STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC - preview

By Sam SmithBioWare’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was a massive hit when it was released in 2003, winning multiple game of the year awards as well as being heralded as the best Star Wars game to date. After a sequel developed by a different studio, the veteran RPG developers return to the Star Wars universe with a vastly ambitious take on the MMO genre, The Old Republic.

The MMO market is currently dominated by the monolithic World of Warcraft, but if any franchise can put a dent in it, it’s Star Wars. BioWare are an extremely successful studio, responsible for such single-player RPG hits as Mass Effect and Neverwinter Nights, as well as the aforementioned KOTOR. With The Old Republic, they have expressed their desire to transfer the single-player experience into a multiplayer world.

This is far more ambitions than it originally sounds. TOR will be the first MMO ever released to have every line of dialogue in the entire game fully voice-acted. Considering that, at this early stage of development, there is already more than 50 novels worth of dialogue, this is not a trivial task.

Also included will be BioWare’s trademark branching storylines. Depending on the actions and choices of the player, the story will progress in different ways, with consequences coming back to haunt you long after you have forgotten what you did to cause them in the first place.

Players will have moral choices to make, although not necessarily between arbitrary shades of “good” and “evil”. Each of the 8 classes in the game will have its own story, promising a unique experience. How well these individual plotlines will mesh with a multiplayer world remains to be seen.

Set thousands of years before the Star Wars movies everybody knows, TOR allows BioWare a lot of creative licence with the franchise. Jedi and Sith are all over the place, allowing every player a lightsaber, if they so choose. That said, the basic plot, with the forces of good and evil in the galaxy at war once again, is similar to that of the films, giving players the familiar Star Wars feel.

The eight classes of the game are split between the two factions of the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire, corresponding to the light and dark sides of the force respectively. Each class is designed around an archetype character found in the films.

For example, anyone who wishes they were Boba Fett (and who doesn’t) will be well-served by the Bounty Hunter class, with its jet-packs and wrist-mounted flamethrowers. For those desiring a more Skywalker-inspired approach, the Jedi Knight class is the only way to go. Han Solo fans will enjoy the Smuggler class, Darth Vader wannabes will flock to the Sith Warrior class, and so on.

Each class is designed to offer a different play-style, from close range hack-and-slash to long-range sniping, and everything in between. At some point, the player will be able to pick between two specialised sub-classes to further diversify their character, as well as choosing which areas to rank up in with custom talent points, allowing plenty of flexibility within the original set confines of a class.

As is fitting for Star Wars, the game will feature plenty of interstellar adventure, with action taking place on many planets across the galaxy, from fan favourites such as Tatooine and Alderaan to new lands like Tython.

The Old Republic is a game which has immense promise, and, if it fulfils the ambitions of its creators, could be something truly special. Currently targeted for release in spring 2011, it will be a while before people get a decent hands-on with it, and learn if it is on the right track. For now though, Star Wars fans can do nothing but hope that the game will let them truly enter and become a part of the universe they love so much.



Click HERE to go to the official The Old Republic website.

Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence Map Pack released next month

The second set of downloadable maps for Modern Warfare 2, titled the Resurgence Pack, will be released June 3rd, exclusively on Xbox 360.

Modern Warfare 2 was, and is, a huge hit, still selling millions of copies today, many months after its release. Publishers Activision decided to capitalize on this by charging a massive $15 for the first set of maps, the Stimulus Pack. This caused outrage among many gamers, especially as two of the five maps included were not even new, but featured in the first game. Nevertheless, the pack sold millions in its first day of release, proving that the system works and we really will pay stupid amounts for more of what we love.

Pricing for the second map pack has yet to be announced, but the smart money (or not) again rests around the $15 mark. If you are an avid Modern Warfare 2 player, prepare to fund yet another condo for Activisions CEO come June 3rd.

Click HERE to visit the official Modern Warfare 2 website.

Four new characters announced for Marvel vs Capcom 3

Hot on the heels of the initial announcement that the long-awaited Marvel vs Capcom 3 was finally in development, four new characters have today been revealed to be joining the fray.

Scans from Game Informer magazine have unearthed many new details that fans will be eager to digest, including the information that Dante, Felicia, Captain America and Deadpool will be playable characters. Here is a list of impressions from the article:

• MvC3 is using the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom scheme to be more accessible, but will retain features like Hyper Combo cancels, Snapbacks and assists.

• The game will have the alpha, beta and gamma assist types, just like in Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

• MvC3 aims to knock down the wall of complicated controls and open up the field of strategic fighting to all comers. This means fusing the accessible controls of TvC with tried and true MVC2 gameplay.

• The game has simplified launch attacks which are universally performed with one button, the Exchange button. This can also be pressed along with certain directions to slam opponents into the ground, leaving them susceptible to combos. Players can hit the Exchange button in midair to tag in other team members on the fly. You can also counter exchange moves by guessing the correct exchange move to input at the same time as your opponent.

• Deadpool's teleportation device will comically malfunction if you spam his teleport move. Also, he breaks the fourth wall by beating his opponents with his health bar.

• Chris Redfield uses his weapons from Resident Evil 5, his shotgun and the "shock stick."

• Moves from the previous games seem to have been retained. Wolverine and Hulks' Supers are shown.

The four new characters bring the current total to ten, although this is sure to increase as we learn more about the game. Marvel vs Capcom 3 is currently scheduled for a spring 2011 release.



Click HERE to visit the official Marvel vs Capcom 3 website.

Game charts for week ending May 7

Showing greater resilience than Beckham's Achilles tendon, 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA is still top of the charts. In second place is Ubisoft's JUST DANCE, and, indescribably, MODERN WARFARE 2 is at number three, still so high despite being released last year.
Elsewhere, SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV sleeps to sixth, SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION is at eight, and JUST CAUSE 2 rounds at the list at number ten.

1) 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA, ELECTRONIC ARTS

2) JUST DANCE, UBISOFT

3) CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2, ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

4) WII FIT PLUS, NINTENDO

5) BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2, ELECTRONIC ARTS

6) SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV, CAPCOM

7) WII SPORTS RESORT, NINTENDO

8) TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION, UBISOFT

9) GRAND THEFT AUTO: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY, TAKE 2

10) JUST CAUSE 2, SQUARE ENIX EUROPE

Click HERE to visit the ELSPA website for more charts and information.

SPLINTER CELL CONVICTION - review

By Sam Smith

Sam Fisher is one angry ex-superspy. After the death of his daughter, Fisher quit his day-job at Third Echelon, a suitably shadowy secret spy society, to enter a quiet retirement of crushing sorrow and seething rage. However, even the best ex-superspies do not seem to remain ex-superspies forever, and it isn’t long before Fisher is called back into the field once again.

Conviction is the fifth main game in the Splinter Cell series, but knowledge of past games is unnecessary to enjoy this one. The over-arching plot is typical Tom Clancy, with Sam’s old unit gone rogue and planning a coup, and isn’t particularly interesting. What is interesting is seeing Fisher carve a path through his old allies like a man possessed, never anything less than very, very angry. This is definitely a case of a character-driven story.

As with the story, previous experience with Splinter Cell is unneeded to quickly learn and have fun with the gameplay in Conviction, as the game is almost completely different to earlier entries in the series. Stealth is still the key, and charging in guns-blazing will see Sam quickly meeting his end in a hail of bullets. But whereas before the series took a slow-paced approach, having the player wait for the right opportunity to take out a guard, and take the time to hide the evidence, now it is all about speed. Hiding dead bodies is not necessary if everyone else has also met their maker.

A great cover system allows Sam to dash from one spot to the next at the press of a button, quickly closing the distance between him and his next target. This works well with another new addition, the “mark and execute” feature. The player can “mark” an enemy by aiming at them and pressing a button, then instantly “execute” them at any time they in range with another button press. Depending on which gun is equipped, you can mark between 2 and 4 enemies at one time, and dispatching 4 hostiles with the press of button is definitely befitting of a one-man army like Fisher.

The catch here is, after using the mark and execute, the player cannot use it again until they perform a melee takedown on an enemy, performed by sneaking up behind an unsuspecting guard and taking them out silently. Dashing between cover to take out a lone enemy, then executing the rest in one go is normally the best way to go about encounters. New sonar goggles let Sam spy guards through walls, allowing him to mark them and monitor their position without even seeing them.

The story mode is not that long, and even on realistic difficulty is never particularly challenging. However, great pacing ensures there is no real down-time. Where the gameplay falls down is when Sam is spotted by enemies and the game turns into a more conservative 3rd-person shooter until he can disappear again. As a standard shooter, Splinter Cell does not hold up as well as other stalwarts of the genre. The most fun can be had skulking in the shadows.

Along with the core story mode, players can also take part in “deniable ops”, extra missions that test players a little more than the campaign. These are great fun, although essentially more of the same. A co-operative story mode completes the package, which takes the form of a prequel to the main plot. This co-op mode is great fun, although again quite short.

Graphics are decent, not too spectacular but definitely not bad. One nice touch is, when the player is hidden in darkness, the colour on the screen will fade to black and white, giving the player a good visual notification of their invisible status.

Conviction is an enjoyable game while it lasts, with a few minor flaws but nothing that really dents the experience. Fans of angry sneaking should definitely enjoy it.

8/10

Click HERE to visit the official Splinter Cell website.