Batman is back in Gotham City and hot on the trail of The Joker, who he’s told has feline favorite Catwoman tied up and hovering precariously over a vat of bubbling acid. Sounds like an all-too familiar scenario, but Bats can’t ignore it. It’s his duty.

This time, instead of being trapped in the confines of Arkham Asylum, Batman is free to really show off. He can now glide across the rooftops of the city, checking out the madness below. Just seeing him perched on the corner of a skyscraper while the jet-black grime of Gotham sprawls out in front of him echoes Batman at his cinematic and literary finest.

Rocksteady has shown an innate understanding of what makes Batman unique both as a character and a universe before, and this commitment to the Dark Knight spreads to every facet of Arkham City’s gameplay. Like the genre-redefining combat.

As in Arkham Asylum, hand-to-hand fisticuffs are all about counters and combos. It’s now possible, thanks to double the number of animations, for Bats to swoop into a huge crowd of goons, and through timing and concentration, dispatch the lot without taking a hit. You’ll need to use your wits in the same way Batman would – identifying the most dangerous adversaries (gun toters, stick holders) and take them out before dealing with the rest. It’s phenomenally satisfying. If you don’t let a gravelly ‘I’m Batman’ out after doing it, you have no soul.

Arkham City is promising more scope than its predecessor. The environment is purportedly five times the size of the Asylum, and although not an open-world in the traditional sense, it will give Batman the freedom to travel large areas as he wishes. There are even overhead helicopters that Bats can grapple onto for a sky-borne taxi ride over the rooftops.

As before too, Arkham City promises a harmonious marriage of story and gameplay. Writer Paul Dini returns after his stellar work on the original, and along with The Joker, Bats and Catwoman, we’ll see Two Face and Hugo Strange join the ensemble cast. Dini didn’t miss a beat last time, with memorable dialogue and a compelling story that only let itself down towards the end. He captures the darkness and stoic melancholy of the character beautifully, so you would be wise to expect more of the same here.

Batman Arkham City truly has the potential to lead where others follow. It’s already shaping up to be a marked improvement in both scope and detail over Asylum, a game that garnered its fair share of Game of the Year awards itself. If only other superhero games could match the ambition and craft of Rocksteady’s Caped Crusader, then the world would be a better place. As it is, though, it’s a dark, tortured and pestilent hole that can only be policed by one person. The god-damn Batman.

Cover shooters are familiar territory, and Platinum Games’ Vanquish introduces an injection of Red Bull into its veins and greases up the floors for its hero to knee slide along them. Meet Sam Gideon, a fearless grunt dressed to the nines in an Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS) suit. He joins Lt. Robert ‘heartless’ Burns and his team on a mission to recapture a Providence Space Colony after it’s seized by Russian military faction ‘The Order of the Russian Star’.

After declaring war by attacking San Francisco, time is ticking away until The Order executes their next assault. From the word go, Vanquish is a high-octane visceral journey, making regular stops for adrenaline-pumping skirmishes, and giving you the opportunity to flex the abilities of your ARS suit. Jet thrusters attached to the suit’s arms and legs allow Sam to knee-slide along the floor, which is a satisfying maneuver that makes Gears of War’s roadie run look like an OAP stroll in the park.

Activating the suit’s AR mode gives players a brief advantage, turning epic shootouts into ambient slow-motion pace to blast your robotic opponents in slow mo – a crucial feature when you’re up against a boss whose weak point may only be exposed for seconds at a time. There is, however, a strict balance to using all of these neat little tricks. Boosting, using the AR mode and even performing one of Sam’s damage-heavy melee attacks, can cause your suit to overheat, leaving you exposed and extremely vulnerable.

One of the few godsends of this is that you’ll automatically initiate AR mode should you take heavy amounts of damage, giving you a fleeting opportunity to find some cover to take a breather or take a risk and go in guns blazing. It’s a harsh but necessary measure that makes mastering all of its intricacies a reward in itself. Like any cover shooter, the variety of arms offers plenty of ways to slay your opponents.

Rather than have you lug an inventory of weapons around, Sam’s equipped with a single weapon that mimics up to three guns, morphing between them at your will. Upgrades come in the form of random drops or by scanning the same weapons if you’ve got full ammunition.

Sounds simple to abuse, but this fragile system deducts one level of your upgrades should you die, and encourages you to swap out weapons regularly while focusing your upgrades on a specific firearm. The core elements of Vanquish are deep, satisfying and marred only by your own inability to master the suit’s capabilities.

The presentation is also solid, borrowing inspiration from manga and anime to create its glistening utopia, and almost plagiarises the works of Michael Bay for some of its enemy design. Thrown together, Vanquish is an explosion of metal and sparks that occasionally erupts into a firework display as an enemy spends a hundred missiles into the sky. Vanquish upholds many of Platinum Games’ staples for providing a unique twist on an over-subscribed genre.

Telling a decent story however proves to be the studios bronze medal. Confused character motivations, predictable twists and a conclusion that sacrifices a worthy ending in order to pave the way for a sequel makes the six-hour campaign a little hard to swallow.

The lack of any multiplayer or co-op certainly isn’t made up for by a measly Challenge mode. With one finger firmly on the pulse, Vanquish is as refreshing as it is familiar. A few minor issues and a lackluster story don’t slow down this speedy shooter from competing with its peers even if it falls short of glory.

The guys at Epic have stated publicly, saying they want to capture more of the essence of the original game, offering more replayable combat scenarios that really concentrate on the core tenets of the shooting gameplay. And we see that here in the demo which contains our heroes on a mission to Anvil Gate, one of the last strong fortresses remained standing. The skirmish begins with a party of Locust, and the team showoff some new moves. Now you can attack while jumping from a cover tactics landing on top of your enemies and throwing him off guard. There is also a large number of tactics to choose from. If you thought the first two Gears of War were violent, Gears of War 3 raises the bar to new heights. The game is absolutely brutal.

Apart from mining arm of a pilgrim and beat him to death with it, we saw Marcus strap a grenade to a Locust and kick him back into a crowd of enemies, and we watched with delight as enemies panicked when they realized a little bit too late. After the match ended, they showed other new features like the ability to trade arms and ammunition on the fly.

Shortly after that match, the party encounters resistance in the form of Lambent, a new breed that is friend to neither humans nor Locust. The new creatures are very intimidating and introduce new types of challenges. Teamwork is still very important; the Lambent has a nasty habit of mutating in the middle of the battle. You’ll need your teammates to watch each other’s back when your enemies sprout new limbs or scatter and try to flank.

The mutated Berserker, an enemy who was blind in previous games, is back and can now see. It is much harder to kill and the team is forced to use hit and run tactics. The gate is closed, and it seems like the walls cannot be opened by force… until the Berserker jumps over the wall, as the demo ends.

Epic has received many feedback from the players want to play the game as an enemy, and the developers have taken that idea and ran with it, creating the Beast mode. This is a popular kind of reverse Horde mode, where offense is the goal instead of defense. Humans have made a fortress, and your group of Locusts is to eliminate all resistance. The humans are no slouches, and have turrets, traps, and the new Silverback armored suits to make your mission no cake walk.

At start beasts selection are limited to priests and Kantus Tickers be some of the options. As you progress through the waves and score more points, you get access to some really badass characters, like the Berserkers. But since the Berserker is blind, you have to work with a black screen and use motion feedback to find your enemies.

Just kidding! The developers had us going for a minute with that. In fact, your vision is rather limited. It’s a bit like being very nearsighted. But as the developers also commented, it’s generally a good idea to head in the direction of the bullets, upon where you will smash your hapless foes into tiny pieces like the Hulk.

A good handful of beasts were shown to us. Hardcore fans of the series should recognize many from previous games, while others are new for Gears of War 3. Each creature has their own unique weapons and abilities, so chances are you’ll find someone to suit your style. You can always change your beast after dying too, which gives you the opportunity to find the right fit for your play style or form a well organized group of Locust to shoot down the pesky humans.

Visually, it took another step forward. The Unreal Engine 3 is now an absolute beast that can produce some of the chunkiest, meatiest graphics out there, and when you have the guys who built the engine in the first place pulling the levers, you know you’re going to get something very special.

The game is still in development, so many questions that still could not be answered just yet, since many things have not been finalized. Gears of War 3 will be making waves in April 2011.

New and improved

The most notable improvement this year is the way physics are dealt with in the ring. Now interactions between wrestlers and props – such as chairs, ladders and tables – are much more convincing. Rather than sticking to rigid pre-determined uses, ladders can be leant against the ropes to allow easier access to the ring, and can be laid against turn-buckles in order to offer a harder surface to Irish whip competitors into. It sounds minor, but during TLC matches the extra ways of getting up high and smashing down on dazed opponents offers real choice. Not only that, but chairs will bend more accurately and tables fracture in more ways than just down the middle. There’s even the option to stack tables on top of one another to create the ultimate crescendo to a bout. It all helps to sell the fact that the models do indeed exist on a physical plane; that their bodies are really on the line and that players are finally getting a game which belongs in the current physics-obsessed generation, which can only be a good thing.

Visuals have been given an overhaul too, perfectly capturing the looks of all your favorite wrestlers, minus that greased-up action figure look which was so prevalent in Legends of Wrestlemania. Certain aspects have been accentuated, such as Shamus’ pasty white complexion or Brett ‘The Hitman’ Hart’s uncanny ability to not age. Movesets are also appropriate to the frame of each wrestler, so The Undertaker is slow yet powerful and Mysterio’s quick, but needs to land more blows to take down the heavy hitters. This aspect was present in last year’s game, but it seems more noticeable this year.

The most groundbreaking inclusion this year is the WWE Universe feature. Like an overactive fanboy watching silently in the background, SvsR 2011 quietly takes note of every match you fight in and which wrestlers you choose in order to establish storylines, heels and rivalries independent of any game mode. For instance, you could be having a match with a friend locally and the AI will dynamically throw in an element of unpredictability, such as a rival rushing the stage during a match or rumbling your entrance with a chair on the back of your head. Universe permeates all modes, effectively transforming the entire game into a massive story experience, alongside the existing Road to Wrestlemania Story mode, which now includes the option to roam backstage between matches, akin to a similar mode seen in the PS2 classic SmackDown: Here Comes The Pain. There’s a mini-map, training room, dialogue interactions with other superstars and the ability to smacktalk during interviews, which all creates more of an impression that the show really is going on while you are killing time before a match.

Like all good sequels, there are plenty more creative options when creating your own musclebound monstrosity. Now there’s 77 different haircuts, 144 different tattoos, new outfits including a ridiculous Gorilla suit, mask designs and the ability to create crowd signs. The Finisher mode has also been beefed up, with 600 new positions as well as the ability to create moves using the ropes. All of this means that creative minded individuals will be able to create many of the fan favorites from old or keep the game updated in tandem with the modern day. Thankfully for all the lazy fans out there who don’t want to make it all themselves, there’s always the dedicated online service to download more talented gamers’ creations.

THQ have listened to the complaints of last year and added the features which players have been clamoring for since the last generation. Hell in the Cell matches being tweaked to offer combatants more room is a prime example of this commitment to the fans.

WWE has gone through some significant changes over the past 12 months but SmackDown vs RAW remains the value-packed experience fans will expect and it seems this year is no different.

Halo Reach confidently pistol-whips concern and blows it out of the atmosphere with a planet-sized laser. It’s clearly the finest Halo game yet, re-establishing Bungie as the world’s premier FPS developer as it jetpacks between epic campaign, furious firefight and relentless multiplayer with the self-assuredness that only comes from 10 years of honing your craft.

Of course, the question on everyone’s lips is ‘how is the campaign?’ The shadow of the original Halo: Combat Evolved’s single-player looms large over the series; Bungie has never quite managed to capture that sense of scale and importance in its (admittedly still superb) sequels. Until now, that is.

Halo Reach is a layered love letter to Combat Evolved. There are knowing nods here and there, but ultimately its admiration is more in spirit than specifics. Instead of the action being broken up by spectacular set-pieces, Reach just offers playgrounds of war that pit you and your Spartan-powered Noble Team against the might of the Covenant, with AI, physics and your own guile and wit deciding the outcome.

After a shaky opening 10 minutes which sees a few framerate drops and a distinct lack of action, something very special happens. Well, special if you’re a Halo devotee, as so many millions are. The Elites come out to play.

Nothing has ever managed to show off Halo’s magnificent AI like these long-tall streaks of alien malevolence, and they’re back doing what they do best. The open environments afford the enemy opportunities to outflank and outwit you at every turn, and they still will. Don’t be surprised to find an Elite behind you when you thought all was safe. They’re clever like that.

Unlike other Halos though, you don’t spend much of Reach’s 10 hour campaign alone, even when you’re not playing in co-op; the other members of Noble team like to join in the fun. They aren’t the most exciting bunch in the world, and some are blighted by genuinely dreadful acting, but you’ll be thankful they’re around when they save you from a plasma sword to the brain.

For a game so rich in pedigree and budget, it’s odd that Halo Reach’s cinematic scenes are so weak. They’re poorly written, badly acted and often making little to no sense. The plot almost manages to confuse ‘bad guys come to planet and kill all’ with unnecessary pondering. Thankfully though, it doesn’t hurt the ‘journey’. There’s a tangible sense of threat, that everything is collapsing around you, and as each mission passes, the intensity and quality crescendo to the point where it’s difficult to remember where you’ve been and what the hell happened. You’re just in that moment, flowing between gunfire, grenade, melee and armor ability, and cutting through the Covenant like only a super soldier can.

Ah yes, armor abilities. Halo Reach’s major change from battles past is these new rechargeable aids which can be chosen from spawn in multiplayer or found on the battlefield in campaign. Some, like the jetpack and armor lock, you’ll have seen in the Beta. Others, like the deceptive hologram you can send off to distract enemies, or the ground-thumping bubble shield, can be vital in a firefight. One memorable moment saw our Noble 6 (the player’s customizable Spartan) fire up a shield at the exact second an effervescent green ball of death flew towards his face. The resulting screen-drowning splash of verdant plasma was like the eye of the storm, a millisecond of calm before diving straight back into the violence.

There are so many moments in the campaign worth regaling, but they’re best left for you to discover and enjoy on your own, particularly as the beauty of Halo is how it crafts such unique experiences for every player. Of course, where the campaign ends, Halo Reach truly begins. The multiplayer has already won over many of the doubters during the Beta stage, and Bungie’s matchmaking expertise and map-building know-how should provide months of triumph and anguish, backed up with the wonderful Saved Films and Forge modes.

Firefight makes its return after debuting in ODST, and it’s been on the protein shakes. It’s now completely customizable, from enemy types and tendency to an ingenious versus mode, and will eat up huge chunks of your life. You could argue it’s the purest way to play Halo. And you’d probably be right.

What a way to bow out, then. Bungie has spent 10 years in the company of seven-foot tall armor-clad super soldiers, and bar a few bump (maps) in the road, it’s been a hell of a journey. Halo Reach demonstrates the studio at the peak of its powers and its passion, a legendary ending and beginning to the biggest franchise of them all. In a game rich in religious overtone, there’s really only one word to sum it all up. Godly. Til next time, Bungie.

Game Uber’s Related Posts:

Halo Reach – Exclusive

Yes Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock has gone back to its roots. Forget about Taylor Swift and Band Hero, this is a game for those who worship the gods of metal, who throw horns to the sky and headbang in unison. The soundtrack ranges from rocking to out-and-out brutality, with Slayer, Alter Bridge and Black Sabbath among the bands laid out on the altar of instrumental four-piece sacrifice.

So far, so Guitar Hero III then, but Warriors of Rock does actually prove to be the biggest departure for the series, and indeed any modern music game so far. It actually has a story, and not just a cartoon about being in a crappy band. The whole thing’s about the battle between the demigod of rock – voiced by one Gene Simmons of Kiss, and that programme about musical children – and The Beast, a large mechanical robot that looks like it’s been cut-and-pasted from some long-defunct cyberpunk action game.

So these two have a ruck, and the demigod ends up losing. The Beast entombs him in a granite prison and… Still with us? Okay, so the Beast entombs him, and somehow the demigod of rock calls out to the eight characters of Guitar Hero to help him. This is where you come in.

To progress through the story, you have to play as each of the characters in turn – Johnny Napalm, Lars Umlaut etc, – and they each have a set that’s specifically tailored to their style. Beat all the songs in their set, and their inner warrior is unleashed, turning them into a demon form and awarding them a super power. Johnny, for example, wins ‘Speed Freak’, which means his multiplier never drops below 2X.

It’s really window dressing for the main event, which is actually getting into the songs and playing the music, and once again Neversoft has proven its skill and diligence when it comes to creating note charts. It’s funny that we now analyze the quality of something so abstract – the term note charts didn’t even exist a few years ago – but nevertheless, Neversoft has shown themselves to be true Guitar Heroes.

By the time you reach the final battle against The Beast, you’ll have all eight heroes, and you have to create two bands with suitable powers to take him on in the hardest songs in the game. Beat him, and you unlock a brand new chapter as the Demigod, with even harder songs. Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock is taking no prisoners. Unless you happen to be stuck in a granite tomb, of course.

Gene Simmons has said that he “learned a long time ago people listen with their eyes.” Apart from the obvious flaw in logic, it’s pretty obvious what he means. It’s why Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock has ramped up the visual imagery to capture that over-the-top rock spectacle. It’s all about capturing the spirit of the great metal album covers; the bold and brilliant works of artists inspired by all things rock, and as such is by far the best-looking Guitar Hero game to date. There’s a slick motion blur and some dramatic camera angles that help to pepper the whole thing with a bit of style, and the character artists have done a great job with the ‘warrior’ alternate forms. Lars Umlaut’s pig face is particularly spectacular, as is Tommy Knox’s mummified zombie thing.

With Rock Band 3 pursuing the musical purity angle, it’s nice to have a bit of variety in the two products this year. Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock knows that it’s essentially daft, and it exists purely to entertain. Still, that’s not to say that the new Guitar Hero hasn’t got its fundamentals in place. The song list is suitably epic, the audiovisuals strong and you still have slick inclusions like the pick-up-and-play Party mode and all manner of multiplayer modes if you’re that way inclined. And if the achievements are as well-incorporated as they were in Guitar Hero 5, then there’ll be plenty to get your teeth stuck into.

So, is music gaming dead? Not if Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock has anything to do with it. Raise those horns to the sky, people.