KILLER GAMES for 2010 Lost Planet 2 Kicks Off the Hottest Year in Gaming March 2010

HALO: REACH • DEAD SPACE 2 • TRUE CRIME OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE GIANT MONSTERS! 4-PLAYER ACTION! HELL YEAH!

GET READY! LOST PLANET 2 LOST PLANET

100KILLER GAMES FOR 2010 Lost Planet 2 kicks off the hottest year in gaming March 2010

FINALLY! BIOSHOCK 2 Reviewed here ﬁ rst! MARCH 2010 • ISSUE 107 MEET THE TEAM

Letter From the Editor There’s no place like home Issue 107 • March 2010

EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Francesca Reyes 2010. It’s barely under way as I type this, but it MANAGING EDITOR Corey Cohen already feels like it’s going to be one of those mega- SENIOR EDITOR Ryan McCaffrey FEATURES EDITOR Kevin W. Smith years in gaming — one that all of us will be talking EDITORIAL SUPER-INTERN Taylor Cocke about well into the future in hushed, reverent tones. EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Mike Channell, Alex Clark, Mitch Dyer, Why? Because it’s one of the big-time bullet-points Andrew Hayward, Cameron Lewis, Chris Morris, in the Great Big Videogame Cycle™ when the stars Chuck Osborn, Matthew Pellett, Will Porter, Ben Talbot, Meghan Watt align and we get the much-anticipated “Part IIs” (or “These dark whatever chapter each series is on at this point) that ART revamp, relaunch, or revisit universes we still hold CONTRIBUTING ART DIRECTOR/PHOTOGRAPHER Juliann Brown little places CONTRIBUTING GRAPHIC DESIGNER/ILLUSTRATOR dear years after the originals. Just think: Mass of ﬁ ction and Christina Empedocles Effect 2, BioShock 2, Lost Planet 2, Dead Rising 2, CONTRIBUTING COVER DESIGNER Monique Convertito

Fable III, a new Fallout…the list just stretches far into wonder are BUSINESS the furthest reaches of 2010 without end. GROUP PUBLISHER Kelley Corten our homes.” VP OF SALES & MARKETING Rachelle Considine Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard us whine and moan 650-238-2505, [email protected] in the past about how gaming needs new, non- EXECUTIVE DIR. INTEGRATED SALES Nate Hunt 415-269-5408, [email protected] franchisey titles to keep things fresh, but when the REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Isaac Ugay year hands you a return ticket to BioShock’s Rapture 949-305-0767, [email protected] REGIONAL SALES MANAGER Rachel Campos or Dead Space’s USG Ishimura, then screw it! You and crannies we have yet to nestle into. As gamers, 650-745-9207, [email protected] don’t have to ask us twice! Not when there’s so these dark little places of ﬁ ction and wonder are our ACCOUNT MANAGER Arthur St. Germain much story left to tell, so many characters whose homes. And dammit, we want to go home again. 650-238-2571, [email protected] DETROIT CONSUMER MANAGER Alan Dickinson backstories need exploring, and so many nooks But is it that easy? Is there really any possible 248-792-2408, [email protected] ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Heidi Hapin way for a sequel to live up to what we’ve held in our [email protected] imaginations over the past however many years or SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER Andrea Recio-Ang QUESTION OF THE MONTH months since the ﬁ rst time we played the original? [email protected] MARKETING COORDINATOR Allyson Kardel There are as many answers to that question as there [email protected] What game are you most excited about in 2010? are Xbox 360 owners. But really, what I’m getting at PRODUCTION is, What do you want out of your sequel? Evolution? PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Michael Hollister Too many to count, but the one I’m most curious Revolution? Faithful continuation? Closure? Because PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Lewis Lee about isn’t a game, it’s DLC. I spent way too many whatever your answer is to these, 2010 is the year PRINT ORDER COORDINATOR Linh Chau-Ward hours with Dragon Age: Origins, and now I want that will put all of our expectations and hopes to the CONSUMER MARKETING DIRECTOR CONSUMER MARKETING Rich McCarthy to know how all of my game-changing decisions test. Even with BioShock 2 and Mass Effect 2 (both NEWSSTAND DIRECTOR Bill Shewey will carry over to the Awakenings expansion. sequels, both phenomenal) in the rear-view CONSUMER MARKETING OPERATIONS DIR. Lisa Radler Does it take place after the events of the original? mirror of 2010, the year is still plenty RENEWAL & BILLING MANAGER Mike Hill BUSINESS MANAGER Elliot Kiger Are the Darkspawn back for more? Take my $40, young and we have loads more SR. ONLINE CONSUMER MARKETING MGR. Jennifer Trinkner BioWare! I just want some answers! game worlds, both familiar and CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER Mike Frassica brand-new, to explore. INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL BRAND MANAGER Emma Parkinson [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTION QUERIES: Please visit us on the web at www.oxmonline.com/customerservice, email us at boxcustserv@cdsful llment.com, call us at 1-515-248-7682, And now for a word from the peanut gallery... or write to us at Of cial Xbox Magazine Customer Care, P.O. Box 5156, Harlan, IA 51593-0656. BACK ISSUES: To order back issues, please call What game are you most excited about in 2010? What game are you most excited about in 2010? 1-800-865-7240. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ﬁ rst one, but The obvious answer would be Halo: Reach, REPRINTS: For reprints, contact Reprint Management Services I’m really itchin’ for Star Wars: The Force and though I’m stoked to see Bungie do a at 717.399.1900 ext. 100. Unleashed II. Not only am I excited by the story little something different for their Halo swan ISSN: 1534-7850 possibilities — the era between Episodes III song, I’m actually most amped for Splinter and IV is still largely unexplored in games, and Cell: Conviction. I’m an unabashed fan of the © 2009 Future US, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole the Apprentice is a great character — but this series, and the wait between iterations has or in part without permission is prohibited. Microsoft, Xbox, and the series has lots of room for improvement as been sooooo long that I’m really curious to see Xbox logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United well. Ditch the quick-time events, ﬁ x the boss if the new direction makes me really happy or States and/or in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of battles, and mix up the level design, and this downright giddy. their respective holders. sequel could be epic. FUTURE US, INC. Corey Cohen Ryan McCaffrey 4000 Shoreline Court, MANAGING EDITOR SENIOR EDITOR Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080 www.futureus.com

What game are you most excited about in 2010? What game are you most excited about in 2010? While I’m stoked for Red Dead Redemption and Despite the fact that I’ve been unable to beat its Ride to Hell, I think my pick has got to be Alan predecessors (these games are hard!), the 2D PRESIDENT John Marcom Wake. A psychological thriller ﬁ ve-plus years in platformer nut in me can’t help but be psyched VICE PRESIDENT/CFO John Sutton the making, set in Washington state, inspired for Mega Man 10. Who isn’t curious to see what VP INTERNET DEVELOPMENT Tyson Daugherty by Stephen King and David Lynch, and the main Sheep Man’s weapon will be? EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, GAMES Stephen Pierce EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, MUSIC Brad Tolinski character is a writer? It’s like they pulled the EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, TECH Jon Phillips design document from my brain! Sign me up! GENERAL COUNSEL Charlotte Falla HR DIRECTOR Nancy Durlester DuBois Future US, Inc. is part of Future plc. Future produces carefully targeted special-interest magazines, websites, and events for people who share a passion. We aim to satisfy that passion by creating titles offering value for money, reliable information, and smart buying advice, and that are a pleasure to read or visit. Kevin W. Smith Taylor Cocke Today we publish more than 150 magazines, 65 websites, and a FEATURES EDITOR SUPER-INTERN growing number of events in the U.S., UK, France, and Italy. Over 100 international editions of our magazines are also published in 30 other countries across the world. NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN Roger Parry CHIEF EXECUTIVE Stevie Spring GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR John Bowman 02 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 Tel +44 1225 442244 www.futureplc.com March 2010 CONTENTS Issue #107

DEPARTMENTS The 100 hottest games of 2010 Disc Page 06 Message Center 10 FEATURES BioShock 2: Exclusive Review 68 40 Things We Love About the Xbox 360 64 OXM’s 2010 Star-Power Rankings 74 The 100 Hottest Games of 2010 14 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 40 Brink 46 Dead Space 2 30 14 Final Fantasy XIII 52 Page Halo: Reach 49 Lego Harry Potter 50 Lost Planet 2 16 2010 Mercs Inc. 52 Nier 26 Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned 54 Ruse 44 Splinter Cell: Conviction 42 Split/Second 24 Supreme Commander 2 50 True Crime 36 XBOX NOW 0 Day Attack on Earth 83 Alien Breed 81 Borderlands: Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot 84 Chaotic: Shadow Warriors 84 Divinity II: Ego Draconis 78 Fret Nice 84 Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond 83 The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom 80 BIOSHOCK 2 Puzzlegeddon 81 Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter 82 68 Vancouver 2010 81 XBOX 365 The Strangest Multiplayer Secrets 86 SmackDown’s Created Stories 88 Inbox 90 Media Ho 92 Bayonetta Secrets 93 LiveSpace 94 Score Lore 94 STAR-POWER RANKINGS The Business of Xbox 96 74

PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT: OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE (ISSN 1534-7850) is published 13 times a year, monthly plus Holiday issue following December issue. Future US, Inc., 4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080. Phone: (650) 872-1642. Fax (650) 872-2207. Website: www.futureus.com. Periodicals postage paid in South San Francisco, CA and at additional mailing offi ces. Newsstand distribution is handled by Time Warner Retail. Basic subscription rates: one year (12 issues + 12 game discs) US: $39.95; Canada: $49.95; Foreign: $69.95. Canadian and foreign orders must be prepaid, US funds only. Canadian price includes postage and GST (#R128220688). Canada Post PMA #40612608. Subscriptions do not include newsstand-only specials. POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to Offi cial Xbox Magazine, PO Box 5156, Harlan, IA 51593-0656. Standard Mail enclosed in the following edition: None. Ride-Along enclosed in the following editions: B1, B2, B3, B4. Returns: Bleuchip International, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Canada. Future US, Inc., also publishes Guitar World, Mac|Life, Maximum PC, Nintendo Power, PC Gamer, PlayStation: The Offi cial Magazine, Pregnancy, Revolver, Windows: The Offi cial Magazine and others. Entire contents copyright 2010 Future US, Inc. Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Reproduction on the Internet of the articles and pictures in this magazine is illegal without the prior written consent of Offi cial Xbox Magazine. Products named in the pages of Offi cial Xbox Magazine are trademarks of their respective companies. Future US, Inc., is not affi liated with the companies or products covered in Offi cial Xbox Magazine.

04 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 TELL US: Sure, we’ve told you what we’re looking forward to in 2010, but what about the game that’s got you the most excited? Holler at us via letters@ofﬁ cialxboxmagazine.com. PLAY, WATCH, AND EXPLORE DISC WITH THE OXM DISC!

Evil dictator?

Peaceful president? Rule this island TROPICO 3 however you like!

10 MORE PLAYABLE DEMOS: • Alien Breed: Ep. 1 • Axel & Pixel • FIFA 10 • G-Force • Lost Planet 2 • Invincible Tiger • NBA Unrivaled • Vancouver 2010 • Wallace & Gromit: The Last Resort • The Warriors: Street Brawl

BONUS! Lost Planet 2

Gamer Pics!

06 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 AND DON’T MISS: This month’s disc also hosts eye-sizzling trailers for Dark Void, Dead to Rights: Retribution, Divinity II, Just Cause 2, Split/Second, and Super Street Fighter IV! HAVE SOME QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO SHARE? CONTACT US! Returned mail error: attempt to REVIEWS letters@ofﬁ cialxbox http://forums.xbox. Gamertag: [Editor’s get us to click on your spam failed magazine .com com/ ﬁ rst name] OXM twitter.com/oxm MESSAGE CENTER EMAIL FORUM XBOX LIVE TWITTER KOXM PLAY LIST

What’s your favorite custom soundtrack for your favorite Xbox 360 game? Email your fi ve-song playlist, the game If only Assassin’s Creed II had a it goes with, good/evil meter we could max out. your Gamertag, (Guess which way we’d go?) and a digital pic of yourself to letters@offi cial You can’t keep a good xboxmagazine. night-vision goggle out com with the technique won’t break any time records, but We say: You’re quite welcome. We wish we could eyeballs while he sleeps and graft them into our of stock, it seems. subject line bragging to your friends that you have all 69 is say it was a completely selfl ess act, but the own skulls, Minority Report–style. “KOXM Play List.” just as good as “Talk to me when you Prestige.” reality is that Fran sports glasses, Corey rocks — GiJoe2226 the contact lenses, and Ryan’s already had Lasik MY NAME IS POISON surgery once. If this keeps up, we’ll be tempted After reading “10 Things You MUST Try in We say: Thanks, Joe! You should start charging by to slice out Taylor the Intern’s young, functioning Assassin’s Creed II” (January continued on pg. 12 the tip. You’d have college paid for in no time! UNLIMITED LIMITED We say: We vividly remember our local EB THE LAST STARS I pre-ordered the Prestige Edition of Call Games having stacks of the individually So I read your tips for Modern Warfare 2’s WE SUCK of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last year after numbered Halo 3 Legendary Edition Spec Ops mode (January 2010 issue), and Reading your review of Modern Warfare 2 I heard that it would be an actual limited packages scattered around the store — well, I have some juicier and better ones. (January 2010 issue), I was very disappointed edition. I talked to a GameStop employee marked down by over 50% months after I’m proud to say that I have all 69 stars when, without warning, you gave away the entire CHART ATTACK who assured me that they would be the game had shipped. A good rule and all the Achievements. I found two plot of the game. I was only halfway through the Sorting through our email clutter releasing only X number of copies that of thumb in the videogame (or any) ways to net the last six stars on Echo. campaign when I read the magazine. Poor show, Gamertag: had the “limited edition” night-vision business: “limited” never means what it On “High Explosive,” you and your OXM. Poor show. FELLATIANO goggles and that I should pre-order them says. In fact, we can recall only one time partner should head to the house with —Charlie 7% — Complaints from people upset that we spoiled before they were out of stock. So imagine when the term actually rang true: the the big window at the far left of the spawn Games: the airport level in Modern Warfare 2 for them Left 4 Dead 2 my surprise when I went to Best Buy BioShock Collector’s Edition. They were point. One teammate stands in the door We say: Yours isn’t the fi rst letter we got about yesterday and saw at least 25 of them gone immediately and never made again. fi ring at the juggernauts until they down Playlist: this very issue, Charlie. Given that we weren’t 13% — Emails from Ryan to himself reminding him sitting on display. I feel cheated. And we wanted one of those Big Daddy him in the doorframe. Being downed there Mega Mix able to get our review out until over a month to do things when he got back to the office after — Kevin Cronin fi gurines, too! will prevent them from coming inside. 1 “Living Dead after the game released, we assumed everyone the holidays The other man hangs back around the Girl” would’ve already bought the game and fi nished corner taking them out with pot-shots and — Rob Zombie it by then. Guess that was a bad call on our 30% — “Delivery notification: returned mail” phishing attempts that made Is anyone not playing fl ashbangs. As long as you pick up your 2 “Boogie part; so we’re sorry about that. We’ll extend our 15% Modern Warfare 2? We teammate and run for ammo at every lull Woogie Wu” statute of limitations on plot spoilers a bit more no sense haven’t met them. in the action, you should have 66 stars in — Insane in the future. 15% no time. Clown Posse 15% — MySpace friend requests. Really guys? MySpace? 20% On “Armor Piercing,” grab the .50- 3 “All Nightmare UNSTRAINED EYES cal while the other player grabs the Long” As an older gamer of 48, I wish to shower much 15% — Duplicate press intervention with thermal. After taking out — Metallica praise upon you for the new and vastly improved the fi rst juggernaut, climb the scaffolding Reviews Database format on your demo disc. It’s releases about various 4 “Highway to 30% 7% that Soap climbs in campaign mode. such an improvement from the old days when Divinity II announcements Hell” — AC/DC From there you can fl ing fl ashbangs I had to wear my glasses or use a magnifying 13% and snipe juggernauts as they arrive. 5 “A Little glass (or both!) to read the tiny Review Roundup 20% — Invitations to various Refi ll your ammo to get more claymores Piece of Heaven” text in the magazine. Thank you very much! tech press functions at CES… and fl ashbangs if you think you need — Avenged You’ve made an old man very happy! that we didn’t attend it; the box is right below you. Using this Sevenfold —“mysticbuzz”

10 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES: How did Corey and Ryan unwind after we wrapped up our last issue? ACTUALLY: We can’t give Super-Intern Taylor too hard of a time. After all, he’s responsible for most March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 11 They went and saw Metallica in concert! Hoo-yeah! of the updates to our website (OXMonline.com)! MESSAGE CENTER EMAIL FORUM XBOX LIVE TWITTER Maybe we’ll finally stop getting letters about our Borderlands review when Borderlands 2 comes out.

2010 issue), I started experimenting with IF YOU’RE GONNA SPEW, SPEW of certain games that affect your reaction. some of the ideas. I went into the busy INTO THIS There are a lot of online resources that streets of Venice and poisoned several I’m a long-time gamer who’s seriously you can read up on to see if your motion MISSING guards who were on patrol. Then, as your missing out on some great FPS action. sickness has a silver bullet like some article suggested, I threw money at their I can’t play any of them due to extreme of the suggestions found here: tinyurl. AN ISSUE? feet. A massive crowd formed around the motion sickness, and it SUCKS. For years com/2nrxhe.* Sometimes, we’ve found, now-poisoned guardsmen. As they began I’ve seen great games come and go it’s as easy as playing more of them to get BORED? swinging, I threw more Florins into the because the creators don’t take the time acquainted and adjusted to the motion of mix to keep the crowd interested. More to add a simple third-person view to the fi rst-person cameras. guards came and I poisoned them, and game. Is it that much trouble to add this then threw money at their feet as well. perspective to a fi rst-person shooter so MENSA, HERE WE (DON’T) COME When all the guards fell from the potent gamers can choose? I don’t want to be I’m active duty US Air Force stationed in poison, I counted up the victims. The stuck playing Fable II forever! Italy. I have a gold subscription to Xbox fi nal number? Thirty-two dead and — Valerie Live and purchase OXM whenever they wounded. Good fun; we couldn’t stop are put on the shelves on base. I recently laughing. Moments like these make me We say: Unfortunately, Valerie, it’s took a business trip out to Fairchild AFB wish that Assassin’s Creed II had a co-op incredibly tough to offer a different in Spokane, WA. A friend and I fl ew from mode of some kind so my friends and I camera perspective in a game. When an Italy to Germany to Seattle and back. It could cause mayhem together. entire play experience has been designed was nearly a 24-hour trip total! Before — Jay Cormier for, say, a fi rst-person view, adding a departing Seattle, I purchased OXM at third-person camera can literally break the airport. While we were in the air, I For subscription, We say: You whacked 32 medieval chumps, everything, introducing clipping issues, noticed a lot of the people were disc, or any eh, Jay? Not bad, but did you scream “I’M bugs, and other problems. Also, actively fi lling out Sudoku, word other non- BATMAN!” as you offed each one, like us? the controls have to be redone, searches, and other games in editorial too! Very few games — Unreal their magazines. This made inquiries, AND IT KEEPS ON COMING Championship 2 me wonder: will OXM ever please visit our In your recent Borderlands review for Xbox comes start posting a crossword website at www. (December 2010 issue), you say the to mind — offer in the back of the magazine? oxmonline.com. game lacks a save-anywhere feature. But the choice Please help! Check it out to that’s not true: if you press Start during without either — SSgt. Cody Dalton learn about gift the game and quit, the game saves or both views subscriptions automatically. suffering (as We say: That’s not and more! Also, — Nick Lashway they did in, say, a bad idea, Cody we regularly The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion). (in fact, one of our update all of our We say: Well, not to pick nits, Nick (try Best bet is to try a few different competitors used to demo-disc DVD saying that fi ve times fast!), but we fi xes, that may or may not work do it every month). sleeves for you wouldn’t exactly call that being able to for you, like herbal remedies and Unfortunately, none of us to download save “anywhere.” We’d call that “save- seeing if maybe it’s the framerate has an IQ high enough and print out onlywhenyouquit.” And it’s far from an to solve a crossword puzzle, if you’re a elegant solution, wouldn’t you agree? Not Vault Boy gets a thumbs-up for let alone create one. Besides, how many subscriber. that any of this has stopped Fran, mind Fallout 3’s first-person view, but different clues can you come up with that you. She’s level 50 and still playing! the third-person camera sucks. have the answer “Master Chief” anyway?

*WARNING: We’re not doctors, so don’t listen to us, but have you ever tried taking a motion- 12 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 sickness pill like Dramamine? emember how so many triple-A games were delayed R out of last fall? Well, saddle up: the resulting 2010 is going to be the single biggest year of Xbox gaming ever, from start to ﬁ nish. Here are 100 reasons to ﬁ re up your The 100 hottest 360 this year and never turn it off. games of 2010

Icon Glossary

HEAVY HITTER

FRESH FACE 2010 REBOOT XBOX LIVE ARCADE

14 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 GO AHEAD, COUNT ’EM: Yes, we actually have 100 games in this feature story. And we THE SCARY PART: Unbelievably, 2010 will deliver way, way more games than we’ve March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 15 didn’t even cheat by including all of the annual sports games. Our moms approve of our effort. included here — particularly on Xbox Live Arcade, where untold treasures await. 2010 LOST PLANET 2 As the worm turns

hen our friendly Capcom rep and Wco-op partner informs us that the mountain-sized alien insectoid Akrid worm chasing the speeding train we’re riding isn’t even close to the largest foe we’ll ﬁ ght in Lost Planet 2, we stop playing for a moment. Really? Really??? Really. Despite the fact that the behemoth breathing down our backs is so big that it could use our train as dental ﬂ oss for its razor-sharp rows of tower-sized teeth, we’re continued on pg. 20

This Akrid “isn’t even close” to the biggest in the game, we’re told.

You’re trying to recapture this big turret from the pirates.

This is you if you fall off the train.

You practically can’t throw a snowball without hitting a boss.

16 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 STILL HOT: Lost Planet 2 runs off of the same proprietary MT Framework engine that powers most March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 17 of Capcom’s other Xbox 360 games, including Resident Evil 5. 2010

Vital Suits (VSs) are back, and they’re a big part of Lost Planet 2.

told that titans 20 times this worm’s size await us in the latter half of the T-ENG–hoarding follow-up to the 2007 breakout hit. Sheesh. Most sequels bill themselves as “Bigger and better!” but Capcom’s taking it literally for Lost Planet 2. Set sometime after the events of the fi rst game, the latest Lost Planet often ditches the frigid temperatures of the Jungle combat original for lush jungle or arid desert. We were lucky enough looks as pretty to spend roughly four hours traversing the fi rst three episodes as it plays. of the globally warmed sequel, which we’re told makes up about half of the game. Saddling up in four-player co-op, Lost Planet 2 grabs you by the business before the opening credits even roll, kicking you straight into the action with a harrowing helicopter ride through a swarm of airborne Akrid. Your group of four is split into two fi reteams, with one pair riding in one copter while the other duo dances from an adjacent chopper. It may seem like a simple shooting gallery to warm you up — you can’t even move from your seated gunner position; you just pull the trigger — until your copters go down and you’re forced to hit the ground and take on your fi rst Akrid mini-boss. “Mini” is a relative term, of course, because we guarantee you’re going to think the inaugural ice-spawned alien is large. As the opening example illustrates, however, he pales in comparison to what lies ahead. Following that spindly behemoth’s destruction and the conclusion of the opening credits sequence, we settle in. The planet is changing, creating large pockets of tropics (read: non-snow), which makes Lost Planet 2 feel like a very fresh sequel. And the four-player cooperative element lends an entirely new dynamic to this series. In Combat areas vary, and even our substantial impression, Lost Planet feels a lot better as a four-player include cramped Akrid shoot-fest. It feels fantastic to be one of four friends fragging away train cars. at an enormous Akrid, with one person aiming at its head while the other three work on its legs. That’s when it hit us: the good vibes we’re getting from this game are familiar, yet...distant. But soon we’re able to put our fi nger continued on pg. 22

20 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 SHIELDS UP!: You can pick up a shield in lieu of a weapon, then let your pals fall in behind you and move in for the kill. Aim here. Smartly, you can set 2010 friendly ﬁ re so it’s on, off, or You can shoot off Big guns in here! causes you to recoil and this Akrid’s legs to Go get them! fall when hit without taking weaken him, but the actual damage. appendages grow back!

Hop in the VS and use its superior ﬁ repower against this class-G Akrid boss.

Hint: put a couple of your guys on the roof of the train so you can drop in from above and ﬂ ank foes inside the cars.

on it: Lost Planet 2 feels like a 21st-century coin-op...if arcades still existed in the 21st Hormone for the uninitiated), he stomps around his creek bed with the century. Yes, it’s fast-paced, very fun, and co-op–friendly — but even though you can glowing orange Akrid spikes on his back screaming “Shoot me!” With plenty have a blast working together, you’re not penalized or made to suffer for lone-wolfi ng of fi repower scattered about — including rocket launchers, sniper rifl es, it. Also, level segments are short, scored for each individual player, and bosses are — mini-guns, and the series’ trademark mech-like Vital Suits (VSs) — you’re we hope we’ve made clear — gargantuan. still likely to wage this mini-war for a solid 15 to 20 minutes. Careful not to Furthermore, everything in this sequel is customizable. You can get swallowed, as then you’ll have to do battle from inside the belly of the completely tailor your weapon load-outs and your character’s appearance beast — really! to your preference (the latter will be made possible only through unlocks And that caboose-quaffi ng, plus-sized problem we mentioned upfront? earned in the adversarial multiplayer mode), and the game will even go First you must beat him back by shooting the massive T-ENG containers We don’t so far as to show the unique avatars of you and your co-op buddies in the off of the rear cars so they’ll bounce into the baddy’s mouth and explode. recommend trying cutscenes. Heck, you’re even free to beat up generic jungle pirates during the With the “class OMG” freak (as we affectionately call him) at bay for the to use your grappling load screens between levels; just press any direction on the D-pad to enter this time being, phase two forces you and your crew to turn your attention to hook to move from “practice”-type mode while a level is loading. Try fi lling the time by taunting an adjacent rail, where another high-speed train loaded with pirates and track to track. enemies: hold down Start and press any direction on the D-pad... gun turrets pulls up alongside you. Shooting across the desert in some sort Anyway, did we mention that Lost Planet 2 is packed with bosses? You of 70mph shootout at the OK Corral, you must clear their train so you can practically can’t throw a snowball without hitting one. At one point in the third commandeer it and then tangle with the titanic terror again in phase three. Lost Planet 2 feels like a 21st- episode, we’re greeted by twin monstrosities while clearing out a sniper- We wish we could share how to kill it, but our efforts continually resulted century coin-op...if arcades still infested village. Resembling a cross between a dragon and the “spitter” in death, and then we ran out of time during our play session. Sigh. Dilophosaurus dinosaur from Jurassic Park, the blind pair plods around But it’s not all “Meet the new boss, bigger than the old boss.” existed in the 21st century. slowly, seemingly making them easy targets, right? Nuh-uh. They navigate Battling against same-sized foes is pretty thrilling, too. Take a scenario by sound. When their fi ns extend away from their heads like an antenna, in the fi rst episode, for instance. When you reach a mining station in they’re listening for any movement. the middle of the jungle, you have to power up a bunch of generators to You’ll need to hold still, lest their shrieking sonic-boom attack get two drills in the center pit area going into overdrive so they’ll overload, blows out your eardrums and knock you on your ass. The entire town self-destruct, and destroy the jungle pirates’ little operation. The catch, though, is destructible too, so when the Akrid twins hear you and charge at you, is that you’ll need to keep the drills active and spinning toward ultimate cover simply won’t do. They’ll just charge through the village huts to get doom while swarms of bad guys — some toting machine guns, others holding at you. This boss fi ght is among the most co-op–friendly you’ll encounter shotguns, and still others shouldering miniguns — keep crashing the party to try in the game’s fi rst half, as it pays to coordinate your group’s attacks to stop your sabotage. It’s a riveting, white-knuckle exchange of gunfi re and an because two monsters can’t attack four different players in four impromptu gameplay moment that puts you on the defensive for a change. different places at the same time. We couldn’t help but pause again at the end of our extended hands-on time. Is If you played the post-E3 demo — it’s on this issue’s disc if you Lost Planet 2 really this much more exciting than its frosty-fun predecessor? Really?! Yes — haven’t — you’ll no doubt remember one of Episode 1’s “class G” yes it is. It’s incredible how different — and how much better — this formula works in four- (read: kinda-sorta big) bosses. Resembling a slimy six-legged player co-op. So to Capcom’s claim of later bosses who physically dwarf the leviathans we iguana on one too many doses of RGH (that’s Reptile Growth battled in the game’s fi rst half, we say, “Bring it on.” (Capcom/Capcom/Spring)

22 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 OUR PREFERENCE: We quite like the shotgun when up against human opponents, S H A R E T H E F UN: Your PlayStation 3–owning friends won’t have to wait around to play their own while the automatic ﬁ rearms are great for peppering the Akrid. version this time, as Lost Planet 2 will ship for 360 and PS3 simultaneously. 2010 “Sorry, just passing through!”

SPLIT/SECOND A closer look at the explosive new racer!

ou just don’t get many racing games trying to out-’splode a blockbuster Michael Bay epic, but Split/Second is the exception. Viewing a version nearing its fi nal Ystages of graphical polish, we had fi rst-row seats to fi reworks better than anything Hollywood could manage. This racer certainly packs the most vibrant ’splodes we’ve ever seen in a game. Every raging inferno looks unique, and the sheer scale of some of the game’s set- pieces is staggering. What’s more, your anarchic vandalism has a permanent effect on the environment: fi res burn for the whole race, and thick columns of smoke mark areas in which the single-use Power Plays have already been triggered. The smoke itself plays a part in the racing as well, hanging in the air and ruining your perspective. Follow another car through, though, and they’ll punch a hole in the smoke, giving you a better view of the road ahead and an extra fraction of Expect visual splendor. a second to react. In the latest version of the game we tried, triggering a Super Power Play move (build up enough drift to enable a single button-press kapow of destruction to the surrounding track) causes not only an atomic-grade fi reworks display, but also a blast wave of dust and dirt that rushes past your car, visibly buffeting it. During our visit to Black Rock’s seaside studio, they gave us a look at a new environment. Split/Second’s plot is based around the idea that an entire city has been transformed into a live set and rigged with explosives for a TV series. The season begins in the center of the city, in the newly unveiled Downtown area, and spreads outward from there. An exclusive glimpse at another of the downtown circuits has you racing around an enormous tower based on the Seattle Space Needle. The huge structure has been rigged to blow, but what’s interesting is that when you trigger it, the tower doesn’t fall across the track. Instead, it topples toward you, with the giant disc-shaped upper deck getting progressively larger as it crashes to the ground. Naturally, anyone ahead of you is going to The HUD is be fl attened, but for you, the newly horizontal length of the building built right into becomes a new surface for you to race along. the car so you Sit down and crack open the popcorn — Split/Second is looking like a never have to blockbuster. (Disney Interactive/Black Rock Studio/Spring) move your eyes.

24 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 PURE INTEGRITY: Black Rock’s last project was the gorgeous, arcade-y, out-of-left-ﬁ eld quad-ridin’ hit Pure, which many of you new Xbox owners got with your Elite last holiday. NIER 2010 ver heard the old saying, “The cure is worse than the disease?” New action-RPG (with the emphasis on “RPG”) Nier takes that a bit literally. E Starting in 2049 when a plague has wiped out much of humanity and the invented cure actually exacerbates the problem — introducing the more devastating Black Scrawl illness — you are the title character trying to save his infected daughter, Yonhe. When things look bleak, you make the desperate decision to damn yourself and take power from an evil, Army of Darkness Necronomicon-style book called the Grimoire Weiss. Fast-forward 1,300 years later and Yohne is still sick (and still a kid!), the Grimoire Weiss is following you around like an evil puppy, and the world is infested with dark, smoky creatures called the Shades. Sweet! In addition to the usual RPG conventions of quest-giving townsfolk, party members, and “spells” in the form of word-augmented weapons (the literary theme runs throughout Nier), you’ll also be treated to the occasional 2D side- view platforming sequence and top-down dungeon-crawler-style perspective. We got to witness a bit of the combat in a ﬁ ght against a giant wet tentacle-y boss called a Giant Shade. Using the powers earned from your deal with the devil-book — such as the just-like-you-picture-it Dark Hand and Dark Execution, which raises rows of spikes in eight directions in a radius from where you cast it — the icky behemoth followed Nier all through town and nearly killed our hero before being…almost killed, as our demo before we could see the Giant Shade’s downfall (we wouldn’t have minded the plot spoiler, honest!). (Square Enix/Cavia/Spring 2010)

RAGE ut to prove they’re not Osimply the House of Doom and Quake, id Software is making steady progress on the intriguing Doom-meets- Mad Max FPS, Rage — their ﬁ rst new IP since, well, Quake. Open-world racing elements look to complement the studio’s trademark combat feel and all-new lite-RPG bits. (Bethesda/id Software/ TBD 2010)

MLB 2K10 he one-and-only choice of games for Xbox-owning baseball fans Tlooks to continue improving this year with loads of new mini- features. Fielding will be getting the most attention, with a revamped movement model, the skills to segue from a diving catch to an immediate throw from your knees, new throwing animations, and the ability to queue up throws as you’re ﬁ elding the ball. Tweaks to the analog hitting component, the pitching mechanic, and MECHWARRIOR pitcher stamina system are also on-deck, with the requisite extra dose of aybe we’re overly optimistic that this will be ready in 2010, but signature stances/wind-ups and deeper player rating database also looking Mregardless of the ETA, a MechWarrior reboot headed by original to add realism to MLB 2K10. Our review is up to bat next issue. (2K/Visual creator Jordan Weisman leaves us both conﬁ dent and downright giddy. Concepts/March 2010) (TBD/Smith & Tinker/TBD 2010)

26 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 OKAY, WE’RE CONFUSED: Nier will be different on each console — in Japan. The 360 version, called Nier Gestalt, will have a different story aimed at a slightly older audience. The No-Brainers They may be unannounced, but you can 2010 bet they’re coming in 2010! FABLE III hat do we know so far — besides the extremely high probability that it’s going to rule? WIt’s set some 50 years after Fable II with Albion under the rule of a tyrant — a ruler who’s committed a grave injustice against your character’s parent, spurring you to take action and overthrow him. The catch is that the parent is your Fable II hero, and your save ﬁ le will import into Fable III, shaping your aged mom or dad. More interesting is that the game doesn’t end Portal 1 once you overthrow the king. Instead, that’s only the halfway point. From there it’s up to you PORTAL 2 to govern as you see ﬁ t, whether Even Valve can’t take more than three years to make you want to be a homebody and a sequel to a three-hour game, right? Right? micromanage your kingdom locally, or hit the road and be a HALF-LIFE 2: EPISODE THREE bit more “hands-on” with your Even Valve can’t take more than three years to governing style. (Microsoft/ make…ah, crap. We just said all of this. Well, it’ll be Lionhead/Fall 2010) awesome if this in fact hits this year.

GHOST RECON 5 Already “announced” in Ubisoft’s ﬁ scal reports, the only question is, “Will it still be set in Mexico?”

Guitar Hero 5

GUITAR HERO 6 Come on, you don’t really think we’ll go from 37 LEAD AND GOLD Guitar Heroes in one year to zero, do you? Wild West game that…doesn’t suck? Heck, between this and Red Dead Redemption, we ROCK BAND 3 A might just get two this year! Lead and Gold is a multiplayer-only* third-person shooter rife Already hinted at by MTV, Harmonix, and Beatle with six-shooters, riﬂ es, and ten-gallon hats. Playable for up to 16 gunslingers on six included offspring Dhani Harrison, it’s rumored to have maps, we took a liking to the Powderkeg mode, which is akin to Assault in Halo. In other words, unique Natal support. you’ll need to bring explosive barrels into the enemy base and detonate them. We were also surprised to ﬁ nd the game takes a class-based approach, with each class possessing a unique special ability. The gunslinger, for instance, can highlight up to two foes in his view for his teammates to see. Level design is impeccable, and we can’t wait to lasso some more time with this one soon. Call of Duty: (Paradox/FatShark/March 2010) World at War

MAX PAYNE 3 ax Payne is apparently having a Sam MFisher Double Agent moment, going bald and packing on the pounds as the original bullet-time hero returns and takes a CALL OF DUTY 7 trip to South America. That’s a long way from It’s Treyarch’s turn, if you’re keeping track. We hear Manhattan! (Rockstar Games/Rockstar rumors that it’s heading to Vietnam. We just hope Vancouver/Fall 2010) we don’t have to to go all the way back to WWII.

28 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 *ACTUALLY: You can play Lead and Gold by yourself, but it’s with bots on training maps. So most of your fun will be had on Xbox Live. DEAD SPACE 2 2010 Crawling out of the vents and into our nightmares The place is the Sprawl, a long-established mining colony built on the Rings of Saturn that’s now become a bustling metropolis and popular spaceport. The time is three years after the events of Dead Space, when the USG Ishimura succumbed to a devastating necromorph attack and became a fl oating tomb for thousands of humans. And the man, despite the futuristic facelift, is still very much Isaac Clarke. Three years of soul- searching have given him an attitude (not to mention a voice) and a thirst for taking down necromorphs. Which is pretty handy, really, because the bite-happy buggers are back in an invasion so large it threatens to wipe out the Sprawl in days. Dead Space 2 has been in the pipeline for a very long time. We know this not just because executive producer Steve Papoutsis says so, but also because it’s fully playable. Don’t shoot the necromorphs; Sadly, our demo of the game was hands- shoot the shutter’s safety lock. off, yet it was probably good that Papoutsis showed us around the Sprawl because left to our own devices, we would’ve dropped the controller in shock. What a difference a year makes. Though Dead Space was a gorgeous Lights, Camera, Action! Action! Action! game — well, as gorgeous as rooms fi lled with festering corpses and eviscerated aliens could ever be — the largely static environments’ only Visceral Games’ vision for Dead Space 2 is to give each chapter one so- roles were to act as geometric funnels for the alien fl oods. Now the locations called Epic Moment designed to be discussed around the water cooler are all fully interactive. Almost anything and everything can be manipulated the next day. Obvious Epic Moments involve gigantic boss battles with telekinesis or destroyed with weapons fi re. Even items such as ATMs (expect many more this time around), and one such moment involves a and vending machines are hackable, BioShock-style. boss so large that Isaac has to battle him from the inside. Very Gears of War 2, if you ask us. Feeling generous, exec producer Papoutsis offered a second example of a planned Epic Moment: a stand-off against waves Wading in corpses of necromorphs while Isaac is perched on top of a runaway train. These Papoutsis demos three playable areas in total. The fi rst is the brilliant-blue Epic Moments should nicely feed into the rollercoaster pacing Visceral Church of Unitology, eerily lit with hundreds of Gothic candles. Here, Steve is injecting into Dead Space 2 to try to banish memories of the fi rst battles a swarm of necromorphs with the new javelin gun, capable of pinning game’s constant fetch-’em quests. enemies like Gordon Freeman pegs Combine to walls with his crossbow bolts, splaying the disemboweled alien bodies against surfaces for easy dismemberment. New zero-G Occasionally he uses the weapon’s secondary sections boast more fi re mode, which shoots an electrically action and puzzles charged javelin into necromorphs, pinning than before. them against a wall as usual but then frying them until the monsters burst into fl ame and collapse into smoking embers. Isaac handles these enemy hordes almost effortlessly: a new Gears of War–ish center-screen aiming mechanic aiding the frantic multi-necromorph slaying, and more generous telekinesis ranges allowing Isaac to fl ing severed necromorph body parts back at the advancing drones. When the area is clear, Isaac moves into a side-room and joins a group of NPCs. It seems our quiet engineer is no longer a whipping boy, and Isaac is now always happy to issue orders to civilians willing to join his cause. Visceral Games is still deciding exactly how much of a role the NPCs will play (at a fundamental level, Papoutsis explains, Dead Space 2 is mainly about Isaac battling continued on pg. 32

30 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 STILL THE KING: Our favorite-ever stuck-on-an-infested-space-station survival-horror GOOD TO BE DEAD: A whopping dozen Xbox 360 games releasing in 2010 include the word March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 31 game is the downright terrifying System Shock 2 (1999). SHODAN!!!!! “dead” in the title. We guess the word is, er, alive and kicking! TIN OPENER So far Isaac has revealed his face only on two Xbox Live occasions: during Dead The rumors were true: Online multiplayer features are defi nitely in. Space’s opening and at the game’s conclusion. The rest Sadly, any details about them are currently unknown. Multiplayer of the time his head was concept art displayed during the event showed three humans battling 2010 permanently inside his tin against a sea of necromorphs, although we were advised not to helmet. That’s no longer necessarily take the picture at full face value. The words “strategically the case. Each of his new helmet designs (there are dismember your friends” and “play as necromorphs” were uttered, multiple suits to collect) however, confi rming that competitive multiplayer is a defi nite feature. is made up of collapsible Co-op may or may not happen — and Visceral isn’t planning on shedding mechanical plates that any more light on this mode until closer to the game’s release. can fold away like a retractable radio antenna, letting him talk directly with NPCs you fi nd in the Sprawl. although whether this refers to an actual zoo or is just How the hell does this guy manage to wipe safely? a coincidental line of coding remains to be seen. With the pre-production phase in its closing days, Visceral has the entire game mapped out from start to fi nish. But they’re making changes daily, and DISMEMBER, the team is fervently scouting forums and relying DISMEMBER… on focus testers’ feedback to shape the game into All enemies, old and new, still something that’ll please fans. Melee — perhaps one need to be dismembered to HOLO WARS of the original’s weakest aspects — is currently under be downed. Chopping certain As expected, the iconic blue holographic body parts will weaken most inventory and map system projected from debate, as is the option to manually initiate necromorphs but strengthen Isaac’s chestplate will be carried over the close-quarters combat moments others, so it always pays to into all suit designs. The game doesn’t that previously triggered when you were know which species you’re pause when in the menu system, so don’t attacked. Scare moments have taken a facing. Expect more inter- start fussing with Isaac’s luggage when species interactivity this time, necromorphs are this close. Expect the backseat this time, too: Steve insists too: sometimes the aliens kill handy instant-heal button to return as well: Dead Space 2 will still unsettle people, each other, while other times The last thing you want to do when dripping but that it should now satisfy those blood and running from danger is to stop they’ll combine and grow into seeking a slice of empowerment an even stronger beast. and navigate a real-time inventory. with their shakes, allowing them to blow the crap out of anything and The Trident will drag you around until you shoot its yellow blob or everything on a regular basis. you die. We prefer the fi rst option. monsters on his own), but you’ll have company for at least part of the adventure. Against all odds, Dead Space Skipping ahead to another area, we see this company in action. Isaac and friend managed to keep pace with Resident A brief history of step into a giant octagonal lift, door on one side, windows on the other seven. The lift Evil 5, and the opening saga of is in what appears to be a giant spacecraft hangar, and when it whirs into life, the duo the space series comfortably sits Dead Space ascend and a beautiful vista of the enormous city appears just below their eye line. among the upper echelons of this The calm doesn’t last, and neither does our buddy. A giant necromorph bursts generation’s gaming library. When Scientist Michael Altman goes public about a mysterious through one window without warning, tearing our companion to bits. As the the sequel arrives in just under a year, alien artifact called the Black Marker found on Earth. The lift continues to rise, Isaac is forced into a fi ght. The beast can smash through we fully expect it to better the original religion Unitology begins, centred around his teachings. windows at any time, and Steve, with a glint in his eye, puts down the pad and in every way conceivable. Start clearing smiles as the monster grows tired of playing, senses no response from Isaac, and your escape routes to the back of the +50 YEARS slices off our protagonist’s arms before tossing him out of the lift. The scene is sofa… (EA/Visceral Games/ Earth’s government replicates the Black Marker. This new rounded off by a ceremonious roar into the camera. Pleasant. Fall 2010) “Red” Marker is too dangerous to study and is buried on a faraway planet called Aegis 7. And the winner of the Sprawl’s This part sucks Beauty Queen Contest is… +88 YEARS The fi nal area we’re shown is a brightly lit corridor, which Papooutsis decimates The new babyish monsters, the Pack, attack in large numbers. Be The largest Planet Cracker in history, the USG Ishimura, is with plasma-rifl e fi re. Suddenly a group of necromorphs attacks, and as he very, very afraid. built and successfully launched. turns to hold them off, a wayward shot catches the window at the far end of the corridor, smashing it to pieces. The entire area decompresses instantly, +60 YEARS fl ushing its contents out into space. That goes for Isaac, too. As he’s dragged into the void, you can shoot a glowing red button to activate a safety shutter Mining company Concordance Extraction Corporation discovers and survive. Again, Steve deliberately doesn’t intervene, and the shutter Aegis 7 and begins planning a planet-crack-mining operation. slams shut just as Isaac’s halfway through the window, cutting him in two. If that sounds like overkill, it’s really not. Simply ejecting Isaac from the +2 YEARS Sprawl isn’t threatening thanks to the inclusion of a jetpack and jet-boots. Aegis 7 colony and USG Ishimura are overrun by necromorphs. Zero-G moments no longer involve jumping from surface to surface; Isaac Engineer Isaac Clarke survives the ordeal, as do (independently) can now navigate through space with his suit’s nozzles, rounding corners Nathan McNeill, Gabriel Weller, and Lexine Murdoch. and dodging obstacles as he does so. The space “fl ying” allows Isaac to traverse the Sprawl and its +3 YEARS surroundings with relative ease, and because his journeys no longer Isaac is at the Sprawl when the necromorphs return. The rely on a tram system, the locations he visits are much more varied than whereabouts of the three Dead Space: Extraction (Wii) survivors before. From spacewalks on walkways and solar arrays to the surface are unknown. of planet-cracked moons (and, of course, the various different and relatively colorful locations inside the city itself), each area should be Decompression zones are great for when you’re clearly outnumbered. a treat to behold. We also spied the word “zoo” in one chapter menu,

32 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 ONE AND ONLY?: As far as we know, Dead Space’s Isaac is the only Isaac on the Xbox COMING TO THE MOVIE THEATER: A live-action ﬁ lm version of Dead Space is in the works. It’s March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 33 360. Come to think of it, we don’t hear that name much in real life, either. set to be directed by Eagle Eye’s D.J. Caruso. 2010 CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW

e’ve been waiting a long time for someone to come along and treat the Dracula-stabbing WCastlevania series with some respect in the 3D realm. Lords of Shadow might just have what it takes to bring all the whip-slashing, vampy action to a new audience with its promise of humongous, scaleable boss creatures, Hollywood voice talent (Patrick Stewart and Robert Carlyle among them), and a suitably creepy Euro Middle Ages setting. Fan-service touches abound, too, like returning characters and enemies, but Konami is looking at Lords as a complete overhaul TRON: EVOLUTION of the series — so cross-wielding, garlic-wearing newcomers are ased on the upcoming Disney redux of the welcome. (Konami/MercurySteam & Kojima Bclassic techno-thriller ﬁ lm, Evolution offers up Productions/TBD 2010) glossy visuals with plenty of neon-lit handling of those slick Tron-bikes that set future-fantasy lovers’ hearts aﬂ utter back in the early ’80s. (Disney/ Propaganda/Fall)

ALAN WAKE ong in development but very, very short on our must- Lhave lists, the high-end supernatural thriller from the guys behind the Max Payne series has us ﬁ rmly in its grip. Expect us to dive deep into Alan Wake’s dreamy, spooky tale next issue! (Microsoft/Remedy/Spring 2010)

DYNASTY WARRIORS: STRIKEFORCE our-player online co-op? Finally! The DW series takes to Live for Fthe ﬁ rst time with dozens of characters (some exclusive to Xbox!) and the ability to create weapons and basically kick a whole lotta ancient Imperial China heiney! (Koei/Koei/TBD 2010)

JUST CAUSE 2

ini-guns. Explosives. Grenade launchers. All of these are at your Mdisposal if you’re quick enough to retrieve them in the banana republic you call home. As Rico Rodriguez, you’ll be constantly on the move across a tropical island to hunt down an evil dictator while causing as much mayhem as humanly possible. With a grapple hook always at METAL GEAR SOLID: RISING the ready, you can carjack vehicles from the sky, but even better is how ith no playable Solid Snake in sight, you’re ﬁ ghting the good ﬁ ght you’ll be able to wind the grapple’s rope around all sorts of objects to Was cyborg ninja-style protag, Raiden. Will it surprise us as much create a spiderweb-type of effect. With its sandbox-style approach, as ODST’s non-Master Chief adventure? We’re counting on it! (Konami/ you’ll have plenty of time to see just how nuts you can get with that Kojima Productions/TBD 2010) grapple. (Eidos/Avalanche Studios/March 23, 2010)

34 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 NOT FIRST: Xbox veterans will remember that Metal Gear Solid has appeared on Microsoft’s platform before. A souped-up port of MGS 2 released for original Xbox in 2002. M.I.A. Xbox Heroes Have you seen these characters? While 2010 looks to provide a whole lot of fresh gaming experiences, many of the most beloved stars seem absent. Here’s a look at some of the biggest missing names who haven’t been heard 2010 from lately — and where they might be now.

BLUR he racing pedigree at Bizarre Creations — remember them? — is rather impressive: four TProject Gotham Racing titles, each among the Xbox’s fi nest in the genre. The last was in 2006, however. What have they been up to since? Well, after being acquired by Activision, MARCUS FENIX they’ve put PGR in the past and have quietly been prepping Blur, an arcadey, social-network- ● IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS: Facial scars, body themed racing game set to peel out soon. Real-world cars will mix with fl oating power-ups for armor, mastery of the word “sh*t.” an accessible, pick-up-and-play vibe, while all of said actual whips will sport ● LAST KNOWN WHEREABOUTS: Gears of War 2 authentic damage modeling. All told, we should be playing ● PROBABLE LOCATION: On a leisurely Caribbean this one very soon. (Activision/Bizarre cruise with Dominic Santiago. They’re just doing Creations/Spring 2010) some fi shing. Honest.

LARA CROFT ● IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS: Tiny shorts, shapely fi gure, ponytail. ● LASTree- KNOWN WHEREABOUTS:running Tomb FRaider:up Underworld walls● PROBABLE and buildings?LOCATION: InTaking As undercover badass some well-deserved time off anda series adopting last lots of Wei Shen, you’re free to use virtualseen children. on original Xbox that’s Hong Kong’s environments primarily remembered for as a playground for going all Batman on poor law- DANTEits Grand Theft Auto-esque breaking chumps. ● open-worldIDENTIFYING gunplay? CHARACTERISTICS:Wow, now that’s Red leatherwhat we’dtrenchcoat call shaking and whitethings hair. up a bit. And ● TrueLAST Crime KNOWN is anything but SINGULARITY a quick and dirty revamp of umped out of holiday 2009 to avoid Activision’s own Modern Warfare 2 juggernaut, we’re WHEREABOUTS: Devil May Cry 4 ● a long-dead duo of Xbox TRUE CRIME anxious to see what all that extra-polish time has done for Raven’s upcoming time-bending PROBABLE LOCATION: B sandbox shooters. fi rst-person shooter, Singularity. When we played it months ago it was already feeling great, Signing autographs at a Hot Killer cop thriller shows its acrobatic side Topic in“Since the Midwest. True Crime invoking a potent mix of BioShock, Half-Life 2, and TimeShift…if the latter were good. The is about being an chrono-tinged multiplayer is the one big part of the game that’s been kept secret, ree-running up walls and buildings? In a series last seen on some of the in-game mission objectives demand. This is Hong Kong, after all — but we expect to get our hands on it quite soon. (Activision/ original Xbox, that’s remembered mostly for its Grand Theft one of the most densely populated cities on the planet — and you’ll be ducking, Raven Software/Spring 2010) FAuto–style open-world gunplay? Now that’s what we’d call dodging, and even playing it cool with Triad baddies. shaking things up a bit. True Crime aims to be one reboot “Wei often fi nds himself in chase-or-be-chased situations, that’s anything but a quick-and-dirty revival of a long-dead ranging from escaping the police to catching criminals to duo of Xbox sandbox shooters. avoiding detection,” executive producer Stephen van der DOOM II: “Since this game is about being an undercover cop Mescht tells us. “Wei also needs to use these abilities for in Hong Kong,” explains United Front lead designer surveillance and evidence-gathering to solve cases. We HELL ON EARTH an hell actually be heaven? Mike Skupa, “we decided at an early stage to focus on made sure that players can navigate the congested streets When it’s Doom, then yes, it something different than the rooftop superhero model.” in interesting ways, so even just getting around the city on C most certainly can be. Online play This means giving your character, detective Wei Shen, foot is fun.” (including co-op, of course!) will be crazy free-form abilities for outrunning — and outgunning But will you be able to combine your acrobatics with SPIDER-MAN back, along with an entirely new — the bad guys. Including, we’re excited to report, plenty of some good ol’-fashioned shootouts? “Absolutely!” confi rms ● IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS: Red and blue id Software-sanctioned nine-level parkour action. “When rooftops do come into play, they are Skupa. “One of our most important design mandates full-body jumpsuit. episode. We can’t wait to kill John a realistic extension of gameplay and add that same sense on the team is ‘No modes!’ For example, you can sprint ● LAST KNOWN WHEREABOUTS: Spider-Man: Web Romero’s severed head again to of danger and exploration you’d encounter in a crime thriller,” with an enemy, using him as a meat shield, or smash him into of Shadows save Earth! Hey, it’s to save Skupa adds. interactive objects.” Adds Mescht: “True Crime was never imagined as ● PROBABLE LOCATION: Unknown, but thought to humankind, people! (Bethesda/ Mirror’s Edge. Assassin’s Creed. Scaling walls or busting tail at dizzying a set of isolated mechanics — a bit of free-running, some combat, some be severely bitter about the Caped Crusader’s recent Nerve Software & id Software/ heights may have its roots in other now-classic 360 games, but Crime’s aim shooting and driving. Our focus has always been on tying all this stuff videogame success. Very soon!) is to build a playground for you to navigate as you see fi t — and that’s what together.” (Activision/United Front Games/Fall 2010)

36 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 FRESH START: The new True Crime has nothing to do with its predecessors. A new TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Ryan is lobbying the rest of the staff to host an “OXM Versus” event with March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 37 developer, United Front Games, is starting over from scratch. So give ’em a chance, eh? Doom II. He admits he just wants an excuse to play it during work hours. MAFIA II

rand Theft Auto: San Andreas may have been “gangsta” in its mid-’90s, 2010 Gpseudo–Los Angeles setting, but the original Mafi a (which was ported to Xbox in 2004) earned the right to break out the “O.G.” label thanks to its compelling 1940s organized-crime vibe — complete with fedoras and Tommy guns. Its slow-to-cook sequel will fi nally be ready to serve this year, with an emphasis on story and character development. Naturally, you’ll be doing plenty of driving around its open world, as well as plenty of shooting. But “a script as thick as a dictionary” should tell you the value that 2K Czech (née Illusion Softworks) is placing on the plot. A proprietary graphics engine is being tailored to the 360’s strengths, and the release is fi nally so close that we can smell the cannoli. (2K/2K Czech/Summer 2010)

HOMEFRONT

ioShock. Mirror’s Edge. Batman: Arkham Asylum. It seems like every Byear has one title that comes out of nowhere and takes the videogame world by storm. Our early money for 2010’s biggest sleeper surprise is on Homefront, a cinematic fi rst-person shooter in which North Korea invades U.S. soil in the wake of an energy crisis. Aided by a script penned by none other than John Milius (Conan the Barbarian), developer Kaos Studios (Frontlines: Fuel of War) looks to keep the tension grounded fi rmly in reality by forcing you to fi ght on familiar battlegrounds such as quaint suburban neighborhoods and landmarks like San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. (THQ/Kaos Studios/Fall 2010)

SCRATCH: THE ULTIMATE DJ arred by legal troubles, Scratch has changed developers but is still on the Mway — complete with its own turntable controller. It looked unique last year, and we’re optimistic that it’ll give us something that DJ Hero doesn’t. (Numark/ Commotion Interactive & Bedlam Games/TBD 2010) SCIVELATION yborgs, super-viruses, and religious warfare are at the heart of Scivelation, Ca new Unreal Engine–powered shooter that pits humanity against itself in a post-apocalyptic tussle. The developers cite George Orwell, John Milton, and Dante Alighieri as inﬂ uences — here’s hoping they nail it. (TopWare Interactive/Black Wing Foundation/Q3 2010) Scratch: The Ultimate DJ Scivelation SPLATTERHOUSE e last saw this update to the survival-horror granddaddy almost a year Wago, and since then it’s changed development hands. We’ll have a better idea of its potential once we get to play it in a few months. We soooo want it to be great… (NamcoBandai/NamcoBandai/Summer 2010) RED DEAD REDEMPTION ockstar’s been taking its sweet time with what might be Raffectionately described as GTA: Wild West, but the game appears to be worth the wait. We’ll have a good idea of its true potential when we ﬁ nally get to go hands-on with it next issue! (Rockstar/Rockstar San Diego/April 27, 2010) Splatterhouse Red Dead Redemption

38 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 STRANGE BUT TRUE: Though a few publishers call New York City home, very few developers are headquartered in Manhattan. Kaos Studios is about it as far as Xbox goes. 2010 BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2

ampling a couple hours’ worth of 16-player goodness (split into four teams Sof four) in Bad Company 2’s newly revealed Squad mode, we couldn’t get over how fun the latest Battlefi eld is. We shouldn’t be surprised, really — this has been a top-notch multiplayer offering on PC and later Xbox for years — but perhaps our shock comes from the fact that Bad Company 2 has largely, to date, been billed as a “single-player Battlefi eld.” Playing mostly on the “Laguna Presa” map — a big beachside battleground with a lone tank in the center that all four teams vie for control over — we initially favored the sniper class. Leading your targets is a challenge, just as it should be. When our lack of skills caught up with us there, we switched to the standard soldier gear and got right into the thick of combat, even managing to knife a few foes from behind. When we got frustrated by our continued tank- induced deaths at the hands of our rivals, we tried out the engineer, too, who packs an armor-crushing rocket launcher as his default secondary weapon. You’ll unlock new weapons and gear as you go, à la Call of Duty, and there’s even a very familiar Realism mode that drops the HUD, disables the Kill Cam, turns on friendly fi re, and sets player damage to be more lifelike. Still, Battlefi eld is slower-paced than Modern Warfare, and less arcadey too. It’s different enough to get you hooked on its own merits. (EA/DICE/March 2010)

BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM 2 ld Batty should be returning — sooner rather than later — in the follow-up to the O2009 smash. The fi rst trailer alludes to the involvement of villains such as Two Face, Black Mask and The Penguin, although nothing has been confi rmed. (Warner Bros./Rocksteady Studios/TBD 2010) STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED II ans helped make its predecessor the fastest-selling Star Wars game of all Ftime, while critical reaction was mixed. The sequel has you again taking control of Starkiller — a Darth Vader protégé — double-fi sting light sabers and opening a can of whoop-Force on huge boss enemies. (LucasArts/ Batman: Star Wars: LucasArts/TBD 2010) Arkham Asylum 2 The Force Unleashed II SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV he quintessential and classic arcade game returns, as Super seeks to Tbuild on the success of 2008’s Street Fighter IV by adding new brawlers (Adon, Cody, Guy), combos, and features. Sounds, uh, super! (Capcom/ Capcom/Spring 2010) DEADLIEST WARRIOR: THE GAME mong the questions facing mankind in this new century: who would Awin in a faceoff between a ninja and a knight? Spike TV’s show Deadliest Warrior tries to answer such quandaries, and the upcoming downloadable game will let you settle any similar disputes on your own. Super Street (Pipeworks Software/Pipeworks Software/TBD 2010) Fighter IV Deadliest Warrior: The Game

40 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 IN CASE YOU’RE WONDERING: Yes, Battleﬁ eld: Bad Company 2 will also include the popular Rush and Conquest modes you’re already familiar with. 2010 SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION

n the last four years, Sam Fisher has sported a fashionista’s array of looks. He’s been Ibald, he’s been bearded, and now he’s Bourne-esque. And fi nally, he’s back. We’ve played parts of Splinter Cell: Conviction — both the campaign and the unique co-op multiplayer modes, as we reported in our January 2010 cover story — and while it’s defi nitely not your daddy’s Sam Fisher, it’s still the very tip-top of stealth offerings in the Xbox world. The campaign adds a panther’s spring to the pissed-off superspy’s step, allowing our hero to quickly shimmy along ledges, cap fools with extreme speed and precision, and Krav Maga the sh*t out of them at close range. We’re quite curious to see where the storyline goes. Will Sam fi nd his daughter’s true killer? Will he have a choice to kill them or not (multiple endings, perhaps?)? Is Third Echelon too far gone and corrupt for Fisher to return to when (if?) he clears his name? As good as the series has always been, the plots have never been particularly memorable, so a personal quest involving Fisher and his family has the potential for a signifi cantly greater impact on the player. We admit we’re not too thrilled about the unavoidable increase in Sam’s body count, but a bold attempt at moving the series forward is certainly better than letting it rot away in stagnation. Full review coming soon. (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal/April 2010)

Risk: Factions RISK: FACTIONS ake everything you know about vintage board game Risk and toss it, as TFactions is replacing those stiff, plastic ﬁ gurines with a more absurdist route via Xbox Live Arcade. Witness: playable sides include zombies and cats. What about zombie-cats? We’ll have to wait and see. (EA/Stainless Games/ Spring 2010)

AFTER BURNER CLIMAX After Burner Climax ey, remember those things in malls called arcades? Probably not, but for those Hwho do, Sega is delivering nostalgia with a modern punch to Xbox Live Arcade via After Burner Climax. (Unfortunately, the coin-op version’s massive cockpit will Postal III Medal of Honor not be included.) (Sega/Sega/TBD 2010) POSTAL III fter our update last month, we’re eager to see more of the politically incorrect Aactioner — now powered by Valve’s Source technology. If nothing else, discovering what kinds of depraved acts you can get away with should be worth our time. (Warner Bros/Running With Scissors & Akella/TBD 2010) MEDAL OF HONOR t seems we’ve ﬁ nally gotten our wish: every major franchise is pulling out of World IWar II. Yes, Medal of Honor is joining the modern-day party. Expect an in-depth ﬁ rst look in next month’s issue of OXM. (EA/EA LA/Fall 2010)

42 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND?: So, in fi ve years, are we all going to be totally sick of modern-warfare shooters and wish they’d all go back to World War II? 2010 R.U.S.E. eception was a weapon in World War II. “It was a great setting for information warfare,” says Mathieu Girard, producer for France’s DEugen Systems. Shaped around the second Great War, Ubisoft’s R.U.S.E. features 10 playable ruses, or tricks, to foil your opponents’ advances, including silencing your radio communications, camoufl aging important structures, and sending out decoy units. After our hands-on demo, we can say that R.U.S.E. visually resembles something between the classic board game Risk and Google Earth. As a U.S. general, you manage your troops over a 3D map made up of a billion polygons (!). From a remote location, you watch battles and building construction in real time, making adjustments as you go. The campaign sticks you in major World War II battlefi elds, from Germany to Africa, constructed geographically using satellite images of the actual locations. R.U.S.E.’s smart controls give you the ability to zoom in and see battles taking place, swivel around to get a better view, and then pull back to gauge the location of incoming enemies, potentially hundreds of miles away. With the long-range perspective, you get the full scope R.U.S.E. of their strategies in action and a feel for when and what kind of ruse you should implement next. We’re told the game will also feature multiplayer and co-op capabilities; more info should be available down the road. It won’t give you the feeling of bullets thumping your chest at close range, but that’s okay: R.U.S.E. is more of a thinker than a shooter. (Ubisoft/Eugen Systems/Spring 2010)

CLASH OF THE TITANS

he ultra-cheesy early-’80s action-fantasy fl ick Clash of the Titans has long been a staple of late-night TV. Its big-budget remake, naturally, will be complemented by Ta videogame tie-in starring you as Greek hero Perseus, outfi tted in boots, body armor, and some sort of brown skirt, going off on various quests accompanied by a supporting character of your choosing. The narrative stays close to the movie’s plot, with Perseus trying to save his family from baddie god Hades, but the game’s real focus is on action. You’ll slice and smash over 80 kinds of enemies — from skeletons to sand worms — while facing massive mythical bosses like Cyclopses. Those feeling extra adventurous can try Quest mode, which opens up numerous missions and tasks not featured in the fi lm. That’s all well and good, but we’d still like to see a game fashioned after Clash of the Titans the ’80s movie, complete with ketchup-textured blood pouring from Medusa’s headless body. Sequel? (NamcoBandai/Game Republic/March 2010)

MOTOGP 09/10

oasting depictions of authentic tracks from the Persian Gulf to Indiana, MotoGP 09/10 will be the most comprehensive installment Bin the series, says Capcom — and that’s no joke. The game comes loaded with the most recent stats from the 2009 season (its biggest fanbase remains in Europe), and users will be able to get free, updated 2010 content as it happens throughout the year. Intriguingly, when you start a career, your motorcycle has more simplistic, arcade-style handling. As you progress, so does the gameplay, with the game morphing into more of a simulation racer. Meanwhile, your reputation develops through races. As you move forward, your customizable racer can hire and manage staff, including promotional teams and mechanics, depending on your level of success. Conversely, if you start the season hot and then nosedive, Moto GP 09/10 you may lose some sponsors and be forced to lay off members of your team! (Capcom/Monumental Games/March 2010)

44 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 WEIRD: MotoGP used to be published by different companies on each platform, but Capcom acquired the whole kit and caboodle in 2007. They own the rights through 2012. A CREATIVE Richard DREAM TEAM Ham Lead designer Brink has an impressive group of of Fable II. 2010 developers toiling at its furnace

Chris Sweetman David The man who Johnston produced the The creator of the remarkable gun most-played sounds in Xbox multiplayer map in PC stunner Black. history: Counter- Strike’s de_dust.

Olivier Leonardi Lead artist on Prince of Persia and Rainbow Six: Vegas. Tim Appleby The character artist who created Shepard and his crew.

Dean Calver Lead programmer on the PS3’s Heavenly Sword.

Neil Alphonso Fabrice The lead Bouvet level designer The man previously on the PS3’s in charge of Sam BRINK Killzone 2. Fisher’s animation in Marooned. Desperate. At war. the Splinter Cell We go hands-on in the ﬂ oating games. nightmare that is The Ark…

he stakes are high. Playing as a puny light-build Operative, we’re hiding “It’s a very dangerous place to be, not only because things most necessary ones weighted with a larger XP reward. In the Shipyard in a rusting ship’s hull clutching a hacking device — edging ever-closer are falling apart, but because it’s incredibly toxic as well. map, for example, a soldier needs to set an explosive charge on one of the Tto the doorway and the terminal we’re attempting to access. The closer Chemicals, heavy metals — it’s a horrible place to be,” explains Resistance’s barricades, while you might be asked to head to the nearest we get, the more signal bars appear on our iPhone-like device, and the faster Brink’s writer Ed Stern, as we sit in one of Splash Damage’s offi ces. Command Post to become an Engineer, then move the central bridge into goes our code-assault on the missile system currently training an arc of “It turns out that one missile’s still active on one of the ships. Security have position. Otherwise, you can run around healing those who have been shot mass destruction on the hub of The Ark, Founders Tower. Getting closer also just missed this thing that’s been sitting right under their noses.” in the face (Medic), torture incapacitated enemies into revealing enemy increases our chances of being spotted by Resistance “terrorists” roaming In this shipyard level it’s the role of the Security forces to destroy positions (Operative), or dash around sharing your ammo (Soldier). outside amid the bodies of our fallen buddies. barricades put in your way, moving a bridge into position to let you into the You can spend the XP gathered in each mission on expanding your The tension is immense as we sit listening to the sound of scampering second half of the level and then attaching a hacking device to a blood- library of abilities — three of which can be taken into each bout, like the terrorists desperate to hunt down the lone Security hero. Then, it all spattered computer terminal, cowering nearby until the missile is rendered perks in Modern Warfare 2. There are a ton of them, and they come in ends abruptly with several shotgun blasts to the face. But this moment inactive. If you’re playing as Resistance, it’s all about defense: stopping fl avors both general and specifi c to each class. After playing through the emphasizes Brink’s aim — to spur countless “Wasn’t it awesome when…?” Security from fulfi lling their various objectives and constructing (and level several times, we earned the Engineer’s ability to buff weapons; the discussions after co-op games with friends. reconstructing) the barricades that make their life more diffi cult. Operative’s sticky bomb, which turns grenades into a variant of Halo’s The area that we’re fi ghting through during our hands-on session Depending on how you want to play it, Brink is an eight-on-eight plasma grenade (that can be set in a doorway before sticking to the next is The Ark’s shipyard. Once upon a time, this was where vessels were objective-focused shooter. However, it has A.I. bots waiting in the wings to pair of legs that walks through); the Medic’s power of self-resurrection; and repaired, but when the Earth was fl ooded, The Ark became the last fi ll any gaps in the teams. You appear on the map as your chosen class, with the more global ability to unlock the Heavy character build. bastion of humanity. These days it’s the only uninhabited place on the three different abilities that you’ll have bought with experience gathered in Brink could be the multiplayer event of 2010, but it could also be a over-populated archipelago, free from both the hoity-toity residents former sorties. After this, though, your path is an open book. Tap up on the fl eeting distraction — right now it’s genuinely too early to tell. Watch this protected by the Security forces and the impoverished population D-pad and you’re set the most useful task that your team requires. Hold it space, as we’ll be taking the opportunity to play it and update you any represented by Resistance. down and you’re be able to choose from an array of objectives — with the chance we get. (Bethesda/Splash Damage/Fall 2010)

46 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 RECENT RÉSUMÉ: Splash Damage’s most recent project was the class-based, large-scale EARLIER HISTORY: The developer made its big splash (ahem) by creating Wolfenstein: Enemy March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 47 multiplayer shooter Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Territory, a standalone multiplayer expansion released for free. 2010’s Hottest Downloadable Content 2010 Two Worlds II GREED CORP oining Catan and myriad (excellent) others, JGreed Corp is an XBLA strategy game inspired by industrial revolutions and the negative impacts they have on environments. Early footage shows corporations ﬁ ghting over a land’s crumbling resources. Sounds dark and cerebral (not to mention relevant) — but will it be Greed Corp any fun? (Microsoft/W! Games/Winter)

Aliens vs. TWO WORLDS II Predator eads were scratched when a sequel was Hannounced, but from what we’ve seen, Two ASSASSIN’S CREED II Worlds II is, er, worlds apart from its forebear. More fl uid Two new packs — “Battle of Foli” and “Bonfi re of the movements, better dialogue, and a greater attention Vanities” — fi ll in story gaps from the main game. to detail should make new believers. (TopWare (Ubisoft/Ubi Montreal/Jan. 2010 & Feb. 2010) Interactive/Reality Pump/Summer 2010) LEFT 4 DEAD 2 Valve is giving you something of a L4D cast orgy — RIDE TO HELL minus the sex, plus killer zombies — as the fi rst nnounced in 2008 and delayed ever since, crew joins up with the second in a campaign called sandboxer Ride to Hell is looking to be something Ride to Hell A “The Passing.” Also expect new modes, weapons, between Grand Theft Auto and classic ’60s motorcycle and enemies. (EA/Valve/Spring 2010) fl i c k Easy Rider. As a Vietnam vet, the main character takes to the road on his hog to run with a biker gang — acid UFC Undisputed 2010 fl ashbacks may or may not be included. (Deep Silver/ Deep Silver/TBD 2010) HALO: REACH ALIENS VS. PREDATOR etails have fi nally started to trickle out about 2010’s biggest Xbox 360 game and Bungie’s fi nal Halo opus. As we suspected, it’s going to be littered with Spartans, and it appears as re you a marine, an Alien, or a Predator? These are your though your squad will total a whopping six — you plus fi ve other genetically augmented options in the long-time-coming revival of the seminal D A badasses with unique weapon specializations. single and multiplayer PC gorefest. This redux promises lots of Visuals — most likely powered by an entirely new (or at least heavily updated) graphics decapitating, dismembering, and mutilating fun for everyone. engine — are looking much cleaner, while our brief taste of the score gives no indication that the (Sega/Rebellion/Spring 2010) EA Sports soundtrack will be anything less than the series’ industry-leading high standard. It also seems MMA quite likely that we’ll be revisiting the large-scale outdoor battles of Combat Evolved, a move we EA SPORTS MMA wholeheartedly endorse. ixed-martial arts has quickly become the biggest combat What else? The battle rifl e seems set to return, and we will defi nitely, defi nitely be fi ghting Green Day: sport in the country and Electronic Arts is throwing a Covenant Elites for the fi rst time in far too long. And we’re crossing our fi ngers that we might fi nally M Rock Band haymaker at the UFC Undisputed franchise with a title of its get to fl y our buddies into battle on a Pelican. But that’s still just our own little pipedream until we own. Instead of just limiting itself to one professional fi ghting see more of the game for ourselves. league, MMA is going to pull from the sport’s global popularity for We’re gonna blow it out next issue. Tune in. (Microsoft/Bungie/Fall 2010) inspiration. (EA/Tiburon/2010) DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS A full-blown expansion pack (subtitled Awakening) that’ll be available online or on a disc? Sounds UFC UNDISPUTED 2010 deliciously meaty! An entire new landmass (called et back in the octagon with an offi cial and comprehensive roster Amaranthine) awaits your exploration, while a Gof UFC fi ghters. While Undisputed 2009 was well received, it still new storyline delivers myriad new quests, moral left room for improvement, which may be one of the deciding factors for choices, and creatures to slay. Hooray! TRANSFORMERS: consumers in the competition with EA’s upcoming MMA effort. (THQ/ Iron Man 2 (EA/BioWare/March 2010) Yuke’s/May 2010) WAR FOR RESIDENT EVIL 5 CYBERTRON IRON MAN 2 Plans include two new episodes (“Lost in e’re disappointed that there (probably) he fi rst game was mostly panned, but this promising sequel is GREEN DAY: ROCK BAND Nightmares” and “Desperate Escape”), a Wwon’t be any puny humans around to here’s been some heated debate attached to this title, especially shrugging off its big-screen sibling and using a new narrative with T Mercenaries mode, and clothing packs for RE lovers. squish, but we’re stoked at the prospect of considering Green Day is only the second band to get a full Rock Band the help of comic book writer Matt Fraction. Characters not in the T If DLC ain’t yo thang, opt for the Resident Evil 5: Gold tuning up as Optimus Prime on his home planet treatment… behind The-Freaking-Beatles. Sure, “Basket Case” is going to be movie — such as villain Crimson Dynamo — are believed to make Edition in March, which will include the original in the Autobots’ never-ending war with the fun to jam with— but we’re guessing The Rolling Stones were just too busy? appearances. Sadly, no word on any ScarJo cameos in the game. game plus a code to get all the new DLC. (Capcom/ Decepticons. You mean it’s not a movie tie-in? (MTV Games/Harmonix/TBD 2010) (Sega/Secret Level/April 2010) Capcom/February 2010 & March 2010) Woohoo! (Activision/High Moon Studios/ TBD 2010)

48 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 RUMORED: Other bands rumored to be getting their own Rock Band versions this year are HALO ON PS3…SORT OF: The imminent Halo Legends collection of anime short fi lms is also March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 49 Pearl Jam and The Who. We wouldn’t complain about either of those… available on Blu-ray. It’s probably as close as PS3 owners will ever get to Master Chief. SUPREME COMMANDER 2 2010 Can this sci-fi strategy game reign supreme? RESONANCE t’s not that we don’t like a cerebral challenge; it’s just that often when we switch on our 360s, we’re seeking a bit of mindless fun. So a strategy game has to be OF FATE something mighty impressive to replace the parade of action games that usually I uh-roh. All is not well on Earth. Giant gas occupy our disc tray. Supreme Commander 2, the sequel to 2007’s hardcore RTS-fest, defi nitely has its Rstorms inundate the land, killing off most eyes on the 360 gamer prize. Though the original met with lukewarm reception on humans until a scant few are able to put together consoles, developer Gas Powered Games believes this time it’ll be different. an air purifi er that they hope will eventually clear For a start, while the fi rst game was farmed out to an external developer that the planet’s atmosphere. Mankind thrives a bit until delivered a slapdash port, SupCom2 is being developed internally. The game has the purifi er begins to break down. Bad, bad news. been pared down from the original’s monumental scale to fi t more comfortably Wanna know what our fave feature is in this enticing on 360, but GPG head honcho Chris Taylor maintains that the new system of RPG, which incorporates a combat engine that vehicular upgrades and the reduced number of units makes for a better game mix-’n’-matches real-time battling with a quasi–turn- anyway, with fewer redundant units on the battlefi eld. based system? The ability to save during battles. Now (Sega/tri-Ace/ What else is there to look forward to? Well, massive robots for a start. that’s what we call progress. March 9, 2010) SupCom2 may prune back the number of units this time out, but you’ll still be rolling out the big guns toward the end of a battle. Our favorite? The Cybrannosaurus Rex — a giant robot dinosaur. Maybe strategy games aren’t so bad after all. (Square Enix/Gas Powered Games/March 2010) DEAD RISING 2

s it really far-fetched to believe that when a fl ood of Iundead shuffl e their way onto the streets of a fi ctionalized Vegas that some corndog tycoon has the stones to start up a reality show pitting humans against zombies? Hey, if that Katy Perry song is to be believed, probably not. So, this means the sequel to ’06’s phenomenal Dead Rising is just possible enough to get your heart racing as newcomer Chuck Greene fi ghts his way through hordes of green ’n’ nasties LEGO HARRY with everything from a shotgun-equipped wheelchair to wall-mounted stuffed swordfi sh. Multiplayer POTTER: YEARS 1–4 included. (Capcom/Blue Castle & Capcom/TBD 2010) The chamber of secrets opens up DEF JAM RAPSTAR here’s a creepy scene in the fi rst Harry Potter movie, f you ever wondered what happened to all the hip-hop in music games, then The Sorcerer’s Stone, where Voldemort is sucking blood Iyour hopes have taken the form Def Jam Rapstar, the upcoming tasty nugget out of a unicorn. In Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4, he’s of microphone-fi ending for those ready to lay down their plastic axes and drop T (4mm Games/Terminal Reality and Def Jam chasing the horned creatures around with a Lego knife and some serious rhymes instead. Lego fork. Interactive/Winter 2010) Traveller’s Tales is on typically cheeky form, parodying J.K. Rowling’s magical adventures while still being remarkably faithful to their plot and characterization. The opening cinematic FRONT MISSION EVOLVED crams nearly an hour of fi lm into just under fi ve minutes. ich with fi ctional history and futuristic military strife, this third-person giant- Fitting four fi lms into a single game has been a “good Rmech (or “Wanzers”) shooter is the fi rst time Square’s typically tactical series challenge” says designer Arthur Parsons. “Sometimes with goes all-out action on consoles. (Square Enix/Double Helix/Spring 2010) games you’re scrabbling around for content, but with this Def Jam Rapstar Front Mission Evolved [one] there’s so much content we decided to just make levels out of the best bits. It’s sort of like the highlights reel.” KANE & LYNCH 2: DOG DAYS ad guys with mullets? Bet you never thought you’d actually play as one, It’s when you arrive at Hogwarts that the game really but now’s your chance as the returning anti-heroes Kane and Lynch fi nd starts to impress with its visual similarities to the fi lms. Only the B themselves in an international pickle skulking through the seedy underbelly objects that you interact with are made of Legos; everything else of Shanghai. A YouTube-style camera adds to the grit and grime. (Eidos/ is rendered with surprising realism. The artists have clearly paid Io Interactive/Q2 2010) great attention to the movie sets, even down to the living portraits, which are now occupied by cute Lego witches and wizards. It’s a shame that the last two Harry Potter movies aren’t fi nished yet, as we might have been able to play the entire saga in one go. I AM ALIVE fter a stunning video debut back in early ’09, this disaster-survival Still, it looks like there’ll be more than enough collecting, building, genre mish-mash tugged at the imagination of gamers everywhere and mischief to satisfy our cravings. J.K. Rowling’s stories have A with teases that you’d be set loose in a post-earthquake–ravaged undoubtedly given Traveller’s Tales a magical foundation to build Chicago. But it’s been suspiciously quite since then… (Ubisoft/ on. (WB Interactive/Traveller’s Tales/Spring 2010) Kane & Lynch 2: Ubisoft Shanghai/TBD 2010) Dog Days I Am Alive

50 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 RANDOM FACT: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was known as Harry Potter and the MERRY-GO-ROUND: Development duties on I Am Alive were originally in the hands of Darkworks March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 51 Philosopher’s Stone outside of the U.S. and India. We’re not sure why. (Cold Fear), but the project was handed over to Ubisoft Shanghai (Splinter Cell Double Agent). 2010 FINAL FANTASY XIII

he Xbox fi nally getting love from the Final Fantasy series (sorry, FFXI!) is like getting a “Hell, yes!” from that hot Tchick in math class when you ask her to homecoming. And what a looker FFXIII is! Full of whiz-bang tweaks to the series’ existing turn-based battle system promises more dynamic battles against towering behemoths as you make your way through the sprawling game world. Final Fantasy has always been about its deep sidequests and memorable cast of ever-changing characters — and XIII introduces the world to tough-as-nails Lightning, a former member of the military searching for her sister. Sure, we could get into the game’s crazy backstory involving super-powered beings called fal’Cie and their penchant for assigning ambiguous life-quests to certain folks they deem as l’Cie — but those details are best left for the game to tell while you’re summoning massive creatures to fi ght for you in battle. The combat system takes a little bit of getting used to, but the pace is signifi cantly snappier and the visuals…well, just dazzling. With a release date just around the corner, prepare for us to blow this one out of the water with a massive review next issue! (Square Enix/Square/March 9, 2010) DEADLY PREMONITION urder investigations are usually stuff of police-procedural network shows Mstarring David Caruso, but Ignition plans to put you through your paces as a young FBI agent sleuthing around small-town USA with spooky results! (Ignition/Access/TBD 2010) MERCS INC. he gung-ho rumble-in-the-jungle sandbox shooter isn’t planning on Tlosing its edge, but it’s potentially moving into the realm of MMO territory. Little hard info has been revealed, but very early footage shows powersliding through forests. Sort of like a Saints Row: Guerrilla Edition. (EA/EA LA/TBD 2010) Deadly Premonition Mercs Inc. FINAL FIGHT: DOUBLE IMPACT reshly announced, the side-scrolling arcade beat-’em-up from yesteryear is making its triumphant return to consoles with the Final F upcoming, newly snazzifi ed version of Final Fight packed in with Fight: Double classic fantasy-themed brawler Magic Sword. (Capcom/Proper Impact Games/April 2010) SAM & MAX SEASON 3 ur favorite freelance crimefi ghters are gearing up for another Oseason of hilarity. This time, however, it looks like Xbox owners won’t have to wait for ports of the PC version. Holy squirrels-on-a-submarine, Max! (Telltale/Telltale/TBD 2010) Sam & Max Season 3

52 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 GOOD NEWS: According to industry scuttlebutt, many members of Pandemic Studios were hired on at EA LA to work on Mercs Inc. after Pandemic was closed late last year. PIRATES 2010 OF THE

Don’t you hate all the rubbernecking that goes on after an accident? CARIBBEAN: ARMADA OF THE DAMNED Out to break a pirate curse of its own

veryone loves a pirate, with the possible exception of seafaring merchants, giant squid, and, of course, ninjas. From a kid’s fi rst EHalloween onwards, the pirate is a go-to fantasy of choice — we don’t just adore them, we want to be them. So why is it that nobody has made a truly exceptional role-playing game based on pirates, when sailing the high seas and yo-ho-ho-ing over a bottle of rum is a role so many of us would give our barnacle-encrusted peg legs to play? The folks at Disney- owned Propaganda Games The Mouse that roars (Turok) believe they’re holding the treasure map to Without a doubt, this is Disney’s a great pirate action-RPG, biggest-ever year for high-profi le and their upcoming Pirates games. In addition to Armada of the of the Caribbean: Armada of Damned, Disney Interactive Studios the Damned is at the spot will publish Propaganda’s own Tron: marked X. But to get to this Evolution (a prequel to this year’s Tron: booty they’ve got to nimbly Legacy movie), the much-buzzed-about sail around a number of rocky destructo-racer Split/Second, and the obstacles, ranging from the Wii-exclusive platformer Epic Mickey, dismal record of pirate games which is being spearheaded by game- as a whole to cynical gamers design legend Warren Spector. When who are leery of anything that last we spoke to Spector, he said a carries the faintest whiff of a Xbox 360 port of Epic Mickey hadn’t movie franchise cash-in. been defi nitively ruled out...but don’t We ventured to the hold your breath. appropriately rain-lashed Two sides to every story west coast of Canada to visit Propaganda’s Vancouver offi ces for a world exclusive fi rst look at Armada of the Damned. Swashes were buckled, Playing as either a Legendary or Dreaded pirate will affect timbers were shivered, and we came away with an appreciation of how everything from your character’s appearance and voice to much sweat the Canadian landlubbers are pouring into their new game. things like quests, skills, and even how individual scenarios play out. Here’s an example: At one point, Sterling must steal an A pirate’s life for thee antique ship’s wheel from Maldonado during a high-society With all due respect to the man who gave us Edward Scissorhands and soiree at the admiral’s estate. If players have opted for the a deliciously creepy Willy Wonka, one of most reassuring things about Dreaded path, Sterling sneaks in and nabs the wheel while Armada of the Damned is that it will not feature Johnny Depp’s swaggering, his ship’s cannons create a diversion. “You cannot really have staggering Capt. Jack Sparrow. Nor noble Will Turner, nor feisty Elizabeth believed you would get away with this!” shouts Maldonado as he Swann, nor pretty much any of the familiar faces from the blockbuster confronts Sterling, to which the Dreaded Capt. Sterling replies, Pirates movies. And given the record of previous Pirates games, that can “Aye, that I did. And I have!” before crashing through a window only be good news. to escape. “We kind of liken it to what Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic did to Playing the Legendary path, players infi ltrate the party the Star Wars universe,” explains Propaganda’s Devon Blanchet, the game’s disguised as an invited guest, engage in a bit of witty banter design director. “You’ve got new characters, [and] you’ve got a new story with Maldonado, and then nab the wheel after the masquerade is that takes that existing universe and explores it further.” exposed. “You cannot really have believed you would get away with As such, players will take on the role of a 21-year-old would-be pirate this!” shouts Maldonado, to which the Legendary Capt. Sterling named Sterling, who has fl ed an impoverished life in the grim slums of replies, “And you cannot really have believed you would get away London for the promise of adventure and excitement in the sun-dappled with that suit!” Partygoers laugh and applaud as Sterling swings from Caribbean, roughly 15 years before the events of the fi rst Pirates of the a chandelier to make his dashing escape. Caribbean fi lm. continued on pg. 56

54 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 DINO EXTINCTION: Although Propaganda is no longer working on a sequel to Turok, a TAKE TWO: There are well over 40 hours of spoken dialogue in the game, in part because all of March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 55 sculpture of the game’s giant T-Rex still adorns their ofﬁ ces. Sterling’s lines had to be done in two different vocal styles. 2010 High-seas Online Piracy exploration is a big part of the game. An open-world pirate adventure on the high seas might seem like a great setting for head-to-head action online, but Propaganda says they’re concentrating on Armada of the Damned’s single-player experience, and they’re not talking about Xxxxxxxx multiplayer modes — if any — just yet. Downloadable content via Xbox Live is pretty much a sure thing, though, whether it’s additional quests or meaty backstory adventures involving other characters. Says Armada of the Damned game designer Alex Expect the visuals to wow you no Peters, “There’s a lot of stuff we see that we matter what part of the game world can deliver.” you’re in.

But things don’t go well for our new Capt. Sterling. He’s discouraged by how different his Taste me cutlass, sea dog! If this looks a bit Fable-y, romantic ideals of the pirate life are from the nasty reality — “scared, scattered men clinging In the classic third-person action-RPG formula (à la Fable), Armada of the is that a bad thing? to a tattered code,” as he puts it — and before long, his ship is attacked by the villainous Damned will blend story, exploration, combat and character progression in Spanish rear admiral Maldonado, Armada of the Damned’s chief bad guy. equal measure. The supernatural element of Pirates of the Caribbean lore — Propaganda is keeping the plot of Armada locked up tighter than a chest full of gold the voodoo priestess/goddess Tia Dalma is one of the few movie characters doubloons, but we do know Sterling gets chained to an anchor and tossed overboard, who appears in the game — has given Propaganda freedom to come up with and that he comes into contact with the game’s titular ill-fated fl eet. That leads to a monstrous enemies, exotic locales and otherworldly combat abilities that second chance at life, but Sterling will also be saddled with a powerful and deadly curse Sterling can upgrade with experience points. that he must ultimately overcome. “We didn’t want a story where you’re the chosen one, We got an in-depth demonstration of the game’s combat system, which and you’re going to save the world,” says Blanchet. has the pick-up-and-playability needed for a title trading on the Pirates of Not long into the game, players will have to make an important choice that the Caribbean name, but with enough depth to keep RPG fans happy. We fundamentally alters how the rest of Armada of the Damned plays out. You can go watched the Dreaded incarnation of Sterling face off against multiple foes of the “Legendary” route and become the swashbuckling, adventure-seeking Capt. varying strength and ability, including some half-man, half-crab creeps with Sterling, a witty rapscallion who cracks wise as he cracks skulls. Or you can opt for powerful claw attacks. the “Dreaded” path and become the ruthless and vengeful Capt. Sterling, a feared Combat in Armada of the Damned will use the time-tested action-RPG outcast who clobbers enemies with a giant anchor he carries on his back. trinity of light attack/heavy attack/block, with special moves that can be Trust us, it’s going to be a tough call to make, and it’s only activated by building up a segmented vitality meter. Using a sword and the fi rst of many choices players will face. fl intlock pistol, the Dreaded Capt. Sterling worked his way through waves of foes, busting out the aforementioned anchor for special attacks like Undertow (which yanks enemies closer) and Anchor Splash (an area effect shockwave that can knock baddies to the ground.) Avast! Voyage to world’s end But what good is being a pirate without a ship to sail? With a massive open-ended game world to explore — from the seedy pirate’s den of Nope, nothing illicit going on over here… Tortuga to bustling Port Royal — Armada of the Damned will require a good deal of sailing between points of interest, aided at times by supernatural currents that signifi cantly speed up your vessel. Ship-to-ship combat is a slightly slower and more tactical affair Bland Buccaneers than its land-based counterpart, but even at this early stage it looks fantastic. Players can target opposing ships for fi re while tasking crew Like their Old West counterparts, pirates with concentrating on cannons (to speed reload times), sails (for faster simply haven’t fared well in games. Sid Meier’s movement) or hull repairs. A sort of golf-game swing meter is used to Pirates! is well-remembered, and there are a accurately target cannon fi re for increased damage, with the severity of couple of pirate-themed MMOs that aren’t the ocean’s swells having a real-time, physics-based effect on both your bad. But for the most part, the sub-genre aiming and movement. seems to carry a curse. (And let’s be honest: From an all-meat-no-fi ller dialogue system to the accessible but tactical the previous Pirates of the Caribbean games combat to the gloriously destructive ship battles, Pirates of the Caribbean: have been among the worst offenders.) Armada of the Damned could be the pirate adventure we’ve long hoped for, “There are a lot of bad pirate games out despite — or perhaps because of — its movie license tie-in. If Propaganda there,” admits design director Blanchet. succeeds where so many others have failed, X will mark the spot of a rare Propaganda vows Armada of the Damned will gaming treasure. (Disney/Propaganda Games/Fall 2010) dodge the curse. “I think it will be pretty clear to gamers that this is a different breed. It’s a different type of game,” says Blanchet.

56 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 LAND HO!: Players can use their ship’s crows nest to spot navigation landmarks for THROW US A BONE: Given that Armada is a game based on movies based on a Disney theme- March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 57 added experience points, and to fi nd uncharted islands to dock at and explore. park attraction, we’ll be sad if we don’t see some sly nods to the ride. MEGA MAN 10 he little metal boy in blue gets another go, and this time, Mega Man’s Tcreators aren’t messing around. MM10’s looks may be purposefully retro, but timid fans and newcomers need not fear the series’ trademark tough-as-nails, sidescrolling platformer challenge: This time, there’s an Easy option. (Capcom/Capcom/March 2010) 2010 PROJECT NEEDLEMOUSE till being worked on deep in some secret underground bunker, the ALPHA PROTOCOL Scode-named XBLA game has long been rumored to be Sonic the Mega Man 10 Project Needlemouse Hedgehog’s triumphant return to his old-school, speedy side-scrolling hen you get a PDA video call from a good-looking ways. Believe! (Sega/Sega/TBD 2010) Wwoman who claims to know you, how do you Penny Arcade Prince of Persia: respond? Do you play it suave? Or make an impression Adventures The Forgotten Sands (Episode 2 by being aggressive? The choice is up to you throughout PENNY ARCADE, EPISODE 3 shown) Alpha Protocol’s espionage-tinged action tale that takes third chapter of Penny Arcade Adventures — the web-comic duo’s a page from the Fallout 3/Mass Effect 2 book by letting A profanity-laden fi ght against the dark fruit-frakkin’ forces — is in you play your cards as you see fi t. How you kick enemy development. Where will their next downloadable slice of RPG-style ass is determined by which character class you pick at the insanity lead? (Hothead Games/Hothead Games/TBD 2010) outset, with the ability to earn skills via experience points. We’ve been waiting for this one for a good long time but the extra polish time gives us reason to be stoked. (Sega/ PRINCE OF PERSIA: Obsidian/Spring 2010) THE FORGOTTEN SANDS he bad-boy noble is back, and he’s ditched the fancy-schmancy redux ENSLAVED threads of 2008’s reinvention of the pole-swinging, free-running f opposites attract, then why do nomadic badass Monkey and the T series. This time, he’s bending nature and a whole new kingdom to his upper-class Trip hate each other? Maybe it’s because he’s got a I will. (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal/May 2010) headband glued to his skull that could kill him on Trip’s whim! But they need each other to survive a gone-to-hell future, so let the action- adventuring begin! (Namco Bandai/Ninja Theory/TBD 2010) CRACKDOWN 2 CHAMPIONS ONLINE e may be naïve, overly-optimistic morons for believing that any oaring through the air, leaping over buildings WMMORPG will release on 360, but we have it on good authority Sin a single bound...ah, nothing compares to the that this persistent online superhero world will swoop in to save the superhero level of general badassery we felt in the console MMO world. (Atari/Cryptic Studios/TBD 2010) original Crackdown. This time out, you’ll still be a super-soldier pounding the pavement (and rooftops) for the police state–style “Agency,” but you’ll Enslaved Champions Online STAR TREK ONLINE be fi ghting more than crimelords. Now there are ryptic’s other almost-done MMO project is Star Trek Online, mutants afoot and a citizen-led uprising to deal with. C where everyone gets to captain their own ship while millions With four-player co-op through the entire campaign, of NPC redshirts prepare to be killed. “Helm, lay in a course we’re ready to feel like caped crusaders — minus the for the Game-of-our-Dreams Zone. Engage!” (Atari/Cryptic capes — once more. (Microsoft/Ruffi an Games/ Studios/TBD 2010) Q2 2010) BASS PRO SHOPS: THE HUNT on’t laugh — The Strike and its sweet fi shing pole Dcontroller were fun. Now the mega retail chain takes its love for the great outdoors into the woods, where you’ll stalk your prey and cap it with an equally cool rifl e peripheral. FALLOUT: (Griffi n Intl./Piranha Games/June 2010) Star Trek Online Bass Pro Shops: The Hunt NEW VEGAS

BACKBREAKER ost-apocalyptic Washington, D.C., can only t may lack the NFL license, but Backbreaker has no Preally be topped by mutant-ﬁ lled Vegas, we say! I shortage of hard-hitting gridiron action. This footballer And the brains behind the spectacular Fallout 3 is all about realistic movement, as it’s powered by agree, having announced that the next chapter in NaturalMotion’s Euphoria physics-governed animation the long-running series is going to Sin City for more system. (505 Games/NaturalMotion/April 2010) shooting, radiated water–drinking, and multiple- choice conversation. But will it have the same kind of blissful ﬁ rst-person shooter/role-playing hybrid play NAUGHTY BEAR that made Fallout 3 so irresistible? Bethesda’s still f the Care Bears decided to go all Child’s Play mum, but check back next issue when we blow the I on each other, this might be the videogame that *Fallout 3 shown lid off of New Vegas and answer all those questions! chronicles the cotton-laden carnage. We love that (Bethesda/Obsidian/TBD 2010) there’s actually a “F*ck with the Other Bears” Backbreaker Naughty Bear button. (505 Games/AM2/June 2010)

58 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 CURIOUS TO TRY THE MMORPGs?: If you’ve got a capable PC, Champions Online is out YAY!: It’s a good year to be an adventure gamer, with new episodes of Penny Arcade Adventures March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 59 now, while Star Trek Online is currently in open beta. and Sam & Max coming to Live Arcade, plus Tales of Monkey Island on PC and Heavy Rain on PS3. Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing Bomberman Bonk: Brink of Halo 3: ODST Metro 2033 2010 Battlefest Extinction

Quantum Theory Kingdom Under Fire II

Puzzle Skate 3 Spec Ops: The Line Crysis 2 Quest II

Quake Arena Ninety-Nine Nights II Arcade QUANTUM THEORY SONIC AND SEGA PUZZLE QUEST II SPEC OPS: THE LINE ne hulking dude and a tiny, lithesome chick do battle against a giant ut a proven puzzle mechanic in a blender with a little bit o’ RPG t’s you and your elite squad versus the sands (and plenty of evil monstrous tower fi lled with unspeakable horrors in the vein of Gears ALL-STARS RACING lovin’ and you get Puzzle Quest II, a game that will have you resolving mercenaries) of Dubai in this post-disaster thriller that reboots a dozen- O efore you moan that it’s another kart racer, look a little closer. Is that P I of War. But you won’t have to fuss with online co-op — this is single-player your confl icts by addictively lining up gems until your eyes bleed. year-old PC shooter series. Expect plenty of epic Michael Bay–worthy action Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue dropping oil slicks on a course modeled after shooter action all the way. (Tecmo Koei/Tecmo/Spring 2010) B (D3Publisher/Infi nite Interactive/Spring 2010) sequences to accompany all that oil-rich bling. (2K/Yager/Fall 2010) Sonic the Hedgehog’s Casino Park level? Yes, it’s going to get that wacky (and cool), Sega nerds. (Sega/Sumo Digital/March 2010) KINGDOM UNDER FIRE II BONK: BRINK OF EXTINCTION METRO 2033 elodrama on the battlefi eld awaits! Part fantasy soap opera, part real- mascot platforming hero whose primary weapon is bashing foes with nuclear winter has forced the remaining unmutated Russians into the time strategy, and a big part hack ’n’ slash (with really big swords), QUAKE ARENA ARCADE his giant noggin is sooo 16-bit era…and we love it! The skull-cracking subway tunnels, and you’ll have to venture out to beat back the nasties M olished-up-for-XBLA versions of Doom II and Quake III? Pinch us, we A A the second chapter in this Korean-developed click-fest saga promises prehistoric powerhouse returns in an all-new XBLA adventure. (Hudson/ that want to come and chomp on what’s left of the normal folks. A strong must be dreaming. Yes, it’s happening, and Quake on the gamepad online multiplayer paired with the sprawling, stylish action befi tting a clash P Pi Studios/Coming soon) story and RPG elements should make Metro 2033 stand out. (THQ/4A felt perfect during our hands-on time: very tight, very precise. If you need between airborne creatures, humans, and vamps. (TBD/Blueside & Games/Spring 2010) us, we’ll be camping on the Quad Damage. (Bethesda/Pi Studios & id Phantagram/Late 2010) Software/Coming soon) SKATE 3 pparently, skate parks have become too dangerous to visit on your CRYSIS 2 NINETY-NINE NIGHTS II Aown, as EA is encouraging the buddy system in Skate 3, emphasizing he sequel to the PC’s most technologically stunning fi rst-person shooter ike your massive, hundred-plus warrior brawls to incorporate less history BOMBERMAN BATTLEFEST teamplay and multiplayer events. It can’t hurt to stick together to avoid is arriving on Xbox 360 day-and-date. We fully expect to have our faces ormerly Bomberman Live 2, this follow-up to the eight-player party T lesson (à la Dynasty Warriors) and more shenanigans? The follow-up to getting lost, though, as the new city of Carverton is huge. (EA/EA Black melted by its visual prowess, the way those of so many PC gamers were L favorite does exactly what it sets out to do: gives you more levels, power- 2006’s visually striking hack ’n’ slash, N3 II promises style, substance, and F Box/May 2010) when the original released. Oh, and the game is supposed to be pretty fun, ups, and costumes with which to blow up your friends. probably (we’re just guessing, but it’s good guess) some pretty fantastic too. (EA/Crytek UK/Fall 2010) (Hudson/Digital Eclipse/Coming soon) cinematics featuring adorable golems who just want to be loved. Right now, it’s slated only for a Japanese release, but we’ve got our fi ngers crossed. HALO 3: ODST (Konami/Feelplus & Q Entertainment/TBD 2010) ut…this came out in 2009!” you shout angrily. True, but the reason “Bit’s one of the biggest games of 2010 can be summed up in three words: “Halo: Reach beta.” You’ll need this disc to get in. (Microsoft/Bungie/Available Now) DEAD TO RIGHTS: RETRIBUTION

ogs may usually be considered man’s best friend, DEATHSPANK Dbut if you’re being introduced to the fang-fi lled end of Shadow, the sidekick canine in Retribution, ooray for Ron Gilbert! Yes, the creator of you’ll be happy if you’re left to bleed out peacefully. HMonkey Island returns with an all-new Letting you charge through levels as either shoot-and- comedy-adventure-RPG-thingamabob that punch–happy vice cop Jack Slate or the stealthier, should have you pointing, clicking, looting, throat-munching Shadow, this series revamp pairs and laughing for hours on end. We’re counting melee fi ghting with tough-as-nails gunplay. But don’t on you to deliver, Ron! Hothead Games/ forget your furry buddy — you’ll be able to command Hothead Games/TBD 2010 him to take down bad guys while you fi nish them off with a round of lead. (Namco Bandai/Volatile Games/TBD 2010)

60 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 FILLING A VOID: Come to think of it, Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing is really the only SMART MOVE?: We wouldn’t be surprised if, to move a few more copies, Microsoft makes Halo 3: March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 61 major mascot kart-racer on Xbox. ODST a $40 Platinum Hit just before the Halo: Reach beta is set to start. We would. 2010 WHAT’S ALREADY OUT! Time moves so fast that we’ve already reviewed a lot of 2010’s biggest games! Here’s our take on some of the best bits of the New Year! MASS EFFECT 2 OXM RATING: 9.5 You’ve heard the hype and been waiting two years for the follow-up, and you’ll be happy to know that Mass Effect 2 delivers big. Among the numerous highlights are amazing presentation, sharper combat, and…well, more Mass Effect! Roll out the trilogy’s ﬁ nal chapter! (Electronic Arts/BioWare)

BAYONETTA OXM RATING: 9.0 It’s been a while since a game’s main character delivered as much ass-kickery and sex appeal in one svelte package as Bayonetta. Equally eye-popping is the ﬂ uid combat that spikes stiletto-heeled boots into the hearts of your enemies. (Sega/Platinum Games)

BIOSHOCK 2 OXM RATING: 9.5 The Big Daddy has ﬁ nally returned in this stunning sequel, set 10 years after the ﬁ rst landmark game. Read our full blowout review on page 68! (2K Games/2K Marin)

DARKSIDERS OXM RATING: 8.5 Seems like a new apocalypse-themed game lands on store shelves every week, but few unleash as much blood-spattering fun and gruesome style in equal measure as Darksiders. While the game’s inﬂ uences may be apparent, its dark thrills are undeniable. (THQ/ Vigil Games)

THE MISADVENTURES OF P.B. WINTERBOTTOM OXM RATING: 8.0 Tim Burton himself might not have been able to pull off such an engrossing black-and-white, goth-winking tale centered on a mustachioed man and his quest to devour time-traveling pastries. Read the XBLA review on page 80! (2K Play/ The Odd Gentlemen)

ARMY OF TWO: THE 40TH DAY OXM RATING: 8.0 Awesome co-op action highlights this story of two Army Rangers stuck in Shanghai as they try to unravel the bullet-ridden, explosive mysteries plaguing the city. (EA/EA Montreal)

62 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 LIKE DARKSIDERS?: Don’t miss our contest next issue, where we’ll be giving out a “life-size” replica of War’s sword. As tempted as we are to keep it for ourselves, one lucky reader will win it. 1 XBOX LIVE 8 MEMORY UNITS The $50 fee seems exorbitant, Having your Gamercard on the go is amazing but it’s a full-ﬂ edged social- for earning Gamerscore while you’re jamming networking service on top of an on someone else’s Rock Band drums. incredible online gaming tool that’s worth every red cent. We 40 THINGS also appreciate that everything carries over to Games for Windows 9 XBOX LIVE ARCADE Live at no additional cost. It doesn’t get better than cheap, powerhouse games like Shadow Complex 8 and Trials HD on a weekly basis.

2 THE DASHBOARD We don’t miss the days of shoving in a cartridge and diving right in. We’ll WE LOVE shufﬂ e through the Dashboard blades ROCK BAND MUSIC STORE before loading up anything now, if Shopping for new tracks has been about the only to see what our friends are up to. a pain, so we didn’t bother unless we were in the game. Sometimes, though, you don’t want to put in a disc just to buy DLC. Now we can launch 3 ACHIEVEMENTS the store straight from our library and The addictive unlockable spend like crazy. trophies are a signature of our success, and we love comparing ours to our friends’. We GAMES FOR WINDOWS LIVE can’t remember gaming without Gamerscore. 10 Live as a service is seamlessly linked on PC and on console. You can access everything Live XBOX offers, whether it’s your Friends list or earning Achievements, from your PC. How sweet is that? 4 TITLE UPDATES What? We’re praising patches? Well, thankfully, auto-updating our games is quick and painless, which means less time spent impatiently staring AVATARS at download bars and more time playing. An uncanny cartoon rendition of us is cool. Playing games with them is even better.

5 NETFLIX Getting movies in the mail is a RATINGS pretty convenient We love sharing our opinion, and way to watch, the easy ﬁ ve-star grading system but you can’t lets us recommend our favorite beat streaming Live content (or condemn the crap) 360 seasons of Lost 12 with a single button-press. straight from your console.

THE EXCLUSIVES Mass Effect, Crackdown, Splinter 6 PARTY CHAT Cell Conviction, Fable, Halo, Gears Sometimes you game to get away. of War…we’d be happy without Other times you need seven buddies the incredible third-party lineup. yammering in your ear to comfortably Thankfully, we get more great games serve up space justice in Mass Effect 2. than we can handle.

7 RECENT PLAYERS INDIE MARKETPLACE Dirt-cheap games that leverage creativity No game machine is perfect, but after four fabulous years, we’re as smitten with Xbox Live is full of jackasses, but we couldn’t have kept up with the awesome guys and gals instead of massive marketing budgets? Trino this uber-console as we were when we met. And in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we randomly encountered online without the and The Impossible Game are just two of many we’re shouting those reasons to the world! Recent Players list. 14 great indies. BY MITCH DYER

64 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 LOVE/HATE, PART I: The 360 wireless adapter is handy if you can’t run an Ethernet cable through LOVE/HATE, PART II: The wireless headset is another convenience with a consequence. Speaking March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 65 your home. But it’s way too pricey (up to $100) for a gadget that tends to disconnect sometimes. sans wires is great, except for the horrendous feedback and static that everyone else hears. 40 THINGS WE LOVE 40 THINGS WE LOVE 36

GAMES ON DEMAND THE CONTROLLER NUKING 0G GAMES THE CHATPAD Why go to a store when you can The asymmetrical sticks, the perfect feeling It’s embarrassing to have garbage like Bullet Need to write a lengthy reply and grab full Xbox 360 games straight of punching the B button, and the freedom to Witch taking up space on our Gamercard. don’t want to use the crappy from Live? Better still, you can get play wired or wireless…we love our gamepad. Thankfully, we didn’t get any Gamerscore, so on-screen keyboard? The Xbox a few original-Xbox games — we can clear any evidence that we ever played 360 Chatpad is a keyboard like the excellent Crimson it. Shhh! for your thumbs that makes Skies, Psychonauts, and Indigo typing long-form messages Prophecy — for $15 apiece. THE GUIDE BUTTON much easier. The indented orb is a one-button 23 gateway to your entire Xbox 360, VIDEO CHAT from your Friends list to your display Our Live Vision camera is good for more than INSTALLS settings to everything on Xbox Live. Rainbow Six Vegas facial-mapping — we LAST.FM Faster load times and a disc drive–silencer? regularly use ours to connect with friends We’re big fans of radio that cares and Best. Feature. Ever. we don’t see too often. Seeing ourselves knows our taste. Punching in our latest next to our comrades on the same screen favorite and listening to Last.fm MEDIA CENTER makes us feel like we’re together. endlessly stream similarly awesome Wirelessly pulling pictures and videos music is blissful background noise. DEMOS from our PC saves our lazy butts the Whether they’re on our wonderful disc trouble of (a) swapping USB memory or Xbox Live, we love playing samples sticks and (b) getting up to browse the ROCK BAND STAGE KIT REMOTE POWER of killer games like Bayonetta and library. Yay! We loved Rock Band before we nabbed Why, yes, turning off the console using X-Men Origins: Wolverine. the Xbox-only Stage Kit. Now we jam to fl ashing lights in a fog-fi lled room to the controller rather than walking to further fulfi ll our rock-star fantasies. the TV is an indicator that the couch has THE REMOVABLE HARD DRIVE consumed us whole. Why do you ask? Because you never know when you’ll need to INSIDE XBOX 33 26 cram your save data and downloaded game We dig watching Achievement tips, new-game collection into a backpack. (Bonus: It usually INTERCHANGEABLE FACEPLATES footage, and interviews with industry celebs FRIENDS OF FRIENDS survives a Red Ring of Death.) Flat colors are boring. We much (some of whom guest on our fancy-pants We’re nosey, so snooping around a friend’s prefer Viva Piñata, Mass Effect, and program, The OXM Report). Friends list is perfect for us. We’ve met sports-team faceplates to give our and friend-requested plenty of excellent console some character. Thankfully, folks since the debut of this delightfully 1 VS. 100 MadCatz is pumping out new ones meddlesome feature. Microsoft Point prizes are an addictive to make up for Microsoft’s incentive to join in on the free, weekly negligence. trivia festivities.

ZUNE/VIDEO MARKETPLACE Missed last night’s Colbert Report? We THE GREEN CASES AVATAR ACCESSORIES can’t think of a better way to catch up on DVDs look boring. These snazzy Because we can’t dress up like a movies and TV — especially if you don’t boxes make our 360 games shine with Jedi and goof off with a monkey have Netfl ix — than dropping a couple an emerald-green sheen. HALO WAYPOINT in the real world. bucks to stream it. This Halo hub’s internal Achievement system gives us goodies for our Avatar, and better 35 yet, it let us sneak a peek at Halo Legends. We’re pumped to see what else it can offer. 27 NOTIFICATIONS Like unlocking an Achievement, the friendly Tpok! is a reminder that someone is online and ready to rock, whether they’re XBOX.COM 1 THE D-PAD 4 THE ABANDONMENT OF signing on or sending invites. Of Using your Will we ever be able to go down- BACKWARD-COMPATIBILITY course, if the pop-ups interrupt your 5 THINGS right-fi erce without an arcade stick? Sadly, we’ll never get to play Gamertag as a zone, you can turn ’em off entirely. forum handle Stranger’s Wrath or Advent Rising and sending without an original Xbox. WE HATE 2 DYING CONSOLES friend requests from your PC is one step closer to the about the E74 errors are replacing the Red Ring of Death “Live Anywhere” philosophy of 2006. as the leading cause of console-killing. We’re 5 FRIENDS-LIST LIMIT sick of both. This is unacceptable, especially As silly as it sounds, having 100 friends just after four years. isn’t enough. PREMIUM THEMES XBOX MUTE We’ll gladly scrape up a bit of scratch to Using the Dashboard or an in-game button to spruce up the ol’ Xbox hub with fl ashy 3 MICROSOFT POINTS silence mouthy punks forever is something we 30 backgrounds and dazzling images of our Because it seems like no matter what you buy, wish we could do in real life. favorite games. 360 there’s always leftover funny money.

66 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 LOVE/HATE, PART III: Even as Twitter addicts (follow @OXM!), we think Twitter is boned on 360. Not LOVE/HATE, PART IV: The NXE’s Friends list is an eye-pleasing way to watch your pals, but the March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 67 being able to open links or view pictures limits our interest in reading our otherwise awesome feed. long loading and one-at-a-time browsing mean it’s easier to just load your entire Friends-list blade. Exclusive Review!

By Corey Cohen ● Spider Splicers are less common than other Splicers, so when these freaky-looking foes attack, it’s a scary surprise.

As much as we loved BioShock, we barely remember putting on the WARNING Big Daddy suit near the Spoiler Alert! end of the game. It felt more gimmicky than anything — a quick, barely satisfying taste of what those loyal protectors feel like under the heavy armor. But I can conﬁ dently say you won’t forget being a Big Daddy in BioShock 2. Not for a good long while, at least. The whole BIOSHOCK 2 experience is woven Publisher: 2K GAMES so effectively into the Developers: 2K MARIN, 2K AUSTRALIA, gameplay and overarching DIGITAL EXTREMES, AND ARKANE STUDIOS story, you spend much ESRB Rating: MATURE of the game feeling Multiplayer: 2–10 over Xbox Live exactly how you’d expect a Daddy to feel. Lethal. Achievements: STEADY Loyal. And utterly at Cost: $60 home in Rapture’s creepy underwater world. After showing you a startling ﬂ ashback from years past, the game begins in 1970 — a decade after the events of BioShock. Your character in that game, Jack, is but a memory; so is Andrew Ryan, the leader he killed so dramatically. But Ryan’s presence permeates this new Rapture — and his old associates are the major players pulling your strings… continued on pg. 70

● Being able to dual-wield this time really helps against powerful Sugar baddies like the Big Sister.

DADDYLook, Mr. Bubbles! BioShock 2 makes one of gaming’s sweetest characters an amazing new action hero. Put on your helmet, strap on your drill, and dive into this awesome undersea adventure!

68 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 NEW PLASMIDS: Scout (single-player) allows you to leave your body and survey upcoming OLD PLASMIDS REVISITED: BioShock’s Hypnotize Big Daddy plasmid is now just Hypnotize, March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 69 areas, while Aero Dash (multiplayer) lets you do a ﬂ ying leap that can knock down opponents. and you can use it to enthrall Splicers and (if you’re at level 3) Big Daddies. It’s pretty handy. DADDY ● Dr. Tenenbaum, one of your main Sugar allies in the ﬁ rst game, has returned to help the Little Sisters.

● Fontaine Futuristics is full of folks whose employment seems to have ended...abruptly.

● Brute Splicers are a tough — if not hugely interesting — new enemy. They can take lots of damage and will hurl trash cans and other objects at you.

● The fl ooding of Siren Alley shows you just how far Dr. Lamb is willing to go. Daddy knows best Instead of just harvesting or rescuing Little Sisters, you can now Adopt being a good, demoralizing enemy, but because they, too, felt like recycled them and bring them to a corpse, where you stand guard while they extract BioShock, with Lamb’s mockery subbing in for Ryan’s or Fontaine’s. Before long, your goal comes into focus: Adam from it. These extractions are some of the better, tenser moments And generally, none of the boss or mini-boss characters have the weird fi nd Eleanor Lamb, your Little Sister in the game: to ensure you and your Sister survive, you’ll need to prepare allure of, say, BioShock’s demented Sander Cohen. Challenging as they long ago. Supporting you in your quest are carefully and strategically — laying traps, hacking nearby turrets and are, Brute Splicers and Alpha Daddies are just tougher versions of their some folks you’ll recognize, including Dr. machines, and so on. While Little Sisters are getting Adam, Splicers attack brethren, and the Big Sisters — while a captivating character in their own Tenenbaum (savior of Little Sisters in BioShock) by the mob-full, and only death will make them relent. right — are never really fl eshed-out the way we hoped they’d be story-wise. and Augustus Sinclair (owner of plasmid-maker After beating the game, we’re still unclear exactly who they were and why Sinclair Solutions); trying to make you “Big Deady” they were fi ghting us. is Eleanor’s mother, Dr. Sofia Lamb, along with several That loose end with the Big Sisters is a real surprise because for the allies and scores of Adam-addicted Splicers. Gone Daddy gone most part, BioShock 2 tells a consistently strong, engaging story, with The single-player journey, which took me around 15 moments of genuine power. In one of them, shown in preview trailers, hours, leads you through nine never-before-seen, often In between these heart-pumping moments, however, the middle of the Lamb ruthlessly fl oods Siren Alley ― an area you’ve just traversed — and intriguing, areas of Rapture. Ryan Amusements — a theme game loses a little steam. Most of the time, you’re fi ghting Splicers, and you see Splicer corpses fl oating near swimming sharks, as Lamb tells you: park designed to make children fear the topside world — is while their A.I.’s good and they often scare you silly (I jumped every time “[It] is the world for which you strive. You…alone…among the dead.” Other full of fascinating exhibits depicting artists, scientists, and a Spider Splicer leapt out of a vent), their “I’m a wild-and-crazy killer!” highlights are what we’ll call “morality moments,” where you have to other professions being stifl ed by the government. Pauper’s Drop, routine grows old after a while, especially if you played BioShock. Likewise, decide whether to kill or spare a helpless enemy, and said choices have an meanwhile, is a garbage-riddled slum once avoided by Rapture’s Lamb’s frequent transmissions began to wear on me — not because she was impact later in the game. continued on pg. 72 richer residents. Wherever you go, you’ll see more evidence of the city’s decline: makeshift beds in random corners; corpses propped against walls; scrawled messages and candle-lit shrines to Lamb. ● Like much of ● Defending Little Sisters while they ● New characters help fl esh out the Much of the gameplay is similar to what BioShock fans remember, but with Rapture, Ryan harvest Adam makes for some pulse- city’s engrossing backstory. Amusements is pounding moments. small improvements or some tweaks now that you’re a Big Daddy. Hacking uses a in rough shape. new mini-game (no more pipe puzzles) similar to reloading in Gears of War; by mid- game I was sick of it, although, thankfully, you can shorten the process with tonics or pay to skip it entirely. Progress screens now make camera research much easier to track. And you can dual-wield, using the left and right triggers to fi re a plasmid and a weapon simultaneously — vital for, say, electrocuting a foe and then shooting him with your speargun, or for freezing him and then charging him with your drill. Sadly for completists, there’s no option to jump in a Bathysphere and return to previous levels: if you want to fi nd every item or diary, you’ll have to be meticulous your fi rst time through. But this tweak improves BioShock 2’s pacing — with no option to look back, you must keep moving forward in your mission.

70 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 NO RUSH: As a Big Daddy, you move slower here than you did as Jack in BioShock, but it’s never TRAPS: We used Trap Rivets (which shoot projectiles when triggered) and Cyclone Traps (which March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 71 cumbersome. You’re not nearly as slow as you were when you wore a Daddy suit in the ﬁ rst game. ﬂ ing Splicers into the air) often. The latter were usually more useful because they delay attackers. Sugar DADDY

● With their plasmid powers and giant needle, Big Sisters will send you to the ● Our favorite multiplayer mode, Vita-Chamber more Capture the Sister, is a goofy twist than once. on — what else? — capture-the-ﬂ ag.

And then there’s the payoff: the last two hours of the game. It’s impossible to go into much detail without spoiling it for you — and you’d hate me if I did — but I’ll ● Walking outside Rapture isn’t as fun as we hoped ● The new hacking mini-game gets old fast. say this: BioShock 2’s fi nal act it’d be. You’ll fi nd a few interesting things in these Blessedly, you can shorten it or make it easier with tonics...or you can pay to skip it altogether. more than compensates for its parts, though. Civil War slow middle. This game needed RAPTURE’S FALL GIVES BS2’S a strong ending (and one without an ill-fi tting, BioShock-style boss fi ght), and the developers delivered, offering multiple game-changing moments and resolutions in that MULTIPLAYER A BOOST closing chapter. The stakes are raised, the pace shifts enormously (slowing down, then ramping way up), and the fi nal battle is spectacularly intense. Even the end cinematics The bloody battles among Rapture’s citizens — including the 1959 New Year’s Eve are dazzling, giving us a closing vision (based on our uniformly good-guy behavior) that riots — were alluded to in the fi rst BioShock, but BioShock 2 one-ups its predecessor moved us with its quiet beauty and wonderful appropriateness. Many great games have big-time by actually letting you participate in those struggles. It’s roughly a year choked at the fi nish line; this one speeds through and smiles. before the events of BioShock, and you’re fi eld-testing Sinclair Solutions plasmids and weapons on your fellow residents. As multiplayer premises go, it’s wildly creative, and whichever mode you’re playing, the sense of living Rapture’s history is super-cool. Enhancing the story element is your apartment — basically an individual space Daddy long legs where you can hang out before stepping into a Bathysphere and warping to the match- And with all of our deliberate vagueness out of the way, what else can we say? making lobby. Your apartment holds some fi xed elements (like wardrobe accessories, BioShock 2 isn’t a groundbreaking follow-up that rewrites all the rules laid down by a radio), but even better are diaries from the six multiplayer characters and messages its predecessor. No, think of it as a sequel that fi lls in the gaps, adding exciting new from Sinclair Solutions. As you gain multiplayer rank (à la the Call of Duty or Battlefi eld dimensions to what’s come before. With its eerie atmosphere, revealing character games), new diaries and messages appear, giving your apartment a little ongoing plot diaries, and ominous transmissions, it hews close — a bit too close, at times — to the value. If you don’t care about these details, you can skip the apartment altogether and original game’s conventions. But it retains BioShock’s giant level of quality…and its go directly to the match-making lobby; but in such a narrative-driven game, the added unshakeable sense of loss. You have returned to Rapture, it tells us. Bad things await. backstory is a perfect addition. And by game’s end, even with a few turbulent moments, you will have experienced part The multiplayer itself is less inspired but still pretty fun. We had a good time with two of one of gaming’s best stories. And you will be utterly absorbed. all fi ve modes — especially Capture the Sister, where teams of fi ve-on-fi ve fi ght over a terrifi ed Little Sister, with one team defending her and the other trying to put her in a vent. A similar mode, Team ADAM Grab, has each team trying to hold onto a Sister the longest, while Turf War has teams vying for control points. Survival of the Fittest and The Verdict Civil War (i.e., deathmatch and team deathmatch) seemed to best fi t the underlying tale ON XBOX 360 of anarchy in the streets; both modes also have a randomly appearing Big Daddy suit + Dripping with atmosphere and that gives the wearer extra durability and weapons, but limited speed and vision, too. quality; good story with a terrific We doubt anyone will (or should) buy BioShock 2 for its multiplayer, but it’s ending; good gameplay tweaks. + Multiplayer sweetens the deal. defi nitely a worthwhile bonus for campaign fans. The story elements are terrifi c, and – Stalls a bit in the middle; some revisiting BioShock locales like Fort Frolic and Neptune’s Bounty as multiplayer maps is lackluster new foes. a great idea. ? Are we the only ones who rarely use telekinesis? 9.5

72 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 ARE WE NUTS?: In Capture the Sister, when you put a Little Sister in a vent, you do it gently. We GOOD CALL: At one point, rumors swirled that BioShock 2’s single-player story (rather than its March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 73 think it’d be funny if you just ﬂ ung her in there, Rollerball-style (without hurting her, of course). multiplayer premise) would be a prequel. We’d like to thank the devs for looking forward instead. Whoʼs up? Whoʼs down? We rate the yearʼs

s ’

OXM 2010 STAR-POWER RANKINGS

Whoʼs up? Whoʼs down? We rate the yearʼs biggest Predator 13 Marcus Fenix 9 Aside from our high True, the hard- Xbox stars on marketability, media buzz, and our hopes for this year’s Aliens headed Gears of War hero is vs. Predator game, Australia’s still popular, and anything own naked bias. BY KEVIN W. SMITH ever-reliable Offi ce of Film and resembling a 2010 release Literature Classifi cation almost date for a new Gears game banned the title before its would be a megaton event. 5 Sam Fisher release for violent content. The Working against Fenix is that, Overhauled by fact that your in-game Predator while we suspect something is Ubisoft, stealth-meister can rip heads off Marines — defi nitely in the works, there’s Sam Fisher is making with their spines still attached little chance it’s coming out his long-awaited return to — earns this dreadlocked freak this year. Prove us wrong, Epic! Xbox after three years on ice a hot spot. with the Xbox 360–exclusive Splinter Cell: Conviction. This fi fth chapter in the Splinter Cell Commander Batman saga tells a tale of espionage 1 3 and revenge in a revamped Shepard Who had a better 2009 Tiger Woods style. And while Sam may be 16 At the center of perhaps than Batman? First, The Dark Bayonetta Prince of Persia No one — and we mean late to the “beards are back” 7 11 the most anticipated game Knight nets Oscar gold. Then, We gave recent release Jake Gyllenhaal is no one — suffered a bigger trend, we’re just stoked to see of 2010, Mass Effect star Arkham Asylum comes out Bayonetta a 9.0, calling its starring as the lead in the image catastrophe of late than him again. Commander Shepard already of nowhere and proves itself female lead “one of the most upcoming fi lm Prince of Persia: the once-squeaky-clean golf looks poised to have his name the ultimate Batman game, versatile action heroes ever to The Sands of Time, and a new maestro who went from being on several year-end lists. The selling over a million 360 crack skulls in a videogame.” game, The Forgotten Sands — the face of sports to an out-of- double-disc Mass Effect 2 is copies in the process. And the Yeah, that’s right. With her rumored to be a return to form— control womanizer. At press through-the-roof awesome game’s version of the Caped magic dark hair, long legs, and is on the way. If that doesn’t time, he was still on his self- (OXM rating: 9.5). Plus, how Crusader is even more badass glasses, the witchy Bayonetta put the Prince at the forefront of imposed hiatus from the links, could Shepard fail when he than Christian Bale’s frog-in- has the look of an ass-kicking gaming, then maybe he really which makes us wonder: If Tiger or she has (presumably) your the-throat version. Bring on librarian. We have high hopes to should slap “Fresh” in front of Woods PGA Tour 11 is released, striking good looks? Arkham 2! see more of her in 2010. his name. will he even be in it?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 HOT NOT

2 Big Daddy 6 Alan Wake 12 Green Day 15 Tony Hawk Sure, BioShock 2’s Who the hell is Alan How do you follow The While it’s tempting Subject Delta never actually Wake? We’re fi nally going to Beatles? That’s the question to give Hawk props for taking appeared in the fi rst game. But fi nd out when the psycho- Harmonix faced after the a risk with the skateboard- as the prototype of Rapture’s thriller of the same name — success of the Fab Five’s Rock controller experiment in Tony iconic drill-wielder, and the announced way back in 2005 Band. Apparently, the answer Hawk: Ride, the game was a hero of this heroic follow-up, — ships later this year. With is with Green Day: Rock Band, failure of such epic proportions he’s Big Money. Exploring the roots in everything from cult- which has many a game pundit (OXM rating: 5.0), we can’t underwater dreamland through classic TV show Twin Peaks to chattering. Playing 1994’s help but recall that old saying the lens of a vintage steel hel- Stephen King, it looks plenty Dookie and 2004’s American about there being too much of met is only part of BioShock 2’s gripping, and its protagonist Idiot sounds fun. Everything a good thing. charms. (Read our verdict on 4 Max Payne ranks high for keeping us the veteran punk trio released page 68.) Absent for seven intrigued the entire time. in between? We’ll see. 14 Legos years with only a bad Mark 8 Master Chief 10 War Okay, seriously, Lego Wahlberg (sans Funky Bunch) The green, black, and Why is this lone folk, we need some time apart. impersonation to show for it, gold god of the Halo series horseman of the apocalypse on It’s not you; it’s us…we just the original bullet-time badass moves more units than Jay-Z our list? Look no further than his feel like we’re reliving the — headliner of two namesake and has become an Xbox icon. spectacular debut in January’s same game constantly. What games — plans his return this The mere mention of a new Darksiders. The apocalyptic began as a fun novelty quickly year. Since his last outing, he’s Halo installment, due later this actioner (OXM rating: 8.5) let transformed into Lego versions lost his job (and hair), is battling year, sends fans scrambling for you bash skeletons and skewer of our favorite titles appearing the bottle, and has moved to their wallets. Hurting Master mythical creatures with gory on a seemingly weekly basis. South America. No, this game is Chief in our rankings? His long- fl air, and we fully expect it to Please take a break after Lego not based on the life of “rapper” awaited fi lm debut can’t quite explode into a full-blown series Harry Potter; we don’t need Lego Joaquin Phoenix. get off the ground. in the ’10s. Halo to become a reality.

74 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 SO CLOSE: Just falling short of our list was Kane, from the upcoming Kane & Lynch: Dog Days. HOPE FOR TIGER?: Since games are bought primarily by dudes, will they be more sympathetic March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 75 Bruce Willis is rumored to be playing him in an upcoming movie based on the game series. and willing to cut Tiger Woods a break than the ladies? We’ll see. Get all our review scores…now! NOW

THE VERDICT How do we determine review scores? With a special quantum microscope that measures game quality at a subatomic level, of course! It’s a ﬂ awless process, but we always get questions about it, so here’s how to XBOX NOW interpret the results: 11: Perfect MECHA GODZILLA’S CHOICE The unicorn. Will never happen. Never.

10: Classic EDITORS’ CHOICE One of those rare and very best of games. Every Xbox gamer simply must buy it and play it, regardless of whether they’re a fan of the genre.

9.0 OR 9.5: Awesome EDITORS’ CHOICE Very impressive. One of the best games around. May have a few minor problems, but they’re small and very easily tolerated. 8.0 OR 8.5: Great A great game and an A-list title, but it either has niche appeal, suffers from minor technical or design issues, or has peripheral problems like a crummy interface.

7.0 OR 7.5: Good Has a lot of good things going for it, but there’s a big problem or two — something that limits its appeal or gets downright annoying. Could also be a game that aims low but hits surprisingly high.

6.0 OR 6.5: Decent An adequate game with something interesting to offer, but it has some truly signiﬁ cant issues. Otaku won’t mind much, but the rest of the world will.

5.0 OR 5.5: Mediocre Very unspecial and average in the worst sense of that word. You can’t pound it for being terrible, but it’s hard to ﬁ nd something that makes it worthy of recommendation.

4.0 OR 4.5: Deficient It has some very serious ﬂ aws and problems, but you can play it if you’re interested. It works and does what it sets out to do, but it probably never aimed that high in the ﬁ rst place. 3.0 OR 3.5: Wounded It has some crippling problems and is poorly conceived and designed. You can imagine someone wanting to try it, but not that many people, and they all should rent before they buy. 0.0 – 2.5: Broken Just really bad. Lacks a single redeeming quality, and/or it’s busted to varying degrees in its design, quality, or basic functionality. No gamer of any stripe should bother.

83 0 Day Attack on Earth 81 Alien Breed 68 BioShock 2 84 Borderlands: Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot 84 Chaotic: Shadow Warriors BioShock 2, pg. 68 78 Divinity II: Ego Draconis 84 Fret Nice 83 Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond 80 The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom 81 Puzzlegeddon 82 Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter 81 Vancouver 2010

Serious Sam HD: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, pg. 80 The First Encounter, pg. 82

NEXT ISSUE: The fancy-lookin’ eagle is landing next time with a mega-review of Final Fantasy XIII, March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 77 plus reviews of Battleﬁ eld: Bad Company 2, Dante’s Inferno, and other big-name titles! NOW NOW

You can’t tell, but at least 18 guys are After slaying, avoiding, chasing us here. and taking advice from dragons, it’s about time we get to become one.

Though you choose your gender at the start, you can change it whenever you want. Divinity II: Ego Draconis Let your ghoulish creature go first. A dragon in the rough

With the touch of a button, you can bits and chickens in your wake. The next, you’re Brains Over Brawn transform from a measly human stuck in a dungeon, chugging health potions as A tip for warrior wannabes Time to employ your A pleasant candle-lit prayer into a dragon and back again, a pack of skeletons neatly gift-wrap your rear and fancy-talk skills. ruined by skeletons. Again. faster and smoother than Optimus hand it to you. With Divinity II’s class-less system, you can Prime could ever dream. The heavy To our despair, the methods you generally learn skills without having to designate beating of leathery wings as you spew employ in these situations don’t work. You can’t refuses to hold your hand throughout these liked having him around to pat on the head. whether you’re a warrior, mage, or archer. a solid stream of fl ames casts a mighty spell — pull your enemies, as their health immediately drawn-out brain teasers. That means no glowing Like this abominable pet, Divinity II has However, you still need to choose which one that may even make you forget the 17 times regenerates once they wander too far. Nor can button, compass, quest marker, or guardian fairy plenty of quirky oddities, but they seem to cower Pause for Technical route to take when assigning stat points. you’ve had to return to the Dashboard to reset you level-grind, since monsters don’t respawn. whispering in your ear. So when you fi nally fi nd beneath the standard fantasy theme. Every Do you stack up Strength points to become the game. With lousy targeting and a wily camera working that key tucked beneath the dead bandit, you’ll RPG worth its weight has sidequests, loot, and Diffi culties the ultimate warrior, or toss most of your Ignoring the technical diffi culties (see against you, your best chance at victory is a feel a satisfaction like none other. Or you’ll curse customizable gear — and we’ve seen our share points into Intelligence to become a mage? A reviewer’s quick rant sidebar), most players won’t make it through the healthy serving of patience and the ability to save and swear off games forever. of goblins and knights. But it’s not every day we It turns out the two aren’t nearly equal. fi rst few hours. Divinity II’s out-dated graphics anytime, anywhere. Despite the uphill get the chance to read Each time you add a point to Strength, you and choppy strings of three-second cutscenes are Unless you happen to kick ass on the fi eld, battle, you’d be making a ghost’s mind, mock boost your melee damage by .5%. When you grating, but it’s the lurches in diffi culty that test the many dungeon puzzles you encounter a mistake if you call it Midway through the our nemesis’ undead put a point into Intelligence, you boost your your temper. One minute, you’re parading around throughout the game offer just as much quits before reaching the girlfriend, or solve ethical

MATURE spell damage and “magical” melee damage game, you’ll fi nally like Hercules, leaving a bloody mess of goblin frustration with twice the reward. Divinity II halfway marker. Midway riddles to escape an by 1%. In other words, with Intelligence, through the game, you earn your wings… insane mage. Diluted ESRB: you do twice the damage and can execute fi nally earn your wings by hours of confusing both spells and weapon attacks. With and gain access to Divinity II’s most captivating sidequests and repetitive battles, these original This guy’s Strength, you have the same chance a nail features, especially the Battle Tower. From moments don’t shine as brightly as they should. $60 anatomy is wrong. fi le has against the Great Wall of China. Just wrong. anywhere in the world, you can teleport to your — Meghan Watt Cost: very own tower, where four captive tradesmen Throughout our 50-hour playthrough, our LARIAN STUDIOS The warrior wait at your beck and call. Three of these guys way isn’t the provide the ordinary: potions, enchantments and frustration boiled as we suffered through The Verdict disappearing essentials (like, say, the NATURAL NATURAL only way. the like. But the fourth, the necromancer, offers a ON XBOX 360 fl oor beneath our feet), dysfunctional Developer: disgustingly Tim Burton–esque service. + With rotting limbs collected from fallen foes, Innovative features such as sidequests, missing dialogue, and the Battle Tower, undead- obligatory reboots every third time we tried the necromancer can sew together and reanimate creature creation, and instant to load an overwritten save-game. The a freakish creature to battle by your side. As long man-to-dragon transformation. Achievements: Achievements: as you’ve got the mana, your undead companion – Unforgivable technical issues; only possible explanation is that Divinity II

No out-dated graphics. grew a pair of legs and sneaked past QA I love movies and long walks will pop out of a pocket-sized skull like a Pokémon CDV SOFTWARE CDV through foreboding caves. – Repetitive, frustrating fights. without notice. every time you summon him. He distracts and ? Is 50+ hours the standard now? 6.5 destroys the enemy beautifully, but we just Publisher: Multiplayer:

78 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 THE SEQUEL?: Larian Studios developed a spin-off in addition to its original PC title, Divine NO SHIRT, NO SERVICE: Technical issues aren’t a laughing matter, except for the time our March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 79 Divinity, making Divinity II the third game in the series. hero loaded barefoot and shirtless. NOW NOW Puzzlegeddon Vancouver 2010 A puzzling lack of competition Out of contention

Vancouver 2010 makes minor strides for licensed Olympics games, delivering strong visuals $50 and a believable sense of speed

Cost: in several events, but it falls victim to a couple of signiﬁ cant issues. Like the actual Winter Olympics, The 51 main story levels are Vancouver 2010 expects players to broken up into five themed be extremely skilled from the outset,

episodes, each with a unique CHALLENGING but without a sense of progression or movie poster. particularly helpful tips in these standalone Cutesy graphics harbor some tough events, we often found ourselves seriously challenges against hard-as-nails A.I. outclassed by A.I. competitors, with no

Achievements: idea or pointers on how to improve. And Colored blocks and giant missiles EVERYONE while we liked the Challenge mode’s Vancouver 2010 conveys a great sense of speed, especially in skiing events. may seem like strange bedfellows, unique variations on each sport, it’s no real ESRB: Getting to a particular but in Puzzlegeddon, the simple substitute for a true career mode. pie when you have to puzzle action unlocks an arsenal Moreover, the game curiously lacks dodge your previous of attacks used to smash up enemy bots many major events from the event’s real-life The Verdict incarnations can challenge or online pals. Linking and clearing fi ve or EUROCOM lineup, including curling, hockey, fi gure ON XBOX 360 memory and reflexes alike. more like-colored blocks on the 6x6 grid (by skating, and half-pipe snowboarding. And + Strong presentation and sense shifting lines horizontally or vertically) juices the 14 events that did make the cut mostly of speed. up your abilities, letting you target on-screen Developer: tend toward skis, boards, and sleds. What’s – Many events are very difficult foes with missiles or grid inhibiting locks, as here is largely solid, but try as it might, with few tips for improvement. – Missing many of the real-life well as protect yourself with missile-refl ecting 4 on same Live console, 4 on Xbox Vancouver 2010 just can’t match SEGA Olympic events. The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom shields and power boosts. the splendor and great variety of the real- ? How cool would a “Road to the It’s a solid approach in both concept and world games. Olympics” mode be? 5.5 execution, but the game just doesn’t offer — Andrew Hayward Multiplayer: Publisher: Stuffing your face has never demanded so much thought enough to keep you interested for long. All you’ll fi nd on the single-player side are quick An obsession with sugary treats solutions from each level’s creative challenges. one you’re about to erase. This can be frustrating battles against very diffi cult bots and the normally just means morbid Controlling your odd little protagonist is simple if you screw up a tricky jump, for example, and objective-based Poison Peril mode, and while Alien Breed Evolution: Ep. 1 obesity, but Mr. Winterbottom’s enough: run and jump around strange 2D fi elds have to repeat the same movements too many Puzzlegeddon is ready-made for Xbox Live passion for pies lets him fi ddle of platforms and desserts, remove obstacles times. But perseverance rewards you with cool battles, we couldn’t fi nd a single opponent This is your father’s shooter with time itself. The dressed- and trigger launchpads with pressure plates and new gameplay wrinkles, like prima donna pies online. Maybe that’s not the game’s fault, but it certainly makes Puzzlegeddon much harder up gentleman is out to bag an enormous that you can eat only under theater spotlights. Nearly 20 years after the to recommend. Chronoberry Pie, which taunts and teases him Winterbottom’s biggest snag isn’t its 2D top-down shooter Alien If Buster Keaton — Andrew Hayward across 51 levels. frustration level, or the niche appeal of its puzzles Breed hit the Commodore While the black-and-white look of Bakersburg made a time-travel and presentation, but the balance between crust Amiga in 1991, original might seem forbidding at fi rst, P.B. Winterbottom movie about a steam- and fruity fi lling. The story lasts under three hours, developer Team17 has resurrected the lures you into its idiosyncratic world with cheery and too much of that is spent introducing new franchise as an isometric 3D episodic personality. Pastries twitch like they can’t wait to punk bakery, it’d look ideas even as existing ones cry out for deeper game for Live Arcade. A knock-off be devoured, and Winterbottom’s schnozz hangs development. Twenty-fi ve unlockable bonus of the Alien movies, the game’s

in the air as if snifﬁ ng cobbler is his sole purpose. a lot like this. missions and their respective leaderboards TEEN much-copied premise hasn’t aged If Buster Keaton made a time-travel movie about challenge you to gobble up goodies in less time all that gracefully: You (or you and a a steampunk bakery, it’d look a lot like this. levers, and try not to get burned to a crisp. But and with fewer clones, but shaving seconds is far ESRB: friend) play as an engineer trapped

The ﬁ lm-grain and projector-effect trimmings when you’re able to record your own movements less appealing than conquering new ground. 800 Microsoft Points ($10) on a doomed space station with the EVERYONE

fade in the mind once you start to coax elegant to spawn looping clones, the game reveals its But maybe it’s ﬁ tting that a game about pies EVERYONE 800 Microsoft Points ($10)

800 Microsoft Points ($10) “breed,” skittering insectoid aliens Cost: complicated side. leaves you hungry. Even if it ultimately ends with that have overrun and killed most of Cost: ESRB: ESRB: Cost: Cost: Ride your own top your stomach growling, Winterbottom’s very best the humans aboard. hat to reach higher bites are still worth every penny. This shooter is old-school all the With a little experimentation, The action in Puzzlegeddon requires you With significantly upgraded graphics, the nearly ground, smack clones — Cameron Lewis way — grab weapons, kill E.T.s, ﬁ nd STINGY STINGY PUNISHING you can get clones to bat you to plan both defense and offense. TEAM17 SOFTWARE 20-year-old Alien Breed gets a fresh start. back and forth like a tennis ball. into tarts only they can keycards to open doors, activate a consume, and avoid multitude of switches, and then kill red doppelgangers who UNDERCOOKED even more E.T.s. Alien Breed does look kill on contact. You The Verdict Developer: PIECES INTERACTIVE THE ODD GENTLEMEN pretty great thanks to its use of Unreal Achievements: ON XBOX LIVE ARCADE Achievements: The Verdict The Verdict can sometimes ﬁ ll the Engine 3, although the default gamma screen with partners, + Excellent puzzles make you think ON XBOX LIVE ARCADE ON XBOX LIVE ARCADE along unfamiliar lines. setting was too dark for us. The translucent but Winterbottom’s best + Solid pairing of puzzles and + The graphics are Unreal Engine Developer: Achievements: + Unique presentation marries combat. mini-map in the upper-right corner is also 3-errific. Developer: moments require both old-world theatrics and – Little variety to the gameplay too hard to see against most backgrounds. + Co-op over Xbox Live or on the economical planning and time-warping sci-fi. and modes. same console.

2 on Xbox Live 2 on Xbox It’s brain-dead, sure, but Alien Breed 6 on Xbox Live 6 on Xbox

NONE – Short; new ideas undeveloped. – Grid is eye-strainingly small on – Straightforward. no-frills TECMO skillful timing. You’ll often TEAM17 SOFTWARE 2K PLAY ? Why won’t clones walk against delivers what it sets out to: old-fashioned have to record a new game screen. shooter; little depth. the flow of conveyor belts? 8.0 ? Will the online population grow gameplay with a pretty new face. ? Do we really need two more clone while exploiting the in time? 6.5 — Chuck Osborn episodes of this? 6.0 Publisher: Multiplayer: Publisher: Multiplayer: Publisher: Multiplayer:

80 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 GAME UNIVERSITY: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom started as a master’s-degree thesis BANG!: Which missing event did we most want to see in Vancouver 2010? That’d be March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 81 project at USC. You can read a post-mortem of the endeavor at http://tinyurl.com/pbpostmort. biathlon, a laborious combo of cross-country skiing and riﬂ e shooting. What? We like guns! NOW NOW 0 Day Attack on Earth A day not worth remembering

Blasting massive alien invaders from the sky Bombs fill the screen with fiery explosions. has proven entertaining in countless games, This isn’t where but despite some solid you want to be aesthetics, 0 Day Attack on right now. Earth’s one-note shooting action can’t rouse any fresh excitement from this tried-and-true concept. Ancient Designed as a cross between twin- blah. Artifact stick shooters like Geometry Wars and whatever. traditional, arcade-style shoot-’em-ups, Picking up Square Enix’s original shooter lets you 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15) certain objects : take point in an airborne battle set Info on each new propels you to Cost above New York, Tokyo, and Paris. 0 Day species is added to the next area. a neural implant, 10+ EVERYONE Attack on Earth is technically sound, which also gives for the most part — the controls work VARIED VARIED

occasional tips. ESRB: ﬁ ne, the learning curve is much less severe than standard shmups (plus the

GULTI difﬁ culty is adjustable), and the giant creatures that ﬂ oat above the cities are visually feeling doesn’t linger for long, as the game tops

Achievements: Achievements: impressive, as are the overhead views of each out at two hours or less. The Verdict real-life metropolis. Even the online play comes up short, thanks ON XBOX LIVE ARCADE Developer: But 0 Day squanders its potential through a to curious design decisions like the inability to + Great enemy designs and Serious Sam HD: TFE real-world city maps. combination of repetitive missions and a nearly continue in co-op and an all-seeing radar bubble – in team-based modes. We expect a lot more from Quick campaign has bland complete lack of narrative. Little context or missions and little story. 8 on Xbox Live 8 on Xbox personality is lent to the brief campaign, giving Xbox Live Arcade games that notch a $15 price – Online play undercut by crummy Come get some more SQUARE ENIX you little extra incentive to blaze through the point, and 0 Day simply doesn’t make much of an design choices. ? Why is this a $15 game? Noble mission objectives. Slick It’s also stupid fun. By the 25th restart — okay, boring, carbon-copied missions. Killing the same argument to justify the investment. 5.0 enemies in each city gets old quickly, but the — Andrew Hayward cover mechanics. Character maybe the 40th — of one late-game area where Publisher: Multiplayer: exposition and squadmate literally hundreds of skeletal horses were relationships. Believable and fair clomping toward me, I’d experienced comedy, challenges. Serious Sam HD: The pain, frustration, exhilaration, panic, frustration, First Encounter has none of those. What apathy, frustration, and fi nally euphoria. Once I “Yarr, mate—AAAGH IT BURNS!” it does have — and totally owns — is guns and beat the level, restocked on health and ammo, Matt Hazard: Blood ammo, crazy-weird enemies, cruel design tricks, and hit the Y button to save, I was exhausted. and hand-cramping, trigger-squeezing action. Jaunting through Egyptian settings, Sam faces Co-op Bath and Beyond This fi rst-person shooter is unabashedly foes who defy logic and sense, and are crafted bouts are old-school. Born out of a comic interpretation of purely for shooting-gallery target practice. A mindless fun, Laughter shouldn’t be the only medicine classic shooters like Doom, it’s brash, frustrating, headless, bomb-wielding dude who charges you pure and simple. and invigorating. Pick up a +1 armor token, and while screaming maniacally before exploding in The sidescrolling shooter is an forgettable if not for the you’re likely to be insta-punked by beasts that your face is bad enough, but the horses instill thoroughly engaging, especially in co-op, and arcade-era artifact that’s doing a self-deprecating text make you think twice the next time. Snag a health perpetual fear. Mech beasts, armored scorpions, this wanton shooter-fest is backed by quality damn fi ne job of keeping up with bubbles and reverent chainsaw-wielding red shirts, and more demand presentation: the visuals are slick, the audio 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15) pack when you anticipate disaster but need the the times. Shadow Complex is a backdrops that comprise

boost, and…nothing. You can hear the developers quick weapon switches. will keep you awake at night, and it’s one of the 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15) MATURE divine example of how the genre each level. BBB pokes

Cost: Cost: most controller-rumbling games ever. But by MATURE laughing when you trigger these tricks and traps. And come the conclusion — where literally can evolve to feel fresh, and Bionic fun at its predecessor’s modern standards, it misses every checkmark of Cost: Don’t be fooled by the name: this remake thousands of hell-beasts hack away at you as you ESRB: Commando Rearmed expertly breathed new unanimously poor review scores before throwing from scratch. Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond of the PC franchise is as goofy as shooters get. frantically unload everything you’ve got — you’ll quality design. The enemies are crass, the design WEAK

ESRB: life into a classic. Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and you into an underwater city to blow up dudes relies on its demanding difﬁ culty to disguise its circle-strafe like a ninja, laugh, is mean, the challenge is unforgiving, and the Beyond, the XBLA follow-up to the lukewarm Matt in diver suits. Awesome. That charm quickly creative bankruptcy, which makes the $15 price BRUTAL scream, and die frequently. But reward limited. You’ve been warned. Hazard: Eat Lead, ignores these improvements. dissipates, however. We dig difﬁ cult games, too hard to swallow. you’ll relish the type of challenge — Alex Clark Instead, BBB merely offers a 2.5D Contra clone but keeping your fragile hero away from the two — Mitch Dyer CROTEAM Whether you’re in

corridors or wide-open that just doesn’t rear its head in VICIOUS CYCLE with a sense of humor. or three shots it takes to kill him is annoying, Achievements: fields, attacks come games much anymore. Bringing Hazard’s ho-hum action would be completely and memorizing enemy attack patterns is a

The Verdict Achievements: from all angles. a friend helps a lot: through pain because foreground imagery and cramped The Verdict

Developer: tweaked monster numbers and ON XBOX LIVE ARCADE Developer: spaces make it tough to see where you’re being Forget Faith: Mounties ON XBOX LIVE ARCADE spawn routines, the cooperative + They just don’t make ’em like make Mirror’s Edge better. hit from. For some, that hardcore challenge is + Cute sense of humor pays play is much more forgiving than this anymore. + Sheer intensity makes masochistic bliss; for us, it’s a frustrating series homage to our favorite games. – the single-player slog. (Though stage-clearing pretty rewarding. of unnecessary trial-and-error that ruins the Unoriginal gameplay way too Achievement-wise, you’re hardly – Cheap moments and “secret simple joy of turning Mounties riding moose- pricey at $15. 2 on same screen – Messy screen forces retries; no 2 in co-op via Xbox Live 2 in co-op via Xbox rewarded for your conquests.) traps” are just mean. D3 PUBLISHER tanks into giblets. DEVOLVER DIGITAL DEVOLVER ? How does a headless mid-game difficulty swap. Serious Sam HD is a hit- ? bomb-wielder scream? By the time we’d had enough of restarting Are there masochists out there 7.5 that dig this level of difficulty? and-miss experience. It can be stages, BBB wouldn’t let us dial down the 4.5

Publisher: Multiplayer: difﬁ culty without having to start the entire game Publisher: Multiplayer:

82 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 SAM “SERIOUS” STONE: You know it’s going to be a bad day of alien slaughter when Mental ACES: 0 Day developer Gulti, founded in 2006 by core developers who worked on the Raiden shoot- March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 83 attacks Earth with his dastardly denizens. That’s the entire plot right there. ’em-up series, put together last year’s Raiden Fighters Aces compilation for Xbox 360. NOW NOW

Borderlands’ Chaotic: Shadow Warriors Revisit some of the notable hits and misses from the Xbox library, as we press… Mad Moxxi’s Play the hand you’re dealt Army of Two: The 40th Day Underdome Riot Warning: The story in Chaotic could only exist in a videogame. You must be this hardcore You’re Tom, a player entering the to ride this ride virtual world of Perim in order to THE BACK solve the mystery of the missing Battlegear before the forces of evil take over the world. Verdict We told you. But this is the stuff of Saturday morning kids’ logic and that’s who Chaotic’s monster-brawling magical world of “mugic” $40 spell-casting is squarely aimed at. BUTTON

Cost: Cost: 8.0 The problem though lies in its turn- EVERYONE based monster-on-monster combat. It’s just not…well, very compelling. The status The bromance resumes in this thrilling sequel, which has buddies ESRB: ESRB: Salem and Rios blasting their way through the streets of Shanghai. Co-

CHILDISH changes don’t seem to have any effect on There’s a definite Pokémon-style vibe to op fans will revel in the strategic gunplay, as will solo players, thanks to Every five rounds, you’ll duel a boss to the damage done, and new monsters gained Chaotic’s monster-collecting schtick. improved teammate A.I. We could’ve done without the shaky story and move to the next set of rounds. Good luck! have generally the same moves, or do the FUN LABS same amount of damage as previous ones. unnecessary upgrade system, but 40th Day delivers enough slam-bang With little reason to actively capture new The Verdict action to mask its weaker points. Achievements: Achievements: creatures, we ended up playing through the ON XBOX 360

Developer: Developer: game with our ﬁ rst set of monsters with very + Fun for fans of the series, low little variation. price point. Granted, this is a game meant for fans, + Non-existent story – Boring combat lacks variety Darksiders but we can’t see it preaching to any one 2 on Xbox Live 2 on Xbox ? Why were we able to beat

ACTIVISION ACTIVISION but the converted. And even then, those the game with our first set of converts won’t be particularly impressed. monsters? — Taylor Cocke 5 .0 A Lesson in Waste Publisher: Publisher: Multiplayer: Multiplayer: When my sister and I were kids, I used to tease her for buying an album, playing one song incessantly (usually the hit single), and never listening to There’s no place better than the the rest. She was so focused on that sliver of bliss, she never got to enjoy tarted up, Harley Quinn–esque Fret Nice the whole pie. Verdict Mad Moxxi’s underground Now I see what a hypocrite I’ve been. I fi nished Red Faction: Guerrilla’s tournament to the death to Stick to the stage single-player campaign ages ago and loved it — enough to chase it with the welcome you back to Borderlands’ chaotic Demons of the Badlands DLC — but until last night, I’d never bothered to try world of outlaws and brutal shoot ’em up the multiplayer. For some reason, I’d completely ignored it. And in fact, the 8.5 gunplay. But that welcome sure feels like a Platformers are about only reason I fi nally jumped in at all was to nab the 50-point Achievement for hot shotgun blast to the face. precision timing. playing online with someone who’s fi nished the campaign. You’ve got to respect a game that uses humanity’s destruction as a More like a new co-op mode than, say, an Music games are about A few minutes into a match, I couldn’t believe what I’d been missing. I launchpad. The dark story of angels, demons, and your character — extension of the game’s roam ’n’ shoot level- precision note-playing. was hooked by the breathless pace and relentless action — enough that I War, one of the legendary Horsemen of the Apocalypse — is set in building gameplay, Underdome packages up Yet, somehow, when the two are stuck around long after earning my precious Gs, hammering enemies and a gorgeous hellscape that enticed us at almost every turn. Bloody four different arenas offering 20 rounds of combined, it gets a little messy. chatting with teammates. Ironically, one of them had bought the game, swordplay, awesome abilities (portals, time-slowing), and chases atop mayhem a piece. Each round ratchets up the Fret Nice offers up the ability 1,200 MS Points ($15) started with multiplayer, and loved it so much that he’d never moved on a fl ying steed…the variety keeps coming, as do the clever puzzles. Let’s diffi culty with various modifi ers (a la Halo 3’s to control your character with any to the solo campaign. (I urged him to give it a go.) Another ally was just You don’t need a guitar to play Fret Nice… hope this impressive saga gets a second chapter. toggle-able skulls) like low gravity and faster Cost: 360 guitar controller, which had us initially like me: he’d beaten single-player and was sampling multiplayer for the 800 MS Points ($10) reloads for enemies. And the coolest bit? thrilled. Sure, we realized that using our fi rst time, pretty much on a whim. Some expert players rocked us both that You can play with up to three co-op buddies Rock Band/Guitar Hero axe to move across

Cost: Cost: round, but we agreed: the online game was worth returning to. the gorgeous, well-designed 2D worlds of all levels and classes. But pray that the MUSICAL My point in all this? A simple one: If you really like a game, don’t you would take some getting used to. But game’s host has the lowest level as this is one EVERYONE owe it to yourself to sample everything it has to offer? If nothing else, to What’s the Score? punishing ride from round one to round 20. then reality set in…after a couple of super- make the most of your $60? The newly released BioShock 2 (see review, ESRB: ESRB: HARDCORE Without the ability to earn experience or much frustrating levels, we had to throw down Dark Void February 2010 Xbox 360 6.5 MATURE page 68) is bound to test this notion: most players will come for the gripping in the way of phenomenal new loot, the novelty our guitar and pick up the game pad. campaign, and some will probably skip multiplayer altogether. Hopefully,

Achievements: Tony Hawk: Ride February 2010 Xbox 360 5.0 The main problem lies with tilting the ESRB: ESRB: gives way to a grind, making you long for the if you get the game, you’ll try both modes so you have the chance to judge 0D Beat Drop February 2010 XBLA 8.0 zombie-fi lled fi elds of Dr. Ned’s Zombie Island. guitar to jump. In a genre where perfect them for yourself. Only the most dedicated will fi nd love on timing is required to get through side- …but some attacks are tailor-made for one. — Corey Cohen Avatar January 2010 Xbox 360 7.5 Achievements: Achievements: the battlefi eld this time out. scrolling challenges, the tilt command is GEARBOX — Francesca Reyes simply too inaccurate to function properly. PIECES INTERACTIVE PIECES INTERACTIVE Add that to the fact that, in order to attack The Verdict Downloadable Content enemies, your character must be in the air, ON XBOX LIVE ARCADE Developer: Developer: and you’ve got a sore shoulder on top of + Gorgeous art style packed into a New! Every OXM review...on our disc! BUY FANBOYS ONLY DENY Developer: your frustration-induced headache. platformer world. You’ve been clamoring for it, and with the launch of our awesome new disc, + + Cool music-controls concept… 4 co-op via Xbox Live 4 co-op via Xbox Plenty of co-op–able shenanigans with tourna- Take our advice: Ditch the plastic axe you get it. Every single Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade review can be read – – …that doesn’t quite work with

ment-style gameplay 2 on same Live screen, 2 via Xbox 2 for a 360 controller and you’ll ﬁ nd Fret Nice in its entirety on our disc, complete with scores, screenshots, and game- 2K GAMES – TECMO the guitar peripheral. Skip the 20 rounds per arena can reach critical levels of contains one thoroughly enjoyable musical tedium and trudgery guitar for a controller. box covers. To ﬁ nd them, scroll to the right on the main menu and click on ? – Not much in the way of epic loot; no experience world. Rock on. Will we be seeing more guitar the Reviews Database slide. Don’t stay up too late reading! points to earn — Taylor Cocke controller-based games? 7.5 Publisher: Publisher: Multiplayer: Publisher: Publisher: Multiplayer:

84 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 WE’RE STILL WAITING: Though Mad Moxxi’s may not offer up experience points, it does cough MORE WHORIN’: A few nights after his Red Faction: Guerrilla play, Corey loaded up Just Cause March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 85 up two new skill points. But we’re dying for a lift on Borderlands’ level cap. Please, Gearbox? and drove an ambulance into the water, a known glitch that unlocks multiple Achievements. EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN THE WORLD OF 365 365 XBOX 360, BROUGHT TO YOU IN LIVING Call of Duty: OXM REVEALS… Modern Warfare 2

Nothing’s more ■ Holding the care-package marker grenade satisfying than allows you to sprint about a third faster than riding a Brute if you were holding a weapon. This is the Chieftain’s head in A rare only piece of equipment in the game that Firefight mode. sight, but totally has such an effect. possible! ■ By constantly switching between weapons, you can make your name tag invisible to friend and foe alike. If you do it quickly enough, the weapon-swapping animation won’t even trigger. Doing this while lying prone with the Cold-Blooded and Ninja perks makes it look like you’re just a corpse — very useful for camping or launching surprise ambushes. Just don’t expect to fool your opponent more than once with this tactic: they’ll be able to see what you’re doing on the kill cam.

■ As strange as it sounds, the banana leaves on the Favella rooftops actually stop bullets. They’re not exactly great pieces of cover, though, because of the big gaps between the leaves.

■ Semtex will stick to your riot shield only as They’re not always long as you’re carrying it. If you can somehow dependable, but these swap it out for another weapon on the ground, tricks are worth a shot. the explosive will drop to the ﬂ oor. Barring a small miracle, or a blast shield, you’ll probably still die, Amazing oddities but it’s worth a try. rockets also count toward your totals; if you’re ■ The cars on Favella will explode if you land on that let you rock ■ It’s actually possible to score a headshot with successful (nice work), you’ll see the headshot them after jumping from one of the rooftops. It 2009’s best games a predator missile if you have particularly good icon appear in the bottom-left corner of your happens almost instantly, so you probably The Strangest aim. Headshots with grenade launchers and game screen. won’t be able to avoid committing suicide. Left 4 Dead 2

■ If you’re able to throw a Boomer bile canister Multiplayer Secrets at a Jockey just before it pounces on you, the horde will actually come to your rescue. Unfortunately, as soon as they’ve he more an online game grows the same game. This seems totally In Firefi ght mode, get on top of a high crate or beat the Jockey to death, they’ll turn in popularity, the more arcane bizarre because everything else, balcony, somewhere out of the Chieftain’s line their attention to you. At least at this little secrets players begin including your score and medals, will of sight. Have a friend lure the Chieftain to your point you’ll be able to fi ght back. Tto discover. This month be lost. You can pick up sniper sprees, position and allow himself to be killed. The we’re taking a look at some of the killing sprees, and splatter sprees creature will then go “idle,” letting you quite ■ We’re slightly amazed that Valve missed this most curious tricks that hardcore exactly where you left off. literally get the drop on him. Once you’re on his one, but it’s actually possible to revive your own gamers have found in three of the head, the Chieftain won’t be able to attack you. corpse using a defi brillator. In campaign mode, best multiplayer shooters: Halo 3: ■ Throwing a brute spike grenade once you’ve been killed and rescued from a hero ODST, Call of Duty: Modern or a frag grenade through a ■ It’s quite rare, but Brutes will very occasionally closet, try returning to your corpse and reviving Warfare 2, and Left 4 Dead 2. fl amethrower stream will cause the mount one of the UNSC miniguns and use it it. You’ll respawn where your body was lying and While these secrets might not projectile to ignite early. It won’t against you in Firefi ght mode. There doesn’t your new body will disappear. have game-winning applications, explode instantly, but the fuse is seem to be a specifi c set of conditions to make they’re a lot of fun to try out shortened considerably for both. this happen, although you do have to be on the ■ Boomer bile canisters attract the horde more for yourself. Flamethrowers have no effect receiving end of the turret, or they won’t bother. than normal Boomer bile. If you’re sprayed with whatsoever on plasma stickies. bile but manage to throw a canister at roughly ■ It’s possible to splatter a power-drain module the same time, the horde will usually ignore you. Revive Halo 3: ODST ■ It’s not easy to do, but using a Brute chopper, although your timing has yourself with your own you can actually stand on to be quite precise. You must collide with the ■ In Versus mode, Smokers can steal kills from defibrillator? ■ Certain kinds of killing a Brute Chieftain’s drainer just before it’s had a chance to fully ignite. Jockeys. A tongue hit will cause the Jockey to Um...yeah. sprees carry over if you drop out head so he If you get it right, your chopper should plow right dismount, transferring the victim to the Smoker’s of a match and then reconnect to can’t see you. through, completely unharmed. grasp instead.

86 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 NOW LET’S HEAR YOURS: Got some strange tip or odd piece of multiplayer info to share about DON’T BLAME US: It’s possible that a game update may come along before we go to print March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 87 any of the games above? Unleash your knowledge at letters@ofﬁ cialxboxmagazine.com. that ﬁ xes some of these oddities, but we’re guessing not. Give ’em a try. SmackDown Created Storylines

365 365

A world of madcap wrestling peppered with spelling and OXM INVESTIGATES… grammatical errors awaits.

Mrs. Claus gets ready to throw down… or something.

catching the really bad material before it gets zapped by THQ. One such storyline sees Stone First, figure Pimpey feuding with SmackDown GM K-Dogg out what you’re because he was “sold short on some weed.” looking for. Then Stone Pimpey then swaggers around backstage, dive in. tries hooking up with one of the divas, and tells her to bring her sister along, and then JR says… well, something entirely inappropriate about the divas, given his age. It’s car-crash gaming like you’ve never seen — the day the inmates took over the asylum. Even Batman wouldn’t know how to deal with this bunch. Types of Fan-Made Stories

Plot? Pacing? Spelling? The Serious Attempt: The dry storylines that The Sad Plea: Some storylines have try to emulate WWE usually end with “Pt.2” or descriptions such as “please rate and send SmackDown’s Created Bah! All needless luxuries “3/5,” showing some boring saga-like length. feedback thanks.” Usually there’s a reason in Story Designer! that they plead for sympathy. The Barely-Bothering Stuff: If they don’t change the name of the storyline from The Utter Insanity: Colonel Sanders Saga. Re-enactments of epic wrestling Usually, you can spot the moment most “Created Storyline 1,” there’s not much hope Mr. Chicken vs. The World. Real-Life Mafi a. matches? Not likely… players realize that crafting their epic storyline for what you’ll eventually download. StonePimpey Crew. Take your pick. Storylines is far more effort than it’s worth, as the plot gets thrown out in favor of an endless chain of matches without context. Yet, it’s the folks who unfi re. Explosions. The distant sizzle of designer for a day. It’d be a tragic comedy of of stories about sex, drugs, and alcohol. Even go for a real balls-out effort that make the Story emulsion heat. The deafening roar of a spelling mistakes, incoherence, and lunacy that though they’re not allowed. Designer absolutely compelling. giant Brumak crying out in pain. Marcus might have made sense in Halo666’s mind but You can also create your own wrestler, Gand Dom take up positions fi ring their makes absolutely none on your TV screen. Risky Business fi nisher, and highlight reel, and some of the Lancers at the Brumak as it bears down on them, That’s why WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2010’s The more risqué stuff gets whipped off the servers more demented members of the community try fi ring rockets. One rocket slams into the wall near Story Designer is incredible. If you know how almost immediately, so you can play a game of their hand at all three. Saner efforts include Mrs. Dom, sending him spinning to the ground. The to pick up a pad and you can Claus and Generic Diva 101. Sliding further down Brumak charges them, but just as it looks like it’ll press buttons, you can create the sanity scale sees Mr. Chicken, Pac-Man, and crush the duo, the fi nal burst of Lancer fi re sends a storyline. Plot? Pacing? Yes, we think it’s very a terrifyingly human Pikachu becoming virtual it crashing to the ground. The music effortlessly Spelling? Bah! These are all funny, Maryse. wrestlers in real matches. glides into a triumphant orchestral chorus; needless luxuries in the world THQ has wrapped everything up in legal terms Marcus offers his hand to Dom and utters the of Story Designer! What THQ and conditions that read like moon language words “i saev u nao dom lololol.” envisioned was a world where but translate easily enough — no celebs, no Of course, that would never happen. Most classic storylines would be look-alikes, nothing rude, no brands. Yet tell Tweak to your heart’s big-budget games have writers with a grasp of relived and old battles could that to the SmackDown community, which has content in SmackDown’s the English language, producers who ensure their get alternate endings. What lovingly crafted some of the rudest, funniest, and Advanced Editor mode. work remains spotless, and testers who might they got was determined efforts downright craziest storylines and characters. And clock that “lololol” isn’t exactly a Marcus Fenix to bypass censors, grammar hey, if you look hard enough, you never know — catchphrase. After all, imagine if your average goofs galore (often of the you might even fi nd a grammatically challenged GameFAQs member, Halo666, could be a game “your/you’re” variety), and lots Marcus Fenix saving his buddy in the ring…

88 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 BUT SERIOUSLY: SmackDown’s option for gamer-made storylines and the level of tweak-ability GO AHEAD, MAKE OUR DAY: Have a SmackDown custom storyline you’re particularly proud March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 89 are simply amazing. In the right hands, the mode can (and will) yield some creative yarns. of? Drop us a line and tell us about it at letters@ofﬁ cialxboxmagazine.com! 365 365

All of the strange, hilarious, and insane videogame news Inbox that’s almost fit to print

EA Games — charge everything. Achievement unlocked: Never seeing (or leases to), or operates a place of public the sun in real life. accommodation.” The plaintiff specifi cally cites the inaccessibility of SOE’s live-auction function “If it’s in Tiger’s game, it’s in the… of their MMO games as causing him fi nancial crap, we’re gonna need a new slogan!” loss. Come on, SOE, you don’t want to be the squeaky- Ebenezer Scrooge to this dude’s Tiny Tim, do you? amount of time and he’s still conscious? Either clean image. Still, despite Blizzard is losing a bit of their edge or gamers their public stance, have truly learned to, you know, take breaks from we guarantee that GOING Straight for your wallets is Electronic gaming to pee, sleep, and eat once in a while. somewhere, EA Sports Arts, which is launching an EA-branded pre- boss Peter Moore is paid debit card. Though it’s not a credit card banging his head on — meaning we can’t incur massive gambling JOINED The growing community of The HIStory of a wall. Repeatedly. debts and then have to work them off by washing publishers looking to siphon talent from the Sonic 3 just got a bit EA CEO John Riccitiello’s car every week for plentiful pool of developers in Montreal is THQ. more interesting. eternity — you will be able to earn points toward The French-Canadian metropolis is already home CONTINUING EA games by using the plastic at online and to Ubisoft’s high-profi le franchises as well as EA’s The bad news for brick-and-mortar retailers. “Consumers use the burgeoning Army of Two series and Eidos’ (er, EA is word that the card while making their everyday purchases and Square Enix Eidos’…er, whatever) startup — mega-publisher is are rewarded with EA Sports videogames,” said the latter of which is working on sequels to laying off 17 percent EA global marketing veep Todd Sitrin. Honestly, Deus Ex and Thief. Quebec Minister of Economic of its workforce, we’re surprised Activision didn’t think of it fi rst. Development Clément Gignac welcomed Dark Void dev Airtight Games goes for the kill by or roughly 1,500 the California-based publisher, saying, “The snagging Valve’s Kim Swift (Portal)! Boosh! employees. The move company that we are welcoming today will be is expected to save $100 COMPOSED The soundtrack for Sonic the able to capitalize on Québec’s many advantages, million annually in addition Hedgehog 3 did none other than the late King including its creative and highly skilled LEAVING Valve Software to work for Dark some amazing experiences at Valve,” Kim said my friends over at Airtight, I couldn’t pass it to an immediate, one-time sum of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. In an interview workforce.” Well, we hope this “creative and Void developer Airtight Games is Portal project in a statement. “But when I heard I had the up.” Translation: “Leaving Valve for just about of roughly $130 million. Despite this with French rag Black & White, composer and highly skilled workforce” likes making lots of lead Kim Swift. “I’ve learned so much and had opportunity to work on innovative titles with anywhere would be like leaving as a free agent cost-cutting, the company purchased Playfi sh, Jackson collaborator Brad Buxer confi rmed, “We wrestling games! from the Yankees and signing with the Pittsburgh a publisher of social (read: Facebook) games, did compose music for the game,” and added: Pirates. So the reason I’m doing this is that they for $400 million. Clearly, your parents and other “Michael called me at the time for help on this backed a Brinks truck up to my front door and non-gaming baby boomers didn’t buy enough project, and that’s what I did. And if he is not began unloading bag after bag of pure, precious copies of The Beatles: Rock Band. credited for composing the music, it’s because CRYSTAL Press Release of the Month gold.” We think that’s what she meant, anyway. he was not happy with the result sound coming So factually inaccurate we couldn’t have made it up* out of the console. At the time, game consoles Ireland’s largest bookmaker, Paddy Power, has all videogame, theatrical box-offi ce and book- SUING Sony for not making its games did not allow an optimal sound reproduction, and STANDING By disgraced golf superstar Tiger accessible enough to those with visual Michael found it frustrating.” We hear ya, MJ. We BALL today announced they are paying out on Call sale records. Paddy Power will pay out over Woods — for now — is EA, who publishes the disabilities is (you guessed it) a visually found Knuckles’ mere existence frustrating. How does May sound for the Halo: Reach of Duty 2: Modern Warfare as the number one 12,000 to Call of Duty 2 backers, some of beta? The Ball sees it following the exact best selling video game this Christmas. whom availed of odds as big as 2:1 back annual Tiger Woods PGA Tour game. “Our strong impaired gamer. The suit alleges that Sony relationship with Tiger for more than a decade Online Entertainment’s titles — specifi cally same model Halo 3 laid out…When, oh ILLUSTRATION BY A.K.A Despite a late surge of bets supporting FIFA in September. when, will Natal get a real name? A rather 10 — which saw its odds dive from 10:1 to 9:4 Paddy Power said, “Three out of every four remains unchanged,” EA said in a statement. their massively multiplayer online games, EARNED Every Achievement in the endless “We respect Tiger’s privacy, we wish him a fast like EverQuest II — violate the Americans With World of Warcraft, did a player in Taiwan with clear vision from the Crystal Ball reveals second favorite — the bookie decided that bets placed on the Christmas number 1 video E3 as the right time…Remember the Activision’s Call of Duty 2 had built up an game were backing Call of Duty 2. With this recovery, and we look forward to seeing him back Disabilities Act, which states “No individual the character name of “Little Ash” (translated). on the golf course.” The world’s top-ranked links shall be discriminated against on the basis of That’s 986 Achievements, folks. Yes, as in: classic sidescroller Earthworm Jim? The unassailable lead in this years best sellers level of support I don’t think we’re taking too Ball revealed a silhouette that looked stakes. much of a risk by paying out early.” pro is currently taking a leave of absence from disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the nearly one thousand. His character – a level- the sport he dominates after admitting personal goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, 80 Tauren Druid — must know every square suspiciously like the old hero. Perhaps an The game — which is set during World Xbox Live Arcade revival is in the making… War II — sold units totaling about $550 million [*Editor’s note: We’ve bolded the errors for life “transgressions” that have tarnished Eldrick’s or accommodations of any place of public inch of the…wait, did we say that a guy in the worldwide in its fi rst fi ve days on sale, topping your reading convenience.] (fun fact: that’s his real name) previously accommodation by any person who owns, leases East played a Blizzard game for an inhuman

90 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 KEEP THE FAITH: EA has released an iPhone version of Mirror’s Edge to tide us over until the TRUE STORY: Michael Jackson apparently had a good relationship with Sega, as he also March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 91 inevitable Mirror’s Edge 2 for Xbox 360 announcement. (It is inevitable, right, guys?) contributed music for Space Channel 5, Ready to Rumble Boxing, and Moonwalker (duh). 365 365 The Secrets of

Bewitching tricks and Bayonetta hidden goodies galore! THE SPLENDID MAGIC OF PENNY ARCADE: 1/ THE 11 2 -YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION It’s just the beginning of 2010, and we already have a strong contender for Fighting Game of the BY MIKE KRAHULIK AND JERRY HOLKINS • DEL REY BOOKS • HARDCOVER • 208 PAGES • $24 Year. Bayonetta is bursting with mayhem, wild characters, a wisecracking sense of humor…and lots However much you enjoy the videogame- borderline absurd run-in with loco lawyer Jack of amusing little secrets. We coaxed Platinum Games into revealing some of the best ones for us… centered Penny Arcade webcomic, you have to Thompson — as well as the compelling behind- agree, its creators’ success story is a fascinating the-scenes story of how their massive Child’s one. After meeting in high school, the two self- Play annual charity drive and PAX gaming 1 Bayonetta obviously has a sweet tooth — acknowledged nerds — one a young writer, convention came to be. Among the highlights she’s rarely seen without her trademark lollipops. the other an aspiring comic-book artist — is a section that gives insight into the origins of It’s more than just a character trait, however. became best friends and, through their shared some of the Penny Arcade universe’s secondary Whenever you see her sucking on a lollipop in penchant for videogames, begin creating an characters, while the end chapter, “Comics We one of the cutscenes, press and hold the button online comic strip that’d gain an audience of Like,” is the biggest letdown, offering minimal that corresponds to its color. If she’s eating a millions and spawn an empire. commentary on why each strip stands out in green candy, you’ll earn a green herb. A red candy This quasi-retrospective chronicles that their minds. will net you a bloody rose. Blue offers a magic journey and includes commentary from the Though you won’t fi nd any new comic bonus and yellow awards a Yellow Moon. pair’s parents, wives, and business associates, content in this hardback, fans will appreciate plus creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik the peek behind the curtain at the origins of 2 Whenever you’re themselves. It also details some of the biggest Penny Arcade and its various extensions. on one of the moments in the strip’s run — notably the — Ryan McCaffrey loading screens, you can turn on Unlimited Practice — an GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2010: undocumented extended- GAMER’S EDITION practice mode — by pressing the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS, LTD. • PAPERBACK • 216 PAGES • $15 Back button. This mode lets you try your moves and combos to your heart’s content. Press the Growing up, one of our favorite things about Packed into its colorful pages are a best- Back button again to resume play. the Guinness Book of World Records was the of section for each console, a year-in-news constant element of bizarre discovery. How segment, and breakdowns of just about else would you ever know that fi ngernails every gaming genre imaginable, from “Logic 3 It’s a bit strange, but Platinum Games is morph into long, knotty spirals if you don’t trim Puzzles” to “Japanese RPG.” At times, the book quite proud of a beetle hidden in the Prologue them for decades without Guinness’ creepy feels more like a time-capsule memento of level. The insect can be found resting on a tree photographic proof? everything-gaming from the past year, rather at the deep left-hand side of the screen. If you Most of the feats in Guinness World Records than just a wacky reference guide. move Bayonetta close enough to it, it’ll fl y away. It 2010: Gamer’s Edition forgo those kinds of This year’s edition has a sharper doesn’t do anything more than that, but it’s a fun morbid milestones in favor of more statistical presentation than last year’s, and a ton of new little detail that can be easily missed. achievements, which suits the theme just fi ne. content. But it’s still the funky facts — like The Gamer’s Edition provides a comprehensive “Longest Survival On a 6-Star Wanted Level” and accessible overview of the year in gaming in Grand Theft Auto IV (just over 16 minutes) — 4 Long-time Sega fans have probably noticed spent behind a controller, while keeping a grip that keep us coming back. that remixed music from some of the company’s on the industry’s past and future. — Kevin W. Smith classic coin-ops appears in certain areas. If you Stop slogging for mere handfuls of Halos hear one of these tunes, experiment with holding by reading up on Tip 5! down different buttons for a couple of seconds. If you fi nd the right button for the song, it’ll change DANTE’S INFERNO #1 into the classic version!

WILDSTORM • COMIC BOOK • 32 PAGES • $3.99 The best videogame tie-ins can stand on their Devil. Now Dante must brave the underworld 5 There’s a sneaky hidden bonus in Chapter 1: own, and this stylish comic book is defi nitely — which he just enters by issue’s end — to you’ll earn a 10,000 Halo bonus if you’re riding compelling in its own right. Judging from part rescue his beloved. on top of the subway train just as it’s entering the one, you don’t have to have read Alighieri’s Besides Diego Latorre’s beautifully tunnel. That’s currency you can spend at Rodin’s original Divine Comedy, or have played sketched art, our favorite thing here is the peek shop later on in the game. EA’s violent new Dante’s Inferno game, to into Beatrice’s mind. In a recent interview, appreciate this six-part twist on the classic tale. Gage said he hoped the comic would give Because after all, who wouldn’t appreciate insight into characters the game didn’t dwell 6 The language spoken by the Angels is a brisk journey through the bowels of Hell? on, and he certainly succeeds at making Enochian. It was created by UK scholars in the In this fi rst issue, writer Christos Gage Dante’s fi ancée a fascinating woman. She gives 16th century and was proposed as an addition by (Avengers: The Initiative) sets up the story herself to Lucifer to save Dante’s soul, as this the game’s U.S. translator. following the game, not the poem: While Dante, “holy warrior” is anything but pure. Doesn’t a knight in the Crusades, is away at war, his that make her the real hero in this story? Originally, you could Witch Walk at any point bride-to-be, Beatrice, is whisked away by the — Corey Cohen 7 For more Bayonetta secrets, including the tale of in the game, but the team found that it made the the “Nipple Rebellion,” visit tinyurl.com/y9lmakv. pace too slow, so they cut it back.

92 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: Yes, we have been lampooned in Penny Arcade. Twice. FEMME FATALE: Game director Hideki Kamiya proudly boasts that Bayonetta’s character March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 93 Check out the 11/1/02 and 7/18/07 comics to see us praised and shredded, respectively. designer is female. He felt she added some nice feminine fashion touches. 365 365 LiveSpace SCORE Xbox Live is full of nice people looking for a good game — folks with manners who are good sports and want to meet more people like Once a month we set aside the mounds of work and pick up our controllers Intern OXM, Kevin OXM, and Ryan OXM on Xbox Live at 7 p.m. Eastern/ themselves. That’s where LiveSpace comes in. To count yourself among just for fun, and you’re invited! Look for Corey OXM, Francesca OXM, 4 p.m. Pacifi c on the following dates, and be ready to play these games! their ranks, send an email to letters@offi cialxboxmagazine.com with the subject line “LiveSpace,” and include the following information: GAMERTAG: YOURS, OF COURSE Achievements: Which specifi c Achievements do you take the most pride in having earned? What made them special? LORE Wants to Play: What games do you currently own that you’d like to The most heroic Achievements ever play with other people on Xbox Live? While we love when games shovel huge heaps of Gamerscore at us, our inner Hi, My Name Is: Your fi rst name, where you’re from, and your score-whore is absolutely in love with Achievements that make us work. Pulling hobbies — gaming-related and otherwise. Basically, tell us more off truly remarkable feats of skill and endurance is far more rewarding than about the gamer behind the tag. bashing the B button for 90 seconds. These beauties stick out in our mind as the best of the “Be a Badass” unlockables. The OG Kog Achievements: I’m proud of all of my Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Achievements (especially “Mile High Club”), and of getting “Predator Gold” in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Wants to Play: Modern Warfare 2, Gears of War 2, any of the Scene It? games Crackdown’s Hi, My Name Is: Ben, a struggling writer from St. Louis, Missouri. “Base Jumper” can’t be beat. When I’m not writing or reading, I play games. My short story “The Fanboy” was a top-10 winner in a recent Writer’s Digest contest. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18 THURSDAY, MARCH 11 (1) LEAP OF FAITH BioShock 2 Aliens vs. Predator The combination of climbing Crackdown’s Agency tower SANTONIUM to earn “High Flyer,” and subsequently leaping off of it for Achievements: I happy about getting the “Base Jumper” points, is one of the most memorable all 1,550 Gamerscore in Fallout 3. set of Achievements yet. The only way this gratifying Earning “Vault-Tec CEO” (collect all 20 Gamerscore-getting sequence could be improved is if we The Fun Keeps bobbleheads) was tough! earned points for kicking our co-op pal off the roof. The OXM Report Wants to Play: Modern Warfare 2, Gears of War 2, Wolfenstein, BF: Bad Company Comin’ at KOXM! Hi, My Name Is: Nick, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I’m an (2) BE A BLADE MASTER Nailing the precise moment in Resident Evil 5 to unlock the on Inside Xbox Achievement whore, which annoys my wife, as she thinks it takes all Two-hundred shows! We made it! WOOOO! “Be the Knife” Achievement is all kinds of fulfi lling: Focusing the fun out of it. Maybe one day she’ll understand. Go beyond the magazine with The OXM Report, our free, instant videos And what a party it was. Did you miss it? your energy into slapping a bow-gun arrow out of the air with on Inside Xbox. You’ll fi nd amazing behind-the-scenes interviews with Well, thanks to the magic of The Internets, your hunting knife not only saves your throat from pointy the makers of Lost Planet 2, Mass Effect 2, and Splinter Cell: Conviction, that very special episode of KOXM danger, but also piles a cool 60G onto your Gamercard. Stinkbringer plus a segment where our editors discuss their favorite Live Arcade Radio: The Offi cial Xbox Magazine Achievements: I’m most proud of games of 2009! To watch these clips, just go to the Inside Xbox channel Podcast is still available 24 hours getting all 1,000 points in The Saboteur. (3) SCORING AT 35,000 FEET on your Xbox 360 dashboard and let the streaming goodness begin! a day, seven days a week, for your And completing Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Joining CoD4: Modern Warfare’s “Mile High Club” required listening pleasure. Oh, and while Dead 2 on Expert was incredible! hours of trial-and-error effort. Completing the minute-long you’re there, be sure to check out Wants to Play: Ghostbusters, Left 4 rescue mission is almost impossible on Veteran diffi culty, our annual end-of-year outtakes Dead (both games), Call of Duty: World but barreling through swarms of hijackers before jumping edition of the show, too! at War (Nazi Zombies mode), and Borderlands (Zombie Island DLC) out of a plane is the most intense and rewarding 20G So just what in the world is our Hi, My Name Is: Shawn from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I’m a we’ve ever earned. podcast? Think of it as a weekly 29-year-old who loves killing all things undead on Xbox! Break out your complement to the print magazine knife, Chris! (4) ALMOST UNARMED you’re reading now. We keep Even if throwing toilets and saw-blades isn’t the most effective way of getting you up-to-speed with the latest SiriusGmr through the zombie-fi ed city of Ravenholm, earning the “Zombie Chopper” Xbox news and events along Achievements: “In Memory of Achievement in Half-Life 2 made us feel like relentless assassins. The with developer interviews and Petruccio” in Assassin’s Creed II — trying vulnerability that comes with ignoring fi rearms and using only the Gravity Gun frequent prize giveaways. to fi nd all those feathers was diffi cult but I is exhilarating. Our weekly shows are roughly accomplished it! an hour long and, by the way, totally free! Subscribe now on iTunes Wants to Play: Left 4 Dead 2, Modern (5) “OOPS, NO BULLETS!” Warfare 2, Civilization: Revolution (just search for “OXM”) or at our Mirror’s Edge one-ups Half-Life 2’s vulnerability factor by unlocking “Test of Hi, My Name Is: Alex, 40, from New Albany, Ohio. I like to read, podcast website, located at http:// Faith” if you avoid using weapons at all. Our inner pacifi st was especially spend time with my kids and family, and…GOLF! And I’m always oxmpodcast.podbean.com. You’ll be appreciative of the massive 80 Gamerscore — er, we mean, our ability to endure looking for new Xbox Live friends to play with. My son and I alwaysDREAM glad you did. incredibly diffi cult escape sequences without resorting to capping mean cops. play together on Live, which is good times for us both.

94 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 OPPOSITES DON’T ATTRACT: If the Achievements above make you feel all Jason Bourne, try 50 WE’RE MOVING!: If you’ve been a faithful follower of our OXM Versus matches, you’ll note March 2010 / www.oxmonline.com / OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 95 Cent: Blood on the Sand’s “Not Bulletproof” (Died on Easy difﬁ culty). It’ll knock you back to normal. that we’ve switched our regular day from Wednesdays to Thursdays. Don’t forget! 365 Chris Morris has covered the videogame business for over 14 years, offering analysis of industry events and trends for a wide number of outlets, including CNN, THE BUSINESS OF XBOX Variety, CNBC, and Yahoo. The Great Price Drop of 2010 Consoles have gotten cheaper. Now it’s the games’ turn. By Chris Morris

he memories of the 2009 holiday season may have faded, but something Games like the happened last November and upcoming Halo: Reach December that could have a big won’t launch at the T $50 price-point. impact on your wallet. The $60 price-point for games, long a source of contention for gamers, showed signs of buckling. Both Amazon and Walmart, seemingly without the blessing of the publishers, slashed prices on several titles — including Left 4 Dead 2, Madden NFL 10, and Tekken 6 — in a fi erce price war. It was a bid to attract shoppers, of course, but the move also sent a loud message to game-makers: Mid-tier games are priced too high, and if you don’t change your pricing, we will. I realize I’m preaching to the choir when I say games are too expensive. So let me clear up a possible misconception real fast: The price of triple-A games — like Modern Warfare 2 and Halo: Reach — isn’t going to fall. They cost too much to develop and their sales potential is just too high. On the other Other titles, though, are going to have hand, games like a tougher time at $60. Expect those to Avatar just might. begin selling at $50 more frequently as the year progresses. What falls into the mid-tier category? It’s a loose defi nition, to be sure. In some regards, it’s Madden a mix of the title’s quality and NFL 10’s price sales potential. The best way was cut in ’09. to categorize them would be games that aren’t pure it wouldn’t affect them at all, since the company the game’s association with the cinematic crap, but don’t have that makes only triple-A games. phenomenon. But, in the end, most consumers certain “it” factor that Look, I’m a fan of many Take-Two games — saw it as simply another movie tie-in. sends players into an BioShock remains one of my favorites of the past And let’s not forget Project Natal. While there orgasmic frenzy. decade. But to insist that every title you make is a are bound to be a few substantial releases for Price drops for these titles are inevitable. contender for best-in-class is delusional. Was The it, expect loads of party games as well. And I They happen every console generation, usually Bigs a triple-A game? No. Will Mafi a II be able to challenge you to fi nd a party game that’s worth before this point. But because sales have held $60. Nintendo knows this; that’s part of the steady — and because of the extended lifecycle reason Wii games are capped at $50. of this generation of systems — it’s something I challenge you to fi nd The trick, then, is getting publishers to face publishers have been able to stave off so far. a party game that’s reality. There’s nothing shameful or wrong with Perhaps because of that, some company making (or playing) a mid-tier game. Priced and execs have had a mindset shift: They’re less worth a full $60. marketed correctly, they can be solid earners. willing to admit that their company makes games Price changes are coming; that’s a virtual that might be considered mid-tier. stand up to the likes of God of War III or Splinter certainty. The bigger question is, Will they come I recently spoke with Ben Feder, CEO of Cell Conviction? Perhaps, but it seems unlikely. in an organized fashion, with publishers and Take-Two, about the holiday price wars and how Similarly, Ubisoft would undoubtedly argue retailers working together? Or will publishers be a price drop on mid-tier games might affect his that James Cameron’s Avatar was a triple-A dragged kicking and screaming into the economic company. His reply, without hesitation, was that title, given the time and effort put into it and reality of 2010?

96 OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE / www.oxmonline.com / March 2010 MAKE-UP SESSION: One potential way for publishers to extend the proﬁ tability of their games is through downloadable content, as in the case of Borderlands and Dragon Age: Origins.