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Andy Jones  |  by www.5w-g.com. All rights reserved. 3.01 | 16:13

  • Subtract best-of-class multiplayer, add .
    • (That last one s not quite a fair trade-off, is it?)
    It s no surprise that Activision has borrowed heavily from its bestselling Call Of Duty franchise when developing The History Channel: Civil War - A Nation Divided.

    They have built a winning formula for historical first person shooters, and leveraging their experience and assets into a new historical era is a no-brainer. After the glut of World War II shooters over the last few years, it s inevitable that developers would search out new settings for historical combat, and the intimate yet dramatic battles of the Civil War are an excellent setting. This excursion into the War Between The States will seem familiar to veterans of Call Of Duty: multiple battles spanning the length of the war from various perspectives, introductory historical videos, on-screen radar that guides you through multiple objectives, even loading screens of antiques surrounding a diary entry revealing the personal side of the battle.

    Many of the differences between the games speak to the technology gap that 80 years brought to the battlefield. Working with 19th-century firearms will be a massive adjustment for many gamers, as many rifles are single-shot weapons that require a slow reloading process. Whatever your standard strategy is in games like these, it will need to adjust to a rate of fire that s counted in minutes instead of seconds.

    taking good shots is of paramount importance, and the need to reload forces you to search for cover. I would have loved to see some type of gameplay mechanic added to the reloading (as in Gears Of War), but the sheer mindset shift it enforces is entertaining enough. The other great feature is that since every bullet counts, you will want to see your shot s effect but the thick clouds of smoke kicked up by these firearms obscures your vision, leaving a nice feeling of momentary suspense as you hope your has found its target.


    Honestly, what s surprising is some of the things that didn t make the transition from Call of Duty: cover that actually blocks bullets, varied animations, or even a simple checkpoint save feature. I hate to hinge a game s review on something so mundane as game saves, but it s that kind of misstep in execution that plagues Civil War from top to bottom. Unlike any other recent console shooter I can think of, there is no checkpoint feature available here: instead, you ll need to pause the game and step through a menu or two in order to save your progress.

    It s incredibly disruptive to the flow of the game, and that s on the rare occasions when I can even remember to do it. All the fascinating promise in the world - and Civil War has promise in spades - can t withstand poor execution. The graphics are subpar, the ability to carry a small arsenal at one time is unrealistic, the cutscenes are overdramatic I could go on.

    The game is continually undone by poor, puzzling choices that undercut the interesting base that lies at its heart.
    Though this falls under Activision s line, there isn t quite value enough. It s obviously a budget title, sitting squarely amongst other licensed franchises in the stable: Cabela, World Series of Poker, and Pimp My Ride.

    The current pricing structure on the Xbox 360 doesn t allow for truly bargain games, so Civil War only comes in a mere Hamilton under the price point of the A-list releases you d find in Activision s of smash hits: Guitar Hero, Call Of Duty, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Tony Hawk, and others. If I m going to accept the trade of retail price for kind of cut corners seen here, I honestly need a bigger price difference. Aside from the subject matter itself, I can t fathom any reason that the gameplay tradeoffs here balance out the ten-spot you d save over buying Call Of Duty 3.

    The History Channel: Civil War - A Nation Divided proves that there s a good game to be made out of Mr. Lincoln s War this just isn t it. Posted on December 4th, 2006 in , , by Mark Fossen

    You know what I love about Burger King?

    They have decided that playing to the oxymoronic healthy fast food market will only ensure them a continued second place to McDonald s, and are instead trying to do what they do best: over-the-top fast food catering to those who love calorie-stacked food. They make no apologies about targeting a different audience than The House That Ronald Built, and it seems to be paying off as . The King - creepy plastic smile and all - has hit a chord among the nostalgic-yet-ironic set, and Burger King has capitalized on this buzz by hitting that audience where it lives: video games.

    As the holiday season dawns, Burger King is now offering with a meal purchase. The games all feature their postmodern icon The King, and (more importantly) they all ring in at a jaw-dropping $3.99.

    These are budget games, comparable to what you d find on the Xbox Live Arcade. In fact, these games weigh in at about which makes them a bargain compared to even the cheapest XBLA games available. (The monetary value you assign to your hardened arteries is completely up to you.

    )
    I can t afford the calories to try all three, but a recent road trip found me indulging in a Whopper and walking away with Sneak King, the line s entry in the stealth-action genre. The high concept is simple: Metal Gear Solid with french fries, or Splinter Cell with a Croissan wich. Much like , you play as the plastic-faced monarch, surprising innocent civilians with various products off the Burger King menu.

    It s sneaking made simple , as you ll be avoiding giant blue cones representing the line of sight of your victims. There are twenty different challenges in each of four unlockable locations, and the core gameplay becomes an excercise in maximizing your food-delivery panache. You ll score points for various factors in each delivery, much like you might maximize tricks in an installment of SSX.

    It s a fun take on a staid genre, and it s made all the better by graphics, controls, and production values far beyond what you d expect from an adult Happy Meal Toy. Considering the Arcade entries that come close to Sneak King s price are primarily decades-old nostalgia doses lacking in any modern gaming quality, it s an impressive achievement to load this disc and get an actual Xbox 360 game. And speaking of achievement , Sneak King has 200 points available to boost that Gamerscore .


    It s hard to give a final, definitive review of Sneak King. Is it a lightweight piece of fluff? A commercial in game s clothing?

    A cheap piece of shovelware? You could say yes to all three. However, I keep coming back to the fact that for less than anything on the Xbox Live Arcade, you re getting a well-produced, enjoyable, family-friendly piece of commercial shovelware fluff.

    Like Burger King itself, Sneak King knows what it is. It doesn t overreach, delivers on a very specific promise, and does so with quality.
    Hey, BK .

    maybe we could get next year? You know what I love about Burger King? They know who they are.

    They have decided that playing to the oxymoronic healthy fast food market will only ensure them a continued second place to McDonald s, and are instead trying to do what they do best: over-the-top fast food catering to those who love calorie-stacked food. [ ] Posted on November 16th, 2006 in , , by Mark Fossen

    Superman Returns Box ArtI was pleased to see the Superman Returns demo show up on the Xbox Live marketplace, and my thoughts ran rampant as its girthy self slowly downloaded. How could a game possibly capture Bryan Singer s film?

    Press A for emo posturing? B to father an illegitimate child and abandon him? X to shamelessly crib another director s work?


    One quick look at will tell you a lot about Superman Returns: The Videogame. The first clue is in the description: released in conjunction with the summer film . A quick check of the leaves will tell you it s no longer summer, as Superman Returns completely missed its original launch window, and is being released now in a last-ditch attempt to ride the buzz of the DVD release.

    That trip to EBGames will also tell you that this is your usual EA port extravaganza, with releases on the PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, and even the good ol GameBoy Advance.
    The demo confirms all that, feeling rushed and bland. The textures would barely pass muster on the PS2 or Xbox, much less an Xbox 360.

    The gameplay feels unfinished, full of great ideas marred by sloppy controls. Worst, the world of Metropolis is lifeless and boring. As you cruise through this demo, there s not much sense of a real, breathing city in danger.

    The outlines are there, the rough sketch of sound and graphics and gameplay mechanics but it doesn t feel finished. There s still a lot of fine tuning to be done to make this a complete game, but the realities of movie tie-ins supersede artistic demands.
    Superman Returns plays in the sandbox genre, and while that s an interesting (and well-plumbed) idea for a superhero game, it s pretty difficult to make a limited demo of a genre whose primary appeal is limitlessness.

    I tend to think demos should be more scripted, even tutorial. This is a wide-ranging game with a complex control scheme, and the demo falls prey to that What Do I Do Next? issue that so often plagues the genre.

    It does present a nice climactic battle, however, and ends with a cliffhanger - a technique not used nearly enough in demos. The final moments hit you with that feeling of gamus interruptus, which is exactly what a good demo should do. Sadly, after some quick credits there is a trailer for the game which is even more boring and uninvolved than the source material which acts like a cold shower.


    I don t know how you make Superman dead boring, but it s been done twice in the space of a few months by Bryan Singer and EA. Perhaps the full game contains wonders beyond my fanboy imaginings, but this demo won t convince me to drop the $60 needed to find out. In the heat of November releases, a dull demo of a dull game of a dull movie just doesn t cut it.

    I was pleased to see the Superman Returns demo show up on the Xbox Live marketplace, and my thoughts ran rampant as its girthy self slowly downloaded. How could a game possibly capture Bryan Singer s film? Press A for emo posturing?

    B to father an illegitimate child and abandon him? X to shamelessly crib another [ ] Posted on November 9th, 2006 in , , , by Mark Fossen

    The all-consuming fire of the Gears Of War marketing campaign has come and gone, leaving a small, shiny disc on the shelf. And now comes the final step in the process, as inevitable as the turning of New England leaves: the backlash.

    On the forums I frequent (and even ), it s already common wisdom that Gears Of War was overhyped, and that the other shooter that released yesterday - Call Of Duty 3 - is the better game. It s a vicious circle of cause and effect: hype and backlash.
    It s almost instinctual, our reaction to hype.

    The more something gets built up - be it game, comic, or movie - the more we enjoy tearing it down. We don t like being told what to think, we enjoy rooting for the little guy, we like to prove our elite status by being the consumer that can see through the hype. The backlash has become part of the process, and I wonder when marketing will catch up to that fact.

    It appears the one definite way to make sure something doesn t become as universally popular as Halo is to announce that it s the next Halo . When Halo itself came out, it wasn t a killer-app system seller. It was a new game debuting with a new console at a time when it still seemed that the FPS genre was a poor fit on anything that didn t have a keyboard.

    It reinvented the console FPS, and did so without an advance innundation of hype. It relied instead on good word of mouth - including reviews - and solid gameplay that sent hackers scrambling to get the multiplayer online.
    Gears Of War is not Halo, and never will be.

    It s the first Gears Of War, and judging off my experiences in multiplayer last night, that might be good enough. Once we get over the marketing, and our reaction to that marketing, we just might find that Cliffy B. has produced a whole new experience that redefines the online shooter.

    Though we d all like to rush to the defense of the little guy , Call Of Duty 3, it s immediately obvious that there s a numeral after the title. It s an excellent evolution of the franchise, but the online gameplay is not offering any significant changes or advancements: it s Call Of Duty, just better. My experience with Gears Of War showed something different: tension as you use cover and surprise to your advantage, not running and .


    I m as burned out by the Gears Of War hype overload as anyone, but the best way to defeat it is to try and ignore it. Break the vicious circle of hype and backlash by simply looking at the game that s there and you might find something that doesn t live up to the hype, but is still one of the top titles the 360 has seen. The all-consuming fire of the Gears Of War marketing campaign has come and gone, leaving a small, shiny disc on the shelf.

    And now comes the final step in the process, as inevitable as the turning of New England leaves: the backlash. On the forums I frequent (and even here at 5WG), it s already common [ ] Posted on November 6th, 2006 in , , by Mark Fossen

    Eragon Box ArtJust a thought for aspiring game designers: badass things should be badass. It s not advanced game theory, but a simple reminder of what the gamers want.

    If you create a game wherein the player has a pet freakin dragon who he can call in for building-destroying airstrikes that should be badass. When raining death from above with your dragon buddy, it should feel more exciting than basic accounting. appears to understand this.

    appears to understand this. appears to have skipped class that day.
    I can t say I know much about Eragon.

    I know it s a , and seems to be a born-in-the-boardroom amalgam of Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter. As soon as the novels appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, their fate as a major motion picture was sealed. And, of course, in this day and age, a major motion picture can t come along without at least some grab at the gaming revenues to be had.

    Like Happy Meal toys and lunchboxes, gaming is an intrinsic part of the global strategy for these kind of things.
    The game itself seems to be about what you d expect, a brawler that heavily borrows from the franchise game template so successfully established by EA s games: quick button-mashing action set in detailed environments recreating sequences from the movie. It features (though Jeremy Irons is noticeably absent), and reasonably suitable likenesses.

    Reasonable for the last generation, at least. Those looking to revel in at the high-texture glory of the Xbox 360 should apply elsewhere: Eragon looks like it was ported directly from the Playstation 2 ( ). It is a paint-by-numbers game, and the reflects that.


    Still, I think I could have been swayed. I could have been hooked on the game, or at least the upcoming movie. I could have bought in to the world, and it would have been simple.

    I m not a complex man, and controlling a kickass dragon is about enough to satisfy me. The demo is smart enough to introduce the controllable dragon, but the mechanic itself is so tepid that I instantly found it boring: pull trigger, push button, watch strangely detached cutscene. What seems like a slam dunk for the demo, became the point where I threw up my hands.


    The Eragon demo in fact, might be the classic demo mistake. It s taken something cool in the mind of the mind of the gamer, and instead of relying on that tantalizing promise to sell copies it went and removed all doubt. Score one for the consumer here, because the best marketing move would have been a trailer that kept that dragon badass.

    Just a thought for aspiring game designers: badass things should be badass. It s not advanced game theory, but a simple reminder of what the gamers want. If you create a game wherein the player has a pet freakin dragon who he can call in for building-destroying airstrikes that should be badass.

    When raining death [ ] Posted on November 2nd, 2006 in , , by Mark Fossen

    Splinter Cell: Double Agent Limited EditionThanks to delays, I m still working through my personal list of Games I Bought A 360 For . Splinter Cell: Double Agent is one of those titles, as the franchise was easily my favorite on the Xbox and I was thrilled at the idea of a truly next-generation iteration. It was a system-seller for me, but while I don t regret the system Splinter Cell: Double Agent is a disappointment.


    One thing the move to the 360 brought is an increase in the big budget action movie feel of the game. Splinter Cell places you squarely in the world of the summer blockbuster, with memorable set pieces. It s also borrowing a bit from the small screen: an early sequence is , and much of the game follows in the show s huge footprints.

    While the game delivers your fantasies in spades, it does so by limiting your options down to that predetermined exciting scene. Some of the more scripted sequences - like one where you ll make your way across moving elevators and catwalks while avoiding spotlights - feel more Zelda than Splinter Cell. There s no process here of freely thinking your way through a problem and finding the kind of creative solutions that made Jack Bauer a millennial hero, it s more about thinking your way though what the designers are wanting you to do by a laborious process of trial and error.

    There are times you ll need to meet someone in a particular place and time, and particular is about the perfect description. If you are standing next to the person, but not in exactly the right spot you ll fail. It all feels terribly constrained and hand-holding, and leaps off the screen to remind me that it s only a game.


    Of course, the leap to next-gen also brought with it next-gen graphics. There s no doubt that Double Agent is a visual feast, with detailed characters and environments. Though staggering vistas of Shanghai replete with fireworks displays show that the horsepower of the 360 is being put to use, the detailed environments begin to subtly reinforce the feeling that this is a game - not a world.

    There s so much complexity in the maps, but much of it is simply eye candy. Now that I can see more in the world, I want to be able to do more. What good are all the minuscule details of a hotel room when only a few of them can be interacted with?


    Overall, it s hard not to say that this is solid game. It is a lot of fun, and delivers the thrills that have made the franchise such a success. The problem is that Sam Fisher s latest escapades have a lot of next-gen shine and polish, but little of the gameplay advancements that should go with it.

    Not every game can (or should) be a sandbox game, but for the stealth genre to truly take the next step it needs to allow for more creativity and interaction. I want to create spectacular scenes, not act out someone else s script. I want to be Jack Bauer, not Kiefer Sutherland.

    Thanks to delays, I m still working through my personal list of Games I Bought A 360 For . Splinter Cell: Double Agent is one of those titles, as the franchise was easily my favorite on the Xbox and I was thrilled at the idea of a truly next-generation iteration. It was a system-seller for me, but [ ] Posted on October 25th, 2006 in , , by Mark Fossen Viva Pinata!While the rest of you were assuming to get your hands on the demo, I was happily downloading a Marketplace demo that didn t require residence in a land where words are composed of : the interactive video of which was lauded as the most anticipated fall release in a Gallup poll of the Fossen household. (Admittedly, the under 8 demographic played a key role in the victory.

    )
    As an interactive video well, it s certainly got the video covered. However, it s about as interactive as a DVD menu. There are three different segments covering aspects of the game, and your interaction is limited to choosing which pinata will deliver the voiceover.

    You ll get a slightly different presentation from each candy-stuffed creature you select, but that s about it. I can t imagine how a full demo would have worked for Rare s answer to Animal Crossing, so the decision to keep this as video was probably a wise one. Still, a simple tutorial level would have been appreciated.

    For parents like myself wondering what age the gameplay will come in at, there s still not enough information to know if this is a game I ll play with the kids or for the kids.
    Since the Xbox 360 is the first console that has made demos commonplace, it s an interesting study in a new marketing frontier. These demos can reach beyond the hardcore magazine buyer, and their content is at least as much marketing as gameplay.

    Viva Pinata! is not much of a demo, but it s fantastic marketing. The production values are of the highest quality, easily matching the that serves as the other prong of the franchise s corporate synergy.

    A well-written script, professional voiceovers, and that utterly infectious theme music all combine to make an experience that sells you on the world of the game while leaving the mechanics in a realm of mystery. As a marketing delivery system, the Viva Pinata! interactive demo reinforces the message and kept the game out-polling Gears Of War as the Fossen s November release of choice.

    While the rest of you were assuming virtual Welsh citizenship to get your hands on the Rainbow Six: Vegas demo, I was happily downloading a Marketplace demo that didn t require residence in a land where words are composed of random consonant strings: the interactive video of Viva Pinata! which was lauded as the most anticipated [ ] Posted on September 21st, 2006 in , , by Mark Fossen Though the boxcover legalistically proclaims that Dead Rising is not developed, approved, or licensed by the owners or creators or George A. Romero s , the Capcom release is easily the movie s gaming equivalent: a compelling mix of horror and satire, of character and gore, of plot and ultraviolence.

    At it s best, Dead Rising throws you into that most suburban of banalities - the shopping mall - and pits you against legions of the shambling undead wielding nothing but your wits and whatever you can find lying around. As you run from store to store, scrambling to find weaponry, you ll end up dispatching zombies using everything from chainsaws to golf clubs to plastic lightsabers to red-hot skillets. The combat s fast and fluid, and the different animations and styles attached to each weapon keep the game exciting on a strategic level, as each weapon requires some adjustment.

    With wonderful art design, great cutscenes, and a likeable main character, this is your chance to play out the kind of zombie madness previously trapped on celluloid. It s truly next-gen gaming , as the ability of the Xbox 360 to handle so many of the living dead at one time is more than a technical feat - it s essential to the feel of the game. Zombie herds will easily number twenty or more, and will swarm around you in the kind of scene that simply was not possible on earlier gaming systems.


    For all next-gen power packed into Dead Rising, it s the last-gen gameplay elements still rearing their heads that unfortunately consign this game to the B list. Dead Rising is so tied to old Capcom survival horror tropes like limited saves, sparse save points, and clumsy inventory systems that every time you are about to get sucked into the well-developed world of the game, you get dragged right back to just a game as you struggle to find one of the few save points available.
    On top of those old-school gameplay concepts, there s an ugly twist as Capcom tries to integrate an open world style of gameplay into it s successful survival horror formula.

    The whole game takes place over 72 time compressed hours (a few game hours will pass for every hour of playing), and you re constantly managing time and balancing off the demands of the main plot, the side quests, and the sheer joy of wading through animated corpses with a sledgehammer. I can t shake the feeling that I ve been given a wide-open world to play in, but am punished if I play in it. One of the joys of sandbox games is, well the sandbox.


    Dead Rising comes close to greatness, but a devotion to gameplay concepts that should have stayed dead and buried keeps it from becoming one of the very few stellar Xbox 360 titles available. It s an excellent title, with central gameplay that s as fun as any the console has to offer, and those that can persevere and unlock the modes that allow you to simply play in the undead sandbox will have a fantastic time. I ll keep plugging away and having fun, but I ll be holding out hope for a future sequel that will dispense with the Resident Evil stodginess.


    (As a side note, it has become apparent that if you re playing this game on an SDTV, you may be in a world of hurt. HDTV looks excellent, but it seems the game was not tested on a regular ol TV. ) So close and yet so far.


    Though the boxcover legalistically proclaims that Dead Rising is not developed, approved, or licensed by the owners or creators or George A. Romero s Dawn Of The Dead , the Capcom release is easily the movie s gaming equivalent: a compelling mix of horror and satire, of character and gore, of plot and [ ] It s not a new argument, and it neatly encapsulates , whose adherents will probably never be able to accept a gaming as an artform for the exact reasons Ebert outlines. This completely ignores concepts like , but I don t go to Roger Ebert looking for advanced discussions of literary theory as applied to pop culture.

    There are for that. If you believe art is delivered from on high, The Thumbed One may be right. If you believe the reader is an active participant in creating meaning, then there s little doubt that gaming can be art.


    There have been a select few moments in my gaming life where I saw something that truly advanced the artform. The first time I popped in the unheralded , and then again when I played it s sequel Grand Theft Auto III: San Andreas being two of the most memorable. The swearing and hookers and violence caught the eye of reviewer and alike, but that wasn t what made it a real step forward in my eyes.

    The storytelling was complex, and the wide-open world that forced you through non-linear situations let you think differently. At some point in the game, you run across a simple dilemma: I need money, and can beat people until they give it up. Move past the morality of it, and you find a whole different kind of art here.

    You are not longer being told the protagonists tthoughts, you are creating them yourself. When Ebert talks about art, he s talking about art that inspires empathy and understanding. In gaming, empathy and understanding isn t necessary because there is no other : the conflicts encountered and decisions made are yours.

    Instead of being made to understand someone else s actions, a good game makes you take those same actions on your own.
    Through this past year, as the marketing machines of Sony and Microsoft went to war over next-gen mindshare, I felt little but apathy. Part of it was burnout, but there was also a simple feeling that more processing power doesn t make more art.

    The graphics would be better, but the true art of gaming advances in fits and spurts and is largely subsumed by commercial concerns. It seemed to me that the technology of the next-gen wouldn t necessarily spur a new renaissance in gaming.
    And then comes Call of Duty 2, and proves me completely wrong.


    In a very real way, it s a quantum leap in the art of gaming, and it s made possible through the technology available. There are so many onscreen characters with such a high degree of detail, such clear and detailed graphics, such informative (and evocative) sound that it s completely immersive, with a control scheme so subtle and effective that the controller disappears. It s a blend of game design and technology that lets you spend long stretches fully immersed in the world of the game, reacting on an emotional level.

    Lessons on the horrors of war are nothing new in art, but I don t know that the confusion and panic of war has ever been pounded home with such intensity. It s one thing to be told how confusing and chaotic and frightening war is: it s another thing to find yourself in defending Stalingrad, unable to tell where the bullets are coming from and where the burned-out rubble will provide cover. You run from objective to objective by following your squadmates, you keep your head down, you move carefully in the open.

    You also perform acts of mad bravery often because bravery is the only way to survive. It s simply stunning because it s not filtered through someone else s reactions to the setting and events. It s the ultimate in show, don t tell .

    It s not only a great and rewarding game, it s an excellent work of art that examines the ordinary heroism that defines World War II. Roger Ebert thinks that videogames aren t art: Video games by their nature require player choices, which is the opposite of the strategy of serious film and literature, which requires authorial control. It s not a new argument, and it neatly encapsulates Auteur theory, whose adherents will probably never be able to accept a gaming as [ ] Posted on September 20th, 2006 in , , by Mark Fossen Condemned: Criminal Origins is not for the faint of heart.

    This launch title for the Xbox 360 didn t get much press, and has thankfully been spared the more high-profile targets are subject to. It s a grim tale of an FBI agent on the run as he tries to clear his name and hunt down serial killers in the midst of an epidemic of disease and madness Super Mario it s not. Though has been a huge genre for some time now, this represents a new blend of the genre with the more traditional (and just a dash of puzzle-solving), and it s all wrapped in a layer of grit and grime and blood that makes this play like : The Videogame.


    When I talked about , I discussed gaming as the ultimate extension of : the reader/player is an active participant in creating the artistic experience, separate from authorial intent. This is really brought to the fore in Condemned, where the experience of the game will change wildly depending on your interaction with it. At it s most base level, this is a run-n-shoot like or , with very few enemies.

    Those who are skilled at the genre could easily rely on their reflexes to race through the game, dispatching enemies with ease.
    For those lacking teh mad skillz (or those who simply wish to meet the game halfway) there s a wonderfully creepy, horrific time to be had. More than I few times, I sat in my darkened basement office, wondering why the hell I was putting my blood pressure through this.

    Attackers come from nowhere, and weapons are a tricky lot: though guns and ammunition are in short supply, you can pick up just about anything (from 2 4s to fireaxes to locker doors) and smack folks in the head with it. The game expertly plays with suspense as empty corridors become as fun as pitched battles. The developers understand that waiting for the next attack is half the fun, and the chaotic urban interiors (every site is seemingly under construction or destruction) provide plenty of opportunity for half-seen shadows and echoed footsteps in the distance.


    Since your character is an investigator, the game adds a wrinkle to the genre by giving you various investigative tools to analyze fingerprints, bloodstains, and more. It s all very CSI-like, and promised to add a bit of depth to the game. Promises aren t results, though, as it falls apart on execution.

    It s still a welcome change from the suspense, and allows you to pore over the grisly crime scenes sprinkled liberally through the game but it s so limited and filled with so much hand-holding that it fails as a gameplay mechanic. For all intents and purposes, the investigation segments could be cutscenes and they d be no less interactive.
    The problems with the CSI segments are minor, and at least represent an attempt at breaking new ground.

    The disappointment in Condemned comes at the end, when hours of inventive, thrilling, genre-blending gameplay are thrown away for a long iteration of the gaming-standard Big Ending Fight. Wave after wave of minions? Check.

    Fight final boss multiple times? Check. Limited strategies?

    Check. In the final frames of the game, it betrays the principles that made it great, and I couldn t help but be thoroughly disappointed. Fighting strategies that have been developed are artificially crippled, and there s no way through but a slugfest with spread few and far between.

    It s as if the final minutes of Se7en were replaced with the closing sequence to Jean Claude Van Damme s .
    I didn t finish the game, in fact. Minutes away from the conclusion, I simply gave up - betrayed by both my reflexes and the development team.

    I wish I knew what happened there, why the game so suddenly shifts tone and technique, but whatever the reason it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Condemned is 95% of a truly great and unique game, and I hope the rumored sequel will stay true to itself. Condemned: Criminal Origins is not for the faint of heart.

    This launch title for the Xbox 360 didn t get much press, and has thankfully been spared the firestorm of controversy more high-profile targets are subject to.

    Read more on by www.5w-g.com. All rights reserved.
    Keywords: Mark Fossen, Splinter Cell, Dead Rising, Burger King, Superman Returns, Sneak King, Double Agent, Viva Pinata, Cell Double, Splinter Cell Double
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