Bioshock 2 GameGuide

BradyGames Reveals Rapturous Official BioShock 2 Guide

Strategy guide publisher BradyGames announces BioShock 2 Signature Series and Limited Edition Guide, available 9th February 2010.

Thursday 28th January/… Official strategy guide expert, BradyGames, today announces that it has been working exclusively with 2K Games on the BioShock 2 Signature Series Guide – the ultimate accessory for those set to dive back into the depths of Rapture, the underwater dystopia that serves as the location for one of the most anticipated games of 2010. BradyGames’ official strategy guide is the only choice for gamers looking to uncover all the secrets that the sequel to the critically-acclaimed title has to offer, and will be released alongside the game on 9th February 2010, with an RRP of £12.99 for the Signature Series book and £19.99 for the Limited Edition hardcover that includes bonus content.

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BHPR, Troopers Yard, Bancroft, Hitchin, Herts SG5 1JW Tel: +44 (0)1462 456780 Fax: +44 (0)1462 456781

Have you ever been to harvest her?

If you’ve never worked in marketing, you may be unfamiliar with Shoddy Ad Rage.

It’s a phenomenon whereby you, creator of numerous ads and campaigns, see something on TV, on a poster site or in a magazine, and get really angry. It could be stupid. It could be badly done. It could just be crap. It usually ends with you (ok, me) sat on a sofa spitting vitriolic nonsense at the television while Long Suffering Girlfriend walks into the kitchen and remains there until normal service resumes.

Case in point: Bioshock 2’s poster campaign, coming now to a Tube station near you.

Now, clever ads are rare in the games industry. Campaigns usually centre around lots of in-game footage, giving the rapt audience (that’s us) the chance to ooh and aah at the technical loveliness of it all. That’s OK. I don’t mind that. When you see a long-winded movie trailer packed with plot points, you may sometimes get the feeling that you don’t really need to see the movie any more. Not so with games, where (obviously) the action is you-oriented and you have a level of control that the cinema just doesn’t offer.

This Bioshock poster, on the other hand, irritates me to hell and gone. Why? Because I didn’t bloody protect her, that’s why. I harvested the whining little toddler, and all her whining little mates, because I wanted the juicy genetic goodness she had in her head. And that’s one of the key points of Bioshock… you could choose the nice path, or the nasty path, or somewhere in between. As moral choices went, it didn’t really affect the game, and there were plenty of more interesting aspects to the story anyway. But then, you weren’t able to affect those. You turned out to have a certain role in the story of Atlas and Ryan, and you had no choice about whether you fulfilled it.

So to front the campaign launch with “Once, you protected her” is stupid. Baldrick stupid.

I’m still going to buy the game, though. Rant over.
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Peter Moore on 3D gaming

EA Sports boss on how 3D TV will help gaming

Last weekend, Sky Sports showed a live event for the first time, in 3D. Sunday’s title clash between fierce rivals Manchester United and Arsenal was shown in several pubs around the UK, exclusively in 3D. This technology is expected to be available for all Sky HD subscribers by April, with events such as films, live sports and TV shows getting the 3D treatment. This is great news for 3D fans, and all I can say is, “the reds go marching on!”

But how is 3D technology going to affect gaming? There was the classic Virtual Boy console in the mid 90s, and various other toe-dips since, but gaming has never truly embraced 3D. In a recent interview with CVG, EA Sports boss Peter Moore had this to say.

“As James Cameron did with Avatar at the movies, you’ve got to build [games] from the ground up with 3D in mind.

“None of the games I’ve seen [so far] have been built that way – they’ve been regular games running in 3D. The real secret sauce will be when somebody says: ‘I’m going to build this game specifically for a 3D platform.’”

Games such as Invisible Tiger have showcased (albeit on a very basic level) what 3D can do to a game, and what it can bring to the gameplay. The game tie-in for Avatar also showcased some very impressive 3D visuals, and if you search the web you’ll find a whole host of video clips of 3D games. But what about the future, and what have EA got up their sleeves? Moore had this to say;

“I’m not making any announcements, but it’s no coincidence that of the 3D [TV] broadcasts I’ve seen in the last two years, I can count the NBA All-Star event in Las Vegas, while ESPN has announced 3D programming – perhaps even a full channel. There have also been a number of announcements around the [football] World Cup, with some games broadcast in 3D.

“This is reminiscent of where we were with HD five or six years ago. It seems like a lifetime ago now, but you’d go to CES and be in awe of HD – and it was sports games that showed up the technology.

“I think there’s great opportunity for EA to bring sports to life in unbelievably imaginative ways, once we can grasp what 3D means to us.”

Fingers crossed we see some 3D gaming soon, and double fingers crossed (if that’s possible without losing a digit) that it’ll be better than the red and black torture that was the Virtual Boy. I still can’t see greens…..is grass still green?

Scott Tierney

For more gaming news, reviews and banter check out Phonica’s online magazine here

Brothers in Palms

Preview

Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front

Publishers: Gameloft
Developers: Gameloft

Format: iPhone, iPod

Available: February

Great game, but do FPS’s really work on the iPhone?

Although the original Brothers in Arms game was an iPhone hit, I personally wasn’t a huge fan. Not that it wasn’t a good game, it was. It had some compelling sections of breathless action, the graphics were solid, and shooting people in the face while on a bus-ride home was always fun. But personally I just don’t think FPS’s or TPS’s work on the iPhone. We’ll come back to that in a minute, but for now, let’s have a run-through of Gameloft’s latest offering- Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front.

Brothers in Arms 2 has been improved in every department, making it far superior (in terms of stats anyway) to the original. Whereas BIA1 had three environments, this new version has five; Pacific, North Africa, Italy, Normandy and Germany. Sadly, Ardennes (home of the mighty pate) has been dropped. BIA1 also had approximately three hours of playtime, while BIA2 has six. Other features such as more levels and more vehicles are also on show. They should have called it Brothers in Arms X2.

Another feature that impresses, and could become the making of BIA2, is the multiplayer. The original didn’t come with this option, so it’s a big deal for BIA2. Now instead of just playing through the game on your own, you can join a group of like-minded souls, and get some WW2-style killing done. There’s no co-op mode, but a deathmatch should still make for some interesting gameplay. Whether it’ll work in practice, with possible connection problems being a worrying vulture hovering above, is yet to be seen. But hopefully it will, and it should make those bus-rides home more enjoyable. And noisy.

During our playtest we were quite impressed with BIA2’s gameplay. It wasn’t mind-blowing, and as usual the visuals were a bit higgledy piggledy, but it was good fun. There were plenty of baddies to shoot, the areas were well laid out and sound-wise the action sounded intense. There were some clever set pieces also, such as a plane crashing right into the battlezone. Little touches like that add real depth to a game, and take it beyond a dumb ‘bang bang’ shooter.

But the main problem we had, and one that I personally still believe is the reason why FPS’s on the iPhone don’t work, is that the controls were extremely fiddly. Layout-wise, they were OK, with the movement cursor at the bottom-left of the screen, and the shoot button on the right. But the basic task of moving around was a real problem. To aim, you had to rub your finger around the screen, and to walk you had to rub the cursor at the bottom. There was an awful lot of inconvenient work involved, and that doesn’t include shooting and selecting weapons, whilst getting shot at.

FPS’s on iPhone’s just don’t work. There’s too much to do, the controls are fiddly and numb, and you’ll just end up running into enemy fire while looking at your shoelaces. Not that Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front isn’t a good game, it’s probably about as good as it gets. But it’s shackled by the awkward control system, which isn’t advanced enough to deal with so many variations. Just leave the FPS’s to the big boys, iPhone, and stick to what you’re good at, like point-and-clicks, racing sims and puzzles.

Scott Tierney

For more gaming news, reviews and banter check out Phonica’s online magazine

NEWS FLASH!!!! STOP THE PRESS!!

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS OUT TOMORROW ON NINTENDO Wii

Protect yourself, at all cost!

Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: The Crystal Bearers will be available exclusively on the Nintendo Wii™ from tomorrow, 5th February 2010.

The Lure of Lucas

Star Wars: The Old Republic

I have never played an MMO. There. I’ve said it. I make no apologies. I find World of Warcraft less appealing than turtle porn, to be honest, and EVE Online (whilst admirable in its ambitions) seemed to demand that I get involved in some sort of guild or power bloc. As a Chelsea fan whose allegiance predates the Russian era, I have enough hang-ups about how I offer my loyalty.

However, Bioware recently released a bit more info about their upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, and I watched some video of developers and designers talking earnestly about the difference between Sith Warriors (basically Darth Vader) and Sith Inquisitors (the Emperor). And my family jewels started to tingle.

Perhaps it’s my lack of imagination. I struggle with creating “me” characters. I went with a Dark Elf for my first run-through of Oblivion, and all I could think was… why do I have purple skin? As for Dragon Age, I’ve tried Elven Rogue and Human Mage and both felt odd. I just struggle to picture myself in leather bondage armour or a bloody skirt.

Sith Inquisitor, though, feels different.

Yes, I’m a sneaky bastard. And yes, I’m not above a little chicanery and deception to get my way. Alright, so I don’t own much in the way of flowing robes, but I do this thing for my girlfriend with a bedsheet and a… never mind. Thing is, I’d rather be the Emperor than Darth Vader, or Han Solo, or any of them for that matter. I’d probably look after my skin a bit better, though. Galactic Emperors can surely afford a tube of Clinique every now and then. The point I’m making is that it feels right, from my point of view. I like the idea of a little less combat and a little more evil persuasion. I like the idea of telling the goon with the lightsabre where to go and who to slaughter. Hey, I usually root for the bad guy. Screw Superman – who, by the way, I can’t stand – let me be Lex Luthor any day. I want to be Gene Hackman in the Quick and the Dead. I want to be Agent Smith. I want to be Ra’s al-Ghul, the Joker and Tyler Durden.

I want to be evil.

So see you at the Jedi Academy? I’ll be the Sith Lord slaughtering apprentices with a wicked gleam in my eye, a song in my heart… and surprisingly good skin.

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Monopoly

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Let The game Begin!

Developer: Venan Entertainment

Format: iPhone, iPod Touch

Money is power…and so is property !

Monopoly, monopoly. It’s a popular board game known to all. Brought back childhood memories: unwrapping Mr. Monopoly from under the tree, eager to play my first game only to lose horribly, retreating crying to my room vowing it was the worst present ever. Years later I decided to face my fear and pick up a copy Wii and later decided to get the iPhone version. While the copy for the Wii has the Classic and World Edition together on the iPhone platform it’s two separate versions…how capitalist of EA!

Nokia and Pearson form wireless educational venture in China

Beijing Mobiledu Technologies to provide English-language learning and related services

Learning English is now fun!

Nokia, the world leader in mobility, and Pearson, the world’s leading education company, announced the formation of a joint venture, Beijing Mobiledu Technologies, to accelerate the growth of Mobiledu, the premier mobile phone-delivered education service, developed by Nokia in China.

Oi, shouldn’t you be dead?

Why is a perfectly aimed headshot not always followed by death?

Here’s a little question to get your brain a’ grinding. What happens when you get shot in the head? The long answer is that there’s a bloody fireworks display that coats the room in claret and traumatizes nearby children. The basic and far shorter answer, is that you die. In real life this is not only a rule, but an unavoidable law of the universe that we are all bound by. But in the land of video games, the laws are not so strict, and the repercussions even less so.

The other day I was playing the joyous Uncharted: Drakes Fortune (yes I know I’m late to the party, but I brought wine). It’s a cracking adventure that thrills and excites in boundless ways, but there is one little problem that bugs the hell out of me. When baddies take a well aimed bullet to the head, they often survive. Even on the easy setting (I said I brought wine, what’s the problem?) the bullet-begging bad guys can often take a shot to the face, and then seconds later start firing again. It maybe just me, but this drives me mental.

You’ve just fired a piece of metal the size of a baby carrot, at nearly the speed of sound, into a human’s (not an alien, mutant or Terminator’s) face, but they haven’t died, and you’re left screaming “You cannot be serious, the bullet was on the spine, blood flew up!”

There are numerous other games when this crime against gaming humanity happens. Rogue Warrior (terrible game anyway), Just Cause, Gears of War (those Locust were tough though), Fallout 3 (again, those Super Mutants were tough), Far Cry, Kane and Lynch, even the exceptional Half-Life 2 has this problem.

iPad Will Change the Technology World

iPad

Phonica Magazine is normally focused on mobile and games technology. Apple is a key topic in our writing because of the innovative and exceptional iPhone, the fantastically capable touch device which revolutionised the way we view handheld technology. Now Apple has announced the iPad, a crossover device somewhere between an iPhone and a Macbook- and it’s the most exciting piece of technology the world has ever seen.

Imagine that we once used to interact with our computer with a clunky mouse, our computer stuck to the wall with wires and its monitor equally immovable. Those days are gone. We don’t even need a keyboard anymore. Apple’s iPad is a revolutionary tablet computer which enables the user to manipulate everyday workloads with their hands, browse the full internet at arms length, purchase digital books, videos and music on the move and all of this for just $499.

There’s a lot to tell about the new iPad, the first thing to explain is the reason it’s appearing on a games and mobile phones blog. As the first piece of technology to incorporate all of the tech from one of our favourite phones, the 3GS, into a computing device- and the first piece of tech to allow usage of all the current apps on App Store on anything other than an iPhone or iPod Touch, and a product that will use 3G communication for data, this whole new category of product is directly related to everything Phonica holds dear. In fact it is a new territory and deserves its own space on the current tech landscape.