Prince Of Persia First Video Look!

The Prince Of Persia series has been at the forefront of gaming since its inception way back in 1989. With multiple awards spanning from Game of Year, to a hall of fame induction; POP (Prince of Persia) is still kicking ass and taking names. Without boring you all by going through a time line of each POP installment I want to focus on the new title coming to the XBox 360. Yes, there have been three installments of the legendary series within the past 4 years: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. However, it was these three titles that got new developer Ubisoft recognition for re-inventing the series and bringing it to new heights. Countless awards and game of the year nominations later, Ubisoft is back at it and hopes to yet again set the world a blaze with: Prince of Persia: Prodigy.

-Wiki-
According to Ubidays Interview,^[3] a new Prince of Persia will be depicted as a wanderer at first, who while returning home from an adventure with his "bearings" with a donkey named "Lady with Treasure" as of the interview, to spend his rest of life in peace. But all of a sudden, he is caught by a fierce sandstorm, thrown out of his original path for no specified reason and finds himself in a forbidden land - a mythical garden of beauty, dominated at its centre by a massive Tree of Life. Imprisoned in the Tree of Life is Ahriman, the "Ancient Evil God of Darkness", who was consealed within the tree by his twin brother Ormazd, the "Ancient God of Light". The Prince accidentally unlocks the imprisonment of Ahriman from the Tree. After being free, Ahriman starts corrupting the lands with darkness and evil in an attempt to avenge his defeat at the hands of his brother, Ormazd. Just as the The Guy is about to leave the scene and allow the consequences of his "mistake" to spread on the whole world, he is encountered by a young woman named Elika, a descendent of the Ahuras, a group of people who guarded the imprisonment of Ahriman. Elika asks the The Guy for his help to undo what he had done and bring back peace to the world by stopping Ahriman , and the latter finally agrees to come with her.The game producers claim that the game will feature the gradual evolution of the wanderer, who saves the world from darkness, into a noble Prince of the land Persia.

The look and feel of this new installment is also aantiquating a pretty hefty response from testers and early tech demos. It's as if Ubisoft has gone to a more cell shaded look for Prodigy in hopes to set this installment aside from the three previous Persia games. The first posted screen shots are now up on Ubisoft's official web site but you can get a feel for the demeanor and look of the game from the footage I'm about to provide you all as well as the posted screen shots I have up. In my opinion? This is an excellent idea and the look thus far has given me nothing but good things to say! Check out the world premier trailer for Prince of Persia: Prodigy and let me know what you all think.

-Game Hard-

Upcoming Gems Vol. 6 - Street Fighter IV

Fighting games are a very strict niche, either you like 'em or you hate 'em. Me? I love them! The very first game I ever bought with my own hard earned cash was Mortal Kombat 1 for the Genesis. I can remember playing that game so much that the actual cartridge [over time] melted on the lower right hand side of it. Without a doubt the MK series holds a near and dear place in my heart and of course is my all time favorite fighting series, however there are two other fighting titles that over the years have come close to dethroning the power house known as Mortal Kombat. I'm talking about non other than the Samurai Showdown series for the Neo Geo (most notably Samurai Showdown 2) and the other being what some may say is the greatest fighting series of all time (and it has the fan base and longevity to prove it) the Street Fighter Series!

Since I'm not here to re-live my past I am going to focus on Street Fighter, more precisely Street Fighter 4; Capcom's latest installment for the kingpin series. The game is due out in Arcades June of this year in Japan and has now just officially been announced, via Capcom's latest press event, that the game will be coming state side (duhh). However, the big news was seeped into the fine lines of their press event, Capcom speaker Hideyou Kojime explained "Street Fighter 4 will be hitting all major next gen gaming consoles...except for the Wii." I laughed at that last part. The roster will of course be filled to the brim with past characters like (my fav) Sagat, Blanka, Chun Li, Ryu, Ken, Vega, E-Honda...the list goes on. Oh yeah, there's going to be 4 new playable characters that you all can sink your meat hooks into.

The great thing about this game is they have reverted back to "traditional" 2D gameplay mechanics with a "back" focus on 3D
functionality. In layman's terms: they are catering to the hardcore fans of past. The backgrounds and ambient surroundings will all be in 3D, however, the game play itself will be on a 2D plane which will incorporate some 3D animations when doing a "finishing move." Confused? Don't be...the creators have stated multiple times at events that this game will be accessible to newbies alike but also garner a well respected love from the hardcore players. Thank God!

Ok, so enough with the dates and all that formal jargon...Lets see some footage right? I've supplied the latest 3 videos featuring some of our favorite characters from past Street Fighter installments...

Street fighter 4
by Delnics

This Week "In The Box" [5.26.08]

Well, I guess you could say the summer is near...some would say its here already, I would say the summer time video game slump is kicking in. Every year developers around the world seem to "slow down" a tidbit and catch their breath from the years en devours and creations. That "time of year" just so happens to be the summer, go figure. Yet, in retrospect I'm not that mad. Let 'em rest up; because if they start dishing out turd sandwiches for games instead of high quality ones due to overload syndrome we (the gamers) will be SOL. There will be scattered releases for the 360 from here until about August 1st; This week happens to be ones of those light ones, hell were not even being graced with an XBox Live Arcade game. With that said, I present to you this weeks sole release:

Enemy Territory- Quake Wars

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is an online, tactical shooter in which the armies of Earth are fighting an alien race known as the Strogg. The game is online play only with the offline play being comprised of "bots" (A.I. controlled NPC's). The game is powered by the Quake Engine (same one used for a plethora of other FPS's) so you know it will look pretty.

Quake has been around for a very long time. Its first inception was way back in 1996 and rivaled the likes of Duke Nukem, Doom and even Marathon. Some say it was really ahead of it's time due to the graphics and game play, however the series really didn't pick up steam until the inception of QuakeCon; a gigantic LAN party in its own rite where people around the world came to play Quake games and compete for glory. Since then, Quake has quickly gathered a legion of rabid fans who are willing to follow i.d. software (developers) into the very depths of hell.

Being a first person shooter fan all my life I will most likely give this game a whirl. However, I'm most likely going to rent it, grind some points out of it and return it...Never been a huge Quake fan.

So thats it, I told it was a light week!
See ya next Monday.

-Game Hard-

Penny For Your Thoughts?

This past Monday I posted the weekly "Inside The Box" like usual. I named the three games that were coming out gave some thoughts on each one and ended the entry. When explaining one of the games I stated I was going to download the demo via LIVE, check it out and get back to ya's. Well, I downloaded...I liked...I bought.

I'm talking about non other than Penny Arcade's: On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness. The demo was so good that it forced me to make the decision of paying 20 bones for an XBox Live Arcade game; yeah you heard me right, $20.00, thats 1600 Microsoft Points. I know its a bit steep but trust me when I say, If you like RPG's, robots, killing mimes/clowns/hobos/little peeing robots...you need to get this game! It also helps if you've read the web strip once or twice before. Myself? I read it weekly and get a chuckle every so often however... it wont win any Pulitzer Prize.

I will be bluntley honest though: you will enjoy this game much more if you have read the web based comic that Penny Arcade is known for. There's a lot of inside jokes and characters as well as items and robots; but in all actuality, I never once found myself saying, "Wow, if you've never read the web strip your screwed!" I don't believe you need to read the strip on a weekly basis in order to enjoy a this old school throw back of an RPG that has a great story line, lush cell shaded/"cartoonish" graphics and lots of peeing robots. Play then game and you'll understand that one.

Almost everything in this game you can examine. Some examinations will reward you with things like bandages to heal yourself our your partners, weapon upgrades, junk parts, oranges, you get my drift. Yet, the subtle nuances are what provide this game substance. For example, I was walking around a section of a map just kind of minding my own, going from mail box to mailbox looking for junk parts to upgrade my weapons with when I found something fantastically evil yet brilliantly funny. I walked up to a house, tried to open the door but was met with a subtle sound effect of a revolver spinning its reel and text that stated: "No Douche bags allowed." God I loved that.

In the game you are provided with four different map locations, which kind of hampers your experience...meaning it's not a big world. Though the series is going to be distributed via XBox Live as episodic content, the creators could have delved a little deeper into Arcadia (that's where the story takes place) making it a tad bit bigger.

Combat is the shinning point of Precipice. It's not traditional in its own sense. In fact it's almost genre bending in its own rite. It's an RPG in the sense that your on a horizontal layout, you have three guys on the screen (not including bad guys) and you can use special attacks, items, unison attacks, etc. The thing that sets this game apart from your traditional RPG is the fact that you're almost doing the battling in real time. All your moves are timed and can be performed at any point in the battle. Lets say I want to attack with one of my characters; I press x, press x again to confirm the attack and my character will go and strike the enemy I highlighted. However, as soon as I'm done giving that order I can pan over to another character and start inputting orders for him as well. As soon as I'm done doing this, BOOM, the next character attacks. Things get crazy in big scale battles, it almost feels like your constantly trying to give orders to everybody in hopes to do sequential damage. This can actually cause some trouble seeing as though micromanaging everything your characters need to do tends to get tedious and repetitive.

The sound FX are good, although I would have liked for them to be a little louder and sharper. I would kill a robot and it would explode, but the explosion would sound like someone kicked a garbage can over. Yet, the voice acting work was good even though there wasn't much of it going on. The games story is played out by comic book captions replacing real voice acting. Kind of a nice touch but I would have liked to have heard more of the opening guys voice throughout the game, he was hilarious.

All and all Penny Arcade's: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness delivers a true video game form of their web strip but also pacts in a great story, good graphics, fun fighting mechanics and a lot of potty mouth. If your into RPG's and like to laugh check this game out, or at least download the demo...thats what hooked me!

7 out of 10

-Game Hard-

Price Cuts to Quench Our Thirst!

Gamers have it tough money wise. We spend thousands, if not tens of thousands on consoles, games, CPU's, console add-ons, cooling systems, blah blah blah. My passion for gaming, as well as the other 9 billion gamers world wide, has sometimes left me eating Raman Noodles for weeks straight (college was rough) and sacrificing the occasional "night out" with the Misses. Money is tighter than ever with the market the way it is and I don't even want to talk about the gasoline epidemic hitting us. So, when I see a story such as the one I'm about to uncover I cant help but be excited, ecstatic and even a little giddy.

Industry Analysts have now speculated that we might see price cuts for for the Xbox 360 as well as the Playstation 3 come this Christmas. Games Radar reports, "Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter expects both the Xbox 360 and PS3 to shed $50 for the holiday shopping season, according to reports on his speech at the Electronic Gaming Summit."

Reports from Kotaku.com said that Pachter also stated that even with the price drops it would still be difficult to match last year's Christmas sales numbers.

"While Pachter is reported as expecting 19% industry growth in the US and 20% in Europe this year, that number will dip to 16% and 18% respectively in the following year unless each console drops another $100 off its price tag." -GamesRadar-

In another statement spewed by Pachter, He believes that industry growth will become stagnent by 2011, unless a new console is released. My opnion? Stick to the stats Mr. Pachter, we'll take care of the money side of things.

This Week 'In The Box' [5.19.08]

This week proves yet again to be a somewhat dry happenstance for Xbox 360 owners. Sure we get three releases (two retail and one Downloadable) however, I still get the feeling that only one of these games will be worth the pick up. I stand to be corrected though. Why? Well one of the titles just happens to be extremely popular and gained some "kinda" well deserved hype. I'm of course speaking of Xbox Live's downloadable Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness...now take your breath.
You may or may not, for that matter, even know the slightest bit about Penny Arcade and why they are so popular. Penny Arcade runs a web site (pennyarcade.com) that creates a web comic (stick with me here) that caters to the gaming world and all things gaming culture. It's a weekly comic strip that pokes fun at every ordeal or happening in the gaming universe. So, technically...if your not hardcore into gaming, keep up with gaming news and events then the web comic itself may not be so funny to you. I'm explaining this because the game will be soaked with inside jokes generated from the web comic/web site. This cuts out a lot of potential buyers in my opinion and may hamper sales in general for the Penny Arcade Team. But, seeing as though the site has such a rabid fan base, I'm sure it will do just fine. It's also going to be an episodic title, meaning that the story will unfold through "episodes" which will, of course, be sold via Live Arcade.

The Titles a basic throw back to traditional RPG's; you take a turn then the 'baddies' take a turn. Item collection will of course be as prevalent as ever and expect to see big honking, cell shaded boss fights sugar coated with looping humor and inside sarcasm. Me? I occasionally read the web comic...and occasionally (emphasis on occasionally) laugh. I'll download the demo off Live and tell you all how it turns out.

The other two titles are retail games. One of them actually isn't that bad of a sports game...too bad its a soccer one. UEFA EURO 2008 is your standard soccer game boosted with high-def graphics and decent game play mechanics. It actually came out in Europe about 3 months ago and is just now hitting the States. If your a fan of soccer games, pick it up...if your not, I would stay clear of this one.

The last game coming to retail stores this week for the 360 is my pick to buy: Lost Planet: Colonies.
This game is a revamped version of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition that features new single and multiplayer modes. The original Lost Planet came out in 2006 and was actually a really good game that I suggest you all check out. This new version garners new weapons and multiplayer modes as well as boosts the single player campaign a little bit with some side missions. The game is a third person shooter; kind of in the vein of "Bionic Commando" for the NES. You have lots of guns, explosives and one kick ass grappling hook that clings onto anything you see. I wont state too much about the campaign but I will say it was extremely fun and challenging in its own rite. If your going to try this one out, buy this version of the game...you'll thank me later for all the goodies they provide you in this re-issued disc!

-Game Hard-

Grinding The Back Catalog

I'm bored. I don't think I've been bored in a long while. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I didn't have anything to play. Perhaps it's due to the fact we were spoiled last year with all the Triple A titles that hit the shelves throughout the year. I mean Bioshock, Halo 3, Mass Effect, FEAR FILES, Stranglehold, I could go on and on. Granted, I'm a 360 owner and am speaking strictly on the Xbox side of things but the gist of the statement is simply this: I had something to play every day of the year almost...seriously. Right now? Not so much the case. Please, don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining. This is the perfect opportunity to check out my ever growing back catalog of games I own and perhaps re-visit a couple of them! You might be asking yourself: "Weren't you playing GTA4 a week back?" My answer: "Yup, but It bored me...its no Crackdown!"

With that said, first up on the retro Warp9 Playback: Call of Juarez.

Remember the days of Western movies? I'm not talking about bombs like "The Quick and The Dead." I'm talking about the greats: Unforgiven, Fist Full of Dollars, Silverado, Wild Bill...TOMBSTONE! Well, let me tell you a quick story in which "The Warp9 Playback" was derived from. I was watching the old "boob tube" this past Saturday morning, flipping through the channels when I happen to stumble across the AMC channel. What was on you may ask? My favorite western movie of all time, Tombstone. I don't know if it was Kurt Russel's excellent portrayal of Wyatt Earp or Val Kilmer's Oscar worthy performance as Doc Holliday but damn that movie was kick ass! Shoot outs, fist fights, swearing, gambling, women...it had all the necessary key ingredients that solidified it as one of my fav's.

After the end credits rolled (Yup, I watched the whole movie; probably my tenth time) I got to thinking: "Don't I have an FPS set in the Old Western Days?" I sure as hell do and It's called: Call of Juarez. As many of you know, last year I named The Darkness as my sleeper hit of 2007. However, if I could have picked two games; Call of Juarez would have been the other. Juarez captured the rough, unadulterated, violent past known as The Wild Wild West perfectly. Though the game garnered an average score of about 7.5 from other aggregated web sites and print magazines (which I may add is actually a good score) the game managed to deliver a solid 12 hours of Westernized first person mayhem. Gritty, violent great graphics, spot on sound FX and a surefire good time all around, this game was a perfect choice for the Warp9 Playback.

Call of Jaurez is loosely based on just about every spaghetti western to hit the movie scene from the past 4 decades. You play the role of 2 protagonists throughout the single player campaign known as Billy, a young Mexican fugitive accused of murder and Reverend Ray; ex bad ass outlaw who believes he has been chosen by God to be his "Hand of Wrath." Trust me when I say this guy is one scary dude. Each character basically has their own story intertwined with one another's. Billy is trying to prove his innocence and is on the run while Ray is out to kill Billy for what he supposedly did. You switch back and forth playing each character's scenario on certain levels, which actually keeps the pacing fresh and gets you more involved with the storyline. Without giving away too much of the story or character exposition I will say that the true plot of the game doesn't really pick up until half way through he campaign. Say what you will, but this didn't really bother me all too much nor did it take away from the fact that this is a solid shooter in its own rite.

Onto the nut and berries. Graphically Techland (developers) made this game awfully pretty. They captured the essence of the Wild West perfectly. From your standard dust ball rolling across the sunset to towns that just screamed Western Movie; Call of Juarez did a great job of setting the mood and putting you in the correct mind set. There' no texture pop ins or shadow drops in character animations and the landscapes looks crisp. Although some critics have said the NPC's (non playable character) in each town "Look Half Dead" in my opinion I never felt that at all. This actually leads me to my next point: The authenticity of the Juarez world.

The look? Spot on. The Feel? Excellent! Those are a few of the words that I say when describing the ambiance of this game. Everything just felt right. When you are dual wielding 'Prime Border Pistols' it looks and feels accurate. I hope that makes sense. I don't even know what a 'Prime Border Gun' is or for that matter looks like but it sure felt like it belonged in the mid 1800's. Everything just felt real...almost like this story really happened in history; with some exaggeration of course.

By now, you all should know that Sound FX are my biggest 'pet peeve.' It's the first thing I look for and is perhaps the most important aspect in making a quality game (my opinion of course). Juarez doesn't let down. The sound of gun fights is the first thing I want to touch on. They are loud, powerful sounding and feel like they truly do some damage. Explosions are a little on the bland side of things however there aren't that many in the game so this gripe isn't really prevalent. Everything else (sound wise) is solid and give you the feeling that you really are in the Wild West. From Indian's screaming to Cowboy's spittin' Call of Juarez delivers a believable experience through not only sight... but sound.

All and all Call of Jaurez didn't win any awards. In fact it rarely got any notable praise from big time publications or web sites. However, if we all felt the same about games then we'd live in a world of stagnant decay overrun by lazy developers like EA making Madden #45. We need differentiating opinions to keep said developers on their feet; making games not just for the masses but for the gamers who are the very fabric of the underground "Niche" market. So make those Call of Juarez's...make those Barbie Delux Clothing Simulators...Hell make that damn Japanese panty sniffing game...JUST MAKE IT! I should patent that.

Call of Juarez Gets An:

outta 10

-Game Hard-

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Being a dedicated WoW fan, it hurts to spread the word about another MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game), but I must prepare the innocent PC gamers for a huge event. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is currently in the beta stage, which means a practice version of the game has been released to a limited number of people to play. The goal is to get all the negative feedback from the gamers, and then fix the game before releasing it. The graphical aspect of the game will be below par in beta, but gameplay and features will be the real deal.

So far, the feedback from the beta testers has been bad. It is hard to count the gamers that say the game sucks, because they are mostly WoW fans that want to downplay the arrival of competition. It is equally hard to count the gamers that say the game is awesome, because they are mostly Warhammer fans that want to create excitement. The reviews that are valid come from the middle area. These gamers tell the true story.

From what I can tell, the game is a spitting image of WoW in every way. This would lead me to believe that the game will be excellent. Gamers have to be aware that the MMORPG craze has been created, and many games will follow in the footsteps of WoW. These games will start with character selections, have a good and evil faction, make quests available for gaining experience, make each class unique with talents and ablilities, and eventually provide a PvP (player vs player) environment. Everquest gets credit for the first MMORPG, but WoW took that idea to another level. WoW has become the model for successful MMORPG games, and many more will follow after the release of Warhammer.

My advice to all gamers is this: If you played WoW, liked it, but stopped playing for whatever reason, give Warhammer a try. It might fit you better. If you played WoW, and hated it, save yourself the money and time you are about to throw away on this game. If you never played WoW before, but are curious about MMORPGs, go to the store today, and buy World of Warcraft. Better yet, buy Diablo first. Baby steps my little ones, baby steps...

This Week In "The Box" [5.12.08]

I guess you could say this week is a slight pick up from the last two. Last week we didn't even get treated to a Live Arcade game nor was there even a regular 360 game release; so in retrospect...take what you can get. This week sees the release of two arcade titles and one actual 360 'disc' game.

One of the arcade titles actually has me pretty excited seeing as though I played the turds out of the first one. I'm of course talking about Assault Heroes 2! This game is a top down scrolling shooter game that puts you in the driver seat of a state of the art futuristic, almost dune buggy like car that has a plethora of weapons attached to it at your disposal. The game is simplistic in its own rite and it doesn't take itself too seriously which makes it a fun experience...especially when playing in co-op. Think: "Super Contra meets Spy-Hunter." With the sequel you get a variety of new weapons which include: The Ice-Thrower. This is a fun weapon to use, especially when you have it fully upgraded. Just point, freeze and then smash! There's a slew of other weapons at you helm and there is also the ability to hijack enemies vehicles, fly helicopters, drive huge tanks, set explosives... pretty much destroy everything in your path. The title will cost you a measly 800 Microsoft Points (thats 10 Bucks Kiddies) and you can probably get a good hour to an hour in a half of game play from start to finish.

The other two titles that are being released don't even need mentioning but I will save you the trouble of reading some blah jargon on another web site. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian comes out this week as well as Rocketmen: It Came From Uranus. Narnia is the lack luster follow up to the first game based off the film and Rocketmen was absolutely horrible. From bland level design to excruciatingly bad graphics and pacing both these titles need a warning attached to them: Buy At Own Risk.

Anyways, there you have it. My opinion? Check out the demo for Assault Heroes 2 and if you like what you see/play than buy; it's worth the 10 dollar attachment! Until next week ya'll...

-Game Hard-

Tales of an Achievment Junky

The Date: [9:00am] December 25th 2006; Christmas.
The Present: An Xbox360 bundled with Ultimate Alliance and Gears of War.
Time of First Achievement Point Allotted: 9:17am [Gears of War]

They call us names like "Achievement Whore" and "Mongrels." Poke fun at us for doubling a gamer score in less than a day without even breaking a sweat, however they don't know what it's truly like...to be addicted. Ever since the inception of "achievements" and the "gamer score" video games have become much more compelling to me. Now, DO NOT get me wrong: I LOVE VIDEO GAMES and at the very center of my soul where my heart beats, Achievements are just an added bonus. With that said, God I love wracking points! The ding you hear when you unlock a 50 pointer for snipping your 100th enemy, or even just a lonely 5 pointer for killing 25 rats (no doubt that's a FEAR achievement point); and then to top it all off, your score is posted for everyone to see right next to your GamerTag (your name).

It has taken me close to a year and a half to garner the points I have to date; a blissful 18,045. I hope to pop the 20k mark by mid summer with the recent news of Too Human coming out in August. I'll sink a good 100+ hours into that gem and try to squeeze it for all the gamer points it has. Still, there's always been a deep down, dark and horrible thought in the back of my head. Yes, we are in the very middle chunk of the "next gen" console lifespan and yes, we have a few more years until the next crop of consoles even make their debuts. But it makes me wonder, will my score just disappear? Will I have to start all over again? If the score is terminated will I have to fortitude to do it all over again? It makes me mad to even fathom that building my score has been all for nothing.

REJOICE XBOX 360 ACHIEVEMENT HOUNDS! It has been rumored in the latest Game Informer magazine that all your hard work and determination might not be in vein. With the rumor of the next Xbox to be hitting in 2010 it has been leaked that our score will be transfered with out a hitch! Here's the full story as reported by GamesRadar.com.

I know the details to this point are vague (as seen in that article). Yet, I couldn't be more optimistic in the fact that Microsoft will carry over the points due to the overwhelming amount of success it has had in the past few years. It has become a way of life almost for us Xbox360 fan boys. Without points I just don't know what I would do. Well, I probably would still play alot of games.


-Game Hard-

First Glimpse: Gears of War 2 Campaign Footage

New campaign footage has been released for Gears 2 and it looks absolutely amazing. The video came out this past Friday at midnight Pacific Time on Xbox Live. Although I did not stay up until 3 am waiting, it was the first thing I did when I awoke Saturday morning. The footage demonstrates some of the concepts that were talked about in the last issue of Game Informer, and shown during the Unreal Engine 3 Demo during the 08' GDC. You can get a glimpse of a few of the new guns, a chainsaw duel, as well as Marcus picking up a downed locust and using him as a shield. Obviously there is a lot more that has not been shown such as new characters, weapons, new enemies, etc, but this will no doubt peak your interest. Cliffy B, Design Director for EPIC Games explains the rest. It is worth a watch....or two and thensome.

Warp 9's New Look!

If you haven't noticed by now we here at Warp9 are sporting a new banner and look! Rather than stay drab with that stocked header given to us by Blogger.com, I decided to branch out to a well known graphic designer based right here in Manch Vegas (that's Manchester, NH). His name is Aaron Nickulas and is very well known through out the New England area for some of the designs he's not only done for his company but also for conglomerate companies such as Disney and Time Warner. We here at Warp9 would like to thank him greatly for his contribution to the site and we couldn't have even fathomed that the design would come out this good! So, hats off to Aaron and we look forward to working with him again in the future.

RPG: The Genre of Choice

Over my illustrious gaming careerer I have played thousands of games. Some good, some brilliant, some bad, few perfect. Yet one genre has stuck out in my field of choice as the sole heir to the hierarchy of perfection - The RPG. In all honesty this truly is my definitive choice of video game genre. It has it all; story telling, fantasy, science fiction, huge battles...you name it and an RPG can have it. Now, don't put me on blast just yet, I love other genres too! First Person Shooters are most likely my second drug of choice followed by the ever dying niche market known as "The Fighting Game." Yet, these valued outlets pale in comparison to the enjoyment I get out of an RPG chalk full of epic battles, beautiful graphics, lush story telling and a whopping 60+ hours of game play. Now thats getting your money's worth y'all!

Notable RPG's that stand out and have survived the test of time are certainly games like the Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger, Disgaea, Zelda...the list could go on and on. However, this post needs to be short, sweet and to the point; plus I'm hungry and need to eat soon or Mr. Cranky Pants will come out. There is however one series (emphasis on series, folks...not single game) of RPG's that have struck me to be the greatest. The series has been around for years and is kind of like the sleeper hit of role playing games. They are wildly popular in the far East (Japan/China/Korea) and caught on here in the states back in the mid 1990's. I'm talking about the beloved Tales Series.

There has been only two games in my lifetime that I have sunk more than 120+ hours into. The first one being my all time favorite game out of all genres Disgaea for the PS2 (172 Hours of logged game play) and the second one being Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo Game Cube (130 Hours of logged game play). Symphonia had it all; huge real time battles, a beautifully composed score, a masterfully written story that is up there with the likes of Final Fantasy 7 and Ocarina of Time, and graphics to die for. Within the first 10 minutes of popping the game in, playing out the first few scenarios and seeing what was in store; I just knew this game was going to be special. Hell, you can't even find the game for less than 60 bucks on Ebay now a these days, it has become a cult classic!

OK, so it's taken me a long time to make my overlapping point here. However, it's well worth the elongated and sometimes mouthy three paragraph introduction...so here goes. The new entry into the Tales of series entitled: Tales of Vesperia (spirited sequel to Symphonia) is now an XBox 360 exclusive! Dated for release sometime this year this installment couldn't have come at a better time and to be an exclusive for "us" 360 owners is a privilege in its own rite.
-Wiki-
Tales of Vesperia (テイルズ オブ ヴェスペリア, Teiruzu obu Vesuperia) is the newest and tenth main entry into the Tales of series. It was announced on December 22nd, 2007 at Jump Festa. The game's first trailer confirmed that the Character Designer is Kōsuke Fujishima, the Chief Director and Producer is Yoshito Higuchi (who previously worked on both Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss), the game is being developed by Namco Tales Studio and its animated movies will be done by Production I.G^[1]. It has been confirmed on Gamespot that Vesperia will be exclusively for Xbox 360, though a Playstation 3 port is still possible.^[2] Bonnie Pink will sing the main theme for both the Japanese and American release.^[3] According to IGN, Vesperia may see a release in the United States and Japan close to each other, though no confirmed date of release has been given.^[4]

The game play in my opinion is what makes the Tales games stick out so much. All battles are actually done in real time, meaning there's no taking turns like in the typical RPG. Over past installments this is what has set the Tales franchise apart from all others; Fast paced, over clocked brawls engulfed with magic and strategy. Though the fights are done in real time doesn't necessarily mean you can just 'Bum Rush' your opponents in hopes to a fast victory. You do that and you're up "Shit's Creek" in a hurry (excuse the language). Battles need to be thought out before hand and analyzed. Bring the wrong weapons in and your toast. Bring a sorcerer into a knife fight, PLOW your dead. This is the type of game where wits meet brains and testicular fortitude is amplified by thinking things through...not rushing things.

Tales of Vesperia makes this year a special year for not only me but another fellow RPG lover: One Mister SS Soulstealer, fellow writer/contributor to Warp 9 Gaming. With Too Human, Infinite Undiscovery and now Tales of Vesperia all set for 2008 releases we will have our proverbial hands full for sure...and I couldn't be happier.

-Game Hard-

A True Warcraft Addiction

Hi. My name is Doug. I have a problem. I am addicted to Warcraft. My attempt to complete Half Life 2 failed, not becuase the game was too hard, but because my true video game love kept sneaking in through the window at night. It actually makes it impossible to enjoy another game. It is so sad to say this, but I dont wanna play another game, forget about putting in 20 plus hours of gameplay to complete it. I logged a modest 12 hours of gameplay on Half Life 2, and it took about a month to even get that in. In the game, I was at the part after scaling the bridge to kill another one of those gun ships. The game was not hard at all, playing on normal mode, and riding in the vehicles was a greater than horrible, and opposite of fun, experience. Altogether, I would rate the game a strong 6 out of 10. Sorry to all the fans that really enjoy the game, I just couldnt get into it. If they took some plot out, took out all the vehicle parts, and added a little bit to the strategies, this game could surely be a strong 9, maybe even 10. The sad, but true, reality is that no matter how good this game was, I doubt it could have saved me.

The real intention of this post is to invite any WoW players to a recent reroll that I participated in this week. My real life friends and I have started new characters on Duskwood (Alliance) server. Our guild is called Sarmatian Knights, and we are following the character list from the movie King Arthur. I have made Arthur, a human paladin. The other characters that are currently taken are Lancelot (warrior), Merlin (warlock), and Tristan (hunter). Anyone who would like to join us is more than welcome. Our goal is to build a guild roster strong enough to have Karazan and Zul Aman on farm. From there we will see if we can attempt to enter 25 man zones. The names from the movie that are still available are Guenevere, Bors, Dagonet, Galahad, and Gawain. Other names similar to these will be fine too if you wanna get creative. The guild ranking system will begin as recruit and progress into Squire, Fighter, and finally Knight. Our members will progress on a posted level cap, which will keep us close enough in level to enter all the dungeons as a team.

This post is for real, as crazy as it sounds. My addiction is far beyond control, so I can only enjoy the ride. Sorry to dissappoint anyone who believed Half Life 2 would blow me away. I am sure different PC games are in my future, but for now, only one has my attention. I will keep posts updating the progress of our guild. Hopefully one day I will be able to announce that Illidan has been defeated by the Sarmatian Knights. This is Arthur, mounted at the hill, ready for an army of bloodthirsty barbarians to cross into my land. None of you have to come, but I will be here. This battlefield is where I belong, it is my purpose. Wow, I am truly addicted to Warcraft.

Upcoming Gems Volume 5: Far Cry 2

Out of all the exclusive segments we do here at Warp 9, Upcoming Gems is probably my favorite. It gives us a chance to show case some of the upcoming titles that everyone should have on their radar. From game play footage of Too Human and Gears of War 2 to full length features like "behind the scenes" and exclusive interviews with developers; Warp 9 is dedicated to showcasing the best of the best.

Before you take a look at the newest video released to the public on May 6th (yesterday) I would like to take this opportunity to express my utmost respect for the Far Cry series. As you may or may not know the very first "Most Anticipated Games of '08" list we made early this year Far Cry 2 made my "Sleeper Hit" of 2008 spot. Now that Prototype has been delayed to an undisclosed date in 2009; FC2 has moved up the ranks to my number two spot of "Most Anticipated of '08."

I've been playing Far Cry since the series inception on the PC back in 2004 and have always been intrigued by its luscious and state of the art graphics, open world FPS game play and the vast assortment of weaponry they "allot" you through out the campaign. As you all already know, Sound FX play a crucial role in my gaming experiences and Far Cry was no exception. The sound was/still is superb to today's standards and in my opinion Far Cry 2 will surpass its' predecessor and set a new level of standard.

It has been reported that the original Far Cry sold 730,000 units within four months of release^[1] and has currently sold over 1 million copies worldwide. The original game has since spawned several console ports and a movie. With the release of Far Cry 2 in September of this year I cant help but be excited to see where Ubisoft (developer/publisher) have taken the series! So without further adieu I give you an in depth look into the dev team behind Far Cry 2 and show off some exclusive in game footage!

Prototype Delayed Until 2009

Yes, you read the title correct: Prototype delayed 'till '09. I can't even pontificate or conjure up any thoughts on this subject matter; alls I can say is I'm thoroughly put off and generally pissed about this news. Perhaps I'm being selfish or for this matter pig headed, however, this game made my most anticipated 2008 release list and as Lionel Richie once said, "I was dancing on the ceiling" in hopes to playing this game as soon as possible. Now, I have to wait another freaking year and change my most anticipated list!

As reported by Joystiq.com, "Sierra and Radical confirmed today that Prototype will continue development until 2009. IGN noticed the game had been given a new date on GameStop.com and followed up with the company for a confirmation. The game was originally expected for late this year..."

A spokesperson for Sierra Entertainment (creator and producer of this highly anticipated sand box game) said early last night, "The company simply needs more time to deliver the game the team initially set out to create."

I guess I can understand the creators wanting to make this game as hardcore and innovative as possible but this news will make gamers hearkened and leave them with a bad taste in their mouth. Now, Sierra will have to jump through hoops in order to keep this game fresh on our minds by dishing out crates of cash for advertising and product placement. I know I'm ranting about this delay simply due to the fact that I was so hyped for the title. However, if they need more time to make this game "epic" in its own rite then so be it. That doesn't mean I have to be happy about it though.

Until 2009, Game Hard...

XBLA Summer Tour

I'm going to keep the GTA 4 clutter to a minimum before delving into the girth of this post; I'm almost finished with it. I believe I only have a few more missions/story line "quest" and I should I have the game completely wrapped up. The funny thing is I only have a 59% completion rate to this point. In my opinion, thats nuts...that means there are so many side quests and what have you that I could pour another 20+ hours into the game and only be at about 70% completion. Damn, that's just way too much GTA for me to garner and process. Once I beat the game I might (emphasis on might) back track and grind out a few side missions in hopes to get some more achievement points; but that's a game time decision. With that said, I'm currently going to take a little break from the game...perhaps a day or two, just to beef up my "want to play" mentality.

As I sat there in my chair late last night wondering what in Sam's Hell I was going to play; I got frustrated in my perusal. Nothing was catching my interest, nothing at all. I'm at a stalemate with my 360. There's just nothing out (besides GTA4) that has caught my attention or made me want to rush out and buy. Don't get me wrong, 2008 is set to host some of the hottest games in recent history: Prototype, Too Human, Fallout 3, Gears of War 2...I mean, come on! It's going to be one hell of a roller coaster come Q3 of this year. But, until then what am I suppose to do? I've beaten the unholy hell of Crackdown, laid the smackdown on COD4 and Rainbow 6, and finally got around to beating Eternal Sonata. There is however some promise lurking around the corner and it comes in the form of: XBOX LIVE ARCADE!

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commandos 3, 1942, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix! There's just a ton of talent coming to the arcade this summer and its all coming sooner than later. Wolf of the Battlefield: Commandos 3 is an actual sequel to Commandos 2 (also known as MERCS in the arcade). Its a top down shooter that allots up to 4 player co-op over Xbox Live and guarantees some old school fun! Personally, I cant wait for this game! Heres a taste:


Remember 1942 on the NES? Remember how awesome it was to fly the Eastern sky's shooting the hordes of mini jets, tankers, air crafts etc below you? Well, its coming to XBLA completely re-vamped and re-visioned. The makers of the original have come together to completely overhaul the old graphics and pump in some New School glitz and flare. New graphics engine? Check. New levels? Check? 120% more weapons at your disposal? Double check. Live Co-Op? Hells Yes! The game thus far looks beautiful and is due out this summer. Check out some footage:


I saved the best for last, people. The hype meter for this game is off the charts in my humble opinion. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix; long title yes...great game. I'm a huge SF2 fan and have been ever since its inception. I remember playing the game a lot in the arcade and even more once it hit consoles back in the early 90's. Now, it was of course no Mortal Kombat 2 but it did make an impact on the fighting world. This SF iteration has been completely re-done however. Street Fighter has never looked this gorgeous! New sprites, HD quality and chain combos? Saaaweet! The ferocity of the fighting mechanics has always been at the fore front of the SF series and will be directly inherited into SF 2 Turbo HD Remix. The game is set to be released in mid summer, no specific date has been spoken of; however I believe it will coincide with the release of the brand new Street Fighter 4 arcade game overseas in Japan this summer to bolster some well deserved hype. Heres some game play footage of Turbo HD Remix:



It's going to be a summer of XBLA loving and I can't wait to jump on board. We still have to wait a few more weeks until these titles come out, but until then, back to GTA4.

-Game Hard-

Morality Through Ambiguity

This is going to be a short post, In fact a real short post. I've come to a point in GTA4 where I need to make a pretty hefty decision (in regards to the story exposition), the kind that faces you with making one hell of call. Loyalty or money? I'm not going to go into to much detail, I don't want to spoil any of the story line. However, this decision is really taking a toll on me. You see, the game puts a big emphasis on character development through interactions, i.e. building relationships. You make friends throughout the game, go to bars with them, play darts, even go bowling; they help you...you help them etc etc. Then, Rockstar (creators of GTA) go and do something like this; making me decide whether or not to be loyal...be a bad ass mofo, or simply destroy everything and everyone who stands in my way to empowerment.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't decide! I had to stop playing last night and go to bed, perhaps thinking way to much over this damn game. But then again, I guess that's when you know your playing something special. I've got a decision on my hands...leave me be.

-Game Hard-

This Week In "The Box"

Finally, a strong release week for the 360. In fact this week will most likely go down as the biggest week in gaming history. Why? Are you serious, you don't know? Four little bitty words will clear that right up for you: Grand Theft Auto 4. The game is said to break every industry record ranging from individual game sales to critic/publication scores (i.e. game reviews). Across the board thus far, it has garnered one hell of a repertoire. As reported in my preview, almost every gaming web site/publication has given it a 10 out of 10. Many say it will break the once said "impossible to beat score" held by current champion The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; which is a stunning 9.8. I guess we will have to wait and see though. 'Till then...its back to beating down pimps and pistol whipping 'wanna be gangsta's' in this excellent installation.

Other releases this week (as if they matter) are the movie tie-in "hybrid action platformer" Iron Man and Roogoo for the XBLA. Roogoo is a geometric puzzler that sees you as the defender of the planet Roo. Basically, yet another mid-grade puzzle game set to break no ones wallet coming in at 800 Microsoft points. But who knows, it could be good I guess. Iron man, on the other hand is going to be your standard movie to video game tie in which all would think is going to suck. Well, I'm happy to report that it actually doesn't. I was able to get some hands on time with the game at this years NY Comic-Con. Again, not going to try and blow
smoke up your pooper, as this game wont set any records or get a score higher than a 7.0. But for what its worth, its fun...looks pretty, and is a solid rental.

Until Next Time.......

-Game Hard-