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ModNation Racers Hands-On Preview

You may or may not be familiar with United Front Games’ racing title ModNation Racers for the PlayStation 3, but after checking out our hands-on preview of this unique and ambitious kart racing game, your engines will be appropriately revved. Here’s a taste of what awaits you on the fully customizable roads of ModNation Racers:

“There are few game genres more timeless than racing. The goal is as self-explanatory as they come: get to first place. One of the greatest barriers for racing games to withstand the test of time is that, sooner or later, the tracks are bound to get old. United Front Studio's ModNation Racers seeks to fix that with its intuitive level editor adding "the deepest customization ever seen in a racer,” according to Dan Sochan, the game's producer.”

Read the full hands-on preview right here.
 

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So I know this will be a while from now but I will pick up the PSP with LBP and ModNation for sure! Prob get some GoW and R&C action as well.

Posted: 13 minutes ago by Spybreak

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Star Trek Online

Morgan is a known MMO fiend, but you might not have known that she's totally into Trek. That's why X-Play sent her on an away mission to Cryptic Studios to check out Star Trek Online. Here's what she had to say about her hands-on time with the game:

"The ground combat is pretty fast-paced. You have a variety of weapons depending on class and preference, and some special and secondary attacks if the right opportunity presents itself and your enemy is open. Your bridge officers happily fight alongside you, blasting away at the Klingon scum (or Federation scum, if you're a Klingophile). If you are familiar with MMOs, you can think of your AI bridge officers as being similar to pets in other games. They help you on your battles and give you advantages both on and off the ship. Your crew is so important that Star Trek Online is mostly based around 5-man instances."

Click here to read the entire preview, and check out Morgan's interview and gameplay footage!

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Andrew continues the magic with YET another post (two in a row!! OMGZ) about something other than... THAT! This is awesome. I wish I wasn't so jaded and scarred/abused against MMO's after my 6mos stint at WoW. I love Trek, but I just can't ever allow myself to ever play an MMO again. They waste time and money, but most importantly that feeling of real accomplishment, like more than loot drops, is missing forever. That sucks. I want to BEAT a game, not keep doing more fetch missions.

Posted: Last week by darkhadden

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If you thought Abbie Heppe's Left 4 Dead 2 Realism Mode Walkthrough was stellar, you'll be stoked to know she had time to do some exclusive, direct-feed walkthroughs for both the Survival and brand new Scavenge modes as well.

First, check out the fast-paced 4 vs. 4, gas can-gathering extravaganza in the Scavenge Mode walkthrough, where you'll be tasked to run like the dickens gathering can after precious can of gasoline in the fastest time possible.

Left 4 Dead 2 Scavenge Mode Walkthrough »

 

Then, Ms. Heppe gives you the lowdown on laying out your best chance at a time you can brag about in the returning Survival Mode. You'll have to hit the jump to see it, though!

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I'm just happy that the zombie killing saga continues! I can't wait for this game to come out! Damn dirty zombies!

Posted: November 4, 2009 by TXVinylJunkie

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Dragon Age: Origins will be released tomorrow for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. While you wait one more excruciating day, watch this interview between Adam Sessler and Mike Laidlaw, lead designer on the game at BioWare.

Adam and Mike discuss the game's 5-year development, lessons learned from previous BioWare games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect, and how the dev team specifically wanted to help players that may not be familiar with the company's previous titles that relied on the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset get right into the action.

"Moving away from things like round-based concepts and things that were very tabletop-heavy and moving to elements, talents, and abilities that make sense and are, ideally, very visceral. So you can actually see them play out. That's the thing about tabletop gaming. It's abstract by nature. It's a bunch of friends and a bowl of chips. The bowl of chips have no part in combat, but they're there! So, you have to get past that "it's all in your imagination". With a game, you can create animations and models. When you 'Shield Bash' someone, even if you aren't quite sure what effect that has and then [the enemy] goes ass over tea kettle... well, it's pretty obvious what just happened."

Extended Dragon Age: Origins Lead Designer Interview »


Are you picking up Dragon Age: Origins tomorrow? For which platform? For me, it's PC all the way. I need that isometric viewpoint.

Featured Comment

360 here, been slacking on keeping my PC updated and gotta get that gamerscore up!

Posted: November 3, 2009 by leobot29

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BioShock 2 All Access Preview »


Take a deep breath, folks. It’s time to dive back in to the world of Rapture, and it ain’t going to be pretty when you see what’s happened to Andrew Ryan’s undersea utopian nightmare over the past decade. Seriously, there’s so much I’ve wanted to tell you about 2K Marin’s BioShock 2, but I just haven’t been able to…until now!

Here’s a little taste of what awaits you in my hands-on preview:

“When my destination came into focus, I discovered that I had arrived in a Disneyland-ish area called Ryan Amusements, a now dilapidated shell of what was once used as a place to terrify Rapture’s children into never wanting to venture to the surface. I quickly found out that my mission was to locate the Incinerate plasmid so I could melt a frozen door blocking the progress of the train I was using to move between areas of the city.”

Would you kindly check out the full preview located right here? And definitely watch that X-Play all-access preview to find out even more about what awaits you in the twisted world of BioShock 2.

Featured Comment

Bioshock 2 plus multiplayer=goty





unless fallout new vegas comes out next year

Posted: October 29, 2009 by canomad

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Say you're an accomplished entertainment veteran credited with projects like the 2003, Oscar-winning feature film Monster (story editor) and television drama staple N.C.I.S. (writer). You're minding your own business when highly regarded game development house, Infinity Ward, comes knocking on your door. They ask you to create a story from scratch having no consideration for any financial restrictions whatsoever, to explore the dark recesses of the modern day terrorist mind.

"...some of the things that we would come up with as fictional ideas, basically, started happening. So you start feeling like... okay, we've got our finger on the pulse a little bit, we're starting to think like terrorist... and that's, disturbing." 

Find out more, as Adam continues the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 interview train with veteran writer Jesse Stern.

 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Writer Interview »


 

 

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theres supposed to be alien terrorists

Posted: October 28, 2009 by SergeantNardone

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Morgan Webb recently traveled to Italy to get her hands-on with Assassin's Creed II and interview the makers of Ubisoft's new game.

First, Morgan talks with Patrice Desilets, the game's creative director, about the character of Ezio, the challenges in recreating real world cities like Florence and Venice, and how the team wants different players to experience Assassin's Creed II in their own way. Patrice also drops hints about some of the secrets that Ubisoft has included in the game.

Assassin's Creed II Creative Director Interview »

If you haven't been following the development of Assassin's Creed II thus far, Morgan sums the sequel up nicely in her preview:

"While the first game took place during the time of the Crusades, this time it’s the Renaissance, and while there’s still no penicillin, life has certainly improved. Ezio is the son of a rich nobleman, and most of his attention is wasted on the exploits of young men with too much money and too little responsibility: booze, boobs and brawls. Everything changes one day when his family is double crossed, and he dons the assassin’s hood to get his revenge. While Altair from the first Assassin's Creed always seemed a bit of a cipher, Ezio feels like a living breathing human you relate to immediately. He doesn’t start out as an assassin, he becomes one because of the hand that life has dealt him, and you are happy to follow him on this 30-year journey."

Click through for two more video interviews with Benoit Lambert, the game's director, and Casey May, the game's writer.

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@RedSigma677:: have you even played it yet?

Posted: October 26, 2009 by FLP_B01

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Left 4 Dead 2

X-Play's Abbie Heppe is a lucky one. She's up at Valve Software right now getting her hands on Left 4 Dead 2's newly announced "Scavenge" mode! While we sit patiently in Los Angeles for the game's November 17, 2009 release, she was kind enough to send back her impressions of the mode.

"For the final rollout of Left 4 Dead 2 goodness before launch, Valve announced the new Scavenge mode. This 4 vs. 4 mode pits survivors against infected and not in the way we've come to expect. Four survivors must retrieve gas cans around the map to power a central generator. Each can that is poured into the generator buys 20 seconds of time on the clock which counts down to the survivors demise from 120 seconds. The catch? You can't take damage when filling the generator and the gas cans are spread so widely throughout the surrounding area that it takes an impressive feat of skill and teamwork to get all 16."

Read her full preview now!

Featured Comment

I'll repeat this for everyone who is against L4D2 being it's own game:

Left 4 Dead:
4 Campaigns
5 Special infected
Normal Infected
7 guns (sort of)
AI Director that can move around weapons, health, ammo and changes when zombies spawn.

VS

Left 4 Dead 2:
5 Campaigns which are ALL bigger than the original 4
8 Special Infected including changes and upgrades to the original 5
Normal Infected
Uncommon Infected of various...

Posted: October 8, 2009 by Ieyke

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Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Conviction has all the makings of a stellar game: expertly crafted presentation elements, tight gameplay and a gripping story. X-Play's Morgan Webb caught up with Ubisoft creative director Maxime Beland during TGS 2009, and as Beland explained, one of the welcomed side effects of Ubisoft's reworking of the franchise's stealth-action combat is that players will have more control than ever over how the game unfolds.

"Also, what we're trying to do is put the player in control of the pace. So if you want to play it slower, you want to take your time, you really want to be tactical, you can. If you're more of a gung-ho player--I don't think it's going to work that well unless you're really good and you're playing at an easier difficulty level--but other than that, I think you're really going to need to think before you act."

To find out more about some of the new and exciting elements of Splinter Cell: Conviction, be sure to check out the full interview below.

Splinter Cell: Conviction Maxime Beland TGS 09 Interview »


Featured Comment

February 23rd. Okay so I'm guessing come December they're going to say, "Wait! We're delaying the game for May."

Posted: October 2, 2009 by AgentMark

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There weren't as many games at this year's Tokyo Game Show as there had been in years past, but there were still enough quality titles on display -- from both the East and West sides of development -- to compete for a spot on our unofficial and completely unscientific list of top games from the show. Winners shall receive nothing beyond our continued anticipation. Feel free to nominate your own candidates in the comments section!

Top 10 Games of Tokyo Game Show 2009

1) Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Screenshot

TGS 09 TrailerHands-On Preview | Demo First 13 MinutesDeveloper Interview

Billy Berghammer:  "However, co-op is the main dish in Peace Walker, and based on our short hands-on time, it's looking quite promising. When playing a cooperative level, players choose which type of Snake they want to use to tackle a mission -- Battle Dress (best armor, yet slow), Sneaking Suit (Snake has a shield, yet if not equipped has weak armor), Jungle Fatigues (balanced), and Naked Snake (little defense, but fast and has a brutal weapons load-out). I initially chose Naked Snake, and enjoyed his speed and vast weapons."

2) Crackdown 2

Crackdown 2 Screenshot

Gameplay DemoHands-On PreviewDeveloper InterviewScreenshot Gallery

Patrick Klepek:  "Let it be known: Crackdown was made for a robust, sprawling series of multiplayer options. Deathmatch is a perfect compliment to the Crackdown gameplay and the sense of verticality means the ebb and flow is completely different from anything else out there. Unlike a great many other shooters coming down the pike, Crackdown 2 doesn't have to worry about the monster that is Modern Warfare 2; this is another beast entirely."

Read More »

Featured Comment

ACII looks very nice i have to say. that's the one game i will be buying last quarter this year. dead rising 2 also looks very nice. i sorely wish i had a ps3 thought o experience the last guardian and uncharted 2 though (even though uncharted 2 isnt on the list)

Posted: October 4, 2009 by bluepheonixia

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TGS in Review: G4tv.com's Full Tokyo Game Show Coverage

Tokyo Game Show is a wrap for 2009, and that's music to the ears of our Tokyo Team who just returned to the office in a sleepy funk. Not that it wasn't fun, mind you, it was just completely exhausting for pretty much everyone involved. Hopefully you've been with us for the last week or so and have been keeping up with our long list of previews, trailers, demo videos, interviews, and photo galleries.

And if you haven't, well...here's our long list! (Read after the break for written previews, news stories, and photo galleries.)

Pre-Show Activities

Videos

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What happened to kingdom hearts birth by sleep? :c

Posted: October 1, 2009 by omira

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What We Know: Square Enix is bringing the Crystal Chronicles series to the Wii, but in a whole new direction. Crystal Bearers ditches the normal Crystal Chronicles format in favor of a much more action adventure based affair that’s one of the best looking Wii titles to date.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers Arrives December 26

What's New At TGS: Players control Layle using the Wiimote and Nunchuck, and as a Crystal Bearer, Layle has a special magic ability to control and move objects, characters, and enemies by pointing at them with the Wiimote. Not only that, but he can grapple onto ledges and floating bars to traverse platforming sections. In the demo, while Layle and Belle are exploring an underground cavernous dungeon, they become separated, and Layle chases her down. I’m going to assume this demo takes place early on in the game considering the fact that the platforming is fairly basic. Point to an area you want to jump to and press A. Later in the levels, the platforms start to move and float around making navigation more difficult. It also doesn’t help that you control the camera with the D-pad, so if you’re jumping around and then your next desired location is in back of you, you need to stop, move the camera, and then jump slowing down the pace quite a bit.

The combat is also quite simplistic, just grab an object and toss it at incoming enemies. Upon reaching a room populated with a few baddies, all you have to do is nab a nearby boulder and whip it at an approaching enemy. A much more interesting encounter happened when while running down a hallway I set off a trap, which sent a moving skeletal demon platform towards me that had a door in the middle branded with an arrow on it. By locking onto the door it and jerking the Wiimote in the desired direction, the demons would attack, and by latching onto them would cause them to jab the platform. It was actually a pretty neat combat mechanic and I hope Square-Enix has gobs of things like this in the game to keep things fresh.

What We Want To See:  A deeper and richer combat system. Enemies were sparse and combat is a bit too easy, and I hope later on in the game there’s more complex battles. There was an over abundance of running through long halls in this demo, and I’d rather fight a lot more enemies, and keep the action going than just running. Yawn. Square-Enix is demonstrating  a solid presentation for a Wii title, but the combat, camera, and lack of battles needs some attention.
 

Featured Comment

From what I have gathered, this game is basically a FF Zelda game. Action Adventure if you will.

Posted: September 30, 2009 by CaitloxOfDoom

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What We Know: Gran Turismo 5 has been in development for what seems like an eternity, and eons after its demo version - Gran Turismo 5: Prologue – was released, it seems like Polyphony Digital is finally getting the game together for a March 2010 release in North America, Japan, and Europe.

What’s New At TGS: The new build of Gran Turismo 5 showed off a new course – Tokyo R249 – a track that’s actually built in the same neighborhood as Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. While the physics model seems to have been updated since we played the game at GamesCom, the promised damage modeling doesn’t seem much improved. The gameplay is still solid, and actually, while I usually think racing games are more difficult to play with a wheel, I loved it even more with the wheel when I got my hands on it at Polyphony Digital. Granted, it also helped to play with the wheel inside a slick racing rig, as well.

Tokyo Game Show 2009: Gran Turismo 5 Hands-On Preview
see our photos from the Polyphony Digital studio tour

However, the big news is that we finally have game details. Gran Turismo 5 will feature 900 cars, 20 locations, 70 variations of tracks, a new physics model, and promised damage that will affect not only the physical appearance of the cars and affect performance, but for race cars, parts will see physical damage, and also get completely torn off the vehicle. Lose a fender or door, and it will lay in the track – damaging other cars that run into it. It’s about time Polyphony!

Gran Turismo 5 Off-Screen Gameplay from TGS 2009 »


Gran Turismo 5 will also support many of the modes seen in Prologue including arcade and online modes, a beefed up Gran Turismo TV, as well as the ability to export recorded video to both YouTube and your PSP. Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi says that there will be even more features in the game revealed later, including PlayStation Eye camera support. Sweet!

What We Want To See: The game finally come out! There were rumors that Gran Turismo 5 might make it out before the end of the year, but sadly that won’t be the case as Polyphony confirmed that the game will make it out in March 2010. Better late than never, right? 
 

Featured Comment

gt suck for like the last 6 year

Posted: September 28, 2009 by ddf

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Team Ninja producer Yosuke Hayashi wants you to want to play Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 in the worst way. How else would you explain this lengthy walkthrough video that's jam-packed with tons of wildly violent and gorgeously rendered action? Now, while the video does show off quite a bit of in-game action, you should know that if any of the following things offends you, you might want to avert your eyes:

  • Big breasted women smashing monsters into paste using a giant war-hammer
  • Co-op demon hacking and slashing
  • Boss battles including an electrified and visibly troubled Statue of Liberty
  • Sixaxis boob shaking

If these things don't bother you, then by all means, click play!

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Direct-Feed Developer Walkthrough »


Featured Comment

LIKE THEY'RE FILLED WITH BABY SPIDERS!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

Posted: September 26, 2009 by pakodoom

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Final Fantasy XIII

What We Know: Square Enix has been working on Final Fantasy XIII for years now and even though we are still waiting to find out the exact date for when the PlayStation 3 debut of the RPG series will show up over here, a December release date in Japan at least means the game is in the final stages of development. Final Fantasy XIII appears to be a return to form for the series, after the MMO-inspired gameplay departure of the last game. Much of the game's fundamentals have been shown off in the months leading up to the game's release in Japan, which means most fans are already pretty aware of what to expect from Final Fantasy XIII -- a pretty and traditional RPG.

What's New at TGS: Look, I'm going to be honest. I can't read Japanese. The roughly 10-minute playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII at Tokyo Game Show let me play around with the summons-who-act-as-party-members mechanic, but other than that, I could't tell you much about what happened while I was pressing the circle button because the entirety of the demo was in a language that looked like moonspeak to me. Specifics on the gameplay will have to be left for another time, but I have to commend Square Enix for giving players opportunities to encourage movement about the environment in order to dodge enemy encounters. It's tough to tell how extensively this will extened to the entire game, but there were several instances in the Final Fantasy XIII demo where I was able to find a secret path around the enemies that prevented those encounters from ever happening. I'm always a fan of RPGs that make enemy encounters optional if players are being observant.

What I Want to See: An English release date. Square Enix has been teasing Final Fantasy XIII for a long, long time now. It's big, bold and beautiful, but at this point, I'm tired of seeing new trailers with characters I don't know much about and a story shrouded in mystery.

Featured Comment

Dude, you need to seriously grow up.
Their just consoles, the 360 didn't give birth to you, so stop acting like it did.

Posted: September 26, 2009 by deathsdelivery

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