Archive for October, 2011

Battlefield 3 Sales Hit 5M In First Week

Monday, October 31st, 2011 at 8:45 pm

EA recently said Battlefield 3 shipped 10 million units in the first week, but now we know how many the publisher actually sold.

EA says that, based on internal estimates, Battlefield 3 has sold through to consumers five million copies globally in the first week, making it the "fastest-selling game in EA's history." A breakdown of sales between platforms was not provided.

"It is extremely gratifying to deliver an entertainment experience that delights our fans, and to have the opportunity to introduce new people to the franchise," said Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President of the EA Games Label. "Already, we are seeing unprecedented play times and online activity which is very rewarding. This launch solidifies Battlefield as a leading entertainment brand."

www.GameInformer.com – The Feed

War of the Worlds Review (Xbox 360)

Monday, October 31st, 2011 at 5:36 am

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Developer Other Ocean Interactive set out to develop The War of the Worlds with a specific goal create a genuinely entertaining game set in H.G. Well’s universe that played like the 2D platforming games of the past.

Easier said than done.

The War of the Worlds has all the pieces to be a fantastic game. It has a well-known story, a beautiful art style, excellent sound design topped off by narration by Patrick Stewart. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, some critical problems really hold this title back from becoming one of the best on Xbox Live Arcade.

The game has players taking the role of Arthur Clark, who at all costs is searching for his family. His search takes him through all kinds of different environments, from the streets of London to alien ships, all of which are portrayed beautifully in a unique style that is very similar to that of another XBLA title, Limbo. The characters are done in rotoscope style, further adding to the retro style of the game. The game plays like old school platformers of the past like the original Prince of Persia. The problem is, it doesn’t control like them.

Arthur performs all his actions walking, running, rolling, jumping all incredibly slowly. Combine this with the need of absolute pixel-precision in some of the more frantic situations in the game, and you have a recipe for disaster that will have you so frustrated that the game may feel more like a chore than a source of fun. The controls are often a bit unresponsive, and on more than one occasion, poor Arthur decided on his own that it’d be better to just continue rolling away over running normally. This results in more deaths that I can even begin to keep track of. And with an often unforgiving checkpoint system that occasionally doesn’t even work properly, dying is absolutely enraging.

About that checkpoint system they’re very spaced apart. Not only that, but you’re left to guess on your own when you reach checkpoints, unless, of course, you feel like dying to find out. There were also a few occasions where we went through an area, died, was brought back to the beginning, just to go through again, die (again,) and be brought to a different checkpoint. It’s as if some of the checkpoints in the game don’t even work half the time. A game as difficult as The War of the Worlds at the very least shouldn’t have you wondering if a checkpoint triggered properly or not.

The presentation in the game is fantastic, and it all is highlighted by the narration of Arthur’s story by Patrick Stewart. The music fades in and out at the right times, allowing Stewart’s dialogue to truly reach the player. The problem is, as often as you die in this game, the various dialogue is repeated every time. Eventually, you may just find the voiceovers annoying.

Similarly, radio clips are in the game giving a bit of back story into what is going on around the world during the alien invasion. That’s great, but the problem is you’re almost forced to stop whatever you’re doing at the time because a huge radio image takes up a good portion of the top left of the screen. This means if you’re moving in that direction at all, you have absolutely no idea what lies in your path. Call this a little thing that just seemed a little unnecessary again, especially since they repeat themselves every time you die.

The War of the Worlds is by far one of the most difficult games available on the Xbox Live Arcade. The problem is, most of it’s difficulty comes from the controls being so clunky. However, from how often I died in the game, I found myself almost hellbent on beating them game just to say it’s possible. When the credits finally rolled, it was one of the most fulfilling feelings given by an arcade game. And then I saw that there was an achievement for going through the entire game without dying, and another for doing so in one sitting I truly respect anyone who can pull this feat off without pulling their hair out first.

This game has all the right pieces to be one of the top tier games on XBLA, but an incredibly frustrating control scheme holds it back. Fixing the controls may be all this one needs to be among the best. Until then, only pick this one up if you’re a die-hard platforming fan that likes to have your patience tested at every level.

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Xbox 360 and Xbox Game Reviews – TeamXbox

Super Replay: Galerians Episode 008

Sunday, October 30th, 2011 at 2:53 pm

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Earlier this year we asked readers to pick between four equally sketchy games. The winner, we promised, would be the subject of a future Super Replay. Galerians was that winner. Now you can witness the GI staff playing this obscure PS1 survival horror title from beginning to end, one hour at a time.

Episode 008

We're heading into the home stretch of our Galerians Super Replay, and we've got a score to settle from last episode. This time, Bryan Vore joins Andrew Reiner and I to see if Tim Turi can topple the that table-riding twit of a boss named Rita. Weill he win? And if so, what awaits us on the other side of this brutal battle?