Two for the price of two!

Got an email today from Amazon explaining how by Special Edition GTA IV will not be delivered till sometime late May. I couldn't cancel the order of course, as I'd be sure to miss my chance on bagging the limited extras. 'A pity', I thought to myself as I handed over my cash for a second copy of the game in the local supermarket. So it totals up to over £100 when you combine the two, but that's still gonna work out as around 50p per hour in the long term, which is damned good value for the entertainment I'm getting!

First hour's impressions? I won't be buying another game for quite some time...

Trouble in the Pits?

‘Gran Turismo’ is a classic racing franchise, the best selling racing series in the world, and a name that triggers fond memories in the hearts of virtually anyone who simultaneously has a slight interest in cars and videogames, a demographic I firmly count myself a member of. Come this Friday, I’ll be able to buy ‘Gran Turismo 5: Prologue’ for the PS3, an oversized demo / undersized game that will provide a taster for what to expect from developers Polyphony Digital next year, and I’m looking forwards to picking it up. But this time I think they’ve struck upon a problem, and although it's unlikely to effect their sales figures, (‘Prologue’ has already turned platinum from pre-orders alone), it may leave some of the more thoughtful of racing fans a little confused.

What is ‘Gran Turismo’ in the year 2008? Back with the first installments release in 1997 the question would be easy to answer. “It’s ‘the real driving simulator’ you nitwit”, people would have proclaimed, and it would have been hard to argue against. There was nothing that could touch the ‘Gran Turismo’ games in terms of depth and realism on home consoles for many years. But today with the option of ‘Forza Motorsport 2’, with its more detailed physics system and car damage, and PC alternatives like the GTR series which offer even greater hardcore simulations of motorsport, GT has fallen somewhat behind. Truth be told it doesn’t feel much different from earlier games on past consoles. Visually it’s on top of the world, but when it comes down to the race its simply outclassed. Okay, so then it’s an arcade game right? Not really. I can hardly see the ‘Burnout’ crowd finding much relation between the two. I personally think the franchises new opposition is the ‘Project Gotham Racing’ series, a point directly in between the barriers of arcade and simulator. It’s just Polyphony don’t know it yet, or just won’t admit it.

The thing is they’ll have to make a decision between the two if they want the golden crown. ‘PGR’ knows it’s a semi-arcade/simulator, and let’s itself exaggerate elements of the driving experience that a straight up sim could never get away with, like for example encouraging you to drive sideways. Do that in ‘Forza’ and you’re in the tires and at the back of the pack. ‘Gran Turismo’ has the sterility of the simulation but with the wall-bouncing, dodgem-bumping and premature down-shifting of its arcade counterparts. Is it Keira knightly with glasses, or Hillary Clinton in fish nets? It’s jarring whatever way you look at it.

Polyphony Digital CEO Kazunori Yamauchi once said he doesn’t play other racing games. I believe this could be his biggest mistake. Does he want GT to be known as "the 'Real' Driving Simulator" or a "My First Driving Simulator"? I guess it'll sell millions either way, though I personally find myself pre-ordering for the visuals rather than the gameplay. Maybe I'm on my own here, but that's the impression I have this console generation. Nonetheless I’ll be admiring the steering wheel stitching by the end of the week, and posting up my impressions within the days that follow. And for arguments sake, here’s a side by side comparison of ‘Prologue’ and ‘PGR4’. I won’t say anything, but leave you to decide how much difference there is between the two.

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue

Project Gotham Racing 4

‘Telling Them How It’s Done’, Inc.

Our videogame entertainment industry is going through an unsure period of change and expansion. The Nintendo Wii and DS have opened our once predominantly hardcore audience to reach the ‘casual’ and ‘non-gamer’ demographic. The birth of digital distribution on home consoles has opened up the possibilities of small scale projects for cheap download on such sub-platforms as PlayStation Network and the recently launched WiiWare service. On the other hand, the largest of publishers are joining hands in industry domination, such as with the Activision-Blizzard merge and the recent Take Two takeover attempts from Electronic Arts. PC gaming is both dead and on the cusp of total domination, according to who you listen to. Independent games have reached fame and attention previously unheard of, but is it just a temporal popularity faze, or a looming revolution waiting to pounce at any moment? The near future is uncertain for us gamers. That’s the only thing that seems to be a guarantee.

It got me thinking, how could everything work out? What interests me most is the small game / large game invisible war, and how / if the two can co-exist in harmony. I’m not a games developer, and nor am I a reliable industry annalist, but here’s a little structural idea for how things could perhaps run smoothly, in the form of a naïve description of a non existent game company.

Lets give this company a name, something nice sounding and pleasant on the tongue. [Sits swirling his hands around while making swishy lip movements.] Erm, how about…Genie Rivara. Like a river of genies, but the word river made to sound more…Greek. Okay, this company has, say, 150 employees, divided into four key teams. Two teams consist of 50 developers each. They work in separate but parallel offices, and work on large budget releases for multiple platforms. They also bring in the most cash, and use the most up. Although the two projects are separate, ideas and tech are shared between the two. You could see this as similar to how Insomniac and Naughty Dog used to help each other out despite being completely independent from one another. Both of these two teams are led by a creative luminary, you know, one of those admired chaps who have lots of cool ideas, like Miyamoto or Kojima or Molyneux. They’re excellent at keeping everyone together and making a consistent finished product.

The remaining 50 guys (and gals) are divided in two again, maybe even quartered depending on the product. These small scale teams make small budget releases for download, like the PixelJunk guys for PSN. The important thing here is that they are not used commercially, but purely for experimentation. The big releases bring in the cash, securing the smaller teams with as much money as they’ll ever need for completing their projects. They’re encouraged to be as wild and creative as they possibly can, in a completely risk free development model. Occasionally, they’ll strike on something really great, something similar to a ‘Portal’ or an ‘AudioSurf’, which may even make a little money. But the important thing is that these innovations in game design are fed up into the larger teams across the hall, which can now incorporate these creative ideas into a larger budget product without the chance of it being unpopular. Finally, big budget games can incorporate crazy and experimental ideas without so much of a risk of screwing up their sales. If Valve were to make ‘Portal’ into a full priced, big budget, 20 hour game, it would no doubt sell. We can assume this because of the popularity of the original ‘Portal’, a small-scale release by a bunch of students who didn’t need to make millions of clams to cover the costs of development.

The company runs this creative cycle year after year, self publishing its games, maybe through its own independent download service (like Steam). These offices are also really nice to work in, with a private cinema room for late night screenings of French New Wave and other arthouse works to inspire new ideas. They’ll also be a games lounge with a roof that slides open during the summer for ‘outside gaming’, so as to keep people breezy and stuff. Let’s not forget the gym, and perhaps some weekly open debates on game design. Jonathan Blow would be invited to teach them of how to do things in new and progressive ways. Maybe I’m getting carried away now.

Still, it kinda works, doesn’t it? I’d happily work at Genie Rivara any day. And that name was my idea, remember?

The Year of Playing Dangerously

As I’m sure most people are quite aware, the fourth addition in the Grand Theft Auto series is due to hit stores worldwide by April 29 after its most out of character delay several months ago. The series has become undoubtedly the main event of the second half of my gamer years, and so this is a pretty damn important event for me. I’m imagining that a lot of people reading this, who I suspect (hope) are from the more intelligent side of the gaming crowd, have proberbly got a few bad words to say of my beloved franchise, and you know what? I proberbly agree with them all. But no matter how “shallow” or “scrappy” or “dumb” past games may have been, I have to admit that some of my most intimate and emotionally immersive experiences I’ve ever come across have occurred within the realms of GTA. In fact, I fail to be able to think of a real life place that brings back as much nostalgia and good memories as happy old Vice City. I was barely alive in the 80’s, yet through that game I now have a very personal connection with everything that decade stood for.

But enough of the past. The latest GTA aims to fix everything that past games did wrong. The “quantity over quality” attitude has been reversed, and the gameplay and details are predicted to be as refined as they come, and all wrapped up in a damn fine looking engine. As per normal in the build up to a GTA, I tend to “prepare” myself for the countless hours I’ll be in company with the game world by doing a little background research and leaching off every info leak I can get my hands on. Seeing as this title seems to focus on the Eastern European crime scene, I’ve already done some reading into the Russian Mafia and aim to get hold of a few of Sam Houser’s named influences, including last years Eastern Promises. I’ll be memorising the names of the characters and streets revealed so far, as well as the names of the cars and guns that’ll be helping me along in Niko’s pursuit of the American dream. Expect the Xbox 360 to be sealed off a week in advance to avoid any cursed Red Ring of Death moments (my last console died on me two weeks before Halo 3), and the PS2 to get a quick encore while I familiarise myself with the series history.

I love these times in gaming. I’ve looked forwards to a lot of films and music over the years, but nothing can quite have the hands shaking in anticipation like a good old sequel to an aggressively marketed videogame franchise. To think that in a couple of month’s time I’ll have an entire map of a virtual city permanently indented into my memory banks, and all from the comfort of my own chair. Yet again, I seriously cannot wait.

Uncomfortable Viewing

The other day I visited the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) as part of a film studies trip in London. For those unaware they’re the guys who caused the 'Manhunt 2' kerfuffle last year, resulting in the game being band in the UK. They didn’t say much about it, seeing as we were there for the films, but some things did strike me. Firstly they mentioned how they only ban things that break the law. Secondly that they only banned two works last year, the other being a foreign film about toddlers killing people. Okay, the toddler massacre thing may have broken a few rules on the treatment and wellbeing of child actors, but what law was 'Manhunt 2' breaking? The lady giving the presentation (who was very friendly, like an old librarian, but not afraid of saying several “fucks” when covering the ‘language’ section), didn’t say much on the game other than it was very bleak, and was only about killing. Still not breaking any laws though. Bah, we ain’t missing much anyway.

Other than that she mostly showed clips that had been cut out of various releases due to their inappropriate content, which was kind of cool, and ironic. I also nearly exploded from needing a piss. We got the train down and didn’t stop walking till we arrived there, where the presentation hastily began, so no chance for a toilet break. It was one of those times where it’s so bad you actually nearly cripple yourself, stomach and back tense, hands shaking, struggling for breath. I sneaked out half way through after discovering there wasn’t going to be a designated break for another hour, and ended up standing over the urinal for close to five minutes. When I returned I found myself strolling to my chair with a swagger, overwrought with confidence and pride as if I’d just slaughtered a giant bear. Total prick…

It’s also worth mentioning that the presentation was filmed to be put on the official BBFC website, so there’ll be me, struggling and squirming away at the back, smiling politely. What was interesting, and equally non game-related, was that (awesome Korean film) 'Oldboy' was apparently edited by the BBFC to remove the scene where he eats a live (actual live) octopus, due to animal rights and what not. However, my DVD of the film at home, which was purchased in a leading British entertainment store, has the scene included. I considered pointing it out to her, but duly decided against it in case it got people into trouble. Oh, I also saw one of those life-sized Big Daddy models in an electronics store hidden round the back. And I got kissed simultaneously on either cheek by two young Indian looking girls while waiting outside a Subway. Yup, still got the magic … or aids.

A Life in Silhouette

It’s been a while since I last posted due to a build up of work suppressing my thinking and writing time. I haven’t had the time to write anything significant, but I decided I wanted to get something out there nonetheless. This year I’ve been paying more attention to the growing indie side of game design, and have come across some truly incredible works. I still consider myself very new to the scene, but the following is a small selection of unreleased independent games I’ve really grown excited about. I can guarantee there’s plenty more upcoming games that’ll blow my mind which I haven’t stumbled upon in the indie blogs yet, but for now, this is what’s seriously impressed me so far.

Love

Eskil Steenberg
PC

Website

‘Love’ is a “first person not so massively multi player online procedural adventure game”. I have to admit, I’ve not played one of those before. It’s a game where it’s impossible to describe until something more significant is shown, but the website gives the impression of a small scale MMO where the player has control over the form of the environments around them. It seems personal, with an emphasis on ‘love’ instead of ‘combat’ (although who knows what the final game may include?) What makes it stand out is how stunning the world looks. That isn’t concept art above, that’s in game.

Braid

Jonathan Blow
Xbox Live Arcade

Blog

Blow had done enough on his time-bending side-scrolling platform puzzle game two years ago to secure himself the ‘Innovation in Game Design’ award at IGF, but has since been fine tuning his creation to perfection. He describes his game as “filler-free”, and after listening to hours of his various public lectures I don’t doubt his word at all. He really seems like a man who has an insurmountable knowledge of game design down to the smallest of details. What’s more, the art is done by David Hellman, famous for his work on the critically acclaimed and visually incredible webcomic, ‘A Lesson is Learned but the Damage is Irreversible’. That’s a partnership!

Lila Dreams

Creatrix Games
PC
Website

Creatrix Games is a three man team who aim to make a two dimensional MMO platformer set in the mind of an eleven year old girl named Lila. It’s these kinds of ideas that make the independent scene so compelling to me. Stepping past the genre clichés of level grinding, magic spells, dungeon rats and orcs, this Flash based game incorporates more original ideas than I can care to list. Check out their useful blog that has already detailed much of how the game will work. Nothing has been shown yet apart from concept art, so stick with their site for updates as they come.

Night Game

Nifflas
PC
Website

Nifflas became one of the most cherished independent developers with the creation of ‘Knytt’ and ‘Within a Deep Forest’. I’ve spent some good time with ‘Knytt’ follow up, ‘Knytt Stories’, and came away with a deep appreciation of the teams talent with art and music. ‘Night Game’ is there mysterious latest project. Not much has been shown yet, but we do know it’s set in a 2D world and is physics based with the player controlling a ball. Judging by the two screenshots released, Nifflas only seem to be improving on what they’ve accomplished so far.

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

Michel Gagné
PC
Blog

Michel Gagné is a cartoonist, and has been involved in several films for Pixar and Disney over the years. One of his latest projects is this fantastically titled side scrolling shooter. It’s by far the most ‘traditional’ game on this list, but also potentially one of the most impressive. I suggest you take a look at the short trailer found on the official blog to see how much a creative art direction can do for classic gameplay.

Flower

ThatGameCompany
PlayStation Network
Website

After ‘Cloud’ and ‘flOw’ comes ‘Flower’, the game where you apparently play as … a flower. Little has been demonstrated since its announcement at 2007’s Tokyo Game Show, but I’d imagine it’ll be more of the minimalist gameplay style found in the team’s previous and excellent work. It reminds me of the ill fated ‘Pollen Sonata’ that almost made it to Wii before everything collapsed in on itself and the project was cancelled. Don’t expect this to fall down the same route. There ‘will’ be a flower/adventure genre by the end of this year.

Limbo

Arnt Jensen
PC

Website

There really isn’t anything I can say about this, other than the teaser on the site looks incredible. It’s been compared to 'Ico', and it has the same highly stylized silhouette look of several other games on this list, which seems to be a trend I’m not going to complain about. As far as I know the game has been in development for a couple of years and nothing else has been said or shown since its birth. In fact, I have no reason to believe the game is still in development. Nice if it is though.

Learning to See through GDC

This years Games Developers Conference has brought up a number of points and announcements that have grabbed people’s attention, but what makes it different from previous shows is that most came from the independent scene rather than the big hitters. This year’s IGF was a showcase for one of the best year’s indie gaming has had, and it seems like many people came away a little shocked by how much it engrossed them. It’s also given birth to a war between indies and triple-A developers and publishers, with many big titles seeing criticism for a lack of innovation and imagination. Jeff Green summed up what many people thought when he stated on the 1upShow, “I was thinking about [indie games like AudioSurf] and comparing it to Epic’s fucking cube of meat, you know, that’s what’s important to them.” It’s a great point that I agree with fully, and in many ways makes the likes of Epic Games look a bit ridiculous. I guess when you think about it, why on earth should anybody get excited over a shiny cube of flesh and some updated water effects when the likes of Fez and World of Goo were on display? It makes me grow sceptical over whether triple-A teams really know what they’re doing and what people want to see. After going through a lot of videos and articles written from the conference, I personally came away thinking Cliffy B is a bit of a clown. He takes to the stage wielding a chainsaw and announces he’s going to make more of the same as last time, expecting me to feel excited about that. Instead it reinforced how titles like Gears of War are the game world’s equivalent of McDonalds. It’s just not the right approach, and that becomes blatantly apparent when a side by side comparison is made between the two opposites of game development.

“I think the big boys should be ashamed right now”, claimed Phil Fish, creator of Fez. He explains how a team of dozens are recruited in the making of a big budget DS game, but the finished product is rarely anywhere near as good as indie games made by one person with no money at all. The traditional system of development just doesn’t seem to be working. One reason may be the dilution of enthusiasm as a team grows in size. A team of fifty working on a title that a publisher has recruited them to work on aren’t going to feel the same passion as an individual programmer building his own personal idea in his free time, and the difference shows in quality. During the ‘Developer’s Rant’ section of the conference, Clint Hocking, Creative Director of Far Cry 2, spoke out about the lack of new ideas in mainstream game development. He used popular independent titles as examples of how emotions can be achieved through game design, “Here’s a game that made me cry [showing Passage]. Here’s a game that means something [showing The Marriage].” He summed up his frustrations by claiming, “Dude, it’s code. We can do anything.”

Another important announcement at the conference was that from Microsoft, who will soon be allowing user created games from XNA available to normal Xbox Live account holders to purchase. Nintendo’s WiiWare service is aimed at a similar user base of individual game designers looking for a place to gain attention. Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network have brought huge amounts of attention to independent designers already, most noticeably Jonathan Mak (Everyday Shooter) and Jonathan Blow (for the upcoming Braid). With the changes to XNA and the dawn of WiiWare, that attention will only grow. It also appears to be an attractive alternative for previous big-budget developers. God of War creator David Jaffe took some time out to release Calling All Cars! on PSN last year, and GDC revealed Frontier Development's founder David Braben to be making LostWinds for WiiWare alongside his big-budget release of The Outsider. This brings forth the possibility of a shift in priorities for game development, with small scale releases not only being cost effective and quick to build, but also a more attractive proposition for the creatively minded to try out new ideas. Whether independent games become the new focus or not, you can count that it won’t just be the triple-A releases dominating the headlines this year. Now could be seen as the birth of a ‘golden era’ for indie game development, and it would be foolish not to get in on the action.

For all the latest news on the world of independent games, be sure to add TIGSource and the IndieGames Weblog to your favourites, and why not check out the winners and runner ups of this years IGF. Some titles are available now and free to download.

Joining the Dark Side

Today marks a significant day in my gamer diary. Along with my birthday comes a PlayStation 3, a console I mocked just a year ago, before it turned into the most desirable piece of kit on the market. Uncharted and Warhawk came with the console, and I’ve got Ratchet, MotorStorm and Resistance on unlimited rental. Uncharted unsurprisingly makes for the highest priority on the list, as does downloading Everyday Shooter from PSN once I’ve got it hooked up online. It’s everything I expected it to be. It’s sleek, it’s silent, it’s got ‘the future’ written all over it, its hideously ugly and indescribably beautiful at the same time…it’s Sony’s old black box of love and hate.

It only occurred to me just the other night what I’ve now got to look forwards too, essentially all the games I previously gazed at enviously while feeling I was in some way handicapped due to not being able to play, but how things have changed. The collective hype of MGS4, GT5, LittleBigPlanet and ‘The Next Project from Team Ico’ has hit me all on the same day and swept me off my feet. I am a happier man because of it. Here’s to consumerism!

Down the Robot Hole, February 2008

In this obscurely titled monthly blog feature, I will simply be detailing what I will, or at least intend to play in the looming month ahead, and what I most certainly will not be playing, just for negatives sake. Note this not only includes new releases, but games in general.

Devil May Cry 4

I touched the original DMC a few years back and didn’t so much burn myself as have hell blasted down a funnel aimed at my face. I found it challenging and frustrating to say the least (a problem I’ve had with most of Capcom’s output funnily enough). But this one they say has a toned down difficulty for mere mortals like myself, giving me the incentive to master the combat before shifting up the ruthlessness once I’ve found my ground. It’s pre-ordered, so I’m finally back into the sweaty shoes of Dante (and Nero).

The Club

I always remained sceptical on this one, though I never doubted that Bizarre Creations would ever make a bad game outright. My mix of emotions turned out right according to the reviews. I’ll be renting it, and hopefully enjoying it. This also reminds me that a rental copy of PGR4 is still sitting on my desk from around its original release, practically unplayed…Thank the heavens for no late fees.

Lost Odyssey

I still refuse to believe a game this big could remain so generally quiet when only a few weeks from release, but apparently it comes out this month over here, and I guess I’ll be picking it up. I heard lots of text is involved, but the writing is enjoyable to journey through. Maybe this’ll count as my monthly read instead.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Warhawk

February marks the month of my birthday, and this rounds birthday marks the day I’ll be receiving a PlayStation 3. The price has come down to acceptable boundaries, (read, reachable boundaries), and the catalogue at last has something in it which is not only out now, but is something I’d like to play. That game is…Everyday Shooter by Jonathan Mak, but Uncharted is not that far behind. I’ll be catching up in the coming months before the PS3 exclusives start to build up their pace. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally prepared for the onslaught.

Zone of the Enders

I bought it for a fiver second hand in local game store. I like Hideo Kojima. I don’t mind robots too much either. It was cheap, so it’s in the archive. I’ll never play it for more than ten minutes, but it’s the comfort I get from its presence on the shelf that really counts.

Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden

Part of my new years resolution to explore the indie scene, from what I can tell this was based on a similarly titled SNES game, but when that one was a basketball game, this new indie take is an RPG. Set in the post-cyberapocalyptic world of 2053, you play Charles Barkley as you deal with being a basketballer when the sport has been outlawed in the Great B-Ball purge of 2041. Apparently Barkley did/was capable of doing a ‘chaos dunk’ that can wipe out millions of people. So far I’m loving the hysterically crazy plot being taken so seriously by the characters, and the Space Jam references. Check it out, it’s free.

And I will not be playing…

...the outrageous swamp of unnecessary and doomed from the start first-person shooters coming out to unsurprisingly average reviews. No originality, no quality, just why did the devs behind any of them even think that they might hit on a success. These guys time would be better spent elsewhere. I’m talking to you Turok, Conflict: Denied Ops, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, Frontlines: Fuel of War, and to a lesser extent, Medal of Honor: Heroes 2.

*EDIT: Will proberbly not continue this feature in the future. Not much point to it, really.*

Unforeseen Thrills for 2008

Thought I'd start this thing off with a broad, shallow minded post before I attempt the deeper subjects (no doubt reluctantly including the 'Are Games Art?' and Manhunt 2 debates...) So, 2007, great year right? But looks what's coming for us. Quite a lot indeed is what. Well, I'm sure you're aware that GTAIV, MGS4 and SMBB are reasonably big titles on the horizon, so I'll push those, along with their friends, to the side and express my anticipated button tapping for the slightly more overlooked games. You may find something new, it'll make me feel more sophisticated, so why not?

Braid



Braid is for Xbox Live Arcade and is entirely created by Jonathon Blow, a man of many interesting gaming philosophies, many of which I agree with. His wide criticism for modern videogames (avid Halo fan he is not) leave me confident that a game created independently by himself will not disappoint in quality. Its time shifting focused gameplay in a luscious 2D platformer/puzzle world not only looks great, but managed to win "Best Innovation in Game Design" at IGF '06. You can count that its time playing will be far more complex and interesting that what's found in Prince of Persia.

Brutal Legend



Looking at the screens it may not look like much is happening here. A quirky hack n' slasher with that 'not quite as funny as he used to be' Jack Black doing the voice over for the lead character? On first glance it looks like someone was making a Dynasty' clone before realizing that 'Guitar Hero ain't selling half bad', - cue a quick change of theme and setting and voilà! That's what I'd be saying at least if Tim Schafer wasn't behind the thing. He's proberbly the only game developer who has a 100% perfect record - he's literally never made a game that didn't go down in the history books, from Monkey Island to Psychonauts. As such, I believe this shall be fantastic.

Mirror's Edge



Mirror’s Edge can be simply summed up as 'the most first-person of first-person shooters'. It's amazing that even in the latest and graphically advanced shooters, a quick glance at the floor will reveal you have no legs or feet. This game has the lot, knees, elbows, forearms - all moving realistically as you leap and lunge parkour-style around the spotless metropolis this game takes place in. Finally, running down a corridor from a stream of chasing bullets will be as frightening as it should be, with the camera (your head) shaking violently with every stride, your arms flailing rapidly within eye shot. Keep an eye on this one. I wouldn't be surprised if it influenced many future shooters in the coming years.

Heavy Rain



Can't say much about this one, because other than a short teaser video showing off some pretty realistic tears back at E3 '06, there's been nothing to speak of. But the guys behind it at Quantic Dream last showed what they were capable of with the overlooked Fahrenheit (or Indigo Prophesy in the US). It wasn't perfect, but I generally found it refreshing. Not many action games have gameplay that draws similarities with both The Sims and Dance Dance Revolution. Maybe their next effort will accomplish the same effect with a better level of polish. Consider me intrigued to say the least.

The Crossing



Innovation can come in many ways. In this instance, it comes in complete confusion. Basically, Arkane Studios want to deliver an FPS where the singleplayer and multiplayer intertwine. To give quick examples how, if playing singleplayer the enemies around may sometimes be real life players. Or when playing an objective 2-team multiplayer game, a singleplayer guy could walk right into the middle of it tasked with aiding one side. It gets stranger than that, but whether it's easy to understand or not, it's certainly an interesting concept. Set in a distorted Paris which is still under the rule of the Templar’s, and powered by the Source engine, it has artistic quality too. If Arkane can get their ideas to work it could be a great game.

Hydrophobia



A slippery little survival-horror from Blade Interactive set in a giant ship under terrorist attack. You play an aqua phobic woman trying to fight them off. Seeing as the ship is filling with water, her phobia won't do much to help. Using the HydroEngine, water should appear and act with greater realism than ever before. I thought BioShock's water looked pretty nice, but apparently it didn't. Still, I like survival-horror games, and switching blood-eyed Japanese girls for the simple panic of a flooding room could create some moments of great desperation and suspense.

No More Heroes



Already out in Japan (and proberbly out everywhere else by the time you're reading this), but I needed a Wii game here and this is the only one I wanted to write about. Goichi Suda, or Suda 51, is behind this with his Grasshopper team who brought you the stylistically similar Killer7. To be honest I didn't play much of Killer7, partly because what I did play was 60% loading screens. Nonetheless, there's something cool and amusing about this game, and it looks great despite the Wii hardware. Unfortunately it may also be the final straw between Suda and Nintendo - the game sold terribly in Japan and Goichi has expressed much desire to work on 360 for western audiences who may appreciate his hardcore styled games more. Either way, you should definitely pick this up... Or not, if you'd rather see a sequel in HD.

Rez HD



I missed this one when it first came out years ago, and was never willing to buy it off ebay once prices were often higher than its original RRP, so imagine my amazement when I hear an even slicker version is coming to Live Arcade. It's a rail-shooter trance music synesthesia wonderment by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who also brought you Lumines and Every Extend Extra. The game is an exact port of the PlayStation 2 version, but with zero jaggies and 5.1 surround sound, the way Mizuguchi wanted it to be all along. I generally can't wait to see what I've been missing, and I think Live Arcade is a great way to distribute this game. It wouldn't surprise me if it sold okay.

EchoChrome



I really like this idea, building a game around optical illusions. This is a platform/puzzle game where your environments are impossible objects, leading you to have to shift the perspective of the object to create a working path for your ever-walking mannequin to safely travel through. It's not just the idea, but also the styling that really makes this stand out. The lack of any colour, the classical music, the echoing footsteps of the lonely mannequin protagonist. This'll be a great addition to PlayStation Network and PSP when it arrives.

Saboteur



Finally a World War II game with a difference, two in fact. Firstly you play as a French ex-racing driver fighting the Germans in his occupied home of Paris, and secondly the use of colour. In areas with a large German presence, or a low 'Will to Fight', the area will be predominantly in black and white, with only the Nazi flags beaming in red. Once you have weakened their presence through means of sabotage, colour will begin to seep back into the region you've saved. It's a nice idea that did wonders in Okami, and it'll hopefully work beautifully here too. Here's perhaps the only WWII game that can get away with being 'another WWII game'.