Spider-Man's Most Amazing Movie Moments

The Amazing Spider-Man swings into cinemas this week, taking a classic superhero franchise back to basics and consigning the Sam Raimi canon to the cinematic archive. While it's not a revolutionary reboot by any means, it's the perfect excuse to take in all four Spider-Men and do what we internet people so love to do: rank the most memorable scenes in ascending order of merit. Just beware of spoilers ahead, especially if you haven't yet caught Spidey's latest adventure...

25. Spider-sense (As seen in: Spider-Man)

Spider-man's pre-cognitive ability isn't easy to translate to film, but Sam Raimi nails it early on in his first movie. As jock Flash Thompson (True Blood's Joe Manganiello) prepares to mash Peter Parker into his locker, Pete clocks the incoming attack and time slows down – a paper plane swoops gently overhead, a spitball glides gracefully towards its target and a fly leisurely flaps its wings. Sadly, Flash gets his ass handed to him on a plate in real-time.

24. Peter vs New Goblin (Spider-Man 3)

It's the most effects-heavy action sequence in the entire trilogy and one that starts Spider-Man 3 at a breathless pace it couldn't hope to keep up. Parker is sucker-punched by an enraged Harry Osborn, now airborne as New Goblin and determined to get revenge for his father's death. Together, Peter and Harry clatter through New York's narrows, exchanging blows and defying gravity, and all the while Peter does his best Frodo impression, desperately clinging to his precious ring throughout the rough and tumble.

23. Previously, on Spider-Man... (Spider-Man 2)

The illustrated opening credits of Spider-Man 2 are the perfect way to bring newcomers up to speed with the Spidey saga without having to crowbar awkward expository dialogue into the opening scene ("Hey Harry, I'm sure sorry your father died!" etc). Drawn by esteemed comic-book artist Alex Ross, the artwork – together with Danny Elfman's stirring score – is the perfect way to kick off one of the best superhero movies ever: fact.

22. Norman Osborn's mirror scene (Spider-Man)

Late in 2002, a CG character called Gollum would mesmerise audiences by having an extremely heated argument with himself. In Spider-Man some months earlier, Willem Dafoe did largely the same thing and was arguably more animated. Norman Osborn, suffering from an attack of the Jekyll & Hydes, succumbs to his dark side when his Green Goblin alter-ego addresses him from his mirror, whispering devilish promises in his own ear. Dafoe, hamminess turned up to 'thickly sliced', utterly convinces as a total screwjob.

21. J. Jonah Jameson IS Spider-Man (Spider-Man 2.1)

A scene cut from the theatrical edit of Spider-Man turned out to be one of its funniest, and most revealing. Anyone who watched the extended Spider-Man 2.1 version on DVD would have seen a short sequence of The Daily Bugle's editor J. Jonah Jameson dressed in Spider-Man's discarded costume, thwipping about his own office making web noises while his own staff peek through a window. It certainly explains Jameson's obsession with the webbed wonder – who knew jealousy was the cause?

20. The Lizard's arm grows back (The Amazing Spider-Man)

Though Rhys Ifans' scaly villain may have been one of the few remaining well-known bad guys still left to be picked on the playground, alter-ego Dr Curt Connors does get a great character beat before he's reduced to a raging reptile. The one-armed doc uses himself as a guinea pig to test a potentially life-altering serum that replicates regenerative lizard DNA in humans, waking up in a funk to find he's not as arm-less as he once was. Ifans is marvellous in the scene: a literal fleshing out of a villain before it all goes a bit CG.

19. Going down (Spider-Man 2)

A great example of Sam Raimi's dry sense of humour, the lift scene in Spider-Man 2 gets perhaps the biggest laugh of the movie, as a web-less wallcrawler is forced to share a lift with a member of the public. "Cool Spidey outfit, where'd you get it?" says the citizen, before enquiring on its comfort. "Yeah, it's kind of itchy," Spidey replies in a moment of candour. "Rides up in the crotch a little bit, too." Well, at least now you know.

18. The birth of Venom (Spider-Man 3)

Driven to despair by the depths the alien symbiote has plunged him into, Spider-Man finally manages to part with the black suit by clanging the church bells and causing it to flee. Meanwhile, down below, a distraught, jobless, hopeless Eddie Brock prays to God for just one thing: "Please kill Peter Parker!" The symbiote catches Brock at his darkest moment and, latching on to his physical form, creates one of Spidey's most vicious foes. Venom gets shortchanged on the whole, but at least he gets his money shot in first.

17. Green Goblin vs Aunt May (Spider-Man)

One accusation levelled at Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin was that, with his plastic action figure helmet and all, he just wasn't scary enough. Tell that to Aunt May, who had the entire wall of her bedroom ripped off by a cackling masked madman while she was praying to a God that had no intention of answering. "D-d-deliver us..." whimpers May. "FINISH IT!" yells Gobby. "From... EVILLL!" she cries, staring into the laughing yellow eyes of the devil. You tell us that's not completely bloody terrifying.

16. The Twin Towers trailer (Spider-Man)

It's cheating really, as the scene never appeared in any cuts of the movie, but the first teaser for Spider-Man, released in 2001, showed criminals fleeing via helicopter from a bank heist, only to find themselves trapped in a giant web spun between the Twin Towers. Naturally, the events of 9/11 forced Raimi to remove the scene, but it remains on YouTube as a clever example of Spider-Man's symbiotic relationship with the city of New York.

15. Flaming car sequence (The Amazing Spider-Man)

Curiously, this action set-piece takes place around halfway through the movie but is probably the high point of The Amazing Spider-Man in terms of excitement. As The Lizard tosses cars off a bridge with wreckless abandon, Spidey can only hang them from webs like wet laundry out a window. When one of the cars catches fire – and worse, there's still a kid inside – we see the human side of our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man; comforting the distraught kiddywink in the flaming vehicle by removing his mask and telling him "Look... I'm just a guy!" before rescuing him with seconds to spare. Phew.

14. Crane accident (Spider-Man 3)

There's little at stake in this Spider-Man 3 set-piece, but it's certainly indicative of the kind of budget Sam Raimi had to play with – lesser movies would save spectacular sequences like this for the final reel. As an out-of-control crane swings a giant girder into a skyscraper, decimating two whole floors, Spidey is on hand to rescue damsel in distress Gwen Stacy via some vertical heroics. At this point, Spider-Man is barely breaking a sweat, but the sheer scale of the scene takes some beating.

13. The death of Otto Octavius (Spider-Man 2)

As his cold fusion reactor threatens to engulf the city, the scientist formerly known as Otto Octavius finally understands the chaos he's caused and lays his life on the line to put things right. Training his mechanical tentacles on the machine's giant metal struts, Doc Ock's last act is one of martyrdom, pulling the reactor into the water, exclaiming "I will not die a monster!" With the doomsday machine extinguished, the last glimpse we see of Octavius is a silent, ghostly shot of his lifeless body underwater, with redemption perhaps waiting in the afterlife. Although if you believe the Daily Bugle, he's not quite dead...

12. Harry unmasks Spider-Man (Spider-Man 2)

Credit to James Franco: he had to wait for two whole movies for his proper dramatic pay-off – the moment he pulls off a prone Spider-Man's mask to find the face of his best friend, Peter Parker, staring back at him. Knife in hand and ready for vengeance, Harry Osborn is physically taken aback at the revelation and Franco plays it perfectly, conveying a mixture of emotions – anger, confusion, betrayal – and setting up his eventual transformation into his father's son: Green Goblin Jr.

11. Death of Green Goblin (Spider-Man)

Spidey doesn't kill bad guys – bad guys kill bad guys. So it is in the finale of Spider-Man, as Green Goblin dies at the razor-sharp tip of his own pointy glider, our web-slinger athletically jumping out of the way at the last moment. The death isn't particularly gruesome or loaded with deeper meaning, but Osborn's touching last words reveal there was still a man behind the monster: "Don't tell Harry." Those three little words echo throughout the entire trilogy.

10. Meet J. Jonah Jameson (Spider-Man)

Perhaps the character who retains the most of his comic-book sensibilities, Daily Bugle editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson is pure motor-mouthed comic-relief – a hate-slinging hack who loathes Spider-Man almost as much as he loves himself. The first time we meet him, Jameson is dismissing Peter Parker's stellar photos of Spidey as "crap... crap... mega-crap" before paying him a paltry sum and promising to tip him well: "Meat. I'll buy you a nice box of Christmas meat." To be honest, we could have filled this entire list with J. Jonah Jameson quotes if we wanted.

9. Stan Lee's best cameo (The Amazing Spider-Man)

Comic-book legend Stan Lee shows his face in almost every Marvel movie, but his cameo in The Amazing Spider-Man is his best yet. As Spider-Man and The Lizard demolish the school library in the background, an oblivious Lee stands in the foreground with huge headphones on, listening to music and completely unaware of the giant mutant reptile fighting the costumed man-spider just a few feet away. One of many neat comic touches in Marc Webb's movie, it's a welcome laugh during some heightened tension.

8. "Go get 'em, tiger!" (Spider-Man 2)

Ah, sweet Mary Jane – the cause of, and solution to all of Spider-Man's problems. Peter's relationship with MJ finally comes to a head at the end of Spider-Man 2, when the ginger minx discovers Spidey's true identity is the man she always knew she loved. Fully aware that going steady with Peter will put her in harm's way, MJ turns the tables: "Isn't it about time someone saved your life?" (We prefer this declaration to the slightly stalkerish: "I've always been standing in your doorway"). Inevitably, Spidey is called into action, but MJ gives him her blessing with a note-perfect "Go get 'em tiger!" and a bittersweet stare out of his window. Just perfect.

7. A real swinger (Spider-Man)

Capturing the sheer vertiginous nature of Spider-Man was crucial to making the character work on film, but Raimi – and his effects team – were more than up to the task of making Spidey swing like a winner. The movie's heart-stopping final shot sees ol' webhead flinging himself around New York like a champ, swooping through the city streets like a bird who's just taught himself how to fly. He ends up perched on a flagpole, with the Stars and Stripes billowing behind him: fitting, as American cinema had just found a new hero.

6.
Bruce Campbell's collective snootiness (Spider-Man I-III)

Again, another cheat as we've amassed three scenes in one entry, but who among you could choose from Bruce Campbell's three superb cameos? Whether he's a snooty wrestling announcer (who calls The Human Spider by the wrong name), a snooty usher (who denies Peter Parker access to MJ's play) or a snooty restaurant captain (who frequently fumbles Parker's engagement announcement), Bruce Campbell is the perennial thorn in Spider-Man's side – perhaps more so than any supervillain.

5. Octopus comes alive (Spider-Man 2)

With the Spider-Man movies being relatively bright and breezy, it was easy to forget that director Sam Raimi got his start in horror – or at least, it would have been until Doctor Octopus unleashed hell from his hospital bed. As Otto Octavius lays face down and unconscious, the robotic tentacles fused to his spine become malicious and systematically take down every last doctor in the room in a vicious manner befitting very few family-friendly films. Among the screams and the madness, you'll catch a glimpse of a few nods towards The Evil Dead, most notably the 'tentacle cam' racing across the floor towards its victim.

4. Enter Sandman (Spider-Man 3)

Never before has one scene so effectively summed up a villain's raison d'etre – the birth of the Sandman is so stunningly animated it makes the character's subsequent narrative journey pale in comparison. Escaped convict Flint Marko picked the wrong hole to fall into and finds himself de-atomised by a particle accelerator, only to be reborn as a human sandcastle. The heartbreaking shot of Sandman trying and failing to pick up his sick daughter's locket is just about reason enough to include the character in the film – he can't add a whole lot more that compares to this fantastic formative scene.

3. The Death of Uncle Ben (Spider-Man)

Nothing less than the emotional core of the character and subsequently the entire Spider-Man trilogy. Mere minutes before, Peter's Uncle Ben utters the words that would go on to define a hero: "With great power comes great responsibility." Tragically, a carjacker puts a bullet in him, leaving Peter to pick up the shattered pieces of his life. Cliff Robertson gives good dead – there's no time for further moralising, just some gasping for air and a desperate call to his beloved nephew to be with him as he passes. Truly heartbreaking and the crux for everything that Spider-Man represents.

2. Upside-down kiss (Spider-Man)

Every superhero needs an iconic scene – Spider-Man's just happened to be a bit sexier than most. It should have been cheesy as hell: having just saved MJ's life, an upside-down Spider-Man spins down to check up on her, only to have the bottom half of his mask removed and his face snogged off for his troubles. It's a shot that caters for both sexes and probably went a long way to selling Spider-Man to audiences other than teenage boys i.e. girls who wanted a bit of storybook romance in their lives. The fact that the scene took place in the rain and Kirsten Dunst was wearing a flimsy vest is neither here nor there.

1. The train sequence (Spider-Man 2)

The train sequence is everything action cinema should be: fast, fluid, thrilling, inventive and pulsing with a very real sense of danger. Spider-Man and Doc Ock find themselves fighting above, beneath, in and on an overground New York subway train in an extended set-piece that whitens the knuckles. The cherry on top is Spidey's ultimate sacrifice: his identity. As Ock puts the passengers in harm's way by knocking out the brakes, Spider-Man is forced to web up and slow the speeding train to a halt, almost killing himself in the process. Drained but still alive, the grateful commuters carry Spidey's unmasked body aloft, before placing him down and remarking: "He's... just a kid!" He sure is, New Yorkers – and that's the essence of Spider-Man distilled in one remarkable, unforgettable scene.

Source : ign[dot]com

Michael Fassbender Cast in Assassin's Creed Movie

Michael Fassbender will star in Ubisoft's upcoming Assassin's Creed film.

According to Variety, the acclaimed actor has been cast as "the franchise's iconic hooded hero". But of course, the series has featured several hooded heroes, from Altair to Ezio to Connor. If the film sticks closely to the chronology and storyline of the games, it's likely that Fassbender will take the role of Altair or Desmond (or maybe both).

"Michael Fassbender was our first choice," said Jean-Julien Baronnet, CEO of Paris-based Ubisoft Motion Pictures. "Michael is an extremely smart, talented, versatile and committed actor."

With roles in critically-acclaimed movies like Shame and blockbusters such as X-Men: First Class and Prometheus, Fassbender has quickly established himself as one of the most in-demand actors around, and his casting in the Assassin's Creed movie sends out a strong signal of intent by the recently-founded Ubisoft Motion Pictures. The film will also be produced by Fassbender's own company, DMC Film.

Ubisoft was originally in talks with Sony Pictures to develop the franchise, but negotiations broke down last autumn. Ubisoft has since been developing the property independently to retain greater creative control. It's an approach it's also taking with other key properties, such as Splinter Cell. But once the film has a director and writer attached, the publisher is willing to speak with studios.

"We're open to re-discuss with the key studios once the production package is finalised," Baronnet added. "Whatever the financial model, Ubisoft Motion Pictures will limit its risk investment."

Is Michael Fassbender right for the Assassin's Creed franchise? Let us know in the comments below. Meanwhile, read our feature on How to Make a Great Assassin's Creed Movie.

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

Will One Studio Make All Call of Duty Handheld Games?

New reports suggest that Activision’s recently-founded Leeds studio will develop all future handheld and mobile iterations of the Call of Duty franchise. According to UK games industry expert Andy Payne, Leeds will be developing "all handheld versions [and] iOS versions of Call of Duty" moving forward.

According to Leeds, the various studios developing Call of Duty are collaborative, reusing assets and exchanging them as needed. From this point forward, Leeds will be able to use the same assets for use in mobile games. “The two studios are saying, 'I need a tank, pull it off from the library'. And those assets are also going to be starting to be used by the mobile team, which is going to be based in Leeds,” he said.

We know that Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified is currently in development for Vita, though it’s still unknown who’s developing that game. Unfortunately, the rumor about Leeds is likely only referring to future games, as Declassified is set to hit stores before the end of the year and Activision Leeds was only created in May, which wouldn’t line up.

Previous Call of Duty handheld and mobile developers include n-space, who developed DS versions of Call of Duty 4, Black Ops, Modern Warfare 2 and World at War. Black Ops Zombies and World at War Zombies on iOS, meanwhile, were developed by Ideaworks.

Source: Videogamer

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

Miyamoto Discusses Metroid on Wii U

We all want to see one Nintendo franchise or another come to Wii U. Some of us eagerly anticipate the next Zelda, or want to see a true 3D Mario along the lines of Mario Galaxy. Yet if there's one person whose opinion matters more than all others, it's Shigeru Miyamoto's.

As the co-manager of Nintendo's internal development teams and one of the most senior executives at the company, the legendary designer surely has a bit more influence than just about anyone else in the world. When I recently chatted with Miyamoto, I asked him what he would want to see on Wii U.

With the caveat that he's not necessarily talking about games in active development, and that the process of evaluating which characters and games are appropriate for a system or mechanic is always ongoing, Miyamoto indicated two franchises have his attention. The first? Metroid.

"With Metroid it's very easy to imagine some interesting implementation for Wii U," Miyamoto mentioned. "I think that having another screen with the gyro built in really gives you a lot of interesting opportunities for development, and we can bring a lot of our games to life in a completely unique way with that."

"I feel like the possibilities of the GamePad for Metroid could be really fantastic," Miyamoto told me at a different point in our conversation. "There's certainly a lot that you could do there for that game."

Yet the one that Miyamoto really wants to see? The Nintendo executive didn't give any details, but noted that "personally" the franchise he wants most on Wii U is Star Fox. Here's hoping one day Miyamoto's wish - alongside millions of Nintendo fans - is realized on the HD system.

Rich is an Executive Editor of IGN.com, and the leader of the network's Nintendo team. He also covers all things Assassin's Creed, Resident Evil, WWE and much, much more. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN, if you dare.

Source : ign[dot]com

Company of Heroes 2: Creating an Authentic Experience

When it comes to tackling World War II, Relic Entertainment strives to do it respectfully. The studio’s Company of Heroes franchise is a testament to this, with previous titles in the real-time strategy franchise presenting the battles, heroes and horrors of the Greatest War to players in ways that felt more lifelike -- and, consequently, more unsettling -- than many had come to expect. Of course, as a company whose goal is to create video games, Relic must make its titles fun -- something that can easily take away from the authenticity of the experience.

How do they do it, then? How does a team that’s built a name making some of the most critically acclaimed and authentic strategy games take what they’ve learned from travelling around the world -- studying the weapons, mechanized monsters and battlefields where millions laid down their lives -- and apply it to the upcoming Company of Heroes 2? We interviewed Game Director Quinn Duffy to find out.

Now we present Duffy's insight, alongside some of Relic’s photographs, sound design clips and videos they’ve used to inspire, create and shape the direction of Company of Heroes 2’s Eastern Front.

Bread, Bullets and Battlefields

When you're making a game about the Eastern Front, it's safe to say one of the best ways to get an understanding of it is to saturate yourself in it. To gain valuable insight into the Russian people of the past and the present, Relic did just that in March of 2011, when the team leaders traveled to Russia and Germany. "We went to St. Petersburg, the former Leningrad, and went to a number of battle sties in and around the city," Duffy detailed, with regular stops to museums so they could, "see and feel and get reference images of all the equipment" for the game.

The rations people live off of. Click the image to see more photos from Relic's travels.

It didn't even take all that much effort to find what they needed in Russia since, as Duffy put it, "[the Russians] just went gangbusters on celebrating the Great Patriotic War." The Relic crew found ample material in an array of museums that cataloged everything from specific types of weapons to what Duffy refers to as "dark stories." In one instance Duffy and the Relic team got to see the food ration given to the people under siege at St. Petersburg, which he described as being "smaller than your computer mouse...125 grams of s***ty bread a day for non workers. A million people...a vast number of people starved."

“

They went gangbusters celebrating the Great Patriotic War.

That understanding of the darker side of the Eastern Front history was something Duffy felt the team really benefited from. "To be in Russia and then to go to Berlin again...It brings it to life," he said. Essentially, visiting the places where people died and became heroes brought it all home for the team, "We say, 'oh, 70 years ago,' but when you stick your finger in a bullet hole it doesn't feel that long ago. It brings it to life in a really dramatic way. That was hugely important trip for the leads team and for reinforcing the direction of the game."

The Human Element

The Company of Heroes franchise has always had much more believable infantry than most strategy titles, with soldiers who react to being shot at, scream when they're harmed and generally act like you might imagine soldiers did those 70 years ago. Like the previous games, Duffy said the goal in Company of Heroes 2 is to get across "real soldiers, real battlefields, real war. The team therefore added a lot of animations and contextual speech to "create this sense that these guys are really aware of their environment." Watching real combat footage, the team at Relic has seen the way panic affects soldiers, the way that people can become a bit confused, and they try to integrate that into their characters. Though Duffy does acknowledge that their characters have "a bit of that Hollywood" layered in since in real combat "you rarely see the enemy, guys aren't moving around a ton," and, "you don't have the sort of second-to-second type of reactions that you want in a game."

The foundation for more realistic characters may have been in place from their previous games, but Relic really wanted to take the knowledge gained from traveling and reading memoirs from people involved in the war and instill, as Duffy says, the "fatalism" and "unbelievable bravery" of the Russian people. Duffy said this will come across in "their speech, their acknowledgements, their griping, their bitching," all of which the team wrote to set the tone for a people pushed to the brink. Duffy wants to get past the Russia we know from movies like Enemy at the Gates, so that "you start to see the reach character, that these guys were soldiers like any other soldier," who "faced the most unbelievable hardships."

This philosophy and understanding of the Russian people has also played into the new mechanics for the Red Army. Duffy really, really didn't want "automagical b**lshit kinds of things going on" with how they functioned. The last Company of Heroes games gave you abilities to break suppression, for instance, where troops pinned down by machine gun fire could overcome their fear by pressing a button. This time around Duffy wants to avoid "the magical button," instead focusing on providing context for why soldiers are less likely to be suppressed. An example given was Soviet penal battalions, who had to fight until they either died or succeeded -- regardless of the situation. Contextually it would make sense why they're more likely to go through gun fire brazenly, as opposed to standard Russian infantry.

Source : ign[dot]com

Tales of Xillia to be Released in the West

The 13th flagship title in the Tales franchise, Tales of Xillia, is to be released outside of Japan for the first time.

Namco Bandai has revealed the anime RPG will be released in both Europe and the States sometime in 2013.

Tales of Xillia differs from most of the other games in the franchise in that the camera is centred behind the back of the avatar rather than overhead, and by having two separate anime openings, depending on whether players opt to control Jude or Milla.

The game was originally released in Japan to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Tales franchise in September 2011.  Two weeks ahead of release, it became the most pre-ordered Tales game in the territory ever, and its sales numbers are the highest in the series, bar Tales of Destiny 2. A sequel to Tales of Xillia is already in the works for release in Japan later this year.

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

EA Announces Extensive FIFA 13 Pre-Order Incentives

EA has announced what it is calling the "most extensive global pre-order incentive in the history of the FIFA franchise".

FIFA 13 Ultimate Edition will be available for one day only on 28 September 2012, the day on which FIFA 13 is released.

So what do you get if you conscientiously pre-order or run out to the shops in late September with wild abandon? Well, you get one FIFA Ultimate Team pack per week for 24 weeks, which equates to over £15 in extra content. Each pack contains 12 items, from players to stadiums, balls and kits. All players bundled will have a rating of 75 and over, and each pack will also contain one "rare item", such as enhanced player attributes and the "most coveted players".

But that's not all folks. There are two more pre-order incentives in the shape of EA Sports Football Club pre-order and adidas All-Star Team pre-order. Football Club is available to those who order through Amazon, and will let players claim in-game items such as special celebrations, Virtual Pro attribute boosts, and extra matches in Head-to-Head Seasons mode. Meanwhile, the adidas All-Star Team pre-order is available to those who order through GAME. The eponymous All-Star team will be unlocked, consisting of the world's 23 best players, including new cover-star Lionel Messi (he's quite good).



Source : ign[dot]com

Did Uncharted 3 Change Too Much?

Video games often mean more to us than we realise or have the language to explain. Playing a franchise’s next instalment is filled with as much nervous anticipation as reading a new book from a favourite author or watching a film from a beloved director.

At the same time, video game technology is changing much faster than other media. The intervening time between two games often sees new techniques, technology and even new platforms on which developers can create their experiences. There is a danger of falling for the trap of bigger is always better.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception introduced all sorts of changes. The amount of animation, number of polygons, environment interaction and player control were all significantly enhanced. Some of these, like the refined aiming, caused an instant reaction in the community. Other changes were more subtle; Elena’s new appearance and Nate’s penchant for touching door-frames have taken longer to process.

Naughty Dog Producer Richard Lemarchand talked us though these changes before his recent departure from the studio, starting with the visual differences in Uncharted 3’s main characters. “We made a huge number of improvements to our character modelling processes for Uncharted 3 – too many to list, really! The characters in our games are really important to us, of course, and making sure that their character models are top-notch is a major focus.”

“ We made a huge number of improvements to our character modelling processes for Uncharted 3 – too many to list, really!

“For instance, one of our Senior Character Artists made Drake’s beard stubble by first creating a dynamic hair simulation of Drake’s whole beard in 3D Studio Max. We used this simulation to get the hair follicles in his beard looking exactly how we wanted them to look by combing them in the simulation.  Then we exported perfectly matching texture maps which we used for his in-game model.

“We applied similar techniques to Sullivan’s moustache – in previous Uncharted games Sully’s ‘tache was just painted into his texture maps, but this time we set it up using planes of geometry, and painted in every single strand of the moustache hair individually!”

Unsurprisingly, all this enhanced facial hair had less of an effect on Elena, but she was still significantly different from the androgynous young woman of the first Uncharted game. In Uncharted 3 she has a more feminine gait and is facially much closer to character actor Emily Rose – indeed, her new persona came dangerously close to eclipsing her remembered identity from the previous games.

Perhaps it’s Naughty Dog’s ability to create such believable people that makes even subtle changes so noticeable. It’s not just a videogame character they are tweaking, but someone we know and understand.

“What’s most important for us is our focus on the people in our games as individuals, as unique characters. It’s all too easy, with any kind of writing, to fall back on clichés and stereotypes, but if you can avoid doing so then I think it helps your character’s voices sound fresh and authentic, and that’s the key to populating a story with interesting, believable people,” says Lemarchand.

Lemarchand turns to the contribution of actors and motion capture studios to pull this off. “Of course, writing and game design is only half of the equation: it’s the performances created by the talented actors we collaborate with that literally bring characters like Elena Fisher to life. We’re very lucky to be able to work with Emily Rose, who plays Elena, as well as Nolan North, Richard McGonagle and the rest of our cast. They work very hard in rehearsal and on our motion-capture stage, when we’re capturing their performances to put into the game, and they also contribute a huge amount to the game in terms of the ideas that they bring to the table, many of which we’ll work into the dialogue or even the game design.”

It’s interesting that while Naughty Dog would find it hugely problematic to switch actors, the studio is happy to substantially alter how they look in the game. The actor is there to speak up if they are asked to say or do something out of character, but their virtual alter-egos can’t stand up for themselves. An interesting comparison is the Toy Story series: while there has been similar progression in terms of fidelity and depth of animation during the life of those three films, there is much less of a jarring difference in terms of how the characters look from one film to the next.

“ It’s all too easy, with any kind of writing, to fall back on clichés and stereotypes, but if you can avoid doing so then I think it helps your character’s voices sound fresh and authentic.

Other changes in Uncharted 3 were more quickly identified by players – the aiming mechanics in particular. Where other developers may have become defensive over such criticism, Naughty Dog engaged with its community and introduced a patch that rectified these specific issues.

Lemarchand comments on the tension between perfectionism and continuity that can lead to these problems. “We made lots of improvements to the way that Nathan Drake controls between Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3. We’re constantly working to refine and improve the controls of our game, even though we’ve always been pretty happy with the feel that Drake has… Of course, in turn, the expanded ability to fist-fight has a relationship with Drake’s traversal gameplay, and changes how you move around the levels when enemies are present.”

This traversal technique was another big change, and it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Did these changes make Uncharted 3 felt different to play? Lemarchand doesn’t think so. “The mechanics you mention – the way that Drake puts out his hand to touch a wall or a door jamb as he runs past it, or the unprecedented twelve-minute idles that we were able to include in Uncharted 3 thanks to our new in-game animation streaming system – these mechanics add something special to the game, I think, but they don’t interfere in any way with the player’s control of Drake.”

There were noticeable changes in Uncharted 3’s storytelling too, with much less time spent with the female characters and an increased focus on Nate’s personal quest. “The way that Drake’s friends fall away over the course of Uncharted 3, finally leaving him alone, is an important and deliberate part of the game’s intertwined storytelling and game design technique,” explains Lemarchand.

“In part, Uncharted 3 is about how relentless Drake can be when he’s pursuing a goal, and the dangers of that single-mindedness.  He’s so fixated on following the chain of clues that the story puts in front of him, and in such disregard of the growing danger around him, that he barely notices as his friends drop out of the adventure one by one. Even Chloe, who is normally so reckless, won’t go along for the ride beyond a certain point.

“So when he ends up alone for one of the later sequences of the adventure, he’s really facing one of his deepest fears. We all fear being alone, but it’s a particular demon for Drake, given what we learn about his background early on in the game.”

These efforts to stretch and change the sort of story Naughty Dog is telling with Uncharted 3 actually feel very comfortable. It goes without saying that a new episode in a drama needs to find fresh themes to address. Even when there is outrage at a particular game’s ending (Mass Effect 3 for instance), these are the creative decisions we expect story tellers to make.

But videogames are still mapping out what can and can’t be altered from one franchise outing to the next. How closely are players paying attention to movement, visuals, character modelling and controls? How much do they care about them, and how much change is too much?

Perhaps it’s inevitable for a maturing medium to accept more change than older, more established art forms. It will be interesting to see if technology continues to be the main driving force for change in videogames, or if other considerations will come to the fore as the pace of technological advancement slows down.



Source : ign[dot]com

New Harvest Moon Headed to 3DS

This year marks the 15th anniversary of when the Harvest Moon franchise first debuted on the SNES. To celebrate, Natsume announced today that a new entry in the series will be coming to 3DS by the end of the year.

Called Harvest Moon: A New Beginning, the game will place great emphasis on customization. Players will be able to fully change their character's appearance, altering their gender, skin color, facial expression, hairstyle, outfit and more. You will also be able to rearrange your crops and buildings and create things like park benches, wallpaper, furniture, pet houses, etc.

A New Beginning will take place in Echo Village, a town that most villagers have abandoned. It's up to you to make the place prosperous again, likely by way of farming and ranching.

For more on the next Harvest Moon for 3DS, keep it here on IGN.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/29/new-harvest-moon-headed-to-3ds

The A-Z of the Alien Franchise

With Prometheus landing in cinemas within days, we explore the deepest, darkest corners of the galaxy to present an unmissable alphabetical guide to the Alien franchise. Just beware of franchise spoilers ahead.

A is for... Alien

The movie that gave birth to a phenomenon. Ridley Scott's second feature film after The Duellists, it's a masterclass in sustained tension and economy of horror - the 'monster' is only on screen for seconds at a time. Written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, and formerly titled Star Beast (catchy), it evolved into the terrifying survival horror we know and love. Inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2002, it remains one of the most terrifying and iconic horror films of all time.

B is for... Burke

Burke by name, berk by nature. The 'corporate dickweed' archetype had been hinted at in the first film, with Ash working on behalf of 'The Company' to bring the beast back alive for bio-weapons, but it wasn't until we met Paul Reiser's Carter Burke in Aliens that we realised The Company was almost exclusively staffed by buttheads. Open-handed and queasily chummy on the surface - like a sort of shifty space politician - he nonetheless puts countless lives at risk for his employers, probably to secure a bigger office or something.

C is for... Chestburster

The most startling scene in a film packed full of memorable moments, the 'chestburster' sequence is one of the most shocking deaths in sci-fi history. Having just had an alien get jiggy with his gob, John Hurt's Kane wakes up feeling woozy, but thinks nothing of joining the crew of the Nostromo for a spot of dinner. Turns out that wasn't indigestion he was feeling: after some terrifyingly realistic convulsions, Kane's stomach is punched open from the inside, and an alien embryo bursts forth, spraying the unprepared cast members with blood. That look of shock on their faces is genuine, captured on film forever.

D is for… David

You may have already met Michael Fassbender's Bowie-inspired android David in Prometheus' promotional material. And given his promise that he can carry out directives that human crew members might consider "unethical" we're guessing he's not entirely on the level. Interestingly - and despite the revised chronology post-Prometheus - the 'synthetic humans' in the Alien franchise have all been named alphabetically (Ash, Bishop and Call in that order). We look forward to meeting Eugene, Frank and Gerard in future instalments.

E is for... Eggs

With the design of the alien being kept a secret, the striking image on the Alien poster was the egg, with green pus oozing forth. You may notice that this egg (belonging to a hen, egg fans) looks different to the ones in the movie – that's because the scene in which John Hurt inspects the more organic-looking facehugger egg was added in post-production. The movement that Kane sees inside is Ridley Scott's hand in a rubber glove, and the innards – if you really must know – were made of cow guts and tripe. Anyone fancy an omelette?

F is for... Facehugger

There's something horribly perverse about the design of the facehugger – the first creature created for the movie. It's the combination of its long, spindly, human-like fingers and its whipping tail that still gives us the fear – that and, of course, its penchant for humping your face and laying eggs in your stomach. It's more than just a freaky creepy-crawlie – the facehugger's disgusting "oral invasion" technique as used on Kane in Alien was intended as a riposte to various scenes of abuse suffered by female horror protagonists at the hands of male monsters.

G is for... Giger

Hans Rudolf Giger is the creative (and potentially quite troubled) genius behind Alien's most twisted designs. The Swiss artist studied architecture and industrial design in Zurich before realising his talent lay in creating disturbing, evocative, impossibly dark imagery – a perfect fit for the Alien universe, in other words. Ridley Scott saw potential in Giger's painting, Necronom IV, and commissioned the artist to birth his beast. The finished product – an asexual creature with a long, smooth, curved cranium – was the perfect nightmare. "It could just as easily f*ck you before it killed you" commented producer Ivor Powell.

H is for... Hudson and Hicks

The twin pillars of the Colonial Marines: Corporal Dwayne Hicks, a gruff, lantern-jawed leader of men; and Private William Hudson, a sarcastic technician who talks the talk but breaks down like a little bitch when the odds aren't in his favour. Despite surviving Aliens, Michael Biehn didn't get the chance to reprise Hicks in the threequel – he was killed off during the opening credits, but successfully demanded almost the same amount of cash for the brief use of his image as he was paid for the entirety of James Cameron's movie. Bill Paxton's Hudson saw an undignified end, but did get some of Aliens' best lines, including the eternally over-quoted cry of defeat: "Game over, man! Game over!"

I is for... Ident

Arguably the scariest moment of Alien 3 comes before a single second of footage has been shown. The movie opens with the customary 20th Century Fox fanfare, but holds the penultimate note and transforms it into a discordant wail, putting the viewer at instant unease. Director David Fincher's idea, this startling opening was intended to unsettle audiences and let them know that nothing, not even the company idents, were safe from harm. Shame the rest of the movie didn't quite deliver in the same way.

J is for… Joss and Jean-Pierre

The red-headed stepchild of the Alien franchise, fourquel Resurrection sticks out like a sore thumb – it's not so much a horror as a sci-fi fantasy adventure, complete with underwater sequences, Ripley shooting hoops and a baffling final baddie that looks like crappy fan art brought to life. Joss Whedon claims his tongue-in-cheek script was mostly left intact, but was poorly adapted by French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and the studio heads, who "executed it in such a ghastly fashion they rendered it unwatchable." We are not entirely disagreeing, although it does have its moments (see 'U').

K is for... K-Y Jelly

If you ever wondered what they used for the slime slithering out of the alien's mouth, well... now you know! Ridley Scott was the first to lube his beast with K-Y Jelly (steady), but James Cameron took slobbering to a whole new level on Aliens, literally dumping buckets of the stuff on the Alien Queen's snout. It apparently made controlling the hydraulics incredibly difficult because the individual components couldn't get a proper purchase. Job well done, K-Y!

L is for... LV-426

Planets way out there in the furthest reaches of the galaxy don't have cool names like Mars or Jupiter – they just get numbers. LV-426 is the interstellar code for the planet on which the distress signal is picked up by the Nostromo in the first Alien movie. Named 'Acheron' in extended universe fiction, the planet is where we first see the crashed ship (known as The Derelict), the Space Jockey and our friends the facehuggers. It is a travel agent-approved vacation recommendation. It's just a few moons over from LV-223, the planet on which Prometheus is set (see 'Z').



Source : http://www.ign.com

IGN Readers Give Thumbs Up to Black Ops II's War of the Future

A fortnight ago we asked you for your thoughts on Treyarch taking the Call of Duty franchise into the future with Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

The poll was aimed at gamers who currently enjoy Call of Duty, or have enjoyed it in the past, and was framed around whether or not Call of Duty fans were supportive of the idea of the series heading more than a decade into the future.

56.79% of respondents claim they love the idea and that it was just what they were after. Black Ops II's focus on drones, combat robots and futuristic gadgets sounds great to them.

The remaining gamers polled remain unconvinced, but for slightly different reasons. 18.28% of respondents weren't sure whether the future is a great fit for Call of Duty and say they much prefer the present day backdrop of the Modern Warfare series. 24.93% of respondents weren't feeling it either, claiming they've always been happier with Call of Duty's historical settings (like Call of Duty 2's vision of WWII, or Black Ops and its Cold War-era/Vietnam War backdrop).

Amazon has claimed that pre-orders for Black Ops II are 10 times the pre-order numbers of the original Black Ops (and 30% higher than Modern Warfare 3's day one pre-order numbers), although some analysts are tipping Black Ops II won't break sales records this time around.

"I don't think Modern Warfare 3 is going to sell more than the last Black Ops, so I doubt that this one will break a record. I think that Call of Duty is a phenomenon, selling way more than 20 million units annually, and it's unrealistic to think that number can grow meaningfully with each annual release," Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter told GamesIndustry International earlier this month.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/21/ign-readers-give-thumbs-up-to-black-ops-iis-war-of-the-future

Warren Ellis “Bored” by the Comic Business

Author Warren Ellis has said he is “bored” by the comic industry and that he finds the restrictions around writing for big, franchise characters frustrating. “You can’t mess around with franchise characters because there’s always a lot more money involved than you think,” he said, during a rare question and answer session at Kapow Comic-con in London.

When asked about whether he thought the comic business was in a good state, he replied, “I’ll give you a clue; I’m not really writing any comics at the moment.  I’m bored by the field in general.” He elaborated by saying he felt comic book stores didn’t want to stock independent comics, preferring Marvel and DC titles because they can offer them better rates.

On the topic of future projects, Ellis talked about his novel Gun Machine due out later this year.  The book follows a New York detective who investigates an apartment only to find a stash of guns, every one of which is linked to a different unsolved murder in Manhattan.  In accidentally reopening the biggest cold case in history, detective John Tallow’s life gets very difficult very fast.

Ellis also shared the story he plans to pursue further down the line, musing, “I’ve been wanting to do something about the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, but it’s finding the time… maybe next year.” The legendary author expressed a desire to cut back on work too, though.  He explained his aspiration was, “to work less and get paid more, or work on bigger projects but fewer of them.  I’ve been talking to people about TV but the challenge is always finding someone to fund your next crazy item.  It’s an art form, but these are also businesses; commerce will always rear its head.”

Ellis was quick to clarify that he doesn’t think TV is a better place to be than comics, stating, “British TV is in a very bad state and the worst that I can remember.  When American TV looks like it is in a better condition than British TV, you know something is wrong.”

He rounded up the session by confirming fan fears that no Spider Jerusalem film is in the works, but said that his project with Joss Whedon, Wastelanders, is due to start up again imminently now The Avengers is out the way.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/20/warren-ellis-bored-by-the-comic-business

Gareth Evans Talks The Raid Remake

The Raid director Gareth Evans discussed the future of the franchise at Kapow In London today. During the Momentum Showcase at the Comic Convention, the Welsh director explained his involvement in the American remake, as well as the upcoming sequel.

 

He said the remake would incorporate some changes as the original was, “a movie in a foreign language with a star nobody knew and a director nobody knew.”  It won’t be anything too drastic though, as Evans is on board as executive producer and the Indonesian star of the first film, Iko Uwais, will be choreographing the action.

 

While fans may be sad not to see him at the helm for the remake, he said he felt it was important that he stood back.  He explained, “I’m not remaking it myself.  My approach is to be hands off; in order for them to do the job properly they need to be given freedom.”

 

The good news is that this leaves Evans free to focus on getting the Indonesian sequel underway.  When The Raid was still in script form, Evans was primarily focused on another project called Berandal.  After seeing how well people responded to The Raid, he decided that with a small rewrite (“about 15 per cent”) Berandal could serve as a sequel.

 

He’s now planning a full trilogy and shared today that *SPOILER* Mad Dog will be reappearing in the next film, though we’re not sure in what capacity.  With filming due to start January 2013, he said he felt hopeful about releasing by “the tail end of next year.”

 

Finally, with the American remake underway, Evans was asked how he’s coping with the influx of Hollywood offers.  He said that he hasn’t received any, putting this down to the level of violence in his films.  He teased, “I make violent movies, so I don’t quite fit the Hollywood mould… yet.  But at the moment I can make smaller films that allow me to do what I want.”

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/19/gareth-evans-talks-the-raid-remake

Ryan Reynolds is the Highlander?

Chalk up Ryan Reynolds to yet another potential franchise film. This time, the actor is being eyed for the lead in Lionsgate-Summit's reboot of Highlander.

The actor is currently at the top of the studios' wish list for the remake. Variety reports that both parties are currently in serious negotiations for the film. However, it's still unclear if an official offer has been made. Insiders claim that Reynolds is also still weighing other offers and that he could end up pursuing another project.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is already set to direct the film, which has yet to be paired with any plot details. The original series followed an immortal swordsman who battled other immortal swordsman through the centuries.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/18/ryan-reynolds-is-the-highlander

LEGO Lord Of The Rings Game Outed By Toy Sets, Online Retailer Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes isn't even here yet, but we've already got what appears to be confirmation of the next franchise-pegged LEGO title from TT Games: LEGO The Lord of the Rings. The toy company has been sending out early looks at summer 2012's physical LEGO LotR sets, and the packaging includes logos for both Warner Bros. and TT Games, MCV reports.

There's additional evidence as well, in the form of a now-removed product listing -- here's the cached version -- on the UK retailer ShopTo's website for an Xbox 360 release of LEGO The Lord of the Rings (via Eurogamer). The page points to a late October 2012 release. That's hardly confirmation, but a release in that timeframe would make sense, what with Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unpexpected Journey hitting theaters on December 14.

We can't take any of this as fact, of course, but the evidence is nonetheless pretty compelling and hard to ignore. Don't forget: the last time new of a LEGO game leaked early, it was for LEGO Batman 2 and that leak came from early looks at physical playsets. Just saying.


Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723653/lego-lord-of-the-rings-game-outed-by-toy-sets-online-retailer/

Rumor: Sony Crafting New Killzone Teaser

There's little doubt at this point that Sony intends on continuing the Killzone franchise in a major way. Here's what we already know: Sony-owned developer Guerilla Games, the studio that created the Killzone franchise, is spearheading three Killzone titles with the help of fellow first-party studio Sony Cambridge.

Guerilla confirmed at GDC that Killzone titles are in the works for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. Perhaps the third game is for the yet-unannounced PlayStation 4? It's all conjecture at this point.

But according to Siliconera, Sony may be ready to show the next Killzone game very soon. "Sony Computer Entertainment is recording a teaser for a future Killzone game," Siliconera reports with information from an unnamed source. "The upcoming title takes place after the events of Killzone 3."

Siliconera has text purportedly from the voiceover from the trailer. The voiceover, according to Siliconera's source, was written for a female "who has ties to the Helghan Autarch."

The site notes their source can't (or won't) pinpoint whether the trailer is specifically for the PS Vita iteration of Killzone. However, specifically referring to the game as taking place after the events of Killzone 3 points us in the direction of a possible Killzone 4 for PS3, per Guerilla Games admitting that it's working on an unannounced Killzone title on PlayStation 3.



Source : http://ps3.ign.com/articles/122/1224480p1.html

MechWarrior Online: A Thinking Person's Shooter

2012 just might be the year mechs come back in a big way. After almost a decade Piranha Games is reviving the MechWarrior franchise with the CryEngine 3 driven, free-to-play MechWarrior Online. The first officially licensed MechWarrior game since MechWarrior 4, Online brings back the slower, more methodical combat fans of the previous MechWarrior titles came to love -- and have sorely missed.


Watch a MechWarrior Online Video Preview


MechWarrior Online places two teams of up to 12 players in large outdoor arena environments, tasking them with taking each other out or capturing the enemy base. True to the Battletech universe, fan-favorite machines like the Atlas, Hunchback and more return (albeit with some artistic license to make them feel modernized), and gameplay still revolves around a mix of light simulation and arcade shooting action..

While MechWarrior is first person (intentionally, because they don't want you to sneak views around rocks and barriers by rotating a third-person camera), the combat is vastly different from any other shooter out right now. MechWarrior combat is slower than most shooters, emphasizing skilled maneuvering and an intense knowledge of your machine's capabilities over twitch shooting and whip-crack reaction times.

Mechs are gigantic machines, and MechWarrior Online's pacing reflects their immensity. Some mechs move fast, but every step they take still feels meaty, immersing you in the idea that you're piloting a gargantuan vehicle. Torsos also rotate independently of legs, lending mechs a very tank-like feel that makes the decision to move a much bigger commitment. For instance you might decide to take your big, bulky mech into a tight ravine, but if you get attacked from behind you'll need to decide if you're going to arduously turn around or just run forward while rotating your torso to the side to avoid rear armor damage. Battles aren't about who can quickly run in and out of cover, or pop up for a perfectly timed headshot, but instead involve intense back-and-forths where mechs lumber out from behind cover, try and outflank one another and use jump jets to get to higher ground. Even the lightest mech has armor plating, so battles are never a matter of seconds, but rather multi-minute skirmishes where you have to constantly adapt your strategy based on a variety of factors.

For instance you have to consider what sort of mechs you're facing, as well as what your own team's composition is. While they obviously become bigger and heavier as you move from light to assault, this doesn't always equate to better. Bigger, more heavily armored mechs are laborious to move compared to scouts, and as such scouts can actually wreak havoc on "stronger" foes. Scouts may not kill heavy mechs, but they can soften up specific points, and also spot them before using jump jets and flying up over a hill.

Cycle weapons or you'll overheat.

The usefulness scouts play in spotting showcases role warfare, a feature Piranha considers a "pillar" of MechWarrior Online's gameplay. The goal in MechWarrior Online isn't to just ramp up to the biggest mech you can find, but to feel useful in the role you like to play. For instance scouts gain points and experience for any damage they deal as well as the enemies they reveal. Revealing enemies allows long range attacks from lightly armored, artillery-like mechs. The bulk of the battlefield will likely be made up of medium mechs, though, slower bruisers that can take and dish out a decent amount of damage. These forces will do the pushes, working in conjunction with support classes and relying on ultra-heavy assault mechs to break through enemy lines. Heavy mechs might get more kills, but their slow pace won't help them if they need to get back to base and save it from being captured by a clever scout.

Perfecting your mech's loadout and developing a keen eye for what others have makes up another huge component of a savvy pilot. Between battles you can return to the MechLab, where you can buy new mechs and customize the ones you own. At some point you'll also be able to tailor your pilot's abilities, becoming a master of a specific type of mech, or putting points into abilities that make you even better at the type of role you typically play in the battlefield. When it comes to customizing your mech, the biggest thing you have to consider is the maximum tonnage of your chassis, since everything you add to it puts on additional weight. Additional consideration also goes into what hard points the mech has, since you can't equip a projectile weapon on an energy weapon slot, or vice-a-versa.

Working within these limits, it's up to you to craft a mech that suits your playstyle and that makes efficient use of heat. You can equip a mech with a host of weapons, but if you aren't efficient at managing heat you'll be forced to shut down. To combat this you have to assign your weapons into groups, alternating between them to keep weapons ready while others are on cooldown. Even if you switch regularly between weapons, you still have to carefully manage heat or else face a forced shutdown right in the middle of a fight (which can change the entire course of a fight). You can add heatsinks to your mech to combat heat, as well as look for a pool of water to run in and cool off.

Once you have a good balance of heat-management, equipment and are within tonnage limits, you have to also consider where weapons are placed. A mech with arms can aim them independently of where their body is facing, but limbs can also be shot off and often take a lot of fire. Guns that utilize projectiles also need to have ammo slotted in, and if that portion of the mech is damaged the ammo can explode. It's a lot to take in when determining how to create your own mech, but being able to identify weapons and their location is important when determining where to shoot an enemy.

Put bullets in a leg or chest plate; customize armor placement.

MechWarrior Online makes every action you take feel more important than other shooters, and no one should confuse the experience it offers with other first-person games. You're controlling a massive, multi-ton vehicle engineered to take a beating and keep on standing, and maneuvering it and using it effectively requires a different skill set than what you're likely used to. If the role warfare stuff continues to come together well (none of the experience progression and unique pilot abilities are implemented yet), this could be the triumphant return for one of the most beloved PC franchises.

Source : http://pc.ign.com/articles/122/1224425p1.html

Black to the Future: What Do You Think of Black Ops II's Futuristic, 2025 Setting?

The future of Call of Duty the future; Activision is sending its flagship franchise to 2025. That means highly advanced weaponry, razor-edge robotics and drone warfare.



Of course, it also means leaving behind a lot of tradition. For a series that was forged in the fires of World War II, found incredible success in current-day conflict and has since stopped off for a little Cold War subterfuge this is a pretty significant shift.

There's been praise for Treyarch taking Call of Duty somewhere fresh, but there's also been criticism; science-fiction isn't everyone's cup of tea. What are thoughts, Call of Duty fans? Let us know below.


Source : http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/122/1224411p1.html