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The Charge:
Enter the hypnotic realm of the UnderGarden…

Opening Statement:
The UnderGarden is an interesting game to categorize. Prioritizing ambiance and mood over high scores or game mechanics, this Xbox Live Arcade title is an exercise in meditative curiosity, an ethereal float through subterranean caverns, spreading pollen and plant life, with some puzzle solving mechanics thrown in for good measure. Although not as hypnotically pointless as games like fl0w or Flower, The UnderGarden borrows much from this ‘anti-game’ genre, emphasising mood and tone over… you know, fun. There’s a decent puzzler buried underneath the ambience, but you have to dig for it.

Facts of the Case:
You are a tiny cherub-faced creature, set loose in a dark series of caverns. As you navigate the creature, tiny plants and spores spring to life, illuminating the caverns in beautiful tones and shades of light.

Welcome to the UnderGarden.

The Evidence:
A short synopsis? You bet. At its core, that’s the game: no plot, no narrative, no explanation as to your purpose or your mission. There is no time limit and no way to die. You are just free to float about and pollenate everything in sight.

As gamers progress, puzzle elements are slowly added. Progress through a tunnel is impeded by a wall, which can be lifted by dragging fruit from a blooming tree onto a pressure plate. A second kind of fruit floats to the celling like a helium balloon, and can trigger pressure plates on the ceiling. Some fruits explode to destroy crumbling rock, while others shoot out neon bubbles that rob the creature of his pollen. When you complete a level, you are given a percentage score of how many flowers you pollinated, as well as how many secret gems and plants you collected on the way. A small meter on the bottom of the screen indicates your pollen count, which can easily be refuelled by stomping on small green pollen sacs.

The controls are languid and elastic, like the game. The analog stick manoeuvres the creature through the air like a hot air balloon. Holding a button charges a short burst of thrust, and another button can grab onto items, like fruits and tiny musicians (obviously) who change the visual and sonic landscape of the plants as you fly by. A crueller man could call the controls frustratingly imprecise, but it’s hard to stress out too much about it. After all, the game practically encourages slow, meditative movement. A co-op mode allows a friend to tag along and float about; a cute if pointless addition.

As puzzlers go, The UnderGarden goes from a laughably easy to reasonably competent in such a subtle gradient that you barely notice. One minute, you’re floating about aimlessly. Suddenly, you’re stuck on a cryptic series of pressure plates with a handful of the wrong fruit. It won’t take you longer than a few hours to blast your way through the content, but there’s no need to rush. The strength of the title—indeed, the very thing that makes it unique in a marketplace crammed full of puzzlers much cleverer than it—is its casual zen attitude. Relax. Soak up the atmosphere. Even at its most complex, The UnderGarden is relatively challenge-free.

No two ways about it: the game looks dazzling. Striking an artistic style straight out of a lost Tim Burton notebook from Alice In Wonderland, The UnderGarden has a simplistic yet visually pleasing asthetic, full of warmth and blooming light and soft colors and shadows. Watching flowers spring to life endlessly sounds boring, but not so. The score is ethereal magic; a calming blend of gentle bells, analog pulses and ambient curiosities. Each level is a new palate of blues, greens and purples.

Ooh... ethereal!

Rebuttal Witness:
The biggest drawback to the title is its repetition. Within a few levels, I started to lose interest in the hypnotic underworld. The UnderGarden is beautiful and relaxing to be sure, but the repititon in gameplay and visual element wore me down. Levels blend together in a haze of pleasing tones. Puzzles become mindless affairs. With no timer or death, there is little incentive to even solve them.

Determining the replay value of a title this esoteric is like trying to assign replay value to a rock garden. Is it relaxing and spiritually refreshing? Sure. Are you going to play it all the time? Probably not.

Closing Comments:
The UnderGarden is a beautifully crafted product, stunningly vibrant in its presentation of audio and visual marvels. And it is a fun to play, right up until the point where it becomes tremendously boring. There just isn’t enough game here to hold one’s interest beyond the first few levels. Puzzle aficionados and completionists will blast through the fourteen levels in a matter of hours.

It is refreshing to see games like this in online marketplaces, to see games that value visual aesthetics and emotional resonance above gameplay, but I fear I appreciate the concept of a game like The UnderGarden far more than than I enjoy playing the actual game.

The Verdict:

Platform: Microsoft XBOX360 (Xbox Live) / PC (XBOX360 Version Reviewed)
Developer: Artech Studios
Publisher: Atari
Release Date: Nov 10, 2010
Rated: E for Everyone

Must have been something Azeroth ate.

The Shattering is here! Blizzard’s massively addictive and popular behemoth World of Warcraft will see the release of its newest world-changing expansion Cataclysm in two short weeks. In preparation, the latest patch released today has torn the world of Azeroth a new hole, literally. Fans looking to play the new character classes (goblens and worgens) and explore new high-level content will have to wait until December 7th, but the world changes today.

Entire continents have shifted. Lands have been torn asunder by rocks and lava and destruction. Cities have burned down, and new encampments have been hastily erected. It’s a whole new game, folks.

Oh, and they molested warlocks something fierce. But that’s how it goes. Everyone gets a taste of the nerf hammer.

Check the jump below for a list of the official changes.

World of Warcraft Client Patch 4.0.3a

The latest patch notes can always be found at http://www.wow-europe.com/en/patchnotes/

The latest test realm patch notes can always be found at http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/un…testrealm.html

The Shattering of Azeroth
In the frigid wastes of Northrend, the final battle against the merciless Lich King ended in victory for Azeroth’s defenders. Upon returning home, veterans of the unforgiving conflict against the Scourge were showered with praise for their valiant sacrifices, while the honorable dead were mourned. Yet as hope flared anew in the wake of the Lich King’s fall, Azeroth’s native elemental spirits grew confused and erratic, setting off a series of deadly natural disasters. Horde and Alliance leaders scrambled for clues about the troubling state of the world, but nothing could have prepared them for what was to come.

Without warning, the corrupted Dragon Aspect, Deathwing, erupted from the stone heart of Deepholm, the domain of earth within the Elemental Plane. Jagged fissures were torn across the earth, and monstrous waves pummeled coastal regions. From Thousand Needles to the Blasted Lands, the surface of Azeroth was reforged through violent upheavals. Now, the Horde and the Alliance must defend their homes against Deathwing and his minions, burdened by the unsettling fact that the world as they know it has changed… forever.

Azeroth Shattered
Deathwing’s return has had an immeasurable impact throughout the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Players will notice drastically altered terrain, thousands of new quests from levels 1-55, and updated level ranges for some zones to improve the questing flow.

New Race/Class Combinations
In the wake of a world on the brink of destruction, members of the Horde and Alliance have taken to new cultures and studies, mastering crafts previously foreign to them. Many existing playable races now have new class combinations. Check the official World of Warcraft: Cataclysm website for a breakdown of the new combinations.

General
The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm cinematic trailer and login screen have been added to the game.
Experience required to gain levels 71 through 80 has been reduced by 20%, which increases leveling rate by 25%.

Classes: General
Due to several talent revisions for select classes, druids, paladins, priests, and shaman have had their talent trees reset.
The damage and healing done by players from levels 1-79 has been retuned, with the base points of almost all spells and abilities reduced. This was done to bring combat times at low levels to a more reasonable length. For most abilities that deal weapon damage, the weapon damage percent now rises per level until level 80, and starts at a lower percent.
Healing Rain, Efflorescence, Holy Radiance, Holy Word: Sanctuary now have a diminished effect when healing more than 6 players at once.
Mortal Strike, Furious Attacks, Wound Poison, Widow Venom, Permafrost, Improved Mind Blast, Monstrous Bite, and Legion Strike now reduce healing by 10%, down from 25%.
Effects which are broken from taking too much damage (Fear, Frost Nova, Entangling Roots, etc.) now break automatically from about half as much damage taken as before.

Death Knight
Death Pact now heals for 25% of maximum health, down from 40%.
Death Strike now heals for 25% of damage taken in the last 5 seconds, down from 30%, and will heal for a minimum of 7% of maximum health, down from 10%. The tooltip may not yet be updated to reflect this change.
Icebound Fortitude now provides 20% damage reduction, down from 30% (now 50%, down from 60% when talented), and has a 3-minute cooldown, up from 2 minutes.

Blood
Rune Tap now heals for 10% of maximum health, down from 15%. The tooltip may not yet be updated to reflect this change.

Glyphs
Glyph of Rune Tap now heals for 5% of maximum health, down from 10%.

Bug Fixes
Frost Fever critical strikes now apply the correct amount of bonus damage.

Druid
Bear Form now provides 10% bonus health, down from 20%.
Nourish no longer consumes Omen of Clarity.
Rejuvenation has had its mana cost increased by 30%.
Soothe now has a 1.5-second cast time.
Swipe (Cat Form) can now be used even if the druid does not have a primary target selected.
Thorns: beginner tooltip revised to no longer imply the spell could be kept up at all times. In addition, Thorns damage has been reduced by 60%.

Balance
PvP set bonus redesigned. While not in an Eclipse state, critical attacks against the druid restore 5 Solar or 7 Lunar energy, whichever is more beneficial. This effect can only occur once every 6 seconds.

Feral
Brutal Impact now increases the mana cost of spells on the victim by 5/10% for 10 seconds, down from 15/30%.
Leader of the Pack now heals for 4%, down from 8%.
Survival Instincts now provides 50% damage reduction, down from 60%, and its cooldown has been lowered from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.
Swipe (Bear Form) damage has been reduced by 20%.
Vengeance is no longer cleared on exiting Bear Form, and instead is cleared upon entering Cat Form.

Restoration
Empowered Touch now procs from Healing Touch as well as Nourish.
Heart of the Wild: the Bear Form Stamina bonus from this talent is now 2/4/6%, down from 3/7/10%.
Malfurion’s Gift no longer has Fury of Stormrage as a prerequisite talent.
Natural Shapeshifter now also increases Tree of Life duration by 5/10 seconds.
Revitalize is now a 2-point talent, down from 3. It provides a 20% chance to return 1/2% of the druid’s total mana on periodic heals from Lifebloom or Rejuvenation. This effect cannot occur more than once every 12 seconds.
Swift Rejuvenation is now a 1-point talent, down from 2. The global cooldown reduction this talent provides to Rejuvenation remains 0.5 seconds.
Symbiosis: heal-over-time spells (Rejuvenation, Regrowth, Lifebloom) can no longer benefit from this Mastery merely by refreshing themselves. A different heal-over-time spell must be present.

Glyphs
Glyph of Healing Touch now reduces the cooldown on Nature’s Swiftness by 10 seconds after using Healing Touch, up from 5 seconds.
Glyph of the Treant (new) allows druids to keep the original treant Tree of Life look… if they must. Must they?

Bug Fixes
Blood in the Water now refreshes Rip to the correct value.
Flight Form now properly appears in the trainer window before Expert Riding is learned.

Hunter
All special attacks based on weapon damage (except Scattershot) are now normalized.
Scare Beast is now available at level 36, up from level 14, and has had its training cost updated.
Deterrence is now available at level 78, up from level 36, and has had its training cost updated.
Disengage is now available at level 14, down from level 78, and has had its training cost updated.

Glyphs
The level requirements for glyphs that affect Scare Beast, Deterrence, and Disengage have been altered to correspond with the level changes of these abilities.

Bug Fixes
The Core Hound pet ability Ancient Hysteria now places its own unique debuff on affected players that has the same effect as Sated and Exhaustion.
Certain pets should no longer forget how to Dash.

Mage
Arcane Blast now increases damage of the next Arcane Blast by 10% per stack, down from 20%, reduces cast time by 0.1 seconds per stack, and increases the mana cost by 150%, down from 175%. In addition, the base cast time of Arcane Blast has been lowered to 2.35 seconds.
Arcane Explosion now costs 15% of base mana, down from 18%.
Arcane Missiles damage has been increased by 5%.
PvP set 4-piece bonus changed to increase damage by 5% instead of providing 5% Haste.

Arcane
Arcane Barrage damage has been increased by 5% and its cooldown is now 4 seconds, down from 5 seconds.
Arcane Concentration: Now has a much higher chance (13/27/40%) of entering a Clearcasting state. This effect cannot occur more than once every 15 seconds. The tooltip still states that there is a 3/6/10% chance, as it averages out to approximately the same chance with the internal cooldown applied.
Arcane Specialization again increases arcane damage by 25%.

Fire
Blazing Speed no longer dispels movement slowing effects (it still dispels effects that totally stop movement).
Fire Specialization again increases periodic fire damage effects by 25%.
Molten Shields now also causes Blazing Speed to dispel movement slowing effects in addition to its current functionality.
Pyroblast base mana cost is now 17%, down from 22%.

Frost
Deep Freeze: the cooldown on this ability is no longer reduced by Haste.
Early Frost now reduces Frostbolt cast time by 0.3/0.6 seconds, down from 0.35/0.70 seconds.
Fingers of Frost proc chance is now 7/14/20%, down from 10/20/30%.
Frost Specialization again increases all damage against frozen target by 25%.
Reactive Barrier is now triggered by any damage which causes the mage’s health to be below 50%, even if the mage was already below 50%.
Shatter now also increases Frostbolt damage by 10/20% against frozen targets.
Shattered Barrier duration is now 2/4 seconds, down from 3/6 seconds.
Glyphs
Glyph of Evocation now heals for 40%, down from 60%.
Glyph of Deep Freeze now increases damage done by Deep Freeze by 20% (no longer increases Frostbolt damage against Deep Frozen targets).

Bug Fixes
Improved Polymorph now correctly shares diminishing returns with controlled stuns.

Paladin
Exorcism damage has been increased by approximately 50%.
Holy Radiance now has reduced effectiveness on targets over 8 yards away from the paladin.
Seal of Truth: periodic damage from Censure reduced by 25%.

Holy
Beacon of Light now lasts 5 minutes, up from 60 seconds.
Blessed Life: the effects of this talent cannot occur more than once every 8 seconds, up from every 2 seconds.
Illuminated Healing absorb shield now absorbs 10% of the total amount healed, up from 8%. Each point of Mastery increases the effect by an additional 1.25%, up from 1%.
Light of dawn has been redesigned. It no longer has an enforced cooldown, now costs Holy Power instead of mana, and scale in direct proportion to the amount of Holy Power used. In addition it now heals the 5 most injured group targets (including self) in a 30-yard frontal cone.
Protector of the Innocent no longer triggers from self-heals.

Protection
Divine Bulwark now grants 2.25% less block chance per point of Mastery, up from 2%.
Holy shield no longer increases chance to block. Instead, it increases the amount blocked by an additional 10%, for a total of 40% damage blocked.
Shield of the Righteous: Contribution of attack power halved (now 60% with full Holy Power) and base damage brought up so that a level 85 paladin in Heroic dungeon gear deals the same damage with no Vengeance, but Vengeance has less impact.
Shield of the Templar now reduces the cooldown of Guardian of Ancient Kings by 40/80/120 seconds, down from 1/2/3 minutes.
Wrath of the Lightbringer now increases Crusader Strike and Judgement damage by 50/100%, up from 30/60%.

Retribution
Crusade now also has a proc on kill to increase the healing done by the paladin’s next Holy Light by 100/200/300% for 15 seconds, in addition to its current effects.
Divine Storm: This ability has been redesigned. It no longer consumes Holy Power and instead costs 5% of base mana. It shares a cooldown with Crusader Strike and hits all nearby enemies for 60% weapon damage.
Pursuit of Justice now has an 8-second internal cooldown, shared with Blessed Life.
Rebuke no longer initiates Auto Attack.
Sanctity of Battle now also causes Divine Storm’s cooldown to be reduced by Haste effects.
Zealotry no longer consumes 3 Holy Power, but still requires 3 Holy Power to use.

Glyphs
Glyph of Beacon of Light now makes Beacon of Light free, instead of increasing the duration by 30 seconds.
Glyph of Divinity has been redesigned. It now grants the paladin 10% of maximum mana upon use.
Glyph of Light of Dawn now increases the total number of most injured targets healed by 1.

Priest
Binding Heal now provides roughly double the amount of healing.
Prayer of Healing has had its mana cost reduced by nearly 30% and its base points and Spell Power coefficient increased by 20%.

Discipline
Divine Aegis is now always triggered by Prayer of Healing in addition to critical heals from all other spells.
Grace has been increased to 4/8% stacking 3 times, up from 2/4% stacking.
Inner Focus now works with Binding Heal, but no longer works with Heal.
Power Word: Barrier has been redesigned. It no longer acts as a shared absorb shield. Instead, all affected friendly targets take 30% reduced damage for the duration of the shield, which is now 10 seconds, down from 25 seconds.

Shadow
Shadow Orbs: redesigned slightly. The Shadow Orbs continue to increase damage done by Mind Blast and Mind Spike and stack up to 3 times, but now when the priest casts Mind Blast or Mind Spike (consuming the orbs), the priest gains a 15-second duration buff (Empowered Shadow), which increases the damage done by all Shadow periodic spells. Empowered Shadow does not stack. Mastery increases the damage bonus of Shadow Orbs and Empowered Shadow by the same amount, 10% with the base 8 Mastery, and an additional 1.25% per Mastery.
Vampiric Embrace healing to the caster has been reduced to 6%, down from 12% (there was a tooltip error which stated that the self-healing amount was 15%). Party members still receive 3% healing.

Bug Fixes
Dark Archangel now correctly increases the damage done of certain abilities by 4%.

Rogue
Deadly Poison base damage and attack power coefficient have been increased by 30%.
Recuperate now restores 2% of maximum health, down from 3%.
Venomous Wounds base damage and attack power coefficient have been increased by 30%.

Combat
Aggression now increases damage of Sinister Strike, Backstab, and Eviscerate by 7/14/20%, up from 5/10/15%.
Bandit’s Guile now gives 10/20/30% increased damage as the rogue gains greater insight, up from 5/10/15%.

Subtlety
Executioner no longer affects Recuperate.

Bug Fixes
Bandit’s Guile now applies more consistently to all of the abilities it’s supposed to modify.
Player guardians and temporary pets now stop attacking when a rogue uses Vanish, but city guards will not.

Shaman
Chain Heal mana cost increased from 17% to 20% of base mana.
Earthliving Weapon now only has 25% of its full chance to proc from a single hop of Chain Heal.

Elemental
Elemental Reach now also increases Searing Totem range by 7/15 yards.
Fulmination now has a Spell Alert visual associated with it, which appears when the shaman gets to 9 Lightning Shield charges.

Warlock
Bane of Agony damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Bane of Doom damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Corruption damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Death Coil damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Drain Life damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Drain Soul damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Immolate damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Incinerate damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Rain of Fire damage has been increased to be more comparable to other area-of-effect abilities.
Searing Pain damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Seed of Corruption damage has been reduced to be more comparable to other area-of-effect abilities.
Shadowbolt damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Soul Fire damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.

Demonology
Hand of Gul’dan damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.

Destruction
Chaos Bolt damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Conflagrate damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.
Shadowburn damage has been reduced by approximately 12%.

Bug Fixes
Drain Life: The Soulburn version of this was charging 17% of base mana instead of 12% like the normal version. This has been corrected.

Warrior
Cleave damage has been reduced by approximately 17%.
Execute damage has been reduced by approximately 17%.
Heroic Strike damage has been reduced by approximately 17%.
Overpower now does 125% weapon damage, down from 150%.
Rend base damage has been reduced by approximately 17% and percent of weapon damage per tick lowered to 25%, from 30%.
Shield Block now only increases block chance by 25%, but excess block that pushes avoidance plus block to over 100% is now converted to critical block chance.
Slam now costs 15 rage, down from 20, and now does 125% weapon damage, down from 150%.
Victory Rush damage has been reduced by approximately 17%.
Whirlwind now does 65% weapon damage, down from 75%.

Arms
Mortal Strike now does 150% weapon damage, down from 185%.
Second Wind now heals for 2/5% of total health, down from 5/10%.
Strikes of Opportunity now does 100% weapon damage, down from 115%.

Fury
Blood Craze now heals for 1/2/3% of total health, down from 2.5/5/7.5%.
Bloodthirst damage has been reduced by approximately 17%.
Raging Blow now does 110% weapon damage, down from 150%.
Unshackled Fury now gains approximately 50% more benefit per point of Mastery.

Protection
Critical Block now grants an equal amount of block chance and critical block chance (1.5% each per point of Mastery).
Devastate no longer provides bonus threat.
Shield Slam: Contribution of attack power reduced to 60%, down from 75%, and base damage brought up so that a level 85 warrior in Heroic dungeon gear deals the same damage with no Vengeance, but Vengeance has less impact. In addition, Shield Slam no longer generates 30% bonus threat from its damage.
Vigilance no longer provides 3% damage reduction, but still refreshes Taunt and provides Vengeance.

Glyphs
Glyph of Bloody Healing increases the healing received from Bloodthirst by 40%, down from 100%.
Glyph of Intimidating Shout no longer causes targets to flee slowly, but roots them instead.
Glyph of Shield Wall increases damage reduction to 60%, but increases the cooldown from 2 minutes to 4 minutes (talented).

Bug Fixes
Taste for Blood should once again proc on every other tick of Rend.

Achievements
The Gladiator reward mounts now award Master Riding.
What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been now awards Master Riding.

Items
Mysterious Egg now takes only 3 days to turn into a Cracked Egg and has a slightly greater chance of awarding the Reins of the Green Proto-Drake.
PvP set bonuses now provide 70 of stats such as Agility, Intellect, and Strength (down from 100) at 2 pieces, and 180 of these stats (down from 300) at 4 pieces.

Professions
Perfect Gem Cutting and Mixology have been removed as trainable skills and are instead passives profession abilities. When players reach the appropriate skill levels, they will start getting bonuses from Mixology (they must know the recipe to gain the benefit) and/or cutting perfect gems (depending on their profession, of course).

Alchemy
Alchemy recipes now require Crystal Vials. Deathwing broke all the others because he’s mean (or because he didn’t want alchemists to carry 5 different vials around with them).

Engineering
The Engineering Tinkering enchants will no longer provide their bonus stats, but the activated effects will stack with other enchants. In 4.0.1 the stats were there (but hidden) and are now removed.

Bug Fixes
Several epic gem transmutes that were missing from the trainer have been added back.

Bug Fixes
Certain area-of-effect abilities are no longer ignoring the area-of-effect damage cap.
Mobs and NPCs should no longer appear to randomly gain or lose health during combat.
Re-summoning pets in Battlegrounds should no longer count towards a player’s total healing done.

Known Issues
Some tooltips may not reflect the most recent changes to certain abilities.
Worgen hunters are currently unable to learn Dual Wield.
The achievement Explore Tol Barad will not be possible to complete upon release of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

Source: http://www.wow-europe.com/en/patchnotes/

The Charge:
There is a new enemy. There is a new war. There is a new warrior. He is Tier 1.

Opening Statement:
Electronic Arts’ long running Medal of Honor series returns to active duty after a few years on the sidelines. With World War II so passé, and Modern Combat all the rage, EA has thrown you off the bird and into the warzone of post 9/11 Afghanistan. Does EA answer the Call of Duty? Or is this one Black Op you’ll be denying?

"We've got Rangers on the ground!"

Facts of the Case:
In early 2002, following the disastrous terror attacks of September 11th, 2001, the US Armed forces alongside a coalition of willing Countries launched an offensive campaign into Afghanistan, proclaimed to be the World’s first “war on terror.” Medal of Honor puts us into the boots of two very different branches of the Armed forces; the scalpel, elite Tier One special forces operators, and the Sledge hammer, the US Army Rangers, as they battle their way through the Shahikot Valley during Operation: Anaconda.

The Evidence:
Much has been made of EA’s return to the Medal of Honor series and the approach to realism that the developers at Danger Close (Formerly EA Los Angeles) were taking. The marketing tells us the game was constructed with the aid of real Tier One SpecOps bad-asses, with creative energy focused on making a game that thrives through its authenticity rather than being shackled by it. In this regard, they have definitely succeeded. While the “Modern Combat” of Call of Duty has been content to build Hollywood blockbusters out of laughable fictitious bad guys, replete with scenarios out of the latest Bay/Bruckheimer joint. Nukes, invasions of DC, renewed Communist aggression and a sweeping Hans Zimmer score have been the order of the day. Medal of Honor travels a more somber path, paying respect to the fighting man of the modern battlefield, and acknowledging real conflict with real gravitas. The action has an air of desperation , something it has done for World War II since its inception. Somewhere along the line, the messages of both series were lost in a muddle of multiplayer mayhem, carnage, and spectacle, but MOH brings things back into sharp relief. If Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a summer blockbuster, than Medal of Honor is a gritty indie film.

"Hooh-AH!"

From the opening moments, the single player game ratchets the intensity while placing the player squarely into believable situations. The game is linear, and relies on scripted moments to guide the player through, but the level design never feels anything but natural, and there’s never a moment where the game settles into a groove or becomes routine. What’s most amazing is how the developers have managed to keep things fresh through the entirety of the (admittedly brief) single player game. Level transitions aren’t seamless, but they make logical sense, shifting you from the boots of one character to the controls of an Apache attack helicopter and on to another Ranger or Tier One Operator as each mission ends. There’s overlap in the cutscenes and each playable character’s storyline overlaps with the others. It really gives you a great feeling of being a part of a larger canvas. Events continue to backbuild and lead into one another until the final batch of missions hits, and they are doozies. There was at least one mission in there (the first Ranger mission) that left my hands sweaty and shaking by the end, things get THAT intense. I don’t recall that ever happening with a first person shooter before.

The controls also differentiate themselves from the competition with added choices that compensate for the more tactical approach to gameplay. When crouched behind cover you can peek and lean to take shots from behind cover by holding a left shoulder button. You don’t stick to cover a la Killzone, but the mechanic allows you to make quick shots and return to cover by releasing the analog stick. You can hold both of your left shoulder buttons to use the feature while aiming through ironsights, which may take some dexterity, but again, works to your favor if you can master it. Then there’s the pistol quickdraw, which allows you to pull a pistol and fire a rapid shot in a split second while aimed at a target with a simple click of the analog stick. It’s much faster than reloading or switching weapons when those damn bastards just won’t go down.

"Tier One's get Beards... AWESOME beards..."

In a rather unprecedented move on EA’s part, the multiplayer portion of Medal of Honor was farmed out to the architects of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, DICE, who in turn built a fully featured multiplayer game out of their Frostbite technology (the single player game utilizes the Unreal 3 engine). The end results take elements of Bad Company 2 and combine them with Call of Duty stalwarts like experience points and unlocks for killstreaks. There’s a healthy selection of game modes that mix things up and play to the strengths of both series. If you’re a CoD fan, and Bad Company was a little too team oriented for you, than this just might make for a satisfying alternative. On the flip side, if you’re a Bad Company 2 player, Medal of Honor offers up a slightly less sprawling experience with many of the same features at a faster pace. You won’t rank up in a weekend, and there’ll be no shortage of punters in the online arena. Thankfully it isn’t overrun with cheating bastards or 7 year olds, or cheating bastard 7 year olds… at least, not yet. Worth noting, the “Peek and Lean” and “quick draw” mechanics from the single player game are missing in multi-player, which is kind of a drag.

Medal of Honor’s Unreal 3 powered single player campaign provides one hell of a stunning looking experience. The framerate is rock solid, the lighting is top drawer stuff, and smoke and mist looks terrific. Everything from the searing desert to the cold peaks of the harsh Afghanistan terrain is rendered with clarity and attention to detail that rivals the very best looking first person shooters on a console (yes, even Killzone 2). There are some jaw-dropping visuals here, from the opening sequence in a darkened village to the final conflict on a moonlit frozen mountain. Some screen tearing does pop up from time to time, and there were a few instances of typically Unreal 3 texture pop-in, but they certainly don’t diminish from what is one hell of an amazing looking game. The multiplayer pushes DICE’s proprietary “Frostbite” tech to a level just beyond what was seen in Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s multiplayer earlier this year. The slightly more confined levels and the lack of a significant amount of vehicles probably helps.

The sound design again puts realism up front, with a script that stays pretty close to reality without diving into Hollywood action clichés. One or two one-liners pop up from time to time, but overall the lingo, which the developers claim was actually written by the Armed Forces consultants, sounds genuine and is actually quite engaging. It’s also virtually constant. There’s a TON of dialogue in here. The score, by Iron Man composer Ramin Djawadi, is pure Black Hawk Down, all strings and harsh guitar, but it’s used in subtle fashion rather than overpowering the game with bombast. It isn’t constant, but when it does fade in, it underscores the action and heightens the emotions perfectly. Last, and certainly not least, are the booming gunfire and the ear-rattling explosions, which are suitablyeffective and fill the room. The sound package definitely measures up to the awesome visual package.

"Is that Ride of the Valkyries I hear?"

Rebuttal Witness:
Medal of Honor does borrow at least one annoyance from its chief competitor; the painfully short single-player campaign. My first run through (which was on the “Hard” difficulty) took me a little over 6 hours to run through. Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2 were roughly the same length, and had considerably more downtime or aggravation per hour, yet Medal of Honor left me considerably more wanting. The ending itself was a more than adequate, entirely satisfying conclusion that put a cap on what was a universally fantastic experience, but I just wish there was more of it. That’s perhaps the best testament to the quality of the single player game.

I did have a few issues with staying online, but I’ll chalk that up to the pre-launch timeframe in which I was playing.

"Nothing like a tear through the woods on an ATV!"

Closing Comments:
EA’s diligence in design, ambition, and chutzpah has payed off in a huge way. Medal of Honor is nothing less than a triumphant return to the glorious highs of the franchise’s early years. Elements of the gameplay are unique, innovative and flawlessly executed, and the presentation is absolutely stunning. Top it off with some kick ass multiplayer, and you have the perfect all encompassing package! It may not penetrate the social bubble that is today’s Call of Duty fanbase, and the single player campaign will leave you yearning for more, but it’s not only one of the best games I’ve played this year, but one of the best shooters of this console generation.

The Verdict:

Platform: Sony Playstation 3/Microsoft Xbox360/Windows PC
Developer: Danger Close/DICE
Publisher: EA
Release Date: October 12th, 2010
Rated: M (17+) for Mature

The Charge:
A new world will rise from the ashes of the old.

Opening Statement:
Square Enix once again attempts to bring their long running giant robot series to North American shores, this time with an American developer at the controls, and a pretty huge shakeup in the gameplay department. Does their gamble pay off?

"AMBUSH! pyew! pyew! pyew!

Facts of the Case:
In the year 2171 AD, a cold war rages between the two dominant world powers, The OCU, and the UCS (essentially huge amalgamations of the old school East and West). When an unprovoked attack on the New York City orbital tower of Percival sparks an all out war, Dylan Ramsey, a civilian test pilot, finds himself pulled into the conflict. The weapon of choice in this future war? Giant robot fighting machines called “Wanzers”.

The Evidence:
I was never much of a proponent of the Front Mission series, though my love of giant bipedal robot killing machines knows no bounds, it was tempered by my relative distaste for turn based strategy. With Front Mission Evolved, Square-Enix, through North American developer Double Helix (Silent Hill: Homecoming) has taken quite a chance. Fans of the long running series, barely represented on North American shores, have been bitching and moaning about the transition to 3rd person action game since the first mention of this particular title. They feel as though Square-Enix has betrayed the small but reverently loyal fan base that the series has amassed over the years, and in some way, perhaps they have. For me, personally, the shift was a more than welcome change.

"Sorry, you're weapon only has a range of four hexes! I'm six hexes away! Nyeah nyeah!"

The guys at Double Helix have no doubt spent a ton of time with From Software’s long running Armored Core series. The venerable Mecha series immediately comes to mind the moment you kick in your jets and start skating around. The controls have that same smooth feel, the giant war machines move in virtually identical fashion, and even the button layout is very similar, having you using the shoulder buttons on your controller to fire shoulder and arm mounted weaponry on your left and right sides respectively. If you’re one of those hardcore giant robot guys who’s played a ton of AC, Front Mission Evolved will be an easy fit.

Anyone who enjoys a good giant robot shooter also loves to customize their 100 ton implement of robotic genocide, and again, Front Mission Evolved delivers. There’s some robust customization tools that allow for the swapping out and replacing of virtually every piece of your walking tank, complete with a healthy assortment of projectile weaponry and melee tools. It’s not quite as robust as what you see in Armored Core 4 or Chromehouds, as your machines do maintain a similar feel in terms of speed and agility, but there’s enough of a change to make it worth your while.

Where Front Mission Evolved really changes things up is in the storyline, and the level design. Other Mech shooters love throwing you up against fodder, and are often structured in a non-linear “choose your mission” structure, with meta-narratives that are spread through ancillary things like e-mail messages (I’m looking at you, Armored Core). FME’s storyline hits the ground running with some awesome cutscenes and a tale of violence and war. It’s not pioneering storytelling in video games or anything, and it certainly borrows some elements from “Giant Robot Anime 101”, but there are distinct characters, some endearing, some repulsive as hell, and there’s a narrative flow to the action that really helps to immerse you into the ongoing war.

"Who needs machine guns when I got this big ass club!"

Rather than chucking gigantic bullets and rockets at foot soldiers and tanks repeatedly, the game almost immediately introduces enemy robots, and combat becomes a hectic game of boost, shoot, dodge, and scramble for health and ammo replenishes. It doesn’t take most weaponry long to chisel through your mech’s metal, and while the proper reflexes may make things easier, combat is no walk in the park. There are some boss fights in here that require mad skills, close timing, and incredible patience. Thankfully the checkpoint system is pretty forgiving.

The level layouts are pretty linear, but varied and interesting as well. The game doesn’t often degenerate into an all out shooting gallery, and the combat is mixed up quite a bit. The levels are also pretty lengthy for this type of game, but mix things up perfectly without overstaying their welcome.

Every so often a mission pops up that requires you to hop out of your towering collection of steel and guns and go human-sized against other human opponents. The experience here is functional, but entirely rudimentary. You crouch behind solid cover and shoot at anything your crosshairs lands on. Shooter fans may find these segments rather blasé when you compare them to something like Gears of War, but I enjoyed them for the altered perspective from the remainder of the game’s combat, and they come in at the perfect times to break up the robot sections and keep things interesting. I’ll also readily admit that I mght have pooped my pants just a little bit the first time I had to fight an enemy “wanzer” on foot. It turned out to be disappointingly easy, but it was still impressive.

"Maximum Firepower, bitches!"

Rebuttal Witness:
While the “core” gameplay in Front Mission Evolved delivers, the presentation is a bit more of a mixed bag. The visuals, while diverse, are pretty simple, with rudimentary textures that get the job done, but run the gamut from average to ugly. Some of the lighting gets pretty garish, particularly on the opening levels set in the streets of New York City. Many of the levels, including the New York level, feel sparse and empty, with simple geometry and little in the way of depth or detail. The levels get a little more colorful as you go, and there are some simple tricks like light bloom that elevate things to the point that things almost look appealing. The Mech designs capture that classic Battletech chunkiness and generally look awesome in motion, but it’s kind of a shame that the backdrop in which these cool looking robots play is so vanilla.

The ‘on foot’ levels suffer from similar blandness, and the human characters look rather plain. The general lack of tricky lighting effects combined with the rather lackluster facial animations and the wretched in cockpit camera view during cutscenes gives the presentation a very dated, borderline “last generation” feel.

The sound is a little more passable, with a decent enough, if slightly generic soundtrack, and passable voice acting that manages to deliver the anime-lite script decently enough. It never quite thunders like you feel it should, and the rattle and hum of giant machine guns doesn’t shake the foundations like you want it to. It isn’t bad at all; it sure gets the point across, but it doesn’t stand out either.

There is a solid multiplayer component included as well, complete with Call of Duty style ranking mechanics and unlockable weaponry. The problem is that the unlockable weaponry completely throws off the game balance, with noobs being utterly useless. It breaks the game completely. There’s also a significant dearth of maps and gameplay types, which will definitely limit the longevity. If you can find a dedicated community of mech modders to hang with (maybe some refugees from the long terminated Chromehouds servers) and get some action happening, this COULD be the kind of game you stick with, as long as Square-Enix can pump out some new maps as DLC.

Lastly, there’s the question of the Front Mission legacy. As soon as “Evolved” was announced, the small but vicious cult of fans of all things Front Mission immediately lost their minds. The series has traditionally been a turn based rpg strategy title, complete with slow and arduous turns where each opposing force moved their mecha like chess pieces on grid based terrain. The knee-jerk hate reaction is not at all surprising, given the series pedigree as a strategy title. There’s nothing worse to the braniacs than the “dumbing down” of their complex game of war into just another shooter. So, if you’re a fan of the series, know that the story is a decidedly western imitation of what has been a very complex and multi-game spanning, nigh impenetrable story, and there’s not a lick of strategy to be found. If you can accept “Evolved” as a continuation or a side story, or a look at the setting from a different perspective, you may very well find yourself satisfied. However if the idea of playing a shooter set in your beloved tactical world makes you wretch, give up now and walk away. Let those of us who enjoy this sort of thing have our good time.

Closing Comments:
At its heart, Front Mission Evolved is a competent mech shooter with fun mechanics and a solid story that will no doubt appeal to fans of the genre. The narrative drive kicks it a notch above Armored Core 4(or Armored core: For Answer as well), even if the gameplay is ever is ever so slightly more shallow. Stick around for the smooth controls, the lengthy (by today’s standards) campaign, and the Anime storyline, but don’t count on getting much longevity from the multiplayer, unless you really devote yourself. If you like giant robots, there’s currently no better option on a console.

The Verdict:

Platform: Sony Playstation 3/Microsoft Xbox360/Windows PC (PS3 version reviewed)
Developer: Double Helix
Publisher: Square – Enix
Release Date: September 28th, 2010
Rated: T (13+) for Teen

The Charge:
Experience 48 hours of hell!

Opening Statement:
When you look down through the lengthy list of high profile titles that hit shelves in 2007, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men certainly distinguishes itself as one of the least likely titles on there to receive the sequel treatment. It’s probably most well known for single handedly annihilating the integrity of one high profile gaming site in particular, skirting a healthy dose of controversy to go along with middling reviews. Here we are, three years on, and lo and behold, here comes Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. Does this unlikely sequel succeed where the original fell short? Or is this one dog that should be put down.

Facts of the Case:
It’s been a few years since our “Dead men” went their separate ways, and Lynch, now working for a British mobster named Glazer, has pulled Kane in for one last job. They’re in Shanghai, China, tasked with smuggling weapons out of China and into Africa. They stand to make a lot of money, enough for Kane to settle down and retire, and for Lynch and his new gal live happily ever after. Things go wrong right from the get go, and after the wrong person dies, Kane & Lynch find themselves scrambling to get out of Shanghai alive, with every armed thug, cop, and mobster in China hoping to put a bullet or seven into their domes.

The Evidence:
I’ll just get this out of the way ahead of time, I was a fan of the original Kane and Lynch. I picked it up before reading any reviews, played the hell out of it, and was shocked when I finally started reading what others thought about the game. The cold reception that IO’s crime drama received soured me on video game reviewers and review sites, and I really haven’t recovered to this day (how hypocritical of me). When the sequel was announced, I was excited. When I saw what the mad geniuses at IO Interactive (best known for the Hitman series) were doing with the presentation, my excitement doubled.

"The Rogaine convention went bad when execs revealed that the popular product was actually fake..."

The gameplay is pretty standard fare for your average 3rd person shooter. Kane and Lynch 2 doesn’t rewrite the formula or anything; you move ahead through linear levels, taking cover behind any object that looks solid enough to take cover behind, and you rock and roll with whatever firearms you have on hand until the bad guys fall down. What differentiates the game is a sense of realism that permeates the cover mechanic and keeps you on your toes. It’s possible for enemies to hit you even when you’re in cover, and should a foe manage to get an angle of fire on you, things can go bad in a jiffy. This keeps you from turtle-ing up in one position and waiting for reloads, and keeps you moving about as you scramble for safe spots. It helps maintain the chaotic pacing of the firefights and keeps you in the game. It this chaotic nature that really keeps Kane & Lynch 2 feeling fresh. Moments of silence are few, and when they do hit, they are unsettling, ushering a sense of paranoia rather than safety. The firefights often hit with explosive force, they are frenetic and immersive, buoyed by the game’s unique presentation.

It’s the sparse production and “processed” look of the presentation that truly lies at the heart of Kane & Lynch 2. IO Interactive have mimicked the Youtube generation, presenting the game as though it were a poorly shot bit of video footage ripped from a stray cel phone cam or maybe a hand held 8mm. The camera is jerky, often extra close, grainy, pixilated, and every light source bands across the screen as though it were reflecting off of a tiny CCD lens. The effect is at once striking and disorienting, but it works. It feels intimate for a shooter, and in spite of the chaotic movements and the frantic pacing, the action generally doesn’t get disorienting. There’s an option to remove the shaky cam (but not the lo-fi filters), but it also takes some of the life out of the game as well. Still if you do find the camera disorienting, it can help with your enjoyment of the game. Graphically, the grain and digital noise are layered over a solid foundation of decent character models and texture work. The city of Shanghai feels remarkably well rendered and authentic, with a ton of light sources and crowded streets. It all has an air of realism that you don’t often see in shooters. Every bullet hit registers, whether on a crook, car, barrier, or innocent bystander, and there’s some subtle motion blurring in use on things like spent cartridges from your rapidly firing weaponry that makes things look pretty awesome in motion.

"Don't you wish you were as cool as me... check out my bitchin' skullet as I leap over this display case! OOH! Timex Inidiglo watches are on sale!"

The visual hook is backed up with some incredible sound design. There’s very little in the way of backing music, with every scene in the game punctuated by the resonant gunfire, explosions, and surrounding city. Even quiet scenes feature rustling and distant noise that fills the soundstage and is entirely convincing. This is some incredible soundwork that booms through a good surround sound system with all of the clarity and immersion of the best Hollywood flicks. Voice acting is also excellent, and wonderfully mixed. Everything from the roar of a high powered rifle to the tinkling of spent brass and shattered glass sounds phenomenal.

One of the most intriguing parts of the original game was the rather unique take on multiplayer, and it’s back in Kane & Lynch 2, in a much more fleshed out form. For starters, the entirety of the single player campaign is now playable in online co-op form, something criminally missing from the original. The co-op mode is about what you would expect, and a few of the levels make for a fun way to blow through some action with a friend in tow. It’s the game’s signature “Fragile Alliance” mode that is the real draw. Players take the role of a team of crooks on a heist, and each grabs as much loot as they can carry. The fuzz is onto them, however, and on top of that, each player can betray his gang and kill allies for their score. The more you score, the faster you level up, however you’re also marked as a traitor, and when you’re buddies get fragged, they respawn as SWAT. It’s a very strategic scenario, where the best players will succeed by avoiding the temptation to backstab early, and pace it so that there are enough of you left to make it to the getaway vehicle without being overwhelmed by the law. There’s also an undercover cop mode, where one player is notified of his “cop” status and must do what he can to halt the other players, the trick being he must wait until AFTER the heist has taken place. It’s intense as hell. There’s also your standard deathmatch mode in “Cops vs. Crooks”. It’s a robust suite of online features, with the requisite persistent levels and unlockable content you find in most online shooters these days. It’s hardly going to supplant Call of Duty for the masses, but it’s a different kind of game that’s targeted towards a more cerebral breed of multiplayer gamers. If you’re looking for something off the beaten path, give it a try.

Rebuttal Witness:
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is chock full of shooting. The entire game is a slow and steady forward crawl where every square yard of ground is gained with hundreds of rounds of ammunition. There’s very little in the way of downtime, character development, or story beats. The chaotic presentation serves the shooting well, but the mechanics are straight forward and as simplified as third person shooting gets. You snap to cover, spit lead, and avoid being hit by the lead spit from the mobsters, killers, cops, and soldiers who stand in your way. The first half is paced perfectly, with one or two truly twisted moments, and one level in particular that really shocked the hell out of me. When you near the finish the game starts just throwing wave after wave of tough to kill assholes in your direction, which slows down the pacing to frustrating levels. The final two chapters are pretty awesome, and make up for the third quarter’s total frustration, but there also isn’t much of an ending to speak of. You make it to the final objective in the last chapter, and you know it’s the end, but there’s no snazzy cutscene or story beat, just credits. Weak, and yet, I really don’t know how it could have been handled any differently.

"First those Army of Two guys, now this! And only 4 days until retirement!"

While many were inclined to bash the “last-gen” gameplay of the first game in the series, there was a great story in place, and a solid squad mechanic that worked well enough. All of the ancillary bits have been completely stripped out to focus on the shooter core, and the shooting lacks the sophistication of something like Gears of War or Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. The game is buoyed entirely by the unique presentation, but beneath the youtube/cel-phone camera sheen lies a rudimentary shooting experience. If you’re a fan of third person shooters, you’ll definitely find something to like, and the robust online mode certainly helps add value to the package, but the single-player campaign may not be the engaging experience some might expect.

"That SWAT guy on the left is on short time... he just christened a boat..."

Closing Comments:
Kane & Lynch remains a franchise entirely targeted at a specific group of gamers. It lacks the sophistication of some of its peers, but it wraps things up in a uniquely dark presentation that feels like it is an integral part of the game’s make-up, rather than a layer of filters applied as an afterthought. The single player campaign, while pretty awesome, is brief, chaotic, and doesn’t change gears much. Yet, the multiplayer component is deep, unique, and addictive, making for a worthy overall package.

The Verdict:

Platform: Sony Playstation 3/Microsoft Xbox360/Windows PC
Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Square – Enix
Release Date: August 17th, 2010
Rated: M (17+) for Mature

Opening Statement:
From Sega, and developer of cult-RPGs, Obsidian Entertainment (Neverwinter Nights 2) comes a new take on the action RPG. Forget outer space and fantasy kingdoms; Alpha Protocol is the world’s first tactical espionage Role player. Will it manage to successfully infiltrate your collection? Or will you be disavowing any knowledge of its actions.

"Who are you calling GENERIC!?"

Facts of the Case:
Michael Thornton has just been recruited by Alpha Protocol, an organization of rogue agents who operate outside the proper government channels and use whatever tactics they can to ensure global stability while furthering American interests. Mike’s inaugural mission takes him to Saudi Arabia in search of missing experimental missiles, one of which was used to knock down a civilian airliner. It’s up to Thornton to unravel a conspiracy involving terrorist groups, politicians, and the worlds largest weapons manufacturer, and with a mole inside the organization, he must trust no one in his search for the truth.

The Evidence:
I’m not sure what exactly it is that plagues Obsidian Entertainment. Born from the ashes of Black Isle, a name whispered with reverence amongst old school PC role-players, their output would never suggest they were responsible for legendary titles like Fallout 2, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment. They’ve spent the majority of their time clinging to the coattails of Canadian RPG powerhouse, Bioware. Hitting first with a sequel to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which saw its final act completely and savagely gutted to make a Christmas release date. They followed that up with an ambitious sequel to Neverwinter Nights, which arrived a technical mess, and still remains barely playable on cutting edge hardware. Whatever circumstances surrounded these noble misfires, be it Lucasarts’ aggressive development schedule, or Atari’s floundering fortunes, the guys at Obsidian seem unable to catch a break, unable to flex their ample muscles to the fullest. Perhaps with Alpha Protocol, their first attempt at a new IP, with Sega at the publishing reigns, their prospects could change?

No, not really. I’m really starting to think that Obsidian either has serious product management issues, or is otherwise under some unbreakable voodoo curse. Alpha Protocol comes out of the gate feeling like a collective of great ideas poured into a mold, and then cracked open before the clay has had the time to dry. The game, as a whole, feels raw and unfinished, like the developers reached the stage of development where a game is considered “feature complete” and then proceeded to dump the code to a gold master without any bug-squashing or quality assurance testing whatsoever. The game is hardly what I would call terrible, but for every idea that works, there’s an idea that is heavily compromised.

"Just call me Fisher!"

The gameplay, in a nutshell, is Mass Effect in a new skin. Built on the same engine, it’s as though Obsidian got their hands on the source code for Bioware’s Sci-fi RPG epic and replaced all of the art assets. Many of the faults that people addressed in that 2007 megahit are present here as well, and are considerably less forgivable almost three years on. The biggest bone of contention is no doubt the RPG-derived shooting mechanics, which rewards a bumped up weapon skill rather than a steady aim when it comes to landing headshots. Your targeting reticule could sit on some poor bastard’s forehead, only for the shot to whiz past him by several meters if your dice roll comes up “1”. For an international super-spy, Michael Thornton shoots more like an Imperial Stormtrooper.

Some will be able to rise above the crappy shooting, particularly those who stick with Assault rifles and pump their skills accordingly, but others will be immensely frustrated by their inability to hit a target, and pistol fans (like myself) will be tearing hair out in frustration as their silent killer is about as useful as a fart in a warm breeze. Hell, every weapon in the game outside of assault rifles is a useless effort. Shotguns are crippled by the fact that you have to be right next to a target, which makes it impossible to aim, and the sub-machine guns (which are duel-wielded for some unexplained reason) look stupid, and just spew forth a wall of lead that very slowly chips away at the health of even the lowliest of terrorist underlings. Sniper rifles pop up on occasion, but are usually a stationary affair that precludes you finding a lofty sniper perch and ventilating skulls. Once or twice I came upon a stationary sniper rifle only to find that I had no bitches to pwn.

Alpha Protocol doesn’t always rely on gunfights, thankfully. There are other alternatives, typically the stealth approach. Sadly, the stealth mechanics are about as weak as the gun fighting. Enemies seem to randomly be able to detect you on a whim (probably a result of comparing numbers under the hood like a bad guy’s perception vs. your stealth). Different body armour and load outs can make you a little tougher to detect, and if you can get close enough, there’s a neat option that allows you to either silently take down a baddie or otherwise knife his larynx out. Sounds great on paper, yes? Unfortunately, your silent take downs may randomly alert some dude in the adjacent room, separated by 10 inches of concrete, while dudes in the same room, mere meters away, remain oblivious to your presence, even while looking in your general direction.

What if Rambo were a Bond girl?

Yes, Alpha Protocol’s artificial intelligence is wretched. Whether you’re up against Arabic terrorists, CIA field agents, SWAT teams, private military bad-asses or fellow covert agents, they all follow the same set of arbitrary instructions: Run in circles, shoot, and die. Occasionally they dive behind cover, but it’s a pre-canned routine, they’d do the same thing if you were standing right behind them. Enemy awareness is busted, it’s as though everyone is wearing blinders and listening to Bell Biv DeVoe on their iPods while waiting for the one guy in the vicinity who actually has some sense of purpose to find you and raise the alarm, or otherwise get shot in the face/stabbed in the larynx by a covert agent. It’s as though every character in the game is hooked to a switch that has two settings, “docile” and “aggressive”. It’s the kind of “sneak n shoot” gameplay we got in 1998 with Syphon Filter on Playstation One. When you do raise an alarm, and oh, you will, it seems like everyone is automatically locked onto your location, and they come running like bees to honey. This in and of itself isn’t much of a problem, on easy and normal settings, bad guys are target practice, if you play on the hardest difficulty, shots are fired at random from bad guys who may or may not be in the room with you, and they will end your life in unspectacular fashion. After that, your corpse may either bounce around unnaturally or pass through a wall, floor, ceiling, or randomly placed shrubbery.

No, the technical limitations do not end at lousy henchman AI. Alpha Protocol is chock full of stiff animation, and technical glitches that have people passing through walls, walking on air, and otherwise defying the laws of gravity, physics, and common sense. On several instances, my Assault rifle magically belched brass shell casings even when it wasn’t being fired. Even after my still corpse hit the earth, and I sat slowly waiting for the prompt to reload from the last checkpoint, those 7.65mm shell casings kept ejecting from my rifle as though I were still standing upright in full on “Rock N Roll” stance. It doesn’t help that these stray bullets also clip through Mike’s body while he’s stuck in a run animation.

From a presentation standpoint, we’re looking at a mixed bag for sure. Menus are bland and utilitarian; they get the job done, but only just. The interface is likewise rather dull; full of nondescript icons that don’t always give a fair representation of your abilities. The game’s art design is bland and uninspired, with a bunch of plain, boring looking enemies that either lack any manner of personality, or have borrowed their charm from some crappy spy movie. Honestly, the character designs range from yawn-inducing to absolutely ridiculous (The pink-haired Russian commando or the Emo-teen hitman complete with running mascara come to mind). Michael Thornton is about the most boring frontman i’ve seen, and the miniscule customization options you’re given don’t help him improve any, at all. Then there’s the texture pop in that never ceases to make its presence known when you decide to hit menus in order to switch up an outfit or alter facial features.

Respect the beard!

That’s right, this is an Unreal 3 powered game, and about the only sign that alludes to that fact is the texture pop-in that plagued pretty much every Unreal 3 version 1.0 title. Lighting is rudimentary, the framerate is sluggish, textures are basic if serviceable, and everything is built with a minimal amount of detail, making for some mighty clunky looking characters and objects. Alpha Protocol may as well have been built on Unreal 2 technology. No, it’s not quite ‘Xbox’ ugly, but it definitely looks more like something that might have graced the 360 or PS3 in their early launch days. There are a few isolated incidents where Alpha Protocol comes close to matching some of the lesser U3-powered games out there, and on one or two occasions i did notice some genuinely sweet looking environments and effects. The biggest problem is that the whole thing suffers from screen tearing like a stray dog suffers fleas. Any panning of the camera results in disorienting tears as the “v” struggles to “synch”. If anyone were to want for a sample of the screen tearing issue that’s become pretty prevalent in this generation, Alpha Protocol is the new poster boy. Overall, if Midway’s WWII shooter, Hour of Victory didn’t exist, Alpha Protocol would probably take the ‘ugliest game powered by Unreal 3 Technology’ trophy.

Rebuttal Witness:
After all of that rampant negativity, you might be surprised to learn that does manage to get a few things right at the core.

For one thing, the game’s touted ‘Dialogue Stance System’ really works well, and as advertised. Again, think of Mass effect, but replace general comments with attitudes or emotions. Depending on the subject you’re conversing with, you can choose to be suave, professional, hostile, or courteous, and each Non-player character in the game reacts differently based on the stances you choose. Some characters have zero tolerance for bullshit, while others appreciate a hostile, stand-offish tone. The relationships you build throughout the game also play off of each faction you run into, and characters within each faction; become too close to one character, and you may find another won’t give you the time of day. Many of these characters become handlers for future missions, and depending on who’s got your back, mission parameters, storyline, and outcomes can change. It gives the game a sense of fluidity, characters who serve a major role in one player’s game may be mere footnotes in another. There’s really a sense that here, more than ever, your choices as a player really do have an effect on the outcome.

"Don't you ever call me Gabe Logan again!"

There’s an economy at work as well, that allows you to access a black market arms merchants and information brokers. Weapons are highly customizable, and different modifications do allow for a slightly more entertaining time when the guns come out. The intel you buy opens up new avenues for progressing through some of the games tougher levels. You can acquire weapon drops while in the field, or get rid of some of the more heavily armed foes in a region. It all feels authentic and logical, and here, Alpha Protocol really does a fantastic job of getting you to think like a spy. The espionage angle is taken that much further with a detailed e-mail and dossier system that gives you all sorts of tools and info. You can e-mail contacts (using the same stance system you use in conversations) and gather intel on factions and individuals that provides insight on how to deal with people when you run into them in the future.

When the game trades action for espionage, it actually succeeds rather brilliantly. There’s a significant amount of difficult choices, dialogue sequences, and safehouse shenanigans present in the game to really help take the sting out of the crummy action bits, and based on how you go about things, you may have less and less action to deal with. Play more like a spy, and less like Master Chief, and you’ll have a much better time with the game.

Closing Comments: There were many rumours circling around Alpha Protocol before its release, not the least of which was that Sega pulled support from Obsidian and basically put the brakes on development. Then they promptly delayed the ‘finished’ game for six months (possibly out of fear of Modern Warfare 2). None of it really makes a lot of sense, as given a bit more time in the oven, Alpha Protocol could have been a legitimate contender. As it stands, I want to love this game a hell of a lot more than i actually do, and I have no doubt that I won’t be alone. If you’re what one might call a hardcore RPG player and you’re looking for something a little a little off the beaten path, you may enjoy this trip through the world of international espionage.  However, it will almost certainly test the limits of your patience with some insufferably frustrating combat.

The Verdict:

Platform: Microsoft Xbox360, Sony Playstation 3, Windows PC(Playstation 3 version reviewed)
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: June 1st, 2010
Rated: M(17+) for Mature