I’ll hold my hands up here and admit this ... I was supremely underwhelmed with the showing of Modern Warfare 2 at this year’s Microsoft press conference. I’m not sure why, it just didn’t “wow” me like COD4 did when I first saw it a few years back. After a long bloody few days at E3 and with 30 minutes of the show left on the last day, I had one game left to see, Modern Warfare 2. In the end I couldn’t have planned it any better, ending such a successful show with a bang and with Infinity Ward restoring my faith in their franchise. That’s a double whammy closer if there ever was one. Before I go on, let me first point out that the walkthrough that took place behind closed doors was an extended version of the one at the conference and from a personal standpoint ... the press conference unveiling skipped out the best bits which made it seemed disjointed.
With Infinity Ward’s Drew McCoy at the helm, we pick up the mission, “Cliffhanger,” right at the beginning with fan favourite MacTavish on hand to assist McCoy’s character, “Roach.” It might be worth noting at this point that Modern Warfare 2 is in fact a direct sequel to the 2007 title and similarly, tells the story from multiple perspectives. This scene will be familiar to people who managed to see the Microsoft press conference, but being in a more intimate environment allowed us to pick up on things that were lost in the white noise of the Monday morning conference. It tended to be the little things we noticed more ... the impressive attention to detail. As Roach traversed the cliff edge and continued to climb the cliff-face, we couldn’t help but notice the little things, like the ice gripping onto MacTavish’s beard, the much more refined and impressive character models, the wind whistling across the cliff-face wildly blowing about the tassels on Roach’s jacket and the ice cracks getting steadily bigger the longer Roach’s ice-pick stayed embedded in the icy cliff-face.
The first part of the mission was to stealth through an enemy encampment taking advantage of the low level visibility and harsh conditions. Roach and MacTavish made use of their suppressed rifles and heart beat detectors on their weapons to get in unannounced. Just after Roach places the C4 on the fuel station, the press conference gameplay cut away, however, luckily for us, the mission continued. The attention to detail continued to become more apparent the further the mission went on, whether we highlight the light snow fall, the harsh winds echoing across the base or the MiGs flying overhead, they all help create an atmosphere. An atmosphere and mood that helps you get immersed in the gameplay and the world that Infinity Ward have created.

(this screenshot is not associated with the walkthrough. Infinity Ward & Activision have only released 3 fairly generic and random screens so far ... but we want to make it look pretty of course)

From this point, MacTavish ordered Roach to sneak around the back of one of the hangars and make his way towards the mission objective. Roach made his way up a flight of stairs inside of the hangers and eventually found himself at the target computer where he continued to download the sensitive information. It’s at this point the shit really hits the fan. Unfortunately the stealth mission was about to turn a little John Rambo. Your superior, MacTavish, appears to have been compromised and that means that Plan B is now the only viable solution if both of you are to get out of there alive. As the enemy troops approach MacTavish, the previously placed C4 is detonated creating a distraction, allowing Roach to storm in and save the day. It’s about here that the Microsoft press conference drops back into the action.
The next area was just all out war as Roach and MacTavish attempted to flee the base and head for the extraction point whilst having to contend with the enemy on full alert along the way. It’s here we encountered a much more open and less linear environment that we really didn’t see much of in the original. Whether this is a sign of things to come for the title, who knows, we don’t. This was a vertical splice and we’re not mind readers ... yet.
The next scene – listen to me, I’m talking as if it’s a film now – takes Roach and MacTavish down a large snowy embankment. One scripted MacTavish ice-pick to the chest later and you’ll find yourself aboard a snowmobile heading to extract. Before I make obvious note of the “ZOMG, rideable vehicles in Modern Warfare 2!!!!!1!” I must draw attention to the impressive and realistic character animations that I’d seen throughout; the MacTavish ice-pick to the chest incident was just a perfect example of that realism. Where was I? Oh, I know ... vehicles. Of course the snowmobile means that Modern Warfare 2 will feature at least one rideable vehicle, but how far they take that remains to be seen. McCoy did add though that there was “no vehicle mandate” stating the snowmobile fits from a design perspective.
Halfway through the snowmobile chase the Microsoft press conference showing faded out and ended. I’m not sure why though, because the huge downhill chase scene – showing off the large environment and impressive draw distance – that followed, was one of my highlights of the presentation. If I could use one word to describe it, “wow” might actually be pretty damn appropriate. When MacTavish and Roach reached the end of the run, one cliché Hollywood style jump across a large crevice later and our two boys are at the extraction point and the presentation ends.

The Modern Warfare 2 engine has been tweaked and upgraded since COD4, and rightly so as well. Infinity Ward highlighted a few key upgrades that allowed them to get the best out of the engine for Modern Warfare 2. The first tech upgrade was now that the engine features “texture streaming,” ultimately allowing bigger environments and a much higher level of detail in the world to be portrayed. That much was apparent in the walkthrough. The second major upgrade was the enemy AI, as Infinity Ward sought to make it more dynamic, which must be a necessity especially with their new focus on creating bigger environments. Seeing as not all the action took place in narrow corridors, the scripted AI of COD4 would never have worked. Now the enemies will be more aware of their surroundings, whether it be where they are, posing behind cover for instance, or where you are; watch out for that melee now. This essentially means that they’ll move around and the battles should never be the same, giving it that more natural and instinctive feeling.
Infinity Ward seems to be back on form with Modern Warfare 2, but then again, are they ever off form? Questions regarding campaign length were inevitably answered with the usual non-committal response, “we’re not sure yet.” A similar non-committal response was issued when questions regarding the multiplayer were pinged around, although they did remind us of the two exclusive Xbox 360 map packs being available after launch. What we did see on show was Infinity Ward delivering another Hollywood style shooter with plenty of variation throughout. Our first impressions of the shooter, out this fall, are that this bad boy oozes class and style, and we’re excited to see more of the title in the coming months.
Modern Warfare 2 is currently slated for a November 10th release in North America. Europe should expect it on the 13th.

It seems like Dragon Age: Origins has been hovering around in the background for some time now ... that’s because it has. Announced as far back as E3 2004, Dragon Age: Origins, the “spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate,” has been in production now for well over 6 years. For BioWare fans and those eagerly anticipating the game, the wait is nearly over as Dragon Age: Origins will be with us by the end of October. The fantasy RPG was one of three BioWare titles on show at this year’s E3 and we got the chance to see it in action, better still ... we actually saw a dragon! Seriously! It only took 6 years.

Dragon Age: Origins casts you into the role of a Grey Warden plagued with the formidable task of stopping the Blight from raining down death and destruction on the fantasy world. The Wardens are an ancient order that have been around for a long time, longer than Oprah apparently, and have long stood to defend the world from the Blight. The Blight are ravenous dark spawn who are unified by an arch demon (you know, that big dragon we keep seeing) by bringing them to the surface where they spoil the lands and poison the water. Seeing as the Wardens are the only ones able to defeat an arch demon, the fate of the world rests in their hands.
Your story begins from one of six different origins which not only affects your introduction into the game, but so much more. Like many other BioWare games, Dragon Age: Origins has deep seated roots in choice and consequence which will intertwine with the main themes of the game; violence, lust and betrayal. The demonstration at E3 allowed us to see a softer side of the game as Lead Designer, Mike Laidlaw focussed on the relationship and lust aspect, and what sort of implications and bonuses it can carry.

Dragon Age: Origins allows you, the player, to fuse meaningful relationships with various characters in your party. Your decisions effectively dictate how they act as part of your party, with some decisions improving their combat efficiency as they gain faith in your leadership, and other decisions having an opposite effect. We pick up our Warden about 30-40 hours into the game in the party camp – a moving location that allows you to interact with your allies in a peaceful locale. Our Warden’s current love interest is Leliana, a master archer who has shared many an intimate moment with our hero (or villain). To stir the boat a little here and demonstrate the party reaction and interaction aspects of the title, Laidlaw navigates across the encampment to Morrigan, the parties’ sorceress.
Morrigan has a hunger for collecting lore and rituals, and just as chance would have it, our Grey Warden has a book of secrets that she may be interested in. After handing over the book to the busty wench, Morrigan acquires a new skill meaning she will peform better in combat. This is all down to her being much more assured of your leadership. Up until now, Morrigan has been rather flirty with you, and this new act has opened up the chance for our Warden to bed this fair maiden. At this point, you can choose which way to pursue it. Being a live demonstration, Laidlaw decided to pursue the Morrigan love interest but of course skipped the “love scene” (let’s see Fox blow this one out of proportion). “Love isn’t free guys,” Laidlaw jokes.

Each of your party members in Dragon Age: Origins will have their own characteristics – all members will have needs, motives and desires. As a result of your womanising, Leliana is quite pissed off to say the least and demands you make a choice between her and Morrigan, and show them both a little respect. Laidlaw went with the crowd on this one choosing Morrigan as the Warden’s true holder of his heart. As a result, Leliana now becomes disapproving of our main character which will negatively affect her in combat. Laidlaw comments that you can actually disgruntle them enough to make them leave your party, and on some instances if things escalate fast enough, force them into attacking you. The whole interaction with your party seems like a complex and intuitive system but only reading what your character says rather than hearing dialogue seems a bit of a faux pas to us and a little 1990. Don’t expect anything as advanced as Mass Effect’s dialogue because you’ll be sorely disappointed.

The second part of the presentation/walkthrough was more combat orientated as the Warden and co. head out to visit Flemeth, the source of the book of the secrets you gave Morrigan, and her mother. Flemeth was not only expecting your confrontation but heavily infers that Morrigan is just using you, and using sex as a weapon – something that Laidlaw commented was entirely possible. This puts you in a bind giving you the option to abandon Morrigan to her fate, work with Flemeth to cast her over to the old witch or kill Flemeth. As usual, the almighty power of sex presides and so the Warden chooses to kill Flemeth ... or at least try. Did we mention that Flemeth was a shapeshifting mage who could turn into a dragon? Ah ha ... course we didn’t.

So our band of merry men face off against the huge dragon and its multi dimensional stomps, tail sweeps and kicks. There is at this moment in time an awful lot of blood spillage going on, and the Warden and his allies seem to be struggling. It’ll be up to Morrigan to heal the wounded and shapeshift into a spider to poison the dragon before the Warden can gain the upper hand. Whilst Morrigan’s trickery had the dragon distracted, it gave the Grey Warden enough time to mount Flemeth the dragon and drive a sword through her skull ... as you do, pretty much wrapping up the demonstration.
Dragon Age: Origins looks to be shaping up to be a fantasy RPG of many different dimensions but nothing on show struck me in the face as being outstanding. The interactivity of the party does seem pretty complex and in-depth, and combined with the choice and consequence aspects of the title; it could really bring the game into its own. However, I’m still pretty astounded that in the 21st century, with a renowned developer like BioWare, we still have to read text from the bottom of a screen for our main character’s dialogue outside of the cut scenes. You’ve also got to question why for such a huge trade show like E3, BioWare decided that a 15 minute presentation on the birds and the bees in Dragon Age, finishing off with 5 minutes of combat was a good balance. Of course, it’s a BioWare title, so you’ve got to expect a powerful story and delivery, but everything from the presentation just screamed Carry On Lord of The Rings. Sure there was blood and gore, but after seeing the trailers released in the build up to E3, I had to question whether I was looking at the same game. Let’s hope for a better showing in Cologne in August.

Dragon Age: Origins will be available on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this coming October 20th in North America and what we can only assume is October 23rd in Europe.

Source: X360A.org

Ever wanted to see what your face looks like after Muhammad Ali steps in the ring with you? Ever wanted to see what your brother's face looks like when you've stepped in the ring with him? Well now, thanks to EA, you can ... without actually doing it.

Fight Night Round 4's "Photo Game Face" allows you to do just that, without having an Xbox Live Vision camera as well which will surely please some people. Pretty nifty little, although pointless, feature and if anyone wants to knock me out come June 25th (European release date), I'll whack my face up so you can download it and knock ten tonnes of crap out of me. Hey, and who said I did nothing for you guys?