Guild Wars 2 will be opening its doors for an open beta test in March according to ArenaNet founder and president, Mike O’Brien. This will then pave the way for the game’s release later this year.

Writing on the ArenaNet blog, Mr O’Brien said: “We recently finished our first closed beta test, and we’re now ready to hold progressively larger events. In February we’ll invite select press to participate in beta testing, and in March and April we’ll aggressively ramp up the size of our beta test events so that many of you will have a chance to participate. And of course, this all leads to the release of Guild Wars 2 later this year.”

This April will mark seven years since the release of the original Guild Wars title in 2005. The sequel promises to shake up the genre and try something new. To quote Mr O’Brien again, “let’s usher out old thinking – the tired old quest model, stiff repetitive combat, and monthly fees – and usher in the new.” That sounds good to us.

Spotted on ArenaNet blog

Rumoured to be the most expensive videogame ever developed, Bioware’s MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic finally saw a full launch at the tail end of December – presumably aimed at those not satisfied with the weight gain already associated with the season and still seeking a method to put on a few more pounds in a short space of time.

I picked the game up having already tried the beta and had been quite impressed – despite having been frustrated by staggered early access rules sprung at the last second, shockingly inflated retail prices, and the general stench of publisher influence surrounding the whole affair. What follows is a collection of first impressions having spent a couple of weeks with the game across numerous classes.

Each time a new MMO hits the market it is, inevitably, overly and tediously compared to World of Warcraft, the apparent all-powerful benchmark for the genre. Were the reason purely based on long term financial success this would make more sense to me, but rarely are these the things used for a comparison. I have a long history with MMO games as my waist line will attest to, yet only briefly does WoW appear in that history and beyond this paragraph it will not be levied towards The Old Republic again for any reasons other than financial ones.

Given the popularity of the Star Wars brand it may seem a given that (at least initially) Old Republic was going to have an easy ride, though it’s worth pointing out that DC Universe and Star Trek Online could also be considered to have strong brands backing them, and we all know where they ended up – the Free-To-Play dungeon where MMOs go to die. That said it does seem like this MMO is off to a strong start yet doesn’t feel overly populated, thanks to instanced planets and numerous servers for both the EU and US regions. I went in also expecting 90% of people to be playing as some kind of Jedi or Sith yet this doesn’t seem to be the case and – with the exception of people not willing to be a healer or a tank which plagues every game like this – classes seem reasonably balanced.

There is of course another draw here for fans of the Knights of the Old Republic games. This game, while set some time after those original games, still follows the events in them and in particular on the Imperial side Revan is often spoke of. There are cameos from characters that appeared in those games too and you can also visit planets from them to see the fallout of previous events, most noticeably Taris.

Another thing which sets Old Republic aside from other games in the MMO category is the inclusion of companions for every class, light/dark alignment and the thing which takes up most of the required 20 GB install – voice acting.

While this is not the first RPG based MMO to include voice acting within quests (I believe it may have been Age of Conan that did it first) it is the first which not only fully voices everything but also has recorded lines for male and female variants of the four starting classes on the Republic and Imperial sides for all possible choices (which can usually be categorised as good, neutral and evil). This is not voice acting on the cheap either, and is almost exclusively to an extremely high standard of delivery.

This is certainly an impressive undertaking and can at times create the impression that you are immersed in a single player game – Knights of the Old Republic 3 – yet then you will see another player running by and remember. The illusion is furthered by having an NPC companion with you to facilitate those who want to play alone that even incorporates a like/dislike system for your choices leading to romance options or companion quests. While there are open air quests across the numerous expansive planets you can visit, there are also instanced areas for your chosen class’s plot line, Flashpoints and group quests.

Play enough of a few different classes or do enough quests and you will start to pick up on things which were cut and pasted to help cover the staggering task of constructing so many fleshed out activities. Given any individual quest dialogue you can be sure that there will either be a standing animation, a hand motioning angrily either at you or to the side, or an animation where the person you are speaking to walks forward a couple of steps then steps back. Rarely will there be a cutscene in which things become any more animated, especially outside of class quests.

Dialogue is often recycled too. For example a Jedi Consular’s ‘evil’ option when undertaking a quest (paraphrased slightly) is “Sounds interesting, but what’s in it for me?” and this will be said a lot regardless of the wording of the option you chose. This is a frequent thing across all classes for generic responses to the process of learning about and accepting a quest. I mention these things not as faults, purely that the longer you play the more obvious they become and it does take some of the sparkle away from the initially impressive façade.

The quest-giving NPCs of the world are also insanely forgiving to rudeness, abruptness and the generally evil manner you can choose to react in if you are after Dark Side points. You can constantly pick the (often amusing) blunt option which insults the person you are speaking with and they will still carry on offering you the quest with a comparatively lax response to what was just said about them. There are also moments where you can actually flat out refuse to be told more only for the NPC to force the information on you anyway.

The reason for this though is clear – you can team up for any and all quests, and outside of class based ones (in which party members can only take up spectator roles in cutscenes) everyone can have input via number rolls with the highest being the course of action you see play out. This means that in order to be fair the rude “I don’t care about the details” option could win the roll on a dialogue choice but those who wanted to know more are still also satisfied.

Long term, Old Republic does have a distinct advantage over something like DC Universe in that even if the current maximum level of fifty can be reached fairly quickly, the unique storyline to each class and the engaging manner in which they are presented compels you to try them out just to see another interesting plot. This is not to mention having the Republic side and Imperial side, each giving access to different planets (some are shared eventually though).

In the long, long term we do wonder though how additional content could be produced that matches the same standard currently present. Adding new quests isn’t as simple as putting in a few screens of text – they would have to record all options for all classes on each side. It isn’t much of a surprise then that thus far it is only expanding how PVP currently operates that is being discussed and an additional Flashpoint or two. I do worry though that rather than add fully fleshed out quests as part of the MMO tradition, that it evolves and grows over time to keep justifying your subscription, they may release micro-transaction additional content citing the voice work and so on as the reasons why.

With solid gameplay that offers traditional MMORPG style interaction mixed with different concepts not usually seen in the genre (such as a cover system for Smugglers and Imperial Agents) and excellent parts borrowed from single player RPG mechanics, Old Republic is off to a very strong start. Of course, quite a few MMOs have had strong starts and what really matters will be how strong it remains a few months down the line as people run out of things to do and look to the developers for more content. It does also fall into some typical trappings of the genre such as repetition by design, a lack of quest variety and some areas being needlessly large.

Star Wars: The Old Republic has a good chance of being financially successful for a moderately long time depending on the quality of continued patching and additional content and is a very interesting experience for experienced MMO players and new alike. Fans of the Star Wars brand will already probably be playing, so that leaves fence-sitters and those already subscribed to a different MMO and to them I would suggest waiting for the inevitable release of a free trial which, unlike some trials, will give a taste of what the whole experience is like as this is a game less about getting max level as fast as humanly possible and more about the enjoyable plot driven journey to get there.

• Format: PC (version reviewed), Mac, PSN, XBLA
  
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Lace Mamba Global/Focus Home Interactive, Atlus
• Developer: Frozenbyte
• Players: 1 – 3
• Site: www.trine2.com

Having a knight, a wizard and a thief simultaneously adventuring together seems like a fairly reasonable Halloween costume line-up or an unspecialised MMO raid party. It also sounds like the most obvious cast for a side-scrolling adventure game. In 2009, Frozenbyte struck the hearts of many with their game Trine that perfected this seemingly obvious formula. Two years on and they have made a sequel, but does it live up to the original game’s charm? If you just want this review in its simplest form, the answer is an absolutely corking “Yes and more.”

If you missed the first game then we’ll recap. It all started when a wizard, thief and knight touched an artefact called the Trine. It bound their souls together and sent them on an adventure. Part of being Trine-bound meant that players could instantly switch between characters to overcome certain puzzles and obstacles. The wizard conjures physical objects into existence and levitates them, the thief is highly mobile with her grappling hook and the knight is proficient at bludgeoning nasties to death. This aspect has not changed at all in Trine 2.

The knight makes short work of goblins but can't solve puzzles unless they involve a good bashing.

What has changed are a number of features from the original game that have been chopped to make the experience flow more smoothly. The inventory and special items have completely disappeared. You can no longer give specific characters benefits like unlimited air underwater or extra health with random trinkets. The only collectible items are experience orbs, poems and pieces of concept art. Characters no longer have an energy reserve either, meaning there is no penalty to constantly using fire arrows or spamming an area with summoned cubes and planks. This streamlining makes the game a lot easier to pick up and encourages experimentation and using abilities, instead of punishing overzealous use. It makes the game a lot more fun.

Puzzles are usually a case of navigating tricky terrain to get from the left side of the screen to the right, with the occasional door mechanism or gaping pit thrown in for good will. Whilst this might sound quite samey, each situation feels unique and can require some real brain power to solve. The one downside we found was the overreliance on the wizard and his block conjuring abilities. Summoning physical stepping stones into the world was always the most obvious (and in many cases only) way to get through most tricky areas. The thief can get herself through some situations with her grapple; but the knight seems fairly useless outside of combat or tasks that involve breaking things. That is of course the knight’s function, but we found ourselves puzzling and platforming a lot more than we were fighting.

Joining the improved mechanics are the gloriously designed environments. Level design remains as fiendish as ever, with several puzzles making you um and ah for minutes before the necessary element snaps in your brain and you discover the solution. Couple this with beautiful scenery and animated 3D backgrounds that are genuinely awe inspiring and you get a visual treat that even the fussiest of graphic grinches can’t grumble about.

And you thought the dragons in Skyrim were big...

The excellent presentation doesn’t stop at the amazing graphics; just about everything you experience serves as an immersive influence that compels you to play. Trine 2 feels like an interactive fairy tale that caters to everyone. The narrator tells the story as you go along and each character occasionally chirps in with their own bits of quirky dialogue. These serve to advance the story, but also provide the player with hints should you find yourself staring at the same chasm or sealed door for long enough.

The major new feature in Trine 2 is online multiplayer. The original game only allowed local co-op play, but the sequel has now opened the floodgates to the scary wide world of the Internet. Use the server browser or jump into a quick match though matchmaking to drop into the main adventure with up to two other players. Having three people tackle the puzzles and goblin ambush attempts is a fantastic experience and unlike the majority of current online games out there.

Multiplayer can also make it much easier in places, and it almost feels like cheating. There are so many occasions in singleplayer that will leave you thinking “This would be much easier with another person helping.” If you can trust yourself not to simply levitate your teammates on a wizard plank to the other side of the problem and then wait for the game to respawn you with them then online is a real laugh. Even if you do decide to cheat the game a little bit, it is very fun and a joy to play. You will giggle every time someone accidently summons a cube above you that thwarts your heroic jump attempt.

Stand on the knight's shield in multiplayer for a cheeky leg up.

Local multiplayer is also very well implemented. Good support like this is to be expected on consoles, but even the PC has brilliant local play capabilities. You don’t even need a set of spare USB gamepads to play on the same PC. The game supports multiple mice and keyboards which works brilliantly, if you can find the space to use them. It took us a slight fiddle in the game options to get it all working, but it wasn’t a huge feat and definitely worth the effort.

Trine 2 is an incredible game and easily tops the brilliant original. It is a charming adventure that can appeal to a very wide audience, but at the same time does not compromise on the challenge with several brilliant physics and platform based puzzles in the mixture. The boxed collector’s edition even comes with an artbook, original soundtrack and a copy of Trine 1. If you like your swords and spells applied to side scrolling adventures then it doesn’t get much better than this. Likewise, if you’re looking for an adventure game that is easy to get into and great fun to play, Trine 2 will not disappoint.

In an uncomfortable reminder of exactly how and why manufacturers of complicated electronic products enjoy such huge profit margins, here is a story which brings the word ‘suicide’ into the world of console manufacturing – again. If the word ‘Foxconn’ means anything to you at all, it will almost certainly be due to reports of workers on the Chinese company’s manufacturing lines committing suicide. This latest story, thankfully, did not result in any deaths.

On January 2nd, as reported at Kotaku, three hundred employees stood on the roof of the Foxconn Xbox 360 manufacturing plant in Wuhan, threatening to jump to their deaths. The workers had asked for a raise; the factory’s response was to tell them to keep their jobs at the same pay rate, or leave with compensation. The majority chose to leave; but when their bosses reneged on the deal and refused to hand out compensation of any kind, the rooftop protest began. After intervention from the mayor of Wuhan, the group finally came down, unharmed, the evening of the following day. Microsoft issued this statement to Kotaku regarding the latest incident:

“Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue. We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge. Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy.”

Foxconn’s Wikipedia entry includes a fairly brief but fully supported list of the best known criticisms and fatal incidents. Foxconn  (which has been forced to install anti-suicide nets at multiple sites) also manufactures the Wii, the PlayStation 3, the iPhone, the Kindle, motherboards, and much more.

• Format:  360 (version reviewed), 3DS, PC, PS3,
  
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Sega
• Developer: Sonic Team
• Players: 1
• Site: http://www.sega.com/sonicgenerations/

How long and twisting the road for Sonic the Hedgehog has been these twenty-odd years since he burst into the gaming scene. Not to get excessively allegorical here, but the path has been much like the stages he blazes through: plenty of ups, some noticeable downs, and a few loops that may nauseate you. Sonic Generations is a game that joyfully celebrates every step of the journey with reckless abandon, and that optimistic attitude alone makes it easy to like. But keep in mind that we are, after all, celebrating everything Sonic, and that means putting up with a bundle of nagging problems. This is a shame, because Generations’ splendid combination of both the old and the new could have meant the greatest Sonic game this world has ever seen.

In a time-warping tale that makes little to no sense, Modern Sonic (the current hedgehog you know and possibly might love) and Classic Sonic (the portly dude from the Genesis days) must work together and save the world or their dimension or something. Regardless, it’s a flimsy setup that serves as a nice excuse to travel through Sonic’s colourful past. At first the stark white hub world is devoid of said colour, but that all changes as both hedgehogs explore a timeline that stretches from the early ’90s to 2010.

What's this? Classic Sonic in a stage from 2004? That's completely bananas!

We’re sure you remember how to play Classic Sonic: hop and spindash your way through a wild rollercoaster of badniks while you you try to nab (and desperately keep) shiny, life-giving rings. For all the eye-popping pizazz and polygonal shenanigans, the gameplay remains remarkably close to the source material; Sonic Team clearly spent time on getting it right. Ducking is no longer required to spindash (tapping a dedicated button is an option now), which is the only relevant change – and it’s a good one. Creative stages are layered with fun routes to take, but the controls can be touchy, bordering on frustration now and then. The levels don’t quite rival the best of the Genesis/Mega Drive days, but they fit in as fresh additions of their own. Of course, Classic Sonic is only half the story, and probably the less interesting side.

Sonic has been tearing around the third dimension like a loon for years, loyal Sega always trailing behind and trying to steer him in the right direction with erratic results. The formula has been improving recently, and Sonic Generations is the best result yet. Among other stunts, Sonic can squeal around turns in a spindash, gain boost to rocket through loops, and cross huge chasms with the physically impossible homing attack. The blinding speed might throw you off at first, breaking the stages into stop-and-go stumbles; but practice will reveal tight stage design that rewards level memorisation and quick wits. Such intensely rad action makes it all the more disappointing when a glitch rears its ugly head or the controls fail you entirely. Nobody else does what Sonic Team does, but that doesn’t mean they always do it well.

And Modern Sonic in a stage from 1992? That's totally nuts!

Something they deliver in ridiculous abundance, however, is nostalgia; gallons of the stuff. Every level is ripped straight from a past Sonic title and positively packed with accurate details, whether it’s a familiar floating platform from the reimagined Chemical Plant or Seaside Hill’s faithful go-kart section. Anyone who’s played a Sonic game or two will get something out of it, but for those select fans who can pick out samples of Sega Saturn commercials mixed into a Sonic R remix, a true delight is in store.

Although the music can’t always rise to that level of jaw-dropping wonder, Sonic Generations’ rhapsodic smorgasbord of pumped up remixes is akin to stuffing your ears with gummi bears. These songs accompany stages brought to life with a delightful vibrancy that can differ radically from zone to zone. The sense of speed is genuinely thrilling, and grabbing a screenshot of the action would reveal textures of unexpected detail. It’s almost painful to admit that the beautiful environments and great animations are marred with a so-so frame rate that can dip into nearly unplayable slideshows during the more hardware-intensive moments. For a game focused so specifically on speed, this is 100% uncool.

And a remake of City Escape, complete with a new rendition of its jaunty theme song? That's entirely bonkers!

But for better or worse, there’s more to do in Sonic Generations than run fast. A hodgepodge of bite-sized challenges (often used to shoehorn in the non-playable extended cast) helps out with variety, but there are plenty of misses among the hits. Battles against Dr. Eggman and Sonic’s past rivals are similarly iffy, concluding with an abysmal final boss. Although a stupidly easy stage ranking system and a shop that sells passable special abilities also fall short of their potential, collectathon enthusiasts (you know who you are) will have a field day finding hidden red rings and unlocking oodles of prizes, including a fully functional Genesis that plays the original Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic Generations is a truly great game weighed down with sloppy troubles. Racing against the excellent system of leaderboards shows just how well put together the core gameplay is, and if not for the low frame rate and overall splapdash production, it wouldn’t have much holding it back. In short, imagine a shiny car of the coolest variety. Now imagine bashing it with a crowbar three or four times. Do you still like the car? Of course; it’s of the coolest variety! But seeing what it could have been makes the dents even more cringe-worthy. Sonic Generations is a gleeful tribute to the best of Sonic, but like our unfortunate hotrod, it takes a beating along the way.

This image has threatened traditional gaming since around November 2006.

It’s been a year of worry for the traditional gamer. Whilst gaming might seem to be an ever growing past-time, some of the traditional elements which make up the industry have seemed fragile. Publishers have been busy shutting down traditional developers, especially those famed for 3D racers, but beyond too.

We have seen shops such as Gamestop starting to seriously invest in alternative delivery platforms such as their own tablet and streaming services, fearing a fast-arriving dead end to their current business model. Indeed in the UK, where GAME have been less aggressive in moving into new areas of the business, we are witnessing the start of what will be a contraction of its street presence over the next five years. HMV, too, are struggling and are being quite open about the idea that they might not be around in the next 2-5 years in any shape or form.

Alongside this we have seen traditional hardware providers, such as Microsoft and Sony, in effect pour cold water on the idea of an early start to the ‘next generation’ as it is only really now that they are generating real profit dollars from their investment in current hardware and software. Whilst they might feel the urge to produce something new in the face of the soon to be released Wii U, both companies will resist in the knowledge that they have healthy, steadily improving install bases and technology which still won’t look outdated, even compared to the Wii U. I suspect they have noticed that the current generation of hardware is actually perceived to be cutting edge by many consumers today, despite being very behind suped up PCs. Hence there is little demand to bring a new, expensive console solution to the market in these difficult economic times.

Look, look I got some new plastic! But no games or applications to use with it!

Nintendo’s own year has been a difficult one, until the final quarter came around with the upturn witnessed in the holiday season. The launch of the 3DS was undermined by a range of mistakes. A high price, which did not actually put off day one early adoption but which did kill day two, three and further afield purchases. This drop in sales and consumer relevance was then compounded by the device having no actual new software (quality or otherwise) for months after release! It was almost as if Nintendo itself was surprised by the release of the console. One suspects that this observation might be closer to the truth than some might realise. Could it be that Iwata suddenly panicked when he saw the drop off in DS hardware and software sales in late 2010 and early 2011, and thought a hardware launch, which was due for November 2011, should be brought forward? Could it be that he actioned this change of timeline, forgetting that the software development teams couldn’t speed up, pro-rata?

This would explain the lack of software, both in terms of game titles and the also slightly unfinished operating system, which is still having parts of its online functionality added by firmware to this day; but which the software team have admitted were due to be there from day one.

Indeed Nintendo have taken a bashing on behalf of traditional gamers everywhere. Analysts the world over have decided that Nintendo could be the RIM (the makers of Blackberry products) of the games industry. Everyone likes to be the one who can call the end of the world (just ask the Mayans) and analysts are as human as the next guy (really they are) and Nintendo was their punching bag in 2011. The narrative went like this – people are moving from dedicated gaming devices to iPads and smartphones. Why spend £30 on a game, when you can get freeware or £1 software? The logic was sound, but too simple. People will always buy something they want, you just need to give them something they actually want, and come the end of the year Nintendo seemed to be achieving this. The 3DS sales are now running ahead of all predictions and confidence is not only building in the platform, but in the traditional games market in general. What started as a bad story for Nintendo and the industry as a whole has started to evolve into a success story.

Of course the area of growth which has probably received the most headlines, is the continued march of the social and casual gaming market. This encompasses everything from the Just Dance franchise, to the exponential growth of the Farmville type experience. There is no question that the online ‘Sim’ style of gameplay is not only hugely compelling but ideal for multi-platform, cloud play. Users can switch from the PC to their tablets, and in theory continue on the Sony Vita, as many of these games start being released in the platform agnostic HTML5 coding language. Indeed as televisions become ‘smarter’ with their own implementation of Kinect-like experiences, merged with an appstore, we can expect to see continued growth in the use of such genres. For hardcore gamers, this can be seen as a threat, as it potentially pulls funding from the type of projects they would traditionally welcome. Indeed if one looks, as an example, at Disney Interactive, it is moving evermore into this social and casual space and further away from traditional AAA game titles.

Should we as traditional gamers be worried by this? Probably not. Firstly the world is not black and white (even though according to my dad, when he was a boy it used to be – just look at old films back from when he was a youngster he tells me) and hence some of us also play those social games (maybe less so the dance titles). After all they are really very similar to RPGs, but often the character is the ‘farm’ or ‘restaurant’. However it also means that those AAA titles that are released get an increase in funding, and hence we should see an ongoing rise in production values and overall quality. The end of year titles released in 2011 are probably the best evidence for this. The range of software in your local GAME or Gamestop is reducing, but who can dispute the quality of Batman Arkham City, Skyrim, Uncharted 3 and the top shooters, MW3 and BF3?

Let us not forget the great games that have come out on XBLA, PSN, Android/iOS and recently on the 3DS, which is starting to have some quality digital titles. If you are a dedicated gamer, and not just someone who dives in to kill some time, you have never really had it so good.

What will 2012 bring to the story? For sure, we will see the ongoing decline of brick and mortar shops. Boxed product will still exist, and we will probably continue to see the ongoing investment into ‘limited edition’ versions which will help to prolong the life of this boxed product. However for many they will only order via online, postal only services. Shops will simply start to close or become trading and part exchange locations.

Game of the Year 2012?

The year ahead, when it comes to software, is going to be a very exciting year. Max Payne 3, Grand Theft Auto 5, MW3 map packs and BioShock Infinite (have Take 2 already sewn up 2012?) are already in our consciousness. The 3DS has some superb first and third party exclusives arriving in early 2012 too, and the industry will have the US and European launch of the Vita to look forward to.

The Wii U will release. Nintendo will see this as a slow burner, as the Wii at its new price is still selling strongly. However for those wanting to upgrade it could spoil the party for the current levels of PS3 growth and Xbox steady sale projections. Why? Because for those who already have a Wii (and only a Wii) and are considering what to step up to then if the Wii U ticks a number of boxes, it’ll be the natural platform to choose. What are those boxes?

• If the Wii U has the same range of ‘adult’ software as the 360 and PS3 in addition to being 100% backwards compatible with all their Wii content.
• If it allows them to play all the new Mario titles, along with new Nintendo only IP. Expect Nintendo to make a push to position the Wii U as the first console to take MMOs seriously with a controller designed for them.

The ultimate home based tablet and server solution?

If the above happens, then who would not buy the Wii U over one of its HD counterparts? Those of us already with a Wii and 360, or PS3 will probably fail to become early adopters. That’ll be fine by Nintendo though, as once the new inevitable Mario games and Pikmin are released, and once the hardware does eventually drop in price, they know we will still invest.

What Nintendo decides to do with its online provision for the Wii U though is very exciting. Nothing is really known, but all the rumours suggest a very open online service, perhaps with multiple portals such as EA’s Origin and Steam. However, if they could be linked with a single Wii U identity (not a friend code!) it suggests a range of delivery services, offers and perhaps even streaming services being offered through the platform, alongside its own propriety content.

2012 could be Take 2's year, at least when it comes to Metacritic scores. Sales will surely follow.

As the economy continues to stumble, the games industry will clearly find that growth and expansion is stunted by the social and economic factors around them. Yet if any leisure industry will succeed in these tough times, it’ll be ours; and 2012 will be another step forward.

NOTE: Previously published and subsequently lost to an evil electronic gremlin, it only recently came to my attention that this had not been republished. The day of our Joe Danger: Special Edition review seemed as good a time as any to put it back up again.

If you’ve already played Joe Danger, you’re almost certainly excited for Joe Danger: The Movie. If you missed that game for whatever reason, check out our Hello Games interview and Joe Danger review (oh go on then, the preview as well) to find out why that title is so darned loved. Done it? Everybody ready? Okay.

No longer restricted to his motorbike, stunt rider Joe now laughs in the face of death and twiddles the nose of peril using a variety of vehicles. Yes, there’s a police motorbike in there; but in the demo levels I played there were also a minecart, a snowmobile, a pair of skis (“not sure if skis count as a vehicle!” admits Hello Gamer Sean Murray) and… wait for it… a jetpack! That got the last of you on board, I think.

The ground-based transportation used the same control method as the first game; hence you’ll still be performing tricks to fill your boost meter, wiggling about in mid-air in a vain attempt to collect all those stars first time around, ducking then jumping with painful precision, and so on. It’s still very much a racing/platforming/stunting (henceforth known as ‘raplunting’ at Critical Gamer) game, and will be instantly familiar to Joe Danger fans – yet it’s oh so different.

Firstly there’s the ‘scripting’, hence the word Movie in the subtitle. Murray was keen to stress that there won’t be any lengthy cutscenes or anything like that; but there will be what I feel the need to pretentiously describe as ‘dynamic context’ (forgive me) for what Joe’s doing and why he’s doing it. For example, one level saw Joe punching other riders in the face, knocking them off their bikes. This isn’t because indiscriminate violence is fun (well, not entirely), but because these are the baddies of the movie scene.

Another, snowy level sees Joe zooming down a mountain with targets to land on. Said targets are actually rockets slowly rising from silos; fail to land on and disable them (blow them up), and they launch. And then, one presumes, Bad Things Happen. Once you’re past the rockets the bad guys, none too pleased at your do-gooding antics, chase after you and lob grenades in your way. Red grenades you need to duck under and green you need to jump over (or was it the other way around?). You have what I estimate to be 0.3 milliseconds each time to identify what type of grenade it is and take appropriate action. Funstrating!

You’re also now able to change lanes at any point on the magic green line (as I found when I repeatedly smashed into oncoming traffic), but the biggest dollop of new was smothered over the aforementioned jetpack. Although I was assured (twice) that the controls for this were considered fiddlier than they should be and were in for some tweaking, I found it fun and easy to use. Especially surprising considering my bloody awful performance for the first five minutes or so of play using the easier vehicles.

It’s perhaps best described as like riding your bike in zero gravity. Accelerate pushes you forward in the direction you’re facing, holding brake sends you backwards; but you can go in all directions rather than just left and right, and boost works both forwards and backwards. This has a lot of potential for the risk and reward Joe thrives on, hinted at in the demo. Do you want to bypass hazards wherever possible and finish the level as quickly as you can, or brave the route full of instakill to scoop up all the collectables? There will be many more vehicles in the final game, and some – such as a promised parachute and hang-glider – will use a similar control method.

The half dozen or so levels on offer were tightly designed, sometimes bordering on evil (would fans have it any other way?), and above all fantastic fun. I was surprised, therefore, to find that they’d all been made in just three weeks; a mad rush with fantastic results to get something playable together for the game’s first public outing at GamesCom. Nonetheless, it’s not necessarily representative of the final game. It sounds like the newer elements will be pushed much further to the fore in the finished product, and certain features were of course missing at the expo. The plan, it seems, is also to assign certain types of level to certain types of vehicle. So for example, skis might be used primarily for stunt levels, bikes for race levels, jetpacks for score attack levels (I must stress here that these examples are pulled from my own fevered mind). Brilliantly, vehicles you unlock as you play can then be used in previous levels to play them in a completely different way.

Although I was at the Eurogamer Expo for nine hours, I didn’t actually have time to play very many games. Joe Danger: The Movie is the only title I went back to for a second go. It’s going to be the best raplunter you ever play. I do have one, huge criticism however; I can’t buy it yet.

It’s nearly Christmas. Again. The bad news is that this means you’re even poorer than usual by now, and you’ll soon have to pretend to be much more interested in what distant relatives have to say than you actually are. The good news, however, is that it’s once again time to find out what Critical Gamer’s favourite games of the year are! Also: presents.

It’s been another great year for games, though this time around almost all of the best ones have been sequels; something reflected by our choices (whether we like it or not). It was extremely close when it came to deciding which game we thought trumped all the others. Eventually however, we decided to declare that Critical Gamer’s Game of the Year 2011 (despite the notorious bugs) is:

Skyrim

Stephen K says: I knew Bethesda would have something incredible in store with Skyrim, but I was unprepared for its tidal wave of sheer excitement that swept across communities the world over. It captured the imagination of nearly everyone who glanced its way, and I could go on and on about Skyrim’s visuals, scope, and expansive wealth of content. But what really amazes me is how Bethesda finally made the promise of the Elder Scrolls series a reality. When I was back in Morrowind’s icy island of Solstheim, staring into that foggy draw distance, my imagination took over. Sparse evergreens appeared as towering forests, glitchy swipes of my sword became dramatic strokes of battle, mindless NPCs were rugged inhabitants with lives to live. And in Skyrim, all of that was true. It was adventure that welcomes everyone, retaining depth and subtlety while fixing the broken parts. Experienced travellers could rediscover Tamriel’s vast beauty once again, and newcomers had the chance to experience for themselves what it is we’ve been pretending to see all this time.

There were so many top quality games released this year however, that we’d feel ever so guilty if we didn’t talk about some more of them. Therefore we now present to you, in no particular order, nine ‘honourable mentions’ plucked from the 2011 release schedule; some personal favourites of the cheeky chappies at CG, each of which we award with a virtual medal thus:

Uncharted 3

Matt says: Uncharted 3 is another compelling entry in a series that remains the best reason to own a PlayStation 3. The outstanding competitive multiplayer returns with an array of customisable options and bonuses, and there is also a standalone co-op campaign for those who yearn for narrative drive in their multiplayer.

As good as the competitive and co-operative multiplayer is, it’s the singleplayer that steals the show with its stunning visuals, impeccable pacing and memorable set pieces. A tightly scripted adventure that boasts witty dialogue and likeable characters, it is packed full of small, human touches that bring characters and situations to life. Such moments allow Uncharted 3 to be more than just another action game, as it thrives during the quiet moments between huge firefights and narrow escapes from sinking ships. When it comes to standing out from the crowd, it’s all in the details, and developer Naughty Dog have proven once again that they understand this as well as anyone else in the business.

Arkham City

Ian says: Following on from such a huge critical success was always going to be hard going and yet with Batman: Arkham City Rocksteady achieved this. The second outing for the Dark Knight in recent years had the same high level of visual polish and quality voice work its predecessor Arkham Asylum had, but added so much more. It didn’t fall into some of the common sequel trappings and those they did mattered little when compared to the larger explorable world, excellently tweaked gameplay, and engaging plot; which culminated in one of the most memorable endings to a game in recent years.

Portal 2

Anthony says: Following on from Valve’s masterpiece, Portal 2 took the concept demo-like experience of the original and stretched it into a proper length game. It took everything that made the original Portal great, and did it better and bigger. Larger environments, sharp humour, more diverse puzzles and a Bristolian robot; it had everything. The space-hole spewing gameplay remained largely unchanged, but the introduction of environment morphing gels opened up huge possibilities in and out of test chambers. Even the marketing that preceded the game was excellent, with funny Aperture Science investment videos and a scarily complex alternate reality game that sucked us deeper into to the crazy Portal universe. Portal 2 also introduced a brilliant co-op mode featuring two mute robots that still managed to buzz with as much personality as Nathan Drake or Commander Shepard. The chaotic and often hilarious results of four active portals really made the specially designed test chambers a joy to prance around. It’s also incredibly funny to drop your mate through a portal into spiky doom, only for him to reappear and do it to you, with death carrying no consequence other than a minor restart and a round of giggles.

LittleBigPlanet 2

Luke says: Like Portal 2, LittleBigPlanet 2 achieved what had previously seemed impossible; it made the prequel look unambitious. Again, there is a brief story mode which can be enjoyed online or offline by 1-4 players simultaneously, and this time round it’s even easier. The heart of this game is the level creation tool however, which is now more powerful than ever. The LittleBigPlanet community has created and shared platform levels, puzzle games, homages to classic titles, machinima, racing games, and much more… all for free. It’s like an almost limitless number of games in one, making it an essential purchase.

Battlefield 3

Kevin says: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was our favourite multiplayer shooter from last year, and DICE have followed it up with a tour de force experience in Battlefield 3. With the addition of fighter jets to the vehicle roster, and large open maps that are packed with destructible scenery, they have tweaked the multiplayer to perfection. This is not your usual run and gun shooter, with teamwork rather than killstreaks being crucial to winning games. In fact even modest players can reach the top of the leaderboard, thanks to the balanced points system which rewards players with extra points for capturing flags, repairing vehicles, or even laying down suppressing fire. It’s this fair system of play that encourages players to work as a team, rather than sit in a hole racking up kills. There is a campaign mode that uses the Call of Duty template, and an enjoyable two-player Co-op mode, with six different missions to take on with a friend; but these are more of a snack, and the main meal is in the multiplayer – which is a Christmas dinner that will leave you feeling full long into the new year.

Super Mario 3D Land

Steven G says: This is a masterclass in traditional platform design with graphics as good as Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii, but with the gameplay of a traditional 2D Mario title. The difficulty level is perhaps just a little too low for seasoned gamers, but there is still much to be gained even for hardened players. There is beauty in the way these levels are designed and just playing through them brings a smile to one’s face. The 3D adds to the enjoyment of the game and actually assists you in some puzzles along the way. Despite being a little too easy to finish, collecting all the gold coins and stars will take some time.

Whilst you can swap levels and powerups with other users locally and online, there is no multiplayer option such as the two player mode in New Super Mario Brothers for the original DS. The game even lacks an online leaderboard for fastest level times and other ‘achievement’ based challenges. Nonetheless, if you have a 3DS this is a superb game you need to get; and if you don’t have a 3DS, you now have a reason to get one.

Bastion

Stephen K says: Bastion is like a beautiful melody or perhaps a really good story, the kind with meaning: you just can’t forget it and you certainly don’t want to. The brusque narrator was a game-changing method for telling stories, the music resounded with an offbeat magic, and its art was a surreal mix of muted tones and whimsical swirls. But in perfect harmony with this poetic vision was a hearty framework of gameplay, just like the old days. Whacking things with weapons and then upgrading said weapons for further whackage was a skill that took cunning to perfect, requiring quick wits and swift thumbs. The plot didn’t hinder the gameplay and vice versa; Bastion was created with both aspects in mind, and the result was something special. It’s flat out impressive to see such a small downloadable title (and an equally small team) stand shoulder-to-shoulder with this year’s colossal competition. Yes, I have a feeling Bastion will be remembered for a very long time.

de blob 2

Luke says: Almost certainly an unexpected entry here, and one that many would disagree with (including some Critical Gamer staff); but I’m the boss round here, so I stick my tongue out in mature defiance and declare de blob 2 to be one of the best games of 2011. Not only does it do something different, it does it very well indeed.

Ostensibly a platformer, this game puts colour and music at the heart of the experience. At the beginning of each level, you’re stuck in a monochrome world with what really is best described as a minimalist glumtrack for music. After filling your blobby avatar with various colours and painting in anything and everything you find however, the environment is transformed into a world of rich and vibrant colours, supported by a truly wonderful soundtrack of funky jazz. Fighting your way past the conformity loving ‘Inkies’ through to the end of the game isn’t too difficult, but finding every last secret presents a challenge you’ll gleefully accept. The wonderfully crafted cutscenes are the icing on the cake and, considering the rock bottom prices this criminally ignored title is now selling for, there’s no excuse not to buy it.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Anthony says: We’ve all dreamed of what it would be like to have robot arms and how awesome x-ray vision would be, but Deus Ex: Human Revolution managed to put a bleak spin on the whole thing. After an unfortunate work related incident, Adam Jensen is rebuilt with a variety of cyber bits that augment his body. The result: a multi-purpose man-tool players can mould to fit their desires. Want to play the game like a ninja? Improve your skin so you turn invisible. Want to be a walking death factory? Upgrade your robo-arms so they can throw vending machines and steady your aim.

The RPG-like ability upgrade system means you can go through the game and have a completely different experience each time. Chase down secrets and sub-missions in the open hub areas, and you can easily stretch one playthrough to 25 hours. I was sucked into this game and the dystopian future it was pushing. This could definitely be played as the most entertaining stealth game of the year, whilst at the same time being an action driven cover shooter. The plethora of choices, coupled with serious consequences for your actions, makes this several brilliant games in one.

So, how do you feel about our choices? Happy? Angry, sad, confused? Hungry? Thirsty? Exhausted? Feel free to let us know (not that you’ll ever change our minds about anything). You’re welcome also to congratulate Kevin on doing a wonderful job on this year’s Game of the Year award graphics. Steal them, and he will hunt you down.

Hunt you down we say!

P.S. You’ll soon be able to find a condensed version of our choices at ‘Most Wanted’, the vouchercodes.co.uk blog. In fact, if you head to the main Voucher Codes website, you’ll be able to find offers and discount codes for literally squillions of online retailers, many of which stock some or all of the above games. The codes are all free, and you don’t even need to register with the site! Lovely. 

• Platform: PC
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Beamdog
• Developer: Overhaul Games/Bioware
• Players: 1
• Site: http://www.beamdog.com/products/mdk2-hd

HD is a buzz acronym that is popping up everywhere in our culture, a bit like an OCD mole that has to visit everyone’s garden. The gaming world is no different, with HD re-skins of older games such as Splinter Cell, Metal Gear Solid 2 and Ico all pinging on the radar. However, one that a lot of people possibly didn’t see was a remastered appearance from Bioware’s incredibly mad, eleven-year-old, third-person action game, MDK2. A few months on from its digitally Wii-mastered release on Nintendo’s console, the PC now has its own version of MDK2 HD.

As far as game concepts go, this is still fairly unique even eleven years on. Players control three characters throughout the game: Kurt Hectic in his coil suit, an all-in-one costume with a handy face mounted sniper attachment; Max, a six limbed dog who stands on two legs and is capable of quad wielding any guns he finds; and the man responsible for both, Doctor Fluke Hawkins. Each character faces environments that suit their different abilities and the game switches who you control at the end of each level.

Gunning mid stride, something you'll be doing a lot in MDK2 HD.

Kurt and Max’s levels focus on run and gun action, with a few areas that test your precision jumping and timing abilities. Doctor Hawkins on the other hand tends to deal with more puzzle oriented problems. He lacks combat proficiency, but instead combines items through a slightly fiddly dual inventory system. He gets more puzzles thrown his way than enemies, but can defend himself with his atomic toaster and bread based munitions. It’s a very mad adventure but each character feels utterly unique and offers a refreshing amount of variety throughout.

Overhaul Games have taken Bioware’s source material and gone over everything with a high definition paintbrush to give it a coat of HD magic. A glance at the comparison screenshot below will show you the wonders of their efforts. Each character has a brilliant new skin grafted to their old bones which doesn’t make them look out of place amongst modern game heroes. Unfortunately, there is a limit as to how far the HD can stretch. The pleasing new skins are still bolted to the same old animations which have not aged well. Characters move with a jerky, animatronic-like nature that looks odd when compared to the superior graphics.

World textures do not look nearly as nice as the character models, often lacking details or looking blurred. The main problem is that the structure of the world has largely remained as the angular, blocky shapes that appeared in the original game. We appreciate there was nothing major that could be done about this, and that it is an obstacle any older game given HD treatment faces. This is where we found reviewing MDK2 HD difficult; its old self.

Looking better now than they did then. A textbook case of Carol Vorderman syndrome.

‘Classic gameplay’ is a good way to describe the manic world. It’s the kind of game that will mist up your monitor with nostalgia and make you remember what games used to be like. Of course, a more cynical way of saying this is that the game feels old. It seems unfair to judge this game by today’s standards, but younger gamers who have never come across the game could easily be put off by the older mechanics. Things that you expect to come as standard in games these days are lacking or absent, such as the non-existent aiming reticule. You just have to aim the screen where you think the bullets will land or rely on the aiming assistance to hit things with most weapons.

Level design also appears to be more of an issue to wrestle with today than it might have been back then. In the campaigns of Call of Duty and Halo you almost can’t move forward without tripping over a large “Go this way” sign. MDK2 just seems to leave you to it and hope you’ll figure it out. There were a couple of sections where we spent about ten minutes trotting around like an orphaned puppy because it just wasn’t obvious where to go. In the end the exit was usually hidden behind a subtle panel you could shoot or a hidden switch, but it did take a lot of poking and probing to find such things. We shamefully had to sneak onto the Internet and look up ancient walkthroughs to find the way forward on a couple of occasions.

Combine the toaster and bread to launch atomic toast missiles.

Some of these sections are made even more frustrating with the presence of infinitely spawning enemies, something that has for the most part been expelled from the games of today. Nothing leaves you feeling more cheated than finally topping an enemy, only to see him crawl arse first back into reality through a puff of magic. On one hand it can keep the action thick and fast, which when wielding a chaingun with unlimited ammo can be fun. Unfortunately, solving puzzles under these circumstances feels like trying to complete a Sudoku in downtown Mogadishu.

MDK2 HD feels like a loving tribute to a game that was brilliant over a decade ago. The humour and style is unique and not the kind of thing that has been recreated in a game since. It seems like the game received this makeover as a fan service, to ensure MDK2 could still be preserved and enjoyed today. Unfortunately, judging this as a game for today doesn’t make it look pretty. Those not familiar with the game will find it old fashioned and clunky, as it follows a videogame rule book that is at least ten editions out of date. If you fancy revisiting the MDK2 you loved when you were younger, then this is a brilliant nostalgia cruise that you will most likely enjoy, in which case, please add a couple of points to the score on this page. Those new to the party might find some enjoyment here, but you need to be able to push through the ageing mechanics that form a dense barrier around the experience.

• Format: 360 (version reviewed), PS3, PC
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Developer: Rocksteady Studios
• Players: 1
• Site: http://www.community.batmanarkhamcity.com

In 2009 the gaming world was surprised by Rocksteady Studio’s Batman: Arkham Asylum, quite possibly the first game themed around the dark knight’s exploits to be loved on a mass scale; and for many, it was the best thing released that year. It’s a big ask to try and not only recreate that level of success but surpass it, but Rocksteady are back with the direct sequel to try. Set a year after the events of Arkham Asylum, things are still not going well for Gotham City. The slums of the city have been walled off and turned into one large prison in which former asylum inmates and criminals are left to bicker amongst themselves under the watchful eye of Hugo Strange and his Tyger security force.

The game begins with Bruce Wayne attempting to seek the closure of Arkham City through political means, which results in his unlawful incarceration within its walls. Becoming Batman, he then sets about righting all the wrongs of the prison in a large free-roaming area dealing with past villains (and plenty of new ones along the way) while the Joker plots in his funhouse and Strange levies the fact he knows Batman’s true identity.

While it certainly pays off to have played Arkham Asylum, it is not a necessity to get into or enjoy the game. Interest or vague knowledge of the source material certainly helps though as Rocksteady constantly dangle references or nods or even direct links to plots from some of the best known comic book storylines that fans will greatly appreciate.

The free flowing combat system returns which balances counters, evades and strikes with brutal take-downs for when stealth is not an option. While it can be a little tricky to get to grips with for beginners, a few brawls down the line you will be raking up combos with deadly proficiency and shrugging when the game throws you up against a room with fifteen or more opponents. It can be strangely addictive to find brawls to get into around the city, simply because of how free it feels for what is essentially at its core a more complicated button mashing system.

Equally addictive is the returning stealth element. The game balances out areas where you are fighting off dozens of unarmed opponents with areas where going loud will just get you quickly gunned down. In a move which far more sequels should follow, Rocksteady also grants the player most of the gadgets Batman ended the first game with giving you variety to tackle each situation with from the get go. There is still a levelling system to unlock the more complex take-downs or upgraded armour and new gadgets, with most actions rewarding the player as they progress.

It can be a little daunting grappling and gliding around the city as along with the reasonably lengthy main storyline, there are numerous multi-part side quests and literally hundreds of Riddler puzzles and riddles to solve. You aren’t forced to do any of the side content, it’s all just there to distract you as you go. It’s very hard to ignore, but at the same time seeing where the story will go next remains a powerful draw and culminates in perhaps the first example of a conclusion that will elicit sympathy for someone with absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

A sticking point in Arkham Asylum was the Detective Vision mode which let the player see through walls, and also identified threats and points of interest. It was simply too good and resulted in having it on nearly all the time which meant the impressive scenery was a constant flushed pale blue. For some the same may be said for Arkham City and some players will find themselves rarely turning it off except for brawls.

Music and most of the voice acting are exceptionally high standard. Kevin Conroy puts in yet another great performance as Batman and Mark Hamill’s Joker is unmatched. Corey Burton’s Strange is suitably sinister and Troy Baker’s Two-Face decent enough. In an amazing achievement, Nolan North has found a different voice he can make when voicing a game character and lends it to Penguin which is to be applauded – at least until you find he lazily uses his only other voice for most of the random thugs you will be beating up.

The game also allows first hand purchasers (or second-hand if they buy the pass) to play four fairly short sections as Catwoman with her story running into Batman’s at numerous points. These little asides offer yet another story the city has to tell, and give a bit of variety as her gadgets and movements are unique to her and upon finishing the game you can actively switch between them both to collect her own series of Riddler trophies.

The game isn’t without some faults though. Enemies still glide instantly along the floor to strike you if they are upright while you attempt a ground take down, loading checkpoints is overly long even with an install, there appears to be one rather large plot hole, and we experienced very occasional sound hiccups. These are all small criticisms though.

It was never going to be easy following on from such a huge success but, for the most part, Rocksteady have achieved it. Even ignoring all the content in the main campaign there are dozens of challenge maps, predator maps and mini-campaigns to tackle with numerous characters as well as hundreds of unlockables (concept art, figures, back-story, etc.) making it one of the fullest games on offer in recent times that will give fans everything they want, and has enough solid core mechanics and content to appeal to almost everyone else. Arkham City is a credible contender for game of the year.