Shadows of the Damned Updated Hands-On Preview

Shadows of the Damned is a game with a customizable weapon system, where one of the weapons is a handgun called "the boner." In other words, you can upgrade your boner. Shadows of the Damned is also a game with hideous, horned demons. One of them is named Christopher. He's incredibly polite and speaks in a charming southern accent. Notice a pattern here? Shadows of the Damned is kind of insane.

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As the latest project from No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture, Shadows of the Damned carries that same absurd sense of humor that fans of the studio have come to expect. The jokes are often vulgar, but they're well done if you don't mind a few rough chuckles in your video game dialogue. It's also a much darker game than previous Grasshopper titles; it's a game studio head Suda 51 describes as "a road movie set in Hell." Ultimately, what you've got here is a game of contrasts; it walks a fine line between horror and comedy. And if our recent hands-on demo is any indication, it seems to be pulling it off.
At its core, Shadows of the Damned is familiar stuff. It's a third-person shooter dressed up in themes of lightness and darkness (which you can read about in detail in our most recent preview). You've got a collection of guns that, despite such names as the boner, the teether, and the monocussioner, behave more or less like the usual array of shotguns and machine guns you've fired countless times before. The wrinkle here is that you need to remove the cloak of darkness from enemies to render them vulnerable to your gunfire. Thankfully, each of your weapons has a handy illuminating alternate fire to do so. In practice, it feels a lot like the flashlight mechanic from Alan Wake.
The difference here, of course, is that Shadows of the Damned is absolutely out of its mind and that the third-person shooter core is merely a springboard for various forms of insanity. For example, healing yourself during battle isn't done with mere health packs--you have to down a bottle of tequila or sake to restore your spirits. And the torch you carry to light up the darkened corners of the world is also a jive-talking English demon named Johnson. At one point, before encountering a particularly nasty boss, Johnson remarks, "It sounds like a cat having sex with a harmonica! And I don't mean the consensual kind." So that's Johnson.
One of our enemies during this demo was a giant head on a column or, rather, four heads on a single column. We had to fire at the glowing red orbs ornamenting this twisted statue while taking on a series of ghost demons that just couldn't help but take part in the festivities. After this run-and-gun action, we had to scale the interior of what appeared to be a massive church tower. This was achieved by leaping onto an equally massive chandelier and swinging about wildly, smashing everything in sight until we somehow made it up to the top. We're not sure how the physics of this section worked, but the bottom line here is that there was a lot of smashing. That appears to be something of a theme in this game, and we're OK with it.

See, the trick is to shoot the demons with gun bullets.

The whole game takes place in Hell, as mentioned earlier, but this version of Hell looks more like a sleepy European village shrouded in darkness and evil spirits. Think of it as the world's worst (or best!) backpacking trip through Europe. The level we played through (a brief 15-minute chunk of the game) was a linear affair that involved a lot of running through narrow alleyways before encountering enemies in a large courtyard before being funneled back into a narrow alley of some sort. We're hoping that other parts of the game involve more freedom to explore this twisted city, though we will say that the environmental design is awfully well done. There always seems to be some terrifying castle or skyline looming ominously overhead that is hiding behind a dimly lit layer of fog.
Ultimately, though, it looks like Shadows of the Damned's biggest strength is its personality: protagonist Garcia Hotspur is a tattooed, slick-haired, purple-leather-jacket-wearing force to be reckoned with, and Johnson seems like a pretty entertaining costar. When you add some twisted enemy and boss designs, you've got a game that oozes character. Hopefully, the combat evolves into more than just Alan Wake light elements followed by "shoot the bright glowing thing on the boss," because then this game could be something special. We'll have to wait and see when Shadows of the Damned is released on June 21.

Kung Fu Panda 2: The Video Game Hands-On Preview

The rivalry between Dreamworks and Pixar is well documented, with both studios battling for mind and dollar share in the animated film arena. Three years ago Dreamworks released Kung Fu Panda, a story about an anthropomorphic martial arts mammal, and it proved enough of a success for the company to justify a sequel. With the follow-up film due out in late May this year, we managed to get our hands on an early version of Kung Fu Panda 2: The Video Game.

Not surprisingly for a tie-in movie game, story plot details are being kept hush-hush for now. What we do know so far is that the game is set after the events of the second film and will follow Po and the Furious Five as they attempt to take on a new threat facing their home.
The Xbox 360 version of the game that we saw was playable only with the Kinect's motion-sensing camera and included a range of minigames. We picked a fighting game called Free Fight, and before we got into the fray, we first needed to navigate the menus--simple enough. All we needed to do was swipe around using our left hand to make a selection, before punching at the screen with a right jab to lock it in. The game was straight brawling and put us head-to-head against a gang of angry-looking alligator martial artists hell-bent on taking Po down.
Despite outnumbering us considerably, we were only ever prompted to fight a single gator at a time. Even at the highest difficulty, we didn't find the game particularly challenging as we palmed off attackers, though it's clear that the game is being targeted at a younger audience. During combat, the game recommended new moves to try via an icon box at the bottom of the screen, but we were able to get by recycling the same basic gestures. The game appeared to follow a pattern where we would throw two or three strikes, block once, and then get back to swinging. We were able to hold our own using basic kicks and punches to take out our opponents, but every so often the game would prompt us to yell out "Tigris, attack!" which would then tag Po's friend Tigris to join the skirmish and perform a combo move.
Fighting isn't the only activity that you will be undertaking in Kung Fu Panda 2, and our guide confirmed that there will be other minigames, including one that has you ducking under virtual objects being thrown, and jumping around the room.

From our brief look at the game, Kung Fu Panda 2: The Video Game seems like it could be a fun minigame compilation for younger gamers based on the popular panda franchise. It's a very different take on the previous game's platforming focus, and we're eager to see some of the other modes the title has to offer before it launches on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS in June to coincide with the film. Stay tuned for our full review soon.

LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars Review

The Good

• Bold artistic design  
• Drop in/drop out cooperative play is a hoot.

The Bad

• Few clear objectives and awful visual feedback  
• Exhausting bouts against respawning enemies  
• Lots of small control issues  
• Space combat is way too confining  
• No online option.

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars encapsulates the far-reaching breadth of war. Space assaults pit plucky fighter crafts against monstrous battle cruisers; on land, a battalion of rocket-wielding clones take on a six-legged tank; and the entire affair is tied together with a sweeping story that includes dozens of characters from across the universe. This game is absolutely bursting with content, and the variety and scope of battles separates it from its much more restrictive forebearers. But all is not well in this far-away galaxy. Obtuse puzzles and directionless objectives force you to frequently stop your lightsaber-swinging fun to figure out what the heck you have to do next, and an assortment of control quirks have you fighting the game as often as you're fighting the empire. These problems pervade every inch of this epic adventure, overshadowing improvements in other areas. The Clone Wars contains the lighthearted fun the series is known for, but frustration bubbles just below the surface in this uneven sequel.

Jar Jar to the rescue!

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The theatrical releases of Star Wars have been tapped dry at this point, so The Clone Wars draws its inspiration from television's well. The animated series hasn't ingrained itself into the popular culture quite like the beloved movies, however, which means there's a chance you may not be familiar with the plight of Commander Cody and Wag Too. It's easy enough to understand the gist of this mostly silent story, but a lot of the more esoteric references will be lost on casual fans of the franchise. Although this tale may go over your head at times, your eyes will be captivated nonetheless by the impressive visuals. In a marked step up from previous games in the series, Lego Star Wars III has a unique style all its own that meshes realistic environments with Lego characters and ships. Foliage-dense planets teeming with miniature droids are a sight to behold, and a variety beautiful vistas ensure there's always another piece to this delectable puzzle. The nod toward realism does remove some of the Lego personality that defined the other games in the series, but it's ultimately a worthy trade-off for the eye-catching landscapes throughout this adventure.

There are 18 distinct missions across 13 planets in The Clone Wars, and it can take more than 20 hours to reach the ending credits. Roughly half of the game should be familiar to series veterans. You stroll through tanker ships, desert towns, and all manner of alien environs solving puzzles and cutting down foes with your crew of merry do-gooders. Each character class has its own set of powers--for instance, Jedi can move items with the Force, droids can open locked doors, and clones can grapple up ledges--and you need to switch between them on the fly to solve puzzles and take down enemies. Whacking the environment to get studs is as addictive as ever, and there's a good mix between puzzle solving and combat to ensure you don't get bored. It's a fun, though somewhat predictable, jaunt, but a number of small problems continually interfere with your enjoyment.

Ride that horned beast!

The most pressing issue is a lack of clear objectives. The Clone Wars does a poor job of pointing you in the right direction, and lousy visual feedback further hampers your chance for success. For instance, a door may flash red when you shoot it with your blaster, which means the door is destructible, but you have to guess how to blow it up. You may need to keep shooting it with your current character or switch to someone else with a different power, and there's a chance no one in your party can destroy it. Basic explanations of how your actions are affecting the environment are absent in The Clone Wars, and this leads to lost hours while you dumbly explore every option and hope you happen upon a solution. Fundamental problems don't stop there. Using the Force to move objects will give you new appreciation for Luke's struggles on Dagobah. Telepathically maneuvering items is incredibly sloppy, yet the game demands that you be ultraprecise at times. Switching between characters requires you to be standing very close together, which is a serious inconvenience when your party is split up. Respawning enemies are a tiresome annoyance that makes it difficult to focus on the puzzles blocking your path. And targeting is a complete mess. You're just as likely to select an ally as you are the intended object in the background, and this ineptitude turns even breezy diversions into painstaking affairs.
The Clone Wars doesn't confine itself to the narrow corridors of previous games in the series. There are large-scale battles as well, and these offer a vastly different experience. In a nod toward real-time strategy games, during some missions, you need to build up your base to overthrow the invading forces. A dozen or so small camps dot the landscape, and you control each area by clearing out your enemies. Once you've taken over, you build cannons, barracks, shields, and other tactical tools in an attempt to make your army strong enough to declare victory. It's a neat concept that doesn't quite capitalize on its promise. First of all, the levels are so large that it takes forever to jet from one place to another. There are vehicles to speed up the locomotion, but this doesn't help matters. You spend more time schlepping from one place to another than planning assaults, and this leads to tiring monotony. Second, arbitrary camera restrictions limit your power. You need cannons to destroy some of your enemy's structures. Once these big weapons are erected, you hop inside and point where you want to fire. But oftentimes the camera inexplicably snaps back after you've locked on, and the constant pull and tug with your view makes it unnecessarily difficult to launch an offensive volley.

Hey, how come he gets four lightsabers?

The final part of the Clone Wars experience is the space battles. These are some of the most exhilarating sequences in the game. Lasers flood the screen, enemy ships scream in from all sides, and explosions dot the black sky with red flames. The uplifting score and bombastic sound effects add to the chaos, creating a volatile atmosphere that captures the galactic rush from the movies. But just like every other aspect of this disappointing game, the potential is limited by a number of festering problems. The controls are the biggest culprit here. Movement is jerky and unintuitive, so you're frequently turning in the wrong direction or performing a barrel roll when you just wanted to cruise around like the Jedi stud that you are. And though the vast expanse of space is spread out all around you, you're restricted to moving on a 2D plane (you can't fly higher or lower). It feels stifling to move in such a limited space, and the hokey method of exploring other sections diminishes the immersion. You have to latch on to what looks like a satellite tow service to shoot to another plane, and having to artificially travel to higher parts of space makes you feel like a Jedi baby who still has his training saber.
Cooperative play elevates every part of this adventure to a higher level. The pacing and control issues aren't nearly as damaging with a friend by your side, and two brains can figure out the obtuse puzzles more quickly than one. If you're feeling feisty, you can challenge your friend in head-to-head matches in the RTS mode, and that provides mild entertainment for a little while. Unfortunately, there's no online option, so another good idea is tempered by subpar execution. And that is the theme that carries through every aspect of The Clone Wars. This game is a noteworthy leap in a number of key areas, especially visuals and gameplay diversity, but these positive steps are hindered by archaic design choices and a lack of fine-tuning. The Clone Wars proves that you need more than ambition to shine.

Naruto Shippuden: Shinobi Rumble Review

The Good

• Adorable sprite animation.

The Bad

• Interruptions give combat an uneven flow  
• Many characters feel the same  
• Fighting feels disjointed  
• Touch-screen controls are inconsistent.

The Naruto anime series thrives on creating unique characters armed with outrageous abilities. It is a world where mortal combat is the logical solution to any problem and it has, therefore, found a home in fighting games. At their best, these games unite the wildly diverse cast of the series within a cohesive system. The action is fast, flashy, and absolutely crazy. When they are at their worst, you have Naruto Shippuden: Shinobi Rumble. This four-player brawler's very design bleeds apathy, manifested in a myriad of tiny nuisances that suck out any enjoyment you might derive within the first few hours. What's left is a disjointed mess that is painfully simplistic in concept, deficient in execution, and destined to fall swiftly into obscurity.

No amount of ninja can stop the power of the nine-tails.

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Shinobi Rumble offers up no more complexity than a side-scrolling brawler and none of the fun. Two buttons manage your normal attacks; one is a quick-hitting series of jabs while the other is a combination of uppercut, guard break, forward smash, and a character-specific attack depending on its combination with the directional pad. The other two buttons manage your jumping and blocking, while the right shoulder button lets you teleport. These simple controls make it easy for anyone to hop in and play, but the game's tedium makes it just as easy to hop back out. The tactics used when playing Naruto can just as easy be applied to Sakura, or Kakashi, or Sasuke, or so many others. A few characters, such as Shikamaru, who excel at ranged- or projectile-based combat offer some deviation from the norm, but Shinobi Rumble clearly runs dry of ideas long before its characters.
The combat is rife with repetition, with the trusty quick jab and the powerful guard-breaking attacks being the be all, end all of combos. The game tries to distract from this by tossing in items and power-ups, which appear randomly throughout the fight; however, they are no more than a distraction. After dispensing the aforementioned combo, your opponent will eventually be knocked down, at which point he or she will likely teleport away and disengage from the fight. After a few beats, one of you will catch up with the other for another brief skirmish. These cat-and-mouse fights kill any sense of cohesion and, instead, feel like an endless series of proxy battles that last until one side stops getting up. In larger confrontations, your best bet is to simply hang on the sidelines and lob your devastating special techniques randomly into the fray. Soon, it feels like you are fighting at your opponents rather than against them.
These special techniques are the heart of Shinobi Rumble's woes. What should have been the most exciting element of the game is, instead, its biggest detractor. It all starts with the touch screen. Each character has three special techniques assigned to him or her by default and mapped to the touch screen. To execute a technique, you either swipe your thumb over the screen and hopefully hit the right button or remove your hand entirely from the controls to carefully pick out the intended attack. Without the aid of a stylus, the touch screen can be unresponsive or imprecise, especially when selecting the small icons. This issue is especially problematic in a fighting game in which timing and precision are paramount. You have to choose between sacrificing precision or timing--a choice Shinobi Rumble shouldn't force you to make.

Looks like Sasuke needs a hand with this fight.

When you do succeed in executing a special technique, the action stops. You are then treated to a brief image of the character's face and the technique's name before the animation plays. This also occurs when you activate chak-rush, a special state that every character may use to prevent your animations from being interrupted. Alone these may not sound so bad; in fact, most fighting games have a special moment of buildup before a big attack is performed. They add excitement to the round and give the players a chance to catch their breath, assess the situation, and plan their next move. And typically, they are a rarity. In Shinobi Rumble, they are not. Characters can employ these moves or enter chak-rush dozens of times during a match--and they can all overlap each other. This spoils any tension that may build up during a fight because you are constantly subjected to one delay after another, over and over, every single match.
For all their nuisances, the special techniques best define what little diversity there is within the cast. Characters may equip up to three of them and can unlock more by completing special missions in the game's mission mode. These missions represent the game at its most interesting, with such objectives as collecting a certain number of items or fighting with only a limited number of moves. Special stat-boosting scrolls can also be unlocked here. These can be equipped to improve your character's strength, defense, or other traits in the place of a special technique. These light elements of character customization breathe some much-needed variety into the system.
Once you have your favorite character decked out just the way you like, it is time to show him or her off to your friends. Unfortunately, only your immediate posse will get to experience your handiwork due to a regrettable lack of online multiplayer. Thankfully, local wireless play works like a breeze, provided all of your friends have their own copy of the game. In lieu of that, the AI is always there for you; however, its fighting capabilities are sporadic at best. At close range, it is hyperaggressive, with little to no regard of the game's numerous defensive techniques, such as blocking. At a distance, it is comically incapable of navigating its own stages. Standing on a platform sends the computer into a frenzy of jumping up and down in an attempt to surmount a new obstacle, like a puppy begging for scraps. Sometimes, it makes it on the first try, but oftentimes, it takes a lot longer. This sort of boneheaded behavior helps ensure that Naruto Shippuden: Shinobi Rumble won't hold the attention of even the most devoted fans for long.

Your characters can be customized with new moves or stat bonuses.

Fighting games are by nature active experiences. They drive us to think fast and act fast, so the game's underlying mechanics should enhance this tension and drive action forward. Shinobi Rumble works in reverse. What little there is to this game pulls you out of the fight, slows you down, and makes you wait. While it may be fun to explore how Naruto's over-the-top cast has been adapted to fit in this game, once you push past that initial sense of discovery, you're left with a game that is truly barren.

Pokemon Black Version Review

The Good

• Charming visuals  
• Engrossing battle system  
• Collecting Pokemon is incredibly addictive.

The Bad

• It's the same Pokemon formula you've seen before.

From the moment you befriend your first Pokemon at the start of Pokemon Black, everything is reassuringly familiar: the scientist who sends you out on your adventure, your first encounter with bumbling bad guys Team Plasma, and the stories of a legendary Pokemon that will either save or destroy the world. Some tweaks have been made to the visuals and online functions, and a couple of new battle types have been introduced, but these changes are so small as to be insignificant compared to what Pokemon Black borrows from previous games in the series. Original it isn't; yet despite the formulaic nature of your journey and a disappointing storyline, the engrossing battle system makes fighting and catching one of the many new Pokemon as addictive an experience as ever, and it's lots of fun too. There's plenty of time to catch 'em all as well, with a vast world to explore and tons of side quests and postgame content that's a pleasure to play through.

Pokemon have been around for so long at this point that almost everybody you encounter is an expert on them.

Not messing with tradition, Pokemon Black begins with you being summoned to the lab of a local Pokemon professor, who this time is named Juniper. She asks you and your two friends--Cheran and Bianca--to help with her research by becoming Pokemon trainers and cataloguing the many species of Pokemon for listing in the Pokedex. She also gives you one of three Pokemon to take on your journey: Snivy the grass snake, Tepig the fire pig, or Oshawott the sea otter. Pokemon in hand, you're free to explore the Unova region, interacting with the eccentric inhabitants of its towns and cities, as well as members of Team Plasma, whose cartoonish villainy forms the basis of the story. Deviating from the cozy stories of previous installments, the narrative takes a slightly darker turn, touching on the morality of keeping Pokemon. Should they be incarcerated in Pokeballs? Is it right to battle them? Should they be freed? Sadly, these elements aren't deeply explored, with many of the questions simply glossed over--a missed opportunity to give the game a more mature edge.
The disappointing story doesn't detract from the main crux of the game, though: Pokemon battles. As you explore Unova, you encounter rival trainers and wild Pokemon who challenge you to turn-based battles. Choosing the right Pokemon for the job is key because each has an elemental type, which can be weaker or stronger against other types. Each can execute one of four moves at a time, which can be swapped out as new ones are learned. This rock-paper-scissors-like battle system adds a layer of strategy that's very satisfying when you choose just the right Pokemon to counter your opponent's moves, and it encourages you to explore the region and capture new Pokemon types for future battles. It's incredibly easy to get sucked into roaming around, doing nothing but capturing the little blighters, which is a testament to how well the battle system is designed. Though you can capture as many Pokemon as you like to expand your Pokedex, you can only carry up to six of them at a time, making team selection an important process. As in many role-playing games, you have to spend time leveling up your team by gaining experience points during battles, though there isn't an excessive amount of grinding required to progress through the main story.
The strongest opponents you face are gym leaders, of which there are eight to defeat. Before you can battle them, you must solve simple puzzles in each of their gyms, such as figuring out riddles, moving blocks to access hidden areas, or pushing switches in the correct order to open doors. Defeating gym leaders earns you badges, which make it easier to control higher-level Pokemon that you've gained via trades and allow you to challenge elite trainers later in the game. Certain leaders also introduce you to one of two new battle modes: Three-versus-Three and Rotational. Three-versus-Three mode is as it sounds, pitting three of your Pokemon against three of your opponent's Pokemon. Rotational is similar, but your three Pokemon sit in a circular pattern, with one of them taking the lead at the front. You can rotate the circle during a turn to choose which one you want to use or which should absorb your opponent's attack. These battles provide an interesting change from the usual one-on-one fare, so it's a shame that you encounter very few of them during your travels.

Three Pokemon are better than one.

Both the standard and new battle modes have received a visual makeover. The largely static Pokemon animations have been improved, so your Pokemon now sport a lively jiggle when waiting in battle. The visual improvements extend to the world at large as well, with charming 2D sprites blending effortlessly with 3D buildings and objects. Even the camera angles are more adventurous; at times, the camera will sweep across the environment to show off tall buildings or vast bridges that connect towns rather than display things from a fixed viewpoint. Sadly, the audio hasn't received the same treatment. While the chirpy music is well composed and sounds great, the sound effects during battles are as lackluster as ever, featuring uninspiring blips and screeches that lack the oomph to make a battle come to life.
Several new modes have been added to the online functions, now called C-Gear communications. The C-Gear is displayed on the bottom screen at all times when not in a battle, allowing for quick access. You can connect to other players via infrared or a Wi-Fi Connection to the Internet, allowing you to battle, trade, and use a new feature called Feeling Check. Battling and trading your Pokemon with others is great fun, and unless you buy both the Black and White versions of the game, it's the only way to collect all of the different types. Unfortunately, you still have to deal with the dreaded friend codes to battle people you know, but thankfully, random battles and local battles are code free. If you prefer something more sedate, you can play the Feeling Check minigame while linked with another player locally, which tests the compatibility of your Pokemon with others via a rhythm game where you try to tap in time to onscreen markers. It's not the most exciting of experiences, consisting of nothing more than a few blinking lights and some beeps, but you're rewarded with bonus items to use in the single-player if you're in sync with your friend.

Pokemon Black has more fun with its camera angles than previous iterations.

Another online feature is Pass By, which keeps the DS's wireless connection on to exchange information with passing Pokemon players, even when your DS is closed. Statistics, such as which starter Pokemon they chose and how far they've progressed through the game, are logged, which is neat if you want to see how other people are training their Pokemon. Even if you never touch the online features, there's still a ton of content to enjoy once the main storyline is complete--legendary Pokemon to catch, side quests, and three new towns. Thanks to a new seasonality system that freezes parts of the world in winter, previously inaccessible areas are opened up, allowing for more exploration and additional quests to discover.
The small tweaks in Pokemon Black, such as the improved visuals, new battle modes, and enhanced online features, go some way toward making it feel like a new experience, but it's difficult to shake the feeling that this is the same game that's been released countless times before. And yet, underneath the formulaic narrative lies a deep and engaging RPG. The quality of the battle system and that undying urge to catch 'em all means you're still sucked into its world, eager to explore its extremities just to get that one Pokemon no one else has captured yet. If you've never seen the appeal of the series, then the lack of innovation in Pokemon Black will do little to change your mind. Fans, however, should snap it up straight away.

WSC Real 11: World Snooker Championship Review

The Good

• Accurate ball and cue physics  
• Nice visuals which have improved over previous games  
• Varied online game modes  
• Rewind feature lets you correct mistakes.

The Bad

• Camera sometimes obscures your view of the table  
• Truly awful commentary  
• Tutorials don't explain the rules for newcomers  
• Poor Move features.

UK REVIEW--It has been two years since the last official World Snooker Championship game on consoles, and in the interim, developer Dark Energy Digital has significantly upped its game for WSC Real 2011. There are graphical enhancements, new online game modes, and a rewind system to help you correct your mistakes rather than being punished for them. The new features have certainly improved the franchise, and while there isn't much competition in this genre, it's a game that snooker fans should check out.

The green baize looks even sharper this time around.

The main single-player mode in WSC Real 11 is Season, in which you create a new snooker player and start at the bottom of the world rankings. You can change your player's facial appearance and outfit, but the options available are limited, and the results tend to look a little like zombies. Once you've created your slightly undead-looking character you can take to the tables in qualifying rounds for all of the real tournaments from the 2010/11 snooker season. Early in Season mode, you may frequently lose matches and find it tough to progress to the later rounds of tournaments, but even when you lose you still earn experience, which can be used to upgrade your character. Eventually, you get further into each tournament and start playing against famous faces from the world of snooker, such as cover star Ronnie O'Sullivan and Graeme Dott. Depending on your understanding of snooker, competing for the top places in tournaments can feel very slow because there is no option to change the AI difficulty to improve your results. WSC Real 2011 is a game that really wants you to learn how to be a better player, so while the early stages of Season mode can be frustrating, every win is incredibly rewarding.
In addition to Season mode, you can play a separate season of 8-ball pool in 8 Ball mode. Season mode is time consuming due to the length of real-world snooker frames, so 8 Ball offers a much faster alternative. You play as the same character from Season mode and still earn experience. Therefore, playing the pool season continues to make you a better player for the more complex snooker season, while thankfully not feeling like a grind. There's also a Quick Play mode and a Versus mode for local multiplayer, in addition to the online multiplayer. To help you practice your game, there's Free Play, which lets you take shots without an opponent, and Tutorial, which teaches you the controls. Unfortunately, Tutorial mode does little to help you understand snooker's complex rules. There are detailed rules listed in text in the options menu, but the game doesn't make learning the sport engaging for newcomers.
Once you're in a match, WSC Real 11 can be played in two different ways using the standard controller. The first method involves setting power and spin for shots using sliders, and then pressing the X button to play the shot. This is a very simple way for newcomers to get used to picking the correct shots, especially when it's combined with the excellent aiming aid and positional aid. The aiming aid shows you the approximate path of the cue ball and the first ball that the cue ball will come into contact with. The positional aid shows approximately where the cue ball will come to rest after the shot is played. These tools help you learn the nuances of aiming a perfect pot, while still preparing the position of the cue ball for a subsequent shot, or safety. The aids can also be turned off for experienced players looking for a more authentic experience. Snooker fans may also prefer the second, manual option for taking shots. This uses movement of the right analogue stick to simulate your cue action, making for a far more engaging style of gameplay compared to setting shot parameters on sliders and executing with a simple button press. It works very well if you put in the time needed to get used to playing your shots manually.

Move support doesn't produce the level of fidelity that you might expect.

The PlayStation 3 version of WSC Real 11 supports the PlayStation Move. Unfortunately, the Move controls don't offer the level of realism that you might expect from their inclusion. As with the standard controls, you set power and spin on sliders before pushing the Move controller towards the screen to take the shot. In other words, it's a simple and disappointing use of motion controls. The game doesn't come with Move controls out of the box, so you need to download a patch--something to bear in mind if you're a Move owner who's not connected to the PlayStation Network.

Splinter Cell 3D Q&A

Splinter Cell 3DS is a reworking of 2005's fan favorite Fisher adventure, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. It is one of the highest profile launch titles for Nintendo's latest handheld, and we caught up with the game's producer, Fabrice Cuny, to get the lowdown on what you can expect. How long has Splinter Cell 3DS been in production, and how did the project initially come about?
Fabrice Cuny: The project started back in November 2009 when I began to gather the team. Gratefully, some people who we already had working on DS projects were available, and their expertise with this type of console helped us a lot for the design and the integration of our gameplay with the touch screen. We had previously considered the various options, and we had proposed the concept of TCSC3D to our management. And in early January, we went into production without knowing what the future would be.
GSUK: Did you know all of the 3DS's technical specifications at that time?
FC: At that time, we had just a little information on the new Nintendo console, so we got in touch with Nintendo. They came from Japan with 3DS and prototype games, and after a theoretical introduction, we had a chance to play these games and try the hardware. That was such a nice surprise that we’ve decided to extend our scope and redefined our planning. With the stereoscopy in mind, design was exciting and the team came up with new prototypes very quickly.
GSUK: Can you tell us about what Splinter Cell 3DS will offer longtime fans of the series?
FC: SC3D offers a true Splinter Cell experience with all the possibilities to experiment with different ways of playing, from the classic light-and-shadow gameplay combined with the use of all the gadgets to distract or eliminate enemies silently to a more offensive gameplay using weapons Sam acquires during his missions. We also made ​​changes to enhance the experience. For example, we have a brand new mode of vision, thanks to the Fusion Goggles, but I won’t spoil it for you...and 3D texts inspired by the Conviction art style that guide the player through his journey and important narrative moments.
GSUK: Other than 3D graphics, does Splinter Cell 3DS use any of the handheld's other features, such as its cameras or gyroscope?
FC: Other than 3D graphics--available almost everywhere in our game, even in the loading screen--we wanted to use the gyroscope. We thought that the best solution for the game would be to combine it with the optic cable gameplay, and the experience is great. Being able to tilt and yaw the console in order to study the next room for possible encounters is really immersive.
Also, the 3DS kept the touch screen, which is a great addition for our Splinter Cell. We’ve designed the touch screen so the player will control everything related to the tactics and the preparation of the action. Thanks to his thumbs, the player is able to select his weaponry and gadgets. The design of the touch screen was a very interesting challenge, and I think that the team has done a great job with it. I’m convinced that this interface will make the game intuitive and easy to play.
GSUK: What unique challenges are there for developing in 3D?
FC: The challenge is to think outside of the box. Thinking 3D for art is pretty easy, but thinking 3D for gameplay is much more complex. It is all about finding the good balance between innovation and feasibility. The innovation should surprise the player and give him a deeper experience but with the ability of being able to produce the game. So we created some tools to be able to test the 3D on the PC before trying to implement it on the 3DS. This allowed us to define our 3D gameplay faster before really producing it, as the 3D wasn’t yet running on the 3DS and the pace on the PC is faster.
GSUK: Did you find it hard to make a compelling 3D experience knowing that the game still had to be good with the 3D turned off?
FC: 3D games are challenging for this reason, so we stuck to the following creative direction, which was “make the experience enhanced, whether the 3D slider is turned on or off.” Then, the core of the game is a classic Splinter Cell game, but with the 3D on, you have more depth while aiming, you have enhanced grenade aiming, you have more fun exploring the world.
GSUK: It's been suggested that the 3DS has a similar level of processing power as the Wii. Is this the case in your experience?
FC: The 3DS is powerful, and we are able to run the Unreal engine on this console, which is pretty impressive for a handheld machine, and the 3D doesn’t affect the performance (thanks to my amazing programmers). The architecture is different compared to a Wii or some other platforms that we had to work with here at Ubisoft Montreal.
GSUK: One of the apparent benefits of the DS was that it was a very easy platform to develop for, with low costs making for a wide range of innovative games and strong third-party support. How does the 3DS compare?
FC: The 3DS can be much more comparable to a platform between a DSi and a Wii. We are able to create games anywhere from a puzzle game to very high-end game such as Splinter Cell 3D. The tools on the 3DS were brand new, and with every development phase, we had some tools with bugs and crashes. But with version after version, Nintendo provided us a set of tools and the support to help us debug and optimize the game.
GSUK: Where to next for Sam Fisher and the Splinter Cell series?
FC: I can’t tell you anything for now, but watch your back.