It’s an unusual combination to find in the development of a game. Both skill sets would be served by Viklund’s own personal attachment to Bionic Commando, a love shared by others on the Grin/Capcom team behind the game. Conversations with Ben Judd — Capcom’s producer for both BCR and next year’s 3D version of Bionic Commando — and others close to the project revealed an attention to detail that bordered on obsession.

“At the time I think we just loved what we were doing,” Judd said. “We were all fans of Bionic Commando. Some of us have incredibly fond memories when we played it as kids. We didn't want to be lazy. We didn't want to be cheap. We wanted to give this title our best.”

Last week, Viklund and I had an in-depth discussion of the music. The talk was less about the mechanics of assembling it — he’s a classically trained musician and adept at several instruments, I’m not — but more the inspiration and memories behind it. The soundtrack is available for download both at iTunes and sumthingdigital.com (where listeners can also buy the original 8-bit soundtrack, and compare the two). More than just great music, it’s the guts of a legitimate remake, of something that honors a classic more than imitates it. And a look inside the minds of those who knew they were toying with nostalgia — including their own — for a beloved title, and felt a strong commitment to doing this the right way.

Judd remembers being in Sweden when Viklund was scoring the introductory music — that first screen, with the awe-inspiring “Let me tell you about the man I knew when I was still young,” and then the unmistakable tones of the Bionic Commando anthem soaring in over that. “Simon was trying to sync up the exact moment that the intro music comes thumping in, so that it worked well with the text,” Judd said. “It's that sort of planning that is what makes Bionic Commando: Rearmed so great. Not only did Simon mix together a great new version of the intro music but he timed every beat so that the text and the music would blend together for maximum impact.”

“Judging by Simon's face he put a lot of personal time into the project and well beyond the call of duty to make it the great game it became,” Judd said. “It really shows that everyone attached to the product loved the base material and wanted to make damn sure we paid it the proper respect it deserved.”

That’s awesome. [laughing]

I was running to it, on the treadmill. It cycled through to the theme, and I had that vision of Nathan "Radd" Spencer, running into the distance as I was poking along in my 10 minute mile on the treadmill. So, you have formal music training?

I played the violin when I was a little kid, and I am a classically trained pianist. Other than that, well, I taught myself to play the bass and the guitar, and I’ve done [remixing] electronic music on the computer since high school.

But you’ve studied music theory.

Yes, but not with the aim to become a composer.

You have called this game “a love letter to the entire side-scrolling genre and its fans.” Before we talk about the music in-depth, I’m curious how you came to feel that way about this project. Did you set out at the beginning to write this love letter, or was this a feeling that developed in you as moved forward with the project.

I think I knew from the beginning that this would be a project that would consume a lot of my time, that I would pour my heart into it. The original game is one of my favorites from the NES era. When I got the chance to become the creative director, I was like, “OK, we’re going to do this right, from the beginning.” Initially it wasn’t Grin that was supposed to do the remake. Although, or maybe because we were doing the sequel, Capcom were looking at other studios to do the sequels. It was more like a marketing tool, I guess. But it turned into something more, when it was decided that Grin and I were supposed to do the creative direction.

So you had a great affection for this game before coming on to direct it. How did you get that job?

I was asked, and I thought they were joking at first, because it was such an honor to be working with such great source material. Of course I was working with Capcom already as the lead sound designer on the 3D sequel. But to actually, hands-on decide where to take a game and make all the calls in design, that was awesome.

So it sounds like this was envisioned as something to build buzz for the commercial project due out in the coming year. But it also sounds like you went into this project to make a game that was far more than just advertising material, though.

Yeah, any remake, as long as it is faithful enough, it would have been a fun game in its own right anyway. But I don’t think there would have been as many features added into it without our ambition.

You mentioned you played this on 8-bit NES.

Actually throughout growing up, I’d bring this out on my old NES from time to time and play it.

So you knew the game front and back.

Oh yeah.

You knew the music, more to the point — you could hum it or recite it to yourself before you were brought into this project,

Oh yes, definitely. It’s something that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Sure, I think that’s why people are reacting the way they are to Bionic Commando. There is such a culture of nostalgia for video game music, and it presents a double-edged sword, because it’s already something that’s provoked a great emotional reaction in the people who played it. At the same time, you’re trying to update it, bring it into the future and make it relevant to times that are 20 years into the future with instruments that are 20 years into the future. Was it more an advantage to have the themes created ahead of time, or was it a disadvantage to be working with music that people had already cared about, deeply, for 20 years?

I’d say it was absolutely an advantage. The fear was there as well, because you’re messing with people’s nostalgia. Some people, I’ve read, hate BCR because they think it’s redone in the way they don’t think it should be redone. Most people seem to like it, which I’m happy to hear. But I could never have written that music. I’m not taking credit for all the raving reviews that the game gets, because we’re basing it off of something that has been done before. A lot of why people like the game and the music is because of the nostalgic factor. And that has nothing to do with me. I was eight years old, nine years old when the game came out. I can’t take credit for that. But it did help a lot.

So maybe you couldn’t have written these melodies, exactly, but could you have composed a soundtrack from scratch?

I suppose, but it would have taken a lot more time, with the melodies and the harmonies. I just took the source material and added my own flavor to it. That made it a lot easier.

Talking to Ben Judd, Capcom’s producer for this project, he said he wasn’t sold on techno or electronica as the theme or genre for the soundtrack. But he let you have creative space on it. His concern was that techno wouldn’t serve people’s memory of what the game was. How did you arrive at your decision to do the game’s soundtrack in that style, and how did you justify it as honoring the memory of the original Bionic Commando.

Listening to the original Bionic Commando soundtrack for the NES, you can interpret it in two basic ways: Either it’s just ... beep sounds, computer generated music of that age. Bringing that to the future would mean making electronic music, but how it sounds today. So, that was music the NES could make in 1988, and now we’re making it the way it can be made today, with the compressors and distortions, and you can add your own loops, and the way we make it today. Or, you could interpret the original music and try to emulate it with something else. And with the military theme of Bionic Commando, you can then make that into, real sounding, orchestrated military music. It can be more cinematic. And that’s how we interpreted the music for the 3D sequel, it’s a larger game, and it has these larger views and you have these huge outdoors areas, and it fits with a game that has these huge cinematic cut scenes. That’s the game where we would interpret the music as more orchestrated. For BCR, which has these bright colors, and a cartoonish look to it, I thought it would fit with something more dance, disco, techno music, for the visual style.

What was the first piece of music you worked with?

I started working on the Area 1 music. But I was so tired of that song, because I had written several interpretations of it for the 3D sequel. Before we went into full production, Capcom wanted to see a prototype, and for the prototype, I was planning to have the Area 1 music. But I realized I needed something new. I realized I needed to sink my teeth into another one of those tracks and interpret something else, just to get my inspiration flowing again. So I started with area 1 but I finished Area 5.

And that would be “Heat Wave.”

Yes, and then I went back and finished area 1, and I forget what the third one was ... I was so tired of Area 1. but when I got my inspiration back, it went pretty well, although the drum snares I had in the beginning, which are iconic in a way, they’re gone now. There’s a completely different melody going on at the beginning of Area 1, and then as soon as the drums kick in, you’re like “Ah, here’s the melody,” now it’s in there. So you get the two-stage rocket, when you arrive in the area for the first time, when you parachute in and you have all these graphics to take in, and then you leave some space in the music because you don’t recognize it until 20 seconds in, and that’s when the recognizable theme kicks in. So I thought people could get the graphics first and then the music kicks in.

Which theme posed the most creative challenge to you?

That would be “Power Plant.” (Area 8). That was one of those songs, I had the schedule that said this song is supposed to be written by this month, this song supposed to be written after that. And I was closing in on the time when I would have to have written the music for the Area 8 theme. And I wasn’t looking forward to it. I had no idea how to make a take on that one. I had The Crystal Method [a U.S. electronica duo] — for anyone who likes BCR, they should check them out — I did the Crystal Method take on Area 1 and 5, but for Area 8, I listened to the original NES track and realized I had to do something else. I was not looking forward to sinking my teeth into that.

Listening to the original, it looked like they were going for a blaring horn, almost like a siren, kind of opening to that. You came in, slowed down the pace a little ... it was an interesting redo, as opposed to a literal translation ...

When I listened to the original song, what I’m hearing is folk music, like Eastern European folk music, maybe accordions and stuff, some kind of a polka melody. The melodies are so awkward ... But I made a trip to the U.S. at the end of the summer, August 2007 to supervise the recordings of some voice acting, and I was standing in a Virgin Megastore, and they had some CD on display there, and it was this French group, disco- and funk-inspired house and techno. This duo called Justice. I listened to it and I was blown away. It was so cool. Usually, I’m more of a break beats guy, rather than a [emulates heavy “Zoolander” house beat] style, which I see as a modern take on polka, because it’s just 1-2-1-2, nothing happens really. I’ve seen that as uninteresting, maybe unfunky in a way. But now I thought this is something I can use, that kind of a groove for this take on the area 8 music. When I came back to Sweden, I had listened to the Justice CD a lot, and I used that inspiration to make “Power Plant.” After that I did the Area 12 song, which has the same kind of a vibe to it.

Did you see your job here more as honoring the original, or perfecting it?

In this project, we asked ourselves if the creators of the original NES title were making the game today with today’s technology, what would they do? Of course we realized that would be cooperative modes, and the ability to grab and throw around barrels, that’s how we came up with those ideas, and that’s how I approached the music as well. In the original, they had maybe three or four channels of sound. I have unlimited channels as of now, so, what about adding some melodies, and adding some layers of stuff, but not changing things around too much? But if you listen close enough, you’ll hear where I have missed some details, unintentionally and sometimes intentionally. It hasn’t changed a lot, but it’s more layers, of pads, and drums, and stuff.

Bionic Commando is notable — you even parody this in the trailer — for the fact your character can’t jump. It’s the feature that, by denying it, makes the game what it is. What is the musical equivalent of jumping?

Great question. For the longest time, it would have been guitars. There are guitars in the soundtrack, if you go into the secret tunnels — on the soundtrack it’s “Killt’s Hidden Treasures” — so I guess I sold out. [Laughs] Some people, the ones who don’t like techno, they wanted me to interpret the originals with rock guitars. If I was making interpretations of the Mega Man music, that’s guitars. But for BCR, either it’s symphonic military, or it’s techno, because it’s military and science-fiction themed. For the longest time I thought I wasn’t gonna do guitars in this game.

But it’s in there, subtly.

And also in a part of the game which not everyone will find. You don’t need to find these secret tunnels to complete the game.

Yeah, you buried it, literally.

[Laughing] True.

Which track did you work on the most? The track where you knew what you were doing, but you were working on it as a perfectionist.

“Heat Wave.” It was the first track that I finished, but it was also the one I came back to as I was working on the other songs. It was the last song I was fiddling with in the project. It was good enough to be released, as it was in the prototype, back in August 2007, but I kept coming back to that song and updating the mix, and the harmonies, up to the end of the project in the summer of 2008. The perfectionist in me kept coming back to that song and adding stuff, partly because I found new ways of mixing the songs and I had all these tricks that I was using that I discovered when I was doing the songs. So I kept coming back to Area 5 to update it, so that it would match the other songs.
If you could take a crack at any classic soundtrack —

I’d have to say Mega Man 2.

Nice choice, what theme is it you would want to remake in there?

I know all the bosses and their melodies by heart, but ... Flashman? I don’t know, it’s a tough choice. They’re really good melodies. But if I could choose just one song from any game, that would be the moon stage from Duck Tales.

Didn’t the same guy write both Bionic Commando and Duck Tales? [Note: This could not be verified.]

Actually, that was a girl. Her name was Gondamin. it was her handle, most of the creators back in the day had these secret names. They told me because the companies didn‘t want other companies to steal their talents. The gaming industry was so small back then. The good people were so hard to come by. They still are today.

So, should you be reaching for the hammer again?

LOVED

Fun – This game is fun. It’s as fun as you remember old side-scrolling beat em ups being, and then some. It can often be funny (when it’s not relying on gross-out jokes), and is always charming, from the teary-eyed sand monsters who guilt you for killing them to the heart-wrenching tale of a villain wedding gone bad and a love unrequited.

Good Looks – It may be under 150MB, and may only be going for 1200 MS points, but Castle Crashers is one of the best looking games on the 360. The game’s dripping with bold, vibrant colours, Dan Paladin’s art style has matured ten-fold and there’s both ingenuity and genuine humour to found in nearly all the character designs.

Depth – There’s a little more depth to Castle Crashers than your average, old-school side-scroller. Your character levels up as you progress, leaving you to assign attribute points in the fields of strength, magic, defence and speed. Not only does this let you tailor your character to your own play style, it lets you specifically upgrade your stats if you’re failing a stage or a boss fight because you’re too slow, or too weak. A wide variety of collectible weapons and animal sidekicks (who each give you a specific boost) to be found throughout the game also flesh the experience out.

Hack, Slash – I said “fun” before. The biggest contributor to that deserves its own spot. There’s a simple, fluid joy to Castle Crasher's combat. Button-mashers are catered for, as the game’s not terribly difficult, but a series of quick, easy combo moves are there for the more experienced player, as well as a satisfying magic attack that can be levelled up to become almost too powerful.

HATED

Rough Around The Edges – Castle Crashers has been a long time coming. It’s as though they spent the extra time polishing the art, music and extra bits, and forgot to fix some of the more important stuff. Like cheap enemy attack routines that can see you killed by an unavoidable onslaught of ranged attacks. And paper-thin characters you need to line up perfectly to register a hit on. And stage art that's too busy, resulting in enemies you can't see, and deaths you can't avoid. Or times when you finish 4 levels, quit, then restart to find the game only remembered you finished 2 of them.

Online? Try Offline – The game supports 4-player online co-op. Or, least it says it does. I spent all weekend trying to play a game with no luck. Not a single connection. A patch is promised, and should hopefully improve things, but it stings when a game built around the premise of co-op good times doesn’t let you play any (online, at least) co-op.

This is one of those times when it’s important to remind you that our loved/hated sections aren’t points. A game shouldn’t be judged on how many pros there are vs the number of cons. Because I absolutely adore Castle Crashers. It's bright, it's happy, it's simple, it's fun. It is, much like Bionic Commando was last month, a text book example of how you take a tired, decades-old game style and make it great again.

They just need to get these online problems fixed. Soon, if at all possible.

Castle Crashers was developed by The Behemoth, and published by Microsoft. Released on August 27 on Xbox Live Arcade. Priced at 1200 Microsoft Points. Reviewed on Xbox 360. Played to completion of main storyline. Unable to connect to online multiplayer.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Publisher Deep Silver had to recall the copies because of a printing error that left the game distributed without CD keys (that detail comes via Blue's News forums, which also have claims that some retailers are listing the game's new release as Sept. 15).

Now, obvious question, WTF about getting it via Steam? Hrm. Steam says it's available Sept. 6 — think rationally, what are the odds something goes out digitally before its commercial release? So consider that a moving target date that only means "not Sept. 5."

In the end, it's some bona fide facepalm when a game is delayed a second time (original date was supposed to be Friday) and then called back because of a printing error.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky Delayed Again, Recalled from North American Retailers [Shacknews]

The game opens on the game's four characters at ground zero two weeks after the rise of the zombies. Left 4 Dead will have a short introduction, created by the team behind the Team Fortress 2 cut-scenes, but that will be the only cut scene gamers will see in Left 4 Dead.

Instead the story will be told through the game's more than 8,000 lines of dialog and the occasional messages scrawled on the walls of the game's maps, said Valve's Chet Faliszek.

And the games plentiful dialog (Half-Life 2 only had 2,500 lines) isn't meant to be experienced the first time through, or even the fiftieth. The dialog is selected by the specific situation, so it could be weeks or months before a gamer stumbles upon a particular line which might shed a bit more light on the character's back stories.

The team decided to not include cut-scenes because Left 4 Dead is a game meant to be played over and over again and they believed the cut-scenes would quickly become tiresome.

"We didn't want to have the game game gummed up with a story line," Faliszek said. "We wanted to keep it really clean and tight. A zombie apocalypse."

"It's about killing zombies, not some fable on the reconstruction of humanity."

The fact that a map will be replayed so many times also gives the developers a bit more license for how they get the story across. They can allow gamers to pull their own experience out of the game, instead of pushing a story at them.

"You're going to play a map 50 to 100 times so we can be more subtle," he said.

After launch, once players have had plenty of time with the four scenarios of five maps each, the developers will likely release new scenarios, Faliszek said. Valve just wants to make sure anything they release and sell for the game will have real value.

"We don't want to give you horse armor," he said.

If you missed anything, peruse our massive catalog of updatage, a reference guide to everything we've written from the show updated throughout each day. If you'd prefer to "feel" Games Convention through the power of interpretive dance, we got you covered there, too.

Game Impressions
New Dead Space Hands-On Impressions
Killzone 2 Multiplayer Hands On - Five Good Things
The Witcher Enhanced Edition - What A Difference A Year Makes
Fracture Multiplayer - The View From Germany
Golden Axe: Beast Rider Impressions Of Excessive Brown
Left 4 Dead To Follow Portal, TF2's Example
Runes Of Magic - More Than A WoW Clone
MadWorld Isn't Just About Throwing People Into Walls Of Spikes, Y'know
Heavy Rain: You're Soaking In it
Dead Rising Wii - How Gimped It Is
Hands-On: Losing The Twin Towers With Invaders!
The House of the Dead Overkill Impressions Of Delicious Gore
Beer Goes Well With Guitar Hero: World Tour
Hands On With Street Fighter IV 360
Web Of Shadows Hands On - Spider-Man Reborn
Dark Void - Have Jetpack, Will Travel
MK vs. DC: Hands On With The Joker
Grand Theft Auto IV For PC Eyes-On
H.A.W.X. Aces Air Combat
inFamous - Sucker Punch's Electrical Outlet
Far Cry 2 Map Editor Makes Map Editing Easier
Bayonetta Impressions: What Deadly Hair You Have!
StarCraft II: Hands-On With The Zerg
Wipeout HD One-Year Anniversary Impressions
Star Wars: Clone Wars - Saber Rattling
The Chronicles Of Spellborn: A Different Kind Of MMORPG
Diggin' Lode Runner XBLA At Games Convention

Game Announcements
What's In SingStar: Queen Anyway?
Naruto: Ultmate Ninja Storm Getting Day One DLC
Silent Hill Homecoming Coming to Steam in September
Buzz!: Brain Bender announced for PSP
'SingStar: Singalong With Disney' Announced For PS2, Exclusive to PAL Territories
SCEE announces VidZone Service For PS3
EyePet Brings Virtual Monchichis To PlayStation 3
GH: World Tour Wii Gets Mii Freestyle, Air Drums
Konami Sheds Light On Lords Of Shadow
Wonder Woman, Raiden Two Of Four New Kombatants
House Of The Dead Overkill Beats The Shit Out Of Grooming A Horse
EA Sports Adds Tennis To '09 Line Up, Snags Wimbledon Rights
BioShock Brings Challenge Rooms to PS3, Coming Oct. 21, Oct. 24

Interviews
Blizzard Is Tired Of You Asking When StarCraft II Will Be Done
Brian Bright On Guitar Hero: World Tour - We're Bringing It
PS3 World Tour Rock Band Compatible
Only The Barbarian Will Return In Diablo III

News
Left 4 Dead Box Art To Change? "Stay Tuned"
Artists Pulls 9/11 Invader Exhibit from Games Convention
LBP's User-Generated Content Is Region-Locked? Huh?
Taito Considering Legal Action Againt 9/11 Invader Artist
Guinness World Records Set At Leipzig GC
Killzone 2 Adds Multiplayer Bot Action
The Activision Presser, With Special Guest German Guy
Get A Good Look At The New PSP-3000
Konami's GC 2008 Presser - Here's What Happened
GC Presser Round Up: Sony
Artist Explains WTC Space Invaders Exhibit at Games Convention
Space Invaders Attack World Trade Center At Games Convention
PS3 Wireless Keypad Ships This Holiday Worldwide
New Official Details, North American Date For PSP 3000
Meet Your Sexy New Red Alert 3 Cast
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune 160GB PS3 Priced, Dated for North America
Warhawk Jet Packs, Crash Commando, Savage Moon Invade Sony PSN
PS3 Firmware Update Lets SingStar Owners Rip PS2-Only Tracks [Update]
Heavy Rain Gets Public Showing At Games Convention
PlayStation 3 160GB Model Coming To Europe
PlayStation 3 Controller Getting Wireless Keypad
Sony Announces New PSP Model
Gary Oldman Answers Call of Duty
Sims 3 Will Be Out In February 2009
Rumor: Sony To Debut EyeToy Play 2 At Leipzig
Unless You're Nintendo, Game Consoles Are Expensive
Frenchies Bust Into Sony Presser Rehearsal, Spoilers Ahead
PC Gaming a $10.7 Billion Industry
Here's What EA Is Bringing to Leipzig
Street Fighter IV Console Debut At Leipzig GC!
360 Gets Improved Controller, But Only For A Limited Time
Family of 9/11 Victims Tear into Space Invaders Exhibit
PSP-2001 vs PSP-3000
No 160GB PlayStation 3 For You, Australia
Team Fortress 2 Updates Coming To Xbox 360 Later This Year
Invaders! Indeed No Longer Playable At GC 08
The GC Adventure Comes To A Close
David Perry's Keynote: Sony Will Never Make Money on the PS3
Leipzig GC Sets New Attendance Record
Don't Worry, Red Alert Fans, Jenny McCarthy Is Apparently A "Badass" Tanya
Behold, Leipzig's Best In Show
Leipzig Games Convention Dated For 2009... And That's Final!

Videos
MK vs. DC: Joker Will Shoot You In The Face
Games Convention As Interpretive Dance
New Dark Void Trailer Talks Vertical Cover
New Wheelman Walkthrough Shows Early Mission and Lots of Car Crashing
Midway Releases New Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Teaser
Tyranids Eat Space Marines In Dawn of War 2 Trailer
First Real Pro Evo 2009 Gameplay Footage
Prince of Persia Gameplay Walkthrough
The First Lords of Shadow Trailer
New MadWorld Trailer Is Mad As Ever
See Your Sexy New Red Alert 3 Cast
Far Cry 2 Map Editor Looks Absolutely Amazing
Debut FIFA 09 Trailer
New Killzone 2 Multiplayer Trailer
A New Perfect World International Trailer
Capcom Releases New Resident Evil 5 Trailer
Something Wicked This Way Comes, A New Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince Trailer
New Mirror's Edge Gameplay Trailer Shows Free Running Acrobatic Insanity
Watch The Heavy Rain Gameplay Trailer
Midway Releases New Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Teaser
New Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Cinematic Trailer
Own The City That Never Sleeps in This is Vegas!
New Fracture Walkthrough Talks About Multiplayer
A Look at Mercenaries 2: World in Flames "Zero Rules" Co-Op Play
New Jumpgate Evolution Trailer Shows Intersteller Greatness
Mechanical Arm Swinging Goodness in Bionic Commando Trailer
This Time, Decapitate Zombies With Your Wii-mote

Screens
Sexy New WipEout HD Screens
New Red Faction Guerrilla Screens
New RACE Pro Screens
New Mortal Kombat vs DC Screens
New Lego Batman Character Announced, Batgirl!
Will Diablo III Be Playable At BlizzCon?

Booth Babes
It's Not Games Convention Until The Stripper-Mobile Arrives
Aion Booth Babe Feeling Blue
Sega Sexes Up Samba De Amigo For Games Convention
Age Of Conan Does Booth Babes Right

Culture
GC Stories - A Light In The Darkness
Games Convention's Most Ignored Games
Sega Wins Kotaku's Coveted "Best Press Kit Of Games Convention" Award
Cosplay Runs Rampant At Games Convention
Wanna Play SOCOM At Games Convention? On Your Knees, Boy!
Lunchtime At Games Convention 2008
Germany - Ich Leibe Es!
Where Old Promo Statues Go To Die
And Then They Started Breakdancing...

Pre-Show Updates
No PS3 Price Cut At Leipzig
No Leipzig Press Conference From Microsoft
Nintendo Not Attending Leipzig This Year
Games Convention 08 Is Press Conference Central
Blizzard Unveiling Lich King cinematic, Details at Leipzig
Age Of Conan Invades GC
Sega's GC Line Up - Sonic, Samba, And Surprises
Headstrong's Secret Sega Title To Get Leipzig Outing
1C's Games Convention Line-Up Featuring Playable Theater of War 2
Dragon Age Visits Gen Con Indy, GC, PAX
Paradox Interactive At GC - Project Mayhem?
Video Games Live Brings Crysis Music Home
Why Gears of War 2 Won't Be At Leipzig
Deep Silver At Games Convention 2008
What's EA Bringing To Games Convention?
Early Images From Games Convention 2008

Too Human set out to be epic and it delivered on at least one level: Denis Dyack's painfully personal reaction to the previews and reviews made for a soap opera drama of epic proportions on gaming forums and websites international. But what about the game, did it deliver on the same epic level as Dyack's wounded ego?

Loved:
May I Have This Fray?: Too Human is a button masher free of button mashing. That's one of the things the action title does so well. Initially, playing with very few button pushes is strange, even unnerving. But as you master the art of double thumbstick combat, the rolling dungeon brawls become more about spacing, tactics, timing, then they do about tapping A over and over again. Combat becomes almost terpsichorean as you slip from attacker to attacker, unloading powerful blows that some times launch them through the air.
Bountiful Armor and Weapons : Too Human is packed to the gills with different weapons and armor, hundreds of thousands of them. While the Too Human naming convention can result in some pretty goofy titles, the sheer volume is a role-playing gamers fantasy. Throw into the mix that each looks quite unique, that you can collect sets, and the fact that you can augment almost everything with Runes and you turn equipping almost into a mini-game.
Unique World: Silicon Knights' blending of Norse mythology with cyberspace initially comes off as a bit hackneyed (especially when you're introduced to a seemingly random taste of Beowulf), but it grows on you. The concepts are all solid, and some are even sublime, like the body snatching Valkyries and robot goblins, trolls and dark elves. It's a peculiar take on a familiar world that doesn't try to take center stage to the game but still manages to slightly bewilder you in its delivery.
Diverse Skills and Alignment Trees:Running there right along side that mammoth, almost never-ending selection of weapons, armor and runes, are the ever branching skill and alignment trees. Each of the five classes in the game have more than a dozen skills to choose from and build up, running along different paths. Players are also asked to choose an alignment a bit into the game, giving them another nine skills to work on. It's all lends itself to a high level of customization in the way you want to play the game and plenty of tweaking, almost reminiscent of a pen and paper RPG.

Hated:
I'm a God Not A...:Mountain climber, or hiker, or guy who likes to walk anywhere that isn't strictly defined in the game. Come on! Baldur is a God, why can't he walk the less traveled path? It's down right annoying that I can't make my way though a collection of shrubs in the middle of a map, but that each of this god's mighty leaps results in the sound of rolling thunder.
Graphic Glitches: When I played through the preview of Too Human I was struck by how beautiful the game can look at times, but I was more struck by how many graphic glitches and annoying little visual and audio bugs there were in the game. Then when I received the review code I saw much of the same issues, so I waited for the retail code. Guess what? Still there.
CyberWTF: I get what Silicon Knights is going for and in many ways I like it. The modernization of an ancient mythology is very tantalizing and gives gamers a lot of meat to chew on. But the element of cyberspace, however good it might look on paper, feels like a time-fluffing waste. Instead of opening a door I have to go to a well, walk twenty steps, push a button, walk back, leave the well and open a door. I'm sure the developers will better explore this concept in future games, but that's no reason to punish gamers now.
Epic Confusion: Too Human sets itself out to be an epic tale, one so vast it needs to be told in three games. I buy that and actually can't wait to dive into the second game. But the first felt like a plunge into the middle of a story that I wasn't even sure I wanted to care about yet. This sort of starting in the middle approach might work for some, but Silicon Knights just doesn't have the chops to pull it off. The result is a storyline so convoluted that a gamer's initial pass is likely to leave them more confused than caring.
Character Development: If you want to sell a game with its story you have to make characters people care about. In Too Human the main characters are so flat, so underdeveloped that it's hard to feel anything when they start dropping like flies. The same can be said for game lead Baldur, who with a complex back story and conflicting motives should be someone you easily empathize with. But that connection never seems to happen.
Multiplayer: When is multiplayer co-op not multiplayer co-op? When it's delivered in bite-sized chunks that strip out the cut-scenes and plot. Multiplayer gaming is supposed to be about the act of mutual discovery, experiencing something together. But the fact that characters of any level, no matter how disparate, can make their way through the game in any order they want turns the experience into more of a treasure hunt than voyage.

The most exciting part of Too Human is its ending. That's not meant to be a back-handed compliment. I'm not saying I relished not playing the game anymore. I'm talking about that final cut scene, one that delivers more hope, more possibility than almost all of Too Human managed to muster in its relatively short play through. The fact that it excited me, though, also means that over the course of the game I guess I grew to like Too Human and become a bit fond of its idiosyncrasies. I'd hate to suggest a game based on what it's sequel might deliver, but that's what I'm doing.

The absurdly diverse reaction Too Human is more a product of expectation than any major flaw in game design. Sure it could have used some more polish and this first game in a trilogy, perhaps, should have kicked off at a more interesting point in the overarching story, but it wasn't a bad game.

Too Human, developed by Silicon Knights, published by Micrsoft Game Studio and released Aug. 19 for the Xbox 360. Retails for $59.99. Played through single-player campaign using review code once and final, boxed retail code once. Played through more than two chapters in multplayer matches.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

That’s not to say Madden NFL 09 is a failure or a warmed-over roster update. It is by any objective measure the best version of the game since Madden ‘05, which was the game’s apotheosis on 2nd-generation consoles. Madden 09’s outstanding presentation will please lifelong adherents, and its remarkably accurate replay analysis will educate newcomers and encourage those returning to the series. Foundationally, this version begins the title's next generation. But in gameplay, it takes safe but incremental steps toward the classic, impossible goal of a sports title: Creating realistic competition that is challenging yet winnable. If you are not an experienced player, Madden ‘09 skews toward winnable, but it doesn’t leave you feeling like you played your best.

Loved:
Backtrack: A mistake play brings up an animated breakdown that points out the error you made and exposes the alternatives you had. It’s remarkably accurate for a first effort. A sports simulation really shines when it teaches people something about the game as it is played in real life. Madden ‘09 has always led that effort, and takes another strong step forward with this feature.

Rewind: As a single-player device only, this is a great addition. Rewind allows you a do-over for one particularly egregious play (or more, depending on your settings). Its purpose is to save perfectionists from themselves and keep them playing the game rather than starting over.

Improved ball-running controls: Beginning this year, when a tackle animation starts you can lay on the buttons or the right stick to spin, stiff-arm or sprint loose from the tackle. In time you’ll develop your own go-to set of control choices. Fighting for your yards is a rewarding feeling and deepens the game’s authenticity.

Cris Collinsworth: Widely considered the class of NFL analysts, he is no less than that on Madden 09. His familiar, natural delivery is a part of every play and it matches well with the onfield action. Collinsworth will also startle you with his accuracy in the Backtrack commentary, especially when he says you were staring at a single receiver the entire time. Collinsworth, in substance and style, is more than a good analyst. He’s an upgrade from Madden himself.

Presentation: When the franchise calendar hits November you’ll play with long shadows under foot and leaden skies overhead, and it lends a different quality of light to the turf and the stadium surroundings, especially when the lights are on at twilight. After four quarters of rain, your uniform will be unidentifiably filthy. All it lacked was dirt clods in your face mask. In post-play animations players help each other up, swoop to and run with dislodged balls after the whistle, or shove and jaw at one another. All of these things extend the immersive experience striven for and built on in previous versions of the game.

Hated:
Adaptive difficulty: I don’t literally hate the concept, certainly don’t think it should be stripped from future versions, but I’m not sold yet on the idea that Madden 09’s AI really adapts to your skills. Online single matches tended to come down to the final two series and not a one of them came close to being the kind of well played epic you imagine when the game is decided on the final drive or in overtime. It’s like the football equivalent of a “My kid is a terrific kid” bumper sticker. The diagnostic tests that set your “Madden IQ” at the beginning of the game are way, way too easy. My original tests put me as an all-Madden level runner and I am nowhere near it. You’re inevitably starting the game overrated in one or more categories, and failing at it to bring your AI down to a more reasonable level is both time consuming and not fun. You’re better off sandbagging your diagnostics and letting your Madden IQ rise and fall according to your in-game performance, or just playing on its standard pre-set difficulties. In conversation, online gamers to a man expressed no confidence in or understanding of how Madden IQ either moved or affected gameplay beyond anecdotal assumptions.

Tom Hammond: The new play-by-play man is not at all natural in this environment. The substance of his call is very generic, routinely omits players’ and team names, and his tone is almost always mismatched to the play or the circumstance. Even the between-plays endorsement of EA Sports is off. He needs work, because right now he sounds like C3PO.

Artificial Stupidity: This is nothing new, and is perhaps more of a concern for singleplayer than multiplayer. But the offensive line’s AI is still, year after year, utter crap. Draw plays and screen passes are useless, making obvious passing downs even more obvious. Defenses are helpless against the slant route. But the game really is long overdue for better offensive line play. I would have no problem if the Madden 10 cover boy was Alan Faneca or Matt Light or Jeff Saturday and the game touted revolutionary offensive line AI and pre-snap adjustments, which seem entirely gratuitous as of now. But linemen don’t sell video games.

Madden ‘09 offers to date the most inclusive experience ever for a sport so complex and inscrutable as American football. But it’s based entirely on execution, when so much of the game is about decision-making before the snap. The game has always been given to information overload and a myriad of choices that lack context. Still, longtime gamers have coped with that for years, developing their own systems; neophytes won’t really care and will accept the spoonfeeding; and those coming back to the series after a few years will get a warm welcome from the game’s AI and find strong value for their dollar.

But you get what you give to this game, and if you are expecting Sunday afternoon realism, you still need to give a lot to help create that experience.

Madden ‘09, developed by EA Tiburon, published by EA and released Aug. 12. Retails for $59.99. Versions available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP. Reviewed on Xbox 360. Played singleplayer franchise mode for a complete season into the playoffs and played online multiplayer single-game mode.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

So. Considering this is a remake of a twenty year-old game, is it worth all this fuss? Worth your time? Your money?

LOVED

Faithful – This is your father’s Bionic Commando. You’re still swinging between platforms in a 2D world, you’re still playing through a bad 80's action movie (which is good), there still aren’t many games that can really nail the joy you get from stringing together a series of perfect hook-shots to traverse a tricky sequence of ledges.

Spit & Polish - While it plays like your father’s Bionic Commando, it doesn’t look like it. The locations and designs will appear familiar to fans of the series, what won’t be familiar is how great the game looks with ragdoll characters, hand-drawn backgrounds and a warm haze that makes the whole thing look like it’s been dipped in sweet, delicious caramel.

Love – This is no cheap update, knocked out for the sake of a quick buck. There’s love in this project, a genuine drive to update both the feel of the game and the spirit. From the delightful banter between Spencer and Haley to the intercepted chats between the bumbling imperial troops, we’re presented with a game that not only captures the mechanics of a simpler time, but also the - pardon the misty-eyed reminiscing - innocence.

Bang For Buck – For your $10/$15, you get the core Bionic Commando game. Which is no slouch, especially on Hard. Then consider it’s a gorgeous game with a classy soundtrack. Then consider it’s got both co-op and deathmatch multiplayer (though these are offline-only). Then consider that, unlike the original, Rearmed has over 50 “challenge rooms” that play out like Portal/speed run puzzles, and you’ll realise that you’re getting a lot of game for your money.

HATED
Faithful – Nostalgia’s great, but when you’re recreating a game from 1988, we can do without the shitty parts. Anyone who hasn’t played the original will wonder why a super soldier, capable of superhuman feats, can’t...jump. Not even to get over a small barrel. And anyone who has played the original will wonder why the swinging collision mechanics are still so woeful, leading to many frustrating and unnecessary deaths during the game’s trickier platforming sections.

Digital Controls – We reviewed the game on the 360 (though we have also played it on PS3). And by God, Street Fighter aside there’s never been a game to make you hate the console’s awful d-pad as much as this one. You will die, and die often, because the mashy pad sends your arm in a direction you don’t want it to go. If you own both consoles, you’ll want the PS3 one, just for this (that and the PS3 version's a tiny bit slicker).

You really should go get this. Get it because it's a polished, challenging experience, which is one of the best downloadable titles (at least on console) we've yet seen. Get it because it takes the soul of a classic game, yanks it out of the grave and puts it in a sexy new body. Get it because Capcom deserve to be rewarded for not just re-releasing a classic, but releasing it in a way that, twenty years on, once again makes it relevant.

Bionic Commando Rearmed was developed by GRIN & Capcom, and published by Capcom. Released on August 13 on Xbox Live Arcade, August 14 on PlayStation Network & PC. Priced at 800 Microsoft Points/USD$10 on console, USD$15 on PC. Reviewed on Xbox 360. Played to completion of main storyline.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Is Braid worth your time?

Loved
Thrilling Mechanics. Braid is a puzzle game in platformer's clothing. Platforming difficulty is rendered nil with the game's rewind control, performed via the X button, giving you endless attempts to perfect jumps and landings. We don't want to talk much about the game's varying timeplay, which varies through each of the game's six levels, because discovering and coming to grips with each spin on how time can be manipulated is part of what makes Braid so refreshing. Talking too much about how Braid plays is spoiler-worthy in our opinion.

Amazing Puzzles. Challenging, sometimes maddening, but incredibly rewarding, Braid's expertly crafted puzzles may make your jaw drop with their ingenuity. You'll also likely find yourself similarly stunned with your own genius, as you're forced to rethink how video games can be played and root out your own solutions to Braid's obstacles.

Gorgeous Presentation. Braid's painted environments, its cloudy hub world and dark basement dwellings are metaphorically suited for the game's heavy plot. With the Xbox Live Arcade library choked with bright neon visuals and retro stylings, Braid stands apart from the crowd with its unique visuals. The game's music and sound effects are beautifully warped by its time rewinding mechanics. Some of the prose may not agree with you, but its well written and easy to digest.

Hated
Braid Ends. You can expect to do everything you can do with Braid in about six hours, including completing the game and finding all of its puzzle pieces — not the easiest task. There's a speed run option that unlocks after you've completed the game, but there's not much left to explore when you've run through all six worlds. Consider this negative a roundabout positive, as we'd have loved to explore Braid's mechanics even further. Braid's heartbreaking ending (or beginning) makes the culmination of the experience that much sadder.

Get Braid. Get it now. Don't even think about the cost. Like the under-appreciated Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, it can be played and enjoyed in a group setting, as the game's puzzles will require one to modify one's perspectives on the genre. It's not only one of the best games to hit Live Arcade, it's one of the best games we've played all year.

Braid was developed by Number None Inc. and published by Microsoft. Released on August 6th on Xbox Live Arcade. Priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15 USD). Played to completion.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

They'll also be showing off a range of family-friendly DS titles, including their Let's Play line (Let's Play Teacher, Let's Play Vet...Let's Play Doctor, perhaps?), along with two pet sims from Game Life - Horse Life and Baby Life. Okay, so a baby isn't technically a pet. They'd just be much more enjoyable if you treated them as such. "Honey, did you let the baby out?" See? Much more entertaining. Hit the jump for more details on Deep Silver's line up!

Deep Silver & Partners at the Games Convention 2008

Larger exhibition spaces in the exhibition hall and the Business Center

Deep Silver & Partners are presenting a broad range of different games for every taste at the Leipzig Games Convention 2008. From long-awaited action RPGs to thrilling adventures, from the fantastic Japanese RPGs to dark RPG first-person shooters, from educational handheld games for a young audience to challenging strategy games – Deep Silver and its Partners will offer all of this to the visitors of the Games Convention 2008.

On each day of the convention, there will be live presentations with the game developers, trailers and video shows as well as numerous other surprises that will take place at Deep Silver's exhibition booth, on an area of over 440 sqm (approx. 4736 sq.ft), which is even larger than in the previous year.

Visitors can experience the following titles at the Deep Silver booth in Hall 3, Booth A02:

Cursed Mountain: For Wii™ only: The survival horror game that takes place in the Himalayas gives the ultimate thrill. The presentation at the Deep Silver booth will give visitors a chill – guaranteed! (Action adventure; Wii) Publisher: Deep Silver

Secret Files 2 – Puritas Cordis: The second part of the Secret Files series (Adventure; PC) Publisher: Deep Silver

Risen: The developers of the Piranha Bytes team will be on stage in several presentations to answer questions about their new RPG hit. Publisher: Deep Silver

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel: The sequel to the most successful German role-playing game of all time (Action RPG; PC, PS3, Xbox 360) Publisher: Ascaron Entertainment / Deep Silver

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky: A unique blend of action-packed first-person shooting and complex role-playing against the backdrop of the contaminated zone surrounding the Chernobyl power plant (FPS; PC) Publisher: GSC Game World / Deep Silver

X³: Terran Conflict is a brand new, stand-alone game set in the universe of X³. It is the culmination of the X trilogy, with a grand finale that takes us all the way back to Earth's own solar system. (space strategy; PC) Publisher: Deep Silver

Deep Silver will be presenting exciting new games for young gamers at a separate booth in the children's area, Hall 2, Booth K12:

Let's Play range: Titles such as Let's Play Teacher, Let's Play Vet, and Let's Play Fashion Designer (Nintendo DS) Publisher: Deep Silver

Horse Life 2: The sequel in the horse simulation series, exceptional in both visuals and game-play (Nintendo DS) Publisher: Game Life / Deep Silver

Baby Life: In Baby Life the player takes care of its own, unique baby. As a parent your task is to help the baby grow from 9 months until it is 15 months old. (Nintendo DS) Publisher: Game Life / Deep Silver

More information and current news on Deep Silver and its partners is available from the website http:/live.deepsilver.com.

So yes, we've had to wait a bit, but look on the bright side; the PC version of the new content is free, my favorite price point next to "we'll give you $20 to take it off our hands", which is usually reserved for items carrying ancient gypsy curses.

Free Downloadable Content Now Available for Mass Effect PC
“Bring Down the Sky” Expands the Mass Effect Adventure

EDMONTON, Alberta—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), has announced that “Bring Down the Sky,” the first piece of downloadable content for the award-winning space epic Mass Effect™, is now available for PC gamers to download free1 of charge.

Fully optimized for the PC, “Bring Down the Sky” is the first in a series of planned downloadable content that will further expand the Mass Effect story and universe. It includes a new uncharted world that introduces the deadly Batarian alien race, approximately 90 minutes of new gameplay and an original soundtrack. Instructions on how to download and install the new content is available at http://masseffect.bioware.com/downloadablecontent/. “Bring Down the Sky” is currently available for international languages including English, Spanish, Italian and German, with additional language versions coming soon.

The storyline for the new content begins as Batarian extremists have hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Only Commander Shepard can save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly descent.

Originally released for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system, “Bring Down the Sky” has received critical acclaim as one of the “must have” downloadable expansion packs. Mass Effect has also received critical acclaim throughout the world with more than 80 awards including Console Game of the Year and Role-Playing Game of the Year, with the PC version achieving several perfect 10/10 scores and an overall review average of over 90%2 (http://masseffect.bioware.com/previewsawards/).

PC gamers can download and install “Bring Down the Sky” by simply launching their registered copy of Mass Effect for the PC and following the instructions at the launch screen. For more information about Mass Effect, please visit www.masseffect.com.

Innocent Aces [Dengeki Online via Game|Life]

Crystal Sky is currently involved in producing the Tekken movie, a film that we just had our first peek at. We can only imagine that the Pac-Man flick won't be targeting the over-12 demographic, but desperately hope for something live action and thoroughly awful.

Crystal Sky signs $200 million deal [Variety]

Sony reveals "summer" launch for Go!View [GamesIndustry.biz]

First Downloadable Content Free with Mass Effect PC EDMONTON, Alberta—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), has announced that "Bring Down the Sky," the first piece of downloadable content for the award-winning space epic Mass Effect™, will be available for PC gamers to download free1 of charge when Mass Effect for the PC releases on May 28, 2008 in North America and June 6, 2008 in Europe.

Fully optimized for the PC, "Bring Down the Sky" is the first in a series of planned downloadable content that will further expand the Mass Effect story and universe. It includes a new uncharted world that introduces the deadly Batarian alien race, approximately 90 minutes of new gameplay and an original soundtrack.

Batarian extremists have hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Only Commander Shepard can save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly descent.

Originally released for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system, "Bring Down the Sky" has received critical acclaim as one of the "must have" downloadable expansion packs. Mass Effect has also received critical acclaim throughout the world with more than 80 awards including Console Game of the Year and Role-Playing Game of the Year.

The "Bring Down the Sky" downloadable content for PC will be available at the launch of Mass Effect for the PC, and will be free of charge to registered BioWare community members.

"Our intention to deliver the game simultaneously worldwide is both a challenge and big responsibility to the many fans of the game around the globe. We are looking forward to achieve this ambitious goal in August." - said Sergiy Grygorovych, GSC World Publishing CEO.

GSC World Publishing and Deep Silver announce planned release date for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky

Game will be released on August 29, 2008

Basingstoke, England - 27th of march 2008 - GSC Game World, computer games developer, its publishing subdivision GSC World Publishing and Koch Media, a leading marketer of video games, today announced the planned release date for the title S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky. According to the agreed plan, the game will ship August 29, 2008 worldwide. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky will be published by the games labels Deep Silver and GSC World Publishing.

"The topic of the release date for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky has created a lot of interest among gamers, press and fans. We're pleased to announce an exact date for this highly anticipated game now," said Craig McNicol, Managing Director of Koch Media.

"Our intention to deliver the game simultaneously worldwide is both a challenge and big responsibility to the many fans of the game around the globe. We are looking forward to achieve this ambitious goal in August." - said Sergiy Grygorovych, GSC World Publishing CEO.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is a survival FPS game for PC based on a 'what-if' scenario of the second Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. The game is created as a warning to mankind against mindless play with technologies. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is the official prequel to the renowned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game by the Ukraine-based GSC Game World studio. The game is set in 2011and brings forth the events to have preceded the third campaign of Strelok to the Zone center. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky introduces an alternative look onto the events of the original game and offers the player to try himself out as a mercenary s.t.a.l.k.e.r. in search of his own path in the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Official game site: www.stalker-game.com

Bioware today announced the first downloadable content pack for their Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect.

The Bring Down the Sky downloadable content pack hits LIVE on March 10 at 2 a.m. PST, for 400 MS points ($5) and is the first in a series of planned downloadable content that expands the Mass Effect universe and continues the plot.

The pack will include an uncharted world that introduces the Batarians alien race. In the pack a Batarian extremist group has hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Only Commander Shepard can save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly descent.

The developers say the pack will contain about an hour and a half of action and a new Achievement worth 50 Gamerscore points.

Hit the jump for a second shot from the pack.

Discuss the Bring Down the Sky DLC here [Mass Effect]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. CLEAR SKY to be RELEASED DIGITALLY AS STEAM EXCLUSIVE

Prequel to Hit Survival FPS will Launch Simultaneously on Steam and in Retail Outlets Worldwide

January 24, 2007 - GCS Game World and Valve announce that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky will be available for digital download worldwide exclusively on Steam® (www.steamgames.com), a leading online platform for the distribution and management of PC games. The official prequel to the Survival FPS game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is currently slated for simultaneous release on Steam and at retail outlets later this year.

"Steam has introduced S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to many thousands of new fans all over the world," said GSC Game World's CEO Sergiy Grygorovych. "We chose to deliver the digital version of the game exclusively on Steam because of its proven success not only as the leading global digital distribution platform for games, but because it allows us to directly reach its integrated and active community of gamers."

"It's great to see a forward-thinking game maker like GCS Game World launching simultaneously in digital and traditional retail channels," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "By launching S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:Clear Sky on Steam on the same day that it's available in stores worldwide, GCS Game World ensures that gamers can get their hands on this highly-anticipated game in the way that's most convenient for them."

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky brings the players one year prior to the events of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game in 2011. A group of stalkers has, for the first time, reached the very heart of the Zone-Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant-and brings about a cataclysm on the brink of a catastrophe. Through a rich narrative and gripping combat action, players uncover new challenges and insights in the Exclusion Zone. A new version of the game engine, X-Ray 1.5, powers superior graphical details and realistic and non-scripted combat AI.

More information and a collection of new images may be found here: http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=9390&l=EN&cc=US

About GSC Game World
Founded in 1995 in Kiev, GSC Game World is the leading computer game development company in Ukraine. The very first commercial game project of GSC Game World was the critically acclaimed and hugely popular historical real-time strategy game Cossacks: European Wars, released in 2000.
The launched projects developed by GSC Game World, among others, include Cossacks: The Art of War, Cossacks; Back to War, American Conquest, American Conquest: Fight Back, Alexander (Oliver Stone's movie tie-in), Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars. The two recently released titles by GSC Game World are Heroes of Annihilated Empires (self-published worldwide) and the top-selling S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Currently in development is the official prequel S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky for PC.
Official web-site: www.gsc-game.com

About Steam
Steam is a leading platform for the delivery and management of games and digital content, and has pioneered its broadband services to over 13 million customers with core and casual games from today's leading publishers and developers.

Phil Harrison popped by my chair after the press conference to chat for a second about how it went and I had a second to ask him about how this news might impact the U.S. Specifically I wanted to know if North America had a chance of getting the DVR service for the Playstation 3 or a video download service for the PSP.

The short answer, unfortunately, is no, well at least not yet.

The problem with the DVR is that the U.S. doesn't have terrestrial digital television yet, so while some cities like San DIego have it not nearly support in the U.S. to make it worth the effort for Sony. When that changes, and it will, Sony will be on the ball, Harrison said.

Unfortunately, things look much bleaker for the Sky service being rolled out in Europe. There is nothing really nationwide in the U.S. that delivers video content over the air by subscription. So, until that happens we won't be seeing that in the U.S.

Ps. Harrison is almost exactly one foot taller than me.

SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE AND SKY JOIN FORCES TO DELIVER VIDEO ON DEMAND SERVICE TO PSP OWNERS

London, 27 July 2007. SKY and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced the formation of a Joint Venture company to deliver on-demand entertainment content to owners of the PSP™(PlayStation®Portable) in the UK and Ireland.

The Joint Venture company, with equal Board level representation from SKY and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe will draw on the unrivalled entertainment aggregation expertise and technical leadership of SKY, and the handheld entertainment knowledge and brand power of PlayStation®. The company will establish PSP and the new ground breaking video download service as the natural partners for those seeking the ultimate choice of portable entertainment content.

Focusing exclusively on delivering video content to the PSP, the Joint Venture will initially provide a wealth of video and film content to the more than 2.3 million PSP owners in the UK and Ireland. The two companies are already in discussions with entertainment content providers across Europe to facilitate future introduction of the service to European PSP owners.

More information on the service will be announced by SCEE at Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany on Wednesday 22nd August.

Oleg Yavorsky, PR Director for GSC Game World was on hand to give me a guided tour of the newly revamped world surrounding the alternate-universe ravaged by the second Chernobyl power plant meltdown. Immediately upon starting the demo the changes to the graphics engine were readily apparent. The whole game has a look much more crisp and saturated than its predecessor, giving the world a more realistic feel and making it easier to lose yourself in the story. All of the game's lighting is dynamic...there is no light source that cannot be snuffed short of the sun itself, and even that's a little hazy.

Yavorsky explained that story is a big focus this time around. They wanted to give the game a more cinematic feel, and to that end they've not only spent a great deal of time giving NPCs and plotlines a specific voice, but also tweaked the character models and added custom animations that give each character unique interactions in the game. Having explained all of this, the demo kicked into high gear.

The Stalker and his team are holed up in an abandon Russian government hospital, trying to break through enemy lines, but a nasty sniper has entrenched himself in the worn rafters of the building and it is up to our protagonist to take him out and clear a path for his teammates to advance. As the team provides covering fire, the main character ducks down a side passage that leads to the courtyard of the building, and another burst of gunfire from his comrades gets him across the courtyard to sneak up behind his unsuspecting foes.

The same realistic gunplay from Shadow returns this time around, and aiming is still very important. This isn't a game where you can run in guns blazing, and Oleg is very careful how and when he takes his shots. Ducking behind some wood nailed across a gap in the building's stone walls, he explains that the AI in the game is very intelligent, trained to take full advantage of cover and avoid open spaces. As he speaks the importance of cover becomes quite readily apparent as the wood he is ducking from is shot away, calling for a quick dash behind some more substantial cover before systematically taking the bad guys down.

Once the top level is cleared and the sniper is no longer a threat, his buddies move in, taking out a wall that previously blocked their way with some good old-fashioned explosives. Later in the demo I watch as the hero takes down waves of enemies as his team gets into position and drops a grenade into a machine gunner's nest, once again clearing the path. Sort of like a game of leapfrog really, only with more bullets and a giant helicopter boss at the end that goes down amidst streams of duck and cover gunfire.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky promises to be everything Shadow of Chernobyl was and much much more. A heightened focus on story as well as tweaked graphics and UI should bring back old fans as well as usher in some new ones to the slowly growing series.

We see a lot of fan videos and humor videos here at the Kotaku Tower, but this is probably one of the best ones I've seen in quite awhile. Better still since it's made by Kotaku readers who sent it along with a note that they wanted me to check it out. There's a rolling argument in the editor's chatroom about whether the "fuck you" directed at Princess Peach is funnier than the sink scene or Mario's hallucinations. Me? I love the whole thing. Brian Crecente