God of War: Ascension

Not counting a brief foray into mobile, God of War: Ascension will be the sixth game in the series’ short seven-year lifespan. In that time, Kratos has fought some of the most intense battles in videogames, while also taking gory disemboweling and delimbing to a new level of detail. At a press event in New York I spoke with David Hewitt, game design manager for Sony Santa Monica, about the game’s hallmark violence, the difficulty of making sequels, and whether game mechanics can be used primarily for emotional reasons.

IGN: There was a lot of criticism about violence in big games at E3 this year, and God of War: Ascension was frequently mentioned. Do you have any thoughts about that criticism?

“

He was tricked into killing his wife and family. He’s literally covered in their ashes during every moment.

David Hewitt: The core of the God of War series is Greek mythology, and that’s blood and guts, vengeful gods, horrific things being enacted on mortals. What we’re doing is injecting a character into that and telling a story of revenge. Kratos has been through this before. He was tricked into killing his wife and family. He’s literally covered in their ashes during every moment. His motivation is violent, bloody revenge, and the milieu of mythology puts us in this distant, exaggerated world. We do revel in it somewhat but the violence is there to show Kratos dealing with his demons and enacting that revenge in a very physical, hands-on way.

IGN: I wonder if a part of it was that many of those games were using violence in an increasingly familiar way, and not necessarily that this year was so much more violent than any other year. People are becoming familiar with that level of gore and exaggeration and the unnerving effect of it has worn off.

David Hewitt:  I think that if all we had was the affect of showing violence in a game then we’d be in big trouble. It’s the mechanics of the game that matter. The presentation plays a big part in drawing people in initially. I think if the context is a wartime setting or something a little more modern than our game it has a different impact. Your reaction to that might be a bit more ambiguous. But we’re far removed from what your day-to-day experience is when we’re in this vastly different and weird mythological world.

The series has wanted to keep upping itself in presentation and making sure we have those moments where people kind of recoil a bit—genuinely uncomfortable moments that are part of the feel of this franchise. We’ve stuck by those, but the game’s not driven by those.

What we’re pushing for is mechanical innovation, making the combat rewarding, having every button press feel magnified with a lot of feedback. Some of that comes from these gory outcomes, but what we’re looking to do is provide that extra level of depth and complexity, to give the player more tools to use -- new weapons and sub-weapons, the new tether mechanics and so on.

IGN: Do you have an internal line of what kind of violence you won’t show in the game? Is there a line that you wouldn’t cross with Kratos?

David Hewitt: We do. In fact the team has a set of rules that define those sorts of things very clearly. Where it shows itself is how the combat designers and animators have designed Kratos’ moves. He’s always leaning forward, he’s always moving forward. He’s seeking revenge and he’s after his ultimate objective and he will tear through enemies -- rip them in half -- as quickly as he can. But there’s not a lot of flourishes, there’s not any kind of enjoying the moment. There’s nothing about this that he’s enjoying.

There are some things we’ve pulled back from. I think where this has been an issue is with violence against women -- the team’s pulled back from some of that and assessed that a little more carefully. There are certain things that carry has a different kind of resonance that we don’t want to get into. This isn’t about statement-making in that regard. It’s about fleshing out this character.

IGN: When I first heard Ascension would be a prequel to all the other God of War games I was excited that it might be a chance to rebuild the game around a totally new idea -- to have Kratos be a mortal and not supernaturally powerful and not be obsessed with revenge. Is it constraining to always have to go back to the same general set of mechanics and that revenge-driven tone?

“

There are some things we’ve pulled back from. I think where this has been an issue is with violence against women...

David Hewitt: The game isn’t a reboot; it’s a continuation of the series. We’ve gone back to an earlier point of the story. There are a handful of things that are pillars of this franchise. They want to see ridiculous, epic, over-the-top moments, huge bosses, fluid combat, lots of options for combos, climbing, maneuvering around the environment, puzzle solving. Those are baseline expectations for the series that we need to build on regardless of whether we’re going back in the timeline.

Kratos is really struggling with his demons here, he’ll go through some seriously heavy events. He gets beaten up over the course of the story, he’s more vulnerable with some of the enemies than he was in the past. His movements have changed too. In the previous game he would just stab his blades into walls to climb around and in this one he’s more grabbing on with his hands and using footholds. That’s been a really nice refinement. In combat he’s got the ability to pick up other weapons, he can grab a sword or a spear -- or disarm weapons. So we’ve tried to expand on the toolset. We want to build on those things, but in a way that makes sense for a real human individual.

The Elder Scrolls Online

Zenimax Online faces the difficult task of appeasing several different sets of expectations from gamers who come from different games and genres. Read on for how The Elder Scrolls Online aims to appeal to several different fanbases.



The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Seeing more of the world. Haven’t you ever been curious what the Argonian homeland looks like, or what riding through Daggerfall in a game with a modern graphics engine would look like? ESO includes sections of every province in Tamriel, so you can explore many of the locations you’ve only read about in books until now.
Lore. The Elder Scrolls franchise has an enormous body of backstory, and ESO is blowing it out even further. Zenimax Online is working hand-in-hand with the loremasters at Bethesda Game Studios to flesh out Tamriel’s Second Era, so lore nuts should have plenty to digest.
Finding adventure wherever you wander. Isn’t that what Elder Scrolls is all about? The Mage Guild’s gameplay revolves around finding ancient texts and bits of lore and runs throughout the entire game. Unmarked dungeons, ruins, caves, and other adventure-filled areas dot the landscape, so wandering through the Black Marsh isn’t a matter of grinding giant bugs for experience as it is a hunt for lost artifacts of ancient Argonian civilization, even though no NPC has given you a specific task to do so.
Touchstones. Daedric princes, birthsigns, guilds, and many more elements that players strongly associate with the franchise are all integral parts of the game. Some things, like player housing, aren’t making the transition to an MMO because of the constraints inherent to an online game, but Zenimax Online is including everything that makes sense.


World of Warcraft

Working with other players. While WoW’s world design and game rules expect you to fly solo outside of designated elite quests and group dungeons, Zenimax Online is going out of its way to make sure helping someone else out always benefits everyone. For instance, there’s no “tagging” and so helping a random stranger kill a monster results in both of you getting full credit.
That old BRD feeling. Blackrock Depths is often mentioned as a favorite dungeon of old-school WoW players for the sense of exploring a huge, hostile city instead of fighting through a series of corridors. ESO’s public dungeons, unless Zenimax Online badly botches the design, should recreate some of what made BRD special...but hopefully without the painful process of finding a group that wants to accomplish the same subset of goals that you’re looking to do.
Non-instanced PvP warfare. Remember the good old days of open warfare in the Hillsbrad Foothills as huge mobs of players fought over Tarren Mill and Southshore? Expand that to the entire province of Cyrodiil. Take out the server-crashing lag, since the engine can handle up to 200 players onscreen and Zenimax Online has still-under-wraps plans to divert excess population. Forget about lowbie ganking, since everyone’s stats are automatically boosted to level-cap status in Cyrodiil. Oh, and there are things to fight over besides murdering helpless questgivers. Like, for instance, keeps whose walls you can bash down with trebuchets.
Familiar but innovative combat. ESO has lock-on targeting and a hotbar, but it shakes up quite a bit within that framework. Limiting the number of available skills to a handful (currently six, but that number could change) but making each ability awesome sounds great. The addition of stamina for blocking, sprinting, interrupting, and disable-breaking should dramatically increase the moment-to-moment depth of combat.


Star Wars: The Old Republic

More fully voiced story. Does anyone want to go back to walls of text after Bioware showed the world how it’s done with Star Wars’ dialogue and story? No, no we do not. And we won’t have to in order to play ESO with its full voice acting.
Working with other players (see WoW entry, above). Outside of flashpoints, cooperating with other players in SW:TOR is extremely limited in scope. That hopefully won’t be the case in ESO.
Dynamic, large-group combat. SW:TOR did a great job of throwing different types of encounters at players even in its solo content, and ESO is following suit. The baseline solo encounter design has players taking on three enemies at a time, and they work together to bring you down by combining skills like lighting oil patches on fire.


Rift

Public content. Rifts are amazing, and Zenimax Online hopes to recreate the sense of working together with random strangers with the Fighters Guild content (destroying Molag Bal’s randomly appearing dark anchors) as well as public dungeons.
Polish and technical competence. Remember when Rift came out, and we were all blown away at how a team of veteran developers with a whole lot of money behind them could put out an MMO that was solid at launch? Well, ESO has a similar situation – game director Matt Firor was heavily involved with Dark Age of Camelot, creative director Paul Sage worked on Ultima Online among others, and team members at Zenimax Online across all disciplines can boast similar credentials. Anything less than a Rift-like level of stability and polish at launch will be a huge disappointment for ESO.
These are just a few elements of The Elder Scrolls Online that should appeal to the fanbases of various games. Fans of the franchise have a lot of questions yet to be answered, like how the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood will work in an MMO setting and how Zenimax Online is going to approximate the rich interactions with objects in the world that we’ve gotten used to since Morrowind. Nonetheless, writing off ESO as “just another MMO” or “WoW with daedra” is doing this ambitious project a grave disservice. Click the banner below to go to the hub, where you can see Firor and Sage explain their philosophies in video interviews, see screenshots, and get more details on the game as we roll them out all month.

SimCity™

Coming March 5 to PC!

For the first time, SimCity will feature Multi-city play where you can go solo, invite friends or join with neighbors to build multiple cities in your region! Collaborate or compete with friends to grow the fastest population, create the most jobs, educate the most Sims and much more! Access SimCity World to connect to global markets and participate in regional challenges!Build the city of your dreams and watch as the choices you make shape your city and change the lives of the Sims within it. Every decision, big or small, right or wrong, has real consequences for your Sims. Invest in heavy industry and your economy will soar—but at the expense of your Sims’ health as pollution spreads. Implement green technology and improve your Sims’ lives but risk higher taxes and unemployment. In SimCity, you’re the Mayor and how you run your city is entirely up to you!

Pre-order for the exclusive SimCity Heroes and Villains set!

The last of Us

he Last of Us is an upcoming third-person survival/action video game developed by Naughty Dog centered around a modern plague decimating mankind. Nature encroaches upon civilization, forcing remaining survivors to kill for food, weapons, and whatever they can find. Joel, a ruthless survivor, and Ellie, a brave young teenage girl who is wise beyond her years, must work together to survive their westward journey across what remains of the United States. The game will be "more realistic and cinematic" than other games Naughty Dog has developed and will be released on May 7th, 2013Contents

DevelopmentEdit

According to USA Today, back in 2008, Neil Druckmann had an idea for a graphic novel about a father-daughter zombie tale. He and game director Bruce Straley saw the cordyceps fungus segment from the BBC/Discovery channel series Planet Earth, in which then turned into a major source of inspiration for The Last of Us's primary plot. Both were working on Uncharted 2 at the time. After the development of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves finished, some team members of Naughty Dog moved on to The Last of Us while the others moved on to start on Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. The game has been in development for over two years.

AnnouncementEdit
Before the Video Game Awards, Sony showed two teaser trailers: one from the BBC/Discovery Documentary Planet Earth, displaying an ant dying from a deadly fungus, and the other one showing past events of protests, riots, and other glimpses of chaos while a man narrates, talking about how all of the mundane things in life he took for granted were now gone, suggesting that the game was going to be post-apocalyptic.

VGA 2011Edit
The game was officially unveiled at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards with a new, in-engine trailer. The opening scene is of lush greenery displayed outside of an open window as its curtains catch a light breeze entering a room. The scene then pans out further into the room, where a body is lying lifelessly on a bed, bleeding out onto the floor. A teenage girl can be seen running across the horrific display, rummaging through the rest of the ruined building for supplies. After hearing a conflict upstairs, she investigates to find two men fighting one another. After one of the men is killed, the other is found to be the girl's associate, Joel. He then tells her to investigate the body for anything of use, to which she then finds some ammunition. Before she can finish collecting them though, several human-like creatures invade the building and the girl's name is discovered to be Ellie, as her middle-aged acquaintance calls her name and takes her by the hand as they hide behind a wall for cover; however, one of them can be heard coming close to their position, and, after drawing his pistol, the man is attacked by one of them at arm's length. While he is struggling with the creature, Ellie stabs it in the back repeatedly with her switchblade, giving the man the opportunity to shoot the creature in the head, killing it. The two then hastily leave the building, where it is shown that the entire city is in a dilapidated state, with entire city blocks covered in vegetation.
PlayStation BlogEdit

Shortly after the unveiling, Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells posted this on the PlayStation Blog:
"The Last of Us is a genre-defining experience that blends survival and action elements to tell a character driven tale about a modern plague decimating mankind. Nature encroaches upon civilization, forcing remaining survivors to kill for food, weapons and whatever they can find. Joel, a ruthless survivor, and Ellie, a brave young teenage girl who is wise beyond her years, must work together to survive their journey across what remains of the United States.
The announcement also confirmed that the new project is being headed by studio game director Bruce Straley and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves director Neil Druckmann.
Pre-ReleaseEdit

The following media has been revealed during the time after announcement and before release:
Truck Ambush Cutscene Preview - Joel and Ellie drive around Pittsburgh and encounter a trap that results in the two being ambushed by several vicious survivors.

E3 Gameplay Demo - A seven minute demo of the first gameplay footage of The Last of Us. Joel and Ellie enter a hotel en route to a bridge on the outskirts of Pittsburgh only to encounter ruthless hunters.
Bill's Safe House Cinematic - Shown at Comic-Con 2012, this cutscene preview involves Joel and Ellie fleeing to the safe house of a somewhat friendly survivor named Bill.

PAX Gameplay Demo - An extended version of the previous, publicly shown demo at E3, about 16 full minutes in length and revealing several new features and character interaction that weren't present in the original.

VGA 2012 Story Teaser Trailer - A 30 second long teaser in which Joel brandishes a bloody machete to a hunter chained to a radiator saying "We don't have to do this, you know that right?"

VGA 2012 Story Trailer - A trailer featuring various dialogues between many different characters that further explain the game's storyline. It was shown at VGA 2012, one year after the announcement trailer's first showing.

PlotEdit

The Last of Us begins in a Boston quarantine zone twenty years after the initial plague, where 14-year-old orphan Ellie lives in a boarding house. Joel, in his forties at the time, is recruited to sneak her out for an unknown reason. Evidently, things take a turn for the worse, and the military apparently finds out about their escape and begins pursuit. While Joel normally would have left Ellie and fled for his life, he had promised a dying friend to take care of her, and after a nearby safe haven fails to work out, their trek west across the United States to escape the law enforcement begins to unfold. Along the way, the duo must overcome countless hostiles, ranging from infected enemies to hunters and other enemy survivors. The game takes place over the course of one year.[citation needed]
LocationsEdit
Boston
Pittsburgh
GameplayEdit
The gameplay will be "less linear" than the Uncharted series, even though it will not be open-world. Instead "the exploration will be more important and will have enough weight in the gameplay."[5] As of February 4th, it has been revealed that some events pertaining to The Last of Us will take place in Boston, Massachusetts, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

CombatEdit
The combat in the The Last of Us will be very realistic and strategical. Resources are limited and the lethality of weapons is very high, as in reality. You can't only hide behind cover and wait for your health to regenerate like in Uncharted; rather, "health packs" must be applied to repair damage to Joel or Ellie's health. There will be both guns and melee combat, as well as breakable weapons such as planks and bricks. Part of the gameplay will revolve around scavenging for new items.
Artificial IntelligenceEdit

Naughty Dog has also stressed the amount of realism and believability that they seek to heavily attribute to the game's AI, in which they will show emotion and vulnerability by getting angry when a friend dies, warning each other of danger, and becoming frightened when they've lost the upper hand; this structured AI system is a dynamic, adaptable blueprint also known/referred to as the "Balance of Power", in which the overall scenario and the advantages that come with it changes depending on which opposing group can prove to be the stronger, better-equipped one. Throughout their journey, Joel and Ellie will fight both different factions of humans/survivors and infected enemies, as well as meet allies that don't have a reason to harm them. You can also utilize stealth to get around unaware enemies, distract them with various AI partners you meet on your journey, and use any number of tactics to fight your enemies, depending on important parameters like how well-equipped your foes are, what kind of weapons they have on them, and the like.[9]
ItemsEdit

Items are in The Last of Us. Items are objects that Joel and Ellie can utilize to further their survival, combat enemies, replenish their health, and store things in. The groups that items fall under include ammunition, battery, binding, alcohol, blade, sugar, explosive, and canister. All of these item groups contain items that Joel and Ellie can scavenge for, like revolver ammunition, or craft out of simple items, as in the case of the Molotov Cocktail.
OnlineEdit

It is confirmed The Last of Us will include an online portion. Straley said in GameInformer's March issue, "We're going to have some sort of online component... we definitely know it's going to be awesome."[10] It has been confirmed, through pre-oder bonuses, that The Last of Us will include multiplayer.
Pre-release receptionEdit
The Last of Us has received a highly positive acclaim after it was announced on December 10, 2011 during the Spike TV Video Game Awards. Many reviewers praised the game for its script, visuals, and graphics.
During the E3 2012 showing, The Last of Us has recieved multiple awards from many critics, including the Game Critics Awards which gave the game five awards.

Dead Space 3

At its heart, Dead Space is a game about being alone. About being alone in a dark corridor hurtling through an uncaring void, with mutated creatures that were once human shambling towards you.

Dead Space 3 is exactly like that, except you're not in a corridor. And it's not dark. And the enemies were never human. And you're on a planet. And you're not alone.

How, then, is it Dead Space?

Many people (around half the internet at last count) weighed in with this opinion when the title was unveiled at E3 in June. But the sound and fury of the Electronics Entertainment Expo are a difficult game to play, given the ridiculous levels of fresh content that crops up every year.

Studios have to show that they've grown, but not outgrown their fans; that they've built on their previous successes, but aren't cutting loose intrinsic parts of their franchises in the quest for innovation.

Are two heads better than one?

The innovation in question is a co-operative mode, a first for the horror franchise, which sees vivisection enthusiast and glowing headcase Isaac Clarke teaming up with a gruff, no-nonsense military type in the form of Sgt John Carver.

Isaac, despite starting off as a mute doll for the player to steer through terrifying situations, has blossomed as a character since the series' inception. In struggling with the Necromorphs – horrendous zombie-like things from beyond the stars – he's gone mad. He's not a soldier, he's an engineer.

In the first game, most of his weapons were made of hastily-modified scientific equipment. By all rights, he never should have survived the first two games, and his sanity is having real problems coping with the implications of what he's done.

Carver, conversely, is a space marine, in that he is a marine that operates predominantly in space. He wears big red armour and has a shaved head and a bunch of scars and he uses the f-bomb like most people use simple hesitations or breathing in.

His wife? Dead. His child? Not among the living. He is the very essence, at first glance, of a bullet-spraying cardboard cutout that swings around a big gun and shouts at baddies when they run away. There might well be more to his character than this, but if there is, it's not to be seen in the demo.

What there is to be seen is action, and plenty of it. With the addition of Carver into the mix, the two characters chat to each other in cut-scenes (providing a much richer story than Isaac's quiet progression through the narrative, which is something) and during combat – but listening to your ally tell you where to shoot a monster is less panic-stricken than, say, furiously shooting at it yourself and hoping something will drop off.


Trust me, I'm an engineer

That said, creeping horror being replaced with frantic stress isn't a bad thing. Double the number of guns means additional enemies on screen and concurrent objectives to solve, which may not equal double the amount of horror, but it does open up new elements of gameplay.

In one section, a giant drill spins and rotates around a circular arena in a blatant contravention of established health and safety laws while hungry Necromorph monsters creep out of the woodwork and try to tear the heads off Isaac and Carver with their additional limbs.

One player must deal with the drill (by slowing it down with their suit's Statis field, a series staple that's normally used to stun enemies, and shooting out the engine) while the other fends off the alien horde. It's not a new idea by any means, but it's nice to see.

The fear isn't whether a corpse is going to shamble back to life and start ripping off arms, but whether both parties involved are doing their jobs. Dead Space 3 asks you to put your hands in the life of another, and that's an entirely different – and entirely valid – kind of scare.

The other change from the standard pattern is the addition of human enemies to the mix. Up until now, Isaac's limited his vivisectional tendencies to the grotesque horrors that are Necromorphs; but now – with their human servants, the Unitologists, becoming more desperate – he'll find squads of armoured men with machine guns trying to kill him on a semi-regular basis.

Sawing off their legs and stamping on them is appropriately grim, but entirely optional – unlike your normal foes, they can be shot in the chest and killed quickly thanks to their human physiology.


Back to the old school

During the hands-on, though, it became apparent that there was more to the game than co-op battles on desolate ice planets. During one level set earlier in the game, Isaac explores a derelict ship floating adrift in space and finds – who'd have thought it – Necromorphs, who try to kill him. This is the same old-fashioned terror that the series has dined out on so far: Isaac is under-prepared and struggling to make his way through rusty corridors while too many monsters burst out of the pipework too close to his face.

The same scares are still scary, which is testament to Visceral's ability to effectively program a futuristic haunted house. Approaching a dead body is still wrought with tension, and when it stands up (and they do often stand up) there's still a little thrill of excitement as you struggle to deal with an enemy that is suddenly within killing distance.

The traditional elements, then, are far from gone – players are still lopping the limbs off horrific enemies in a fight to survive, which is rather the point. The story, too, is still Dead Space, but different. It's evolved. There's talk of the ice planet that Isaac and Carver walk across holding the key to the origins of the Necromorphs and, it's hoped, the key to their destruction. For fans of the series, that's an exciting prospect.

None of this is mandatory

It's important to note that having a co-operative mode in a game doesn't mean you have to play it – the game is fully wired to be played alone, first, and then a second time with a friend on a higher difficulty with improved weapons earned on the first playthrough.

Complaining about an optional co-op mode in a horror game, especially when the secondary character is nowhere to be seen on a single-player run, is a bit like complaining Bioware got gay in your Mass Effect and your heterosexual Shepard isn't going to go anywhere near a galaxy where he might be able to kiss a man on the mouth. Silly, basically.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 PES

Konami
It's probably best to start with a confession. Just like certain allegiances – politics, football teams, that friend your wife really doesn't like – defy all logic, so is my love for PES. There have been years I've flirted with Fifa and yes, grudgingly, I must admire its glossy appearance, official licenses, player animations and clever touches. But it's a dalliance and it's PES that I'll return home to.

You can take the mick all you like (and with teams such as Merseyside Red and West Midlands Village there's more than enough material), you can argue that the old Fifa complaints – it's too easy / it's all about the glory goals – no longer hold water. When it comes to repeat play, you're still more likely to find me grinding out the results in PES than any other game.

It'll be over to Keith in due course to present the case for Fifa 2013. This week you've got me and my attempts to judge PES 2013 fairly (which I'm sure will be analysed and pulled apart in the boxes below in a just a few seconds' time).

So, let's start with that four-out-of-five score. If we did marks out of 10 or offered halves, this would be a 70% title or thereabouts so, given my allegiance (and general glass-half-full take on life) I'm rounding up. Sue me.


In truth, there's a lot to back up the score. This incarnation of PES feels more solid than the past few years, particularly in defence, where new touches such as shadowing and simple face-on tackles mean you don't always have to slide in and risk yellow cards and the console's team somehow bursting the net with a 45-yard free kick that you will never replicate.

As for the bells and whistles, there are some excellent additions. There's a full range of passing available and shooting is more controlled than ever – the duration of the respective button press controlling height and power. And the new tricks – flick ons, instant control, turning defenders – are very welcome.

There is a full training module available which you will need: these moves require a lot of practice to drop them into a full game (and the sort of manual dexterity that occasionally feels like you're playing Pro Evolution Stenographer) but when they come off, and you've fizzed a ball across the pitch, flicked the ball over a defender and embarked on a mazy run finishing with a carefully placed chip into the top corner, you'll punch the air.


Or the wall when you've pressed the wrong button, hit a shot that's closer to the corner flag, got the timing all wrong, conceded the winning goal with the last kick of the game or just feel that the console has deliberately ignored your button pressing (yes, it's a thing).

It would be interesting to see a Top 10 of games that have resulted in controller flinging and property damage; I suspect that PES would be high on the list. Sometimes you can play brilliantly and lose. Sometimes you can go from being a master of the button presses to getting it all wrong – Messi to messy – in the space of a few seconds. But hey, that's football.

A big change is the lack of league competitions, but that's pretty much taken care of under the positively tweaked Master League function. There's also some new music and new commentary but not enough of either that they won't get very annoying very quickly.

Graphically, things have improved with some impressive player likenesses, particularly in their movements. Konami claims to have improved the goalkeeping too. Hmm. On the evidence of the many games played so far, if they have worked with real keepers it appears to have involved Heurelho Gomes.

Once again, the late transfers aren't reflected in the game, and will require a data download (or not if you're a Tottenham – sorry, North East London – fan eager to hold on to Modric for another season) although that wasn't available at the time of review.

Is this the Pro Evo to convince Fifa fans to switch? No. Is it an improvement on the last couple of years' PES incarnations? Yes. Will I be loving it and hating it and still playing it until PES 2014 comes out? Absolutely.

FIFA 2013

 FIFA 13 delivers the largest and deepest set of game-changing features in the history of the franchise. Additional features and new modes will be revealed in the months ahead.

Five game-changing innovations revolutionize artificial intelligence, dribbling, ball control and physical play to create a true battle for possession across the entire pitch, deliver freedom and creativity in attack, and capture all the drama and unpredictability of real-world football.

All-new Attacking Intelligence infuses players with the most sophisticated artificial intelligence ever achieved. Players have the ability to analyse space, work harder and smarter to break down the defence, and think two plays ahead. Now every touch matters with the most comprehensive and intuitive dribbling system ever developed for the franchise. Inspired by the world's best player, Lionel Messi, Complete Dribbling enables players to face their opponent and use precise dribble touches combined with true 360° mobility with the ball while threatening to attack, so it's easier to be more creative and dangerous in 1v1 opportunities. FIFA 13 1st Touch Control transforms the way players control the ball, eliminating near-perfect touch for every player on the pitch, and creating more opportunities for defenders to win back possession. The second generation of the Player Impact Engine expands physical play from just collisions to off-the-ball battles between players. Defenders can push and pull for position, and utilise their size and strength to force opponents into poor touches and decisions before the ball arrives. FIFA 13 Tactical Free Kicks provides the tools to create dangerous and unpredictable free kicks. Position up to three players over the ball and utilise dummy runs and more passing options to outwit your opponent.


Key Features 

- Attacking Intelligence - All-new positioning intelligence infuses attacking players with the ability to analyse plays, and to better position themselves to create new attacking opportunities. Players will work harder and smarter to break down defences, make runs that pull defenders out of position, and open passing channels for teammates. Plus, players possess an off-the-ball vision and the ability to think two plays ahead to create, curve, or alter runs to capitalize on openings as they occur.

- Complete Dribbling - Make every touch matter with complete control of the ball. Exploit 1v1 opportunities with the freedom to be more creative in attack. Players are more explosive accelerating with the ball, and utilise precise dribble touches with true 360° mobility with the ball while facing a defender. Face an opponent to threaten attack while moving with the ball in any direction to dodge tackles, or turn and shield the ball, maintaining position, and holding off defenders for longer stretches.

- FIFA 13 1st Touch Control - A new system eliminates near-perfect control for every player by creating uncertainty when receiving difficult balls. Poor passes are harder to control, enabling defenders to capitalize on errant balls and poor touches. Factors such as defensive pressure, trajectory of the ball, and velocity of the pass all factor into a player's success. Players with better control and skill stand out. Fewer perfect touches, the potential to over hit passes, more opportunity for loose balls, and greater balance between defending and attacking.

- Player Impact Engine-The second generation of the award-winning physics engine expands physical play from just collisions to off-the-ball battles, giving defenders more tools to win back possession. Defenders can use their body to win possession, push and pull for position, and utilise their size and strength to force opponents into poor touches and decisions before the ball arrives.

- FIFA 13 Tactical Free Kicks - Create dangerous and unpredictable free kicks. Position up to three attacking players over the ball and confuse opponents with dummy runs, more passing options, and more elaborate free kicks. Opponents can counter by adding or subtracting players to the wall, creeping the wall forward, or sending a bullet man to intercept the pass or block the shot.

- New Passes - Two new passing options give players the ability to finesse passes over the outstretched leg of a defender or play lower trajectory lofted through balls into space or to teammates.

- FIFA 13 Fundamentals - Essential elements have been refined to make the experience more authentic. Referees will now make better decisions awarding fouls and cards, goalkeeper intelligence has been improved, and Tactical Defending has added lateral mobility for players in defensive containment. Plus, new animations have been developed for off-balance shots, 180° shots, and celebrations.

- Complete Authenticity - Over 500 officially licensed clubs and more than 15,000 players.

Crysis 3

Crytek has released some answers regarding the recent release of the Crysis 3 single player interactive ,demo. A fan on the Crytek Facebook page asked "can we use the Ceph weapons?”

A Crysis 3 producer named Michael Read responded with:

"Definitely! However, this isn’t the first time in the Crysis series where you could use Ceph weaponry. …

There was a weapon called the Molecular Arrestor from Crysis 1 which Nomad could use. This weapon was a type of freezing ray used by the Ceph.
Some of you may remember from Crysis 2 that the suit became infected with Alien DNA. In the 20+ years that have passed, the suit has evolved to have some extraordinary powers. The ability to fully utilize the arsenal of Ceph weaponry is one of them. Upon picking up these weapons, you will see that the HUD changes in an attempt to interact them in much the same way you see it with the human weapons.

“In Crysis 3 we have expanded the use of Alien Weapons. The Ceph Plasma Accelerator Cannon (aka. The X-Pac) was the first one we have showed during our E3 Demo. This weapon has two modes. A multi-shot plasma mortar and a single shot plasma burst. In total, there will be 5 alien weapons which you will be able to wield in Crysis 3. Of these 5 my personal favorite has got to be the Incinerator. Judging by the name of this, I am sure you can figure out what it does. More to come on these soon….”

So, it looks like you’re going to have access to some very exotic & powerful CEPH Weaponry. What kind of tactics do you think will be best for a weapon called "The Incinerator"?"

Crysis 3 - More like Crysis 1 or Crysis 2?
Crytek has recently answered another fan question on their Facebook page. The question was "Will Crysis 3 be more open like Crysis 1 or more linear and story driven like Crysis 2?"


"So before we get to the center of the question in regards to Crysis 3, let’s take a look at the history of the Crysis series.

Crysis 1 really did a great job at showcasing the power of what we were able to achieve in the CryENGINE 2 to create these very open and lush jungle environments. Seeing is believing, of course, and having a visual reference point to more open environments created a great impression of an open space. It’s a fact that you were able to run around within these large areas, but at the end of the day, much of this space was devoid of any real action sequences and interactions. To spend time filling this space out would draw people away from the goals we were trying to set.

In Crysis 2, there were many technical challenges that were presented when fleshing out the CryENGINE 3 for this product. The first and foremost was breaking this version of the engine down to prove that we could not only deliver on the PC, but consoles as well. Whatever your views are on Crysis 2, it provided a much different experience over the former and offered what some considered to be a more linear experience. We believed this had more to do with the visual reference points I mentioned above and how we utilized urban grid layout for Crysis 2.

This brings us to today and what we want to deliver to you in Crysis 3. I would say that we’ve learned a lot over the last 5 years and between these two games, and what we have set out to do for this one is bring people the best of both worlds. At the core of the storyline in Crysis 3, as with the two prior, is a very linear experience. This time around, we think people are going to be very pleased with how we have created more depth and interactions between the characters. Crysis 3 will also be helping to answer some of the burning questions people have been asking on the prime fiction side for years. On the flipside of the story elements we have the gameplay and environments. Crysis 1 and 2 had their merits and, to different extremes, their drawbacks. We worked to identify these and have set out to bring people an experience that is much more refined. Creating a unique environment like the Urban Rainforest has allowed us to integrate these two elements into Crysis 3 and create a sense of openness where the player has various options in the way they tackle the action sequences in the game. More Nanosuit customizability, weapons, attachments, environmental manipulation, exploration rewards, and the return of secondary objectives will help take this even further.

As we move up to launch, we’ll be demonstrating how more of what I am talking about for Crysis 3 and beyond what we demonstrated at E3 with the Canyon wonder. I’m certain you’ll be pleased with the results."

To sum it up, Crysis 3 will have "more depth and interactions between the characters." Crysis 3 will answer questions that have been hanging around. A more refined game that addresses issues from the previous 2 games. It will be more open similar to Crysis 1. There will be more "Nanosuit customization's, weapons, attachments, environmental manipulation, exploration rewards, and the return of the secondary objectives."

When is the Crysis 3 Release Date?

As of this point in time the Crysis 3 release date is February 2013. This date was provided by Crytek and it still holds true. Amazon on the other hand is claiming that the release date is December 31, 2013; I really hope that date is wrong. As of right now, I would go with the release date that Crytek provided, and disregard the release date that Amazon is showing. Crysis 3 pre-order is currently available on Amazon.com for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

So far we know that the game will feature Alcatraz back in New York City trying to kill the aliens overtaking the Big Apple. The big noticeable difference between Crysis 3 and the others before it is that there will be a bow used as the primary weapon. Read more about the story to see exactly what's going on in Crysis 3.

Crysis 3 Priorities Graphics or Gameplay?

The Crysis Facebook page recently had a Q and A. They were looking for question from fans, so that they can answer. This question and answer quote was taken directly from the Facebook Crysis page.

What is the priority in Crysis 3, graphics or gameplay?

"With Crysis 3, it's definitely a balance of both of these things, but let's not forget about the story elements as well. There are things that need to be revealed and tied up to make the story fit together as a whole. So let's start with the story...

Crysis 3 has a very deep story that progresses in a linear fashion. Our Cinematics Director, who heads up the process of integrating the story into the game, works very closely with both art and design to ensure the experience, is a thoughtful and engaging one. We get countless questions from our hardcore fans on many elements from Crysis 1, Crysis Warhead and Crysis 2. Without giving any key things away here, Crysis 3 is going to help answer a lot of these questions that players have been asking for years. All of this basically means the gameplay and story go hand in hand to give players a great narrative that is advanced by action sequences they can play in their own unique way.

From the graphics side - the art direction has centered on creating this new environment we call an "Urban Rainforest". What we wanted to bring to the fore is something more organic that has a mix of man-made elements combined with living, breathing flora and fauna. Each of the different areas within the urban rainforest has provided us with some new challenges that we are working to overcome to create a setting that is more interactive and alive than what we'd been previously able to achieve in the CryENGINE.

If we simply had the graphics driving everything here, we wouldn't be able to do the things I outlined above. It's nice to have realistic lighting, particle effects that provide that “wow” factor and water that looks like something you would go swimming in. But we also need certain elements to drive those things ahead and help us make a better engine not only for ourselves, but all projects that use our technology platform. Without having solid creativity to drive things at the core, we'd be designing tools and elements that have no functional purpose.

So, in a nutshell, the priority for Crysis 3 is to make a great all-round experience and not hone in on a single specific aspect."

Crysis 3 Trailer
Official EA Crysis 3 Trailer Gameplay in HD

Crysis 3 Gameplay Trailer - The hunted becomes the hunter. Powered by Crytek's CryENGINE® 3, Crysis 3 advances the state of the art with unparalleled visuals and dynamic shooter gameplay. Take on the role of 'Prophet' as he returns to New York, only to discover that the city has been encased in a Nanodome created by the corrupt Cell Corporation. Within the Liberty Dome, seven distinct and treacherous environments become known as the Seven Wonders. This dangerous new world demands advanced weapons and tactics. Prophet will utilize a lethal composite bow, an enhanced Nanosuit and devastating alien tech to become the deadliest hunter on the planet. Coming in 2013 on X360, PS3, and PC.

The Crysis 3 release date is expected to be February 2013. If you would like to pre-order Crysis 3 visit the pre-order page!