GamesRadar - PC Previews

James Cameron’s Avatar: Hands-on (James Cameron's Avatar: The Game)

Nov 6, 2009

Five minutes into this prequel to the forthcoming sci-fi flick and we feel like we’re in one of the year’s most generic games. As we step off our transport into the alien planet Pandora, all the elements are in place for a generic third-person shooter. Main character who's a stoic military type with a crew cut: check. NPCs we have to seek out for missions: Oh yeah. A 40 foot monster that looks like a mad scientist has forced a hammerhead ...

Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online - hands-on (Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online)

Nov 2, 2009

After strolling the links in the closed beta of Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, we've discovered that EA might be onto something here. This is a game that comes to you completely through your browser, streaming via a small plug-in called the Unity Player. Since everything is hosted on the server, the game is playable on practically any recent Windows or Mac machine. ...

AvP: Alien vs. Predator vs. Marine - Who's the best in multiplayer? (Aliens vs Predator )

Oct 26, 2009

HANDS-ON: Xenomorph, hunter and human taken for a brutal deathmatch test drive. ...

Mass Effect 2 – hands-on (Mass Effect 2)

Oct 23, 2009

“Shepard! But... but you’re dead!” cries a baffled Asari crime lord having been backed into a corner by our hero. “I got better,” replies Shepard, as cool as a penguin’s bum. It’s not a dialogue choice, it’s right there in the cutscene; otherwise we’d have chosen the option along the lines of “I know, after that E3 trailer I’m just as confused as you about the whole thing." ...

Left 4 Dead 2 – dev interview (Left 4 Dead 2)

Oct 23, 2009

Left 4 Dead 2, Valve’s cooperative zombie shooter, has had to overcome two skeptical parties: the portion of Left 4 Dead players concerned that promised free content for the original game had been replaced with a rushed, full-price sequel, and Valve co-founder Gabe Newell. “Gabe’s got a good amount of healthy skepticism about anything we do,” says Chet Faliszek. ...

Assassin's Creed II: Hands-on (Assassin's Creed II)

Oct 22, 2009

We made no secret about our love for the original Assassin’s Creed. We scored it glowingly, took some flak from you guys, and stood proudly by our 10 like a Christ-like figure up against an inquisition of haters. Okay, perhaps that’s a bit much. ...

Dead Rising 2 (Dead Rising 2)

Oct 22, 2009

When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth. And, according to Capcom, appear in TV shows.

Years after the first game’s critically acclaimed zombie invasion of the Willamette Mall, the whole of America is infected. In the casino town of Fortune City, Nevada, a deadly TV show plays out to millions of viewers across the nation. ...

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction)

Oct 21, 2009

Sam Fisher has gone from shadow warrior to wrecking ball. Splinter Cell fans may remember the series as somewhat sneaky – a matter of waiting for the right moment to knife someone in the back and plonk their body in a darkened stairwell. Conviction asks, why wait? ...

Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising (Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising)

Oct 20, 2009

The Chaos Space Marines are doppelgangers. They’re the Venom to the Space Marines’ Spider-Man; the Sith to their Jedi. They’re best buds with the dark gods of an obscure dimension. They gussy up their power armor with gaping skulls. And among the varied-shades-of-villain factions of 40k fiction, they’re a great candidate for their own expansion to Dawn of War II. ...

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty – hands-on (StarCraft II)

Oct 16, 2009

Only once you’ve wandered into StarCraft II’s greased-metal cantina and engaged in conversation with embittered mercenaries, or spoken to Jim Raynor’s crew about armour upgrades and the like, do you begin to understand why, and how, the Terran, Protoss and Zerg campaigns will be split into three separate titles. ...

Diablo III - The monk in-depth (Diablo III)

Oct 16, 2009

Say hello to the monk, the recently revealed Diablo III class who rather than sitting cross-legged in a hill-top monastery, is far more likely to slap you 100 times in a second before appearing behind you and kicking you in the arse. That’s his trick, and he sidles up to the three revealed classes – the Barbarian, Witch Doctor and Wizard – filling the fourth slot on the Diablo III character selection screen and shuffling ...

Silent Hunter 5 – first look (Silent Hunter 5)

Oct 15, 2009

Good thing there was somebody in the room who knew a bit about submarines: a German games journalist, who’d ask about periscopes like a terminally ill patient asks about how long he has left to live, and who’d punch the air when he learned of the accurately rendered ship wakes, and the now separate damage readouts for hull integrity and flooding. ...

Napoleon: Total War – first look (Napoleon: Total War)

Oct 15, 2009

Some people, after reading our review of Empire: Total War, wanted to string us up and splice our main brace. We can’t help it if the bugs other people experienced didn’t happen to us. Still, it’s safe to say that there were some problems that perhaps could and should have been sorted out before release – specifically the AI’s total lack of ability to perform invasions over a stretch of water. ...

Brink – updated impressions (Brink)

Oct 15, 2009

Paul Wedgwood, CEO of Splash Damage and game director on Brink, isn't a big fan of marketing spiel. He's talking about the game's fluid movement mechanic when he sighs: “It's called SMART – smooth movement across random terrain. The marketing guys at Bethesda made us call it that.” ...

The dragons of Dragon Age: Origins (Dragon Age: Origins)

Oct 12, 2009

Dragon Age: Origins’ November release date is fast approaching, and so far, we’ve been having a blast bathing our ragtag party with the blood of our foes. That’s why we’re excited to bring you some exclusive screenshots and advanced lore from the folks at BioWare about Dragon Age: Origins’ most dangerous beast, the dragon. ...

Dragon Age: Origins - blood party (Dragon Age: Origins)

Oct 9, 2009

Eight hours into a preview build of Dragon Age: Origins and we can’t get the blood off. The crimson evidence of our violence still stains our hands, our armor, and our entire party. It’s even in our hair. Whether you’ve slain a pack of wild beasts or put a gang of mercenaries to rest, in Dragon Age: Origins there will be blood - lots and lots of blood ...

New Borderlands videos! (Borderlands)

Oct 8, 2009

We recently got some hands-on time with Borderlands, the hybrid shooter/RPG due out later this month. We played a massively power-leveled Lilith character in two of the game’s later areas: Old Haven and The Crimson Enclave. Old Haven is a ramshackle city setting, while the Crimson Enclave is the high-elevation fortress of the Crimson Lance. ...

Mafia II – updated impressions (Mafia II)

Oct 1, 2009

There are a lot of myths and half-baked assumptions surrounding Mafia II – so let’s start by clearing them up. First off, this isn’t a GTA clone. It may have a crime theme, and have a limited amount of free-roaming, but it’s first and foremost a linear, story-driven experience. Secondly, it isn’t ‘just another gangster game’. That description does the game a huge disservice. ...

TGS 09: Dead Rising 2 - multiplayer modes (Dead Rising 2)

Sep 30, 2009

The only thing better than zombies is lots of zombies - and the only thing better than that, is killing lots of zombies. That’s why we’re happy to bring you the latest news from this year’s Tokyo Game Show on how Dead Rising 2’s single and multiplayer modes are shaping up.

Meet Chuck. He’s a motocross racer who finds himself competing in a zombie filled, Running Man-esque sports arena event called Terror is Reality ...

LEGO Universe – first look (LEGO Universe)

Sep 29, 2009

A LEGO game lacking the franchise affiliations of Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Batman could have ended up feeling generic. Instead, Jumpgate developer NetDevil has delivered a massively multiplayer world where you get to bash ninjas, astronauts, pirates and medieval knights, all while platforming through castles and spaceships. ...