F1: Race Stars - Karting with Character

There are certain rules that must be respected in order for a caricature to work. It must exaggerate and distort the features of the original, while preserving the likeness of its subject. If it fails to do that, it becomes something else, something grotesque. F1 Race Stars negotiates that fine line, producing a cutesy, cuddly, and impossibly cheery take on that fairly inaccessible sport – Formula 1 – in which races are interminable and the personalities of its drivers are obscured by helmets.

But F1 Race Stars does a pretty good job of translating the mainstays of Formula 1 – the engines, the teams, the pit stops, the change in weather conditions – into elements that make perfect sense within the context of a kart racer. And ultimately, that's what F1 Race Stars is – a kart racer, but one with some notable differences.

Firstly, there’s no drifting – this is F1, you see. Unlike most kart racers, in F1 you’ll benefit from hitting that perfect racing line. It isn’t as po-faced as that might sound; you’ll still hurtle around tracks, bashing into your fellow drivers, but you'll also be slamming on the brakes too. Periodically, sections of the tracks are coated in blue, and while passing through one of these sections, you'll have opportunity to charge up your KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) by ‘pumping’ the throttle. Manage to do it three times and when you emerge back onto tarmac, you’ll be treated to a formidable speed boost. For a generation weaned on Mario Kart, it feels deeply strange to not use the breaks, and having to shed some momentum in order to take a corner perfectly. But in the year of the kart racer – LittleBigPlanet Karting and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformer are also out before the end of the year – being different isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The cars may be adorable but they aren’t impervious to damage. Power-ups inflict lasting harm; parts of your car will begin loosen and rattle, and you’ll have to keep an eye out for an upcoming pit-stop. At the expense of a slight detour, your car will be as good as new and ready to compete with the best.

The disparity between racing teams – say, Ferrari and McLaren – is preserved by each team having their own unique power-up from the starting grid. Hamilton and Button both have the ability to swap their power-up by holding A, for instance. Meanwhile, Alonso has a ‘backward seeker bubble’. And this brings us to one of the prominent shortcomings of the game: the power-ups. Perhaps it's down to the restrictions of the F1 licence itself, but the power-ups mainly comprise of coloured bubbles endowed with different abilities. Some act like green shells, some like red shells, but regardless of their properties, they still just look like brightly-coloured bubbles, regardless of whether they imprison you or knock you off the track. They also have ridiculous names like ‘triple ricochet bubble’ and ‘smart pulse bubble’. In addition to ‘bubbles’, the remaining power-ups consist of a wide variety of boost types. And again even though they have different properties, they all feel inevitably samey. For a game that obviously prides itself at being crammed with character it’s power-ups sadly lack just that.

The insipid nature of the power-ups is in stark contrast to charming level and character design, an obvious strong point. Tracks exploit the globe-trotting nature of F1 to good effect, with each course drawing on that country’s landscape and most iconic landmarks. The USA is a composite America, with Midwest tractors lazily crossing the track, arid dusty canyons, and even a giant yellow robotic T-Rex presiding over a Monster Truck show (yes, you read that correctly). If that wasn't enough, you’ll ride up walls, on courses that rudely defy gravity. Meanwhile, the German course is stitched together from a section set in the deep Black Forest, a tour of a Disney-fied Bavarian castle, and a final stretch on the hectic autobahn. The art direction is very distinctive. It won’t be to everybody’s taste; some will find the perky pastels a tad nauseating but it looks as if everything has been whittled from vinyl. The faces of the drivers have a plastic sheen, and sharp, contoured edges. They nudge and point to each other on the starting line.

In the annus mirabilis of kart racers, F1 Race Stars has its own distinctive personality, which comes from transforming and playing around with the Formula One licence; this could also be its undoing, however. Playing it safe with the licence, not taking those risks, could see it left behind on the starting grib.

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer, and you can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

F1: Race Stars - Karting with Character

There are certain rules that must be respected in order for a caricature to work. It must exaggerate and distort the features of the original, while preserving the likeness of its subject. If it fails to do that, it becomes something else, something grotesque. F1 Race Stars negotiates that fine line, producing a cutesy, cuddly, and impossibly cheery take on that fairly inaccessible sport – Formula 1 – in which races are interminable and the personalities of its drivers are obscured by helmets.

But F1 Race Stars does a pretty good job of translating the mainstays of Formula 1 – the engines, the teams, the pit stops, the change in weather conditions – into elements that make perfect sense within the context of a kart racer. And ultimately, that's what F1 Race Stars is – a kart racer, but one with some notable differences.

Firstly, there’s no drifting – this is F1, you see. Unlike most kart racers, in F1 you’ll benefit from hitting that perfect racing line. It isn’t as po-faced as that might sound; you’ll still hurtle around tracks, bashing into your fellow drivers, but you'll also be slamming on the brakes too. Periodically, sections of the tracks are coated in blue, and while passing through one of these sections, you'll have opportunity to charge up your KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) by ‘pumping’ the throttle. Manage to do it three times and when you emerge back onto tarmac, you’ll be treated to a formidable speed boost. For a generation weaned on Mario Kart, it feels deeply strange to not use the breaks, and having to shed some momentum in order to take a corner perfectly. But in the year of the kart racer – LittleBigPlanet Karting and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformer are also out before the end of the year – being different isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The cars may be adorable but they aren’t impervious to damage. Power-ups inflict lasting harm; parts of your car will begin loosen and rattle, and you’ll have to keep an eye out for an upcoming pit-stop. At the expense of a slight detour, your car will be as good as new and ready to compete with the best.

The disparity between racing teams – say, Ferrari and McLaren – is preserved by each team have their own power-up from the starting grid. Hamilton and Button both have the ability to swap their power-up by holding A, for instance. Meanwhile, Alonso has a ‘backward seeker bubble’. And this brings us to one of the prominent shortcomings of the game: the power-ups. Perhaps it's down to the restrictions of the F1 licence itself, but the power-ups mainly comprise of coloured bubbles endowed with different abilities. Some act like green shells, some like red shells, but regardless of their properties, they still just look like brightly-coloured bubbles, regardless of whether they imprison you or knock you off the track. They also have ridiculous names like ‘triple ricochet bubble’ and ‘smart pulse bubble’. In addition to ‘bubbles’, the remaining power-ups consist of a wide variety of boost types. And again even though they have different properties, they all feel inevitably samey. For a game that obviously prides itself at being crammed with character it’s power-ups sadly lack just that.

The insipid nature of the power-ups is in stark contrast to charming level and character design, an obvious strong point. Tracks exploit the globe-trotting nature of F1 to good effect, with each course drawing on that country’s landscape and most iconic landmarks. The USA is a composite America, with Midwest tractors lazily crossing the track, arid and dusty canyons, and even a giant yellow robotic T-Rex presiding over a Monster Truck show (yes, you read that correctly). If that wasn't enough, you’ll ride up walls, on courses that rudely defy gravity. Meanwhile, the German course is stitched together from a section set in the deep Black Forest, a tour of a Disney-fied Bavarian castle, and a final stretch on the hectic autobahn. The art direction is very distinctive. It won’t be to everybody’s taste; some will find the perky pastels a tad nauseating but it looks as if everything has been whittled from vinyl. The faces of the drivers have a plastic sheen, and sharp, contoured edges. They nudge and point to each other on the starting line.

In the annus mirabilis of kart racers, F1 Race Stars has its own distinctive personality, which comes from transforming and playing around with the Formula One licence; this could also be its undoing, however. Playing it safe with the licence, not taking those risks, could see it left behind on the starting grib.

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer, and you can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Star Wars' AT-TE Walker is (Almost) a Reality

I'm still waiting for my own C-3PO to take my drink order, but in the meantime this is pretty cool: Boston Dynamics is developing the LS3 -- Legged Squad Support System -- which is a walking, four-legged robot that looks like it could be a smaller, prototype version of a Star Wars AT-TE walker.

The AT-TE (left) and the LS3 (right)

The device is being designed for military support and is capable of carrying 400-pound payloads so that troops don't have to shoulder that burden. World News Australia (via Blastr) reports that the "vision for LS3 is to combine the capabilities of a pack mule with the intelligence of a trained animal. … The LS3 is capable of tracking certain visual and oral commands and uses GPS (Global Positioning Systems) and computer vision to guide itself."

Check it out in action:

No word yet on when we're getting AT-ATs, though.

Talk to Movies Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN and on Facebook.

Source : ign[dot]com

iPhone 5 Sells out in First Hour

Unless you were among the first to pre-order the iPhone 5, you may have to choose between standing in line at a real-life store next Friday or waiting a couple weeks: the huge volume of orders that crashed Apple's store (along with Sprint's and AT&T's) has already exhausted the first round of available units.

Apple sold out its initial supply in less than an hour. That's pretty impressive, especially compared with the 22 hours the iPhone 4S took to sell out.

Pre-orders from AT&T also show up as delayed, by a week or two depending on options. Verizon presently lists all models as delayed by a week. At Sprint, only the 16GB model is currently delayed. [NOTE: These are at-time-of-publication figures, and they might change.]

It might be too late to reserve an iPhone 5 with the options our buyer's guide pointed you to, but don't forget about brick-and-mortar stores: Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Radioshack and of course your local Apple Store and carrier stores should have a supply.

Will you stand in line somewhere or wait for a delayed pre-order? (Or neither because iPhones are dumb?) Let us know in the comments.

Jon Fox is a Seattle hipster who loves polar bears and climbing trees. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN. 

Source : ign[dot]com

Wii U Announcements Discussed

Yesterday marked the long-awaited reveal of the Nintendo Wii U worldwide launch details and pricing news. While many of us here at IGN rushed out to pre-order the unique new console, others remained skeptical. I asked some of my friends around here to see what the consensus was, and -- as it turns out -- Nintendo's first foray into high definition graphics is a lot more polarizing at IGN than I thought it would be.

Mitch Dyer, Associate Editor says - Nintendo’s done little to win me over in the last six months. Everything about Wii U so far has been predictable. It’s hard for me to get excited about another Mario game, charming and entertaining as they always are, because they do very little to shake up the gameplay. Third-party stuff like ZombiU is interesting, but hardly alluring when Xbox 360, PS3, and PC have considerably more games I’m interested in.

This week's big press conference did two things: First, it convinced me the Wii U finally has substance; second, that I absolutely won’t be buying one. Oh, and theTekken characters look awesome in Mario costumes.

Colin Campbell, Features Editor says - It’s a fair price for a good product, and it’s got strong first-party support and okay third-party backing. I’m a family-man and I’ve completely bought into this idea of Wii U as a front-room box-of-fun, in much the same way as Wii was. I’ll be playing this with my kids, and so it’ll be a different model of fun than playing hardcore RPGs and shooters on Xbox 360 and PS3. I doubt I'll bother much with those Wii U games aimed at the hardcore gamer. Family fun is what Nintendo does best, and I’m impressed with the thought that has gone into serving the impulse to play with other people. If I was a single man, I’m not sure I’d be quite so convinced as of yet. Everything hinges on the controller and I’m still not sure that it offers enough to make this console worth buying, when new, more powerful consoles from Microsoft and Sony are likely around the corner. But Nintendo has a free holiday season with this new console, and my gut-feeling is that it will do very well.

Greg Miller, Executive Editor of IGN PlayStation says - Zombie U is a really cool survival game, The Wonderful 101 looks like this DC Comics fanboy's cup of tea, and Wii TVii's live sports integration seems interesting. All of that is cool, but not $300 cool. I'm letdown with this price point. Nintendo has been so guarded about Wii U information, but what has leaked out hasn't been the best buzz builder -- the machine is only slightly more powerful than the PS3 and 360, so when Sony and Microsoft's new consoles come out next year, this will already be an out of date system.

“

Wii U is cool, but not $300 cool.

When the Wii was announced, I was floored, hooked, and ready to pick my console up at its midnight launch. But as the years have gone by and I've seen my Wii age into a PS3 controller charger, I've lost my Nintendo faith. It's a great company with amazing exclusives, but it's not one that speaks to me. The Wii U is going to sell and Nintendo fans are going to love it, but I'll wait for the inevitable price drop and Mario Kart, Mario Golf, or Zelda.

Keza MacDonald, UK Games Editor - I wasn't totally sold on the Wii U when it was first announced,

“

HOLY S--T, BAYONETTA 2.

but since E3 this year I've been warming up to it. When you get your hands on the console and play around with the GamePad it just instantly makes sense. I was worried that Nintendo would overprice it, but $300/£250 seems very reasonable to me - it's cheap enough for me to want to buy one right now rather than save all my pennies for the next PlayStation/Xbox next year, which will almost definitely be way more expensive. The launch line-up could be better, but hey, it's launching with Mario. That hasn't happened in 16 years. Also: HOLY S--T, BAYONETTA 2! THAT was unexpected.

Nic Vargus, IGN Tech Editor says - Nintendo didn't dig into the nitty-gritty specs that I really wanted to geek out on, but maybe they didn't have to. The Wii U looks pretty powerful, at least until it has some next-gen competition. I'd like to pretend that the only thing that matters is Nintendo's first-party exclusives, but I still haven't dusted off my Wii to play Donkey Kong Country Returns, and I used to have dreams that I transformed into Diddy Kong. I'll probably still buy a Wii U, but that's just because I'm irresponsible with money.

Brian Altano, Executive Editor of News & Features says - I snuck out of work in the middle of helping coordinate our Nintendo Wii U news coverage to go pre-order a Nintendo Wii U -- along with Rayman: Legends, New Super Mario Bros., and Zombi U. So yeah, that was my reaction. Oh, and please don't tell my boss I ditched work, or that I might be ditching a lot more come November 18th. Hopefully he doesn't read this.

Charles Onyett, Executive Editor of IGN PC says - I think the price is fine. Apple charges $200 to $300 for a new phone with a payment plan pretty much on a yearly basis. Nintendo charging a little more for a full gaming console every six or so years is perfectly reasonable. While new consoles are always exciting, and I’ll probably wind up buying a Wii U somewhere in the launch window anyway strictly out of pure curiosity, I think its game lineup has issues. There are only a few real standout launch window games like ZombiU, New Super Mario Bros. U, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and Pikmin 3. Many of its launch titles have already been released or will be released on platforms millions of people already own.

The Wii U also doesn’t have the same kind of novelty the Wii did when it launched. Nintendo delivered a much more intriguing input device with the Wiimote. By comparison, it feels like the Wii U’s innovations are minor, and many of its dual-screen control mechanics are gimmicky. My opinion could very well change after I pick up a Wii U and get to play all the games over the course of a few months, but for now, beyond the simple fact that the Wii U’s launch -- at long last -- kicks off the next generation of consoles, there aren’t many reasons to get unreasonably excited.

Colin Moriarty, Editor, IGN PlayStation says - I have to be reminded every once in a while that one should never underestimate Nintendo. No matter how down-and-out they seem, no matter how completely irrelevant their hardware appears to be compared to Sony’s and Microsoft’s, and no matter how bitter and jaded the hardcore community seems towards them, they always pull a rabbit out of their hat. I have little doubt that the minds at Nintendo will perform a similar feat with the Wii U.

“

Nintendo simply isn’t the same company to me, and many others, anymore.

With that said, temper your expectations. Many of Wii U’s most appealing games will have already been out on other consoles by the time it launches. Its touch pad -- like the Wii’s controller -- is yet another gimmick, something Nintendo doesn’t even need with its strong library of legacy exclusives that will no doubt find their way in one form or another to the Wii U. And the casual gamer that made the Wii a rousing commercial success will not be back. Nintendo now has to cater again to the hardcore audience, and they lost some of that audience -- including me -- by refusing to give me much, making me long for the glory days of my youth, ranging from the NES and SNES to the N64 and the GameCube. Nintendo simply isn’t the same company to me, and many others, anymore.

Wii U is also too expensive. For a console that -- at best -- is marginally more powerful than this generation’s consoles, a $300 minimum price strikes me as strange. Then again, while the next Xbox and PlayStation will undoubtedly leave Wii U in the dust in terms of technology, it doesn’t really matter if the games are on Wii U. There are already some interesting titles announced and on the horizon, but I need to see more. Just like my wait-and-see approach with the 3DS (I finally acquired one this summer), I will be watching Wii U eagerly, waiting for a price drop and some compelling games for me -- the hardcore gamer -- before I drop my hard-earned dough.

Destin Legarie, Editor says - When I saw the Japanese announcement late last night about the Wii U pricing, I was skeptical.  I worried that it would be too high for the American market, and I was frustrated after hearing how much I would have to pay for a second controller.  When the Japan announcement came through it seemed that the console would set me back about $450 Day 1, which did not fly for my delicate American wallet.  Luckily that all changed this morning.

When I got to work that sour opinion vanished.  Not only did they hit that magical number of $299.99 for the American market (making us feel like we get a deal being one cent under $300) but they also revealed their exclusives. Rather huge exclusives, actually.  Bayonetta 2 being on the Wii U is a huge win for Nintendo and it came along with a list of great titles that will be out on launch day, or at least within the launch window.  The Ultimate Edition of Monster Hunter 3, New Super Mario U, and The Wonderful 101 are all games that have me ready to plop down my pre-order cash.

I do have one question for you though, Nintendo: why wasn’t THIS your E3 press conference?

Ryan McCaffrey, Executive Editor, IGN 360 says - Scoring Bayonetta 2 as a Wii U exclusive is a nice gesture to hardcore gamers on Nintendo’s part, and New Super Mario Bros. U looks excellent. But personally, nothing about the launch window -- be it price or software lineup -- is compelling me to buy Nintendo’s new console in 2012. I’m sure I’ll buy one eventually for the first-party games alone -- hell, I always do with Nintendo’s systems -- but I’m keeping my wallet closed for now. On a side note, Nintendo almost always does things in their own unique way, but it’s interesting that they’ve taken a page from Microsoft and the Xbox 360 launch by offering a “Premium” and a “Core” SKU. I do appreciate that they’ve given me a way to not have to buy Nintendoland whenever I do end up getting a Wii U.

Fran Mirabella III, Senior Director of Video: I’ve observed every Nintendo console launch since GameCube as part of this industry, and Wii U has, by far, felt like the one Nintendo was least prepared for. Until now. The E3 2012 showing was, let’s face it, completely off the rails. It goes down in the books as one of Nintendo’s worst press conferences. One of the major problems was that major playable software was scarcely highlighted, and the stuff you might be most interested in, you barely got to see (Super Mario Bros. Wii U, Rayman Legends, Pikmin 3, etc.). Today, it finally got a $299 price point, a release date, and a substantial amount of software. And, more importantly, I'm finally seeing more gameplay along with their GamePad integrations.

So am I actually excited? Yes. I’ve pre-ordered my deluxe bundle and am ready to get in line. What can I say, I’m a console launch junkie and there’s easily enough to keep me satisfied here. I’m excited to play Rayman Legends, Pikmin 3, and possibly some third-party games I’ve never had the chance to get to yet. But what is still missing is something that is often lacking from major console launches -- a Halo, an Uncharted... a Zelda. This isn’t surprising, but it is the nagging part of the Wii U launch currently. From Smash Bros. to a full-fledged 3D Mario, I just don’t know when that stuff is coming, and there’s no truly exclusive mega-franchise hitters here for core gamers. Most importantly, though, I haven’t seen many single-player GamePad integrations that really excite me. I love the idea of the GamePad for the whole family and things like TV browsing, but how is it going to change the next Metroid? That’s something we all still have to hold our breath a while longer for.

So what do you think? Agree with my co-workers? Despise them vehemently? It's OK, I feel the same way sometimes, and I have to spend all day with them. Sound off below and let me know what you think.

Brian Altano is IGN's Executive Editor of News & Features. Follow him on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Report: EA Sought to Acquire Valve

Electronic Arts was apparently prepared to pay up to $1 billion in order to acquire Valve, according to a new report.

The New York Times claims to have seen a report which lists the various opportunities Gabe Newell has had to sell the company in the past.

"Valve has been pursued over the years by Electronic Arts, which would very likely have valued Valve at well over $1 billion had the talks progressed that far," it explains.

The article goes on to say the claims come courtesy of "two people with knowledge of the discussion who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private".

Why said talks broke down isn't clear, especially given that EA's COO Peter Moore recently voiced his support for the company, describing them as being "on the cutting edge of the future of this industry". It may have something to do with Valve co-founder Gabe Newell, who has apparently long been convinced that the company would "disintegrate" if it was ever bought by another company.

"It’s way more likely we would head in that direction than say, ‘Let’s find some giant company that wants to cash us out and wait two or three years to have our employment agreements terminate,’ he said.

Had the deal gone through, EA would have gotten quite the bargain; Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter estimates that Valve would today be valued at around $2.5 billion, mainly thanks to its Steam digital distribution service. The company is also believed to make far more money from Steam than it does from actual sales of its own games.

This number only looks set to go up, especially with the recent news that the company will be "jumping in" to hardware development.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

NPD: Darksiders II Leads U.S. Sales, Big Month for 3DS

The NPD Group has revealed the top ten best-selling games in the United States for the month of August.

The best-selling titles of the month, in order, are:

1. Darksiders II (360, PS3, PC)**
2. New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS)
3. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)**
4. NCAA Football 13 (360, PS3)
5. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSV, PC)
6. Sleeping Dogs (360, PS3)
7. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (360, PS3)
8. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)**
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, NDS, Wii, PC)**
10. The Amazing Spider-Man (360, PS3, NDS, 3DS, Wii)

**(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

Additional details coming…

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Limited Edition Borderlands 2 Top Trumps

Independent game shops around the UK will be selling limited edition Borderlands 2 Top Trumps to those who pre-order the game.

The 'Guns Guns Guns' deck will never be sold at major retail outlets, with only 5000 decks being printed.

“Only 5000 packs of cards will be distributed across the country and will be available on a first-come-first served basis to those who pre-order Borderlands 2. Once they’re gone, they’re gone so I’d encourage people to check with their local Indie store to see if they’re stocking the cards”, says Ben Lawrence, UK PR Manager 2K Games, “We want to turn everyone in Vault Hunters!”

A host of Borderlands 2 special editions and pre-order exclusives have already been announced for the RPG shooter.

Borderlands 2 is out on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in the UK on September 21st.

Source : ign[dot]com

Company of Heroes 2: Small Tweaks Make Big Differences

I’ve sent thousands of American, German and British soldiers to die in battle. I’ve sent men into situations where I knew they would die in order to win the larger fight, seen tanks go from powerful symbols of freedom into burning husks within seconds and put so many craters into quaint villages that they look like the surface of the moon. All of this and more I’ve done in the real time strategy franchise Company of Heroes.

Company of Heroes, more than any other game in any genre, has let me experience the horrors of war. Granted, it’s a representation wrapped up in the conventions of a video game, but it still portrays combat in a realistic enough way that it sometimes makes me reflect on how awful these men had it. Despite two expansions, the original Company of Heroes never took us to the Eastern Front, where more than 20 million people lost their lives. That changes in 2013 with the release of Company of Heroes 2, when everyone will finally get direct control over Soviet forces, taking them into battles fought and won as much by desperation as by sound tactics. Having recently tried it myself, I’ve briefly experienced battles in the most brutal front in history.

Despite having played hours of Company of Heroes, the sequel still threw me for a bit of a loop. The basic gameplay principles from the first game are carried over to the second (you still capture points to collect resources, cover is crucial, vehicle positioning matters, etc.), but many subtle changes have been implemented. Some of them, like the new True Sight mechanic, make the game feel more realistic, and make fighting in tight spaces much more claustrophobic. Since your units no longer have a 360 degree view (but instead have their vision broken up by terrain like they would in real life) you realize how much more frightening it is for a soldier to move into an area with lots of obstructions. Enemies could come from anywhere; intersections, which previously made me think of all the directions I could move, now make me fear what the hell will be around the corner. Scouting has become far more important than it was in the original Company of Heroes.

Likewise, resources play totally differently. In earlier Company of Heroes titles, you captured points with specific resources attached to them; an ammo point gave ammo, a fuel point fuel, etc. This made points with high resources an integral part of the level design, and in multiplayer this often resulted in furious battles to control a specific point that could make the difference between victory and defeat. While the details are still being ironed out, developer Relic is giving you the option to choose what resource you need in Company of Heroes 2. In an effort to encourage players to battle over more areas of the map, Relic leaves it to players to determine which resources are important. This comes alongside a smaller number of capturable points to hopefully make the maps easier to create and for you to tell when you have resources connected. In practice it’s still hard to know how it will shake out. The single match I played against the AI wasn’t enough to learn the maps or the Russian forces intimately enough to know if I should lean my resources toward ammo or fuel. Still, it’s a potentially exciting change because it makes it harder to predict what your foe is up to. Previously, if you knew they were capturing a lot of fuel you could predict what they might be gearing up to, but now you have to do more scouting and stay on your toes.

Even the way that you capture points has been changed for Company of Heroes 2. Previously, the only way to capture a point was to order a squad to take it, meaning you had to click the specific point and have a squad sit on it. This reduced their combat effectiveness, and if you weren’t paying attention the squad could be wiped out with ease. Company of Heroes 2 still allows you to order a squad to capture a point in this way, but alternatively they can just sit within a small radius of a point to take it. It’s a seemingly minor change, but it means that combat around points can become a lot more interesting, as each side is vying to see who can stay within proximity of a point long enough to capture it. It also means that things like booby traps or teller mines from Company of Heroes, which relied on the fact that the enemy was going to need to reach the point itself, won’t be effective and likely won’t be used in the same fashion they were before.

The Russian forces themselves obviously play a lot differently than the armies in the original game. It’ll take hours and hours of play to really get a hold on what makes them so special, but even during the short time I played a few things stood out. First of all, there’s conscript units. These large groups of infantry, normal citizens forced into the war, aren’t great at fighting, but are great for absorbing fire and can merge with other units to reinforce them on the field. For instance, if you had a machine gun crew down to one guy, you could use a conscript squad to bring them back up to their original size. These squads are cheap and efficient, and a bit unnerving when you realize how little value these peasants’ lives hold unless they’re used in specific ways.

Other units also stand out, feeling like variations on the past game’s units. The Maxim machine gun has a massive crew of six people and is a bit sluggish with its comparatively tight field of fire. The Russian sniper teams come in pairs instead of solo and are heavily clad in order to battle the blizzards that now sweep into levels and kill unprepared units. The Katyusha trucks fire Nebelwerfer-like rockets -- albeit a bit inaccurately -- from absurdly far away. The Russians even have an array of tanks, making an armored assault feel viable. Basically, they seem to have a bit of everything, with units that make them feel like an amalgamation of the original Company of Heroes' Wermacht and American forces.

The really striking thing about Company of Heroes 2 is the tone the game sets with its fantastic fidelity and animation. It’s easy to get caught up in the fact that I’m playing a game, but as I watch a group of conscripts struggle through heavy snow while taking machine gun fire, or throw themselves to the ground as an explosion comes a bit too close, I sometimes take a moment to reflect on the actual men and women that did that. These people endured some of the harshest conditions in the entirety of the war, and it’s great to see one of the best strategy franchises ever portraying their plight in vivid detail. It’s not often games succeed at being so much fun to play while simultaneously being intensely visceral in their portrayal of history.

Source : ign[dot]com

NPD: NCAA 13 Has Big Launch, 3DS Sales Increase

The NPD Group has revealed the top ten best-selling games in the United States for the month of July.

The best-selling titles of the month, in order, are:

1. NCAA Football 13 (360, PS3)
2. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSV, PC)
3. The Amazing Spider-Man (360, PS3, 3DS, NDS, Wii)
4. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)
5. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)**
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, DS, Wii, PC)**
7. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)
8. NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC)
9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)**
10. Dead Island (360, PS3, PC)**

**(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

According to NPD analyst Anita Frazier, Pokemon Conquest would be among the top 10 for the month if the chart included individual SKU sales rather than combining sales from all platforms. Frazier notes that Batman: Arkham City and Dead Island “both received a boost in sales due to the release of Game of the Year editions.”

Frazier adds that while sales for hardware and software were down for the month, sales of accessories were up, “driven by increases in points and subscriptions game cards as well as the Skylanders character packs.” She adds that “Between the characters that are packaged with the Skylanders game and the sales of the separate character packs, over 25 million individual Skylanders figures have been sold through at retail in the U.S. since the launch of the game in October 2011.”

The NPD Group expects sales to rise in the coming month thanks to the launch of Madden NFL 13, 3DS XL and New Super Mario Bros. 2, but notes that “while August is typically ‘Madden Month,’ Madden NFL ’13 launches on August 28th which falls into the September reporting period. So, like last year, Madden will impact September results instead of August.”

On the hardware front, Frazier notes that all platforms had decreased sales this month other than 3DS and DS, which saw increases in sales compared to June. 3DS is also the only system to see a sales increase compared to this month in 2011.

Microsoft reports that “Xbox 360 maintains its lead in the U.S. console market, marking 19 months as the top-selling current-generation console in the United States.” 203,000 units were sold in July, more units than any other gaming hardware. “This marks the 17th consecutive month that Xbox 360 has held more than a 40 percent share of current-generation console sales in the United States,” Microsoft said in a statement.

Nintendo says 3DS saw a 44% increase in sales compared to July 2011 and adds that more than 260,000 units of portable hardware were sold in July.

This story will be updated as we receive a statement from Sony.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Dead Space 3, Crysis 3, Madden 13 Pre-Orders Surge

EA has announced big pre-order numbers for Dead Space 3, Crysis 3 and Madden NFL 13. According to a first quarter earnings call today, pre-orders of Dead Space 3 “are tracking almost five-times higher than Dead Space 2 in the same timeframe in 2010.” Crysis 3 pre-orders, meanwhile, “are roughly three-times what they were for Crysis 2 at this time in 2010” and Madden NFL 13 pre-orders “are up 25% versus last year.”

Elsewhere in the call, EA reported continued success for Battlefield 3 Premium, which has boosted its financials in the wake of disappointing subscriber numbers for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Looking ahead, the publisher also commented that it’s keeping a close eye on Wii U.

Overall, EA lost $130 million this quarter, with revenue of $491 million that fell just short of its $500 million forecast. EA announced this morning that it will hire former Yahoo! exec Blake Jorgensen as its new executive vice president and chief financial officer. The publisher called the quarter “solid” overall and CEO John Riccitiello referred to the company’s plans as “a strategic balance that none of our peers can duplicate.”

EA also commented on the results of a recent lawsuit over sports exclusivity, noting that it’s “not out of the NCAA football business” but that it won’t hold the exclusive rights moving forward. “We’re very bullish on our NCAA product going forward and we welcome the competition,” Riccitiello said, in addition to discussing Star Wars: The Old Republic's recently-announced transition to free-to-play.

EA’s upcoming release slate includes NHL 13 in September in addition to Madden NFL 13 in August and both Medal of Honor Warfighter and  Need for Speed Most Wanted in October. Crysis 3 and Dead Space 3 will hit stores in early 2013, along with Sim City in February.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Warehouse 13: "An Evil Within" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

Last week's premiere restored order to the series after the chaotic events of last season's finale. We see more of the same trend here, as the show continues to gradually make the wrong things right; this time by bringing Jinks back to life. I'm happy to see Aaron Ashmore still has a job, but I'm hoping all this re-writing of history has some serious consequences that raise the stakes for the series.

This episode started off well. The team is in good spirits, except for Artie who seems to still carry stress/guilt/fear from all of last week's events. Pete's innocuous “turn back time” comment has an obviously jarring effect on Artie and precludes the reappearance of Brother Adrian, who of course doesn't know that he and Artie met in an alternate timeline. Brent Spiner gets a much better opportunity to explore the role and it's good to see him back on TV. On a separate note, here's a little bit of TV history trivia for you: Saul Rubinek (Artie) and Brent Spiner once worked very closely on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called “The Most Toys” (quite a good episode if you haven't seen it).

Anyways, back to the Warehouse. This episode takes a three-part format, with Pete and Myka investigating an odd case while Artie deals with Brother Adrian and Claudia is doing her best bad girl impression. If you didn't have a ton of reasons to love Allison Scagliotti before, well you should now.

The story really takes an odd turn when Kate Mulgrew once again shows up as regent Jane Lattimer to tell Claudia that it's okay for Claudia to bring Jinks back. It's a thrilling development, made even more surprising by the late revelation that the regents actually did not approve it and Jane was going rogue. We've got all sorts of morality issues here, but Artie's time turning is the biggest of them all. There's a nice bit of thematic storytelling as Artie tries to prevent Claudia from doing something similar (but different) to what he did. It's quite a moral quandary that will surely be part of the series going forward.

Once Claudia gets the questionable go-ahead to revive Jinksy, she and Jane bring Steve back in an emotional scene where Kate Mulgrew really shows she still has the acting chops. I've really enjoyed Mulgrew in this role, and it looks like her character is joining Artie and Claudia in moral limbo. For the most part our heroes have been able to resist the temptation of artifact power, but now things are changing fast.

I also liked the little characterization moments in the script. We learn that Myka has a fear of tentacles (maybe she had an unpleasant experience with some hentai anime). And I really enjoyed Artie's desperate attempts to figure out how to get around this “evil” without unfixing the warehouse's destruction. There's plenty to like here, but there are unfortunately a number of flaws too.

H.P. Lovecraft finally gets some love in Warehouse 13. This is a deserved acknowledgment which comic and horror geeks should surely enjoy, and it's a wonder that it took this long for this series to fit him into one of the stories. Unfortunately, this artifact hunt is one of the weakest the series has ever produced. The plot with the tentacled monsters just doesn't hit any highs, and it culminates in a final scene that his horribly cheesy, partially because our antagonist barely says anything, and when he does he's not particularly interesting. Then we have the extras at the gym, who are all horrendous actors. But to be fair, the whole concept of the scene leaves a lot to be desired. And the special effects – which were gradually getting better for this series – take a little step backwards here.

But if you take out the shaky Lovecraft plot, this is a good episode that sets up a lot of pieces for the developing story that is going to carry us through the season. Still, all these new developments have been at the expense of undoing all the shocking surprises of last season. Normally I wouldn't be a big fan of this approach because it keeps us from believing that any of the major events of the series will ever stick. But at the same time, I understand the producers don't want to take too many risks with a formula that's working. The showrunners have proven themselves capable caretakers of this series, so for now I'll be cautiously optimistic that this direction will pay off very soon.

Source : ign[dot]com

Dishonored UK Pre-Order Exclusives

Bethesda has revealed the pre-order exclusives for its forthcoming Dishonored. A full list of what you can get and where you can get them lies below.

GAME & GameStation Special Edition – Dishonored branded 72 tarot card deck with instructions to play the ‘Game of Nancy’  & the Arcane Assassin Downloadable Upgrade Pack, which includes:

• VOID CHANNEL: Powers duration and damage bonus (exclusive)
• WHITE RAT FRIEND: White rats will not be hostile (exclusive)
• GUTTER FEAST: White rat consumption for mana (exclusive)
• WHALE IN-GAME STATUE: Unlocks one additional slot for bone charm bonuses (start with an extra slot earlier on)
• UNHIDDEN BOOK: “Filed Notes: The Journal of Granny Rags” (exclusive)
• 500 BONUS COINS

Tesco – Shadow Rat Downloadable Upgrade Pack, which includes:

• DELICATE TOUCH: Breaking Glass noise reduction (exclusive)
• VOYEUR: Key-hole peeping magnification (exclusive)
• DEEP BREATHER: Underwater breathing capacity bonus (exclusive)
• GOLDEN RAT STATUE: Unlocks one additional slot for bone charm bonuses (start with an extra slot earlier on)
• UNHIDDEN BOOK: “Filed Notes: The Royal Spy” (exclusive)
• 500 BONUS COINS

Shop.to.net – Backstreet Butcher Downloadable Upgrade Pack, which includes:

• FENCER: sword vs. sword advantage bonus (exclusive)
• FIRE WATER: increased whiskey bottle explosions (exclusive)
• BLAST RESISTANT: reduced explosion damage taken (exclusive)
• WOLFHOUND IN-GAME STATUE: unlocks one additional slot for bone charm bonuses (start with an extra slot earlier on)
• UNHIDDEN BOOK: “Early Life and Times: Slackjaw”
• 500 BONUS COINS

Amazon.co.uk – Acrobatic Killer Downloadable Upgrade Pack, which includes:

• RAVEN: Health bonus for drop-down assassination (exclusive)
• QUICK DODGE: Bolt / arrow dodging bonus (exclusive)
• RIVER AFFINITY: Increased swimming speed (exclusive)
• HAGFISH IN-GAME STATUE: Unlocks one additional slot for bone charm bonuses (start with an extra slot earlier on)
• UNHIDDEN BOOK: “Rumours and Sightings: Daud”
• 500 BONUS COINS

Dishonored is out in the UK on October 12th, 2012.

Daniel is IGN's UK Games Writer. You can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 Delayed Until 2013

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 has been delayed until January 15 2013.

According to VideoGamer, City Interactive's sniper sequel has been pushed back in order to give the team more time to polish the title.

“

The engine is fantastic and the level of polish is also key to the title's success.

Namco Bandai PR director Lee Kirton told the site, "I can confirm that this is true, we will provide a full announcement with City Interactive soon.

"It's key we all want this title to be fantastic in the genre and the leading Sniper game for sure. The engine is fantastic and the level of polish is also key to the title's success. As soon as the official announcement through distributors is available I will provide it."

We reported a couple of weeks ago that the game had slipped from August to October, but now it seems the game won't be out this year at all. While an October release would have meant the game going head to head with titles like Halo 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Medal of Honor: Warfighter, the first few months of 2013 are getting increasingly crowded after a number of high profile delays. The Last of Us, Anarchy Reigns, Beyond: Two Souls, Metro: Last Light and Crysis 3 are all targeting that window for launch.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 will release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant, and can't wait to go bankrupt thanks to game purchases in January 2013. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Studio Moves Gangster Squad to January

Warner Bros. has shifted Gangster Squad from its original September 7 slot to January 11, 2013 in order to re-shoot and re-edit a key set-piece in the wake of last week's theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado.

The period film -- which stars Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Josh Brolin -- featured a bloody gangland shootout in a movie theater in which several patrons are gunned down. The filmmakers will now re-conceive and re-shoot the sequence, a move that could not have been done with just six weeks until its original release.

Warner Bros. pulled the movie's trailers from domestic theaters following Friday's tragedy.

Source : ign[dot]com

Resident Evil 6: Get an Umbrella Umbrella with Pre-Orders

Capcom has announced that customers who pre-order Resident Evil 6 from the Capcom Store will receive an Umbrella Corp. umbrella. The umbrella is full-sized at 48 inches and includes a custom carrying sleeve. The umbrella can also be purchased separately for $16.95.

This marks the second pre-order bonus announcement for Resident Evil 6, following exclusive Mercenaries multiplayer maps at Gamestop, Amazon and Best Buy. Various different Resident Evil 6 special editions have also been announced.

Resident Evil 6 will hit Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 2nd, with a PC version to follow. For more about the game, check out six new things we learned about Resident Evil 6 at Comic-Con and our Resident Evil 6 wiki guide.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com