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Casual gaming meets high fantasy. We take a look at Infinite Interactive’s latest accomplishment …

When it comes to countries of the world, the now defunct U.S.S.R has got a lot to answer for. Although it is more commonly associated with sub-standard nuclear reactors, ethnic conflicts and vodka that can drop a horse at twenty paces, it’s also the birth place of Alexey Pajitnov, designer of the “match the coloured falling blocks” puzzle, Tetris. Since its inception in 1985, Alexey’s creation has mutated into numerous casual gaming formats ranging from PopCap’s Bejeweled and Bookworm series of games to Alexey’s own Hexic that was bundled with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game system.
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Another example of why Infinity Ward are the masters of the first-person shooter…

Any first-person shooter player worth his salt should be familiar with the Call of Duty (COD) gaming franchise and the intense game-play experiences they are invariably associated with. Unlike the rival Medal of Honor series of games, these releases eschewed the un-realistic “one man against the world” approach in favour of co-operative squad based scenarios where your actions are dynamically supported by intelligent comrades. Even without the additional complexity of a squad command system like Gearbox’s Brothers in Arms titles, COD has always managed to keep the action fast and furious and is arguably the most successful of the World War 2 shooter series to date!
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We take an in-house look at the latest real-time strategy episode in the near-future Command and Conquer universe.

If you have ever played any of the previous titles in the Command and Conquer (CC) franchise you will have undoubtedly noticed the single common thread that binds this franchise together: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Over twelve years of games and expansions (including the Red Alert spin-off series), Westwood and Electronic Arts (EA) have managed to keep the changes in game-play to an absolute minimum, relying on the original “base-building and expansion” mechanics conceived in the early 1990’s with Dune 2. Focusing primarily on new unit types, over-acted full motion video cut scenes staring high profile Hollywood actors and extensive audio/visual enhancements, EA have managed to pump out a dozen block-buster’s whose sales figures clearly show that they know what CC fans want in their games. The only “fly in the ointment” was the last game in the series (Command and Conquer: Generals and its Zero Hour expansion) when the developers departed from the usual RTS mechanics used to such great success in the past. The game still had generally glowing reviews, but a large proportion of gamers didn’t fully appreciate the changes made. Now, four years after Generals, EA returns to the original CC universe following the original tried and true mechanics that have made this franchise the success story it is.
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Mindless third-person shooter action on a distant world. We take a look at CGS Software’s DevastationZone Troopers.

While the major game publishers like Electronic Arts, Vivendi and their ilk have cornered most of the market on PC and console game sales, there are a growing number of software developers targeting their product at online only sales, whether its self-published or handled through smaller independent online stores. Those of us who persist in buying our warez (pun intended) only from retail outlets and mail order are doing ourselves a considerable disservice as there are a number of high-quality “download only” titles available online that are just as good (if not better) than many of the products pushed upon us by the major players. One such game is DevastationZone Troopers from CGS Software; a frenetic third-person shooter where the body count rapidly enters the thousands and everything on screen is completely destructible.
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The world of SiN returns once more … this time in episodic format! Is Colonel John Blade still Ritual Entertainment’s answer to Duke Nukem?

It’s been eight years since we last heard from Colonel John Blade and HARDCORPS, his elite force of crime-fighting commandos in the original SiN first person shooter. Now, they’re back o­nce more; hot o­n the heels of their arch nemesis and CEO of SinTek Corporation, Elexis Sinclaire. Blade discovers that she and her henchmen have malevolent plans for humanity and it’s up to him and his mayhem inducing persona to discover what’s afoot. Of course, its going to take sometime to discover just what those machinations are because Ritual Entertainment have decided to release the entire story in episodic format via both commercial outlets and the Steam content delivery system, similar to the upcoming Half Life 2 episodes. It is envisaged that around nine episodes, released twice yearly will bring the entire story to a close; I suspect gamers are going to have a hard time waiting four years to discover the secrets behind Elexis’ scheming.
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I can’t believe it’s not Diablo … and after you play this addictive click-fest from developer WildGames you’ll probably feel the same way!

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” … and within twenty minutes of playing Fate, you are going to see just how true this expression is! Fate is, at its roots, a lighter and less gothic version of Blizzard’s astonishingly successful Diablo series of CRPGs, with all the stats and mouse-clicking action whilst eschewing pretty much anything in the way of a coherent storyline. Every useful feature of Diablo is mirrored perfectly within Fate, from the inventory management, quick item slots and function keys to the mini-map and click-driven interface. The diverse range of creatures you will face and the items and weapons that you will discover all draw upon the near flawless creations that the guys and gals at Blizzard spent years developing. In fact, o­ne would have to wonder if their legal department is asleep o­n the job given the comparisons between the two games! Be that as it may, it’s a safe assumption to make that anyone who enjoyed playing the former game will love Fate.
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Less than a year has passed and a sequel to Gearbox Software’s WW2 tactical first person shooter is already out. We take a closer look at the evolution of this series.

There are certain things that are expected of game developers when they indulge in a sequel to o­ne of their critically acclaimed titles. Additional game-play features that build upon what made its predecessor such a hit. Perhaps some new tweaks or game engine enhancements. And, of course, the implementation of bug fixes and solutions for those original game quirks that aficionados ranted about ad-infinitum in o­nline forums. Alas, those of you expecting at least some of these improvements are going to be sorely disappointed because Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood (EiB) can at best be described as a stand-alone expansion pack rather than a fresh gaming experience.
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Yet another first person shooter set amongst the hedgerows and villages of German occupied France …

Over the last few years, it cannot have escaped o­nes’ notice that World War 2 themed shooters have been pouring out of development houses at an ever accelerating rate. The spate of Medal of Honor and Call of Duty games has graced first person shooter (FPS) players with a bevy of releases that all seem to appear pretty much the same as each other apart from the combat environments. Sure they’re all beautifully crafted and faithful to the period being represented but, ultimately, when you take your shiny new purchase home and break it out of the shrink-wrap, after a few hours play, you’re invariably left with the feeling that you’ve been here and done this before. When the dust settles at the end of each game you can rest assured that Hitler’s ass has been soundly smacked, take a long drag o­n your stogie of choice, and then sit back and wait for the next release to hit the stores.
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We conclude our coverage of F.E.A.R., Quake 4, Serious Sam 2 and Call of Duty 2 first person shooters.

Game play – Serious Sam 2
In the beginning, the FPS microcosm of the gaming universe consisted of the adventures of a solitary hero. Bearing weapons of immense power, he was charged with the smiting of chaotic daemons, the termination of malevolent and fantastical beasts or the vanquishment of jackboot clad, fascists. And when gamers saw what had been developed, they saw that it was good. As years passed, the genre evolved. Scripting introduced predictable events that designers would lavish upon an unsuspecting player. Plots became more intricate and convoluted, causing brows to furrow in concentration. Interactive items and puzzles were introduced to slow down the frenetic action. And Croteam looked down upon what had transpired and said, “Bugger this for a joke! Let’s get back to our gaming roots.”
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We take a good hard look at four of the latest first-person shooters for 2005 as F.E.A.R., Quake 4, Serious Sam 2 and Call of Duty 2 face each other off!

Gaming aficionados have recently been blessed with a handful of highly anticipated first-person shooters. Within six weeks of each other, F.E.A.R., Quake 4, Serious Sam 2 and Call of Duty 2 have managed to appear o­n store shelves ready for the Christmas buying frenzy. Each title has a distinguished pedigree to work from; Monolith Productions acts as the progenitor of F.E.A.R., with a long history of excellent first person shooter (FPS) titles under its belt (the No o­ne Lives Forever series, TRON 2.0 etc.) while each of the other three contenders possess equally impressive creators and are sequels to highly rated games in their own right.
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