Considering that there are some people that bought a Wii just to play the bowling game bundled with Wii Sports, it's simply out of the question for Sony to launch PlayStation Move without its own take on the sport. While Sony doesn't have anything prepped as far as we know, developer FarSight Studios has its own game, Brunswick Bowling, in the works.

Unsurprisingly, the game is exactly what you'd expect, with the basic mechanics not dissimilar from "Wii Bowling." A notable difference is that the Move lacks any sort of direction pad, unlike the Wii Remote. Because of this, shifting your bowler left and right, as well as changing the angle of your shot, is all done with basic controller tilts. Point the controller upwards while holding the Move's middle button, and tilt left and right to shift placement of your bowler; point downwards and do the same to change the angle. 

Once you're set to bowl, pulling the trigger (called the "T" button) preps the bowler. Next, you simply pull back on the controller and swing forward, releasing the trigger to send the ball down the lane. In the build FarSight was showing off, the moving of the bowler on the screen and your movements wasn't one to one; instead, you had to match the movements of the on-screen bowler, which was a bit awkward. FarSight says that when the game launches, this one-to-one movement will be in place, however. On the plus side, I found it easy to put spin on the ball with a slight flick of my wrist; it definitely felt as much (if not more) responsive than the bowling in Wii Sports Resort. 

Brunswick Bowling may not be the "Wii Bowling" killer some would want it to be, especially due to the fact that it's a full retail title, and not a pack-in with the controller itself. Its realistic, HD visuals also don't seem to have the same charm as those of Wii Sports, either. Still, with a little polish, the game could be a solid experience for PS3 owners with "Wii Bowling Envy." 

Brunswick Bowling is set to ship this fall alongside the release of PlayStation Move. 

It’s not hard to describe what Arrow Head Games downloadable magic-spewing action title Magicka is all about: it’s an isometric hack-and-slash fest minus the swords and the RPG elements. Giving you the perfect picture of what the chaotic game looks like in motion, on the other hand, is something altogether different. I thought this embedded debut trailer might help in that respect.

My understanding is that Sweden-based Arrow Head has taken Magicka on several European press rounds, so the above might be “ancient” by Internet standards. Please excuse us and make doubly sure to scream “OLD!” in the comments because people simply must know just how much time you put into the Internet each afternoon.

Harmonix and MTV Games have taken the week of GDC to premiere and drop some of the final details on the upcoming Green Day: Rock Band, which is set to his shelves on June 8. 

From the looks of things, Green Day is getting a similar treatment to The Beatles, with a game that includes many of the same features. Three part harmonies have made the cut, and players can unlock 100 collectibles images and 40 minutes of rare video and performances as they work through Green Day's 20-plus-year career. 

The game will ship with 47 tracks (fully exportable for Xbox 360 and PS3 for a small fee). At a party last night where the game itself was premiered, five of game's songs were revealed: "Brain Stew/Jaded," "Hitchin' A Ride," "American Idiot," "Wake Me Up When September Ends," and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." I'll admit that I'd be more excited about Naked City's Torture Garden: Rock Band, but it was surprising how many of these songs I knew note for note. It didn't take much to get an entire room full of people tapping and singing along, which is a good indicator that the songs are a great fit for this style of game. 

Green Day: Rock Band will be available in a few flavors. Standalone disc games for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii were a given. But a Green Day: Rock Band Plus will also be made available for Xbox 360 and PS3, and includes special packaging (shown in our gallery), free of charge song export, and six Green Day tracks via DLC. 

June should be a good month for Green Day fans; everyone else can continue to whine about how Green Day is getting a game, and patiently wait for more news on Rock Band 3. 

Harmonix and MTV Games have taken the week of GDC to premiere and drop some of the final details on the upcoming Green Day: Rock Band, which is set to his shelves on June 8. 

From the looks of things, Green Day is getting a similar treatment to The Beatles, with a game that includes many of the same features. Three part harmonies have made the cut, and players can unlock 100 collectibles images and 40 minutes of rare video and performances as they work through Green Day's 20-plus-year career. 

The game will ship with 47 tracks (fully exportable for Xbox 360 and PS3 for a small fee). At a party last night where the game itself was premiered, five of game's songs were revealed: "Brain Stew/Jaded," "Hitchin' A Ride," "American Idiot," "Wake Me Up When September Ends," and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." I'll admit that I'd be more excited about Naked City's Torture Garden: Rock Band, but it was surprising how many of these songs I knew note for note. It didn't take much to get an entire room full of people tapping and singing along, which is a good indicator that the songs are a great fit for this style of game. 

Green Day: Rock Band will be available in a few flavors. Standalone disc games for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii were a given. But a Green Day: Rock Band Plus will also be made available for Xbox 360 and PS3, and includes special packaging (shown in our gallery), free of charge song export, and six Green Day tracks via DLC. 

June should be a good month for Green Day fans; everyone else can continue to whine about how Green Day is getting a game, and patiently wait for more news on Rock Band 3. 

Harmonix and MTV Games have taken the week of GDC to premiere and drop some of the final details on the upcoming Green Day: Rock Band, which is set to his shelves on June 8. 

From the looks of things, Green Day is getting a similar treatment to The Beatles, with a game that includes many of the same features. Three part harmonies have made the cut, and players can unlock 100 collectibles images and 40 minutes of rare video and performances as they work through Green Day's 20-plus-year career. 

The game will ship with 47 tracks (fully exportable for Xbox 360 and PS3 for a small fee). At a party last night where the game itself was premiered, five of game's songs were revealed: "Brain Stew/Jaded," "Hitchin' A Ride," "American Idiot," "Wake Me Up When September Ends," and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." I'll admit that I'd be more excited about Naked City's Torture Garden: Rock Band, but it was surprising how many of these songs I knew note for note. It didn't take much to get an entire room full of people tapping and singing along, which is a good indicator that the songs are a great fit for this style of game. 

Green Day: Rock Band will be available in a few flavors. Standalone disc games for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii were a given. But a Green Day: Rock Band Plus will also be made available for Xbox 360 and PS3, and includes special packaging (shown in our gallery), free of charge song export, and six Green Day tracks via DLC. 

June should be a good month for Green Day fans; everyone else can continue to whine about how Green Day is getting a game, and patiently wait for more news on Rock Band 3. 

So, a lot of people don't like the linearity in Final Fantasy XIII. The complete lack of bustling towns, world maps, and other such expected RPG traits is leaving some gamers sour, and Square Enix has taken notice. Director Motomu Toriyama has explained why making a nonlinear Final Fantasy was so difficult, and why it might not be so hard the next time around. 

"Personally, the Final Fantasies that I have worked on have been very story-driven, so in terms of the development I wanted to, of course, use my personal strengths which where those," he says. "I call it a bento box system, where you have all of the different little things in there. So we had minigames or towns were you were able to talk to all of the townspeople. But with the HD console you’re not really able to do that because it takes so long to develop.

"Now that we have that base technology… The next time you see a Final Fantasy, we might be able to pack in more of those elements that existed in the past. And I also think that a game doesn’t need to have all of those items in the future. We can create additional downloadable content for people to add, too. It doesn’t have to come with that game itself."

The thing is, maybe Final Fantasy XIII wouldn't have taken so long if Square Enix wasn't obsessed with graphics and building a new engine from scratch. Sure, XIII looks amazing, but looks are no substitute for gameplay, and the idea that gameplay took a hit just because Square Enix wanted everything to look pretty is rather dismaying. In any case, once XIII's stopped playing itself for us, we'll have our review up. 

FF XIII Director - Production Drove Content Decisions, Elements Will Return [Gamasutra]

Almost a year after the trademark was filed, Majesco has officially announced Crafting Mama for the Nintendo DS. Everybody's favorite housewife returns, fresh from her stint as a cook and a gardener and ready to take on the world of arts n' crafts. Jesus Christ. 

Crafting Mama will force players to create all sorts of useless objects to satisfy the increasingly bizarre demands of Mama. Candles, kaleidoscopes, quilts, birdhouses and dolls are all part of the fun, and anybody with too much time on their hands is sure to be entertained. 

Majesco plans to release Crafting Mama in fall 2010. None of you can wait.

EDISON, N.J., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The extent of Mama's talents are limitless! She can hold her own in the kitchen and garden next to the world's best, but now Mama is poised to dominate arts & crafts too as Majesco Entertainment Company (Nasdaq: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, announces Crafting Mama exclusively for Nintendo DS?. Developed by Cooking Mama Limited, this all-new crafting game lets players create their own unique crafts across a wide range of different projects.  

"Crafting is a natural extension of our most successful franchise," said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco Entertainment. "Much like last spring's Gardening Mama, Crafting Mama combines the award-winning Mama formula of addictive stylus-based activities with a popular pastime that has been underserved in videogames. We're looking forward to sharing Mama's newest hobby with her vast and diverse group of fans this holiday season."

In Crafting Mama, players will create 40 different projects across a wide range of different crafts: make patchwork quilts, earrings, candles, xylophones, kaleidoscopes, birdhouses, flower decorations and even mini-Mama dolls! Using the stylus as a universal crafting tool, crafters will sew, mold, glue, cut and paint under Mama's masterful direction. Best of all, players can use each of their creations within the game itself: dress Mama up in a new apron you've sewn or even fly a freshly folded paper airplane.  In addition, new materials, colors and patterns are available to customize each project, and multiplayer support lets players create with a friend. Crafting Mama is guaranteed to turn Mama fans into crafty creators in no time!  

Crafting Mama for Nintendo DS? is expected to release this fall.  For additional information about Majesco's exciting line of products, please visit www.majescoentertainment.com.

Read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/majesco-entertainment-announces-39crafting-mama39-for-nintendo-dstm,1201148.shtml#ixzz0hsv2bnTl

This year, EA’s long-running Medal of Honor franchise is being remade for the modern era. World War II is out; the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan is in. The series reboot, simply titled Medal of Honor, is due out this fall; EA Los Angeles is putting together the single-player campaign, while Battlefield developer EA DICE is working on the multiplayer component. In fact, the two portions of the game will be running on different engines -- a “heavily modified” version of the Unreal Engine for the campaign, and DICE’s Frostbite engine for the multiplayer.

I saw a slice of the campaign at an EA press event in New York City last week. (EA isn’t showing off the multiplayer yet.) The level showcased Tier 1 operators, an elite squad of soldiers that’s being portrayed in a videogame for the first time. Hit the jump to read about surgical strikes and big military in Medal of Honor, and check out GameTrailers TV on Spike tomorrow night for the game’s first full-length trailer.

Medal of Honor (PlayStation 3 [previewed], Xbox 360, PC)
Developer: EA Los Angeles (single-player) / EA DICE (multiplayer)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
To be released: Fall 2010

Medal of Honor’s executive producer, Greg Goodrich, was on hand to demo the game running on PS3, which happens to be its lead platform. Goodrich explained that decision thus: “We know that if we can make [the] PS3 [version] sing and play great, then the other two systems [360 and PC] will follow.” The build that I saw was in a pre-alpha state, approximately 60% complete. Even so, it offered a high degree of graphical fidelity, although visual effects for things like explosions and gunfire were unfinished. Goodrich told me that the final game will not drop below 30 frames per second, and the graphical power afforded to the team by eschewing a 60-frame-per-second mark will be put toward visual detail.

Like Saving Private Ryan and previous installments in the Medal of Honor series, the new Medal of Honor tells a tale of historical fiction: players will undertake real missions in real locales, but with fictional characters. The player character in the level I saw was “Rabbit” -- so named, said Goodrich, because he has nine children. Medal of Honor will offer a number of playable characters, and each of them will provide a different perspective on the war. The demo mission illustrated the relationship between two of those roles, the “scalpel” and the “sledge.”

The mission centered on Al-Qaeda troops in the Shah-i-Kot valley in Afghanistan, a rugged, mountainous area. (The entire game takes place in Afghanistan.) Goodrich noted that the level was constructed using “hundreds of photographs of those exact mountains,” images that were provided by Tier 1 operatives who are consulting with the development team. In the mission, Goodrich played as part of a four-member Tier 1 squad that was sent in for a pre-dawn raid to clear the valley of insurgents, which would allow for the day’s Army Ranger assault to go off smoothly.

This is a major focus of the experience that Medal of Honor is offering: the interaction between the scalpel (Tier 1 operators) and the sledge (“big military,” the Army Rangers). The two units are nothing alike, yet they have a symbiotic relationship -- big military can’t succeed without Tier 1 going in for “surgical strike[s],” gathering intelligence and facilitating large-scale warfare, while Tier 1 needs big military to support their covert operations with heavy artillery. Tier 1 missions tend to be stealth-oriented, and on the other hand, “it’s going to feel like a very big operation” when you’re playing as an Army Ranger.

As an under-the-radar team, Tier 1 guys won’t be in uniform; the squad was clad in hooded robes instead of camouflaged fatigues. Early in the mission, Goodrich’s squad came upon an innocent goat herder; to avoid unnecessary collateral damage, a squadmate downed the man with a non-lethal takedown. Chatter from the team leader came over the radio as the squad pushed forward and encountered a few isolated guards, whom the soldiers dropped quickly and quietly. Goodrich explained that the team talk was a gameplay concession -- the Tier 1 consultants carried out their missions in complete silence, since they had carefully rehearsed their operations every step of the way.

After a small skirmish, the squad reached a mountainside area where a friendly AC-130 hovered overhead. Unfortunately, an enemy anti-aircraft gun was holding off the aerial assault, so Goodrich and his team took out the group of Al-Qaeda men defending the weapon, and then he blew it up. This freed up the AC-130 to do some damage to an enemy munitions convoy in the distance. In a previous mission, said Goodrich, the Tier 1 crew came across the trucks, but the squad was powerless to do anything at the time except throw strobes in the backs of the vehicles. The lights pointed out the trucks to the AC-130’s targeting system, and the gunship made quick work of the convoy in a powerful, booming display of force. The demo setup featured loud speakers that brought out the game’s impressive sound design.

Finally, the gang made it to an Al-Qaeda encampment of sorts and took up offensive positions, the team leader warning his squadmates to watch their corners. Here, Goodrich showed off the game’s somewhat open-ended combat system: he could engage the enemy immediately, or wait for them to gather in a narrow path. With the firefight concluded, Goodrich pressed ahead -- and was ambushed by an Al-Qaeda straggler who bashed him in the head with the butt of his rifle, sending him to the ground. This first-person cut-scene continued with the insurgent pointing his gun at Goodrich’s face, only to be taken out with a slow-motion headshot from a fellow Tier 1 operative. The sequence, which was very evocative of moments from Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare games, ended with a teammate pulling Goodrich up while uttering a harsh “you’re welcome” of sorts: “We just saved your ass. Let’s get back to work.”

That’s where the demo ended. I can’t speak for the shooting mechanics themselves, since I didn’t play the game myself. But from a presentation standpoint, what I saw seemed similar to Modern Warfare, so EA Los Angeles is going to have to deliver a high-intensity, high-quality product if they want to compete. I have faith in the team, since Goodrich espoused the “core tenets” of Medal of Honor (“authenticity, respect for the soldier, honoring the soldier”) and promised that the game will include features that the series has always had (like peek and lean), but the developers still have a tall task ahead of them.

Goodrich stressed the team’s focus on the game’s narrative, and that’s encouraging. “This is not a game about politics; it’s not a game about operational planning or any of that. We don’t care why the guys are there; it’s just, they’re there: let’s honor them and let’s support them and let’s respect what they’re doing and show that in this medium -- tell a story.” I’m glad that EA LA is showing the temerity to tackle a controversial real-life war that’s still in progress, unlike other games that tell fictional stories in unnamed countries. Let’s hope the team can pull it off.

This year, EA’s long-running Medal of Honor franchise is being remade for the modern era. World War II is out; the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan is in. The series reboot, simply titled Medal of Honor, is due out this fall; EA Los Angeles is putting together the single-player campaign, while Battlefield developer EA DICE is working on the multiplayer component. In fact, the two portions of the game will be running on different engines -- a “heavily modified” version of the Unreal Engine for the campaign, and DICE’s Frostbite engine for the multiplayer.

I saw a slice of the campaign at an EA press event in New York City last week. (EA isn’t showing off the multiplayer yet.) The level showcased Tier 1 operators, an elite squad of soldiers that’s being portrayed in a videogame for the first time. Hit the jump to read about surgical strikes and big military in Medal of Honor, and check out GameTrailers TV on Spike tomorrow night for the game’s first full-length trailer.

Medal of Honor (PlayStation 3 [previewed], Xbox 360, PC)
Developer: EA Los Angeles (single-player) / EA DICE (multiplayer)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
To be released: Fall 2010

Medal of Honor’s executive producer, Greg Goodrich, was on hand to demo the game running on PS3, which happens to be its lead platform. Goodrich explained that decision thus: “We know that if we can make [the] PS3 [version] sing and play great, then the other two systems [360 and PC] will follow.” The build that I saw was in a pre-alpha state, approximately 60% complete. Even so, it offered a high degree of graphical fidelity, although visual effects for things like explosions and gunfire were unfinished. Goodrich told me that the final game will not drop below 30 frames per second, and the graphical power afforded to the team by eschewing a 60-frame-per-second mark will be put toward visual detail.

Like Saving Private Ryan and previous installments in the Medal of Honor series, the new Medal of Honor tells a tale of historical fiction: players will undertake real missions in real locales, but with fictional characters. The player character in the level I saw was “Rabbit” -- so named, said Goodrich, because he has nine children. Medal of Honor will offer a number of playable characters, and each of them will provide a different perspective on the war. The demo mission illustrated the relationship between two of those roles, the “scalpel” and the “sledge.”

The mission centered on Al-Qaeda troops in the Shah-i-Kot valley in Afghanistan, a rugged, mountainous area. (The entire game takes place in Afghanistan.) Goodrich noted that the level was constructed using “hundreds of photographs of those exact mountains,” images that were provided by Tier 1 operatives who are consulting with the development team. In the mission, Goodrich played as part of a four-member Tier 1 squad that was sent in for a pre-dawn raid to clear the valley of insurgents, which would allow for the day’s Army Ranger assault to go off smoothly.

This is a major focus of the experience that Medal of Honor is offering: the interaction between the scalpel (Tier 1 operators) and the sledge (“big military,” the Army Rangers). The two units are nothing alike, yet they have a symbiotic relationship -- big military can’t succeed without Tier 1 going in for “surgical strike[s],” gathering intelligence and facilitating large-scale warfare, while Tier 1 needs big military to support their covert operations with heavy artillery. Tier 1 missions tend to be stealth-oriented, and on the other hand, “it’s going to feel like a very big operation” when you’re playing as an Army Ranger.

As an under-the-radar team, Tier 1 guys won’t be in uniform; the squad was clad in hooded robes instead of camouflaged fatigues. Early in the mission, Goodrich’s squad came upon an innocent goat herder; to avoid unnecessary collateral damage, a squadmate downed the man with a non-lethal takedown. Chatter from the team leader came over the radio as the squad pushed forward and encountered a few isolated guards, whom the soldiers dropped quickly and quietly. Goodrich explained that the team talk was a gameplay concession -- the Tier 1 consultants carried out their missions in complete silence, since they had carefully rehearsed their operations every step of the way.

After a small skirmish, the squad reached a mountainside area where a friendly AC-130 hovered overhead. Unfortunately, an enemy anti-aircraft gun was holding off the aerial assault, so Goodrich and his team took out the group of Al-Qaeda men defending the weapon, and then he blew it up. This freed up the AC-130 to do some damage to an enemy munitions convoy in the distance. In a previous mission, said Goodrich, the Tier 1 crew came across the trucks, but the squad was powerless to do anything at the time except throw strobes in the backs of the vehicles. The lights pointed out the trucks to the AC-130’s targeting system, and the gunship made quick work of the convoy in a powerful, booming display of force. The demo setup featured loud speakers that brought out the game’s impressive sound design.

Finally, the gang made it to an Al-Qaeda encampment of sorts and took up offensive positions, the team leader warning his squadmates to watch their corners. Here, Goodrich showed off the game’s somewhat open-ended combat system: he could engage the enemy immediately, or wait for them to gather in a narrow path. With the firefight concluded, Goodrich pressed ahead -- and was ambushed by an Al-Qaeda straggler who bashed him in the head with the butt of his rifle, sending him to the ground. This first-person cut-scene continued with the insurgent pointing his gun at Goodrich’s face, only to be taken out with a slow-motion headshot from a fellow Tier 1 operative. The sequence, which was very evocative of moments from Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare games, ended with a teammate pulling Goodrich up while uttering a harsh “you’re welcome” of sorts: “We just saved your ass. Let’s get back to work.”

That’s where the demo ended. I can’t speak for the shooting mechanics themselves, since I didn’t play the game myself. But from a presentation standpoint, what I saw seemed similar to Modern Warfare, so EA Los Angeles is going to have to deliver a high-intensity, high-quality product if they want to compete. I have faith in the team, since Goodrich espoused the “core tenets” of Medal of Honor (“authenticity, respect for the soldier, honoring the soldier”) and promised that the game will include features that the series has always had (like peek and lean), but the developers still have a tall task ahead of them.

Goodrich stressed the team’s focus on the game’s narrative, and that’s encouraging. “This is not a game about politics; it’s not a game about operational planning or any of that. We don’t care why the guys are there; it’s just, they’re there: let’s honor them and let’s support them and let’s respect what they’re doing and show that in this medium -- tell a story.” I’m glad that EA LA is showing the temerity to tackle a controversial real-life war that’s still in progress, unlike other games that tell fictional stories in unnamed countries. Let’s hope the team can pull it off.

This year, EA’s long-running Medal of Honor franchise is being remade for the modern era. World War II is out; the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan is in. The series reboot, simply titled Medal of Honor, is due out this fall; EA Los Angeles is putting together the single-player campaign, while Battlefield developer EA DICE is working on the multiplayer component. In fact, the two portions of the game will be running on different engines -- a “heavily modified” version of the Unreal Engine for the campaign, and DICE’s Frostbite engine for the multiplayer.

I saw a slice of the campaign at an EA press event in New York City last week. (EA isn’t showing off the multiplayer yet.) The level showcased Tier 1 operators, an elite squad of soldiers that’s being portrayed in a videogame for the first time. Hit the jump to read about surgical strikes and big military in Medal of Honor, and check out GameTrailers TV on Spike tomorrow night for the game’s first full-length trailer.

Medal of Honor (PlayStation 3 [previewed], Xbox 360, PC)
Developer: EA Los Angeles (single-player) / EA DICE (multiplayer)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
To be released: Fall 2010

Medal of Honor’s executive producer, Greg Goodrich, was on hand to demo the game running on PS3, which happens to be its lead platform. Goodrich explained that decision thus: “We know that if we can make [the] PS3 [version] sing and play great, then the other two systems [360 and PC] will follow.” The build that I saw was in a pre-alpha state, approximately 60% complete. Even so, it offered a high degree of graphical fidelity, although visual effects for things like explosions and gunfire were unfinished. Goodrich told me that the final game will not drop below 30 frames per second, and the graphical power afforded to the team by eschewing a 60-frame-per-second mark will be put toward visual detail.

Like Saving Private Ryan and previous installments in the Medal of Honor series, the new Medal of Honor tells a tale of historical fiction: players will undertake real missions in real locales, but with fictional characters. The player character in the level I saw was “Rabbit” -- so named, said Goodrich, because he has nine children. Medal of Honor will offer a number of playable characters, and each of them will provide a different perspective on the war. The demo mission illustrated the relationship between two of those roles, the “scalpel” and the “sledge.”

The mission centered on Al-Qaeda troops in the Shah-i-Kot valley in Afghanistan, a rugged, mountainous area. (The entire game takes place in Afghanistan.) Goodrich noted that the level was constructed using “hundreds of photographs of those exact mountains,” images that were provided by Tier 1 operatives who are consulting with the development team. In the mission, Goodrich played as part of a four-member Tier 1 squad that was sent in for a pre-dawn raid to clear the valley of insurgents, which would allow for the day’s Army Ranger assault to go off smoothly.

This is a major focus of the experience that Medal of Honor is offering: the interaction between the scalpel (Tier 1 operators) and the sledge (“big military,” the Army Rangers). The two units are nothing alike, yet they have a symbiotic relationship -- big military can’t succeed without Tier 1 going in for “surgical strike[s],” gathering intelligence and facilitating large-scale warfare, while Tier 1 needs big military to support their covert operations with heavy artillery. Tier 1 missions tend to be stealth-oriented, and on the other hand, “it’s going to feel like a very big operation” when you’re playing as an Army Ranger.

As an under-the-radar team, Tier 1 guys won’t be in uniform; the squad was clad in hooded robes instead of camouflaged fatigues. Early in the mission, Goodrich’s squad came upon an innocent goat herder; to avoid unnecessary collateral damage, a squadmate downed the man with a non-lethal takedown. Chatter from the team leader came over the radio as the squad pushed forward and encountered a few isolated guards, whom the soldiers dropped quickly and quietly. Goodrich explained that the team talk was a gameplay concession -- the Tier 1 consultants carried out their missions in complete silence, since they had carefully rehearsed their operations every step of the way.

After a small skirmish, the squad reached a mountainside area where a friendly AC-130 hovered overhead. Unfortunately, an enemy anti-aircraft gun was holding off the aerial assault, so Goodrich and his team took out the group of Al-Qaeda men defending the weapon, and then he blew it up. This freed up the AC-130 to do some damage to an enemy munitions convoy in the distance. In a previous mission, said Goodrich, the Tier 1 crew came across the trucks, but the squad was powerless to do anything at the time except throw strobes in the backs of the vehicles. The lights pointed out the trucks to the AC-130’s targeting system, and the gunship made quick work of the convoy in a powerful, booming display of force. The demo setup featured loud speakers that brought out the game’s impressive sound design.

Finally, the gang made it to an Al-Qaeda encampment of sorts and took up offensive positions, the team leader warning his squadmates to watch their corners. Here, Goodrich showed off the game’s somewhat open-ended combat system: he could engage the enemy immediately, or wait for them to gather in a narrow path. With the firefight concluded, Goodrich pressed ahead -- and was ambushed by an Al-Qaeda straggler who bashed him in the head with the butt of his rifle, sending him to the ground. This first-person cut-scene continued with the insurgent pointing his gun at Goodrich’s face, only to be taken out with a slow-motion headshot from a fellow Tier 1 operative. The sequence, which was very evocative of moments from Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare games, ended with a teammate pulling Goodrich up while uttering a harsh “you’re welcome” of sorts: “We just saved your ass. Let’s get back to work.”

That’s where the demo ended. I can’t speak for the shooting mechanics themselves, since I didn’t play the game myself. But from a presentation standpoint, what I saw seemed similar to Modern Warfare, so EA Los Angeles is going to have to deliver a high-intensity, high-quality product if they want to compete. I have faith in the team, since Goodrich espoused the “core tenets” of Medal of Honor (“authenticity, respect for the soldier, honoring the soldier”) and promised that the game will include features that the series has always had (like peek and lean), but the developers still have a tall task ahead of them.

Goodrich stressed the team’s focus on the game’s narrative, and that’s encouraging. “This is not a game about politics; it’s not a game about operational planning or any of that. We don’t care why the guys are there; it’s just, they’re there: let’s honor them and let’s support them and let’s respect what they’re doing and show that in this medium -- tell a story.” I’m glad that EA LA is showing the temerity to tackle a controversial real-life war that’s still in progress, unlike other games that tell fictional stories in unnamed countries. Let’s hope the team can pull it off.

So, a lot of people don't like the linearity in Final Fantasy XIII. The complete lack of bustling towns, world maps, and other such expected RPG traits is leaving some gamers sour, and Square Enix has taken notice. Director Motomu Toriyama has explained why making a nonlinear Final Fantasy was so difficult, and why it might not be so hard the next time around. 

"Personally, the Final Fantasies that I have worked on have been very story-driven, so in terms of the development I wanted to, of course, use my personal strengths which where those," he says. "I call it a bento box system, where you have all of the different little things in there. So we had minigames or towns were you were able to talk to all of the townspeople. But with the HD console you’re not really able to do that because it takes so long to develop.

"Now that we have that base technology… The next time you see a Final Fantasy, we might be able to pack in more of those elements that existed in the past. And I also think that a game doesn’t need to have all of those items in the future. We can create additional downloadable content for people to add, too. It doesn’t have to come with that game itself."

The thing is, maybe Final Fantasy XIII wouldn't have taken so long if Square Enix wasn't obsessed with graphics and building a new engine from scratch. Sure, XIII looks amazing, but looks are no substitute for gameplay, and the idea that gameplay took a hit just because Square Enix wanted everything to look pretty is rather dismaying. In any case, once XIII's stopped playing itself for us, we'll have our review up. 

FF XIII Director - Production Drove Content Decisions, Elements Will Return [Gamasutra]

We've seen enough living room family gaming promotional videos to last us a lifetime. Nintendo started it with the Wii a few years back, but here recently both Sony and Microsoft have been putting their own versions out with their new alternative control schemes. Today we saw a trailer that showed off what Sony's new controller, the motion sensing Move, could do.

The trailer we saw at Sony's press event featured wireframe overlays of what the Move controller was to represent in each gaming situation shown. Golf clubs, boxing gloves, ping pong paddles. You know the drill. The wireframes were like Sony's own high production value touch to the living room family gaming videos. If you pull out the glowing orbs, you kind of get the feeling that you've seen this video before.

Later, the trailer shows examples of many of the Move games we got to try out. Look for our hands-on reactions soon.

You’d think that EA would be doing its best to separate Medal of Honor from the pack in a very crowded first-person shooter market. The team at EA Los Angeles is, indeed, working to make the game stand out, but the experience is not likely to be the most innovative shooter you’ve ever played. Executive producer Greg Goodrich explained that the intent is to build a highly polished game:

What we’re focusing on is making a great first-person shooter. [If we don’t] put out [a game] that revolutionize[s] the genre, so be it, but we’re showing up to do a great game -- a great experience that fans will love.

He went on to express his belief that Medal of Honor will innovate in the way it tells its story, and by including the experiences of a Tier 1 operator, the game is already doing something no other shooter has done. In addition, as seen in the debut teaser trailer, your enemies will employ “unexpected” and unconventional tactics. “But at the end of the day,” Goodrich told me, “it’s all about making a great shooter, and not necessarily pushing the genre forward.”

That said, the developers are certainly aware of the competition and that the stakes are high, and they’re aiming for the top. “Nowadays, especially in the shooter genre, if you show up to the table, you have to show up with quality -- you have to show up with a product that’s meant to be at the forefront of this genre,” said Goodrich. “Because if you show up with a product that’s not of quality, you might as well just not show up -- there’s no point.”

For the lowdown on Medal of Honor’s single-player campaign, check out my full preview, which is going up at 9:20 AM EST.

You’d think that EA would be doing its best to separate Medal of Honor from the pack in a very crowded first-person shooter market. The team at EA Los Angeles is, indeed, working to make the game stand out, but the experience is not likely to be the most innovative shooter you’ve ever played. Executive producer Greg Goodrich explained that the intent is to build a highly polished game:

What we’re focusing on is making a great first-person shooter. [If we don’t] put out [a game] that revolutionize[s] the genre, so be it, but we’re showing up to do a great game -- a great experience that fans will love.

He went on to express his belief that Medal of Honor will innovate in the way it tells its story, and by including the experiences of a Tier 1 operator, the game is already doing something no other shooter has done. In addition, as seen in the debut teaser trailer, your enemies will employ “unexpected” and unconventional tactics. “But at the end of the day,” Goodrich told me, “it’s all about making a great shooter, and not necessarily pushing the genre forward.”

That said, the developers are certainly aware of the competition and that the stakes are high, and they’re aiming for the top. “Nowadays, especially in the shooter genre, if you show up to the table, you have to show up with quality -- you have to show up with a product that’s meant to be at the forefront of this genre,” said Goodrich. “Because if you show up with a product that’s not of quality, you might as well just not show up -- there’s no point.”

For the lowdown on Medal of Honor’s single-player campaign, check out my full preview, which is going up at 9:20 AM EST.

You’d think that EA would be doing its best to separate Medal of Honor from the pack in a very crowded first-person shooter market. The team at EA Los Angeles is, indeed, working to make the game stand out, but the experience is not likely to be the most innovative shooter you’ve ever played. Executive producer Greg Goodrich explained that the intent is to build a highly polished game:

What we’re focusing on is making a great first-person shooter. [If we don’t] put out [a game] that revolutionize[s] the genre, so be it, but we’re showing up to do a great game -- a great experience that fans will love.

He went on to express his belief that Medal of Honor will innovate in the way it tells its story, and by including the experiences of a Tier 1 operator, the game is already doing something no other shooter has done. In addition, as seen in the debut teaser trailer, your enemies will employ “unexpected” and unconventional tactics. “But at the end of the day,” Goodrich told me, “it’s all about making a great shooter, and not necessarily pushing the genre forward.”

That said, the developers are certainly aware of the competition and that the stakes are high, and they’re aiming for the top. “Nowadays, especially in the shooter genre, if you show up to the table, you have to show up with quality -- you have to show up with a product that’s meant to be at the forefront of this genre,” said Goodrich. “Because if you show up with a product that’s not of quality, you might as well just not show up -- there’s no point.”

For the lowdown on Medal of Honor’s single-player campaign, check out my full preview, which is going up at 9:20 AM EST.

When I saw a demo of the single-player campaign from EA’s upcoming Medal of Honor reboot last week, it instantly brought back memories of some of the early entries in the franchise, such as Allied Assault and Frontline. Those games were typically characterized by a player character who was a one-man army; he turned the tide of World War II seemingly by himself, and it didn’t usually feel realistic.

So I asked Greg Goodrich, the executive producer of Medal of Honor, if the development team at EA Los Angeles is de-emphasizing the player’s contributions in the new game, and instead putting the gamer’s experience in the context of the greater war effort. Here’s what he told me:

Yeah, a little bit of both, I think. People playing the game [...] want to feel like they make a difference, right? And it comes down to our squadmates -- it comes down to [the player] feeling like they’re just part of the ride, or [that] they’re really affecting this story. [...] And in our narrative, absolutely, the player characters make a difference, and they’re a part of that.

That being said, there’s a whole lot of stuff going on and things happening around you that, at times, you feel, “Wow, I have no control over what’s happening,” in a story sense (not physically in a game sense). But in a story sense, that’s how warfare is, right? It’s like, all this stuff is going on, but besides all that: I’m going home, my buddy’s going home, and we’re going to get through this. And so that’s the narrative that we’re telling, and hopefully, that’ll come across.

Certainly, there’s a balance between feeling like you’re part of something bigger than yourself, versus going solo on a Rambo-style rampage. And it sounds like there’s more of a team aspect to Medal of Honor than we might have guessed. For further details on how this will play out, stay tuned for my full preview of Medal of Honor, coming up in a few hours.

When I saw a demo of the single-player campaign from EA’s upcoming Medal of Honor reboot last week, it instantly brought back memories of some of the early entries in the franchise, such as Allied Assault and Frontline. Those games were typically characterized by a player character who was a one-man army; he turned the tide of World War II seemingly by himself, and it didn’t usually feel realistic.

So I asked Greg Goodrich, the executive producer of Medal of Honor, if the development team at EA Los Angeles is de-emphasizing the player’s contributions in the new game, and instead putting the gamer’s experience in the context of the greater war effort. Here’s what he told me:

Yeah, a little bit of both, I think. People playing the game [...] want to feel like they make a difference, right? And it comes down to our squadmates -- it comes down to [the player] feeling like they’re just part of the ride, or [that] they’re really affecting this story. [...] And in our narrative, absolutely, the player characters make a difference, and they’re a part of that.

That being said, there’s a whole lot of stuff going on and things happening around you that, at times, you feel, “Wow, I have no control over what’s happening,” in a story sense (not physically in a game sense). But in a story sense, that’s how warfare is, right? It’s like, all this stuff is going on, but besides all that: I’m going home, my buddy’s going home, and we’re going to get through this. And so that’s the narrative that we’re telling, and hopefully, that’ll come across.

Certainly, there’s a balance between feeling like you’re part of something bigger than yourself, versus going solo on a Rambo-style rampage. And it sounds like there’s more of a team aspect to Medal of Honor than we might have guessed. For further details on how this will play out, stay tuned for my full preview of Medal of Honor, coming up in a few hours.

When I saw a demo of the single-player campaign from EA’s upcoming Medal of Honor reboot last week, it instantly brought back memories of some of the early entries in the franchise, such as Allied Assault and Frontline. Those games were typically characterized by a player character who was a one-man army; he turned the tide of World War II seemingly by himself, and it didn’t usually feel realistic.

So I asked Greg Goodrich, the executive producer of Medal of Honor, if the development team at EA Los Angeles is de-emphasizing the player’s contributions in the new game, and instead putting the gamer’s experience in the context of the greater war effort. Here’s what he told me:

Yeah, a little bit of both, I think. People playing the game [...] want to feel like they make a difference, right? And it comes down to our squadmates -- it comes down to [the player] feeling like they’re just part of the ride, or [that] they’re really affecting this story. [...] And in our narrative, absolutely, the player characters make a difference, and they’re a part of that.

That being said, there’s a whole lot of stuff going on and things happening around you that, at times, you feel, “Wow, I have no control over what’s happening,” in a story sense (not physically in a game sense). But in a story sense, that’s how warfare is, right? It’s like, all this stuff is going on, but besides all that: I’m going home, my buddy’s going home, and we’re going to get through this. And so that’s the narrative that we’re telling, and hopefully, that’ll come across.

Certainly, there’s a balance between feeling like you’re part of something bigger than yourself, versus going solo on a Rambo-style rampage. And it sounds like there’s more of a team aspect to Medal of Honor than we might have guessed. For further details on how this will play out, stay tuned for my full preview of Medal of Honor, coming up in a few hours.

As of right now I can play my Netflix on my computer, on my 360, through that Netflix box thing and through my PS3. Down the road the streaming video part of the service has already been confirmed for the Wii, though thanks to the many hi-def options most gamers already have that won't be so useful to a lot of us. The main problem with all of these things is that they can't fit in your pocket. Netflix just isn't portable enough -- yet.

The company seems to be doing some research into getting their streaming videos onto portable devices. Last week a survey was discovered asking about Netflix on the iPhone and this week it's the DSs turn. Kotaku found a survey conducted by Netflix that stated, "Imagine that Netflix offers its subscribers the ability to instantly watch movies and & TV episodes on their Nintendo DS. The selection available to instantly watch includes some new releases, lots of classics and TV episodes. There are no advertisements or trailers, and movies start in as little as 30 seconds. You can fast-forward, rewind, and pause or watch again. The movies & TV episodes you instantly watch are included in your Netflix membership at no additional fee."

The survey then went on to explain that you would be able to control the videos you were watching (fast forward/rewind) and asked the survey taker how interested they would be in the product/service. My response to that at the moment would be "not very," but with the DSi XL landing, and those big, sexy screens rolling in with it, that response would change pretty quickly.

New survey hints at Netflix streaming for DS [Yahoo! Tech, via Kotaku]

Almost let this one slip past me, to be frank. I know a portion of you guys are way into the Total War games, and with the demo for Napoleon recently going up on Steam (grab it here), there's a reason for the rest of us to be a wee bit pumped. Maybe.

I mean, if you were really that into the series, you would already own this latest installment. Right? For me personally, these games always go way over my head and feel overwhelming -- of course, that was several years back, so I'm speaking in generalities now.

Anyway, enough rambling; the demo's got the Siege of Toulon in addition to the Battle of Ligny. My history is more than a little fuzzy, so I ought to seek the aid of one Brad Nicholson and his infinite knowledge of past events.

Napoleon Total War demo released on Steam [Big Download]