Title: Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight

From: Electronic Arts

For: PC

One genre of game that has never tweaked my interest fully is real-time strategy. Blame it on a short attention span or just lack of time to do them justice – I usually end up sabotaging the whole campaign just for a laugh.

But EA’s Command & Conquer series has been incredibly popular with RTS fans over the last 15 years. And it is those very fans that EA have gone and slapped in the face by dramatically changing the gameplay of Tiberian Twilight to make it more action orientated.

This might make the game more attractive to players such as myself who want things to progress at a fast pace, but for those who like to micromanage every aspect of their RTS experience Tiberian Twilight is going to drive them away in droves.

There’s far too many omissions and alterations to mention here, but they are significant and despite Tiberian Twilight having impressive cut-scenes, in-game graphics and sound, the game is easily the worst of the series in terms of giving RTS and in particular Command & Conquer fans what they’ve come to expect.

Score 50%

Title: Cities XL

From: Monte Cristo

For: PC

It’s been a long time between drinks for the city simulation and in Cities XL, newcomer Monte Cristo has entered the genre with a stunning simulation that looks incredible (if you have the PC with enough juice to handle it), has deeply involved gameplay, reasonably easy to follow controls and menus, and solid online options.

There’s a great deal of realism involved in creating your city’s infrastructure. First you are charged with laying down a road network which can take any form you wish. Dividing the city into zones is next, followed by the placement of buildings. Citizens will come, live their lives, work and expand your city if you’ve set it up right.

But the main difference between others in the genre and Cities XL is that you are restricted to playing the game the way it’s designed to be played if you are to succeed, where in the likes of SimCity 4 you have the freedom to play in an unorthodox fashion if you see fit.

Ultimately, Cities XL will divide simulation fans. As pretty and involved as it is, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

Score 75%

Title: The Sims 3 Collectors Edition
From: Electronic Arts
For: PC/Mac

I’ve got to be up front and admit that I’ve never played any Sims game longer than the time it took to learn enough to review them. Once the review was written I never went back to them. Now that’s not because I didn’t like them, it’s because I was afraid of the consequences of liking them too much.

You see there’s a very good reason that for the last decade at least one Sims game has been present in every gaming top 10 list – they’re incredibly addictive.

Sims fans will feel right at home with the latest release – The Sims 3 as the basic premise remains exactly the same. Make a character and, well, just live their life.

Electronic Arts have taken a proven formula and given it a well deserved upgrade without going too crazy and overhauling the whole thing (hopefully leaving some goodies for eventual expansion packs).

To begin with, the whole world is on a grander scale. There’s more to do and see and you can sit and watch other Sims go about their day to day business. There’s also advanced design options for decorating your Sim’s residence.

The whole game just has a more polished feel to it, especially in terms of performance. There are little to no framerate issues even when there is a screen full of animation. The graphics aren’t a huge leap from The Sims 2 but upon closer inspection the character models are smoother and the attention to detail in the world around them is visually stunning.

EA haven’t reinvented the wheel here, but have clearly laid down some solid foundations to take the series forward. There’s so many directions they could take The Sims, it is after all simulating life itself.

The Collectors Edition costs a little more than the standard version but comes with a 2GB USB drive in the shape of a green jewel with a matching carabiner. Your character is also gifted with a sports-car. They’re nothing spectacular in terms of extra value, but any true Sims fan will get a kick out of them.

Score 90%

Title: Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
From: Electronic Arts
For: PC

Real-Time Strategy games have never sparked my interest for some reason. It’s not that I don’t have a strategic mind or anything, I just get bored with them too quickly. C&C: Red Alert 3 managed to hold my interest longer than most however due to the good pace of the game, broken up by cut-scenes which feature well known actors and a decent story.

The single player campaign is standard RTS fodder. You each faction has it’s own side of the storyline except joining the Russian and Allied forces this time is the Empire of the Rising Sun. Gameplay is typical of the Red Alert series, but there are some changes to the interface which can be confusing until you figure out what is where.

I love games that use real actors and Red Alert 3 includes Tim Curry, Jenny McCarthy and George Takei among others. The acting is deliberately cheesy which makes it fun if you know they’re not taking it too seriously.

Graphically the game is superb and the sound will blow you away on a decent sound system.

Score 75%

Title: Spore
From: Maxis
For: PC or Mac

Spore is a game of life and you get to control it every step of the way. As a comet crashes into a planet, scattering bacteria far and wide. You take control of one of these cells and swim around in your primordial ooze. This stage takes the form of a top-down view arcade game as you swim around eating and avoiding being eaten. As you eat more and manage to survive, you also evolve and eventually sprout legs and venture out onto the land.

This is called the Creature Stage. Here you also have to fight for survival, but also learn to interact with others. You have two options; be aggressive or be friends, which is a theme that runs throughout the game. The Creature Stage itself becomes a bit of a repetitive chore which has to be completed to evolve to the next stage – the Tribal Stage.

In this stage the focus is on building communities, primitive buildings and once again making friends with neighbouring tribes or trying to eliminate them. If you choose the aggressive route then you’ll need to make weapons to do so. This stage is a real-time strategy game and as you eliminate other tribes you will earn enough points to move onto the Civilisation Stage which is much of the same thing, but on a grander scale and with more evolved technologies and social structures.

When you take over enough of the world in the Civilisation Stage you then discover space travel. The Space Stage, while it does have a finishing point, is completely open to do whatever you wish. Colonise other planets and terraform them, destroy other species or move them around – the choices are as many as the stars in the sky.

Once you finish the game you get to start at any stage you wish, which gives the game a solid lifespan.
Spore had an enormous self-created hype to live up to upon its release and all to often when this happens, the game is a let down due to over promotion. This reigns true to some degree with Spore but it’s still a remarkable feat of game making.

Score 85%

Title: Spore Creature Creator
For: PC/Mac
From: Electronic Arts

What can be better than a game where you get to play God and see the fruits of your endeavours? Well Spore Creature Creator isn’t quite that game but it is the precursor to Spore, EA’s highly promising title in which you create weird and wonderful creatures from scratch and then watch them live in an online world where other created creatures roam free.

Spore is due out later this year, but in the meantime Spore Creature Creator allows you to piece together some crazy creatures from 228 drag’n’drop flexible body parts. You can then colour them up and add textures to make them look realistic (well as realistic as a 2 legged scorpion with a monkey head and spikes can look).

Once you’re happy with your creature you can play and interact with it, make it reproduce and save it online for others to view and then bring it into the full Spore game upon its release.

One thing to note – while the game is Mac compatible, you’ll need the latest Intel processor and Leopard OS for it to run.

Score: 78%

CAPCOM® BRINGS MARTIAL ARTS HOME WITH CONSOLE VERSIONS OF STREET FIGHTER® IV

Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION®3 and Windows-based PC Versions Coming for Street Fighter IV

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM ˜ May 28, 2008: Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced the development of Street Fighter IV, the next iteration of the genre-establishing fighting game series, for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and Windows-based PC.

Few videogame series have had such a strong impact on their perspective genres the way Street Fighter® has over the decades. Creating a global legacy spanning over twenty years of fighting games, the Street Fighter series has become a pillar in the fighting videogame genre. Street Fighter IV for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system, and Windows-based PC continues this tradition of excellence with a return to the classic 2D Street Fighter fighting action mixed with new characters, amazing visuals, and next-generation fluid gameplay.

Street Fighter IV features a mix of returning favourites such as Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and Guile along with new characters created for this game, such as Crimson Viper, Abel and El Fuerte. Characters and environments are rendered in stylised 3D, while the game is played in the classic Street Fighter 2D perspective with additional 3D camera flourishes. Six-button controls for the game return, with a host of new special moves and features integrated into the input system. Mixing classic genre-defining game mechanics the franchise is known and loved for with all-new, never-before-seen gameplay systems, Street Fighter IV brings a brand new fighting game to fans the world over. With the inclusion of Capcom’s latest advancements in new generation technology, Street Fighter IV promises to deliver an extraordinary experience that will re-introduce the world to the time-honoured art of virtual martial arts.

For more information, visit www.streetfighter.com

Features:

Classic 2D Street Fighter gameplay with stunning 3D characters and environments
New special moves that go beyond any Street Fighter fan’s wildest imagination, including Focus attacks, Super Combos, and the revenged-fuelled Ultra Combo system.
Classic Street Fighter characters recreated for a new generation of gamers, including the original cast of Street Fighter® II
New brawlers: female super-spy Crimson Viper, lucha libre wrestler El Fuerte, kick boxer Abel and more!
Amazing locations never seen before in a Street Fighter game
New gameplay elements provide new challenges for both newcomers and the most seasoned Street Fighter pro.