Xbox 360 Preview: Sacred 2: Fallen Angel

by nestlekwik

Making some of its first appearances in public, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, an effort of Ascaron Entertainment and CDV Software Entertainment USA, was on hand at Gen Con Indy at the event’s Atari booth. Michael Tata of CDV had the alpha build of the upcoming Xbox 360 version in tow, giving convention goers a first playable glimpse of the multiplayer action RPG. With the label of “2,” obviously the title comes as the follow-up to 2004’s successful release of Sacred on the PC. The second installment actually serves as a prequel to the story, occurring 2,000 years prior to the events of Sacred.

The main focus of Sacred 2’s plot revolves around a substance known as T-Energy – a powerful blue goo that serves as the source of life and prosperity and powers magic. Given how powerful the substance was, it didn’t take long before the allure of such power divided the people, who then turned against each other in an attempt to control the T-Energy. What originally began as a civil war between the Ancient Elves who once harnessed the amenity soon drew the attention of all of Ancaria’s races, also wanting this energy for themselves. Through the battles, the land has been ravaged and the spilling of T-Energy into the environment has mutated everything existing in it.

While temporary peace had surfaced in the wake of a destroyed land, war is looming once again and the situation provides players with two motives. Sacred 2’s light campaign sees players looking to restore order to the land and prevent the impending war while players can also opt for the game’s shadow campaign in which players only care about their own desires of controlling the T-Energy for themselves. Only one character class returns from Sacred, the Seraphim, with the new entry adding in playable versions of the High Elf, Dryad, Inquisitor, Shadow Warrior and Temple Guardian races. While players can opt to choose either the light or shadow campaign with four the game’s characters, the Seraphim can only be played via the light campaign and the Inquisitor can only follow the way of the shadow.

Each character has its own strengths and weaknesses, of course, with the High Elf excelling in ancient spell craft, the Shadow Warrior being the game’s hand-to-hand expert and the Temple Guardian being able to use long-range energy attacks. Each character can also choose to follow one of several deities and eventually obtain a unique mount from which they can battle. With six characters and varying options, Sacred 2 is already proving to feature a satisfying amount of depth.

The land of Ancaria will also give each character a ton to do through the course of the game, sizing in at one-and-a-half times the size of the original Sacred and its Underworld expansion combined. Michael Tata disclosed to us that the land covers 22 square miles and takes around six hours to traverse by foot, however, some areas can only be accessed by mounts, teleportation, ships or other special means. Within the land, a number of regions divide Ancaria to include a High Elf region, Human region, Orc region, Troll region, Marshland region, Desert region, Seraphim Island, Jungle region, Dryad Island and the wasteland canyon to provide a different environment with unique inhabitants in every region. Every region will be further highlighted through dynamic weather, which provides the game with varying wind and rain along with day and night cycles.

Each character has 15 combat arts available to them from the onset of the game and must be purchased as runes or received through trade or exchange. These arts are supplemented through skills and every move, spell or buff has a complete tree that allows players to improve or modify these actions. With the advancement of characters, more “preload” slots open up for the character, allowing players to create custom combos, acting much like macros to eventually execute four actions in succession. All characters also have a slot to host a permanent buff such as the High Elf’s ability to summon a hell spawn or the Shadow Warrior’s ability to summon the undead.

While players can tackle the game solo, players will miss out on a number of fleshed-out multiplayer modes. The campaign mode will allow players to follow the storyline together with shared loot and experience and unique party drop items may be found. A free mode drops the storyline to give player access to the full map and side quests, creating an ideal mode for power leveling. Players can also tackle waves of enemies together in an arena to build leaderboard points. If working together just isn’t your thing, though, PvP will be featured along with a leaderboard and those who are completely competitive can enter the “hardcore” mode where only one player leaves and losers are permanently destroyed [nasty!]. According to Tata, players will be able to jump in to your game or leave at any time with up to two players on the same console sharing the same screen, with up to four players enable on Xbox Live (the PC version, however, will allow for up to 16 players).

On the surface, Tata is estimating Sacred 2 to provide 40 hours of play in the main mode alone. The story progresses through around 300 quests, but when you toss in side quests, there is going to be more than 1,000 different quests. The enemies won’t make your quests easy, though, as the full version will promise beefy AI in the baddies. In an interesting twist, given the player’s chosen path and alliances, some monsters may even support the player. Morale will also play a part in enemy performance as the death of the group’s leader will result in enemies losing their courage in battle. If you are stronger, the enemies will run away and avoid you or even possibly return with backup in order to even the odds a little. When you throw in massive boss monsters, players will definitely have to think twice about their game plan.

At GenCon, we were able to wrap our hands around the Xbox 360 controller for an alpha-based single-player romp and the experience has us looking forward to the title. While PC players have access to a mess of keys and mouse commands, the 360 version makes simple use of shoulder and bumper combinations, along with menus, to map every feature and command onto the controller. A lot of work is going to be put into the title until its upcoming release, but even at this stage of development, all of the workings of an action RPG are already in place. In a genre dominated by PCs, it’s great to see such an effort being made on a console and with what CDV Software Entertainment is promising us, it seems few other games on the console will be able to match its longetivity and replayability when it releases.

According to Tata, the PC version is just around the corner with a scheduled September 30 release with the Xbox 360 version following up with a November 4 release. Tata also revealed work is being done on a Playstation 3 version, but no specifics were available for that format’s release as of GenCon Indy.

Xbox LIVE Arcade Review: 1942: Joint Strike

The World War II shooter is back! But how does a game with the title 1942 fare in the year 2008?

by nestlekwik

With Capcom’s string of retro goodness being brought to the Xbox 360 in a truly updated fashion, the company’s World War II arcade bullet fest makes its return. Almost 25 years after 1942 first hit arcades, Joint Strike returns the series to its roots and is another example of why Capcom is one of the very few masters of the Xbox Live Arcade domain.

There’s really not much to explain about 1942. Enemies appear; you shoot enemies; you dodge their bullets. There’s nothing complicated about the formula, but that’s exactly why it has worked for decades and the additions and tweaks Joint Strike made to the 1942 series create a very accessible and challenging action game for the Live library.

The replayability of the title is extremely deceptive at first as players who tear through the game on the easiest difficulty may not find much more to do with the game. At the surface, the game is extremely short, weighing in at five stages. However, players can create a number of different experiences by mixing the game’s four different planes (one plane is hidden in the game) with a number of different difficulties and playing with a teammate opens up more attack options. It’s impossible to experience everything in a single play through, so players that put the controller down after downing the final boss will miss a little bit of the game’s depth. If players are willing to devote the time to the title, they’ll find unique ways to play through the short game a number of times.

The graphics might be a tad small, however, they are extremely detailed and small touches such as bellowing smoke from a player’s damaged planes provide suitable visual cues. Audibly, the game is fantastic with a host of familiar music and sound for fans of the series, all while retuning the sound to bring the game up to date. Thankfully, the control is tight and players have much more at their disposal than hammering on a single button to fire. Players will need those tools in order to tackle this very challenging game.

Even on the easiest difficulty, 1942: Joint Strike isn’t a walk in the park. That being said, the game does a good job of walking the fine line between challenging and insanely stupid hard. The four-star difficulty will challenge vets of the bullet hell genre, but any player should be able to find a difficulty at which they can still fully enjoy the game. The genre is a little more niche while compared to Capcom’s other upcoming Live efforts, but there’s still a little something for everyone for anyone who likes balls-to-the-wall action. While the game is short, the online play could be better and more options and variation such as the escape sequence after the first boss would have been extremely welcome, you still get a good retro punch for your money.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

Playstation 2 Review: MLB Power Pros 2008

These men have no legs! Even without legs, MLB Power Pros is still running strong with its newest installment: MLB Power Pros 2008

By nestlekwik

When you pick up the 2008 edition of MLB Power Pros, you actually aren't getting a much different package than you received with last year's stellar entry. Thankfully, in the case of Power Pros, getting more of the same suits us just fine as MLB Power Pros was a very underappreciated title that is very capable of playing ball with the "big boys." Don't let the chibi exterior fool you - MLB Power Pros 2008 still swings for the fences and comes out on top.

There's really not much to add from our previous review of 2007's installment, aside from the addition of the MLB Life mode and various revamps and updates made to last year's modes and mechanics. The Success mode is just as addictive as ever and the changes give players even more to experience and ditching the fate card system gives players full control of their baseball destiny. Items such as varying pitch speeds, 40-man rosters and other small touches flesh out the experience a little more, but, clearly, the star of this year's effort is the MLB Life mode. In the mode, players can take control of one player through a 20-year MLB career. MLB Life serves as a step-up from Success, as players only man their player during their at-bats and make tons of decisions off the field that determine how popular they are with fans, how contracts are negotiated, who they marry and more.

The Success and MLB Life modes do break the traditional norm, however, for those traditionalists, the Season and Exhibition modes are still present. Between the Success, MLB Life and Season modes, players have potentially infinite game play with the title and having a massive number of slots for created teams and characters can give players a personalized and expanded experience with every single mode. Even though there a sea of menus to surf through, baseball purists will find a jaw-dropping number of statistical depth in the title. The feature set easily ample enough to satisfy the appetite of baseball fans, much like last year's title, Power Pros is simple enough to cater to any crowd, doubling the game's appeal.

While the title features a massive training mode that covers every offensive and defensive aspect of the game, the title still features pick-up-and-play controls. Pitching only asks a player to hold a direction and press X to select a pitch and then using the left analog stick to aim the pitch and batting requires following the pitch with the analog stick and swinging with the X button. All of the other commands common to a baseball title such as stealing bases, diving or jumping for fly balls and base running are mapped to simple one-button commands. Essentially, if you’ve ever played a classic baseball title, you’ll be able to jump straight in and Power Pros will remind you of such classics.

Unfortunately for MLB Power Pros 2008, the majority of the problems we found in Power Pros are all still here. While there are new tunes to listen to, most of the menu music repeats from last year, but the real culprit in the sound department is in recycling the commentator. Jack gives us the goods using the same quotes from last year's game and still falls behind due to disc access and becomes extremely repetitive after a few games. Also, the inability to cycle through fielders creates occasional instances (especially with bullet line drives or ground balls) where a player that is clearly in no position to make the play is automatically selected.

Simply put, if you played MLB Power Pros, there are no real surprises to be found with 2008's effort and the price tag is definitely worth it for anyone seeking a baseball title. While the art might seem odd to some gamers, passing up this classic franchise based on its appearance is criminal. The interior of the game sports more features and replayability than one can even imagine and the simplicity of its gameplay is suitable for even the most casual of gamers. If you're looking to spend $20 on a new PS2 ball title, Power Pros 2008 is more than deserving of your cash.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

Konami's New Card Game Unleashes the Blue Dragon

By nestlekwik

Thanks to Konami, we were able to get an early hands-on look at a work in progress as the company continues to ready its first collectible role playing card game - Blue Dragon. Of course, Blue Dragon is based off the Mystwalker video game title for the Xbox 360, bringing RPG shadow madness to card tables everywhere when it releases. As seen in the game and anime, each and every card maintains Akira Toriyama's glorious signature art style and from the cards we played with, the art is large and in charge so players will be able to not only toss them down onto the table, but admire them as well.

The game's main hook lies in the fact that it isn't simply a trading card game, but a ROLE PLAYING trading card game. As such, players will have to amass experience points during a battle and accumulated experience points even level up the player in prime RPG fashion. At the beginning of a match, players select a shadow to act as their main representative to launch attacks and place its level one version into the playfield. Through gaining experience points, however, players can substitute the card for a level two or three card once he or she reaches the point requirements printed on the card.

Your shadow will have to rest after your turn is finished, so, thankfully, players have access to cards which currently included helpers, skills and commands. Up to three helpers can be placed onto the field at one time and while a few of the helpers in the demonstration decks do have small amounts of attack power, their primary purpose is to absorb the damage thrown out by the opponent and assist the player with special abilities. Skills and commands allow players to buffer characters, draw cards, negate damage, raise experience, mess with the other player's play field.

The game's ultimate goal through game play is to reduce the opponent's life points to zero and, thankfully, the game forces players to use quite a bit of strategy to do so. It's quite easy to set up a defensive wall of helpers so players will have to utilize all of the tools available to them in order to build experience points in order to play cards that will get around or wipe out an opponent's defense and players will need to do so before the opponent can.

While the demo decks are currently all the same and players should hardly be surprised by the cards at the moment, we can't wait to see the final product so we can check out what other shadows and nasty effects the cards can dish out Konami has in store for us. As it stands now, though, Blue Dragon is definitely an intriguing game with lots of promise and it's obvious Konami knows how great the game is by looking at the amount of support and advertising it is doing for the game. Even at this stage, the game is a blast to play and the experience mechanic brings in a refreshing spin on the overdone "mana" buildups found in a majority of card games. Let's take a look at the demonstration cards released thus far:

Card Listings
Level Up = Amount of experience points needed to advance the shadow one level.
Required Exp = Amount of experience points needed to play the card.
Used Exp = Amount of experience points players need to discard to play the card.
Change Exp = Amount of experience points players need to discard to change the elemental type of the shadow.
Level = The level (currently 1-3) of the shadow.
Attack = The amount of damage points the shadow or helper generates per attack.
Defense = The amount of damage points the shadow or helper can absorb per attack.
EXP = The amount of experience amassed when the card leaves the playfield (unless otherwise noted as part of an effect).

The four phases of a turn include: Draw, Command, Battle, Command

"Shielding" - If a player is going to take damage to his or her life points, a partner may be "used as a shield" to reduce that damage by one point. Partners used as a shield are removed from the play field.

"Group" - Normally only partner can be set into play during a turn, but partners that have a "group" attribute can be played in sets of up to three of the same card in one turn.

"Set" - A card marked with "Set" must be prepared and placed face-down on the play field until it is played.

BDH1-EN001: Phoenix - Shadow - Light Type - Level: 1; Level Up: 0 - Change Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Attack: 4 - Defense: 1; During your command phase, you can send this shadow from the field to the trash to add one level 2 shadow from your deck to your hand.
BDH1-EN002: Minotaur - Shadow - Light Type - Level: 2; Level Up: 4 - Change Exp: 2 - Exp: 1; Attack: 5 - Defense: 2; During your command phase, you can send this shadow from the field to the trash to add one level 3 shadow from your deck to your hand.
BDH1-EN003: Blue Dragon - Shadow - Light Type - Level: 3; Level Up: 8 - Change Exp: 3 - Exp: 1; Attack: 7 - Defense: 4; Once per turn, during your command phase, you can pay two EXPs to draw one card from your deck.
BDH1-EN004: Shu - Partner - Human - Light Type - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Attack: 2 - Defense: 1; During your command phase, you can send this partner from the field to the Exp pool to add one shadow card from your deck to your hand.
BDH1-EN005: Kluke - Partner - Human - Fire Type - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Attack: 0 - Defense: 2; During your command phase, you can send this partner from the field to the trash to add one partner card from your deck to your hand.
BDH1-EN006: Jiro - Partner - Human - Earth Type - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Attack: 1 - Defense: 1; During your command phase, you can send this partner from the field to the trash to add one skill card from your deck to your hand.
BDH1-007: Blue Dragon & Shu - Shadow & Human - Light Type - Required Exp: 3 - Used Exp: 1 - Exp: 1; Attack: 4 - Defense: 0; When this partner attacks, you must pay one Exp.
BDH1-EN008: Cockatrice - Partner - Animal - No Type - Required Exp: 1 - Used Exp: 1 - Exp: 1; Attack: 0 - Defense: 2; Description: This eater of Rolling Rippers has a vicious beak attack. Its mighty feet end in even more damaging claws. But worst of all, even its breath is a weapon, turning its prey into stone!
BDH1-EN009: Poo Snake - Partner - Animal - No Type - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Attack: 0 - Defense: 1; When this partner is sent from the field to the Exp pool, you can add one Poo Snake from your deck to your hand.
BDH1-EN010: Fat Rat - Partner - Animal - Earth Type - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Attack: 0 - Defense: 1; This partner must be used as a shield when damage would be inflicted to your life points. You lose one fat rat per point of damage.
BDH1-EN011: Green Grunt - Partner - Animal - Wind Type - Required Exp: 1 - Used Exp: 1 - Exp: 1; Attack: 1 - Defense: 2; This partner cannot be called while there are any Earth (type) partners on your field.
BDH1-EN012: Midnight Ghost - Partner - Ghost - Dark Type - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Attack: 0 - Defense: 0; When this partner is used as a shield, all damage is reduced to zero.
BDH1-EN013: Magic Sword - Skill - Sword - Required Exp: 2 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Your shadow or one partner gains two Attack.
BDH1-EN014: Endure - Skill - Armor - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 0; When damage would be inflicted to a player's life points, send all card from your hand to the Exp pool to reduce the damage to zero. Then draw the number of cards you sent (to the trash).
BDH1-EN015: Critical - Skill - Monk - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Your shadow or one partner gains one Attack.
BDH1-EN016: Guard - Skill - Armor - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Your shadow or one partner gains one Defense.
BDH1-EN017: Surprise - Skill - Destroyer - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Send one command or skill card from your opponent's field to their Exp pool.
BDH1-EN018: Field Barrier - Command - Barrier - Required Exp: 4 - Used Exp: 2 - Exp: 1; Select one partner on your opponent's field and send it to their Exp pool.
BDH1-EN019: Mechat - Command - Combination - Required Exp: 0 - Used Exp: 0 - Exp: 1; Send any number of cards from your hand to the trash to draw the same number of cards.
BDH1-EN020: Copper Necklace - Command - Armor - Required Exp: 1 - Used Exp: 1 - Exp: 1; The equipped partner gains two Defense. When the equipped partner is removed from the field, this card is sent to the Exp pool.

Demo decks include two each of the cards "Minotaur," "Blue Dragon" and "Poo Snake" and one card each of the remainder of the cards. The demo decks are considered half decks (normal decks need to be 40 cards with no more than three of one card and no more than 15 shadow cards) and, as a result, players use a life total of 10 instead of the standard 20.

Playstation 2: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty offers up some huge action to MG fans, but action isn't all that makes a good Metal Gear game.

by MixMasterLar

With Metal Gear Solid 4 now available it's easy to overlook the game known as MGS2. Most reviews at the time of its release give it a 9/10, but everyone since then talks about all the flaws the story and characters have. I don't know how someone can change a review from a 9 to a 6, but some people did and the result is new fans don't know if it's worth playing. One word: Maybe.

MGS2 takes place two years after MGS1, which is pretty much where the story left off. Snake and Otacon escaped Shadow Moses and started a legal anti-Metal Gear organization - well, legal on paper. The game starts with Snake sneaking on a marine tanker to take some pictures of the new Metal Gear the U.S. denied having. Of course, things don't go smoothly. As soon as Snake jumps onboard, the ship is hi-jacked by terrorists being led by Sergei and Salashaska (aka Ocelot). Snake tries to just get the pictures and haul some ***, but Ocelot ends up betraying everyone on anyone's side and destroys the tanker with the help of his new toy, Metal Gear Ray.

Fast forward to two years later, the U.S. President is kidnapped on an oil clean-up plant built to clean-up the crap from Snake's farewell party on the tanker. Campbell sends the fourth Snake into action, renamed "Raiden" for this mission.

I have to stop telling the story here as the Metal Gear games are all about the stories that happen in them. Hideo Kojima does a great job revealing the story and interconnecting all the plots together, the only bad thing is the story itself is, to put nicely, out of this world. While not as far-fetched as, say, having the Teletubbies appear out of the depths of hell, it's safe to say that Robert Ludlum couldn't think of a more crazy storyline himself. While you might start to dislike it later after playing it two or more times, the first time through, you will have a blast.

Another point to make is if you didn't play MGS1 you won't enjoy the game as much. There's too many side comments and other neat things to find that relate to the first MGS game. Some reviews said this game "Was just like the first" and that's only partly true. It puns off the first in ways you can't guess.

MGS2 offers some gameplay changes from MGS1. Yes, it still has the same controls as MGS1, and has overhead-style game play, but it has some new tricks. For most of the game, you will play as Raiden. Raiden is more agile than Snake and can do cartwheels to send baddies to the ground if the need presents itself. I say "if" due to in MG, you need to use stealth to complete the mission or you die. Running around a la Syphon Filter will get you killed so fast that you will puke. For those of you who heard that when MGS1 came out, know this: The terrorist in this game don't just go "back to their lives" like in MGS1. Getting seen here makes everyone come after you, and you can't just leave the area to escape anymore. Furthermore, the big guy will send in more troops if he doesn't get you. More troops = Them finding you faster and you die.

Kojima re-did the First-Person View; you can now shoot while in it to take out enemies with more precise stealth kills. You'll use that the most, since the "Hide in Box" trick doesn't work as well as it once did. Of course, this isn't as real as Kojima likes to brag about; You can refill your health with the press of a button if you have some juice left (Rations) and even though you have a set number of bullets, you can always find more laying around somewhere.

In MGS1, Snake could walk right on the side of a guard and not be seen. Not so here, if Raiden tries the same he will eat dirt pretty fast. While not as efficient as real trained mercenaries (I'm sure), these guys will make you pay if you goof off with them like in the older games. Bosses are harder than the old ones, also.

All Metal Gear games have a great cast of unique characters that make you feel like you're playing out a movie that Hollywood made. MGS2 is no different, but the bosses here are pretty out there. There's Vamp, a blood-sucking bi-sexual; Fountain, a lady who can't be hit by bullets; Solidus Snake, the first child cloned after Big Boss who makes Liquid look like a joke; Rose, Raiden's girlfriend and Mei Ling's replacement ("Jack, do you know what tomorrow is?" on repeat) and then there's Ocelot himself, who has Liquid's arm (biiiiiig "?" there), among some others. While all isn't as it seems in most MGS games, there isn't too many plot twists in the actual characters here. The only characters that were in MGS that play any big role here are Snake, Otacon and the Ocelot/Liquid duo. There are some more, but I'm not spoiling them for you.

Big name composer Harry-Gregson Williams, known for his work in "The Rock" and other action movies, was hired to do most of the songs in the game. While the game still has the famous opener theme, and the ending theme was composed by Rika Muranaka, every other tune was done Hollywood-stlye by Mr. Williams himself. He did a great job and the music reflects the characters feelings well. The voice acting is great, with David Hayter resuming his role as Snake and Christopher Randolph doing Otacon's voice (I have no idea if he did it in MGS1. I think he did, as the voice sounds exactly the same), Paul Eiding, now known for his work in the cartoon Ben 10, reprises his role as Campbell. There's no use in me naming every one in the game, but the acting is great. Your have no complaints about having to hear the characters talk (with the exception of Raiden's girfriend, perhaps. But not due to her voice actor, anyway).

Be glad that the sound is great, because the looks don't do much. Once you get on the plant, almost every room looks the same except for a few changes. Since there's only seven areas in most of the main game, things get really old, really fast. Don't skip the cutscenes, or you wont have a reason to fight. Least said here the better.

While the game's remake - Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance - has some cool extras for people who enjoy that kind of thing, Sons of Liberty only has some backstory for you to read. If you never played Metal Gear Solid, then head right over there, pretend to read the first two pages, and then read Natasha's new book that tells what all that went down through her eyes (even though she didn't seem to be a main character in MGS1, she had ways of knowing everything. She even explains Campbell's actions). Even MGS1 players may want to check it out, but after reading that, all you have is the main game. If you watch all the cutscenes (please do) and the ending credits, the game will take about 20-odd hours to beat. If you want more of Metal Gear after that, you'll need to set the game to hard (Or that awesome mode were you get seen once and it's "Game Over"). Not many extras here.

It's hard to rate this game, but if you like some stealth action and a full, in-depth story that will take a while to get, then this game is just for you. If you like to get 30+ hours out of your game and a lot of fast paced action, then look elsewhere, as MGS2 will make you slow down and be stealthy (there are some very, VERY fast parts later). Overall, though, MGS2 is a great game that easily got lost in the shadows of the other installments.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 out of 5

GemuBaka in Video Game Collector #11

It's still a few weeks away from shipping, but with my editorial debut and MixMasterLar's print debut, we can't wait to share a little bit about Video Game Collector #11, which will be finished on our end this week and will be published in 1-2 weeks.

First of all, just like our issue 10, issue 11 will weigh in at a record-tying 80 pages - full of information and every single one in full color. With our quarterly update, the price guide will of course grow a little in order to feature every single retail release for the current systems through the month of July! You might find a couple of new surprises added to the guide this issue to help make your collecting easier and more efficient than ever!

While our content is still pending in these final waking moments of editorial, we're anticipating five interviews for the new issue. I'm not saying who is being featured just yet, but I think you'll be surprised in the scope and magnitude of the features. Along with the slew of interview content, we're also anticipating at least one or two special guests lending a hand with some of the content.

News & Notes will bring you up to speed on all of the classic announcements made during this year's E3 event and goes a little beyond to pick up on those last minute announcements such as the newest Sonic the Hedgehog game. We're also using our contacts to bring you better previews and high-quality photos so even the most current of gamers are able to pull some great information from the issue.

A number of long-running features return and are better than ever. Issue 11 will contain yet another photo checklist to keep you up to speed on your collecting, a full 10 pages of reviews on classic and newer titles await readers and we'll take a quick trip back to the arcades with The Last Quarter.

Also, we have a few videos posted on the VGC MySpace now that hint at a couple of things you might be seeing in issue 11. Check them out and let us know what you think.

Remember - all of this great content will be published on Aug. 14 and will ship soon afterward. While you wait for that release, though, don't forget you can order any back issue we have in stock or place subscription orders on our site www.vgcollector.com.

Thanks for checking us out and I look forward to issue 11 reaching our readers' hands!

Half of GemuBaka at GenCon This Week

Starting Wednesday, Aug. 13, Video Game Collector Magazine will be setting up shop at Booth 128, right across from the Atari booth and I'll be there to make sure people can't leave without knowing about the magazine.

While you're there, you can chat a few of the writers of the magazine and pick up copies of the magazine, including our newest issue, the big, bad issue 10. If you're attending Gen Con Indy in Indianapolis, we'd really appreciate it if you would stop by and check us out. We'll probably have a few games on hand to play and we're always glad to chat about games until everyone's ears fall off and if you twist our arm a little bit, we might even tell you about issue 11, due in just a few weeks!

Come early during the show and we may even (and, please, this is currently pending so don't hold us to it 100%) have something free to give to you!

Two More Reasons to be Happy!

MixMasterLar and myself are still hard at work on new Happy Hour segments and there are now two August episodes up for your reading enjoyment on J2Games.

The Nestlekwik Happy Hour for August 2, 2008
The Nestlekwik Happy Hour for August 9, 2008

It's still up in the air whether or not we'll be posting a Happy Hour this Saturday, but the best is yet to come as we roll into the fall season.

Preview: MLB Power Pros 2008 (Playstation 2)

We were able to get a small heads-up on the title thanks to Robert Nelson, producer of MLB Power Pros 2008 at 2K Sports, and, thankfully, so far the team has crafted a game that builds upon the great game play of the title's initial entry last year.

Given the success of the "Success" mode, the player's simulation options have greatly expanded with the return of Success mode, which guides players through a choice-based ride through the AA and AAA leagues, and a new MLB Life mode, which, allows players to follow an entire 20-year career of out-of-game choices and at-bats in the Major Leagues. The Success mode retains its charm and random nature as seen last year, but, thankfully, removes the fate card system that twisted players' arms and forced them into choices they don't want to make. If victorious in Success mode, players can import their created player in MLB Life mode as they work on a Major League career that focuses more on your players' at-bats than off-field choices (kind of like the inverse of Success Mode). While Success mode is more about building up your characters' stats, Life details a lot more personal and career choices with players' money buying a lot more such as houses, cars, clothing and hobby items.

The game still looks great on the Playstation 2 and the character models are just as charming as ever. There unfortunately seems to be no new commentary but the rest of the sounds are straight from the ballpark and the customization and statistic options are just as engrossing as ever. If you're looking for a simple, yet fun trip to the ballpark, don't miss out on MLB Power Pros 2008.