Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express

You play as Antoinette Marceau, a new character, invented for this game. Antoinette works for Mr. Bouc and represents him on the train (so Bouc isn’t there himself, unlike the book). Her job is to make sure that Hercule Poirot has a great time on the Orient Express. When Poirot gets hurt, it's Antoinette who has to take over the investigation of the recently committed murder in the train. 

The storyline remains faithful to the book with once in a while some changes, like a couple of scenes outside in the snow after the murder. An extra storyline has been added but that particular piece of the story doesn’t really come forward a lot during the game. Only at the end this extra piece becomes clear but it’s too melodramatic and it just doesn’t fit. It’s like it has simply been pasted behind the original story pro forma. 

The whole game revolves of course around the collecting of evidence. Unfortunately it comes too often down to the same, like the endless questioning of the other characters for instance. Real puzzles don’t come along so often and the objectives you get are boring, like collecting (a lot of) fingerprints and passports from all the train travellers. Luckily you still have some environment puzzles. Here too there are some things which aren’t in the book, but mainly it’s the same. 

Subtle there are two difficulty levels. At some point Poirot asks you if you want to take on a challenge or if you’re happy enough just helping him. If you choose the latter, you’ll get extra hints when solving riddles and you can always ask Poirot for help. If you take on the challenge, you get no extra hints and asking Poirot for help means one point for him. Winning or losing this challenge doesn’t seem to have any effect, so consider it a battle for the honour. 

As usual in adventure games, you sometimes get to choose from a series of sentences. Which one you pick has almost never a different result or every sentence has to be said anyway. Unfortunately crashes lurk around the corner, resulting in a completely lost game if you don’t save often enough. At no time the game is saved automatically. 

The graphics are rather classic and the characters move and behave quite unnatural. Music is rare which is too bad as it’s actually good. The voices aren’t bad, but sometimes a bit too dull. David Suchet, who impersonated Hercule Poirot on screen, gives his voice to the Belgian sleuth in this game too. Very nice.

Adventure game

I think that there are three main elements to an adventure game; Story, Puzzles and Characters. True, you could say that these three elements are in practically every game ever made, but in adventure games they are core of the experience and all that is really needed. My rule of thumb is that if you can't select specific responses in a dialog then it isn't an adventure game.

That said, if you wanted to you could probably drop one or two of the above. The seminal Portal from 1986 is an adventure game completely devoid of puzzles and relies only on the player having to piece together the story of what has happened to the human race after the main character, an astronaut awakened from suspended animation, finds he is the last man left alive on the planet. The only characters in the game are the player and the PC he uses as an interface to understand the story. 

However, for the most part all adventure games feature characters and puzzles as their primary focus and players must spend their time either chatting with NPCs or using their wits to overcome the puzzles in their way. 

So, what is the most important element of the game to our experts and what is it they think that adventure games do well (or badly). Why is that, when other people are crying out that the genre is dead, these two are still trying hard to prove us wrong? Both developers are trying to reinvent the adventure game in some way, Grossman through episodic delivery and Cage through fusing genres and increasing accessibility on consoles, but what is it about adventure games that makes gamers want to play them over the latest Halo or Half-Life instalment?

Games like The Neverhood had incredibly long, detailed backstories for players to explore

We put the question to Dave Grossman first and I have to say that I think he hits the nail on the head with his first swing.

“I think the biggest difference is that adventure game play tends to focus on ideas where other games focus on execution. In an adventure, most of what I'm doing is THINKING for my character, whereas in a shooter or a sports game or something I'm mostly ACTING.

“Say I'm telling a baseball story, for example. If I use a sports game to do it, the experience is mostly about things like skilfully swinging at different kinds of pitches, whereas if I use an adventure game, it's probably more about corking the bat, dealing with the players' troubled personal lives, and psyching out the opposition. One is a game film, the other is Bull Durham. Both are interesting and both are storytelling in some sense, but the adventure game is more directly akin to a traditional narrative.”

Finally I seemed to have found a topic the two designers to agree on, with David Cage confirming that he felt a similar way and referencing the earlier John Carmack quote:

“In most games, the story is just a convenient way to link levels together, like in adult movies. Playing with a story is something extremely complex and difficult, because a story does not use patterns or mechanics. It is entirely based on context, which means it has to offer a virtually unlimited range of actions and situations, whereas an action game only relies on a limited set of actions and repetitive patterns.”

Games like the Myst series have used a complex, gripping story to great effect

So, to both of our experts it would seem that the story is the single most important element of the adventure game genre. 

With that in mind, I think it’s incredibly interesting that when most people think of adventure games they end up thinking about the puzzles. Sometimes they think about them in a good way and will actually look forward to trying to overcome a particularly fiendish conundrum, but a lot of the time they may think about it in a bad way. AsBoiled_Elephant proved nobody likes getting stuck.

So, let’s look at puzzles next. How are they designed and what elements distinguish a good puzzle from a bad one? Should puzzles be used just to slow players down or do they have other uses? All you have to do to find out is figure out how to access the next page...

New Super Mario Bros Wii becomes fastest selling Wii game in Japan

New Super Mario Bros. Wii maintained its launch momentum in Japan, going on to become a phenomenal hit and selling over 3 million copies in seven weeks. Famitsu reports that Mario's latest adventure is the third Wii title to sell over three million units. Ironically, the club of top-selling Wii games has Mario's tubby physique in the company of Wii Sports andWii Fit.

Mario isn't doing badly in other regions, either, with NSMBW recently surpassing 2.5 million units in Europe and 4 million in the States. Mario knows how to make coin.

Source

Half-Life 2: Episode 3

Valve employees were asked “What can we expect in Half-Life 2: Episode 3?” in a recent interview. The Half-Life 2: Episode 2 project lead David Speyrer answered: “We don’t know entirely what’s happening in the next episode, but we’re gonna figure it out!” he laughed.

He then further explained: “There are always things we want to do that we can’t because of the constraints of either the story or the arc we’ve laid out for the gameplay – or just time. So we shelve them and carry on. Ideas fly around here quite a bit, so we have this huge laundry list of things to try [from previous Half-Life 2 games] for the next thing… [Half-Life 2: Episode 3].” — Via PCzone

In case you’re wondering what will happen after Episode 3 is released in either 2008 or 2009. Developer Valve said it will be the last episode in the currently planned story arc, but it will not be the end of the Half-Life franchise, so Half-Life 2: Episode 4 or in a way Half-Life 3 might be entirely possible.

Artwork from Half-Life 2: Episode 3 — like the piece shown below — will be at E4All 2008 as part of the Into the Pixel exhibit that runs from October 3-5.

This concept art shows Half-Life protagonist Gordon Freeman within a large Citadel-like environment as an evil Combine Advisor hovers over his head.
(click on it for the full picture)

Here are the details…
TITLE: Advisor;
GAME: Half-Life 2: Episode 3;
ARTISTS: Ted Backman, Jeremy Bennett, Tristan Reidford;
PLATFORMS: PC, PS3, Xbox 360.

Perhaps this is the same environment where the 2007 concept art of the Aperture Laboratories ice breaker / research ship, the Borealis, takes place. The Borealis contained Aperture’s version of the teleportation technology (different from Black Mesa’s) but the ship was never commissioned and disappeared with all hands and parts of the dry dock from the shipyard, until appearing in the ice locked northern seas at the end of Half-Life 2: Episode 2.

UPDATE October 14, 2008: Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi has said in an interview with Kikizo that they “may [announce Half-Life 2: Episode 3] at the very end of the year.”Although he cryptically added it may take a while longer for it to come out, by saying that “The next time you play as Gordon will be longer than the distance between HL2 to Ep1, and Ep1 to Ep2.”

UPDATE June 10, 2009: Valve co-founder Gabe Newell was asked on the G4 TV channel why we haven’t heard anything about Episode 3 at E3 2009? To quote Gabe’s answer:
“I get a ton of email everyday saying why aren’t you talking about Episode 3? And there are very good reasons why we’re not talking about Episode 3, which I can’t talk about yet, but I will. So, I think there’s frustration there and I’m not somehow going to say that that’s not legitimate or length isn’t a concern or regularity. The speed with which these updates are coming out, people say, “Hey, gee, these episodes are supposed to be shorter and you take 25 years to ship each one.” So, I don’t wanna somehow dismiss those, or sort of throw them under – but I think we’re in much better shape than would have been, in terms of our ability to move stuff, technology, products, uh, forward faster by changing how, ya know, being different than, ya know, there was Half-Life 2 and then there was post-Half-Life 2 in terms of how we were approaching these things and yea, I think that we’re overall pretty happy without somehow dismissing the legitimate complaints that people should have towards us. But, we’re happy with that choice that we made.”

After Gabe was asked if we’ll hear any further details (or video) about Episode 3 by the end of 2009, he continued talking without giving an answer:
“Just so you know, the thing to me, that feels right, is the rhythm that Robin and his team are operating with. It’s like watching the reaction of that community, watching their ability to respond, looking at the quality of the work they’re getting with the length of those development cycles. They’re having a great time. And I think it shows on the other side, right? I mean, they were just giggling so hard when they were changing the buttons in the movies to say “leak video.” Do you remember the big screen with all the buttons? And they were like we have to put “leaks video” into that thing before we release it. They were just like cackling away. What should have been like, pretty demoralizing and stressful was for them, “Oh, this is no big deal.” So, yeah, people get the idea.”

UPDATE August 7, 2009: Valve co-founder Gabe Newell and other Valve writers have been researching sign language, for use in Half-Life 2: Episode 3, through a deaf people focus group. He explains how sign language might be implemented into the game and story. To quote: “The idea is that Alyx, before she met Gordon Freeman, had a crush on someone who was hearing impaired, so she taught Dog how to sign so she could practice. Something happened, maybe, the person is off fighting the Combine someplace else, but that’s why she and Dog would start signing with each other when they wanted to communicate without making noise, or communicate without other people knowing … That’s the idea of bringing signing into the game. It gave us the excuse to build the technology for signing.”

You can watch the full 25-minute-long focus group session split into three videos on Samuel Sandoval’s Youtube page. The above quote comes from the video titled Gabe Newell with Deaf Character – Part Two.

UPDATE November 2009: One of Valve’s main writers Chet Faliszek has commented about in a C&VG Magazine interview when asked about Half-Life 2: Episode 3. To quote: “Until we have something we have to announce we tend not to talk about what we’re working on. But we’re a studio of 250 people now and about 60 made Left 4 Dead 2. We’re actually moving next year from our 30,000 square feet office to a new 70,000 square feet office.”

UPDATE January 2010: Game Informer Magazine has said that there will not be a new Half-Life 2 installment in 2010. In fact, they say it’s not even clear if the next game will be episodic or a full-on sequel. Which, technically speaking isn’t anything we didn’t already know.

UPDATE February 2011: Chet Falisek said nothing again, this time to the Australian News. Here’s the quote so you know what nothing sounds like: “We’re not prepared to talk about Half-Life: Episode Three at the moment.” He then joked: “The third Half-Life episode will expose dimensional travler G-Man as Gordon Freeman from the future.”

UPDATE December 2011: OXM Magazine was told by an American voice actor that Valve have recently recorded lines for “Half Life Episode 3″. Let’s hope that rumor is true, as it might indicate development is nearing its end after 4 years.

If there are still people out there with hopes of the next Half-Life game being released in the near-future, then keep your eyes peeled to the December 10th Spike.com’s Video Game Awards 2011. — Especially with Valve’s Portal 2 a candidate for Game of the Year, there’s a (really really tiny) chance they might reveal a teaser for the next Half-Life game, although at the moment Valve are busy releasing Counter-Strike 2 & Dota 2 in 2012 already.

Read more: Half-Life 2: Episode 3 will contain Valve’s laundry list http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2008/02/09/half-life-2-episode-3-will-contain-valves-laundry-list.htm#ixzz1lJh7mNZF

Half-Life 2: Episode One

Half-Life® 2: Episode One is the first in a series of new adventures created by Valve that extends the Half-Life® 2 single player experience.

Stepping into the hazard suit of Dr. Gordon Freeman, you face the immediate repercussions of your actions in City 17 and the Citadel. Rejoin Alyx Vance and her robot, Dog, to once again aid the human resistance in their desperate battle against the totalitarian alien menace of the Combine.

Episode One exposes Alyx's combat skills and knowledge of City 17 as the player battles side-by-side with her in this 4-6 hour adventure of greater density and detail than non-episodic releases.

The intense gameplay delivered in Episode One is made possible only by Source®, Valve’s proprietary engine technology, which has been enhanced with new rendering technology and advanced artificial intelligence to deliver new levels of graphics and character interaction

Project IGI 2 :Covert Strike

• Publisher: Codemasters
• Developer: Innerloop Studios
• Release Date: March 3, 2003
• Genre: First Person Shooter, Stealth

Features:

• The game’s plot features a rogue Chinese General, “Wu Xing” as the primary antagonist.
• The game is divided into missions, and the story is presented in cut scenes, shown before and after every mission, with animated characters rendered in real-time and pre-recorded speech.
• Straight-forward tactics are not encouraged, with stealthy and covert movement giving the player a better rating, rank and chance of survival, with the highest attainable ranking entitled David Jones.

Minimum System Requirements for PC Game

• OS: Windows XP, Vista
• CPU: Intel 1 Ghz
• RAM: 128 MB
• HDD: 1.37 GB free disk space
• Graphics: 32 MB Graphics Memory
• Sound Card: DirectX 8
• DirectX: Version 8.1

Recommended System Requirements for PC Game

• OS: Windows XP, Vista
• CPU: 1.4 Ghz
• RAM: 512 MB
• HDD: 1.37 GB free disk space
• Graphics: 32 MB Graphics Memory
• Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compatible
• DirectX: Version 9.0c

Supported Graphics Cards: 3D Graphics card 32 MB

IGI Free Download

DESCRIPTION
Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In (released in Europe as simply Project I.G.I.) is a tactical first-person shooter developed by Innerloop Studios and released on December 15, 2000 by Eidos Interactive. It is one of the first computer game to feature realistic weaponry and tactical combat situations. Upon release the game garnered mixed reviews due to a number of shortcomings, such as poorly programmed A.I., lack of a mid-game save option, and the lack of multiplayer features. However it was praised for its superb sound design and graphics, thanks in part to its use of a proprietary game engine that was previously used in Innerloop's Joint Strike Fighter

Download:

http://www. fileserve. com/file/TcNv35P/gm-Project_IGI_hmz_part1.rar
http://www. fileserve. com/file/k9u4Zjy/gm-Project_IGI_hmz_part2.rar

http://www. fileserve. com/file/ZB9eKtV/gm-Project_IGI_hmz_part3.rar

http://www. fileserve. com/file/5Xf8UJU/gm-Project_IGI_hmz_part4.rar

F.E.A.R 3

FEAR 3 Gameplay:
The much awaited FEAR 3 is a first person shooter game developed for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and by Day 1 studios. FEAR 3 has co-operative gameplay moode and in addition comes with features like evolved cover system etc. The developers Day 1 Studios, F.E.A.R 3 will have more scares and have options to control either the protagonist Point Man or antagonist Paxton Fettel.

For those who are slightly bored with Point Man alone, here comes a good news that you replay the  same level after completing a stage with Point Man in single player mode. 

F.E.A.R 3 Game Modes:
F.E.A.R 3 has four exciting game modes which includes 'Fucking Run', 'Contractions', 'Soul Survivor', and Soul King. 

Fucking Run : The players begin at a safe room after which they need to run through lines of enemies and kill them within a given time. There are a few safe rooms in the middle and cooperative players can revive their team player who is down but the game gets over if anyone is killed.

Contractions : Contraction is purely based on survival in which you and your players must stock and camp with weapons to take on 20 waves of enemies. 

Soul Survivor : Soul Survivor is a bit of fixing between you and your cooperative game players. One player will be allowed to play the 'Spectre' whose job is to send enemies to kill the other players and turn them to 'Spectre' before a given time. 

Soul King : All the players will be playing as 'Spectre' and should find enemies to kill other players and collect souls from the bodies. 

Developer : Day 1 Studios Monolith Productions
Publisher : Warner Bros. Interactive
Platform : Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre : First-person shooter, horror
Mode : Single-player, Multiplayer

FEAR 3 Minimum System Requirements:
OS : Windows XP
CPU : Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz, AMD Athlon X2 4800+
RAM : 2GB
GFX : NVIDIA 8800 GT 512MB RAM, ATI 3850HD 512Mb RAM or better
HDD : 10GB Free Hard Drive Space
DirectX : 9.0c

FEAR 3 Recommended System Requirements:
OS : Windows 7
CPU : Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93Ghz+, Intel quad core 2.66Ghz+, AMD Phenom II X2 550, 3.1Ghz+
RAM : 4GB
GFX : NVIDIA GTS 450, ATI 5750HD 512Mb RAM or better
HDD : 10GB Free Hard Drive Space
DirectX : 11

F.E.A.R

This is the singleplayer demo of Monolith's horror action game F.E.A.R. Extraction Point. Alma returns in this expansion pack to the paranormal action thriller. F.E.A.R. Extraction Point kicks off where the original game ended with a bang. The First Encounter Assault Recon Team returns to battle the now free Alma and her paranormal minions across a destroyed city.

With the release of F.E.A.R. 3 coming June 21st, I thought it would be great to do a review on the series. Since the release of F.E.A.R. in 2005 by Monolith Productions, the games have what true gamers love: 1. The games actually correlate with one another. Not just creating games that do not follow the storyline to the other ones (I hate when they do that). 2. There is lots of violence, blood, more violence, scenes that scare the piss out of you when you play and being able to ride around in a kick ass robot that you blow stuff up with.

Riding in the robot was one of my favorite parts of the game.

When you have all of those great features of a game, how could you not go wrong? I am thinking poor advertising. Or they have been making most of their sales on the PC. From what I have been reading about it, more people prefer it on PC than the consoles. These games have been getting scores of 8/10 or higher by many reviews but have sold under a million copies for since their release. Remember, this is for Xbox 360 and PS3, not the PC. I dunno the figures they have in sales. F.E.A.R. has sold only 930,000 since 2006 and F.E.A.R. 2 with only 810,000 since 2009.