Spotlight On: Cities XL

If you haven't played a good city-building game in a while, you may want to keep an eye out for Cities XL, which will try to combine the peaceful pursuit of building up a tiny virtual city with cooperative (and competitive) online elements and Web-based social networking. We've previously taken an in-depth look at the game and its unusual premise and have new details to report today.

To catch you up, here's a quick recap: Cities XL will basically offer an offline experience right out of the box and a continuing online experience should you want to pursue the dream of being the world's most successful architect. Like in many other city-building games, such as the SimCity series, the out-of-box, offline game in Cities XL will let you use editing tools to build up the virtual city of your dreams, using powerful tools that will include some 500 different buildings, so you can click, drag, copy-paste, and brush-paint tiny individual houses or sprawling roadway networks, then maintain your population's happiness and income while using your funds to build a bigger, better, happier city.
The online portion of the game will let you go beyond just puttering around in your own city; you'll actually be able to, for instance, putter around other players' cities on foot, as well as monitor the progress of your city online through the game's Web site, which will act as both an online scoreboard (which ranks all players' cities by their relative wealth, popular happiness, and other statistics) and a social hub. The Web site will let you create your own profile, write your own blog, post images, and maintain a friends list. You'll also be able to use the online interface to trade any excess resources that your city, or other players' cities, may have produced. All cities produce and consume resources (such as energy, power, and cash), and depending on how you've built yours, you may end up with a town that creates a daily surplus of this or that resource. This daily surplus will disappear from your city's coffers at the end of the day, each day, to avoid the dreaded practice of "farming"--in this case, repeatedly hoarding resources each day until you have an unreasonably huge stockpile. Resources will be traded in the form of "tokens"--one token will represent one unit of resources, and developer Monte Cristo currently intends to let the resource market regulate itself, rather then get too involved in the player economy. However, since you will have access to resource trading online, you won't necessarily need to create a well-rounded, self-sustaining commune. For instance, if you want, you can build an industrial wasteland that's nothing but factories and smokestacks--and just trade for whichever resources you don't generate.

Resource trading will be important not only for generally keeping your town running, but also for creating "megastructures"--famous wonders of the world that will grant powerful bonuses to whoever builds them. (Cities XL will ship with about 20 of these right out of the box, and more will be added at a rate of about five or so per month). In order to build one of these impressive monuments, you'll need the blueprints, which will randomly appear in the accounts of a handful of users every so often (and can be used to start construction immediately, or traded for resources, or given away for free...otherwise the blueprints will expire in about a week after use to prevent players from accumulating them in their accounts). Megastructures will be fantastically expensive projects that go through three different phases of construction (and each phase will require a different mix of resources). Successfully building one will grant serious bonuses for your city; for instance, plopping the Arc de Triomphe in the middle of your metropolis will grant your city powerful economic bonuses as tourists from your principality and from neighboring towns take a holiday to come see your wondrous new masterpiece. And the tourists will build up the local economy, presumably by purchasing cheap T-shirts and souvenir coffee mugs.
However, megastructures won't offer clear-cut, no-strings-attached advantages; they'll actually have their own set of realistic concerns that you as the city's mayor and chief architect must address. For starters, an attractive monument will bring in many guests and their big, bulky tour buses--and the buses may congest traffic and lead to noise pollution that creates unhappiness for any of the locals who live or work nearby. More importantly, if your city becomes too wondrous and begins drawing in too many of your neighbors' citizens, your neighbors (other players who are in control of their own cities) may become jealous that you're getting all this great tourist revenue and they aren't. In fact, this will be a real concern for all online land barons when they go looking to trade resources. Yes, you need four tokens of oil for your own town and you'd be willing to trade four tokens of water...but do you really want to give that water to someone who will just end up spending it on building an Eiffel Tower that will draw in your citizens and line your neighbor's pockets?

Cities XL is still in development and will likely go to a beta-testing phase in the coming months. The game is scheduled to launch later this year.

We Just Played The Last Remnant for PC

Last year's The Last Remnant for the Xbox 360 tried to push console role-playing games in new directions by including larger-scale battles with battalions (or "unions") of characters massed to fight as a group. The game took place in an unusual alternate-fantasy world where talking cat-men with four arms routinely served as royal guardians, and where, like in many console games of this sort, many of the human males that served as main characters were young, slender, and had fabulous hair.

We got our hands on the PC version of the game and have played through the early part of it, and have found the game to so far be a faithful translation of the original console game. Like in the Xbox 360 version of The Last Remnant, the PC version of the game starts with the story of Rush Sykes, a plucky young lad who sets out to rescue his kidnapped sister, without the help of his workaholic parents (who are off toiling on a potentially world-saving project involving ancient artifacts known as "remnants"). Over the course of the game, he meets various characters (who may or may not be cat-men) to join him in his quest and eventually lead into battle as part of the game's larger-scale combat system.

Like with the majority of console role-playing games since the original Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior from the 8-bit NES, The Last Remnant's combat is turn-based, and alternates turns between your party's characters (and their planned attack abilities) and your enemies' turns. Each character in The Last Remnant will have various different abilities that will be specialized in such areas as casting magical spell effects or swinging a sword, and additional abilities that can be performed at a cost of "action points," or AP; but interestingly, you won't have direct control over them beyond giving general orders, so you'll effectively act as both a general and a soldier at the same time. However, by attacking and defeating enemies in sequence, you can perform longer and longer "chains" that will net you more experience points so that Rush and his buddies will gain levels (and the new abilities that come with them) faster.

The PC version of The Last Remnant seems to run just fine and we encountered no framerate hiccups or significant technical problems of any kind as we played. The game was built using the Unreal Engine and this powerful technology seems to do a good job of translating the colorful graphical look and intricate, cat-man-filled world that first debuted in the console game. The Last Remnant is scheduled for release later this month on PC.

Watchmen: The End Is Nigh Review

The End Is Nigh serves up light beat-'em-up fare with a Watchmen flavor. Those hungry for anything substantial will be disappointed.

With all the critical acclaim for the Watchmen comic series and all the hype surrounding the new movie adaptation, it's possible that folks might have certain expectations for the new video game set in the same universe. However, if you are hoping to find some of the comic's depth and maturity here, or are looking forward to reliving your favorite scenes from the movie, you will be sorely disappointed. Watchmen: The End Is Nigh is a shallow beat-'em-up game set years before the events of the comic. Its narrow scope may disappoint some, and the Watchmen veneer isn't very deep. Yet thanks to lively, brutal combat and impressive visuals, Watchmen: The End Is Nigh is a fun, fist-flinging romp for the few hours that it lasts. The $20 price tag is a steep one, but for anyone who enjoys a good old-fashioned beat-'em-up, The End Is Nigh delivers.

Pretty much all you do for the entire game is beat up bad guys, and the combat is good enough to stay fun throughout. Whether you're playing as Rorschach or Nite Owl (the only two playable characters), the fundamentals are simple: light attack, heavy attack, block, and throw. Peppering your opponent with attacks works well, and there are some nice animation touches that make even this basic combat enjoyable. Throwing enemies is particularly delightful, whether it be into a crowd, off of a ledge, or into a wall. As you progress, you'll encounter tougher enemies that block your basic attacks, so you have to use the various combos you learn along the way in order to stun them or knock them down. These combos add new animations to the mix and are generally a bit nastier than your normal attacks. However, the best animations are the finishers, which you activate by matching the button prompt that appears over the head of a weakened enemy. The camera zooms in during these brutal flurries, allowing you to appreciate every blow. While Nite Owl's no slouch, Rorschach is the clear standout here: his finishers are so manic and so vicious that you can't help but cringe and cackle with delight as he just keeps hitting a guy who is clearly unconscious.
Basic attacks, combos, throws, and finishers make up the bulk of your fighting move set, but Rorschach and Nite Owl have a few other tricks up their sleeves. They can each counterattack easily, disarming any armed opponents and positioning themselves for a strike. Rorschach will even hold onto these weapons, and his brutal finishers get even nastier when there is a crowbar involved, though watching him wield a knife like a bludgeon is a bit silly. Each hero also has two special attacks that drain energy from a meter in the corner of the screen. Rorschach can do a short bull rush or freak out and do more damage for a short period of time. Nite Owl's grenade stuns anyone nearby, and he can use the electric charge in his suit to zap a large radius of foes.
As you fight your way through the rough areas of town, you'll encounter a few different breeds of thug and lowlife, some tougher than others. It's easy to die if you get yourself surrounded and try to punch your way out, but judicious use of counterattacks and special moves should be enough to get you out of any tight situation. There are throwaway actions here and there, like lever-pulling or valve-turning, and an oddly tricky lock-picking minigame that seems a bit out of place in a game that's all about brute force. Despite these extraneous tasks, a creeping sense of repetition looms over The End Is Nigh, and it's possible you'll grow weary of pounding your way through wave after wave of goons. Though the game mixes up your enemies' fighting styles in order to make you use your entire arsenal, the action can often teeter on the edge of button-mashing boredom. Those inclined to revel in the perverse joy of cracking skulls will be able to keep repetition at bay, but the relatively simple gameplay will quickly wear thin for others.

For all its merits, the combat wouldn't be nearly as fun if it wasn't paired with top-notch graphics. The sharp character models are fashioned after the movie costumes, and the smooth, realistic animations make the action exciting and extremely satisfying. You'll chuckle when Rorschach jams his hands in his overcoat immediately after furiously maiming an entire biker gang, and both he and Nite Owl pack a wickedly pleasing punch. There are occasional physics-based oddities, especially when throwing your enemies, but the animation is still consistently impressive. The detailed environments provide a rich setting for your beatdowns, and stark lights and deep shadows (occasionally too deep) create a dramatic look. The quasi-animated cutscenes provide a few pages' worth of story across the six chapters of the game, and the sinister machinations at work fit nicely into the Watchmen universe.
Though you can have some split-screen fun with a friend, it's baffling that there is no online cooperative mode. That would have made the $20 price tag a little easier to swallow, but as it stands the price feels a bit greedy. Those inclined to tire of repetitive gameplay will find the price of entry too high, but there is some value here. The impressively animated combat is fun and brutal, and the sumptuous environments provide the perfect pugilistic playground. The many unlockable combos provide some replay incentive, and the combat is surprisingly fun to come back to even after you've beaten the game. Though it may be shallow, overpriced, and likely to disappoint anyone hoping for more weighty fare, Watchmen: The End Is Nigh is ultimately a simple, well-crafted game that will please those looking to dish out some good old-fashioned beatdowns.

By Chris Watters, GameSpot

Hammerin' Hero Hands-On

We smash the living daylights out of pretty much anything that moves in this wacky side-scroller.

As a title for a game in which you can unlock a variety of new occupations, Hammerin' Hero isn't entirely accurate. Yes, you'll begin this action-heavy side-scroller as a hammer-wielding carpenter on a quest to literally smash corporate greed, but the game's main draw is that you'll soon be crushing evil industrialists under such guises as a sushi chef, a professional baseball player, and a deep-sea diver. If that all sounds a little strange, it's because Hammerin' Hero is precisely that. But fear not: We've been spending some time with Hammerin' Hero in an effort to clear things up a bit before this PSP game's April 7 release.

The eccentric storyline goes like this: You play as a carpenter named Gen, a young man whose trade allows him to craft buildings with a ludicrously huge hammer. But when an evil corporation led by a man named Kuromoku comes rolling into town threatening to smash Gen's residential neighborhood in order to build more profitable structures, Gen takes justice into his own hands--by running and jumping from left to right smashing every bad guy he can. The Japanese neighborhoods that make up the game's environments are filled with all manner of evil construction workers, evil bulldozers, evil corporate helicopters, and so on. And your job is to smash them using a simple control scheme that allows you to jump, light attack, and heavy attack.
Every few levels, you'll unlock a new occupation that lets you do that job in a slightly different way. As a deep-sea diver, you can take out enemies from afar using an anchor on a chain, for example, while a DJ can toss records at people. More up-close-and-personal options include taking a full home-run swing with a baseball bat as a ballplayer or slapping enemies with a giant fish as a sushi chef. You commit to one occupation before the level starts, but you can visit your girlfriend and have her make you a magical bento box that gives you the ability to transform into another occupation midlevel, but only if you've picked up the necessary ingredients (for example, a tuna or a salmon) throughout previous levels.
The action in Hammerin' Hero is quick and challenging. The levels are short but are packed with a number of bosses for you to take on. And the environments are delightfully absurd, too. They start out ordinary enough, with levels taking place in Japanese residential neighborhoods and amusement parks, but eventually you'll get to a place like a live baseball game that requires you to fight your way through a demonic pitching machine and a spike-covered catcher who shoots missiles from his chest. Making things even more hectic is that you'll almost always see frantic civilians attempting to run from harm's way. The overall look of the game is chaotic, quirky, and thoroughly Japanese.
Hammerin' Hero is being brought to North America by Atlus. It may not fall into the strategic role-playing genre most people know the publisher for, but it's every bit as eccentric as their previous work. You can expect to see Hammerin' Hero released for the PSP on April 7.

By Shaun McInnis, GameSpot

New York Comic-Con: Unbound Saga First Impressions

Dark Horse Comics gave us a first look at its upcoming PSP game, Unbound Saga a sidescrolling beat 'em up developed by Vogster Entertainment. The game takes the tried and true beat 'em gameplay and marries them to a self referential story rooted in comics. We got a look at a work in progress version of the game in the Dark Horse booth and were impressed by the game's Comix Zone flavor.You'll play as Rick Ajax, a self aware comic character who's resigned himself to a life of dealing with whatever "The Maker" throws at him. Rick's unique outlook on his life gets him branded crazy by those around him which prompts him to set out and confront "The Maker". The trip takes him through Toxopolis, a crime filled run down city that looks like it sounds. Along the way he teams up with Lori Machete, an equally surly lady who's big on kicking and stabbing, that you'll eventually be able to play as well.

The game may sound a little high concept but the bottom line is Unbound Saga is basically the closest we've ever seen to a Comix Zone update. You'll fight your way through levels broken up into comic panel stages. As you clear out enemies you'll advance to the next panel by jumping up or down. The action is complicated by The Maker, whose hand you see popping up onscreen and drawing in new enemies. The combat system lets you mix punches, kicks, throws, and grabs into a painful beat down for your enemies. You'll also be able to pick up a fair amount of the objects in the level and use them to beat your enemies senseless. The beat downs pay off as downed enemies give up health power ups and experience points you can use to upgrade Rick and Lori's special moves. The basic control is pretty solid although not as responsive as we'd like it to be. You can move up, down, left and right in the fighting plane which is useful, but not as fast as we'd like. Moving forward and backward is also a little sluggish, which makes double tapping forward to run a little tricky. Running at enemies is useful since you can lead into flying kicks and punches. The comic theme is helped along by artwork from comic artist Cliff Richards who supplies the animated cutscene images that set up the story. While the hand drawn art looks sharp in the cutscenes, Vogster is using 3D graphics for the game. Rick and Lori look big on the PSP screen and show a lot of detail. The environments are really detailed as well and have a nice distressed look to them. The enemies have all that detail plus the added flourish of dissolving into a flurry of paper when they're smacked down. We have to say we liked Unbound Saga quite a bit. The Comix Zone feel definitely won us over. The combat system is a little simplistic but there's a good amount of variety to the combos and how differently Rick and Lori play. There's also a survival mode to add some replayablility to the whole package too. From the look of things so far Unbound Saga should be a welcome addition to the PSP library this year. The game's price is likely to be more welcome as, given that it's going to a PSN only release with no physical disc, Dark Horse should be able to keep the price pretty reasonable.

Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Hands-On

We team up and face new multiplayer challenges in Koei's upcoming Dynasty Warriors game.

A series that sticks to what it knows best, Dynasty Warriors has games on virtually every platform and continues to provide a venue for those who enjoy epic battles based loosely on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Koei does take a step in a new direction with its latest, Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, a PlayStation Portable game that lets you play with up to three friends via ad hoc to take on a variety of strategic but brief missions and challenges. This marks the first time that you can play a Dynasty Warriors game with a friend on the PSP instead of fighting legions of enemies by yourself. We were able to play an early demo of the game at the Tokyo Game Show, but Koei stopped by to give us another build to check out before the Japanese release in February.

Instead of the massive, large-scale battles that you are used to, the game is focused more on tactics and playing together as a team. We didn't learn too much about the story, but we know that there will be three storylines based on each of the Three Kingdoms. There will be 30 characters taken from the series that you can play as, even though our demo let us play only as Zhao Yun, Xiahou Dun, and Sun Shang Xiang. Instead of button-mashing mindlessly through the mission, you need to pay attention to your friends and find the best way to approach each challenge. In the two missions we've played, the Battle at Hu Lao Gate and Yellow Turban Rebellions, you take on well-protected strongholds filled with enemies, cannons, and other bothersome obstacles that need to be destroyed.
You will still fight against what seems like an endless wave of enemies, but you'll also have to take down challenging bosses in each of these missions to progress and build up your character. The strategy involves how you approach the final portion. In our experience, we had to have at least one or two people take out turrets and cannons so that we weren't constantly bombarded from all directions. You're also on a timer, which will put some pressure on you to figure out what the best approach is.
Even though each character has his or her weapon specialty, you can choose to wield any weapon that you like in the game and switch between your primary and secondary weapon. As you level, so will your village, which acts as a hub where you can purchase items, weapons, and accessories. You can customize your weapon by using orbs, which will beef up your current weapon of choice with an element. Another way to improve your character is to gather chi, which can improve your fighting skills and let you perform special moves, such as super jumps and teleportation.
Using the X button, you can hover in the air to attack enemies, and the square and triangle buttons are used for normal and strong attacks. The L button is used to lock on to enemies, and the R button lets you dash. It's unfortunate that you have no control over the camera, though the L button does reset the view. As you're fighting, you're building up a fury gauge, rather than a Musou gauge, at the bottom left corner of the screen. Once it's full, you can hit the triangle and circle buttons at the same time to enter into a fury mode, in which your character becomes stronger for a limited period or time. Or you can use up your entire gauge and hit the triangle and circle buttons again to do a more devastating attack, which came in handy when we were destroying surrounding cannons.

As much fun as it is to button-mash your way through a hoard of well-dressed foes, Strikeforce heads in a more interesting direction by letting you play cooperatively and in a more strategic manner. Although it looks and sounds similar to previous games, it's worth looking into if you have friends with PSPs. We were told that there will be downloadable content available as well, including new items and additional quests. Stay tuned for more Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce updates as they become available. The game is set to be released in early Q2 in North America.

By Sophia Tong, GameSpot