We're not going to crown FIFA 08 just yet, but after spending more hands-on time with it than David Beckham's spent on-field for the LA Galaxy, prospects look good. After a dozen games, we decided to look back at last year's review of FIFA 07, just to see what the developers didn't fix. After all, FIFA tends to dupe the U.S. press with its glamour every year, but ends up being a 10-game experience before you toss the controller and just turn the game on to listen to the soundtrack. So, here are quotes from last year's review and our responses after playing 08:
"...there are only six league licenses at work, instead of the 28 on current gen." Now there are 30.
"...there are only 37 international teams (out of a possible 194)." This is an omission that stands, but there are only 43 teams, now -- no Ghana, no Israel, no Iran.
"...there are no tournaments." 08 has a tournament creator that allows you to get complicated tourneys, like a full-blown C... More »
A captive audience of game creators went totally gaga over LittleBigPlanet at March's Game Developers Conference... but that's not terribly surprising, as it's ostensibly a game about game development. It's certainly a fresh concept: You (and up to three friends) converge online to design and play side-scrolling platformer levels in real time. From its cuddly customizable avatars to its promise of a YouTube-style community, the whole thing feels remarkably original. But will the average gamer be as enamored with this quirky toolkit when Sony drops an interactive demo later this year? We cornered Media Molecule Senior Producer Pete Wilson for the scoop on this wacky new gaming concept...
EGM: Since we aren't all game developers, will you include some type of in-game hint system so our creations don't suck?
Pete Wilson: Actually, you'll be introduced to the creation tools just by playing the premade levels. We call it creativity by stealth -- you won't even no... More »
Yesterday, the NPD Group reported that nearly 1 billion dollars of game software, hardware, and accessories were sold in the US in August. Year to date, combined US non-PC sales for 2007 totaled $8.02 billion, up $2.42 billion from $5.6 billion during the same period in 2006. The year's first eight months saw consumers in the 50 states buy $3.1 billion in hardware, $3.8 billion in software, and $1.1 billion in accessories.
The August NPD report beat analysts' expectations, and made many optimistic about the forthcoming holiday season. No one is more upbeat than NPD's own Anita Frazier, who believes that despite several high-profile delays such as Grand Theft Auto IV, 2007 will still be one for the record books.
"The industry is up by nearly 50 percent," she told GameSpot. "The back part of the year would have to fall apart to not have a record-breaking year. I think we'll end in the range of $16 to $18 billion in the US."
We recently sat down with the Soul Calibur IV development team, had a chat about the game, and discovered that its main programmer has been with the team since the very first game, allaying any fears we may have had about whether the latest game in the series was in good hands.
We spoke at length about how the new game will compare to the team's previous efforts such as Soul Calibur III -- which while popular, was generally received as an unbalanced effort -- and what players can look forward to as we learn more about IV leading up to its release next year.
1UP: Can you tell us about SCIV's play style? Is it more like Soul Calibur III's design, or back to the old-school, hardcore mechanics of SCII?
Katsutoshi Sasaki, director: We have returned to the design flow of SCII. SCII is the most popular and well-known, so we returned to that style here.
flOw remains one of the trippiest games released on the PlayStation 3 so far, with the PS Network game's organic-looking design and simple yet appealing gameplay adding up to an almost hypnotic experience. The game's upcoming expansion pack adds a brand-new creature, a new enemy, and some new foods--in other words, more of the same for fans of the game.
The new creature being introduced into the mix shares the same stripped-back look of previous controllable flOw creatures, and looks like a small circle surrounded by hooked barbs. Pressing down any button on the PS3 controller will cause the barbs to close, momentarily protecting the new creature from any enemies. Releasing the button sends the creature into a spin, which also serves as an attack for any nasties that may be around. The new enemy type being introduced into this expansion acts somewhat like a puffer fish--get too close, and this spherical enemy will puff up spikes all over its body.
Starting outside a crowd of villagers standing around an enemy on a horse, the opening cinema for this demo had the player walking around in what is essentially a cut-scene that keeps you in control. This basically showed how there are going to be slower-paced sections of the game where story sequences pop up as you walk around. Neat enough, though a bit less than exciting in Japanese...
One of the key complaints post-E3 has been Assassin's Creed looks great when you watch the developers demonstrate the game, but it feels awkward when you jump in and try to run around and fight/avoid the enemies you come across because you constantly bump into people and can't recover very quickly when you take a hit.
At TGS, Ubisoft showed us a move where you can shove enemies out of your way with your forearm as you run, and mentioned another ability that will help you recover when stumbling -- apparently you earn both of these (as well as others) over the course of the gam... More »
The bulbous, bouncy blobs known as LocoRoco are back, though things are a bit different this time. The tilting mechanics of the original PSP title have been replaced with an interesting new control scheme, and the minimalist gameplay is even simpler this time around. But really, it's all about the agreeably goopy globules that spread charm across your screen, and it's hard not to be taken with them. At $6.99, this PlayStation Network download feels a bit overpriced for a single (albeit large) level, but the few hours of gaming you'll get out of it are rewarding and strangely compelling.
If you played the original LocoRoco, you'll immediately notice the changes in mechanics. Rather than tilting the playfield to move your LocoRocos, you move a cursor in the form of a butterfly around the screen. When you press the circle button, you call any Locos in range in your direction, and if you tap the button, they will jump toward your cursor.
Activision has announced additional songs to be included in the main set list for its upcoming title, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. This year's game will feature more master tracks than ever before, with partnerships secured with all the major and independent record labels and publishers to gain unrivalled access to their vast catalogues of music.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is scheduled for release in North America on October 28, with a European date expected in November. The game will be released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and Wii.
The additional tracks include:
Same Old Song and Dance (by Aerosmith)
Helicopter (by Bloc Party)
Stricken (by Disturbed)
Monsters (by Matchbook Romance)
Before I Forget (by Slipknot)
Kool Thing (by Sonic Youth)
When You Were Young (by The Killers)
Devil Went Down to Georgia (as made famous by Charlie Daniels Band)
Sunshine of Your Love (as made famous by... More »
The wait is nearly over as TimeShift, developed by Saber Interactive and published by Sierra Entertainment, will give you a taste of what it feels like to control time. The first person shooter (FPS) allows players to master the flow of time, to become the ultimate weapon in war-torn environments.
Tabula Rasa is a massively multiplayer online action game that takes you into the heat of battle at the frontlines of an epic war between an evil alien race bent on galactic conquest and the coalition of rebel soldiers who have traveled across the galaxy to stop them.
UK Exclusive: Control Points in Tabula Rasa Feature
Tabula Rasa producer Starr Long discusses the dynamic battlefields being built into Richard Garriott's upcoming MMO...
One of the fundamental goals for Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa was to simulate a war by creating what we call a dynamic battlefield. One of the ways we did that was to have the NPCs fight each other, but we wanted to take these battles a step further where they didn't just fight each other sporadically as they encountered each other. Instead, we wanted them to actually fight over key pieces of territory which could alter the game environment in that area. These key territories are control points, and they are an in... More »
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