
L1, R1, Triangle, L1, R1, Circle, L1, R1

Spawn Trashmaster:
Triangle, Circle, Down, Triangle, Circle, Up, L1, L1

Random Ped Outfit:
L1, L1, Left, L1, L1, Right, Sqaure, Triangle

Spawn Rhino:
L1, L1, Left, L1, L1, Right, Triangle, Circle

Faster Clock:
L1, L1, Left, L1, L1, Right, Circle, X

Destroy All Cars:
L1, L1, Left, L1, L1, Right, X, Square

Peds Riot:
L1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, Left, Square

Peds Attack You:
L1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, UP, Triangle

Peds Have Weapons:
R1, R1, L1, R1, R1, L1, Right, Circle

Faster Gameplay:
R1, R1, L1, R1, R1, L1, Down, X

Slower Gameplay:
R1, Triangle, X, R1, Square, Circle, Left, Right

Perfect Traction:
L1, UP, LEFT, R1, Triangle, Circle, Down, X

Commit Suicide:
L1, Down, Left, R1, X, Circle, Up, Triangle

All Green Lights:
Triangle, Triangle, R1, Square, Square, L1, X, X

Aggressive Drivers:
Square, Square, R1, X, X, L1, Circle, Circle

Have Girls Follow You:
Down, Down, Down, Triangle, Triangle, Circle, L1, R1

Bobble Head World:
Down, Down, Down, Circle, Circle, X, L1, R1

Display Game Credits:
L1, R1, L1, R1, UP, Down, L1, R1

Upside Down Gameplay:
Down, Down, Down, X, X, Square, R1, L1

Upside Up Gameplay:
X, X, X, Down, Down, Right, L1, R1

Change Bike Tire Size:
Circle, Right, X, Up, Right, X, L1, Square

All Vehicles Chrome Plated:
Triangle, R1, L1, DOWN, DOWN, R1, R1, Triangle

Sunny Weather:
L1, L1, Circle, R1, R1, Square, Triangle, X

Clear Weather:
Up, Down, Circle, Up, Down, Square, L1, R1

Overcast Weather:
UP, DOWN, X, UP, DOWN, TRIANGLE, L1, R1

Rainy Weather
Up, Down, Square, Up, Down, Circle, L1, R1

Foggy Weather:
Up, Down, Triangle, Up, Down, X, L1, R1

Weapon set 1:
Up, Square, Square, Down, Left, Square, Square, Right

Weapon set 2:
Up, Circle, Circle, Down, Left, Circle, Circle, Right

Weapon set 3:
Up, X, X, Down, Left, X, X, Right

Cars Drive On Water
Circle, X, Down, Circle, X, Up, L1, L1

White Cars:
X, X, R1, Circle, Circle, L1, Triangle, Triangle

Black Cars:
Circle, Circle, R1, Triangle, Triangle, L1, Square, Square

Resident Evil 5

The next instalment of the Resident Evil series takes us to Africa where the origins of the virus are to be discovered. You will take control of a returning character from the series, Chris Redfield. Being a huge fan of the series I could not resist the urge to present you with a complete Guide to enhance your own experience. I hope you enjoy the Guide, which will be as spoiler free as possible, and hopefully the game will bring you tons of entertainment.

Key features of the Guide:

- No spoiler scenes described
- For Xbox 360 and PS3 both
- Covers all items and collectibles
- Do optional things as soon as possible
- Optional things integrated into the walkthrough

The Sims 3 Hints

Have a Ghost Baby (Without Killing)

How to do it:

- Set one of your Sim's traits to Kleptomaniac (Sim must be female)
- Go to graveyard
- Wait until Sim steals remains or tell sim to swipe something (remains must be male)
- On the second day since stealing grave and putting it in home, the ghost will appear at 11:00pm and disappear at 4:00am it will appear every other day
- Socialize with ghost every night it appears until you are at best friend ghost will then begin appearing every night
- get fertility reward
- Confess attraction to ghost
- ask to snuggle on bed, kiss
- Try for baby every night until you start throwing up
- Congrats! You're now having a ghost's baby! (It will be born as a ghost that you can control)

Gender of Babies

Entry Location:
Must have a pregnant female

Eating apples will increase your chances of having boys!
(i.e. 3 apples = 3 boys)

On the other hand, eating watermelons will increase your chances of having girls!
(i.e. 3 watermelons = 3 girls)

**To have increased chances of twins or triplets have one or both parents have the lifetime reward of fertility treatment.

I heard this from someone else. I had my pregnant female eat three watermelons to test it out and it worked! She had 3 triplet girls.

Easy Money

Start writing novels on your computer. Write fiction novels as they take the least amount of time. They will not bring you too much Simoleons. When you write, your skill will automatically advance. If your skill is high enough, you will be able to write more novel types/genres. The most money can be made from "Romance Novels". You will get royalties for six weeks once you finish a book. With the "Writing" skill maxed out, you can make approximately 40,000 Simoleons every week, which is more than the 34,800 Simoleons you can get by purchasing all neighborhood businesses, and takes less time to achieve. In three game weeks you should have a very high speed writing, 9 or 10 novels as best sellers, and 100,000 Simoleons.

Protection From Death

Go to Pleasant Rest Graveyard, and near the gate, there is a strange bush called a "Death Flower Bush" - Harvest the flower from it.

If you keep this flower in your sim's inventory, when you die the grim reaper will trade it for a second chance at life.

This flower will not reappear, but there are Unknown Special Seeds (requires level 7 Gardening to plant) dotted about near the graveyard (and a few other places) which may grow another Death Flower (and sometimes more if your Sim has the Green Thumb trait to revive the plant.)

New clothes

To get new clothes, you first have to buy a dresser from "Buy Options". Once there, click "Plan Outfit." You can put a total of three different clothes for each type (formal, every day, athletic, etc.).

Making Friends

Buy a guitar. Play it to learn how to play guitar. Keep playing until you reach 5/10 level, which gives you the ability to "Play For Tips". When you have that ability, go to the park with the guitar in your inventory. When you are in the park, click the guitar in your inventory, and select "Play For Tips." People watching you will become your friends if you keep playing. The higher your guitar skill, the faster they will become friends with you.

Turn off Aging

In the options menu you can choose the gameplay settings. When you uncheck the box before "Aging" the sims won't become older anymore. You can also slow aging down in this menu by setting the lifetime bar. It's changeable from 25 days too 960 days.