FREE! NAVIGATE Issue 16 | March 2008

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MASSIVE REVIEW INTERVIEWS! DARK SECTOR ACEYBONGOS Get ready for the glaive! FIRST LOOKS! STREET FIGHTER IV REVIEW! LEGENDARY: REVIEW! PREVIEW! THE BOX RAINBOW ARMY OF TWO LEGO: INDIANA JONES BOURNE SIX: VEGAS 2 Co-op combat! Swashbuckling good fun CONSPIRACY Surefire sequel? CONTROL a NAVIGATE | 02

QUICK FINDER Don’t miss! This month’s top highlights E v ery gam e’s just a click a w a y! Street Fighter IV Kung Fu Panda Legendary: Race Driver: GRID The Box Far Cry 2 1942: Joint Strike Lego: Indiana Jones Bourne Conspiracy Alone In The Dark NBA Ballers: Dark Sector We have a trio of new shooters up for review Rainbow Six: Chosen One Rainbow Six: this month with Army of Two, Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 Monster Jam Vegas 2 Vegas 2 and Dark Sector all gunning for a Sh o o t f ro m th e s t ri p Enemy Territory: Army of Two coveted place on your Xbox 360. See how our PAGE 21 Quake Wars XBLA panel of experts have rated them before you lock and load... Dark Sector MORE FREE MAGAZINES! LATEST ISSUES! In addition we have a fistful of new games M AS SIV E REV IEW PAGE 18 coming through: headed up by none other than the much awaited Street Fighter IV you can also get the latest on Far Cry 2, Lego: Indiana Jones and Bourne Conspiracy. We also have two great interviews... First up we’ve been Army Of Two talking with Alone In The Dark producer, Nour B ri n g a b u d d y PAGE 24 Polloni - see what frighteners await in Central Park on page 15; and last but not least we’ve had a sit down with Community Manager of DON’T MISS ISSUE 18 SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE ! Xbox EMEA Graham Boyd (AKA AceyBongos) - you can listen to the full interview on page 29. WARNING! M ULTIMEDIA DISABLED! 360Zine D a n H u t c h i n s o n , E d i t o r Far Cry 2 If you are rea ding this, then you didn’t cho o se “Play” FEEDBACK! 3 60z i n e@g a m e rz i n e s. c o m Hands-on preview PAGE 10 when Ado be R ea der aske d you ab out multime dia when Click here to you opene d the magazine. tell us what you think of Without the multimedia playing, the magazine will lo ok correct, but you will the new issue. be missing out on all of the extra content built into each issue, like videos, animated screenshots, annotations, quizzes, competitions and more. MEET THE We recommend you close and re-open the magazine and select “Play” when TEAM Kieron Gillen Chris Steve Hill asked about the multimedia to enj oy the magazine as intended. Pro b a b l y th e b e s t Pla ying Rainbo w Six: Schilling Playing Army Of Two Lego Indiana Jones g a m e s w ri te r s o n Vegas 2 Playing Dark Sector In-depth preview PAGE 12 th e p l a n e t CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 03 Previews

It’s strange seeing such iconic characters look so different. In FIRST LOOK Guile’s case, we’re more concerned about his wimpy voice when he unleashes a Sonic Boom. Publisher: Capcom Street Fighter IV Developer: Capcom Heritage: Street Fighter Shoryuken handle it? series, Resident Evil series Link: http://www.capcom. com/streetfighter/ It’sWhat’s the return ofthe the greatest story? beat-em- ETA: Summer 2009 up series of all. The big one. The daddy of the genre. Since Street Fighter II enraptured arcade gamers the world over, every new variation has come under the closest scrutiny from its legions of fans. It’s been eight years Chun Li looks a little too butch, since the wonderful Third Strike - which, but still has thighs that could to the hardest of hardcore beat-em-up “The new character crack a walnut. Her spinning bird models are rendered kick is her most famous move, aficionados, actually managed to top SFII in detailed 3D” though not the most effective - and now, finally, we have a fourth full weapon in her armoury. Street Fighter game. It might not be out on home consoles for a little while, but Early impressions suggest that it’s time to start getting very excited. newcomer Crimson Viper is a powerful adversary. It’sWhat looking dovery muchwe closerknow? to II rather than III, with several old favourites returning to the character roster, and familiar environments being given a stunning graphical makeover. It’s still a 2D beat-em-up, but with dynamic three-dimensional flourishes - the restless camera swoops and zooms impressively and the new character models are rendered in detailed 3D. They’re still as wonderfully animated as ever, and - from the impressions of those who’ve had hands-on time with the arcade version - it plays just like it always did.

It’sWhen out in Japanesedo we arcades get in the more? Autumn, but don’t expect a 360 release until ‘09. PREVIEW FEEDBACK! ThreeAnything new characters else have been to unveiled declare? so far - lucha libre wrestler El Fuerte, Click here to kickboxer Abel and power-suited femme fatale Crimson Viper. tell us what you think of Street Fighter CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 04 Previews

There’s plenty of variety in the enemy types, PREVIEW and each one requires a different approach. FIRST LOOK FEEDBACK! Werewolves will try to rush you, though they Click here to can also help take out rival soldiers. tell us what you think of Legendary: Legendary Publisher: Atari Developer: Spark Unlimited Heritage: Call of Duty: Finest Hour, Turning Point: The Box Fall of Liberty Dare you open it? Link: http://www. legendarythebox.com/ ETA: Q3 2008 SayWhat’s what you likethe about story? Spark Unlimited’s Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, there’s no Not all the creatures have denying the genius of its concept. But much as the stunning sight of swastikas corporeal form - it’s unlikely that adorning the White House impressed us in the not-quite-WWII shooter, it doesn’t a regular revolver will be enough compare to their next effort, which sees gryphons swooping out of the sky to “Expect to see to destroy these evil spirits. attack helicopters, or werewolves leaping out of the screen to maul your avatar. It’s nothing if not ambitious, that’s for sure. werewolves leaping out of the screen to maul your avatar” YouWhat play asdo a petty we thief know?named Charles Deckard, who steals Pandora’s Box from a New York museum (what have Spark got against the Big Apple?), but then makes the fatal mistake of opening the damn thing. Before you know it, mythical creatures are roaming the streets and Deckard is branded with a magical mark which inevitably means he’s the chosen one to rid the world of these Legendary’s impressive range of foes makes gunplay other worldly beasties. This mark allows him to regain health from more interesting. Hopefully the remaining downed enemies, while ammo can be found from the bodies of development time will allow Spark to ensure the soldiers fighting for two mysterious factions who are themselves execution matches the concept. attempting to gain control of the box for their own ends...

Q3When 2008, sodo hopefully we theget developers more? will have enough time to apply a little polish to what’s a very interesting concept indeed.

TheAnything game will have elsea few online to multiplayer declare? options, with standard deathmatches rubbing shoulders with more inventive creature- blasting pursuits.

CONTROL © 2008 Atari Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed by Eden Games SAS. Marketed and distributed by Atari, Inc. in North America and Atari Europe SASU in Europe. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, and the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox Live PLAYBACK OPTIONS: logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. NINTENDO, Wii AND THE SEAL OF QUALITY ICON ARE TRADEMARKS OF NINTENDO. « » and «PlayStation» are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. CONTROL

ONE APOCALYPTIC SECRET. Half-Life 2-style physics and item manipulation item and physics 2-style Half-Life ONE MAN. ONE NIGHT. and bringing them to the next level entirely.” level next the to them bringing and ambitious games we’ve seen in ages, taking ages, in seen we’ve games ambitious “Alone In The Dark is also one of the most the of one also is Dark The In “Alone THEY SAID CENTRAL PARK WAS FOR THE PEOPLE. THEY LIED. Eurogamer 360Zine NAVIGATE | 06 Previews FIRST LOOK 1942: Joint Strike Publisher: Capcom Definitely, categorically, NOT set during World War II. Developer: Backbone Entertainment PREVIEW Heritage: Bomberman CapcomWhat’s has a thevery busy story? year ahead of it, with an unusual plan of FEEDBACK! Live, Super Puzzle Fighter II Explosions release plenty of releasing several download-only titles, five of which are due to Click here to Turbo HD Remix debris, scattered in a wide arc. It appear on Xbox Live throughout 2008. One of the most notable tell us what Link: http://www. makes shooting enemy planes releases (certainly for those of us old enough to remember the you think of backboneentertainment. that much more satisfying. original) is 1942: Joint Strike, a modern re-imagining of the 2D 1942 com/products/Games/ scrolling shoot-em-up, which had arcade junkies hooked in the showproduct.asp?ID=377 Eighties with its addictive blasting action. ETA: Autumn

“Joint Strike will play Ludicrously oversized bosses WeWhat had a gooddo laughwe at know?Capcom’s attempts to distance very similarly to the can be a challenge on your own Joint Strike from a certain conflict which took place at original, with a lush - best to team up with a friend the same time the game is set. “The world in which 1942: graphical overhaul” (online or off) and pull off a Joint Strike takes place is not our own and the events joint strike to take them down. that transpire are not historically accurate, nor are they intended to be.” Well, that clears that up then. If only certain revisionist American films would be so up front about their deviations from real events. The game itself will play very similarly to the original, with a lush graphical overhaul and a two-player online mode two of The graphics look a little murkier the most significant changes. than the original, though everything is nicely detailed and smooth. There’sWhen a tentativedo we launch get date of more?Autumn so far. We should have more concrete release information soon.

TheAnything game features newelse co-operative to declare?attacks which combine the power of two planes for a devastating blow to larger enemies. Their name? The clue’s in the game’s title.

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Though many of the game’s sequences feature high-octane action, there are plenty of FIRST LOOK opportunities for stealthy kills. Robert Ludlum’s Publisher: Vivendi Games Developer: High Moon Heritage: Darkwatch The Bourne Conspiracy Link: http://www. bournethegame.com/ Assassins bleed - or they do when Jason Bourne ETA: Q3 2008 gets hold of them...

WeWhat’s could tell you,the but thenstory? we’d have to kill you. PREVIEW Actually, until next month, we don’t know the precise FEEDBACK! Bourne can seamlessly move from details. What we do know is that Conspiracy is based on Click here to firing a weapon to engaging in hand- the first Bourne novel, The Bourne Identity. Rather than tell us what to-hand combat - using any items at follow the plot to the letter, however, there’ll be a whole you think of hand to immobilise his foes. “Combat sequences host of new elements which reveal the secrets behind Bourne feel all the more Jason Bourne’s past. real thanks to the input of Jeff Imada” It’sWhat a third-person do weaction know? adventure with a few more explosions and gunfights than you might expect from an espionage thriller, though that’s not to say it’s looking anything less than seriously impressive. It’s mostly a mix of gunplay and hand-to- hand combat - the former isn’t too far removed from Gears of War’s ‘stop-and-pop’ gameplay, with an intuitive cover system. Meanwhile, the latter takes inspiration from the fast-paced fight sequences of the films, with Bourne able to use unusual items like books to take out his assailants. With context-sensitive signature takedowns seeing Bourne smash enemies into walls, doors and other objects, it’s reminiscent of Sega brawler Yakuza - only a lot more stylish. It’s not just on-foot action - the series’ legendary car chases are recreated here, with fender-crunching effects galore. We’llWhen be going do hands-on we get with the more? game in the next few weeks - so expect to see some serious Bourne coverage in Issue 18!

TheAnything brutal combat sequenceselse feelto all declare?the more real thanks to the input of Jeff Imada, fight co-ordinator on the Supremacy and Ultimatum films.

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CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 0 9 Previews Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Publisher: Activision | ETA: Summer Another PC conversion hits the 360, with this tactical multiplayer FPS set in the Quake universe. The Strogg have invaded Earth, and it’s up to you and A fistful of top new titles coming to 360... Monster Jam your cohorts to blast them to Publisher: Activision | ETA: 30th May kingdom come. Though it’s Monster Jam is a racing game undeniably frantic, it’s a game that where the objective isn’t so much relies on strategic thinking, with some NBA Ballers: Chosen One to destroy your opponent by excellent balancing and several Publisher: Midway | ETA: 25th April finishing ahead of them, but memorable missions. Go one-on-one or two-on-two with some more about literally reducing of the world’s most famous basketball stars. them to hunks of scrap metal. With its close-up cinematics and dynamic There are nine different stadia to camera angles, it’s a much flashier take on compete in, and three event the sport than your average sim - and with types, including the gloriously legendary rapper Chuck D on-board, this silly freestyle competitions. Could positively reeks of cool. well be great fun. PREVIEW FEEDBACK! Click here to tell us what Kung Fu Panda you’re looking Publisher: Activision | ETA: 27th June forward to... Based on the forthcoming film from DreamWorks, Kung Fu Race Driver: GRID Panda already has a genius concept, so hopefully this Jack Publisher: CodeMasters | ETA: Summer Black-starrer can make for a decent tie-in, too. Bamboo-zle With so many excellent racers on the 360, the announcement of another your opponents with flying fists and feet as you take control wouldn’t seem like cause for particular cheer. GRID is different, for two of previously lazy shoot-muncher Po and battle against the reasons - one, this is from the makers behind the superb Colin McRae: DiRT. evil snow leopard Tai Lung. As the film’s tagline puts it, And two - a recent trailer was unveiled displaying some truly astonishing “prepare for awesomeness”. visuals. We could be looking at something very special indeed here.

SPRING JUNE SUMMER AUTUMN Bionic Commando Buku Sudoku Ninja Gaiden II Battlefield: Bad Company Fracture Fallout 3 Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath The Incredible Hulk Prototype Plunder Just Cause 2 Voltage

CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 10 Previews PREVIEW Depth of field and motion blur effects help FEEDBACK! make the action feel more down-and-dirty. COMING SOON Click here to It’s all very thrillingly real. Publisher: Ubisoft tell us what Developer: Ubisoft you think of Montreal Far Cry 2 Heritage: Splinter Cell series, Assassin’s Creed Far Cry 2 Link: http://farcrygame. ubi.com/ Mosquitos, malaria and madness - a journey into ETA: Q4 2008 deepest, darkest Africa

eaving behind the lush tropical archipelago setting might seem It’s one of the most convincing recreations of a like Far Cry 2’s biggest departure, real-world setting we’ve seen in a first-person L From jungles to deserts to shanty towns, shooter. Ubisoft Montreal has certainly got the but that’s certainly not the most there’s a remarkable variety to your game looking very nice indeed. significant move it’s made. Neither, surroundings, each area presenting its own despite appearances, is the shift of individual challenges. development team - with series creators Crytek now under EA’s wing, and making games to showcase their considerable technical prowess, it’s been left to Ubisoft’s talented Montreal team to pick up the pieces. Yet the fragments are coming together so nicely, that you’d be hard pushed to tell that there’s been a change of No, the key difference between Far dry grass. Like Far Cry, it’s a real-world developer. Cry 2 and the original is one of tone. location that somehow seems alien Vehicles are the easiest way to travel While the original descended into amid a sea of urban or space-based between areas, though you need to be schlock horror, its sequel ventures into shooters. And like Far Cry, it’s a careful that you’re not taking cars dark-hearted, morally-questioning technical powerhouse, with some belonging to anyone nearby. Enemies will territory. By the end of the game you’ll effects that have to be seen to be give chase if you’re spotted while stealing. be forced to consider the deeper believed. The fire technology is meaning behind the nature of your particularly impressive - you’ll often see quest, and confront the (almost literal) burning huts, boxes and barrels in the monster it’s turned you into. This isn’t villages and townships dotted your average first-person shooter. throughout the sprawling desert map, The first thing you notice is the but seeing tall grass and trees ablaze is graphics, and, by rote, the setting. It’s a stunning sight. The new engine an all-too-convincing recreation of allows the vegetation to regenerate Africa, all arid landscapes, red dust and too - admittedly, it’s speeded up

CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 11 Previews

You don’t always need to shoot enemies to kill Far Cry 2 continued There’s much more to it than that, of them. Creating a raging inferno will see course. Non-player characters with no immolated enemies staggering around for a more than a little (let’s face it, you’d other affiliation will emerge from time while before they drop. barely notice the progress otherwise) to time, and can provide invaluable but it’s something which Ubisoft is assistance in combat - should they clearly proud of, having released receive a bullet to the head, however, promotional videos showcasing such they’ll be killed and will stay dead. No effects. adrenaline-shot resurrections here; In a way, that’s a shame, because Far death is permanent. Guns behave more Cry 2 offers so much more than just an realistically than in other games - immersive audiovisual experience. It’s a occasionally jamming thanks to simple story that gains depth not overuse, or from being clogged up by through scripted sequences but the swirling dirt. Another key mechanic through its gameplay and the player’s is the need to regularly take medicine - interaction with the world itself. The with your avatar suffering from malaria, game features two rebel factions in it’s important to pay visits to doctors conflict, after a split between the group throughout. Eventually, your that overthrew the previous involvement in the conflict will make government - and it’s your involvement the medicine men reluctant to assist The game ensures that you won’t be with these opposing forces that you, which means your approach blasting through with the same gun determines how events transpire. becomes ever more underhand. all the way through by making Eventually, you’ll be firmly ensconced Ultimately, you may have to resort to certain weapons less reliable. within one of the groups, which will behaviour that makes you as lead you to the arms dealer who is deplorable as your intended target. profiting from this war, and whose Like we said: this isn’t your average murder is the game’s main objective. first-person shooter.

Naturally, stealth kills are still in there - though going in all guns blazing is an effective approach, sometimes restricted ammo “It’s a technical will reduce you to stalking powerhouse, with your prey in a similar way to the first game. some effects that HOW COMPLETE? FIRST IMPRESSIONS have to be seen to 65% 92% be believed” A sensational shooter with a black-hearted twist...

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HANDS ON Character models now have more expressive faces than ever - which Publisher: Activision helps make it an even funnier Developer: Traveller’s Tales game than LEGO Star Wars. Heritage: LEGO Star Wars series Link: http://www. LEGO Indiana Jones: lucasarts.com/games/ legoindianajones/ ETA: 6th June The Original Adventures “Bricks. Why does it have to be bricks?” he LEGO Star Wars games had a transported millions of saucer-eyed gamers of any age and skill level. near-universal appeal - little fans to galaxies far, far away. The For LEGO Indiana Jones, It would Tsurprise given their two key success of Traveller’s Tales’ action- have been easy for the developer to components. After all, if anything can adventures is testament to how skilfully simply re-skin the Star Wars games with bring out the big kid in anyone, it’s the developer married the two, more organic environments, but in the LEGO, while the Star Wars films (or the providing accessible, fun gaming early stages of development, it became original trilogy at least) have experiences that were suitable to clear that wasn’t going to work. Instead, LEGO Indy’s for everyone, but LEGO Indy is a slower-paced and more it’s particularly great if you thoughtful experience, the levels filled love the films. Sadly, you can’t cross the with more puzzles, traps and river on the alligator’s back - exploration than the simple blasting get your sidekick to build a and constructing in LSW. That’s not to LEGO raft, and then paddle say that there won’t be more action- your way across. packed sequences - indeed, one bar- room shoot-out we witnessed was a particular highlight - but it mixes things up a little more, and thus feels like a more varied experience. As fans of the character might expect, Indy’s bullwhip plays an important part in proceedings. It’s used in combat to whack bad guys, or to “Expect an action-packed drag them spinning towards you, romp through the much-loved whereas a single punch will reduce The parodies of the film’s key moments are superb - indeed, the darker the moment, the more effective the lampooning is. film series” them to a pile of their constituent LEGO parts. Flick it forward to grab

CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 13 Previews

LEGO Indiana Jones cont. for Indy to swing over gaps, or to PREVIEW deacti vate b lowdart-spitting traps (a FEEDBACK! bottles or stools and you can hurl them nice touch s ees their angry faces spin Click here to at assailants - particularly useful for to reveal a happy smile upon being hit). tell us what those irritating foes that keep their Though, on occ asion, Indy won’t have you think of distance to peck-peck-peck at you with the too ls to accomp lish a gi ven t ask, LEGO Indy their revolvers. It can lead to some which is where your sidekick comes in. Lighting and shadow effects are enjoyably chaotic scenes, though its Your companion will change more impressive than ever - though use outside fights is arguably even throughout the a d venture - Mar ion the models and backgrounds are more important. J ones in the Raider s of the Lost Ar k relatively simple compared to other That’s because many sections are st ages gi ves w ay to Willie S cott and current-generation titles, they have entirely enemy-free - here your whip is Short R ound in Temp le of Doom - and charm and character to spare. utilised to grab overhanging branches each has their ow n particular streng th. In co-operati ve mode, this is who the s econd p layer t akes contro l of, while in shi fts contro l from Ind y to his current Though the ver sion we p layed w as single-p layer a simp le b utton press cohort. This is als o key when a unfinished, it alrea dy felt like a hugel y character’s fear kicks in - Indy is afraid of accomp lished title, building on the snakes, s o won’t go near a v iper- LEGO St ar War s temp late while covered switch, while you’ll have to ret aining the irresistib le s ens e of fun of resume contro l of the fedora-hatted that franchis e. It might not be the most hero when Willie refus es to enter a challenging game ever, b ut as an b ug-infested env ironment. It’s a neat action-packed romp through a much- w ay to make the s econd p layer feel loved film s er ies, we’re struggling to import ant , rather than just a t ag-along. s ee how it could be improved.

In the finished game, once you’ve Just wait until you see what unlocked everything, there will be around Indy replaces the idol with, in seventy different characters to play as. the Hovitos temple section. There’s a mischievous streak running through the game that can’t fail to put a smile on your face.

All three original Indiana Jones films feature, and Guns are rare, so try your best to make the HOW COMPLETE? FIRST IMPRESSIONS there are six big levels in most of them on the few occasions you each, with plenty of manage to get hold of one. 80% 86% secrets to unlock, too. Puts the block back into blockbuster

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Dark Sector © 2008 Digital Extremes, London, Canada. Dark Sector and the Dark Sector logo are trademarks of Digital Extremes. Digital Extremes and the Digital Extremes logo are trademarks of 1085522 Ontario Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Published by D3 Inc. under license from Digital Extremes. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. “ ”, “PLAYSTATION” and “PS3” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners.

CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 15 Interview

S eems there’s more than just winos and muggers you have to watch out for in Central Park...

hit us that we wanted players to have e xac tly that kind of addic tive, We apologise for the gloominess of e xhilarating exp erience, so we studied these screenshots, but it IS c alled how they did it in terms of pacing and Alone In the D ark for a reason! content and applied it to the game. T his means each episo de has it s own dy namic with ac tion, plot t wist s, charac ter development and cliff- hangers to keep the player on the edge Alo ne i n t he D ark was bas i c a l l y t he e xploration, driving, problem solving of their seat. Believe it or not, it wasn’t Resident fi r s t t rue su r v i val ho rr o r, bu t you and combat. have ex p r e ss e d a s t r o ng d e s i r e to Cent ral Park is an u nusu a l s e t t i ng Evil that kicked off the sur vival horror g e t away fr o m t hat par t i c u l ar t ag . The g am e a d o p t s an e p i s o d i c f o r t hi s t y p e o f g am e - was t he r e W hy is t hat? ap p r o ac h , w i t h a T V-l i ke any par t i c u l ar r e aso n w hy thi s genre - in 1992, French developer We’re making something that’s much p r e s e nt at i o n . W hat was t he l o c at i o n was c hos e n? Infogrames’ Alone In The Dark scared more than just a genre game and we t hi n k i ng b e hi n d t hat? Firs tly, our lead designer Her vé Sliwa want it to app eal to a broader When we were firs t put ting together visited New York about 10 years ago gamers witless. Fast-for ward to 2008 audience, not just those who play the design for Alone, we were all going and was blown away by this huge those k ind of games. We’ve done this home at night and watching US T V e xpanse of dark ness in the hear t of the and Test Drive Unlimited developers with the presentation, and in the way ac tion dramas like Lost and 24, then bright lights . Also, Central Park is a ver y Eden Studios have revived the series, we’ve struc tured the game, with big coming in the nex t day and talking evocative location which is familiar to with more of a focus on action. We ac tion set pieces alongside tense about it round the coffee machine. It spoke to producer Nour Polloni about this fantastic- looking game... “Each episode has its own dynamic with action, plot twists, character development and cliff-hangers to keep the player on the edge of their seat”

CONTROL 360Zine WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 16 Interview There’s plenty of Interviewcontinued only limit to b e your imagination. variety in the My favourite e xample is a simple gameplay - vehicle nearly everybody whether they’ve cigarette lighter. On its own it’s sections are just the visited or just seen it in films and TV pretty harmless, but combine it tip of the iceberg. shows. Taking a familiar location and with an aerosol and you’ve got a Publisher: Atari twisting it with your own version of flamethrower, with a b ottle and rag D eveloper: Eden Studios reality is often more interesting than and you’ve got a Molotov co cktail, Heritage: Test D rive creating somewhere new and helps us or with a car dripping f uel on the Unlimited create a more unsettling experience. ground and you’ve got a huge Link: www.centraldark. rolling bomb. com The game’s real-world physics are ETA: May 2008 said to be key to the gameplay. Fi na l l y, w hat’s the o ne as p ect o f Can you give some examples of Alo ne I n The Dark that yo u’r e how that works? m os t p r o u d o f? The real world rules which we’ve The thing we’re mos t proud of is a applied to the physics is a combination of the way we’ve cornerstone of the gameplay brought to gether the incre dible level and the goal is complete of environmental inter action in a environmental interactivity s treaming op en environment with where every object behaves ama zing rendering, in particular with and can be manipulated like its the virtually unlimite d numb er of real real world counterpart. The time lights . It wasn’t easy to do, but gameplay is about intuitively we did it! applying what you know about how objects behave in the real world in the game universe - to Take that! The real-world physics are use those objects to your remarkable, and allow for a great advantage in creating deal of innovation, with multiple tools and unique ways of handling certain situations. weapons. We want the

“A simple cigarette lighter on its own is pretty harmless, but combine it with an aerosol and you’ve got a flamethrower, with a bottle and rag and you’ve got a Molotov cocktail”

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CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 18 Reviews GLAIVE NEW WORLD strange metallic creature piercing his The Swiss Army Knife of videogame weapons shoulder. Though initially debilitated, can multitask beautifully Tenno’s right arm soon becomes a Dark Sector source of strange power, as a deadly three-pronged blade appears, which is Off with their heads - and arms - and legs... initially used as a kind of lethal boomerang. Pressing the right bumper t’s fair to say that Dark Sector is a bit approach, as hordes of similar-looking unleashes the glaive towards any of a gaming magpie, cheekily enemies gradually encroach on your enemies - hit them once and they’ll be Publisher: D3 Publisher thieving elements from quite a few position, and you’re required to take temporarily stunned, again and they’ll Developer: Digital I other titles but doing so in a way that’s them out by emerging to let off a few suffer a gory demise. The glaive is Extremes never objectionably blatant. Perhaps its shots when they’re reloading. Of regularly upgraded as you progress, Heritage: Unreal most obvious pilfering is from Gears of course, if you’re not too bothered with power throws that do quadruple Tournament 2003, Pariah War - its third-person action is visually about the game’s guns, you can always damage if you time your release Link: http://www. reminiscent of Epic’s blistering shooter rely on the one element that really sets perfectly when your aiming cursor darksector.com/ You’re You’re You’re and its cover system which sees you this apart from Gears - the glaive. turns orange, or a shield that can ETA: April 4th Fired Nicked Finished tapping the A button to attach yourself After a moodily monochromatic deflect incoming projectiles. It can to walls or crouch behind loose prologue, hero Hayden Tenno becomes even be used to steal weapons, masonry. Indeed, many of its infected with the very virus that he’d functioning like a hookshot by You’re FinishedNickedFired encounters recall that ‘stop and pop’ been sent to destroy, courtesy of a dragging them into your arms, though TargetStunLaunch a foea the weapon with glaive a withcouple into yoursome of bulletscrosshair, flames, or and aand hit it’ll you’ll from become thebe able glaive, even to use moreand it you againstpowerful, can sprint your the unpredictable nature of the glaive’s aggressorsoversetting as they’reenemies for aflashing shortalight, time. redand toAmmoallowing perform for you thesea ‘finisher’. to burnis plentiful, away Simply blockages so press you’ll B andrarely to open watch power means that you can only use struggleasnew Tenno paths. tobrutally makeSimilarly, thedestroys mostyou can themof yourelectrocute with time some with your bone-crunching a foesmore by powerful aiming sound forfirearm. some effects. The While staying behind cover is the these for a short period of time. The shotgundangerously is particularly sparking wires. meaty and enjoyable to use. best method of keeping out of harm’s way, you’ll often need to move forward so you’re not constantly fighting the same enemies over and over.

Temporary invisibility is useful for stealth kills on pesky shooters, but be careful it doesn’t run out when you’re out in the open.

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Reviews The game’s more powerful enemies can be a pain to see off, but it’ll put a wide grin on Roll over screen for annotations There’s plenty of blood in Dark Sector, your face when you eventually beat them. which may explain why it’s been refused classification in Australia!

Dark Sector continued only weapon you can use constantly in The Infection multiplayer mode is a nice idea game’s problems. Smashing crates to conjunction with the glaive is your - one player is a fully-upgraded Tenno, and pick up ammo or roubles is ludicrously handgun, which can be upgraded on the other players try to kill him - but it convoluted - requiring you to jerk the doesn’t work as well in practice. the black market. camera sharply downwards so Tenno Easily the best feature of your glaive can effect a kick. Then you have to is the slow-motion Aftertouch - once severed limb. The melee ‘finishers’ are who’ve been infected with the position yourself directly over the thrown, you can press RB again to equally brutal, with Tenno breaking aforementioned virus are much quicker pickup before pressing X to pocket the guide the weapon towards any arms and removing heads in glorious than their gas mask-wearing human item. Considering the enemies are so enemies. It’s quite worryingly satisfying close-up. It’s a shame that standard counterparts, you’ll be forced to retreat, plentiful - the AI overwhelming you to remove one foe’s arm and then aim hand-to-glaive combat isn’t nearly as or simply hammer at the B button and with weight of numbers rather than for his nearby ally’s leg, sending him praiseworthy, with the glaive suddenly hope for the best when they surround any real combat skill - it’s hardly ideal toppling to the floor and howling in seeming relatively ineffectual when it’s you. when you’re short of bullets and are agony as blood squirts from his not airborne - given that the mutants Sadly, that’s just the start of the desperately trying to grab some FREEZE FRAME Dark sections...

20 MINUTES 1 HOUR 3 HOURS 6 HOURS 12 HOURS An atmospheric prologue - we almost A metallic arm and a powerful blade Near pitch black underground Still enjoyable, but the action is End of the single-player mode. The wish the whole game was presented make for a deadly combination - sections aren’t particularly good on starting to repeat itself. And some of weak plot means the climax feels a in black and white. time to put them to good use. the eyes - prepare to squint. those bosses are annoying. little undercooked.

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Reviews A bit of elec-trickery is required to solve some of the PULSOMETER Signs of life game’s fairly simple puzzles. It’s a shame they don’t Gorgeous, intriguing Glaive aftertouch - Multiplayer - a nice idea but really get any more inventive later on. opening level killing with style not worth bothering with

“A more than Set-pieces are Limps towards its climax adequate stopgap effective Sound effects are worthy of note - slicing through until Gears 2 arrives opponents makes a disturbingly squelchy racket, while you’ll feel every hit you take in return. in November” arrives in November. And, forgettable though some of the game may be, your most impressively gory glaive kills will linger long in the memory. A tighter, leaner sequel with a better story remains a very tempting prospect indeed... Chris Schilling

Close combat is a little hit and miss, unless you’re performing a finisher. It gets particularly difficult when the mutants appear - they’re just a little too fast to accurately target.

Dark Sector continued early sequence where a huge beast or five hours settles into a series of simply appears out of nowhere and repetitive encounters, with the flimsy more while being hacked to ribbons by attacks several soldiers before turning plot not enough motivation to a machete or two. Similarly, the reliance its attention to you is a real stunner - persevere past the difficulty spikes. Junk food gaming - tasty, on invisible trigger points is a little one or two require a good deal of It’s a great shame, as there’s a terrific but not quite filling enough cheap - you’ll occasionally be facing off patience to successfully destroy, and a amount of promise here, not to against a seemingly never-ending wave couple of others have weaknesses that mention one genuine stroke of genius The glaive is a fantastic weapon of foes before realising that taking a are incredibly tricky to exploit. It’s also in the glaive itself. If Dark Sector doesn’t few paces forwards stops the noticeable that the game starts to run quite live up to the game it frequently Very impressive graphics in places onslaught. And while the boss battles out of ideas somewhere past the brings to mind, then it serves as a more Drags towards the end; poor multiplayer % start off impressively enough - one halfway point - a superb opening four than adequate stopgap until Gears 2 81

CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 21 Reviews Every gun can be equipped with a variety of handy extra bonuses, such as silencers Tom Clancy’s and laser-sights.

Publisher: Ubisoft Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Developer: Ubisoft So... Zippy, Bungle, George, Rod, Jane and Freddy, yeah? Heritage: Many games with “Tom Clancy” in the nce again, Rainbow Six Vegas is but a small thing compared to what door and general menial tasks: In other words, things are very much title. throws you into one of the you’re like to your fellow Rainbow Six remember when he sent us out into usual in the world of the Rainbow Link: www. most unusual roles in gaming. agents. the open just to get a fix on the bad Sixers. While there’s improvements over rainbowsixgame.com O No, not a highly trained counter- When a level of terrorist-shooting guy?” “Which time?” “Oh, the six or the previous Vegas, they’re very much OUT NOW terrorist guy. There’s millions of games and tactical-manouvering is complete seventh” “The complete blast!” It’s only small surface things - jump-in co-op, featuring /them/. No, this is the other you can easily imagine the two sound tactics, of course - they can be some tweaked AIs, new levels and role - that is, the world’s worst boss. computer players trundling off to the resurrected with a syringe into their multiplayer modes. Oh - and a new The middle-manager who gives you a pub - clearly, you won’t be invited - to arse when they go down, while if /you/ experience point system, which we’ll rubbish task, then takes all the credit to bitch about what you’ve got up to die it’s back to the checkpoint. But still: return to shortly. It’s still quasi- the superiors while cutting your wages today: “Forget all the you-open-that- it’s hardly heroic. authentic - i.e. You tend to die

Roll over screen for annotations

You get extra points for shooting people in the back. Presumably, a Not Very Sporting bonus.

CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 22 Reviews RAINBOW WARRIORS As always with Tom Clancy, it’s more than a straight shooter. Here’s some tactical options...

Assorted night-missions and darkened areas add variety. Get those low-light goggles on.

Keep one person alive just so the team can spawn back in during co-op. LOB SCAN CLIMB RSV2 continued THINGS THINGS THINGS The cover taking system quickly, the weapons are all modelled actually works extremely on real worlds sorts and it’s got a plot well. Usually, anyway. SCANLOBCLIMB THINGS THINGS THINGS torn straight from Tom Clancy’s big WhileGrenadesThere’s there’s also deployed rappelling less sensory from options around tech thanfor a whencorner some the are other stairs a mainstay games are too in of thepasse. conquering series, As well you ashave book of technofear... however, it’s you theVegas.being ability able Flashbangs toto sporadicallywalk aredown good the activate for wall, closed youa thermal environments,can bounce scanner off which whileand fast-descend smokegives you can the help and a few mates versus dozens of foes - locationyouropes. get You make of also opponents your gain way extra in into the points an area. open if Unlessyou space. shoot they’re Terrorists people lizards. descending seem Man, fond that ofropes. would be shooter. As the leader of the Rainbow terrorist measures, such as astray, but when you see the pair of scary.incendiaryThat’ll Lizard show grenades, ‘em.terrorists. but they’re mean. Six unit, you’re able to order around flashbombing a room and then them moving from cover to cover to team-mates, both in basic practical clearing. And like last year’s Vegas, this reach a distant objective you’ve sent ways - go over there and get shot, all works impressively smoothly. There’s them after, it’s hard not to be “Like last year’s Vegas, it all stupid! - or more sophisticated counter- occasional moments when they’ll go impressed. works impressively smoothly” RULES OF ENGAGEMENT While the campaign is the back of the game, it’s not all there is to it. MULTIPLAYER MORE MULTIPLAYER CO-OP TERRORIST HUNT EXPERIENCE POINTS In multiplayer, there’s perennial There’s more sophisticated modes The main event is Co-op, however. The terrorist hunt missions - going The experience system means that Here’s some of the other favourites like deathmatch and too, like the conquest one pictured. Four player online, two player split- into an area with more randomly you’ll have a customised avatar options available. team-deathmatch. Imagine the You take and hold satellite screen, one-player if (er) you’re not in positioned bad guys - is also playable whenever you play online with furore if there wasn’t. transmitter thingies. Yes. co-op. co-op. Highly replayable. people, as well as a unique weapon load out.

CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 23 Reviews PULSOMETER Signs of life Why am I in the They do like those Ah, Co-op! player, it’s a tad depressing Pyrenees? chopper rides when you examine the “You’re able to terrain and work out an respawn after a attack route... before realising it’s impossible delay if your with your AI mates. The comrades are atmosphere can suffer Ah, Vegas. Those bloody here. terrorists still alive” And while we suspect High stakes action in Vegas. Or there’s many who’ll enjoy something like that, anyway. it, there are issues with the frustrating, especially if you’re being new Experience System. shot at, doubly so if that failing causes a Every kill you make - in both single death... which is a shame, as it takes the player /and/ multiplayer - leads to you bloom off what’s still a rose of modern gaining levels and unlocking new warfare games. Devoted fans of Vegas equipment (From serious guns to will remain so. Kieron Gillen unserious camouflage). Firstly, for a tactical game, constantly having a score come up is a little blow against the general vibe. Secondly, the unlocking of weapons feels artificial. Previously, this has been a straight gun-porn thing. A massive armoury which you can grab what you like. Now... well, it’s not very Tom Clancy. While increasing customisation options with further play is a great thing - limited to costume unlocks, it’d have been fine - this goes a little too far. RSV2 continued are still alive rather than just being It’s about the only area where the thrown back to the checkpoint (and game does, however. Veterans of the But despite this AI cleverness, the there’s times when that’ll certainly previous Vegas game will find this all real joy of the game is in its co- grate, normally when the systems don’t very familiar. In fact, familiar parts may No new colours in the operative mode. Split-screen (for two) work as perhaps you’d expect them to). begin to grate. For example, you’ll often Rainbow Six or four in full co-op. The game’s Secondly, there’s all manner of find conflicts in maps where something generally better, and not just in the way multipaths in the levels, so you can all has been designed to look authentic Agreeably tense that playing with a friend is almost come in from separate directions - but prevents you taking cover correctly always better than without one. For a which is useless in single-player, as due to being slightly mis-sized. Trying Techno-thriller gadgets start, it’s more forgiving - you’re able to you’re not able to give enough orders to lean around the corner and not Iffy XP system % respawn after a delay if your comrades for your computer friends. For a single- actually leaning around the corner is 80

CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 24 Reviews HEY BUDDY! Army Of Two You’re my best friend… Two’s company, but war is hell… contestant on Family Fortunes unwanted - trilogy of buddy games. On the gameplay front, it’s a third was once asked to name a Like the aforementioned two titles, person affair with a large emphasis on Publisher: EA dangerous race. Quick as a flash, there is unsurprisingly a co-op mode. cover. There’s a supposed innovation in Developer: EA Montreal A the answer came back with some However, in Army Of Two, it’s not so the form of so-called Aggro, whereby Heritage: NHL 07, SSX Blur, conviction: The Arabs. That confused much a mode as the entire game. one player shoots constantly, thus Boogie contestant would probably approve of Selecting either the hard-nosed drawing fire and enabling his buddy to Twos Up Slow High Five Link: www.ea.com/ Army Of Two, which stars a pair of mercenary or the paranoid conspiracy flank the enemy. It’s essentially a form Motion armyoftwo private military contractors seemingly theorist, you have to work together and of applying suppressing fire, but in OUT NOW intent on ridding the world of anyone watch each other’s backs as you tear Army Of Two it’s represented by the caught in possession of ornate through a selection of specific global bloke taking the Aggro glowing bright SlowHighTwos MotionFiveUp headwear, a moustache, or a foreign hotspots, including Somalia, red, and his partner effectively WhenWithHe’s Elliot the things world Salem, get a toughsaferand he’s place, they Tyson canand Rios.go their back-to-back They’re bank accounts here and to protect swollen,rid the theworld they free ofcelebrate world evil accent. Afghanistan and Iraq. This is becoming invisible. It’s an example of terroristswithby hiding high-fives inbehind gratuitous and conveniently a bit slow of air motion. guitar.placed walls. Following hot on the heels of Kane contentious enough in itself, but the somewhat schizophrenic nature of & Lynch and Conflict: Denied Ops, the amidst its dubious politics, the game the game, which falls somewhere much-delayed Army Of Two can also makes an overt reference to 9/11, between the tactical approach of a Vehicles make sporadic appearances, including this very tank. justifiably claim to make up the final murky territory for traditionally Tom Clancy title, and the relentless part of an unexpected – and largely squeaky-clean EA. gunplay of The Club. For further proof,

There’s a war going on, you find your comfort where you can.

It’s often easier to simply snap a terrorist’s neck.

CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 25 Reviews He was never going to win that particular battle

imprecise and you often find yourself face to face with the enemy, performing an embarrassing dance as you attempt to get him in your sights. On the co-operation front, you’re occasionally required to give each other a bunk-up, a move that appears to have been lifted directly from one of the Splinter Cell titles. There’s also a passable dual sniping mode, and you can even swap weapons – and high- If you’re too cheap for Xbox Live, split-screen does the trick. fives - but it generally boils down to both pressing A at the same time to yank a door off its hinges, or some other macho gesture. And of course there’s the whole comical healing your Army Of Two continued you will take literally hundreds, if not buddy routine to go through, which in thousands of lives, but the basic this instance involves dragging him to see Overkill, whereby if you maintain gameplay barely advances from the cover before applying the magic Aggro long enough you go into a slow training level. With so much shooting sponge, the key difference being that motion double-damage killing spree. involved, it might have worked better the injured party can continue Throughout the course of the game as a first person shooter. Aiming is shooting, albeit while sat motionless

Roll over screen for annotations

“Throughout the course of the

game you will Purists were take literally irked by the hundreds of lives” remake of The Bridge On The River Kwai.

CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 26 Reviews PULSOMETER Signs of life Headquarters of the mysterious SSC, Training is The plot The plot employees of PMCs. Army Of Two continued pretty dreary thickens thins on his arse. Gun fetishists will revel in the hardware available, as money earned for completing objectives (killing people) can be spent during the As are the opening Frantic And it’s accurately named but nonetheless exchanges action all over intrusive mid-mission shopping. A Guns ‘n’ Ammo subscriber’s wet dream, you can even add a bit of bling by pimping give the game further legs. Ultimately your weapon for an extra ten grand or though, it’s a fairly soulless experience, so. It doesn’t appear to make a blind bit interspersed with occasional moments of difference, but it does bring a bit of of tension, and shitloads of exploding glamour to the battlefield. helicopters. There is an inevitable ‘politically Steve Hill charged’ storyline to contend with, but it’s sometimes hard to follow, not because it’s complicated, but because you can’t hear it, or even read the subtitles, thanks to the relentless on- We’re not in the army now, screen carnage. It all eventually makes we’re in the SSC. some sense, culminating in one of the more anti-climactic and abrupt game endings for a long time. With a paltry six missions, you can whiz through the main game in a couple of days, particularly if you have a competent online partner. And if you get stuck, there’s a GPS system whereby a great big flashing red line shows you exactly where to go, almost a tacit admission “Gun of the poor level design. But what will they call fetishists will As well as the main campaign, the sequel? revel in the there’s a Versus mode, involving two teams of two going against each other, Mildly innovative hardware the clock, some objectives, and strong available” Counterstrike comparisons in an Co-op works The hide and attempt to earn the most money. A Short % seek contest was largely chaotic affair, it does at least 71 eventually declared a draw. CONTROL 360Zine NAVIGATE | 27 Reviews

Xbox Live ArcadeFour more for download today! Round-Up Triggerheart Bliss Island Developer : Pom Pom Publisher : Codemasters Online Exelica Price : 400 MP (~£3.40) Developer : Warashi Inc. Publisher : Warashi Inc. Price : 800 MP (~£6.80) liss Island is a disappointing Bseries of mini-games, let down riggerheart Exelica is a typical by its confusing control scheme. TJapanese vertical-scrolling Playing as a Zwooph, a small, furry shooter, with a few nice touches to Brain creature with a huge snout, it’s up to make it stand out from the crowd. you to complete a series of 21 mini Although the game features the Challenge games, by simply expelling air in a usual array of scantily clad (and Developer: Gameloft Publisher: Microsoft Games specific direction. Letting you play worryingly young looking) females, Studios Price: 800 MP (~£6.80) pool, guide balls into a hungry the ability to hook onto your monster’s mouth, or take part in a opponents, swing them round, and uch like Dr.Kawashima’s Brain simple side-scrolling platformer, it’s then throw them back at your MTraining on the DS, Brain safe to say there’s plenty of variety “A four-player co-op enemies is a lot of fun, and one that Challenge is a 360 game that’s meant here, but the controls are Rocketmen: top-down shooter in makes clearing large groups of ships to help refine your grey matter into a frustratingly confusing at times. If the vein of Gauntlet” a lot easier. However, with just five lean, mean, calculating machine. A you’ve got small kids, they’ll get Axis of Evil levels it’s not great value for money. port of a mobile phone game of the some fun out of this. Developer: A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games Inc. same name, Brain Challenge lets you Publisher: Capcom Price: 800 MP (~£6.80) play mini-games in one of five ocketmen’s a frustrating game for you from going where you want to go, different categories, as you work to Rus, as we can see the potential, making the game feel far too linear, harness your brains full potential. but it’s been let down by its poor and also stopping you looting power- While these games may not actually execution. A four-player co-op top- ups. It’s still a good game, but it really make you any smarter, they’re still a down shooter in the vein of Gauntlet, could have been great. fun distraction, and the mini-games Rocketmen has a nice air of cheese on offer here are nicely varied. about it, and the comic book style cutscenes tie everything together Great style Good gameplay Good selection of games Good variety nicely. However, while the majority of 4 player co-op Good learning curve Great multiplayer Annoying controls the action’s fine, the camera, which Crap camera Disappointingly short Odd duff challenge Overly Difficult moves through the level seemingly of Hook, line and sinker Brain-aching good fun Fluffball its own accord, all too often prevents Could’ve been a contender 75% 78% 89% 65%

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www.gamerzines.com CO N T RO L 360Zine NAVIGATE | 29 Interview ACEYBONGOS INTERVIEW James Woodcock natters with Graeme Boyd, Community Manager, of Xbox E. M . E.A. better known as AceyBongos from aceybongos.com.

Yo u r G am e r t ag i s AceyB o ng os , b u t M i c r oso f t now ent ai l? tr ying to update that as much as w hat is t he s to r y b e hi n d t hat? It is my job to represent the communit y p ossible and to gather fee dback on I k ind of wish it was a bit more within the Xbox Europ e team and to there and talk about the cool s tuff that interesting and e xciting than it is. I ’m think about get ting the communit y is happ ening. f rom Aberdeen in Scotland and I had a involved and how they will respond. If mate when I was at school up there something is happ ening it ’s me who M i c r oso f t i s a hug e co rp o rat i o n , and it ’s just a word he use d to say and really takes the fee dback , the opinions b u t how di ffi c u l t i s i t to ma ke sur e we always use d to say things were ace and the voice of the communit y and t hat gl o b a l l y ever yone i s work i ng and if he thought something was fee ds it back to the team. to g e t he r wi t ho u t e xcl u d i ng ce r t ai n b et ter than ace he would say it was T he blog, aceybongos.com, that I cou nt rie s? aceybongos. I don’t know where he work on is par t of that and it is nice T hat is a real challenge. Ever y thing got it f rom - it ’s a bit of a mys ter y. I LISTEN TO THE WHOLE INTERVIEW NOW! thought it was quite a funny word and Want to hear all of what Graeme had to say? The full when I was signing up for Xbox Live I interview is 45 minutes long, so you can tried a couple of things, bacon crisps click here to start the interview playing, was my firs t choice but couldn’t get then continue to browse the rest of the that so then I thought AceyBongos is “My Xbox Live subscript ion magazine while it plays if you want. quite personal, it sounds a bit unique Audio controls will appear and remain on and hey that’ll do. is £3.30 a mont h , about t he He has one of the longest job titles, this page to allow you to pause, stop, rewind, etc. cer tainly wor thy of our attention! CLICK HERE NOW TO PLAY! W hat do e s you r r o l e w i t hi n price of a pi nt of beer”

CONTROL 360Zine WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 30 Interview

Interviewcontinued issues that are happ ening. If there is holidays, their families and their lives to something that is upset ting p e ople in jump on it to try and make things the communit y or there is a hot topic better. Hopefully people have seen we do we think Xbox. We have got the that pe ople are talking about, he is an improvement. When people are US team, the European team, teams always ver y quick to push that over to paying for a service they expect that that do brilliant work in all the the appropriate pe ople in the Xbox service and we want to thank individual countries. There are just so team. everyone for their patience. We are many people to meet, to understand doing our best to make sure it and how you can relate to them. D o you ever f e e l t hat t he U K i s doesn’t happen again. If you think about when we m i ss i ng o u t i n no t hos t i ng any launched the Xbox 360 we made a s i m i l ar g am i ng event s su c h as E3? What does Xbox Live offer commitment to launching it around I guess so. Leipzig has really gone f rom that the Sony PlayStation the world on a specific date and we s trength to strength in the past few Network doesn’t? stuck to that. People may say that years and it is a really big show. I Anyone who has tried out both there were a few problems and issues enjoyed it more than E3 as it se emed a of the services will already know but that was a real line in the sand in lot more laid back and p ersonal. I the answer to that question. I terms of how Xbox wants to think of would like to se e something in the UK , think it is good on PlayStation the Xbox community as a global but there is a lot of pressure on for offering that free online play. community. develop ers and publishers to be For me the Xbox Live subscription delivering games and when you s tar t works out about £3.30 a month, I live in We made a clear choice from the s tar t Does it ever bother you that you adding in lots of big events it makes London so that is about the price of a that we weren’t going to put an HD are compared to Major Nelson? their life even more difficult. pint of beer, so for everything I get as DVD or Blu- r ay drive into the console Not at all, it’s a compliment. I wish I was well as the online play I think it is great b e cause we didn’t want to make more like Major Nelson. Larry has done X b ox Live was a l i t t l e t r o u b l e d over value. People often forget all the other p e ople pay for the privilege of having a an amazing job, he really kick-started t he ho l i d ay se aso n , s o w hat small really cool things like drive that could potentially b e defunc t the whole Xbox blogging thing and hap p e ne d? achievements, leader boards, match in a pret t y shor t space of time. There is pretty much everyone who has an What I would like to say to pe ople is making, gamerscore, gamercard and so a massive catalogue of HD DVDs out Xbox has heard of Major Nelson at when all that was happ ening it was a on. They all add up into this bigger there just now and if I am totally some point or another. I see a lot of massive deal to the whole Xbox team. picture. I understand that it would be honest, I am quite excited about the emails from Larry flying around Trust me there were a lot of p e ople great if everything was free, as free is prices coming down of the disc s because he always wants to tackle who basically gave up their Christmas always everyone’s favourite word, but themselves as I am look ing for ward to most Xbox gamers that I speak to, if building up quite a collec tion of HD they are honest about it, say it is pretty movies. good value for the service. I don’t think it really affec t s the Xbox 360 in the long run. What would have Unfortunately for Xbox 360 users, b e en really problematic is if we had HD DVD has been declared the charged p e ople for the privilege of an “We t hi nk of t he Xbox communit y loser of the high definition movie HD DVD drive embe dded in the format war, so how do you see this console and then we were in that a s a g lobal communit y ” affecting the console? situation.

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