I am happy to say that BC2: Viet­nam is superb, Activi­sion take note, this is what DLC should be. BC2 Viet­nam boasts 5 brand new maps, 6 new vehi­cles, 15 addi­tional new weapons that are char­ac­ter­is­tic of the time period, 60’s sound track and new voices to boot. In addi­tion to this there are some other weapons that are in BC2 but they are Viet­nam era mod­els. With a price tag of 14.99 this is quite a bit of con­tent, espe­cially when com­pared to the mea­gre offer­ings of Activi­sons DLC which only con­tain 5 maps and half of which are just rehashes of pre­vi­ous releases on older titles. I may shoot myself later for say­ing this but this cur­rent offer­ing by DICE and EA could of eas­ily jus­ti­fied a $30.00 price tag and if they had a single-player cam­paign to boot it prob­a­bly could of stood as it’s own title.

Viet­nam does not come with it’s own cam­paign… while this is dis­ap­point­ing to me in one aspect, at 14.99 I didn’t expect one and with the amount of con­tent it had I am quite happy with­out it. I should men­tion that this in an Era rarely cov­ered in games and well at that. It would be nice to see a single-player cam­paign designed around Viet­nam. It’s a story still fairly untouched by the game industry.

The maps are a real stand­out for me in this expan­sion. Fol­low­ing the stan­dard Bat­tle­field map lay­out the maps are designed for 3 types of game­play. Rush, con­quest and squad death­match. One map that really stood out to me and actu­ally evoked some emo­tion from the dev­as­ta­tion that I saw around me was Hill 137. If any of you have seen Ham­burger Hill, the movie, this map is based off that. If you want to read more about the bat­tle at Ham­burger Hill you can read about it here. It’s actu­ally quite an inter­est­ing read. The map takes you at the start, play­ing rush, depend­ing on the side you start on, in the jun­gle mov­ing up to take com­mand points. After your team cap­tures the first set of com­mand points you move into the sec­ond stage of the map which is a mas­sive hill that has been bombed into obliv­ion. All you see are burn­ing trees and scorched ground. The fires look real and believ­able and with the gun­fire and the scream­ing of your squad-mates around you ele­vates that real­ity. This is prob­a­bly my favorite map out of the ones I have played so far. From what I can tell all of the maps will play on all three game modes. This is dif­fer­ent from the orig­i­nal BC2 release where only some of the maps were playable in some game modes.

Rush mode made a big stand­out to me on Viet­nam as well. Unlike the rush mode in BC2, and this could be con­tributed to the way the maps are designed, felt much more focused. There were cer­tain maps where you could lit­er­ally cre­ate a choke point in the map and the only way to break that defen­sive line is to use a mix­ture of vehi­cles, medics, assault and snipers. This results in epic amounts of car­nage, destruc­tion and death. Without the proper com­bi­na­tion or “team­work” your team would get slaugh­tered. That being said, it was very annoy­ing when you got placed on a bad team or one that didn’t work well together. It could make for some very long and frus­trat­ing rounds.

I’ve found that much like with BC2, Viet­nam is best played with a group of friends. I have a group of about 8 guys I play with and when we coor­di­nate together it’s about the most fun I have gam­ing period. Noth­ing beats a cohe­sive team in BC2 or Viet­nam. You will walk all over the other team if you have a well coor­di­nated group of guys. If there is one com­plaint I have about the Bad Com­pany series it is that it doesn’t really encour­age the team to play as a team. Instead you just find guys walk­ing around shoot­ing what­ever they can see.

The weapons are great as well in Viet­nam. All of them feel authen­tic and real and fit with the time period. The only gun that I felt was a lit­tle over­pow­ered com­pared to the rest was the PPSH. The gun has almost dou­ble the fire rate of any other SMG and beats most the MG’s in the field as well and it’s far to accu­rate com­pared to what the tra­di­tional SMG should be. I think the AK47 and the MG60 are my favorites in this expan­sion, it’s extremely grat­i­fy­ing to drop some­one with both of those weapons.

Sound fol­lows in the foot­steps of it’s pre­de­ces­sor and does not dis­ap­point. When not play­ing with a group of peo­ple I have it blast­ing on my 1000 watt sound sys­tem and close range explo­sions and MG fire cre­ate bass that will knock pic­tures off your wall. Gun­fire sounds superb and when you are in large fire fights with small arms fire, explo­sions, motors and scream­ing going on all around you I found that the game feel incred­i­bly immer­sive and intense.

I touched on this a lit­tle bit before but the visu­als in the game are top notch. Hill 137 again was where they really stood out. I think this is the best look­ing map in the Bad Com­pany series hands down. I also think the game plays smoother then BC2 did. I don’t think any new graph­ics were added per say but I think the game was opti­mized before it was released. I can feel the dif­fer­ence between BC2 and Viet­nam. Over­all Viet­nam looks bet­ter then it’s predaces­sor in most regards with the excep­tion of explod­ing tree’s. When a tree gets knocked down it cre­ates a paper explo­sion. The leaves look like thin, flat, green, pieces of paper. This seems like some­thing they could of spent an extra day on but it’s def­i­nitely not a big deal.

PC gamers will be happy to know that the game has got­ten released first on PC and that the game has been opti­mized for the plat­form as well. The game plays well and does not feel like it was ported from a con­sole ver­sion to the PC. If you have a decent machine, you are in for a real treat. I run the game on medium set­tings using eye­fin­ity on 3 x 25″ mon­i­tors, AMD 965 Phe­nom X2, 8gb of ram, Radeon 5850. The game looks fan­tas­tic even on medium set­tings. I haven’t tried on High set­tings yet because eye­fin­ity triples the drain on my video card. How­ever, being that the game feels like it runs smooth I will prob­a­bly try it out and see how it feels.

Over­all BC2: Viet­nam is the best value for your money I have seen in a long time. You get basi­cally an entirely new name with the excep­tion of a single-player cam­paign for the price of 14.99. This is an expan­sion more than a DLC but I can’t help but won­der why DICE and EA can put out essen­tially a new game for 14.99 when Activi­sion can’t even put out 5 orig­i­nal maps for the same price. I’m not a fan of EA but EA and DICE got it right with this expan­sion. This is one of the best DLC/Expansions of the year hands down. If any of you are con­sid­er­ing pur­chas­ing this, buy it now, you won’t be disappointed.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Tron: Evolution puts players in the digital shoes of Anon (short for Anonymous), a faceless system monitor that gets caught up in the struggle between the original movie’s hero Kevin Flynn and Clu, a program created in Flynn’s likeness to represent him inside the digital world of The Grid. Clu has gone rogue, and it’ll take all of Anon’s free-running parkour skills and disc combat proficiency to set up the plot for Tron: Legacy.
Ideal Player

Players intrigued by Tron’s glowing digital world will find plenty of backstory lurking within Evolution’s extras, while devotees of Prince of Persia-style action adventure games might enjoy the action, as long as they don’t mind repetition.
Why You Should Care

Tron: Evolution is the direct sequel to what many consider the world’s first great video game movie, and elements from the game are said to give extra insight into scenes from the upcoming feature film Tron: Legacy.

How does Evolution fit into the Tron story? Evolution seems to take place way before the events in Tron: Legacy, mainly because Flynn is still a relatively young man, the mirror image of his evil avatar Clu. Olivia Wilde’s Quorra appears as she does in the film, though not nearly as sexy thanks to the game’s rough character models. Evolution basically establishes the status quo as seen in Tron: Legacy, showing us how Flynn became trapped in the Grid and how Clu transformed from a loyal program to an evil digital dictator. The meat of the Tron fiction found in the game comes from data files unlocked along the way, with the story often taking a back seat to the action, such as it is.

So that’s the adventure, what’s the action? I spent equal time in Tron: Evolution battling glowing enemies with my deadly disc and navigating the convoluted architecture of the grid using parkour-inspired wall running and climbing moves. Combat was dynamic and compelling at first, but soon it became clear that the best tactic to win was spamming energy-fueled power moves, transforming battles into a dance back and forth between enemies and energy wells. Likewise jumping, climbing, and wall-running about the environment was entertaining initially, quickly becoming stale as I realized the obstacles weren’t really evolving as the game progressed. Towards the end of the game the only real excitement came from being blinded by bad camera angles.
Surely there’s more to it than that, right? Well there is the odd light cycle segment, though they’re a far cry from the tense light-trail based battle arenas of the original film. Here the light cycle is merely a method of conveyance, transporting Anon from point A to point B, often as the world is crumbling around him. These segments would be more enjoyable if the world were less monochrome, which would in turn make obstacles more visible. There are also a couple of tank-driving levels, which, while slow and plodding, were probably my favorite moments in the single-player campaign

Is the multiplayer just as tepid? Not at all! The multiplayer is actually where the action is in Tron: Evolution. Getting together with a bunch of players and tossing discs at each other or trying to trick them into running into your light cycle trail is a real blast. Unfortunately it’s a real unbalanced and repetitive blast. See, as you play through Tron: Evolution in multiplayer or single-player, you earn experience points which give you memory to spend on upgrades. These upgrades carry back and forth between the story missions and online modes. These upgrades are substantial, granting players massive chunks of extra health and powerful new weapons. Since there is no way currently to limit online matches to people of similar levels, I often found myself playing my level 21 character against lower-level players, and I tore through them like tissue paper. Conversely I could barely scratch a level 50 character. Between the unbalance and the fact that the game only comes with four maps (two more with the day-one free DLC), I can’t see multiplayer being a source of lasting entertainment.

The Bottom Line

Tron: Evolution wants to be a sexy, high-gloss Prince of Persia, trading desert sands and Arabian castles for the shining neon of the Grid. Sadly that aspiration is never fully realized, leaving us with an experience that’s dull despite its brilliant glow; a game that’s most impressive accomplishment is making a four to five hour adventure seem long and drawn-out. Multiplayer offers a spark of hope, but that spark dies out too quickly. It’s true that the game contains scenes and background information that could enhance your appreciation of both films, but those revelations will still be fresh when Tron: Evolution hits the bargain bin.

Tron: Evolution was developed by Propaganda Games and published by Disney Interactive Studios for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, released on December 7. Retails for $59.99 ($39.99 PC). A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played through the entire story on average difficulty, earned level 22, and participated in multiple lengthy multiplayer matches.

Send an email to Michael Fahey, the author of this post, at fahey@kotaku.com.
via [kotaku.com]

It’s no surprise to discover that World Cup South Africa (WCSA) is far less progressive than its tournament-based predecessor. Now that the main series has settled into a successful groove EA needn’t be as daring with the mechanics. Refinement, not revolution, is the vibe behind this one: tweaking and fixing FIFA 10′s niggles without dislodging the fine balance of the on-the-pitch action. Expect smarter keepers who are less inclined to stray forward, tougher chip shots and small control improvements like chest-trapping and allowing a long ball drop over your shoulder.

JULES RIMET
The biggest changes all feed off of the World Cup license. As the official tournament game, WCSA stars all 199 participating teams, all ten tournament stadia and a selection of extra pitches from each of the qualifying region. The tournament can be taken online too, and Battle of the Nations mode collates information from every match played to discover which nation has the best FIFA players.

As well as incidental improvements (fireworks, streamers and all the other back-of-the-beer-mat extras) EA is keen to bring the match location into play.

Home advantage will often swing the match stats in favour of one side, while teams playing at a high altitude will become fatigued quicker than during a match at sea level. Ball behaviour will also change in stadia with less air resistance, though we’re promised this will be only slight, to avoid moon physics.

For once the news of minor improvements is a good thing. With MW2′s online mode, Infinity Ward proved that adding too much to a winning formula can ruin a great game. Luckily EA knows how close FIFA is to perfection and isn’t prepared to jeopardise the position any time soon.

By ComputerAndVideoGames

Portions of this interview have appeared in other stories from Gamescom (see below left), but we thought he had so many interesting things to say that our chat deserved reproducing in full. So here it is. Our questions are in bold, with his answers beneath.

The obvious question is, why a new PlayStation 3 now?
Well, it’s closing in on our third anniversary in November in America and Japan, and we felt it was the right time to kind of pass on the benefits of the fact that we’ve been able to reduce the number of components and their sizes.

And we wanted to pass the cost savings on to our consumers, in the new price point as well. We also felt it was the right time in terms of the great line-up of software titles we have coming out.

Is the new machine really an admission that sales of the existing PS3 have been disappointing?
If you look at the growth of the installed base, it is slower than the PS2 was but it’s pretty much on track with the growth that we had with the original PlayStation.

We also always look at our business as being a 10-year lifecycle for all of our platforms. It’s kind of difficult to say whether a platform has been successful or not going into our third anniversary. The fifth anniversary and beyond is when we really start to say how’s our trajectory looking?

In retrospect, do you wish you had packed less into the PS3?
Had we done less, I think we’d have gotten into a situation where, especially with the way technology ramps up, it would have been very difficult for us to embark on a 10-year life cycle with this particular console.

I think that because of all the things we were able to pack into the platform – Blu-ray’s a great example – we were able to make sure we could take advantage of some of the great services we are offering.

Those things aren’t possible if we didn’t put that kind of power into the platform.

A marketing person once told me that the most difficult thing to sell is a Swiss Army penknife, because it does everything. Do you think you made the same mistake with the PS3?
Right. That was more of a marketing issue than anything else. When I came back to Japan in November 2006, one of the first things I did was to go out with a very clear message that said the PS3 is first and foremost a video game console, before we talk about any of the other great things it can do. I think the PS3 had a bit of an identity problem.

We focused therefore in the first year and a half or so on talking about the great games and also we sent that message to all of our development partners.

I think we’ve done a pretty good job of doing that, which is why we’ve got this great raft of software coming into this holiday season. Once we’ve done that, then we can talk about all the other things that it can do in terms of the non-game video content, whether it’s the video delivery service or the catchup TV service or the movie rental service. But none of that makes much sense unless we can say first and foremost it’s a great video game console.

It’s well known that Sony loses money on every PS3 it sells. Will that still be the case with the new machine?
If you’re just talking about the hardware alone, the quick answer is yes. That makes good headlines, but I don’t actually know that that’s the true nature of the business that we’re all in, whether it’s PlayStation, Xbox or the Wii. I think the better indicator is to look at the business as a whole platform, to ask: are you profitable in terms of the hardware, software and peripherals. And the answer t o that question is yes on a gross profit level since the last fiscal year.

Is PS3 the machine to turn Sony around?
It’s not just the PlayStation business, but overall. It’s some of the other businesses that I’m managing now at the Networked Products and Service Group level, but it’s also a combination of the cost reductions that we’re now embarking on on a corporate level, including the Bravia business, I think all these things need to come together for us to be seen and perceived as having turned a corner. It’s not just one business. It’s not just the PlayStation business, it’s not just the TV business, it’s a combination of all of the things that we’re involved in.

Will PlayStation thinking infiltrate the rest of Sony?
This is one of the things that Howard has tasked myself and Kunimasa Suzuki to do at NPSG, where the majority of the sales and visibility, if you will, comes from the PlayStation business. Since I manage both there’s obviously going to be a bit of a ruboff from how I run the PlayStation business. and how that’s going to impact how Kuni’s going to be running the Vaio business, and because of the cross-pollination that I wanted I’ve asked Kuni to become second in command at SCE. So there’s a lot of cross- pollination going on at management level.

I certainly wanted to make sure that the kind of corporate culture, the atmosphere if you will, the kind of information sharing, the openness that I think I’ve been able to impart on SCE, I want to make sure that that culture extends to NPSG, and by extension if it’s a culture that breeds success, then it should naturally extend into other parts of Sony as well.

Nevertheless, as a company that also owns a film studio and a music label, the digital age must present as much conflict as opportunity? How can Sony reconcile its two roles?
There’s always been that difference of opinion or perspective, and that’s bound to happen, because on the one side you’re coming from software, from the other side you’re coming from hardware.

There is always going to be that, but I think it depends on the management of the organisations to really harness that energy and conflict in the right way or to exacerbate the situation. I’d like to think that because we at SCE are one of the very few companies within the Sony group, probably the only one, that deals in both hardware and software under one roof, we have that conflict built in.

It’s part of our culture to manage that conflict and to manage it in a right way, so that it becomes a positive rather than something that takes down the organisation. I’d like to think the folks at SCE have a lot of experience and knowledge about striking a balance between the two and hopefully we can impart that across the wider Sony group as well. Sony needs to get to the point where we’re not talking about hardware or software, but about a total consumer experience. We don’t talk about hardware and software at SCE. We talk about how we can bring the best consumer experience under the PlayStation umbrella. Nobody questions whether we’re a hardware company or a software company, and that’s the way I think Sony needs to move as well.

• The Oxford Murders hd

What are your own personal criteria for a successful gadget?
Ease of use. One of the standards is how many times I have to look at a manual. I look too for industrial form factor and design. Does it look nice and does it function very well?

Talking of form and design, I see you’ve ditched the Spider-man typeface from the new PlayStation…
We wanted to make sure that we set a new direction for the PS3. The PS logo with the capital P and small S has always been our logo, has always been synonymous with video games and I wanted to reset the thinking. Also internally I wanted to send the message internally that we are resetting the thinking, going back to our roots. What better way to do it than by resetting the logo? That puts the entire organisation on its toes. On a practical level, when you have PlayStation 3 spelt out, the aspect ratio was such that if you wanted it on a billboard it became tiny. It didn’t work in terms of visibility.

In the meantime, Nintendo has done more to popularise video gaming than any other company.
It’s a very astute observation, but it doesn’t take in history. The most successful console is still the PS2 and it’s still going strong. I think that’s the console that really broke the barrier from video games being just for video gamers into more of a mass market on a global basis. Nintendo’s obviously done a great job in following that mass acceptance.

But there is a new constituency of video game players. How will you make sure they come to the PS3?
First and foremost it needs to be done through compelling video game titles. That is a two-pronged strategy where we always need to make sure that the platform is perceived as a videogames platform. Once you increase the installed base you cannot say, OK we’re not going to do any more games for the hardcore gamer. You lose them, you lose the whole foundation. A great example is games like God of War. Those games we will continue to do.

Cloak & Dagger full

Titles like Singstar and Buzz are great examples of family type games. Number 2, I think that the accessibility of the PS Network and all the different content that we offer and will bring in the future – people who realise that it’s a great console to have for all the other things it offers. It’s a great entrance into the PS3 for some people and once you’ve got one, why not try video games as well? I think that’s more of a long-term proposition. But since we’re on a 10-year lifecycle, it’s the sort of thing we’ll be looking at in a couple of years.

And what about the “magic wand” motion control system you have shown glimpses of here and at E3? When will we see that in stores?
We are slating it for spring of next year. One of the things is that we just don’t want to put out the controller. We need a great software that supports the controller at launch. It’s something that we’ve been working on for the longest time.

Finally, the PSP Go is coming in October, and has no drive for UMD disks. Do you think physical media such as DVDs and even Blu-ray have a limited time left?
No. Perhaps we can sit down three years from now and have a beer, or two or ten, while we wait to download 40 gigabytes of data for a full ps3 game. That’s still going to take a lot of time. We’re in over 100 countries and there are areas where consumers still don’t have access to the type of broadband that we have. The death of physical media is a very nice conclusion, that seems to be nice to say, but it’s not something we’re going to see soon. We are committed to the PSP 3000 and the UMD business. A lot of people like to speculate that we’re getting out of that business, but nothing could be further from the truth. We’re not going to deprive consumers in all those other countries.

The Slim is hitting stores September 1 in North America and Europe and will cost $299 (or for those who live in regions, 299 euros or 29,980 yen). Hirai says the device has the same features and functions as the “old” PS3 but is 33 percent smaller, 36 percent lighter, and comes with a 120GB hard drive. (See photo comparison here).

Sony says that to achieve the new form factor, the internal design architecture of the new PS3 system has been completely redesigned–”from the main semiconductors and power supply unit to the cooling mechanism.”

The PS3 Slim is powered by a new 45nm version of the Cell processor, which runs at the same speed as the 60nm processor in the “old” PS3 but is smaller and more energy efficient. According to company reps, power consumption for the Slim has also been cut to two-thirds, “helping to reduce fan noise,” which is important.

Kaz Hirai unveils the PS3 Slim in Cologne, Germany.

On the cosmetic front, this model has a textured surface finish that gives the PS3 a fresh, casual look that the company hopes will make it more appealing to a wider audience (read: casual gamers). As previously rumored, the PS3 logo has undergone a redesign and Sony’s changing the PS3 brand name from “PLAYSTATION 3″ to “PlayStation 3″ (we’ve actually been calling it the PlayStation 3 for a while).

Like the 80GB and 160GB models, the 120GB PS3 Slim has built-in Wi-Fi and two USB ports (sorry, Sony didn’t add IR or backwards compatibility for PS2 games). You can also upgrade/replace the hard drive without voiding the warranty, though Sony has moved the hard drive from the side of the unit to the front for “easier access.” (To remove the hard drive, you simply unscrew two screws). The one feature missing from the Slim is the ability to install another operating system (i.e., Linux)–Sony is doing away with that feature.

With earlier PS3s, you could prop your unit up vertically or lay it down horizontally. Out of the box, the Slim is only designed to be used in a horizontal position, but Sony will sell a $24 stand that allows you to stand it up vertically.

In making the move to the PS3 Slim, Sony will be upgrading the firmware to 3.00 and phasing out its legacy 80GB and 160GB models, selling them for $299 and $399 respectively.

The Little Kidnappers video

John Koller, director of hardware marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America, says they’ve been able to run down inventory of older models, but he didn’t have the best answer as to why someone would buy an old 80GB model over the new 120GB Slim. “Some people want a unit right away and they may like the look of the old unit,” he said. “People will have their reasons for wanting one.”

We’re expecting our review sample to arrive tomorrow. But GameSpot’s Ricardo Torres and Sarju Shah were lucky enough to already get a Slim.

Source: Gamespot & Cnet

Chocolat dvd No one could have suspected that the sequel to 2004′s Killzone would be this good. Killzone 2 is a tremendous package, offering an exciting campaign and terrific competitive online play, neither of which create new paradigms for first-person shooters, but rather set new standards in subtle but significant ways. From groundbreaking visuals to well-crafted multiplayer maps, most of Killzone 2′s individual elements stand out in a crowded genre, making its meager attempts at storytelling easy to ignore. PlayStation 3 owners looking for a shooter to keep them busy for the rest of 2009 and beyond need look no further: The fierce action will keep you glued to your television screen for some time to come.

Conspiracy move Leaving Las Vegas release

The M82: Is there nothing it can’t do?

Rocky V rip

Donnie Darko rip

What makes Killzone 2′s single-player campaign so much fun? First and foremost, the weapons are a lot of fun to shoot, even the standard assault rifles that form the core of your loadout. The M82′s effective scope makes zooming in on your target a breeze, yet this rifle is effective at close range as well, establishing itself from the beginning as a formidable firearm. The LS13 shotgun is also powerful and rewarding to fire; though you may only shoot off a foe’s helmet with other weapons, you’ll watch entire heads explode with a single blast from this close-range powerhouse. The bolt gun is another favorite, skewering enemy soldiers onto surfaces and exploding a short moment later. Though you’re traversing a sci-fi setting, your weapons are decidedly modern-day, from the sniper rifle to the vicious flamethrower, with one exception: the lightning gun. This mighty instrument showers enemies with overpowering jolts of electricity, and though it’s not available for long, it makes short work of robotic and humanoid foes. Each of these weapons feels just right; fantastic spurts of blood, outstanding animations, exquisitely detailed weapon models, and explosive sound effects fuse seamlessly and give a satisfying sense of impact every time you land a shot.

Although there’s a great variety of weaponry, you won’t encounter that many different kinds of enemies as you fight your way across the war-torn landscapes of the planet Helghan. As in the original Killzone, your enemies consist largely of Helghast soldiers, yet though this limited selection led to monotony in the past, an assortment of factors in the sequel hold tedium at bay. The action is constantly pushing forward, leading you from one quality scripted event to the next and pitting you against bright AI opponents that have a remarkable grasp of battlefield tactics. These soldiers put up a fight and exhibit authentic behavior as you rain bullets on them. If you set your sights on a soldier peeking from behind cover and fire off a few rounds in that direction, he’ll patiently wait until all signs of fire have vanished. Helghast will flank you and shoot blindly from behind cover, and should you toss a grenade in their direction, they’ll quickly scatter. You’ll normally be fighting alongside a computer-controlled teammate or even entire squads of fellow infantry. Enemy AI is just as concerned with your comrades as it is with you, so you’ll never feel as if you have a bull’s-eye plastered on your forehead, as is common with many other team-based shooters. As a result, Killzone 2′s thrilling large-scale battles unfold dynamically and offer a legitimate challenge while rarely feeling unfair–a frustrating rocket-heavy final battle serving as the only exception.

Some excellent turret sequences and other segments also provide welcome variations on the shooting theme. At one point, you’ll climb into a robotic shell and mow down infantry and tanks with machine gun fire and rockets. The way your transparent protective shield exhibits cracks as you take damage and the remarkable fire and smoke effects that light up the screen add to the excitement of the level. In another fun and visually stunning sequence, you’ll use an antiaircraft turret to take down squadrons of enemy fighters. Even operating a standard turret is more appealing than you would expect, which is a result of great map design and well-scripted enemy entrances. If you’re just using your standard arsenal, missions are diverse and engaging. You’ll take aim at tanks (and in one boss fight, a hovering aircraft) using Killzone 2′s potent rocket launcher, and you’ll fight your way through a besieged air base in which winding corridors and intersecting passages have you battling multiple enemies on multiple levels.

Most levels take their cue from the usual first-person shooter formulas, and though it takes place in the spacefaring future, Killzone 2 feels more akin to a modern-day day FPS by way of its standard weapons and mostly humanoid enemies. It’s an interesting blend of two disparate sensibilities that works far better than in the original, and it’s further ripened by gameplay touches that feel authentic within that framework. Movement and turning speeds have a real feeling of weight, which is appropriate considering the heavy armor burdening you. This can make the controls feel somewhat sluggish at first, given that you take a moment to gather momentum. It doesn’t take long to get accustomed to this sense of overall bulkiness, though, and it’s consistently delivered across multiple mechanics. For example, when you jump, the way that you bend into the leap and cushion the landing with another slight crouch feels surprisingly realistic. That weight also informs movement in and out of cover. Killzone 2′s cover system is solid, and it never removes you from a first-person viewpoint. Though some objects can obscure your view if you try to take potshots from behind them, sticking to cover and leaning out from behind walls is generally effective and intuitive.

This armored suit is the ultimate death machine.

Palindromes trailer

Whether you go for a pop-and-shoot approach or just gun your way through, the mission design keeps you constantly moving from one objective to the next. The quick pace is one of Killzone 2′s finest facets; battles don’t wear on too long, and they aren’t so brief as to be anticlimactic. Like many other shooters, mission objectives often involve turning a crank or pushing a button. In Killzone 2, this may mean rotating the controller to simulate the onscreen activity. These moments feel unnecessary and ironically disrupt the sense of immersion, but as tacked-on as they are, the actions are too brief to be especially annoying. You’ll also use your gamepad’s motion sensitivity to stabilize the sniper rifle, though the implementation here is subtle and therefore relatively harmless.

It’s a real pity that there is so little context for the exceptional action. If you’re familiar with the original Killzone, you’ll at least have an idea why the ISA (International Strategic Alliance) is attacking the Helghast homeworld; if not, it’s clear that as Thomas Sevchenko, you are on the side of the good guys–just not clear why they are the good guys. The dialogue is rudimentary (a discussion regarding sandwiches jumps immediately to mind), the characters forgettable, and the plot serves purely as a thin framework to move you from one environment to the next. Yet the cutscenes are top-notch, and unlike their counterparts in fellow PS3 shooter Haze, there’s nothing intrinsically offensive or wearisome about the fist-pumping grunts at the core of the story. The story isn’t deep or involving–it’s just there, neither enhancing nor diminishing Killzone 2′s action.

That action is enhanced by groundbreaking visuals that elevate Killzone 2 to the head of its class. Both technically and artistically, this is a real stunner. You’ll first notice the obvious expressions of its technical prowess: environments jam-packed with objects and textured architectural details, pipes and crumbling rebar jutting from dilapidated buildings, and gorgeous lighting that drenches market squares and sandy battlefields with an incandescent glow. As you peel away the visual layers, your appreciation will only grow. Soldier animations are the best in the genre: Enemies move so fluidly during battle, and shift from cover to firing stance so smoothly, it’s clear that meticulous attention was given to making each limb move authentically. Even the smallest details are striking. Raging fires react to the wind as it blows through the level, lightning flashes across the gloomy skies, and billows of smoke so thick you could choke on them cloud your view–but never so much as to be a gameplay annoyance.

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The environments are dripping with grim ambience.

These visuals coalesce beautifully to give Killzone 2 a cohesive look that relies as much on its art design as it does on its technology. A subtle grain filter, a good amount of motion blur, and deep color saturation give most levels a dank, overcast ambience, and asymmetrical architecture and other small stylistic touches make Helghan feel more like a grim alternate-universe Earth than a completely foreign world. The sound design offers an equally intense palette. Explosions are obnoxiously loud, and the din of gunfire spreads across the map. The largest battles, such as one that rages across a decrepit bridge, sound intensely chaotic, and the crack of lightning bolts on Blood Gracht may cause you to jump out of your seat. The stormy soundtrack rages at all the right moments but gets a bit overwrought, which befits the hammy voice acting more than it does the layered sound effects.

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Although the campaign is over in eight or nine hours, many levels are eminently replayable thanks to tough enemy AI and multiple difficulty levels, and the game makes it easy to revisit specific sequences within its mission menu. But what gives this shooter legs is its fantastic online play, a fun and competitive extravaganza that issues a constant stream of benefits. Like the most recent Call of Duty games, Killzone 2 rewards you with bonuses as you play, which in this case can mean new weapons, extra grenades awarded upon respawning, and most intriguingly, entire classes. This is done not only via a leveling system that pushes you ever closer to the next reward, but also with ribbons earned by completing specific tasks, such as getting a certain percentage of your team’s kills. These bonuses are earned separately from leveling, which makes for two layers of online play enhancements to keep you ever addicted.

These dividends flow in a seemingly endless current, though they aren’t the only facet of online play that will keep you gripping your controller; the team-based gameplay itself is outstanding, which serves as reason enough to stick with Killzone 2. The modes themselves offer few surprises, what with variants on Team Deathmatch (Bodycount), Conquest (Capture and Hold), and Capture the Flag (Search and Retrieve), among others. Rather, matches are unique because these modes are strung seamlessly together, forcing teams to move from one objective to the next with barely a breather in-between. Up to five modes mesh into a single game, which keeps teams on their toes and spreads hotbeds of action about the maps. In a single match, you’re likely to band with teammates in an exposed courtyard, navigate tight walkways as battles rage in the artificial gulley just beyond, and defend an objective in a claustrophobic alcove. It’s unlikely that you’ll have trouble finding players online to join you in one of Killzone 2′s 32-player engagements, but should you be so inclined, you can fill out the games that you host with up to 15 AI-controlled bots. You can even practice offline in one-off matches with those same bots if you prefer.

The eight maps included are exceptional, largely because they are flexible enough to make every mode feel like a natural fit for the precise layouts. Aspects such as the varying spawn points of the propaganda speaker in Search and Retrieve, and the vulnerable locations of capture points in Capture and Hold, provide focused hot spots and send you to every nook and cranny of the maps. Be prepared to think vertically because the pathways wind up stairwells, through hidden tunnels, and across balconied walkways. The addition of techniques available to each of Killzone 2′s seven classes makes the ensuing action even more dynamic. An engineer’s turrets can make Pyrrhus Rise’s natural chokepoints even more treacherous, whereas a cloaked enemy may pounce on you as you navigate Tharsis Depot’s constricted walkways. All the while, visual flourishes such as floating embers on Visari Hammer and distant artillery fire on Salamun Market keep the mood oppressive.

Online play offers an embarrassment of rewards.

Additional features flesh out the robust online play. You can join other teammates in a squad, a la Battlefield 2 and Enemy Territory, a feature that lets you coordinate attacks with ease. Full support for clans and clan challenges should make Killzone 2 a natural destination for competitive teams, and you can use killzone.com to schedule clan matches and tournaments. But whether you’re a lone wolf or a clan enthusiast, you’ll be happy to find a mostly smooth online experience, with only rare and short bouts of visual slowdown and online lag. In light of this extraordinary suite of online options, it’s a pity that there is no cooperative play, and the single-player campaign seems ripe for such an addition, given that you’re usually accompanied by an AI teammate.

You’ll have to look to the inevitable Killzone 3 to find out if developer Guerilla can dig any diamonds out of this series’ rough narrative. Otherwise, Killzone 2 is an exceptional first-person shooter, not because it does anything particularly new, but because it does everything extraordinarily well. There’s certainly no doubting its graphical superiority, but though its moody visuals invite incessant superlatives, it’s the tight, electric action that will make this an off- and online haven.

Source [GameSpot]

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It should come as no surprise to anyone that they made another 50 Cent game. Despite its chilly critical reception, 2005′s 50 Cent: Bulletproof sold remarkably well. What is likely to surprise many people is that the new game, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, is actually quite good. The fast-paced gameplay, tight controls, and arcade-style scoring system form a solid base for the simplistic yet fun action. Layered on top of this foundation is a heaping helping of 50 Cent and G-Unit flavor; vulgar dialogue, ridiculous one-liners, and a whole lot of licensed music give Blood on the Sand the bravado it needs to stay entertaining when the action begins to wear thin. Neither the action nor the attitude are particularly inspired, but together they are enough to make this an enjoyable ride.

Gangsta Fire mode makes killing twice as easy.

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The premise and story serve as little more than a backdrop here, but that’s just fine. 50 Cent and G-Unit play a concert and get stiffed by the promoter. Hoping to avoid Fiddy’s wrath, the promoter offers them a BeDazzled skull. Everyone’s happy until the crew is ambushed and the skull is stolen. It is then that you commence shooting anything that moves. 50 and his chosen G-Unit companion (Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, or DJ Whoo Kid) traverse a war-torn urban Middle Eastern landscape, slaying countless goons while pursuing one criminal figure after another. Though there are a few vehicle segments to vary things up, most of the locales kind of blur together in a blend of gunfire and earth tones. Regardless, they are impressively detailed and do a solid job of setting the stage for the explosive action.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a third-person shooter, so you’ll be running and gunning with your overly muscled character in full view. The only differences between characters are aesthetic; both 50 Cent and his G-Unit sidekick run at a good clip and can dive in any direction. They can also snap into cover with the press of a button, but this mechanic is a bit too sticky to be convenient. Fortunately, you’ll rarely have to use it. Your character is very durable, and when things do get hairy, you can take advantage of the gangsta fire mode (read: bullet time) that makes it easy to lay out a squad of enemies in seconds.

The action is smooth and the controls are responsive, but it begins to feel repetitive after a while. There are a few bells and whistles to spice things up, such as counterkills, which are brutal quick-time melee attacks in which your character pummels, perforates, or otherwise brutalizes an enemy. However, the big incentive to keep playing is the scoring system. Every enemy that you kill earns you points, and killing them in quick succession will get a multiplier going. Additionally, you earn bonuses for the manner in which you dispatch your foes; scoring a headshot or taunting your enemies after you kill them will further boost your score. Even if you’re not the kind of gamer who normally strives for high scores, Blood on the Sand’s scoring system has a way of sucking you in. Your multiplier and kill bonuses are displayed prominently onscreen, and this visual reinforcement spurs you onward, motivating you to kill your enemies harder, better, faster, stronger.

Though it may seem like 50 could punch through a man’s stomach, what you see here is actually a stabbing.

To further quicken the pace, timed scenarios appear on the screen occasionally and challenge you to accomplish certain objectives within a certain time period. Target enemies are outlined in red, so you’ll always know who they are, and completing scenarios will earn you souped-up rounds for your pistol and extra grenades. Red danger arrows also appear to steer you toward the action by indicating where your enemies are about to come from. When there is a lull in the action, you can busy yourself with hunting down collectibles that will boost your score significantly (five posters and five targets in each mission). There are also loot crates that earn you cash to spend on new guns, counterkills, and taunts. Between your score, timed scenario announcements, your health meter, the gangsta fire bar, danger arrows, your cash total, and your kill multiplier, the heads-up display can get very crowded. It manages not to intrude on the action overmuch, but it can be distracting, especially in this day and age when the minimalist HUD reigns supreme.

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Nevertheless, this bustling HUD somehow fits well into the blustering swagger of 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. The game is saturated with overblown gangster bravado, and it matches the over-the-top action perfectly. From the cutscenes in which 50 Cent vows to kill almost everyone he meets to the vulgar (and often amusing) banter between characters, it just doesn’t quit. The only place vulgarity is omitted is in the unlockable music videos, which are incongruously censored. Fortunately, the music tracks are not. As you progress and unlock new songs, you can tweak your playlist in the pause menu. 50 Cent and G-Unit songs make a great backdrop for the action and really tie the whole package together.

Blood on the Sand is better enjoyed with a friend, and the well-implemented drop-in/drop-out Cooperative mode is a solid addition. It’s easy to let people join your game, and just as easy to keep them out or boot them should they become a nuisance. Whether you play solo or cooperative, you’ll get a solid 10+ hours out of the campaign, in addition to any high-score runs that you attempt for the sake of making the online leaderboards. The run-and-gun gameplay isn’t particularly inspired, but the scoring system adds enough to keep you engaged. The pervasive attitude is so excessive that it borders on parody, but when underlaid with a robust offering of authentic songs, it works surprisingly well. This isn’t the best action game you’ll play this year, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have a damn fun time playing it.

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Source [GameSpot]

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