WIN: Tom Clancy’s EndWar
We have four copies of Tom Clancy’s EndWar to give away thanks to Ubisoft, two on both PS3 and Xbox 360.
*** ENTRY TO THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED ***
Question: What is the war strategy series EndWar’s designer, Michael De Plater, previously worked on?
Send your answer to: cian.ginty@gamestoaster.com with the subject line “Tom Clancy’s EndWar”, please also say if you’re interisted in a copy for PS3 or Xbox 360.
Developed by Ubisoft Shanghai, the publisher describes the game as “an all-new breed of strategy game. Designed from the ground up for consoles, it is a fusion of next-gen. technology, superior design and first-class production values behind which is veteran strategy games designer Michael De Plater who’s previous titles include the Total War series.”
“Set in 2020, with resources growing scarce every nation must look after themselves. Tom Clancy’s EndWar explores a full-scale land war between superpowers. While the narrative engrosses the player in a massive global conflict, with battles taking place in American and European heartlands”.
Ubisoft describes the key features as:
Cutting-edge Technology
- The first strategy game to be entirely playable with voice command (headset required)
- The “commander’s-eye view” offers a view of the action from the perspective of any unit under control
- Rock solid soldiers AI: they autonomously seek cover, engage enemies, and withdraw
Massive multiplayer, endless replay value
- The massively multiplayer “Risk-style” Theater of War campaign groups masses of players in live action
- Online battles allow up to 12 players in live action on the same map
- Unique units customization features (weapons, armour, gears) allow unlimited combinations in online and offline games
Your World in Flames
- 40 real-life recognizable battlefields including Washington DC, Paris and Moscow
- Fully destructible dynamic environments
- Hundreds of characters and vehicles on-screen in real-time, with a level of detail previously associated with first-person shooters
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VIDEO: The Wheelman trailer
After the superior FPS Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay Vin Diesel’s own Tigon Studios seemed to take a bit of a break before commencing work on the upcoming Riddick sequel as well as the truly impressive looking The Wheelman, an early trailer for which was released this week.
The game really does look fantastic. Diesel looks and sounds amazing and if the video is anything to go by we can expect one hell of an entertaining romp. Shame we have to wati till next year to get our hands on it.
REVIEW: The Bourne Conspiracy
Developer: Sierra Entertainment | Publisher: High Moon Studios | Format: 360
Reviewer: Craig Jay Gallagher:
At this stage the vast majority of the worlds populace is familiar with Jason Bourne, be it from the highly successful trio of film or the original novels by Robert Ludlum Jason Bourne has crossed over into mainstream conscious much like James Bond.
The latest incarnation of the iconic character is in pixalated form in the game The Bourne Conspiracy which one of the summers most entertaining and action packed titles thought the plot may not make much sense to anyone approaching with no prior knowledge of the character.
The game follows Bourne, a 30 million dollar assassin whom after failing to neutralise a target gets a dip in the Mediterranean sea and ends up losing his memory. The game follows Bourne as he grables with his identity and searches for the answers he needs. You play the urrent missions as well as a number of older ones which he recalls.
All this takes place across the world with Bourne using a number of techniques from hand to hand combat to to driving cars to the obligatory gunfire.
The gameplay is far from perfect but it is designed in such a way that it makes the game a joy from start to finish. The hand to hand combat is expertly implemented though the duck and cover aspect is poorly done. It’s generally far more effective to just run around shooting than it is to take cover.
The driving levels are also an inconvenience as the over steering results in simple movements send your into walls and obstacles. Both the shooting and hand to hand combat are fantastic. It’s fast, furious and fun to boot which is all you can ask.
Expectations for The Bourne Conspiracy were low, most including this reviewer expected it to be a completely redundant cash in on a successful film franchise but the overall results are quite impressive. The game more than does the film and books justice and delivers the most satisfying gaming experiences of the summer.
Celebrate Bungie Day
Today is seems is Bungie Day, which for all intents and purposes
seems to be a holiday made up by Bungie, those nice people who gave us
Halo and it’s impressive sequels. To celebrate this rather important of
days we have been given a brand new multiplayer map.
The map is a remake of classic Halo 1 favourite Chill Out which is
ideally suited to one on one matches. The map can be downloaded from
Xbox live for free. Also of note is that the Halo 3 Legendary map pack
is now only 600 MS points which is around 7 euro.
EA apologise for Northern Ireland mix up
- Error was brought to EA’s attention in late April
Publishing giant Electronic Arts have apologised for using the wrong national anthem for Northern Ireland in the Euro 2008 computer game. The mistake was brought to the games publisher’s attention over two months ago in April. A Northern Ireland fan wrote on publisher’s online message boards of his “shock” and how he was “disgusted” by the game.
The fan pointed out that ‘Danny Boy’ is used in the game for the national anthem of Northern Ireland, rather than official anthem ‘God Save The Queen’. But his main point of controversy is due to ‘Amhran na bhFiann’ or ‘The Soldier’s Song’ – the national anthem of the Republic of Ireland – being played as victory music.
“I just bought Uefa Euro 2008. I’m from Northern Ireland and was shocked at some of the discoveries in your game. First of all Northern Ireland’s national anthem is not ‘Danny Boy’. Now for the worst part. when I was playing with NI and finished match at the end of match screen it started playing ‘the soldiers song’ which is the Republic of Ireland’s national anthem” said a user on EA’s message boards who described himself as a “very disappointed gamer” and signed off as Ian Kerr.
He continued: “Just to let you know Northern Ireland is still British and not all Ireland. The national anthem is ‘God Save the Queen’. where do u [sic] get your information on football from because whoever it is has never been to a Northern Ireland match, God Save the Queen is always played as our national anthem. As for the soldier song being played at end of match menu I was left disgusted. So, northern Ireland has no identity now I suppose”.
With many in the North having different cultural views, anger at the mix-up is unlikely to be even across political lines. An EA UK staff member followed the fan’s post with “There’s some excellent feedback here, keep it coming”, followed by a smiley face.
However, since then, EA’s Shaun White was quoted by media outlets as saying: “At EA Sports, we pride ourselves on delivering rich and authentic videogame experiences. We sincerely apologise for this error”.
REVIEW: Rainbox Six: Vegas 2
Developer / Publisher: Ubisoft | Format: Xbox 360
Reviewer: Craig Jay Gallagher Last
year’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 was one of the stand out titles of the
year. It set a new standard for Tom Clancy games and introduced one of
the series finest story lines. The ending left gamers wanting more and
Ubisoft have obliged.
When approaching Vegas 2 it’s essential that you are familiar with
the first game as the sequel follows on from the events depicted in it.
We get a more fleshed out version of the events which lead up to the
initial terrorist attack and a more in-depth look at the individual
stories within the team. All this and an ending which is positively
cinematic.
Much like the story concerns the same incident the gameplay remains
pretty much identical to the first game. That said there are a few
changes and new additions. The ability to sprint is now an option,
which is pretty handing for finding cover to escape enemy fire. The
ability to level up through the completion of objectives is another
addition which is much appreciated. Completion of key tasks, such as
making a certain number of head shots. You can then use these level up
bonuses to purchase new weapons and gear. Everything else pretty much
remains the same, which is a god send for seasoned veterans of the
series and an easy pick up for new comers.
Tom Clancy endorsed games are an almost monthly release, which would
have grown pretty old at this stage were it not for the overwhelming
quality of the titles. No other gaming series has gone from strength to
strength with each release. Vegas 2 isn’t just an essential purchase,
it’s the only game you’ll need
REVIEW: Lost Odyssey
Developer: Mistwalker | Publisher: Microsoft | For: Xbox 360
Reviewer: Craig J Gallagher
After Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey is the second offering from Final
Fantasy creator Hironoubu Skaguchi’s Mistwalker. As such, it has a lot
riding on it, given Blue Dragons’ minimal success.
While a great title, it failed to capture the imagination of Western
audiences with many critics and gamers finding it too old school for
its own good.
While keeping the old school gameplay, Lost Odyssey is an entirely
different beast. The production values are truly awe inspiring with
some of the most beautiful render worlds ever seen on a console. The
story is equally fantastic and while there are a few flaws, overall
Lost Odyssey is a great title.
The story follows Kaim, whose immortality has allowed him to
experience all avenues of human emotion over the past thousand years.
Suffering from a memory loss, Kaim reclaims these missing segments
through dreams which are anecdotes backed up by a lush musical score.
As he traverse the land, Kaim meets various other characters both
mortal and immortal.
Lets get the negative out of the way first. The game can be quite
slow, the pace is leisurely, and at times can be compared to a Sunday
stroll on the beach. This added to the lengthy and frequent loading
times is something which will put many gamers off, which would be a
shame as there truly is a great game here.
The traditional aspects of RPG games are all present. Combat is turn
based which will be familiar to pretty much all gamers. The key to
progressing is mastering of different accessories at your use while
constantly leveling up is the key to progression. Most recent RPG games
have been relatively easy to complete, quite the opposite to Lost
Odyssey. The ability to learn new abilities from team mates is quite
handy and somewhat compensates for the added difficulty level.
One of the most striking aspects of the game is the superb score,
courtesy of Nobuo Uematsu a frequent collaborator of Sakaguchi. It
conjures up just the right atmosphere without ever becoming intrusive.
While not a perfect game, Lost Odyssey is a great RPG, which keeps
old school sensitivities while adding something new to the mix. While
not the easiest entry point for casual RPG fan the amazing production
values will more than compensate. As it stands genre fans will be in
heaven.
Irish video games podcast launched
Citizengame.co.uk, although it has a UK web address, is a newly launched Irish games podcast. The first edition, a ‘pilotcast’, was released on March 3 and has been so-far followed by three more shows.
In the podcasts presenters cover computer games news and talk about the latest games. The podcasts in MP3 - which vary from an hour to an hour and 25mins - can be downloaded in from citizengame.co.uk.
Highlander the game
Technically not breaking news or anything, but for those who may have missed it, when it was included as a bonus feature on the rather lack struck Highlander: The Source, here is the trailer for the upcoming Highlander game. The trailer doesn’t give much away but it does look impressive and given the wealth of mythology to draw upon this could be a gem of a game, that is as long as they disregard
Highlander 2 and the Source.
Havok in court over brand firm dispute
Telekinesys Research Limited, the Dublin-based games middleware firm known as Havok, is being sued by a design agency that helped created their brand. According to the Sunday Business Post, the branding work for Havok by Dublin design company, Creative Inc, had appeared in a marketing magazine article as a case study.
Emmy-winning Havok then wrote to Creative Inc requesting them to cease linking it self to the games firm. But Creative are now taking action claiming they had an agreement to use work in case studies. The case was mentioned as a motion for entry in the commercial section of the High Court at the Four Courts in Dublin last week.
Havok, based in the Digital Hub in Dublin’s Liberties, was bought by chipmaker Intel late last year. It is best known for its physics software that helps games developers concentrate on other aspects of games creation, but has expanded to areas such as animation.
As result of the Intel buyout, Havok are to release a free non-commercial version of their Havok Complete product for PC from this May. The move is aimed at independent games developers and enthusiasts, as well as academic institutions with games courses.
According to the company its products are used in over 200 “AAA games” and as well as being used in well over 90 titles which are due to be released this year. There include Halo 3, Assassin’s Creed, and Guitar Hero
III, as well as the upcoming Alan Wake, Indiana Jones, and Starcraft II. The middleware maker lists many more on its website, Havok.com.
A deal with Sony before the PlayStation 3 release also saw a version of the Havok product bundled with development hardware kits for the console.
MORE: Legal dispute between Havok and design agency (the Sunday Business Post, March 16, 2008)