Game Against Kate Upton… For a Good Cause

As gamers, we live for that moment of triumph: edging an opponent in a close online match, scoring the winning goal, passing the competition seconds from the finish line. But how much better would that feel if your win also helped to save lives? Gamers will get a chance to find out June 1st, when the first-ever (RED)RUSH Games tournament kicks off, and they can join in the fight against AIDS by doing what comes naturally: competing to win.

“Gaming is a passion for millions of people around the world, and (RED) is going to tap into that passion to get people focused and engaged in our efforts to help deliver an AIDS Free Generation by 2015,” said Deborah Dugan, (RED) CEO.  “We’re giving gamers an incredibly fun way to compete in a world-class tournament while doing good at the same time."

Not only will gamers get the opportunity to help (RED)RUSH TO ZERO (going on June 1-10) build on the staggering $190 million the organization has already raised, but participants will have the opportunity to win prizes, including tickets to the upcoming MTV Movie Awards  and the opportunity to game against celebrities like Kate Upton, Jorge Garcia, Michelle Rodriguez and Kris Allen.

IGN is the official media sponsor of the (RED)RUSH Games, and will be bringing you full coverage of the event from E3, where the tournament will have a huge presence. The (RED)RUSH Games are being powered by STiKS GAMING, a new platform that allows gamers to register their Gamer IDs, sign up for teams, and game for charity to "battle for a better world."

“(RED) is one of the most respected, and innovative causes in the world, and we are honored to launch the STiKSGAMING platform with The (RED)RUSH Games,” stated STiKS GAMING partner Brett Claywell.  “We are excited to unite gamers in support of a global cause, and look forward to building a strong community in an effort to better the world while having some fun.”

“

We’re giving gamers an incredibly fun way to compete in a world-class tournament while doing good at the same time. --Deborah Dugan. (RED) CEO

Gamers can get involved immediately in the (RED)RUSH Games effort by visiting STIKSGAMING.com. The tournament will pit two teams against one another: TEAM INSPI(RED) and TEAM POWE(RED). After signing up on STIKSGAMING.com, gamers will get to choose which team they'd like to represent, and after making a small donation (as little as $10 USD), they will get to select a platform (PS3 or Xbox 360), and choose from a variety of games to compete in. Games in the tournament include EA Sports FIFA Soccer 12, EA Sports NHL 12, 2K Sports' NBA 2K12, KINECT SPORTS Season 2, and Forza Motorsport 4.

STiKS GAMING partner Michael Wasserman explains. "Once you make the donation and enter the system, that $10 is turned into a certain amount of points… As you accumulate points, you can then use those points to have the opportunity to play against your favorite celebrity who is part of the campaign."

After playing in a match against another (RED)RUSH gamer, wins and losses will be recorded on the STiKS GAMING website, each player's accomplishments will count toward the team score, and their donations will count toward the team's efforts to raise money for the cause.

"We narrowed the issue from just AIDS in general to one Millennium Goal which is quantifiable," said Dugan. The virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is the ultimate goal, and will be instrumental in halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by the target date of 2015.

During E3, the (RED)RUSH Games will be in full swing, and celebrities will be in attendance to play their games against each other and online against contest winners. Show goers will get the opportunity to visit the (RED)RUSH booth on the E3 floor and get a taste of the Games live. The booth will feature huge video screens to capture the celebrity gaming action, a live DJ and private gaming rooms.

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We are excited to unite gamers in support of a global cause --Brett Claywell, STiKS GAMING partner

"The booth is designed for two main purposes. It's designed to give celebrities the opportunity to play from our booth against donors around the world, and for us to put on big exhibitions to create awareness at E3, with a huge jumbotron screen where people can watch celebrities battle each other," said Wasserman.

In addition to those already mentioned, celebrities involved include Wayne Brady,  Chingy , Samantha Ronson, Michael B. Jordan, Scott Porter, Ryan Cabrera, DJ Colleen Shannon, Aldis Hodge, Al Shearer, Kerli, Brian White, Cobi Jones, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, iLuminate, Chad "Madd Chadd" Smith and Fatal1ty. And the list keeps growing. "Every day, we're getting more and more people in," said Dugan.

Gamers can track who will be at E3 gaming at various times. Donors to (RED) who register through the STIKSGAMING.com site can have the opportunity to play celebrities two ways: by gaining points or by entering into a sweepstakes where they will enter a code to play a particular celebrity.

Players who participate will have a stake in a global effort to halt the spread of HIV. Once the goal is met, Dugan says, "There's culturally a victory lap at the end. You can actually check a box and say, 'We did this.' All these gamers came together for the first time in such a huge way, and we'd like to do it every year."

Stay tuned to IGN throughout E3 for updates on the (RED)RUSH Games, including celebrity gaming interviews and more.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/30/game-against-kate-upton-for-a-good-cause

Square Enix Announces Mensa Academy

Square Enix has announced a new brain-training game titled Mensa Academy.

The game will contain "fun and stimulating" mini-games, and is fully endorsed by Mensa, the largest and oldest high IQ society in the world. Challenges will be divided into 5 disciplines: Numeracy, Language, Logic, Memory, and Visual.

Roger Cheung, Head of Acquisitions at Square Enix Europe, said that "Mensa Academy is the most credible game of its kind to date from the definitive experts in the field of measuring and fostering intelligence. The power of the mind is fascinating, the real challenge is how to best maximise its potential. Mensa Academy tangibly tackles this in a user-friendly way, whilst providing hours of entertainment.”

Mensa Academy is out on July 27, 2012 in the UK, Scandinavia and PAL regions on Wii and Nintendo 3DS, PC. But the games will be coming to HD consoles and iOS and Android phones in the near future.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/30/square-enix-announces-mensa-academy

Win IGN's Top 10 Games of 2011

2011 was one of the greatest years for big-budget, quality video games yet. But if you missed out on any of the great games, fear not: Blockbuster is giving away five collections of IGN's top 10 games of last year, from BAFTA winners – Portal 2 and Arkham City – to record-breakers – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and FIFA 12.

The full collection includes:

1. FIFA 12


2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim


3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3


4. Battlefield 3


5. Uncharted 3: Drake's Fortune


6. Gears of War 3


7. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword


8. Batman: Arkham City


9. LA Noire


10. Portal 2

How To Enter

To win this great prize, head over to the Blockbuster site, sign-up for the VIP Gamer service, and answer the following questions: 

Simple. Just make sure you get your answer in by 25 June, 2012.

As an added bonus, anyone who signs up through IGN gets 10% off any Marketplace pre-owned game, so you could pick up a copy of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception for as little as £13.50, or Batman: Arkham City for £12.60. Simply enter the code IGN10J to get the money off. Be quick though, the offer expires on June 5th.

Blockbuster VIP Gamer is a free-to-join club that rewards its members with the chance to win money-can’t-buy prizes, as well as offering deals on the latest games. And with so many awesome games coming out in 2012, getting them for a bargain always feels good, right?

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/30/win-igns-top-10-games-of-2011

FIFA 13: Predicting the Unpredictable

Every year the EA Sports team headed up by Executive Producer David Rutter unveils a new FIFA game and every year it’s such a dramatic step forward from the previous year’s release, it leaves its predecessor in the dust. This year continues that trend. At the time of its release, FIFA 12 felt like – and probably was – the pinnacle of the football sim genre. Next to FIFA 13, it feels outdated and unrealistic.

This is down to the fact that FIFA 13’s gameplay has benefited from myriad tucks and tweaks, all aimed at achieving the same overriding objective: to bring FIFA’s on-pitch action ever closer to resembling the real thing. According to Rutter, the guiding principle behind the changes made to FIFA 13 is encapsulated in a quote from Real Madrid manager Jose Mourihno, made at the end of a match that saw Chelsea march into the Champions League final after defeating Barcelona.

“One of the great things about football,” he said, “is that it’s unpredictable.”

“When we heard [Mourihno say] that, we thought ‘Thank God!’”, says Rutter. “It’s pretty much what we’d set out to do with FIFA since last Christmas. We wanted to capture the drama through the unpredictability that is football.

Attacking team AI is much stronger in FIFA 13.

“What we’re talking about are those unexpected moments that get you out of your seat cheering,” he continues. “I’m not talking about random stuff – in video games that’s just irritating. I mean that, in FIFA 13, when things go off script, it happens for a reason. They make sense after the fact – after that moment when you just weren’t expecting them.”

To that end, Rutter and his team have added a couple of features that play on the relationship the beautiful game has with the gods of fate and chance.

The first and most noticeable change from FIFA 12 governs the individual players’ first-touch capabilities. As early as last year, players with a rating as low as 60 could receive a lobbed pass with ease, the ball sticking itself to their feet like their boots were made of felt, and the ball of Velcro. Now authentic ball physics have been tossed into the mix.

“First touch control is the equivalent change to the game that tactical defending was last year,” says Rutter. “We’re calculating the outcome of a pass based on the context of what the ball is doing – whether it’s spinning, what speed it’s travelling at – and what the player is doing – whether he’s running, whether he’s stationary, whether someone’s pushing him and whether he can successfully control the ball at his feet.”

When players are on the receiving end of a lobbed pass, the ball bounces off their head and body, and it’s down to each individual players’ skill level as to whether they’re able to bring the ball under control quickly. Not only does this make long passes a more risky proposition, it makes defending a potential nightmare.

If players have a defender intercepting a long ball with opposing strikers bearing down on them, they’re more advised to punt the ball into the stands rather than try to finesse it to a teammate. Unless the defender in question has the requisite skill level to control the ball, they risk handing a scoring opportunity to the opposing side.

Their defending efforts aren’t helped much by the game’s re-jigged attacking AI, which jettisons the indecisive attitude from yesteryear, and actually makes a concerted effort to stay onside.

“Last year, [players] sometimes didn’t really feel like their entire team was involved in the attacking effort,” says Rutter, “so we’ve done a lot of work with off-the-ball runs with the AI. [It’s able to] to stay onside on attack a lot better and there’s a real feeling that the team is attacking with you. That makes the whole attacking dynamic of the game a lot more enjoyable.”

Players' skills impact the way they're able to control the ball a lot more.

Players also have a lot more control over the ball thanks to the tweaked dribbling mechanic. By holding in both triggers (or R2 and L2 on a PS3) and using the left stick, they can activate FIFA 13’s precision dribbling mechanic, which is built off the back of FIFA Street’s gameplay engine. Each individual players’ overall score is called into account – Christiano Ronaldo is far better at this sort of thing than Kolo Toure – but even at base level the agency provided by the engine is superb.

The new dribbling mechanic opens up a whole new one-on-one player-battle for possession of the ball. Players are better able to fake out opponents and create crossing and scoring opportunities based on their ability to outfox their opponents on a one-to-one basis. This is tempered somewhat by the new impact engine; aside from slide tackles, players can now push and shove opponents off the ball. There’s a new physicality to FIFA 13, that really comes into its own in the game’s set-pieces.

In previous FIFA titles, when players were awarded a free-kick, they’d either try a finesse shot towards one corner of the net or blast towards the goalmouth and hope for the best. FIFA 13’s free-kick set up offers players a whole host of new options. Players now have the choice to have between one and three players fake-taking a kick before the selected player steps up to hammer the free-kick home. This also enables them to pass to players in the attacking set-up, rather than have to commit to a shot on goal.

The new attacking options are counterbalanced by the choices the defending player now has. Apart from being able to add a player to a wall, and move the wall forward, defenders are free to mark threatening players or simply charge the kicker. The whole free-kick scenario has been deepened for both the attacking and defending sides and is all the better for it. Players can even edit their own attacking and defending strategies based around free-kicks.

The Player Impact Engine feels much more realistic this time.

“We have a massive tool in the game that acts as a tactics editor”, says Rutter. “We put it in there a couple of years ago and it turns out that, while it’s fantastically fun to play with, it was probably a bit too hardcore for people. This is why the new tactical free-kicks is there – for more casual players, who want to be able to do this immediately.

“But you can spend a couple of days, probably, figuring out in the editor exactly what you’re going to do with every player on the pitch and how they’ll react in a free-kick scenario.”

Graphically, FIFA 13 is certainly a step forward on its predecessor and its impact engine has been tweaked as well. In FIFA 12, players were often treated to the odd unintentionally hilarious collision animation, which made players fly up in the air as though they’d just trodden on a landmine. FIFA 13’s impact engine makes everything look far more authentic; when a player crashes to the ground, it looks eye-wateringly painful – even if the player in question bounces back to his feet seconds later.

While these changes, when described separately, probably don’t sound like a massive upheaval, on the pitch they translate into a whole new way of playing FIFA 13. Quite frankly, FIFA 12 players are likely to experience teething problems when they manage to get their hands on the game this September. The new first-touch physics require some getting used to, the improved AI adds speed and aggression to attacks and the new free-kick and defend options can prompt small breaks in matches as each player weighs up their options. The only immediate win here is the new dribbling mechanics, as they agency they give to players is an absolute boon.

But if our experience is anything to go by, FIFA 13’s new gameplay is worth getting to grips with. Once players factor in the changes and impact on the pitch action, FIFA 13 plays incredibly well. It feels like the next evolutionary step for EA’s football sim and, as is the case every year, after an hour or so at the new game’s controls, going back to last year’s iteration feels wrong in a way.

Rutter and his team are tight-lipped about any other new content slated for FIFA 13 in the way of modes, DLC or online challenges. For now, though, the most important aspect of their game – the on-pitch action – looks stunning and this should prove a solid foundation to build on. Roll on September…

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/30/fifa-13-predicting-the-unpredictable

Why You Should Pay Attention to Lost Planet 3

IGN has had a lot to say on Lost Planet 3 lately, and for good reason – it’s shaping up really well. You’ve heard from the Brits and the Yanks, but what about the Aussie team? You raise a good point, but we want to talk about it, so click away if you don’t want to read our thoughts, little bird.

IGN AU’s senior editor Cam Shea and games editor Luke Reilly on the game…

Cam:  I'll be honest with you, Luke – and you too Internet Massive - I didn't play a huge amount of Lost Planet 2. My eyes tend to glaze over a little when a game is built around co-op, and when you throw in clunky Capcom Controls™ I start backing slowly away. I've also been a little ruined for sequels ever since Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. How can any sequel ever hope to top that? Lost Planet 2 categorically didn't. There was barely any dancing at all. In any case, the grappling hook gameplay and perilous setting of the original had a bunch of potential, so it's great to see how well Lost Planet 3 is taking advantage of that, while also upping the ante in a bunch of areas. Luke - if you had to characterise this game in the form of a one-sentence Hollywood-style pitch, what would that sentence be?

Luke:

To be slightly more accurate, you might say it’s Tim Allen wearing Nic Cage’s hair and beard.

Is it just us, or are there also shades of 'Wilson' to Jim?

I hear you on Lost Planet 2. I remember playing the first one briefly but I instantly forgot everything else about it, and Lost Planet 2 didn’t grab me in the slightest. It had the personality of a potato. I was pretty downbeat on Lost Planet 3. I’ve got no investment in the franchise and Spark Unlimited didn’t exactly blow my trousers off with Turning Point or Legendary. Yet, I was disappointed when the demo ended. It’s surprising. Maybe it’s precisely because I didn’t expect much, but I think there’s more to it than that. The game doesn’t feel markedly more special than any other third-person shooter, but this Jim guy is really well characterised. He seems like a really likeable guy; I want to get him out of this.

Cam: Yeah, I mean, that demo alone gave us a good glimpse into who he is. The game industry is getting very proficient at delivering grounded protagonists and Tim, sorry, is another one that's immediately easy to identify with. The dialogue is natural and well-delivered, his place within the world of off-planet mining is suitably believable, and while the messages from his wife are something of a cliché, they still work to give him a life outside the events of the game.

Another thing that the game industry is getting good at is creating very directed experiences. For better or worse, it allows for more cinematic presentation and more consistent pacing, and Lost Planet 3 - at least in the limited demo we played - seems to be following that template.

By way of example, in the original game, players had to keep killing to top up their thermal energy or they’d freeze to death, and Lost Planet 3 keeps this thematic concept, but appears to take it out of players' hands. It's still a fight for survival in a harsh environment, but the moment to moment beats are imposed upon the player more so than in the original. No more monitoring your own personal thermal levels; that's replaced by the impact of the environment on your massive hulking mech, which freezes up as a huge storm rolls in, forcing the player to get out and chip the ice off once the weather subsides. Naturally, the akrids are waiting when you do so. It's a great way to undercut the feeling of power and strength players get from being inside a lumbering metal giant - albeit one designed for mining - and make them suddenly vulnerable.

But perhaps these comparisons to the original are misguided. Would it be more apt to instead compare it to the Dead Space series, Luke?

Keza MacDonald's excellent video preview. Want a good overview? Check it out.

Luke: That’s valid; I highly doubt it’ll be the last time anybody compares the two. The portion of the demo set within the abandoned facility and crawling with small beasts smacks of Dead Space, with monsters scuttling around out of sight and bursting floorboards and such. Horror games aren’t part of my normal diet but Dead Space was a game I’ve always appreciated artistically, and anybody who’s spent even a short amount of time with Dead Space will see the similarities. Of course, that’s hardly a criticism. That’s like complaining your partner’s new hairstyle makes her look too much like Emma Stone.

To be fair, Lost Planet 3 is more than just a homage to Dead Space. If anything the reason my interest was sustained throughout the demo was the variety. There’s something draining about being completely vulnerable for the entire duration of a video game; at some point the whole experience becomes more stressful than fun. Similarly, being powerful and well-protected all the time quickly becomes boring. Without a little threat there’s no thrill, but you want to give people the thrill of danger and the thrill of relief. In the demo there was a moment when we were running from several akrid back to the mech, and got to the winch to be whisked into the cabin with mere inches to spare. All in the space of a few moments there’s the fear of being killed by the charging akrid, the relief of making it back to safety just in time and the satisfaction of being able to deal with them with your mech. It has you take on a giant crab-like akrid on foot, as a puny human, which is a tough fight. However a short time later it lets you take on another one with your mech, in a classic ‘pick-on-someone-your-own-size’ moment.

One of the best things, though, is that it’s a prequel. I’m sure familiarity with the first two Lost Planet titles will come with certain benefits, but it seems like a good entry point for people like me who have had no previous interest in Lost Planet at all. Your thoughts?

Massive damage etc etc.

Cam: Definitely. And rather than being forced to make things bigger and more over-the-top, the devs have been given an opportunity to cleverly pare things back, which sits well with a more horror-tinged experience. Forget being in a super-powered mech: the one in this demo is designed for functionality; for labour. You can grab stuff and you can drill stuff. It's a much more interesting starting point than having shoulder-mounted rocket launchers and a chain gun. Been there, done that.

And coming back to what I was saying before about it being a very directed experience, the pacing throughout this demo really is great. I love the way the setting is established. I love how mechanical the process of getting into the mech and preparing it to leave the base is: there's a palpable sense of anticipation that builds as the most mundane of things - the anti-icing spray being applied, for instance (not that it helped) happen as you prepare. The visuals really pop too. Emerging outside to see jagged peaks in the distance cloaked in cloud, a sun's orange glare piercing the haze, offsetting the rich blue of the snowy landscape; it's beautiful. The claustrophobic interiors have their share of atmosphere too, and more than a few nods to the Aliens films in design.

All told, it's a fresh take from a fresh team. Capcom has had an uneven time outsourcing games with a Japanese development heritage to Western studios, but this could be one of the success stories. It's certainly looking promising from what we've played to date.

Spoiler alert: we're pretty sure this is going to become a man and machine love story. Why else would they go to Make-out Point?

Luke: Uneven indeed. I’m glad you mentioned the process of actually leaving the base in the first place; I really liked that. It confidently inserted you into the world itself. I feel if they’d opted for a brief cutscene, and simply dumped you into the snow when the gameplay begun, the effect would’ve been completely lost. Emerging from that gigantic steel airlock and out into the barren ice was a very classy way to introduce players to the dangerous outside world. Inside you feel huge, stomping past ground crew. Outside the vastness of the frozen vista makes you feel small, even inside your giant mech. It has a real frontier feel to it, actually, leaving the safety of this installation and riding out into the icy wilderness, something I recall a music cue at the time reinforcing.

I’m intrigued. The controls felt decent and Spark has done a great job so far with the presentation. I’ve never had any interest in Lost Planet, at all, and yet I want to see more of this. Whatever it is, Spark’s doing right.

Luke and Cam are a 'bonzer' pair of 'cobbers' from the IGN Australia editorial team. Crikey! (And so forth.) You can hurl abuse at them on IGN here and here, or follow the adventures of the Aussie team on Facebook here.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/30/why-you-should-pay-attention-to-lost-planet-3