Title: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

From: Swordfish Studios

For: PS3

His previous foray into videogames left the self professed P.I.M.P. more than a little L.I.M.P. But Swordfish Studios have pumped the lead back into 50 Cent’s pencil with the very respectable Blood on the Sand.

Gone are the days when, if you were looking for Curtis Jackson you’d find him in da nearest club. Nowadays Fiddy is more likely to be charging around some Middle Eastern country busting caps in all and sundry. Why? Because they stole his bling, that’s why.

After the disaster, and I mean di-sa-ster that was 50 Cent: Bulletproof (it sold well, but purely due to Fiddy’s name on the cover), the world cringed at the thought of another 50 Cent game. But Blood on the Sand is not Bulletproof 2, far from it. In fact if I had to compare Blood on the Sand to anything it would be Gears of War, but with lots more swearing. LOTS more swearing.

The similarities to Gears are numerous. From the camera view and graphics to the cover system and control method – and I don’t blame them either. Emulating one of the most successful games of all time is a sure-fire way to bring at least some critical redemption to a franchise that got off to a dismally bad start.

The plot, not that it’s of any importance to the game, goes as such: 50 Cent and G-Unit get ripped off by a dodgy concert promoter, who offers them an expensive jewel encrusted skull in lieu of payment. Everything is cool until they are ambushed and the skull gets stolen. As you would expect, anyone who steals from G-Unit isn’t going to get a stern letter from their lawyers with a few terse colloquialisms, hell no, they’re going to get their mothershagging heads blown off, that’s what.

So the stage is set for 50 Cent and an AI controlled (or human controlled as the game is fully co-op) member of G-Unit to go on a killing rampage in a generic urban Middle Eastern landscape, chasing criminal kingpins and the myriads of goons in between. This run and gun action gets a tad repetitive before too long but there are a few vehicle diversions to break up the hum drum.

The gameplay is tight and the control method even tighter but it’s a couple of innovations that keep Blood on the Sand from being just another 3rd person shooter destined for the bargain bin. Firstly is the scoring system which, if you’re the kind of gamer who strives for high scores, will give this game some decent longevity in terms of trying to better yourself. Dispatching enemies earns you points, dispatching more enemies in quick succession earns you multipliers so your score escalates. The way in which you go about your killing spree also earns you points. Slaying them in style is always a good idea.

The other innovation isn’t so much of an innovation, rather a nice example of how it should be executed. Every second game seems to include a “bullet-time” feature these days and a lot of the time it feels like a tacky add-on. But Blood on the Sand utilises it well. Think Stranglehold and Army of Two’s use of bullet-time and you have an insight into how to use it appropriately. When you’re surrounded by enemies, “Gangsta-fire mode” lets you carve them up without too much hassle. The game also includes ‘counterkills’ which are quick-time melee events that, with timed button presses, allow you to smash the living daylights out of your enemy. Again, not the first time we’ve seen this, but the game executes it well.

The drawback is, the game also includes a good cover system, it’s a little sticky, but good nonetheless. The fact that your characters are extremely resilient and can take a heap of punishment along with the ability to slow down time and clean up an area makes the cover system somewhat redundant. The nature of the game is to charge in, spray everything that moves with hot lead, dish out a few profanities and cutting one-liners and move on to the next area. It’s a very rare occasion where you’ll actually need to take cover and think about your next move. This is compounded in co-op as you can both strut around virtually indestructible.

Timed scenarios occasionally appear on the HUD and will have you completing mini-missions like killing a certain target or a number of people within the allocated time limit. Success in these scenarios earns you grenades and exploding rounds for your pistol which stick to a target and explode after a few seconds, sending them flying. These are great to have and are a good incentive for completing the diversion. There are also the obligatory crates to smash which harbour money which can then be used to buy or upgrade weapons.

The in-game graphics look really nice, despite the drab setting. The textures and detail are on a par with the best in the genre. But the cut-scenes are another story. I can only assume it was a deliberate decision to make them low-res and grainy like a YouTube video uploaded from a mobile phone. A strange decision, and I feel the game deserved much better. It’s pretty much the reverse of many games where much of the effort goes into making the cut-scenes look pretty for the promo scenes and screenshots.

There are collectables throughout the game and plenty of unlockables like music videos (which have been strangely censored – when nothing else in the game has) and 50 Cent/G-Unit music tracks which play throughout the game and can be arranged in a playlist type of feature. They compliment the game perfectly and make a welcome change from the traditional wailing Middle Eastern fare that usually accompanies this setting.

Overall, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a decent game and well worth a look especially for the co-op gameplay. What it does, it does well, which surprised me and probably everyone else in the industry too.

Pros: It’s a polished 3rd person shooter with unabashed, snappy dialogue and some brutal weapon and melee combat. The co-op and scoring system will bring you back for more.

Cons: Generic setting and essentially no storyline. The ability to successfully run & gun renders the nice cover system useless.

Score 75%

Watch the trailer

Last week at the 2009 Game Developers Conference, what has been widely reported as “the future of gaming” was revealed after seven years of stealth development at Rearden, the media and technology incubator behind MOVA, Ice Blink Studios and Moxi.

OnLive is a revolutionary, on demand video game platform delivering the latest and most advanced games instantly, on any TV via a sleek, inexpensive MicroConsole, or on almost any PC or Mac.

“OnLive is the most powerful game system in the world. No high-end hardware, no upgrades, no endless downloads, no discs, no recalls, no obsolescence,” said Steve Perlman, Founder and CEO of OnLive. “With OnLive, your video game experience is always state-of-the-art.”

Designed for gamers of all skills and ages, the OnLive Game Service is easy to use. The elegantly designed OnLive MicroConsole (about as small as a deck of cards) easily connects any TV and home broadband connection to the OnLive Game Service and is operated by an OnLive wireless controller. Gamers can enjoy the same experience on almost any Internet-connected PC or Mac via a small browser plug-in from OnLive.com – even entry-level computers will play the highest performance games.

“OnLive combines the successful components of video games, online distribution and social networking into one affordable, flexible platform that offers a new way for game fans to access and enjoy content,” said Mike McGarvey, COO of OnLive. “By substantially lowering the barriers between content and consumers, OnLive has created an environment that is highly beneficial for every facet of the video game ecosystem. With OnLive, gamers can play what they want, when they want, how they want. That level of freedom has never been possible until now.”

The OnLive Game Service supports a live community of unprecedented scale. A revolutionary user interface allows video game fans to watch thousands of live games in action, join in at any point, share their exploits with friends through social networking tools, or make Brag Clips™ that showcase their skills. With OnLive, gamers have immediate access to demos and can instantly try, buy and play top-tier games, whether playing solo or with friends.

“With OnLive we’ve cleared the last remaining hurdle for the video games industry: effective online distribution,” said Steve Perlman, Founder and CEO of OnLive. “By putting the value back into the games themselves and removing the reliance on expensive, short-lived hardware, we are dramatically shifting the economics of the industry. Delivering games instantly to the digital living room is the promise game fans have been waiting for and OnLive makes that promise a reality that’s affordable, flexible and focused on their individual needs.”

OnLive offers significant benefits to publishers and developers. It costs far less to develop a game for OnLive, and the economics are far more efficient than retail or download distribution models. It typically only takes a few weeks to extend an existing version of a game to work on the OnLive service, so there is little cost incurred by developers and publishers to support the OnLive platform.

Through a partnership with Epic Games, an industry leading developer of triple-A games and cross-platform game engine technology, the award-winning Unreal® Engine 3 is compatible with the OnLive platform. Games leveraging the cutting-edge technology and versatility of the Unreal Engine will easily run on the OnLive service.

OnLive is supported by many of the top names in the video games industry including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive Software, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, THQ Inc., Epic Games, Eidos, Atari Interactive and Codemasters.

Title: Halo Wars
From: Ensemble Studios
For: Xbox 360

The Halo universe is a valuable asset to Microsoft, so when it comes to making the famous First-Person Shooter into a Real-Time Strategy game, you know that it’s going to have all the i’s dotted, the t’s crossed and be faithful to the series.

And that’s precisely what Halo Wars is, it’s like looking down upon any one of the previous Halo game and controlling everyone instead of one character. The game is set 20 years before the original Halo game and sees the human led USNC battling the Covenant forces across several planets. Your task is to manage troops, weapons, construction, resources and battle strategy just as in any other RTS game.

The sometimes fiddly menu systems of RTS games has been simplified for the console and turned into an ingenious context-sensitive wheel from which you can choose options and actions then keep track of their progress. It makes things easy, and that’s important in console gaming.

Graphically, this is Halo through and through. Stunning visuals, incredible attention to the smallest detail and an epic soundtrack to match.

Even if RTS isn’t your thing, Halo Wars is well worth investing some time in.

Score 95%

Title: SingStar Queen
From: London Studio
For: PS3

First it was ABBA’s turn to get the SingStar treatment and now Sony gives fans a chance to realise they’ve been singing the wrong lyrics to Queen songs for decades.

My initial reaction was one similar to when SingStar ABBA arrived – cringeworthy. But then I thought – hang on, this could actually be really good, and after looking through the 25 Queen songs included on the disc, I decided that this could, in fact, be one of the best SingStar titles ever!

All the anthemic Queen tracks are present here: Bohemian Rhapsody, Breakthru, Fat Bottomed Girls, I Want it All, Killer Queen, Radio Ga Ga, We Are The Champions and We Will Rock You to list but a few.

Personal favourites, which lend themselves to SingStar perfectly are: A Kind of Magic, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Under Pressure and I Want to Break Free.

If you like SingStar then this is an essential title, and if you want to see your parents make fools of themselves then this is the game to do just that. Brilliant.

Score 89%

Title: SOCOM: Confrontation

From: Slant Six

For: PS3

The better part of six months ago, Slant Six’s SOCOM: Confrontation was released to the US market and excited gamers were presented with what was basically a half finished game. For an online-only gaming experience, the servers were fatally flawed and the lag, screen tearing and pop-up made the game virtually unplayable. Patches came thick and fast, applying Band-Aids on the gushing wounds and some of the problems were fixed. This seems to have delayed the PAL release to give the developers a chance to finish the work they should have done in the first place and, to a point, they seem to have been somewhat successful. More on that later.

Being an online multiplayer experience only, the $60 price point reflects the fact that it’s basically half a game, having no single player campaign to speak of. Just as a side note – perhaps publishers who release games with no multiplayer or online component, should also charge for what is essentially half a game in this day and age. But that’s another argument for another day. The SOCOM series is the quintessential tactical shooter experience, despite a couple of sub-par releases, and the online environment is where all the series’ longevity lies. So SOCOM: Confrontation comes with a lot of promise and potential.

Before heading into the field of battle, you must create and customise two separate characters to play as, a commando and a mercenary, because the game requires you to play on both sides of the fence. The customisation options are lacking to say the least. Even if you think you’ve delved deep enough to give your character a ‘unique’ look, before too long you’ll come across other players who look exactly the same. Even if the camouflage pattern is slightly different – it’s barely noticeable due to the fact that the textures and character models are far from being up to the standard of a PS3 game in this day and age. Given that Confrontation is an online game, it’s a disappointment that you can’t give yourself a distinct appearance to make you stand out in amongst the masses.

Once you’ve got your look sorted, then it’s time to get kitted with primary and secondary weapons as well as one supplementary gear slot for grenades, mines or the obligatory rocket launcher. Commandos and mercenaries have a nice array of weapons on offer including SMG’s, assault rifles, shotties and sniper rifles which can have scopes and laser sights equipped if you’re so inclined. If you choose to lug around a rocket launcher though, expect your mobility to be severely impaired and make sure a teammate has your back. Weapons-wise everybody plays the game with a level playing field as all the game’s weapons are selectable from the get-go. There’s no unlocking or upgrading as your skill level or rank increases or if you earn one of the many trophies – and I can see the sensibility in this choice.

If you’ve played any SOCOM game for any significant length of time then Confrontation’s controls should fit like a well worn glove. The only real difference is the use of the Sixaxis controller to peer around corners by tilting it left or right, down to go prone and up to peek over cover. This feels a little weird at first, as does any Sixaxis involvement in any game, but you soon realise the beauty of the reasoning behind it as this frees up the shoulder buttons for other uses. Before you know it, you’re tilting the controller to peek around corners like you’ve been doing it your whole life. The game also has a new camera perspective – an over the shoulder view much like Ghost Recon. Don’t worry, you can switch to the classic 3rd person chase view, but to be honest I found SOCOM worked better in this new view, especially if you’re playing stealthily or sniping. It’s nice to be able to have the choice though.

Speaking of playing stealthily, that’s exactly what this game is all about. Gamers with a gung-ho, run & gun attitude will not only get killed quickly and piss off your teammates but probably get your team killed in the process. And there are no respawns in any of the ranked matches. Get killed in the first 30 seconds and you’re spectating for the remaining time. Confrontation is all about teamwork, communication and tactics. The team that talks to each other and works with each other will often win out in the end. This means that you need a headset to play successfully, you can play without one, but you’ll be more of a hindrance than a help and will most likely get booted the moment anyone realises you’re incommunicado.

There are six different modes of gameplay including the usual variants of deathmatch and objective based matches which have commandos attempting to advance on a series of barriers while the mercenaries defend both them and the intended target. Another, Extraction, sees commandos rescuing several hostages from the mercenary team. All games require strategy and continual communication amongst team members to achieve victory This teamwork is enhanced by making organising clans a breeze. It’s easy to arrange matches and tournaments by sending messages to multiple recipients

The maps, or distinct lack of, is perhaps one of the bigger disappointments in the game. There’s only seven and all of them are based around urban environments. No swamps or jungle localities here, just your standard abandoned towns that we’ve all seen before. That’s not to say they aren’t fun to play, as all require different tactics to play on. One has high-rises for sniping and another has streets and alleyways converging on central courtyard which is great for intense gun battles. Veterans will recognize a couple of the maps from previous SOCOM games, but these have been expanded on to support up to 32 players at once. It’s just that there’s not enough variation in the maps which makes the game seem even smaller and lacking of substance.

Graphically, apart from the aforementioned average character models, the game still suffers from pop-up and there’s really no excuse for it. The lighting is first-rate and some of the little touches here and there make you think at least someone was paying attention during the making of this game. The score is standard gaming fare, but the audio for the weaponry is some of the best I’ve heard. The sound of your weapons firing really gives them a presence.

So the big question remaining, and perhaps the most important for an online game is how the servers are holding up. The answer is – so so. It’s obvious they’ve improved dramatically since the well documented teething problems, but still the loading times are horrific while waiting for a match to load and I still encountered significant lag in about half my matches – faring better if there were several Kiwis or Aussies playing. When it all game together and I found a game which ran well then SOCOM: Confrontation was an excellent and rewarding tactical multiplayer experience.

At the end of the day, had SOCOM: Confrontation been the multiplayer component of SOCOM 4 alongside the single player campaign then Sony would have a surefire winner on their hands. But when you consider that this was purpose-built for online-only 32 player competitive gaming, then the game should be polished, sharp and problem free upon release, even moreso considering this is a first-party title.

Pros: When it works, gameplay is excellent. Weapon sounds are extremely satisfying. Pretty game but doesn’t stretch the PS3 by any means.

Cons: Sony should have had more pride in the franchise and it’s online community than to release this game with so much still to be ironed out.

Score 65%

Watch the trailer

Nokia N96
Price: NZ$1699

The Nokia N96 is the flagship of the N-Series following on the heels of it’s older sibling the groundbreaking but troubled N95.

To call the N96 a multimedia computer is hardly an understatement both in features and in price. In fact this mobile does more than some laptops I’ve owned, all in one pocket-sized unit.

This is a genuine tool for today’s high-tech living. Of course it utilises Vodafone’s 3G network and networks across the globe, it is first and foremost a mobile phone, but that’s where the similarity to most others ends. Add to that a 5 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and flash/spotlight– which takes the best pictures and video I have seen from a mobile to date.

With its stunning 2.8” display, built-in 3D stereo speakers and integrated kick-stand for an awesome video experience, the Nokia N96 will have you totally glued to its screen. The N96 is also packaged with a TV-out cable to allow for media consumption on even larger screens. It supports common video formats such as MPEG-4, WMV and Flash. Movies are quite comfortable to watch on the bright screen and I never had a problem with glare like many portable devices.

With an internal 16GB memory that can be increased to 24GB with a microSD card (not included), the Nokia N96 also offers an advanced music offering and can hold a music collection to satisfy even the most dedicated fan. Create personal music playlists by downloading tracks directly via online sites or synchronise PC and mobile libraries via USB. Alternatively, the built in tuner allows you to listen to all the local FM radio stations.

As with the N95, the N96 has a dual sliding action which blends phone and multimedia features seamlessly. Slide the pone one way for the numeric keyboard and slide it the other direction for a set of standard multimedia control keys. The phone knows exactly which way you’ve chosen and brings up the relevant options. The N96 also knows which way you’re holding it. Hold it upright and the screen displays as such, but turn it 90 degrees anticlockwise and the screen changes into landscape format for ideal video viewing or playing games.

Speaking of games, the N96 comes packaged with the N-Gage games application pre-loaded and one free game – Asphalt 3: Street Rules. There are many other huge titles available for download directly though your mobile or on your PC. The games are decent quality for a mobile, but still a long way from attaining PSP quality graphics which I think are still a couple of years down the track yet. I think we’re more likely to get a PlayStation Portable that has mobile phone features before we get a mobile phone with PSP style games.

The Nokia N96 has an enhanced GPS navigation experience that includes rich, easy-to-use maps with satellite views, voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation for driving and more new City Guides. It is even possible to upload and share personalised journeys, favourite places and great new finds online. Use your phone to snap a picture and location tag it using the GPS feature. I found the GPS system worked well to get to many Christchurch locations without lag or confusing directions.

As with the previous N95, the N96 has email capability, internet access through Vodafone’s gateway or any wireless LAN. All the standard applications are present along with a basic Office Suite of apps which need to be unlocked with a purchased serial. New Zealand consumers who purchase the Nokia N96 can download any one of four full series of leading BBC TV shows including Walking with Dinosaurs, Little Britain (series 1), The Catherine Tate Show (series 1) and Yes Minister (series 1) from www.nokia.co.nz/video/bbc

The design of the N96 is excellent and is a noticeable step up from its aging (yet now very affordable) predecessor. However it does suffer horrifically from fingerprints – if you’re someone who can’t stand fingerprints on screens then this is going to do your head in – and I found the back cover of the N96 to be somewhat flimsier than the N95.

The battery life was a little disappointing. I got 2 days out of a full charge – but I was using the phone’s power-hungry apps, watching movies and listening to music on a very regular basis. So during normal usage conditions I would expect much better power efficiency.

The problems with the N95’s system crashing have been well publicised and it was with anticipation that I hoped those kinks had been ironed out with its successor.

Sadly, in the fortnight I test drove the N96, the unit rebooted itself no less than half a dozen times. However it’s important to note that this review unit had been molested by almost every media gadget hound in the country, so this may not be typical of the N96 in general. Indeed I have read far less problems with the N96 across the board.

Ultimately, I enjoyed my time with the N96. It’s an excellent alternative to a Blackberry if a querty keyboard isn’t your style and with its enhanced multimedia features and large storage capabilities, it is in fact an excellent alternative to an entry level laptop. Still, the price is at the high end of the scale – but expect a significant reduction (as recently seen with the N95) upon the impending release of the Nokia N97.

Title: F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin
From: Monolith
For: PS3

There have been scary games over the last decade, but it’s only in the last 2-3 years that writers and developers have begun to emulate the true shock, horror and uneasiness that we experience in films, and in particular Japanese horror films.

That creepy little girl Alma is back once again to send shivers down your spine in this first-person shooter which has an excellent storyline, more gore and blood than Dead Space and plenty of genuine soil-your-underpants moments. It’s a slickly produced game and a pleasure to play.

But strip all that away and F.E.A.R. 2 is a fairly run of the mill, yet solid FPS title. It’s just not much of a challenge, especially since you can slow down time and dispatch your enemies before they’ve even thought of taking cover. Don’t get me wrong – that is great fun and the horror elements more than make up for the monotony that strings them together. But I get the feeling that F.E.A.R. 2 missed out on the opportunity to not just be a great game, but a groundbreaking one.

Score 85%

Title: Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
From: Rare
For: Xbox 360

Having been in hiding for 10 years since their one and only, hugely successful appearance on the Nintendo 64, Banjo the bear and Kazooie the kooky bird once again hit our screen in a whole new adventure that is bound to be the first of several.

To pigeonhole Nuts & Bolts in a particular genre would be doing it an injustice. It’s a little bit of everything. It’s a platformer, and adventure game, a racer, a shooter, a puzzler, a smash & collect with a hint of RPG thrown in as well.

You could say that there’s a little something to please everyone, but in the same breath there’s a little something to put everyone off too. Those who remember the original game should get a heap of nostalgic value from this reincarnation and those new to Banjo Kazooie will find a huge game with seemingly endless possibilities, full of in-jokes and some excellent online play to boot.

Banjo Kazooie is back and is off to a flying start – again.

Score 82%

Title: Lord of the Rings: Conquest
From: Pandemic Studios
For: Xbox 360

The latest title to milk the Middle Earth cash cow is Lord of the Rings: Conquest from EA’s Pandemic Studios – the people that brought us the excellent Star Wars Battlefront many moons ago.

This 3rd person action/hack’n’slash game is split into two eight level campaigns, one for good and the other for evil. Obviously evil is more fun, but you must first play through the good campaign before the evil one is unlocked. The evil campaign is played on the premise of what would have happened if Frodo had not destroyed the ring, which is a refreshing take on the series.

As beautifully recreated as the LOTR environments and characters are – and they are quite stunning – the combat is fundamentally flawed and clunky at best. Performing combos can be frustrating and some take forever to carry out.

Even with the selection of fighting classes to choose from, the two campaigns and the 1-16 player online gameplay, the game combat soon gets repetitive and it would take a dedicated LOTR fan to get any replay value from it.

Score 70%

Title: Disney Sing It
From: Disney Interactive Studios
For: PS2

It’s taken a surprisingly long time for other developers to latch onto the console karaoke/SingStar craze and perhaps they left it too late.

With Disney Sing It you need a set of SingStar microphones to be able to sing along to 35 songs from a selection of Disney Channel movies, series and Disney Label recording stars. These include Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens, Camp Rock, Jessie McCartney, Aly & AJ and more.

The general gameplay is very similar to SingStar with a few exceptions. In two player mode you both get your own lyrics and you can personalise your game experience with a variety of themes.
One inclusion, which would be nice to see in any upcoming SingStar titles, is a small feature called Sing It Pro, where the game will run you through a series of warm-ups, singing lessons and vocal tricks.

Disney Sing It isn’t for everybody, but fans of the Disney Channel will no doubt love it to bits.

Score 65%