In fact, I came this close to beating Commando 3 on my third attempt, making it to the final boss solo. While the game supports up to three players at a time, it's not much of a challenge to take down the game's five levels on your own. That's mostly due to potentially too powerful guns, plus copious power ups and screen-clearing attack ammo.

If Commando 3 has a fault, it's that there's not much of a challenge to it, making for occasionally dull play. With familiar Smash TV-style controls and constant flow of bullets (or flamethrowers or rockets), mowing down scores of rebels is easy for any arcade vet.

Commando 3 is certainly lacking in depth, as the power up system sticks closely to its arcade roots. There are a couple of secrets that one can find in each level and multiple difficulties, adding a dash of replay value that may help justify the purchase price.

Vehicle sequences weren't memorable, but perhaps in a multiplayer setting, they could add brief respite from the constant din of machine gun fire.

1942: Joint Strike shares some of Commando 3's shortcomings, with just five levels, a rather simple difficulty and little in the way of variety to keep interest high. The top down shooter certainly has a more appealing style to it and 1942's cooperative aspects add a nice change of pace, but 194X fans will probably feel like the game is a bit of a step back for the series.

It's not intended to a "bullet hell" kind of vertically scrolling shooter—the series has never been a one hit, one kill affair—but 1942: Joint Strike can dip into dull territory on default difficulty. Regardless of the rather tame action, 1942 adds some nice set pieces and cool effects to keep things interesting, mixing it up where Commando 3 sticks to tradition. Flying over an active volcano, for example, adds a bit of graphical ooh and aah and taking out war boats is so much more cinematic in 3D.

1942: Joint Strike's most attractive gimmick is the titular "joint strike", a special attack that requires cooperation between both players to fire an electrical arc or paint a bomb target between them.

Playing both games back to back gives the impression that the XBLA and PSN games meet pretty much the minimum requirements. They share some of the same quirks, will a strikingly similar presentation and very short length. Both games look like they can be blown through in about 30 minutes or less, especially if you've got a co-op buddy helping you out.

Both titles are planned for a tiny investment, meaning that even if you drop $10 on each you'll probably get your money's worth. Just don't expect a return to the series on par with some of Capcom's other digital efforts.

Newsweek's general editor of tech N'Gai Croal later levied a similar but more measured assessment, saying that much of what was shown in the initial trailer "dovetailed with classic racist imagery," leaving him with the impression that "Clearly no one black worked on this game."

We were curious, in light of new media that seems to show a more racially diverse set of enemies and a noticeably less WASP-y new partner for Chris Redfield, if the team had taken that criticism to heart and altered some of their design decisions

Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi told us "No, not really." He said via his translator that cries of racism "didn't have any effect on the game design."

On the subject of Chris Redfield's new sidekick, one who appears to lean toward ethnically ambiguous, Takeuchi said "We wanted Chris to have a partner who was familiar with the environment. She's been in there since pretty much the beginning."

"In terms of the reaction, we're in the business of entertainment," Takeuchi said. "We didn't set out to make a racist game or a political statement. We did feel there was a misunderstanding about the initial trailer."

The Resident Evil 5 producer said they'd sent a team of Capcom staffers to Africa to do research in the area, stressing that they had decided to include Arab and Caucasian peoples based on what they'd seen while on location. We found it odd that there was virtually no non-Black representation in RE5's debut trailer, but Takeuchi was adamant that the current product is in line with their experiences.

Whether the inclusion of a supporting character who isn't of the white guy persuasion and a more ethnically diverse cast of slaughtering victims will in any way address concerns of racism or insensitivity remains to be seen. What we do hope is that, regardless of the changes to this marquee title, the discussion continues about the topics it seems to unintentionally address.

Capcom is working to expand the breadth of our catalog to gamers of all ages in North America and Neopets is a perfect brand for us to bring to casual and family gamers,” said Germaine Gioia, senior vice president, licensing, Capcom Entertainment. “Combining Capcom’s experience, the rich world of Neopets, and Infinite Interactive’s skills in the puzzle/adventure genre makes a perfect match.”

It sounds like a terrifyingly addictive mix actually, and I personally know several combination Puzzle Quest / Neopet addicts that are probably hyperventilating as they read this. Add the fact that the games will feature unlockable codes for exclusive items on the Neopets website, various mini-fames, and 150 different petpets, and this is a game that has already sold several thousand copies. Hit the jump for the full scoop.

CAPCOM® AND NEOPETS® PARTNER TO INTRODUCE NEW MULTI-PLATFORM PUZZLE ADVENTURE GAME
Neopets® Puzzle Adventure Coming for Nintendo® Platforms and PC This Winter

SAN MATEO, Calif. and LOS ANGELES— June 3, 2008— Capcom® Entertainment, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, and Nickelodeon® Kids and Family Group’s Neopets®, the most engaging tween virtual world on the internet (http://www.neopets.com), announced today a partnership to develop a new multi-platform puzzle adventure game, Neopets Puzzle Adventure (working title), for the Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and PC this holiday season. Based on the deep storylines of Neopets, Neopets Puzzle Adventure is a new puzzle game being developed by Capcom and Infinite Interactive, developers of Puzzle Quest™.

“As part of Neopets’ strategy to extend the property into a multiplatform brand, we are continuously giving our audiences new ways to play on and off of the site,” said Kyra Reppen, Senior vice president and general manager, Neopets. “Our partnership with Capcom provides a new form of game play for Neopets that is relevant to the platforms our audience is using, and that complements the game play on the site.”

“Capcom is working to expand the breadth of our catalog to gamers of all ages in North America and Neopets is a perfect brand for us to bring to casual and family gamers,” said Germaine Gioia, senior vice president, licensing, Capcom Entertainment. “Combining Capcom’s experience, the rich world of Neopets, and Infinite Interactive’s skills in the puzzle/adventure genre makes a perfect match.”

Set to launch on the three systems this holiday season, Neopets Puzzle Adventure takes puzzle solving skills to new levels with a unique Neopets spin. Based on the classic board game, “Reversi”, Neopets Puzzle Adventure, is a robust and fully integrated Neopets experience as it includes 150 different quests across vast Neopian lands, a variety of the most popular customizable Neopets to choose from, and several fun mini-games to add depth and fun to the gameplay. As a bonus to Neopets fans, players will be able to earn codes throughout the game that connect back to the Neopets site by achieving certain goals throughout the DS, Wii or PC game. These unique codes will allow players to unlock exclusive items back in their virtual world on neopets.com.

Neopets Puzzle Adventure is the only multi-platform puzzle adventure console game based on the popular virtual, global community. For the Neopets fan, Neopets Puzzle Adventure is a must-have game with its intuitive “pick up and play” game play pattern and new never-before-seen areas in the Neopets universe to explore. Neopets Puzzle Adventure will incorporate several different mini-games, 150 petpets, as well as more than 300 items to equip various Neopet characters, recipes, treasures, awards and more.

The most noticeable change was how much tighter the experience felt. While jumping about in the previous build we'd played felt floaty and attacks didn't quite connect with the same precision we were expecting, it appears that Capcom has tweaked both previous complaints. The end result was a game that felt more like a classic 2D Street Fighter than before.

Street Fighter IV appears to be more than successful at presenting a pretty new package with familiar gameplay, something that should appeal more to lapsed fans than the bizarre line-up and defensive bent of Street Fighter III. If anything, IV plays it a bit too safe, with an all too familiar roster and no noticeable visual design updates to the Street Fighter II vets.

The new additions to the cast, however, add welcome variety.

Mexican wrestler El Fuerte seemed to be the most popular of the bunch, with a lightning quick, flashy move set. He's charmingly unpredictable, a character devoid of projectiles, much like the other new fighters. El Fuerte keeps opponents on their toes with a forward and backward dash, a clothesline-style charge move and a leaping leg grab.

The extremely tubby Rufus is what Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono calls a "joke character," a visual gag of round flesh with some disturbing body hair choices. He's surprisingly quick though, with a jumping hundred-hands punch a la E. Honda and a spinning vortex move that draws opposing fighters in for a beating.

Crimson Viper, the sexy super spy who would look right at home in the King of Fighters series, will probably be the easiest character for new players to grasp. She's certainly the flashiest, with a slickly animated pony tail, a sharp outfit and special moves that shoot flame and electric bolts.

The last new addition, Abel, will probably appeal most to the Zangief set. His style and stature reminds us of Street Fighter III's Alex though their move sets vary. Abel's attacks don't inherently seem that powerful, but his ability to grab players out of the air and deliver crushing combos will win him some hardcore fans.

Street Fighter IV may sound like it's been a bit dumbed down for the masses, but with Focus attacks, EX moves, Super attacks and Ultra combos all thrown into the mix, there's more than enough fighting strategy here for those who have the will to unlock it. If you just want to play it like Street Fighter II, however, you'll still walk away satisfied. Our biggest concern was with the ease with which one can pull of an Ultra combo, as the Revenge meter that powers it fills rapidly. It rewards offensive play and adds one hell of a light show to the game, but it feels potentially over the top.

There was a reason that there was a constant wait to get one's hands on the controls of Street Fighter IV at Captivate. It's the same reason that Capcom employees, whether they be developers, producers or executives were similarly glued to the cabinets—it's damn good, a blend of enjoyably new mechanics and classic nostalgia-filled gameplay. It's also fantastically animated, gorgeous in motion.

Going hands-on with the final, but somewhat bare bones arcade version of Street Fighter IV assured us of two things—that we're getting the console port on day one and dropping a dime on the arcade stick that Capcom is working on with a unannounced peripheral manufacturer. Perhaps with some alone time, something we didn't experience once at Captivate, we'll get a chance to see SFIV big bad boss Seth.

The story of Dark Void, if you aren't up to speed, is that our hero Will becomes trapped in the Void during a routine cargo flight that ventures a bit too closely to the Bermuda Triangle. Will and his compatriots, known as the Survivors, will battle a "mysterious alien race" known as the Watchers in order to save the Earth from (what else?) total destruction. Or something.

In addition to stock over the shoulder run and gun gameplay, Dark Void adds a few interesting tricks to the mix. Aerial ship-based combat, something that looks to please Crimson Skies fans, looks more than solid, as demonstrated by designer Jose Perez. He showed off the "skyjacking" of alien UFOs, classic saucer-style ships that can turn on a dime and be hijacked by Will without too much work. Using a rather simple mini-game, Perez showed how the player must avoid a UFO's security system while trying to access its control panel, ejecting the alien pilot and taking over.

Will can fly too, courtesy of a handy, Rocketeer-style jet pack, one that appears to be built (and further upgradeable) via alien technology. That jet pack not only gives him the opportunity to take flight to bypass traditional routes, it brings the "vertical cover combat" into play.

That mechanic can best be described by a 90-degree rotation of the player's axis of progression, as Will will take cover behind rocky ledges as he scales the side of a cliff, spaceship or building. It's pop-and-stop gameplay, with bursts of flight and a grip system that utilizes a mini-game to keep Will's hold on his surroundings steady.

Dark Void is still said to be at least a year off, with plenty of room for improvement and development beyond the brief portion we saw at Captivate. The team at Airtight have already ruled out multiplayer, something that may not sit well with gamers expecting that feature as a given—especially after they see the UFO combat and skyjacking gameplay.

We were pretty impressed with what we saw of Dark Void, despite some rather bland character design (that unfortunately reminded us of Haze in parts) and the lack of multiplayer modes, but with so much time left to get the thing right, we hope it stays on track. And we certainly look forward to getting our hands on the controller next time.

Bionic Commando's move into the third dimension looks to potentially present challenges on par with the original NES classic, bringing a rather complex mechanical arm-swinging mechanic (plus jumping!) into a more freely navigable 3D space. Add to that camera control that's totally up to the player and Bionic Commando could be seen as overly complex, a potentially rough 2D to 3D transition.

We're still hopeful despite that, for reasons we'll hopefully make clear.

GRIN has already implemented a rough tutorial system that aims to get gamers up to speed quickly. Players will learn the basics of claw usage, combat and more via quick tasks early on. Add to that visual cues that indicate the ideal moment to release your jump and where one should shoot their bionic claw, players may pick the mechanics up simply. Bionic Commando also does a bit of thankful fudging when it comes to zipping up and over platforms, making upward mobility less frustrating than in its retro namesake.

Visually, the new Bionic Commando is more than just impressive. Protagonist Nathan Spencer's dreadlocks wave believably in the breeze—a minor detail, yes—as does the transition from devastated city settings to lush forested areas—a more impressive feat artistically and technically.

At this stage in development, with a ship date still "TBD," combat feels unfinished. Spencer's powerful mechanical arm could launch bad guys into the air, but they floated oddly, something we hope (and assume) will be fixed in the final version. The ability to disable one half of a pair with the bionic arm while firing at another shows that combat has potential. That Spencer can lob, then spike cars at enemy soldiers might prove that GRIN has a bit of a sadistic streak.

In the end, there's a lot to like about the new take on Bionic Commando and an equal amount of concern. The game is extremely easy on the eyes, but potentially frustrating control still has a chance to get in the way of us fully enjoying it. It almost reminds us of Sega's Gunvalkyrie in a way, a title that was still enjoyable despite its faults. Fortunatley, GRIN's spin on Bionic Commando still has plenty of time to work out the kinks, hopefully letting the solid gameplay shine.

With five playable characters, each with their own unique traits, Bionic Games hopes that their Wii remote waggler will "provide players with a dynamic and fresh gaming experience like no other."

Unfortunately, Spyborgs wasn't available for hands-on play, so you'll have to settle for an introductory trailer devoid of gameplay and a press release to get a better perspective on what Capcom and Bionic Games are offering. We were treated to a hands-off presentation, however, getting a rough sense for Spyborgs' cartoonish sci-fi fisticuffs. In short, it may not look like much, but it has potential.

A NEW TEAM OF SUPERSPIES ROCKS Wii™ WITH CAPCOM’S SPYBORGS™
Saturday Morning Cartoons Explode to Life in This Revolutionary Wii Title

SAN MATEO, Calif. — June 3, 2008 ⎯ Capcom® Entertainment, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced Spyborgs™, a new action game coming exclusively to the Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo. In Spyborgs, players take on the role of a diverse team of five bionic superspies in a fight to save the world from a group of dastardly villains. Wii gamers will be set to save the world when the game launches in 2009.

The first title developed by Bionic Games™, a newly-formed development team comprised of former Insomniac Games and High Impact developers known for their work on hugely popular franchises Ratchet and Clank™ and Resistance: Fall of Man™, Spyborgs is a unique action-adventure game set in a stylish world that resembles a Saturday morning cartoon. Engaging players in team-based challenges designed to utilize 2-player co-op play, Spyborgs takes the theme of “team” to a whole new level of fun. In Single-player mode the “team” theme continues as players jump from one member of the superspies’ team to the next, rapidly tackling different challenges designed around each character’s unique abilities. Fast, addictive gameplay, unique controls offered by the Wii Remote™, and a storyline that refuses to take itself too seriously, Spyborgs will provide players with a dynamic and fresh gaming experience like no other

“Our goal is to maximize the potential of the innovative Wii Remote while delivering a new paradigm in cooperative game play,” said Michael Haller, president, Bionic Games, “We also wanted to bring a lot of humor to the game which we feel we have accomplished. This game will make you laugh — for all the right reasons.”
Players jump between the identities of a team of five bionic superspies to combat a rogue squad of wacky, dysfunctional super villains. Each character has unique powers to match their super-spy skills, such as heavy firepower, martial arts, bladed weaponry, acrobatic skateboarding skills or pure robotic destruction. This cast of characters may make a misfit group individually, but by utilizing them as a team, the Spyborgs will have the power to save the world – if they don’t blow themselves up first! Spyborgs’ tongue-in-cheek action and compelling interactive cartoon theme keeps players engaged from the first episode to the last with one of the most fun and entertaining games to be developed for the Wii system.

ABOUT BIONIC GAMES
Bionic Games, Inc. is an independent game development studio located in Hollywood, California. Bionic Games was formed specifically to bring the best talent together in order to create SPYBORGS for Capcom as the ultimate action/adventure experience on the Nintendo Wii. The studio pedigree includes leading artists, programmers and designers responsible for such mega-hit games such as RATCHET & CLANK, SPYRO, CALL OF DUTY, TONY HAWK, SHREK, LEGENDARY, SIMS, RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN and MEDAL OF HONOR

ABOUT CAPCOM
Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment for game consoles, PCs, handheld and wireless devices. Founded in 1983, the company has created hundreds of games, including best-selling franchises Resident Evil®, Street Fighter®, Mega Man® and Devil May C ry®. Capcom maintains operations in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Korea, with corporate headquarters located in Osaka, Japan. More information about Capcom can be found on the company web site, HYPERLINK "http://www.capcom.com/" \o "http://www.capcom.com/" www.capcom.com.

Capcom, the Capcom logo, Lost Planet, Resident Evil, Mega Man and Devil May Cry are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd., in the U.S. or other countries. Street Fighter is a registered trademark of Capcom U.S.A., Inc. Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2006 Nintendo. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

As Ono and crew already specified, the Street Fighter IV home conversion with feature characters not seen in the arcade version as well as online internet play. Ono stressed that the two characters not in the final arcade version who showed up in preliminary art form, Dan Hibiki and Fei Long, are not yet confirmed to appear in the console version. He told us that the team simply hasn't decided yet who will be added to the roster and that SFIV artist Daigo Ikeno "is still working on many designs."

As for what features we can expect, Ono often mentioned the SNES version of Street Fighter II, in its multiple incarnations, as something the team was striving to match. Maybe not in terms of feature set, but that they're hoping Street Fighter IV's home version will be as popular amongst console gamers as its '90s predecessor was.

Ono revealed that the home versions of Street Fighter IV may see the return of bonus levels, the kind that led to much car and barrel destruction in SFII. As for the arcade version, Ono says don't count on it. He chalks it up to capitalism, noting that due to the high cost of the SFIV arcade set up, time spent kicking steel drums or smashing in headlights is money out of arcade operators' pockets.

One other goody that the console and PC ports are expected to get are fully animated endings for each character. While the arcade version of Street Fighter IV features simple still frames—something Ono chalks up to budget limitations—the console follow ups will be packed with more cinematic endings, said to be produced by an unnamed, but famous anime studio.

Ono showed off one animated sequence early in the day, one that featured Ryu, Akuma, Ken and a man who appears to be Gouken in a dramatic battle rife with flashbacks and over the top attacks. The SFIV producer mentioned that this particular sequence was not going to be included in the final version, but was limited to media events, possibly to give us an understanding of how the final product will look.

Those anime-style port-exclusive clips will help flesh out the Street Fighter storyline, according to Ono, giving us insight into plot points such as the return of M. Bison.

Arcade purists will be happy to learn that Capcom plans to ship an "arcade perfect" controller in time with the console and PC versions. Ono revealed that they're already in talks with a peripheral maker in the U.S. to release an arcade accurate stick with a steel base plate, steel shaft and arcade style buttons, possibly bundled with a copy of the game.

For a look at the animation sequence we saw at Captivate 08, check out a few stills in the gallery below.

Our demo started with S.T.A.R.S. team member Chris Redfield in a crude cabin, watching as an angry, infected horde of locals passed by bearing clubs, axes and machetes. After the initial shock of seeing Resident Evil 5 being played for the first time, on an Xbox 360 we should note, it became clear that anyone familiar with Resident Evil 4 will feel right at home with this chapter.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, just that if you're looking for a revolutionary step forward in the gameplay department, a la RE3 to RE4, you might be left wanting. But we digress...

As the town villagers entered the cabin in which Chris was taking shelter, they began to behave almost exactly like their Resident Evil 4 predecessors, dodging fire with a familiar style and lunging after our hero eager to wrap their mutated mandibles around his head. Kawata, at the controls, spent a good portion of his hands-on time shaking off inhuman villagers with a rapid flick of the left analog stick. When Chris fired on the game's zombie-like enemies they took a bullet just like the Spanish villagers in 4, squirting copious amounts of blood then dissolving in a pile of bubbling black goo.

While the majority of the enemies Chris was battling were of the disposable villager type, he was being regularly harassed by a much larger hooded character wielding a giant hammer. Analogous to the giant ax-bearing Ganado from 4, it would knock down walls in houses and swat Chris to the ground like an insect. It's clear that Capcom knows that there was plenty to like about RE4 and doesn't appear to be mucking around with the new formula, from familiar enemies to a recognizable HUD.

What else is returning? When we talked to Jun Takeuchi later that day, he confirmed that the next Resident Evil wouldn't do away with the "quick time events" that peppered the successful fourth entry in the series. In fact, he said that we should expect more in the way of frantic button pressing, not less.

Takeuchi and Kawata then showed off a good portion of Resident Evil 5's outdoor environments, brightly and realistically lit, drenched in sunlight, with impressive draw distances. When Chris Redfield climbed to the top of a wooden structure, it seemed he could see for miles, the smoke from fires burning in the distance visible from all angles.

While Chris had the height advantage, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Kawata lobbed grenades—of the concussive and fire grenade type—showing off some of the graphical candy the team must be proud of. There's little to complain about in the visual department, as RE5 looks to favor stylized realism over gratuitous flash. Even with a relatively drab setting, the game doesn't suffer from too much brown, with blue skies and green tones making things pop.

There was a bit of cinematic flair thrown in as well, with camera angles switching up when Chris elbowed a zombie in the face or when he was thrown to ground, the latter giving us more of a worm's eye view of the action for a brief moment. As Chris took damage, he was also increasingly covered in spatters of blood and dirt, a good visual indicator of his vitals.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much in the way of the game's dark portions—areas seen in the trailer where Chris is holding a lantern—but Takeuchi told us that those scenes were more horror driven. The brightly lit sections were geared toward straight up action.

Our brief time with a hands-off playable certainly kept our interest in Resident Evil 5 piqued, as Capcom seems to be wisely sticking to much of the gameplay conventions set forth in RE4. Everything looks better with a new-gen coat of paint, with cool tweaks like a more kinetic over-the-shoulder camera and smoother animation—we especially liked seeing Chris swap out the numerous guns strapped to his back and hip—keeping our eyes entertained.

Takeuchi played coy about the majority of RE5's new features—he refused to talk about co-op gameplay or divulge any info on Sheva, but we expect to see much more at E3. What we saw, we definitely liked. We're hoping that they'll be a bit more open about the game the next time we see it, eager to learn more about how it plays and, hopefully, getting a chance to go hands-on with it ourselves.