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As we all know, Ezio Auditore da Firenze is the biggest badass to come out of Italy in the past six hundred years. But how would you like to play as him against some of the whackier characters to come out of a Japanese fighting game? It is rumored that Ezio will be a playable character in Soulcalibur V. It's doubtful that you will be able to jump down from a rooftop and instantly assassinate your opponent, however Ezio is a master of many weapons and would make a great addition to the weapon based fighting in Soulcalibur. Soulcalibur is no stranger to cameo appearances, so this awesome rumor could very well be true. Source: Official XBOX Magazine Click here to view the article

Finally the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto V has arrived. Fans of GTA: San Andreas will be excited to hear that the fifth numbered installment of the series is returning to Los Santos. It is unclear whether San Fierro and Las Venturas are in the game as well, but some of the countryside appears to be there, with mountains to climb and do crazy things off of. If you look closely you can spot several things added since GTA IV: Sea-doos, semi trucks with trailers, blimps, and even airplanes and fighter jets. That's right, airplanes appear to be returning. Fans will still undoubtedly have many questions such as: whether the planes will be flyable, how much of the San Andreas area the game will take place in, how the multiplayer and Free Roam will be, and when the release date is. One thing is certain. The wait will be agonizing for this next epic Rockstar game. Click here to view the article

We here at Gamercide love Magicka. So much so that we want you to have a chance to play it, too. This Friday and Saturday, from 10PM Pacific onwards, we will be streaming the game and giving away codes for it. All you have to do is watch our stream, courtesy of JustinTV (thanks to Dateranoth for the excellent design for our streaming page), and answer some trivia based on the game as we play it. 4 codes will be up for grabs at 10PM PST on Friday, 2/11 as Dateranoth plays, and another 5 will be available the next day, 10PM PST on Saturday, 2/12 as AudaciousKevin (yours truly) takes over. So if you miss out on day one, there will be more codes for you to win the next day. Just pay attention to the stream as we play, and be the first to get the questions right, and the game is as good as yours. Please note that, due to potential lag, the winner will be decided based on who the broadcaster sees post the correct answer first in the chat log. Thanks to the publisher of Magicka, Paradox, for providing some of the codes for us, and of course Arrowhead Game Studios for developing such a great game. Winners will be gifted the game through Steam on the PC. Feel free to check out the Steam demo, as well. Even if you don't win, the game is well worth the ten dollar asking price. Hope to see you there! Click here to view the article

Some of you may remember back in May, some indie developers got together and put on a cool little pack of games for charity called the Humble Indie Bundle. Enticing you with a hilarious video, you could choose how much you wanted to pay for the bundle, and how you wanted your money distributed between developers and charities. It turned out very successful, and it seems they're at it again, with even more great games. The best part is you can still choose what to pay. You could donate a pittance, or you could donate a sizeable amount for bonus Karma, or "feel-good points" if you're not into that sort of thing. Check out the video after you hit the jump 20 pixels below what you're reading right now. Just look down a little. Click here to view the article

We at Gamercide had a chance to talk to the guys over at Nice Technology about their upcoming free to play MMO, Picaroon. It's supposed to be a sort of semi-futuristic piratey MMO RTS, but isn't as complicated as it sounds. Just read on to see what Nice Tech had to say. Q – Can you give us a brief history of Nice Technology? Nice Technology was formed in 2009 when it got together with Toby Simpson the developer of AliceServer the MMOG engine (unique, we believe, in having an agent based architecture) to develop the software further and self publish games made with it. Nice Technology has worked on two titles, one Tronji an MMOG for children developed for BBCW and Ragdoll which is currently in beta and Picaroon, an MMORTS, that Nice Technology has developed in just a year which is currently in closed beta. Q – So what does the title "Picaroon" mean? Well, we knew that the game was pirateish, theme-wise, but title ideas with the word pirate in just didn't feel right. Then one of our developers pointed out that Picaroon sort of meant the same thing and it sounds much, much cooler, as all words with two 'o's in do. Of course there's also the issue that if we mention pirates in the title, it sets people's expectations to a 17th and 18th century type setting whereas we've deliberately based Picaroon in some suitably grim future to allow us to pick and choose what technology we wish to use and not be limited to cannons, swords and parrots. Q – What is the point of the game? Aside from the obligatory pillaging and looting, of course. The point of the game is simply to score as many points as possible, top the various ranking tables (there will be a number of different tables) and gain experience and rise through the ranks – but more than this have a great deal of fun, planning strategies, plotting, forging alliances and joining in the mayhem. Points are scored by conquering islands, attacking other players, tributing resources to powers that control what remains of the decimated world (in return you get some really powerful units in the end game phase of each round). Q – What gave you the idea to make a game about futuristic pirates? Are there any space ninjas in the game? We chose the theme to give us the creative freedom to combine old and new technologies and weapons in myriad and interesting ways. But currently there are lots of variety of units and buildings on offer and specials, virtual cards, that boost your performance (whether in attack, defence, building, resource gathering etc). There is the excitement of the end game where superships and supersubs (nuclear missile carrying) enter the fray and change the balance of the game. And there are lots of plans for new units including mobile attack and static defence platforms that players have the freedom to create themselves from the various resources on offer. There are not any space ninjas in the game as far as we're aware, but as you know: if there were, you'd never see them anyway; Ninjas are just that sneaky. Q – Do you have any plans to release any games on consoles such as the Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii? We're currently only planning a PC release along with an iPhone and iPad client next year. We're going to be creating totally new ways of playing Picaroon such as quick-fire Skirmish games and long-term persistent games. These new modes appeal to different people and perhaps might create a demand on other platforms which we would be more than delighted to look at. Q – What in the world is a Tronji? Tronjis are friendly creatures from another planet that was always happy until their world collided with ours and became less happy! Children enter the world to fix things, help Tronjis and create more happiness. Q – Can you tell us what your plans for the future are? Will you devote your time to expanding Picaroon, or will you continue to make new games as you support it? We're going to be devoting our time to expanding Picaroon for the time being. We've got a packed schedule for the first quarter of next year that adds the new game modes mentioned above and also a whole pile of wonderful new features including customisable units that'll allow for potentially millions of possible combinations. We can't way to see what our players will create! We're also going to bringing Tronji to commercial release and we're looking at something... well, something REALLY special that we're going to work on from mid next year! Q – Anything else you'd like to add? Feel free to self-advertise here, that's kind of the point. The technology that powers Picaroon and Tronji is inspired by biology and it's capable of doing some other really amazing things. We've had prototypes in the past where we've created entire universes in a matter of seconds populated by vast numbers of plants, animals and other such stuff. We're dead proud of what we've achieved with Picaroon and Tronji given that there's just a few of us but this is all just the tip of the iceberg! Perhaps something with space ninjas? It certainly seems that Nice Technology is determined to live up to their namesake. Check out some footage of the game below, and go to the Picaroon website and check out the free to play Beta. The final build of the game will also be free to play, and is planned to be released sometime this winter. Click here to view the article

It's standard practice these days for every major release to have store exclusive bonus content to lure you into preordering the game from that particular vendor. Fallout New Vegas is no different, with 4 different offerings to choose from. Best Buy - The Mercenary Pack - Mercenary's Grenade Rifle - Lightweight Metal Armor - 3 Doctor's Bags - 3 Super Stimpaks Amazon - The Tribal Pack -Broad Machete -Tribal Raiding Armor -10 Throwing Spears - 5 Bleak Venom doses Gamestop - The Classic Pack - Weathered 10mm Pistol - Armored Vault 13 Suit - 5 Stimpaks - Vault 13 Canteen Walmart and Steam - The Caravan Pack - Sturdy Caravan Shotgun - Lightweight Leather Armor - Binoculars - 4 Repair Kits What's nice about the New Vegas preorder items is that they all seem to be comprised of things that are either in game already, or will quickly become obsolete, like starter kits. So in the end, you aren't missing out on some unique item or power. Personally I'm leaning towards the Caravan Pack with the binoculars and the Mad Max style outfit. Comment below and tell us which set you'll be getting. Fallout: New Vegas is set to release on October 19th. Click here to view the article

According to the Playstation Blog, Asura's Wrath, Capcom's upcoming game that puts hack and slash gameplay in an Asian mythological settings, is planned for a 2012 release on both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. You can see the epic reveal trailer here, via IGN's Youtube channel: Asura's Wrath: Official Reveal Trailer I can just hear the otaku in me screaming out "zomg Asian God of War!". This game looks like it will be incredibly badass. via the official Playstation Blog Click here to view the article

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The Razer Onza is Razer's first proper attempt at making a gamepad for consoles. Can this gamepad created by a company known for making some of the fanciest PC gaming peripherals around live up to the hype, or is it not the godly, k/d count enhancing, reaction boosting uber controller that everyone makes it out to be? The Razer Onza comes in two varieties. The first is the $50 Razer Onza Tournament Edition which has everything the standard Xbox 360 controller has (aside from chatpad compatibility), with added features including: two extra multi-function buttons on the shoulder that can be mapped to any other button on the controller (excluding the d-pad), adjustable resistance on the analog sticks to increase or decrease their tension on the fly, a redesigned d-pad that helps to prevent pressing the wrong button, backlit face buttons (the A, B, X, and Y buttons), a rubberized grip on it's surface, and a 15 foot braided (cloth-covered) USB cable. Being wired means that the controller is also PC compatible. The second variety is the $40 basic Razer Onza, having most of the same features except for the adjustable resistance analog sticks, rubberized grip, and backlighting. In this review I have used the Tournament Edition. Probably the most obvious and useful feature of the Razer Onza is having the ability to map any two extra buttons to the shoulder of the controller, next to the standard left and right bumpers. While not very necessary in some games, it can be extremely useful in other games such as first person shooters. When you have to be ready to aim and shoot at something at a moment's notice, moving your thumb from the right analog stick to jump or sprint can be deadly. With the Razer Onza you can do the impossible and aim as you jump, giving you a slight edge and a much smoother feel to the gameplay. The d-pad also has a very nice feel to it. While it may not be ideal for sliding moves in some fighting games (why wouldn't you just use the analog sticks these days anyways?), having each button separate from eachother and larger makes it easier to not bump the wrong one when you're, for example, choosing a weapon or ability. The new positioning of the back and start buttons on the other hand, isn't so great. The positioning was fine on the standard controller, I never found myself bumping them on accident and they were easily accessed by moving your thumbs inwards slightly. On the Razer Onza the back and start buttons are placed on the bottom of the controller for no apparent reason. This simply makes them a bit harder to press when you have to practically adjust your grip to reach them below the analog sticks. The analog sticks on the Onza can be adjusted to make them more or less tense. They can go from feeling like a controller that's been heavily used for the past five years, very loose and ideal for quick aiming in shooters, to being much harder to turn, which works well for racing games. The tension adjustment works great and can really change the feel of the controller depending on what you are playing. All of this sounds great, but there is one very big problem. This thing is noisy as hell! I've always wondered why computer mice have to make that loud sound with every press of the button. You might not notice it when you're just browsing the internet, but if you play a PC game it can get a bit annoying. Now imagine playing a game with a dozen buttons, all of which (excluding the triggers) click louder than a mouse click. When you start playing something hectic like Marvel vs. Capcom 3 it becomes a frenzy of clicking. The standard Xbox 360 controller uses membrane style clicking on most of its buttons, and is easily less than half as loud as the Razer Onza. Though the idea of the clicking style button presses is that they activate faster, I never noticed any real controller related button lag with the standard controller. On top of that, when there is a lot of force feedback and the controller vibrates hard enough, the entire controller rattles loudly like an earthquake is tearing it apart. If you grip it tight enough it will vibrate normally without sounding like it's about to explode, but using the excuse that you're holding it wrong didn't work out so well for the iPhone, did it? Some games have the option to lower the force feedback intensity, which helps, but it shouldn't be an issue to begin with. It just feels loose and cheaply made when you hear the almighty death rattle coming out of it. I even tightened all of the screws on the back of the controller (after having to remove some rubber don't-mess-with-the-internal-components caps blocking access to them) and the problem persisted. Overall the Razer Onza Tournament Edition was a bit of a disappointment for me. Functionally it's a great controller with some pretty cool features, but the overall 'clickiness' of it is highly irritating. For a controller that's been hyped up for over a year, and took an entire month and a half to get from the preordering period (which only lasted a few short days before it sold out), I had expected the overall feel of it to be a little better. If noise isn't an issue and you're looking for a new controller that might give you an edge online, then by all means try preordering one here when they next become available in the coming months. Otherwise I don't believe this will truly be a replacement for the standard Xbox 360 controller as some have claimed. The standard controller still has the best overall feel compared to third party brands. Also it doesn't generate earthquakes whenever your game gets too intense. Click here to view the article

Developed by: Techland Published by: Deep Silver Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3 Players: 1-4 Rated M for Mature by the ESRB It's the zombie apocalypse and you're trapped in paradise, or is it hell? Regardless, you must fend for yourself and meet up with other survivors to get through this calamity. Fortunately, you've brought some friends. Dead Island is a four player cooperative open world zombie role-playing game. That's certainly a mouthful, but it makes for a surprisingly fresh concept considering how oversaturated the market for zombie games is. There are plenty of zombie games, and even more RPGs, but surprisingly few hybrids of the two, not counting RPGs that happen to include zombies somewhere in them. Dead Island essentially plays like Borderlands, as many have aptly pointed out. The game mostly focuses on melee weapons. There are two categories of melee weapons: sharp and blunt, which are good at severing and breaking limbs respectively. The weapons wear down and have to be repaired, but it is possible to upgrade and mod your weapons. Later on you can stick batteries on your weapons with mods to make them cause electric damage, or coat them in poison. You can also throw your weapons at the infected to deal some damage without wearing your weapon down, but I found the idea unappealing later on in the game when all my weapons were very valuable and you can die so easily, regardless of the fact that your thrown weapons should stay where they landed and can't be picked up by co-op partners. All the usual RPG elements are there. Leveling up and putting points into your skill trees to get more powerful, collecting and selling loot, and so on. Even most of the zombie game tropes are intact, such as the presence of different types of infected, ranging from massive, charging, straight-jacket wearing zombies, to the usual protuberant growth-covered exploding zombies. One thing that was missing that I wish the game did have was armor, or at least some skills to increase your damage resistance. I understand that it's supposed to be a survival game, being about zombies, but dying in two or three hits even at high levels can be very annoying. Fortunately the only penalty for dying is a loss of ten percent of your money. It is also possible to revive co-op partners with med kits to prevent this loss. Sadly, in terms of story, Dead Island fails as an RPG. The lyric from a song in the game, "Who do you voodoo, bitch?" pretty much sums up the vast emotional depth of the game. Characters are forgettable. Every survivor you meet is a whiny, helpless person who wants you to do something meaningless like retrieve their precious teddy bear (yes, there is actually a quest to get someone's teddy bear, and it's a grown damn woman...) Not all of the sidequests are that ridiculous, but they can be very tedious when you have to walk back and forth through the same areas of the game over and over. You never really feel connected to the story with it's lack of proper depth and presentation. Even the promise of somewhat interesting main characters that you get from the intro and bios during character selection, goes unfulfilled. During the few cutscenes where the playable characters actually have something to say none of their supposed personality shows through. Instead you get gems like "If we don't stick together, we f***ed." Fortunately, the story, presentation, and inane sidequests are my only major gripe about the game. The game had some major launch issues, such as the wrong version coming out and there being many bugs, but the game has been patched extensively as of this writing, and more patches are certainly on their way. I played the PC version, but I gave the game a whole week before starting to play it properly. This gave it plenty of time to get patched up, and time for me to organize co-op with a friend, making the game much more enjoyable than solo. Graphically, the game looks pretty good. There are some slight issues such as a very noticeable change from high to low resolution textures at a short distance away that cannot be increased with any PC options, and the face models of any NPC aside from the main characters are utterly atrocious with the way the lighting system casts lines on their faces that make everyone appear over fifty regardless of their age, but the environments often look very beautiful. The nice thing is, the game has a surprisingly varied amount of locales. After every few main quest mission you go to a new area, from the beach, to the city, and even deeper into the island in the jungles. After a while you may not even recognize the game from where you started out on the beach, it feels entirely different as you advance to new areas. Useless story and some technical issues aside, Dead Island can be a very fun game. I personally didn't have any major issues with how the game worked or a need to use them, but others will attest that the many user mods and tweaks have improved their experience greatly. If you have some friends looking to have a good time in co-op, Dead Island is the perfect game to mess around in. Just don't expect any kind of amazing plot development. With some work on the story though, I think the concept of a zombie RPG has great potential, and Dead Island sets a good example for what kind of cool things can come from crossing genres. Click here to view the article

Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal Published by: Ubisoft Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC (reviewed) Players: 1 offline with 8 player multiplayer It's that time again, where we sharpen our hidden blades and get ready to brutally assassinate hundreds of inept guards in our quest for the truth.You once again take up the mantle of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, now an old man, but still every bit as capable as in his previous outings. The formula still holds true, and most of the features from Assassin's Creed Brotherhood have returned. Main story missions are in Sequences, or chapters, and most of them have bonus objectives to complete for full synchronization (a better score). Almost all of the side activities return as well. You can buy shops, complete faction challenges, recruit assassins, and collect those notorious collectibles. The assassin recruit metagame is much the same, but now you can capture cities by doing certain contracts, and gain an income of money and ingredients. As for the collectibles, they're not so bad this time around. There are 100 data fragments and 10 memoir pages. After collecting half of them you can get an in-game map showing the location of the rest, so it's much less tedious this time around. Sadly, there are no hidden glyphs or puzzles to solve. In Eagle Vision you can now see the patrol routes of guards. Being my first Assassin's Creed on the PC, the controls took a bit of getting used to. But once I figured them out and remapped a few buttons, the controls work quite well without a gamepad (though gamepads are supported). The only time I had any difficulty was when trying to jump sideways after running partway up a wall. Auto-climb (the button you need to hold to perform acrobatic moves) and jump are mapped to the same button, and it takes a little bit of effort to direct Ezio the way you want him to go, more so than a quick release and re-press of a gamepad button while rotating an analog stick. The graphics are as beautiful as ever, even more so with the better graphics of the PC version. There are a few new features, such as bomb crafting. You gather ingredients to create different types of bombs with effects ranging from distracting your enemies to outright killing them. Also added to Ezio's repertoire of tools is the hookblade. Essentially all it does is extend Ezio's reach when climbing, and add a few grapple moves, though the extra reach is often fairly helpful when climbing towers. Also added is another minigame where you defend your assassin's dens. It's a bit like tower defense, where you place units and walls to stop oncoming waves of enemies. Despite these few new additions though, Revelations doesn't seem to have advanced much from Brotherhood. Brotherhood itself wasn't a huge step up from Assassin's Creed II, but at least it added enough cool new features to make it a great game. Revelations however doesn't seem to add very much on top of that. In fact a couple things are missing: horses and usable boats, granted they aren't very necessary in the Mediterranean city of Constantinople, which is a bit smaller than the vast expanses of Rome previously seen. This is the Animus Island, a central hub of sorts while Desmond is stuck in the Animus. Think somewhere along the lines of Inception and Lost and you'll get the idea. The game was still enjoyable, but I couldn't help but feel like I was playing an "in-between" game, before the next big Assassin's Creed game. The ending outright points to another game, and without spoiling too much, with a title like Revelations I expected more to be revealed. Most of the new conspiracy intrigue you get at the end is stuff you already know from AC II and Brotherhood at this rate. Granted, the ending to AC II is very hard to top, when it was the first major reveal of the series. The multiplayer makes a return as well. In terms of gameplay it is essentially the same, but it can still be great fun. It's refreshing to play a multiplayer game where it's not all about the kill/death ratio. You get more points for skillful, calculated assassinations than running around stabbing everyone. New to the multiplayer are two modes, Artifact Assault and Corruption, capture the flag and infection respectively. In Artifact Assault each of the two teams has a flag to protect, while at the same time they can sprint or sneak over to the opponents side and steal their flag (I personally found sprinting and using chase breakers and decoy abilities to be the most effective). Corruption starts a few players out as "zombies" who must kill other players to convert them to their team, while the "humans" gain points from hiding and evading their hunters. Overall Assassin's Creed: Revelations definitely had some cool moments in the story, and it was fun to play as Altaïr for the few flashback scenes he was in, but as I said, it just felt like an "in-between game". It essentially felt like Assassin's Creed Brotherhood in a new city. Most of the fun features are there from the previous game, but as much as I love the series, this entry sadly felt a bit like filler. Now, I'm not exactly saying that this game isn't worth getting. If you enjoyed Brotherhood, you will most likely have fun with this game and should by all means check it out, especially for the multiplayer. I just wish there was a little more variety and innovation. Click here to view the article

Developed by: CyberConnect2 Published by: Capcom Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360 Players: 1 Betrayed by his fellow demigods. Locked away in Hindu hell for 12,000 years, his rage building all the while. Asura's wrath is great indeed, and now he has returned to set things right. Let's clear one thing up right away. As much as it might seem so, this is not a Japanese God of War clone. There are certainly some similarities, but Asura's Wrath is very different from God of War or other similar hack'n'slash titles. In fact very few, if any, games are all that much like Asura's Wrath at all. The approach taken is quite unlike most games you may have seen. You spend as much time watching the game as playing and interacting with it. This may turn many players off, but if you're willing to give something innovative a try, you might be surprised to find a rather engaging experience. Your move, universe. The game starts out with a level very reminiscent of the final boss battle of N64 classic Sin and Punishment. You fly around using your lock-on projectiles to fight the entire freaking planet. Or rather a colossal, menacing entity emerging from it. The story is certainly very epic and Japanese, taking inspiration from various sources including anime and mixed Asian mythology. The entire structure of the game is modeled after an anime series, with levels being separated by episodes, including credits, commercial break wipes (where the logo and a screen shot transition in and out, and a commercial would normally happen in between), a big "TO BE CONTINUED" at the end of every level, and even previews for the next episode. After completing each episode you are also treated to some still scenes of artwork, some of which is fan made, explaining more of the story than what can be shown in the cutscenes. The entire game feels like an anime, with long scenes of crazy action and story, and gameplay sections in between. All of the superpowers and craziness of a good action anime are here for your entertainment needs, in addition to a well crafted, grand scale story the likes of which you'd expect from a good anime. There's even a Japanese voice over option for good measure. Collateral damage? What's that? Outside of the cutscenes, which are often interspersed with quick time events (which are well implemented and never seem unfair), the gameplay can be divided into two main categories: brawler and shooter. The shooting mechanics (all of which involve Asura shooting energy out of his fists rather than using weapons) are simple but effective, having you either fly or run around in an on-rails or 2D environment. You aim the reticule over targets to get multiple lock-ons for your energy missiles to blast at, while holding another button to shoot your basic projectile that simply fires straight at the reticule. It serves its purpose as a means for Asura to fight colossal things that are entirely out of pummeling-to-death range, but it's in the brawler mechanics that the game truly shines. You can run, jump, punch, dodge, enter aiming mode to fire your basic projectiles, and unleash a power attack that takes a short while to recharge. While most normal enemies do have health and can be defeated, your goal is to use all of Asura's moves to build up his rage so you can hit the Plot Advancement--er, Burst button, at which point Asura's rage will reach boiling point and he will destroy anything in his way until he gets to the next section of the game, usually through quick time events. At the end of each level you are given a rank based on completion time, battle points, and your accuracy with quick time events. On top of the multiple difficulties (the hardest of which is thankfully available from the beginning), this adds a good amount of replay value to the game. The game isn't necessarily all that short, but it certainly can be beaten in only a day or two. There is still plenty of replay value for getting a better score, and enjoying some of the gameplay sections (the cutscenes can be paused and skipped, both of which should be standard in games today). The boss battles in particular can be great fun when you've learned all of the mechanics of the game. This may be a mild spoiler, but partway through the game you get to control a second protagonist, Yasha. His move set is roughly the same as Asura's, just more stylish. Asura's Wrath isn't quite like any other game I've ever played. It is a perfect example of not only games as art, but how entertainment multimedia doesn't need to be so black and white. You could easily say this would have worked better as a pure anime, or with more gameplay. But as an anime it wouldn't have had the same impact, being surrounded by so many similar animes that inundate the market. And if the gameplay was extended, the game could get repetitive and drawn out (though personally I believe there could have been more gameplay segments, or at least some form of challenge mode to let you play around in). How the game is now, it never felt too repetitive, or like the cutscenes dragged on for too long without any interaction. Asura's Wrath takes the best elements of both and attempts to craft them into one innovative package. In this day and age of gray shooters and fetch-questing talking simulators, it's not an easy risk to take, especially with a game of Asura's Wrath's scale, but it paid off. Buy it, rent it, wait for it to go on sale, or whatever you're comfortable with. If you like anime, or even just a good, over-the-top story, Asura's Wrath is definitely worth checking out, solely on the merit of it being something completely innovative in gaming. Click here to view the article

Dark Void Developed by: Airtight Games Published by: Capcom Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC Players: 1 Rated T for Teen by the ESRB The Breakdown Jetpacks are awesome, it's a well known fact. But does Capcom let you burn out your fuse up there with a fun game, or is it gonna be a long, long time till jetpack enthusiasts forgive them for this atrocity? Find out when touchdown brings you 'round again in the rest of this review! The Important Stuff A pilot in the mid 1930s crash lands in the Bermuda Triangle with his ex-girlfriend and discovers hostile alien robots. No that is not the plot of a B movie, that's actually what the game is about. Yes, the plot of Dark Void is very cliche, but that doesn't keep it from being entertaining, if for nothing else than the cheesiness. But that's not the point of the game. Dark Void is exactly what it appears to be: a jetpack game, and no, you don't have to collect spaceship parts or fuel to beat the levels. You don't get the jetpack until near the end of the first act, or "Episode" (the game is divided up into three of these), but I found the gameplay to be rather solid even without the jetpack. The shooting and cover mechanics feel smooth, though the actual aiming can be a little clunky at times. Your bullets only seem to hit when the dot in the center of your reticule is directly on the enemies, not any other part of the circle, as if the gun doesn't have enough spray or is a bit too accurate. This doesn't help when all of the robots you fight throughout the game take an ungodly amount of bullets to kill unless you aim carefully for the head (but to be fair, I was playing the game on hardcore difficulty). In close quarters it's actually easier to kill with melee by simply hitting the B button near enemies, which starts a short animation. This will kill most average enemies in one hit, and most of the more heavily armored bots in three. One of the most innovative features in Dark Void is the vertical cover system. When you stand near certain ledges, you can go to a cover mode where you can jump down or climb up ledges and shoot enemies poking their heads out from above or below you. It can be very fun to move around and take cover in all directions, but I felt that this feature was not quite used often enough in the game. The game really starts to shine once you get your jetpack. At first it's a glorified glider that allows you to jump higher, but later on in the game you get a fully powered jetpack that essentially turns you into a personal fighter jet. There are two modes of flight. Hover mode let's you hover around and use your normal weapons, of which there is a decent selection of rifles, rockets, and a gravity gun that makes enemies float away helplessly. You have much more control in this mode, but it's not very fast. At the press of a button, however, you take off like a jet and fly around like Ironman. Once in this mode you can fly at high speeds attacking enemy UFOs with your jetpack's built in machine guns. You can fly up to the enemy aircraft and hijack them (with a minigame that, while fun the first couple of times, gets old very quickly) or simply commandeer allied planes. However, I didn't find using the aircraft very useful anymore after upgrading the jetpack and unlocking rockets for it. The sound quality in the game was very good, and I enjoyed most of the music in the game. There were some epic tracks that did a good job of setting the mood. A track that I particularly enjoyed was the main theme that sounds like it came out of Star Wars, which plays during one of the final aerial battles. The graphics are decent, and the scenery is very large in scale. Though most of the later flying levels look roughly the same (bottomless sky with rock pillars sticking out of it), there is some pretty grand scenery in some of the earlier jungle levels. Probably the worst thing about this game is that it doesn't have any multiplayer modes. This is a huge waste of potential as there is a lot of fun that could have been had flying around cooperatively or fighting competitively with jetpacks. It's just a very fun concept that they could have taken advantage of, which could have resulted in fun multiplayer dog fights along the lines of Crimson Skies. Tips and Tricks - Try to fully upgrade the jetpack as soon as you can afford it. The rockets you unlock with the final upgrade are incredibly useful, not to mention infinite. - Some copies seem to have a redeemable code for the golden jetpack, which was supposed to be a preorder bonus, printed on the back of the game manual. Check for this, as it will give you unlimited boost, despite it's tacky appearance. - Sometimes it's easier and safer to go to hover mode, turn, and boost off in a new direction than it is to try to use an aerial maneuver in flight mode in tight quarters or near obstacles. - The description on the "Fireworks" achievement is wrong. You need to blow up 10 enemies with grenades exploding above their heads, not blow up 10 flying enemies. - When hijacking a UFO, move to the side of it, wait until you hear the ship charging its gun to shoot you, then move back to start pulling the panel while it blasts away at nothing. Repeat this two or three times to finish the minigame more quickly. Reaction I rather enjoyed Dark Void. There is a massive amount of negativity surrounding the game that I had a hard time comprehending when playing it. Sure the game was short and had some bugs, but they weren't anything game breaking. The worst bugs I've encountered, such as being unable to use my weapon, simply required a restart to the last checkpoint (which aren't too far apart) via death. Now, one thing I should mention, is that I got this game for $10 new during a sale. For that price it was amazing, and had very easy achievements (I managed to get all 1000 points after playing it for only two days). The game is still very cheap at the moment for a title that only came out January this year, but because the game is so short, doesn't have that much replay value, and has easy gamerscore, you may want to simply rent it. It is a pretty fun game while it lasts. AudaciousKevin gives this game a respectable 7.5 out of 10! Click here to view the article

Deadliest Warrior: The Game Developed by: Pipeworks Software Published by: Spike Games Platform: Xbox 360 (XBLA) Players: 1-2 (2 player versus, online and offline) Rated M for Mature by the ESRB Link to Purchase from Microsoft The Breakdown 8 of the fiercest warriors in history battle it out to see who the Deadliest Warrior is in this brutal fighter. Based on a TV show of the same name, what can we expect from this game? Does the game deliver, or is it just another mediocre tie-in? Read on to find out! The Important Stuff Let me start off by saying one thing that will blow your mind: This game plays like Bushido Blade. If you haven't played Bushido Blade, shame on you. If you have, then that last sentence may have you wondering how I could even compare the two. Allow me to explain. In Bushido Blade, most battles are won by a single, unparried strike. While you may not be able to kill your opponent in one hit in Deadliest Warrior (unless you hit them in the head just right), it only takes one or two combos to end the battle. It has the same essence of fast paced fighting. Another similarity to Bushido Blade is the damage system. Like Bushido Blade, you can damage your opponents limbs by aiming your strikes at them. For example, if you perform a mid attack and damage your opponents arm, you can stop them from using that pesky shield, two handed weapon, or projectile. But why just injure the offending limb when you can remove it altogether? Deadliest Warrior takes this even further by allowing you to perform amputations and even decapitations. That's right, you can cut your enemies' freaking heads off! While most limb removals will instantly kill a warrior, they can survive the loss of their left arm and continue swinging away with their right. There is even an amusing achievement for ending the battle like this with a finisher, entitled "Flesh Wound". The controls in the game are very simple. There are five attack buttons. High, mid, and low attacks are mapped to Y, X, and A respectively. B throws or shoots your projectile, and RB performs a character specific attack that stuns your opponent, such as a shield bash or kick. LB lets you switch to your mid range weapon. You can also block with the triggers and dodge with the right analog stick, essential moves for your survival. There are no complicated moves to memorize, as all combos only use the face buttons, and the highest combos are 4 buttons. Brutal fatalities called Finishers are as simple to perform as holding two buttons while your enemy is at critical health. There are 8 characters in the game, all from very different time periods. They are the Apache, Centurion, Knight, Ninja, Pirate, Samurai, Spartan, and Viking. While a couple of them may play very similarly, such as the Spartan and Centurion, most of the characters have a very distinctive style. Each character has a close, mid range, and long range weapon. You can unlock an alternate weapon in each category, as well as alternate armor, by playing through arcade mode and beating the mini-games therein. You can also change the color of each warrior's armor from the options in the main menu, which is a nice touch. The graphics are fairly good for an arcade game. There are some minor clipping issues, such as swords going through shields and sheaths, and some instances where having the air in front of your face stabbed is lethal, but nothing too major. On the positive side, the game does a very good job of deciding when to make your enemies limbs and head go flying. After completing the game with all characters, Challenge modes appears in the main menu. Here you can play Survival, a mode where enemies spawn one after the other in the same level without the load times or health resets in between, making it much more fun when you just want to fight several enemies. There is also a variation of Survival called Survival Slice, a mode essentially the same as Survival but with a twist: limbs fly off incredibly easily, making the mode much messier and even more entertaining. Tips and Tricks - Having trouble getting a combo in against an opponent? Get close to them and block until they attack, then unleash your combo as soon as they are done. - Projectiles can instantly end a battle if they hit the opponent in the head. - If you don't have a shield, you can't block projectiles. Dodge them to avoid damage. - You can string together combos if your opponent doesn't block fast enough. Careful, though, as having your attack blocked will stun you. Reaction Overall, Deadliest Warrior was a very pleasant surprise for me. Because it was a tie-in game for a TV show (which I have never seen, by the way), I expected a mediocre game, but what I got was something that has the essence of an amazing old PS1 fighting game. At only 800 Microsoft Points ($10), Deadliest Warrior is a steal. Sure it's no SoulCalibur or Street Fighter, but the game is excellent for the price. What's more, you can unlock Samurai armor and a Samurai helmet as avatar awards in the game, which could cost upwards of 400 Microsoft Points ($5) alone in the avatar marketplace. The game also has some fun achievements, such as Black Knight (remove all limbs from a knight) and That Was Sparta! (kill 300 Spartans). My only complaints are the small amount of maps to play on and the very annoying lack of a lobby for playing multiplayer with your friends, forcing you to leave the match entirely and start it again to change your settings, level, and character. A lobby would be relatively simple to patch in, and there may be DLC with new maps and even characters in the future, so these complaints are minor. I highly recommend Deadliest Warrior to anyone who enjoys fighting games. Even if you aren't a hardcore fighting game fan that knows how to do all the ultra combos and whatnot, the game is simple enough to get into for pretty much anyone. AudaciousKevin gives this game a 9 out of 10! Click here to view the article

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero Developed by: Blue Castle, Capcom Published by: Capcom Players: 1 Rated M (Mature) by the ESRB The Breakdown Are you a bad enough dude to save your daughter from turning into a zombie? The zombie outbreak that started in Dead Rising has spread beyond Willamette, Colorado, and Chuck Greene, a former motocross champion, finds himself in search of a temporary cure called Zombrex for his infected daughter. Is Dead Rising 2: Case Zero able to stand on it's own as a good game, or is little more than a paid demo? Read on to find out. The Important Stuff Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is a prologue to the upcoming (you guessed it) Dead Rising 2. You play as Chuck Greene, a former motocross star who must find Zombrex, a medicine that delays zombification for 12 hours, for his infected daughter Katey. Chuck and Katey find themselves stranded in the small town of Still Creek which has been overrun by zombies. With the military set to arrive by nightfall, and quarantine in effect, Chuck must find a way to escape with his daughter before the military takes her away from him. The first thing you'll notice is that the environment feels much more open than the first Dead Rising. Sure Willamette Mall was huge, but it just feels different to be able to actually walk around in an outside environment, in the streets of Still Creek. Though most of them are boarded up for obvious reasons, you can explore many of the houses and shops to find items of varying usefulness. One awesome new feature is the ability to combine items to make special weapons. To make a special weapon you simply place two items that can be combined together on a work bench. For instance, if you use nails and a baseball bat, you can get a spiked bat. Kills with these weapons earn you PP, the oddly named experience points that originated from the first game. Holding the attack button to perform a special attack is much slower but earns you a large PP bonus. Some of the other special weapons include the Paddlesaw (chainsaws duct taped to a boat paddle), an Improvised Explosive Device (a nail covered propane tank), and the Boomstick (a shotgun attached to a pitchfork). Combo cards, which can be discovered in the story and earned by leveling up, allow you to do the special attacks with your crafted weapons, while Scratch Cards, earned by simply making the corresponding weapon, are nothing more than reminders of how to make that weapon. One thing that bothered me was Chuck's movement speed. For a guy trying desperately to find a cure for his daughter, he sure has a leisurely gait. Fortunately, a quick look at the Stats screen reveals that you will be able to increase your speed, among other things like inventory slots, just like you could in the first game. You increase these stats by gaining enough PP to level up. You can only get to level 5 in Case Zero, but your levels, experience and combo cards can be transferred into Dead Rising 2 when it is released. Sadly, your speed doesn't get upgraded by level 5, but you will certainly be able to move faster in the full Dead Rising 2. You no longer have a camera to take pictures and gain PP with, but the combo weapons earn the points just as well. Basically all of the gameplay features of the first game apart from that are in tact, and improved. There are still survivors to rescue, but rather than having to answer an annoying old man on a walkie talkie, you just have to climb up to a safe rooftop and talk to a guy with an assault rifle, who points out any survivors he's seen. While I was playing I even found a blender and was able to make the old Spitfire drink that makes you, well, spit fire, reminding me of some of the wackier things in Dead Rising. The graphics are decent, but some of the textures are a bit weak if you look at them too closely. Most of the time you are trying to avoid zombies, and the third person camera doesn't usually get too close for you to notice, so you can only really tell in cutscenes. The music sets the mood well, and the game features an awesome ending credits song, similar to the first game. Tips and Tricks - If you need money, you can smash up the slot machines and ATMs at the casino. They respawn when you enter and leave the safe house. You can also get a hefty sum of money by rescuing Gemini from the bar and finding her jewelry for her. - Unless you are trying for the zombie killing achievements, it is best to avoid them. You get much more PP for completing objectives and rescuing survivors. And since all of your objectives have a time limit, you don't want to waste too much time fighting zombies. - Combo weapons are almost always more effective than regular items you find lying around (with notable exceptions like the Air Horn and Beerhat), and always earn you PP for kills. It is advisable to keep a spiked bat in your inventory at all times. The materials to make it respawn next to the work bench in the safe house. - Always carry at least one healing item (preferably orange juice, since it heals you fully). At first this may be a pain with only a few inventory slots, but by the time you level up to 5 you will have plenty of slots to hold them. Reaction Though it only lasts a few short hours, I had loads of fun playing Case Zero. The story is good, and very emotional. The little bit that it let me play left me wanting more. Though it can be considered to be a teaser for the full Dead Rising 2, Case Zero has enough content and replay value to stand alone as a proper Xbox LIVE Arcade title. It's simply too big to be considered a demo, and with the tiny $5 entry fee, you'd be hard pressed to find a reason not to get this game if you consider yourself a fan of zombie games. Other developer's should take note of what Capcom has done. This XBLA title is a great way to build interest in Dead Rising 2, and make some profit at the same time. While I certainly don't think they should be rid of normal, free demos altogether (the Case Zero demo was literally a cutscene and a quick walk across the town for me), standalone prequel adventures like Case Zero are a great idea if the developer's can provide enough content in them so that they are more than just demos, and keep the price low so that consumers don't feel ripped off. AudaciousKevin gives Dead Rising 2: Case Zero a 9 out of 10! Click here to view the article

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Developed by: Konami Published by: Konami Platform: Xbox 360 (XBLA) Players: 1 (2-6 players online) Rated T (Teen) by the ESRB The Breakdown Castlevania is a traditionally single player only franchise, not known for having any multiplayer. Will Konami's first truly multiplayer focused Castlevania title please fans, or is it a disappointment? Read on to find out. The Important Stuff Castlevania: Harmony of Despair is essentially a loot game. You don't level up your character in the game like Symphony of the Night, but rather you increase your stats by getting better weapons, armor, and accessories. This may sound a bit strange at first, but there is a very clear sense of character progression as you continue to upgrade your equipment. There are 5 characters in the game from various Castlevania titles, including Alucard, Soma, Jonathan, Charlotte, and Shanoa. Each of them has a unique style of play and their own set of skills that can be leveled up in various ways based on who you are playing as. For instance, Soma has a chance of gaining souls from any slain monsters, which can be used as attack spells or equipped like an accessory to boost stats, depending on the soul, while Charlotte has a magical shield that blocks enemy magic and has a chance to absorb it to use for herself. Acquiring multiple souls or spells will increase that particular ability's level. Jonathan and Shanoa have subweapons and magic spells respectively which are found by defeating enemies and leveled up through use. Alucard's spells only level up by getting them from chests, bosses, or scrolls dropped by enemies. Now, what truly separates Harmony of Despair from other Castlevania titles is that it is completely multiplayer focused. It can be played single player, but you will have a hard time beating any levels solo until you get some exceptional equipment. The game can be played with up to 5 other players online. The game can be very hard, especially some of the bosses, but with a well rounded group that knows what they're doing, it becomes a lot easier. The characters have enough variety to round out the team very well, with attackers, spell casters, and healers. Though sadly, most of the time you'll end up with teams comprised entirely of Alucard and Soma, as they are the best attackers and can use the most weapons, and hence, get the best loot. Playing with big groups isn't as competitive as you'd think, either. You get random loot from every chest that is opened, regardless of your proximity to it. If you die in multiplayer you run around in a weak skeleton form until someone uses a Water of Life to revive you. Unfortunately, you don't receive any loot while in this form, which often prevents some players from getting loot from boss chests on hard mode when there aren't enough Waters of Life. Each level has a 30 minute time limit (which is more than enough, even on hard), but every time a player in skeleton form dies, a few minutes are taken off of the clock. The graphics from Harmony of Despair are almost entirely reused from previous Castlevania games. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as Konami was pretty creative with the way they laid out the textures. There are 6 levels in the game, and in each one you can see the entire map all at once, with the ability to zoom in and out by clicking in the right analog stick. This allows you to map out your path to the boss while searching for treasure chests and healing items along the way, as well as zoom out and get an idea of what the other players are doing. There is no story whatsoever in Harmony of Despair, but it isn't really necessary. The game works well as an arcade style dungeon crawler. Any cutscenes would just slow down the action. Tips and Tricks - The first thing you should do is beat all 6 chapters on normal so you can unlock hard mode where loot is actually worthwhile. This is much easier done with a group, if you can find anyone willing to play on normal. - Chests are color coded. Purple chests hold the best loot aside from boss chests, blue chests hold Waters of Life (used to revive allies in multiplayer), and red chests always hold money. - If you happen to find a sword called the Yasutsuna while playing as Alucard or Soma on Chapter 5 Hard, equip it on Alucard to become an absolute grinding machine. With two it's twice as fast by alternating X and Y. There are better weapons that do this (such as the Valmanway, Soma's superior equivalent), but the Yasutsuna is relatively easy to get with a bit of luck (I have about 4 of them). - If you level up Charlotte's heal spell to the point where it heals 40 or more points of damage (the cost to cast), you can equip the Astral Ring (makes you use HP instead of MP) for "infinite mana". While this may not be quite that effective as an infinite health spell until you have extremely high magic power, you can constantly heal your allies without using any mana. Reaction I haven't really played any Castlevania games apart from Symphony of the Night on XBLA, and Curse of Darkness on the original Xbox, but Harmony of Despair appears to be a very unique title in the series. While it may not appeal to veterans looking for another castle-exploring adventure full of hidden items and secrets, the game more than makes up for it with it's fun multiplayer. The game is incredibly fun to play with 6 players running amok slaying demons, and there are many ways to play the game with 5 unique characters with their own sets of abilities. While the price may be a bit steep at $15, Castlevania: Harmony of Despair has enough replay value to justify the price for anyone who enjoys looting and grinding with a group of friends. The only real downside is that it doesn't have any offline co-op, meaning that someday there will eventually be very few people left to play the game with, as with most XBLA titles. If there's one negative thing that I have to say about the game, it's that there isn't quite enough content. For a game as grinding and loot focused as Harmony of Despair, it would have been nice if there were more levels, and some more characters so that there aren't only two of them that are all around powerful (Alucard and Soma). Fortunately, DLC that will add a new playable character and level has been announced, which should increase the replay value for a (hopefully) small fee. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair slays 8 vampires out of 10! Click here to view the article

Red Dead Redemption Developed by: Rockstar San Diego, Rockstar North Published by: Rockstar Games Players: 1 offline, 2-16 player online multiplayer Rated M (Mature) by the ESRB The Breakdown Rockstar is known for making massive, open, driving and shooting games. But what happens when they turn back the clock and make a game set in the early 1900s, when the West was still untamed, and the automobile had barely been invented? Was this bold move a good idea, or should Rockstar stick to making games set in the modern era? Find out in the rest of this review. The Important Stuff Red Dead Redemption is an absolutely massive free roaming game set in the old frontier days of the beginning of the 20th century. You play as John Marston, a former outlaw with a mysterious past, who keeps mostly to himself. He is working for the government to hunt down his fellow gang members, and it isn't revealed why he is helping them until partway through the game. As with many of Rockstar's games, you deal with various people with their own sets of issues, that have a laundry list of tasks for you to complete for them before they'll help you out with your own mission. Similar to the Grand Theft Auto franchise, the dialog in the game is very poignant and clever, with excellent voice acting. You really do end up hating many of the people you have to work for, and caring for some of the people that John cares about. You have to deal with all of the dark aspects of humanity, from hypocrites to charlatans, and everything in between. Once again, Rockstar brings a gritty and realistic world to life, while at the same time infusing it with their own excellent sense of humor. The graphics in Red Dead Redemption are very crisp, even standing up to the age old sniper scope texture examination (you know you do it too). Everything is very detailed, from the foliage, to the wildlife, to the rolling landscape visible for dozens of miles in every direction. The sound is great, with all of the sound effects sounding realistic and highly immersive in surround sound. The music is very fitting and ambient, with piano and guitar music that are staples of the Western theme, and changes dynamically based on what's happening. One minute you could be riding across a barren landscape with a slow, mysterious piano song playing, the next you could encounter some bandits and the music will increase in intensity. There are many sidequests and activities that can be done in Red Dead Redemption, including, but not limited to, poker, blackjack, five finger fillet, arm wrestling, horseshoes, nightwatchman, and performing random tasks for strangers you meet. One of the most lucrative activities you can partake in is hunting and skinning animals. The materials you get, such as skins, antlers, and meat, can be sold in bulk for a good profit, and the price you can get depends on the region where you sell them. There are also dynamic events that can happen around you at any time, such as finding people being chased by wolves, or people having their horses stolen. You can help these people and you will be rewarded with a small sum of money and gain or lose honor and fame based on how you deal with the situation. With the fame and honor systems, you can play Red Dead Redemption as an outlaw if you so choose, but you will have to deal with law enforcement fairly often if you choose that path. There's almost too much to do in Red Dead Redemption, to the point where it's almost staggering how much you can do. Many of the sidequests can become tedious as well, such as following a slow dog around on night patrol, or herding cattle. But, to be fair, all of the side-quests are optional, and most of them can be very fun, such as bounty hunting. Red Dead Redemption is a fairly easy game, and most certainly not one of the harder third person shooters, but it doesn't need to be. The game focuses more on the freedom to do what you want in the Wild West, not the challenge of trying to survive frequent firefights like other shooters. Most, if not all firefights can be survived by taking cover and popping out to place a few auto-aimed shots at a time. There are several types of weapons at your disposal, including pistols, rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, and thrown weapons including dynamite and throwing knives. There is also a lasso that can be used to subdue your opponents, opening up more honorable ways of dealing with criminals. Sadly, however, the lasso is not available in multiplayer. While the single player in the game is excellent, the game really shines in multiplayer, where you and 15 other people can roam the entire game world and work together, forming posses and taking down gang hideouts for experience points to level up and get new characters, titles, and mounts. Conversely (and unfortunately much more common in public games) you can be completely xenophobic and kill anyone you come into contact with, or anyone that isn't in your posse. There are several objective based competitive game types that can be played, including the usual game types like deathmatch and capture the flag, but, personally, I had more fun just roaming the landscape with a group of friends in Free Roam. If there's one thing I don't like about the game, it's the save system. You are only given three slots to save to, and if you die, you lose all progress since your last save. While it makes sense that you can't be brought back to health at a hospital every time you are mortally wounded like in GTA IV, since medical knowledge was far less advanced in the early 1900s, it would have been nice if there wasn't such a heavy penalty for dying. I found myself avoiding duels if they were suggested at any point other than right after I had saved, for fear of losing progress. By the time I save and come back out to accept the challenge, several hours have passed and the would be duelist has long since lost his desire to do battle. There is an autosave and checkpoint system, but only in missions, so it won't help you when you are doing dangerous activities such as hunting. There are some very irritating things about this system in the final act of the game, but none of which can be mentioned without massive spoilers. Tips and Tricks - If you have trouble aiming, try changing the aiming mode to casual or normal. There's really no reason to use expert targeting (no auto-aim) if you don't have to. In Free Roam you'll almost certainly be killed if you don't use auto-aiming, because others surely will. - Save often! If you die, which can happen very easily in the wilderness, you lose all of your progress since the last save. So set up camp or visit a safe house often and save your game to avoid losing progress. -Cowboys have glass legs. Do not attempt to fall from any height greater than 10 feet unless there is a slope you can slide down, or you will most likely die a horrible, shattering death. Reaction I was blown away by the level of detail in Red Dead Redemption. Every little thing in the game, from the tinctures on store shelves, to the foliage littering the landscape, and to NPCs' interactions with each other in towns, was done with painstaking detail. It really feels like you are in the Wild West. Unfortunately, with all the excitement of the western setting also comes the tedium of long horse rides and miscellaneous side jobs like herding cattle. That's not to say that Red Dead isn't a fun game, but it has it's share of filler. Overall, Red Dead Redemption is an amazing game with plenty to keep you busy, including a hefty multiplayer mode. For the amount of content you get, the game is worth every penny. Do not miss Rockstar's latest masterpiece. AudaciousKevin gives this game an outstanding 9.5 out of 10! 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Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition Developed by: ACE Team Published by: Atlus Players: 1 offline, 2 player online co-op Rated T (Teen) by the ESRB In an age where there is a clear division between first person shooters and brawlers, Zeno Clash blurs the line in one of the strangest and most unique games that has come out in a long time. The setting and characters are some of the strangest you'll see in a video game. But is it too strange? Is the game a brilliant combination of disparate elements, or just a patchwork of failure? Zeno Clash is a hard game to classify because it is so strange, but the closest you could probably get is to call it a first person brawler. You play as Ghat, whose objective is to smash in the faces of every elephantoid, birdman, and wolf-lady that he sees as he makes his way across the outlandish landscape of Zenozoik in his quest to find the truth about the freakish Father-Mother. The story is fairly obscure, but with enough backstory and interesting characters to keep it entertaining. Of special note are the Corwid of the Free, a group of insane individuals, each with their own hilarious quirk. There is plenty of variety in the combat. There are dozens of ways to punch, kick, and grapple your opponents. While it may seem a bit complex at first, the melee system is fairly easy to get used to, and quite fun once mastered. Additionally, there are a variety of melee and ranged weapons at your disposal. The melee weapons are slow, bludgeoning weapons mainly used to fight the larger enemies in the game. The ranged weapons vary from crossbows, to rifles, to shotguns, and work very well to break up the melee. They never seem too overpowered, as you will always be more vulnerable when using them. The music does a good job of setting up the creepy atmosphere, and setting the tone for imminent brawls. The voice acting is fairly good, despite the quirky dialog, adding to Zeno Clash's creepy charm. As for the sound effects, there are plenty of realistic grunts, whacks, and thuds, in addition to the bizarre screeches and combat banter of your foes. The levels are fairly short, and segmented. This is probably my only real complaint about the game, as it felt like I was just going from point A to point B punching the hell out of anything in my way. Though this can be fairly amusing, the game would have benefited from more open level design. Zeno Clash includes arcade style challenges which can be done in co-op, in which you fight through several rooms full of enemies until you have cleared the level. While this was quite fun, I had completed all of the levels in under 2 hours with a co-op partner. On the bright side, it was a quick and easy way to get most of the achievements in the game. Tips and Tricks - If an enemy is charging you while you are holding a ranged weapon, your best bet is to just throw it at them then engage them in melee, unless you are quick on the draw and can stun them with your gunfire. - Fight dirty! Sometimes you have to kick an enemy when they're down to help you defeat them, especially some of the larger, tougher enemies. - Ranged weapons have unlimited ammo. If you are able to avoid having them knocked out of your hands (usually by sprinting away from charging opponents), they can be very useful for taking down the enemies' health without getting hit. Overall, I enjoyed Zeno Clash because it was unlike anything I had ever played before. The gameplay was unique, as was the bizarre art style and character design. There seems to be no consistency or reasoning between just what kind of mutant animal hybrid each character is, but there doesn't need to be. Zeno Clash has a strange sense of humor that is made funnier by the very straight faced seriousness with which it is delivered. All of the characters take all of the events of the game totally seriously, and don't seem to find anything out of the ordinary. Though the game could have been a bit longer and much more open, it offers an experience that you won't find anywhere else. Fortunately, ACE Team has plans to make a more open, RPG-esque sequel, as well as another very unique looking title called Rock of Ages. Keep an eye out for this team of creative minded indie developers. If you are looking for an experience unlike anything else, Zeno Clash is the game for you. Click here to view the article

Developed by: Klei Entertainment Published by: Electronic Arts Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC Players: 1, with 2 player local co-op Rated M (Mature) by the ESRB We gamers love violence. It's a well known fact. So a game about a dude running around shanking fools and cutting them up with a chainsaw already has enough to appeal to the average hardcore gamer. But is it just an overindulgent cash in, or is it a finely crafted outlet for your murderous rage? As it turns out, it's both. It's a delightfully overindulgent outlet for your murderous rage. And it has a fairly good story as well. Sure it was published by EA and released for the usual $15, but the design behind the game is very good. The art style is very unique, having a very cool Saturday morning action cartoon look. A more recent comparison would be to say that it looks similar to The Venture Brothers (whose art style was in turn inspired by Johnny Quest). The result is a game with an awesome, almost graphic novel-like appearance. Graphics aside, the gameplay is very smooth. You can perform light and heavy attacks, use guns, grappling moves, and (thankfully) move around and jump. It has very standard controls, but it's in the way that you combine them that the game gets interesting. Throughout the game you get a variety of weapons, from the default shanks and chainsaw, to machetes, a shotgun, and my personal favorite, a chain that you wrap around your fists to attack your enemies' weak points for massive damage. You can switch between these weapons at any time. By combining your light, heavy, and ranged attacks, you can become a whirlwind of death, shanking, bashing, chopping, and shooting your way through hordes of enemies. Words really don't do it justice. Check out this video courtesy of Machinima: The story is the usual tale of revenge, but is well formulated. It helps that one of the writers of the God of War series, Marianne Krawczyk, is involved. There's enough emotion in the acting that you feel for Shank (the aptly named titular character) and want to help him brutally murder the ones responsible for killing his loved one. There is also local co-op in Shank, with it's own unique backstory, detailing the events leading up to the beginning of the game. In this mode player two plays as Shank's friend, Falcone. There are more enemies, and they are even tougher, but it can be very fun with two whirlwinds of death flying around the screen. There are even special grappling moves that let the players work together to take down the enemies. In the end, Shank is every bit as gratuitous as it is inspired. From the beginning to the end, it's essentially a constant series of violent encounters, but the game has enough style that it never really gets old. If you're a fan of brutal beat 'em up games, you don't want to miss Shank. It's an outstanding credit to the genre. Click here to view the article

Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Annecy (multiplayer) Published by: Ubisoft Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3 Players: 1 offline, with 4-8 player multiplayer Rated M (Mature) by the ESRB Assassin's Creed II was a great game and improved upon the already revolutionary first Assassin's Creed in almost every conceivable way. With Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Ubisoft aims to improve even further upon an already great series, even adding a completely new multiplayer mode. But is it worth the full price, or is it little more than an expansion? You don't need to read to the end of this review to know my personal impression of this game. The answer is yes, the game is absolutely worth the full price, and is much more than a simple expansion. It continues the story of Desmond's ancestor, Ezio, while picking up right where Assassin's Creed II left off in the present time line, with Desmond and his new found fellow Assassin's running from the Templar's and seeking sanctuary. Though it doesn't seem possible, Brotherhood actually manages to refine the winning formula of AC2 even further. There is easily as much to do in Rome, though it is a single, connected city (with stretches of countryside in between), as there was to do in all of AC2. The combat has been changed up to where Ezio is even more powerful, but the enemies are more aggressive. It is now possible to chain finishing moves. Upon killing an enemy, if you direct your next attack towards another you can perform a finishing move on him, and continue this streak by targeting another enemy after that. This is similar to the other AC games where enemies would suddenly lose heart and run away, lowering their guard for easy kills, but much more stylish. Most of the new weapons are just upgraded versions from the previous games, like faster acting poisons, but there are also some new features like the ability to keep a heavy weapon permanently, though it will replace your medium weapon. In terms of equipment, all of the previous equipment that helped Ezio be a great Assassin, such as smoke bombs and throwing knives, return alongside a few new items like the crossbow, which is essentially a faster, more silent version of the pistol, and the parachute, which allows you to survive falls from any height. One of the best new features in Brotherhood's single player campaign is the ability to recruit and train Assassin's. You can train them up by sending them out to complete missions that give you gold and occasionally loot through a meta-game found at pigeon coups throughout the city. Your Assassin's can be summoned to either quietly take out guards as you are sneaking around, or to assist you in a fight. The higher the level they are, the more equipment they'll have access to, and the more efficient they'll be at taking down guards. Features like this, and the ability to chain finishing moves, make Brotherhood a fairly easy game compared to previous entries, but it never holds the game back, and is still great fun to play. The biggest addition in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is undoubtedly the multiplayer. Amidst the dozens of multiplayer shooters out this year, this game has one of the most unique, refreshing multiplayer experiences I've ever played. Most of the game modes essentially play out like a game of cat and mouse. You must find your target amongst a crowd of civilians, all of whom inconveniently decided to dress in the multiplayer costumes, while simultaneously trying remain stealthy so any pursuers won't immediately recognize you and try to assassinate you. Very few multiplayer games have ever actually made me nervous like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. No shooter has even come close. The multiplayer in this game will have you paranoid and on the edge of your seat, wondering where the next attack might come from. If I have anything bad at all to say about the game, it's that the controls are almost too smooth. It can be a pain when you're running from a pursuer in multiplayer and your character decides to jump into a hay bale that you intend to run past, leaving your enemy to start an inescapable killing animation where they jump into the hay bale after you. Though most of the issues you may have with controls, such as Ezio jumping farther than you wanted, or grabbing the wrong ledge, are much more manageable once you've gotten used to how to work the controls and avoid them. Regardless of the quirks, Assassin's Creed still has arguably the best climbing mechanics out there. In the end, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is an all around great game that shouldn't be missed. If you consider yourself a core gamer, Brotherhood has everything that you could want in a game, including smooth melee combat, stealth, parkour, and much more. Click here to view the article

Developed by: Arrowhead Game Studios Published by: Paradox Interactive Platforms: PC Players: 1-4 Rated T (Teen) by the ESRB What happens when you combine the style and humor of Castle Crashers with gameplay reminiscent of Diablo? Magic happens. Or rather Magicka happens, to be more precise. That's not to say that Magicka is very much like either of those games, rather it has a very distinct style of its own. But like Castle Crashers it is a stylish, humorous, and fun experience that can be played and enjoyed with friends, and like Diablo the game has very smooth, isometric gameplay where you can run around slaughtering hordes of monsters and fiends to your hearts content. In Magicka you play as a mage from the Order of Magic and are sent by a man named Vlad, who is by no means a vampire, on an ever cliche quest to save the world of Midgard from the evil wizard Grimnir. Things get crazy as you progress through the story, chock full of awesome references ranging from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, to Castlevania, and even Ski Free of all things. The game is fully voice acted, if you can consider Simlish proper voice acting. This just adds more to the wacky humor of the game. From beginning to end the story is just hilarious and awesome. There are 8 different spell effects which are mapped to the Q, W, E, R, A, S, D, and F keys. You can make a spell with up to 5 effects in it, and some of the effects can be combined into one (such as fire and water becoming steam), while others don't combine at all (like water and lightning). This leads to an insane amount of spell possibilities, not all of them beneficial. In addition, every possible spell combination can be cast four different ways: outwards (this can be a projectile/beam/barrier/etc.), casted on self, casted as an area of effect spell (radial damage or barriers/mines to surround you), or used to enchant your weapon for a single spell infused swing. In addition to the normal spell combinations you can find spell books that produce much more specific effects when you cast the elements in the right order. There is just a ridiculous amount of possible spell combinations in the game. What's really nice about it is that you get all of the elements by completing the tutorial, so you have access to every spell combination apart from the unique spell book ones from the very beginning. There is no leveling system aside from finding spell books and weapons or staffs with different enchantments. It's all about trial and error, learning what combinations are effective in each situation, and finding out the hard way what to avoid so as not to die horrifically. In addition to the standard Adventure mode, there is a Challenge mode where you enter an arena and face waves of oncoming enemies. This is a great way to test the effectiveness of different spells you've devised. You don't keep any of your spell book magics or your weapon/staff, but can find them as you play through it. The game features 4 player co-op in both Adventure and Challenge modes, which can be very fun - when it works right. At launch the multiplayer was practically unplayable with all of the lag, synchronization errors, and general inability for players to connect to each other. As of this writing several patches have been released which improve the functionality of multiplayer greatly, but it's still not perfect as there are still occasional disconnections and off-synced matches. The game is a great experience in single player alone though, and Paradox and Arrowhead are hard at work rolling out patches to get the multiplayer working right. From what I've played, co-op mode can be a blast, especially in the arena. Hopefully in the coming weeks it will be much more stable. LAN and local co-op don't really have any of the connection issues though, only online multiplayer. Aside from the multiplayer issues, if there was one thing I would want added to the game it would be some sort of level select. In summation, Magicka is a very innovative, very fun game that is simply a joy to play. Though the multiplayer may be buggy at the moment, the single player campaign is a great experience. Even during the most difficult parts of the game it never really gets frustrating. Rather it gets you to stop and think of new ways you could counter your enemies and get through difficult areas with all of the potential spells at your disposal. Magicka is an excellent game that is held back by a few bugs. But with patches released for it almost daily, it won't be long before the game is almost perfect for what it is: a fun, innovative, and hilarious experience that can be played with friends and should not be missed. Click here to view the article

Developed by: Uglysoft Platforms: PC Rated: Not rated by the ESRB (but would probably be rated M for its messed up and disturbing content in general) How many games let you slaughter kittens? Not many. Not that it's a good thing, but they are good for easy experience points. Kitten slaughter aside, Mark Leung: Revenge of the Bitch contains all manner of hilarious and disturbing content. From getting farted on by b*tchmonkeys, to using jellyfish penises to revive your fallen comrades, this is one very... different RPG. Mark Leung: Revenge of the Bitch plays like a fairly traditional RPG, with some of the niceties of newer ones like being able to see and avoid monsters in the world without having to worry about random battles every 5 steps. But you will soon discover that the game is anything but a traditional RPG. It is a satirical, messed up version of an RPG, where every monster is some kind of spoof or joke, and all the dialog is simultaneously disturbing and hilarious. If you are familiar at all with RPGs you will laugh a lot in this game. Even if you're not, there is enough clever writing and enough awesome memes in the game that pretty much anyone can find some humor in it. You rarely ever see a game with as many awesome references as Revenge of the Bitch, some of them blatantly obvious, others more subtle. Actually most of them are pretty obvious, but it's part of the games irreverent style, much like Family Guy. In terms of gameplay, you have all the standard moves like healing and attack spells, counterattacks, and power attacks. Classes range from basic fighters, to sorcerers and even combat skaters, warriors who fight their enemies with ice skates. All of the characters have a main class and can choose a support class to add abilities to their repertoire. One of the main highlights of the game is the live action cutscenes. At most major plot points a cutscene will trigger, with all of the characters played by real people in surprisingly good costumes and areas considering the low budget. These are some of the most hilarious moments in the game, and blend seamlessly with actual gameplay. The live action scenes are highly reminiscent of one of Mark Leung's earlier works, , an awesome short series that spoofs RPGs in a similar fashion to Revenge of the Bitch. Unfortunately the game suffers from a multitude of technical issues. I found that the anti-aliasing option was completely broken. Attempting to turn it on will either crash the game, or make it not load any textures but the background, leaving only wireframes floating around clouds and water. It is also fairly easy for the game to crash, triggered by loading glitches like encountering enemies while transitioning to a new area, or just at random. The developer's are very aware of the bugs and are hard at work fixing them. In the meantime, the game is still very playable if you save often, which you should do anyways in any RPG you play. And the graphics still look pretty good in their own stylized way, even without antialiasing. For such a small development team with no publisher, the game is still very well made, all things considered. At around 20 hours long, the game is a full feature length title, despite the impression you may get from it being a spoof RPG. For $13, Mark Leung: Revenge of the Bitch is a pretty good value for all the "lol"s and "wtf"s you will get out of it. And humor aside, it actually plays pretty well as an actual RPG, despite the glitches. You can check out the demo and buy the game at MarkLeung.com. So, to quote the game's website, "delete some porn and free up your disk space for something way the f*ck better!" Click here to view the article

Orcs Must Die! is about the last of the War Mages defending the fortresses of the Order, an organization dedicated to stopping the orcs from invading their world. In each fortress there is a rift leading back to your home world, which you must stop the orcs from entering. You are given many traps to place as you progress through the game, as well as archers and paladins that will attack nearby enemies. You also have weapons ranging from your trusty crossbow and blade staff, to items that allow you to cast offensive magics. Using all of these, you must kill all of the invaders as they rush into the fortress. In the beginning of a level you have time to set up your defenses before pressing a button to commence the battle, and you get other such breaks after every few waves. Otherwise, you normally only get about fifteen seconds between each attack. Attacking enemies vary from standard melee orcs, ranged crossbow-weilding orcs, weak kobolds that rush towards the rift, slow but powerful ogres, flying enemies, and others. You primarily gain money for traps and henchmen by killing enemies, and often will have to place traps during combat to strengthen your defenses. You can also purchase combat upgrades and other perks. You must choose between three different spell weavers to purchase these perks. Each grants you a different tree of abilities to use, focusing on player spells, traps and henchmen, and other bonuses. You can construct barriers to direct the orcs' movement. Make sure that the orcs still have a route to the rift, though, or they'll break through the first barrier they get to. When you're satisfied with your defenses, you can rush to meet the enemy head on with your crossbow, blade staff, or spells. Personally I found the sword to be underpowered, as you take much more damage while using it, whereas the crossbow can be used to great effect to pick off enemies with head shots from a distance.. The spells you can use include a pushing wind spell, a fire spell, an ice spell to freeze opponents in place, and a lightning spell. All weapons and spells have an alternate attack as well, with effects such as stunning. The clockwork mace was by far my favorite trap. Combined with slowing oil, wall arrows, spikes, some paladins to take care of stragglers, and the air spell to push enemies back into said swinging death balls if they make it through, you have a fiendishly lethal barricade to stop your enemies in their tracks. Though the controls for the Xbox 360 controller are fairly good, I found the controls with a keyboard and mouse to be a bit more accessible and precise. This isn't really a fault of the game, just the nature of console controllers in general. There aren't many controls to memorize, but numerical mapping for traps and weapons is much faster than scrolling through weapons and abilities with a button. Graphically there isn't much to say for the game, except maybe that it succeeds in having a decent, mildy cartoonish, stylistic look within the limitations of an arcade style game. Nothing looks particularly bad, but it's not as if you can zoom in and see lots of fine detail. The music also has a somewhat whimsical style, presenting you with an almost taunting sounding track as you complete a level. Completing levels nets you a certain amount of skulls depending on your performance, with five being the maximum. These are used to upgrade your traps and make them more effective. You can go back to previous levels with newly unlocked and upgraded equipment to improve your score to get more skulls. This gives the game fairly good replayability, and makes it rather addictive. It also has a fair length with twenty-four fortresses to defend. Be sure to spend your upgrade points wisely on the traps you really use, because upgrades are irreversible. After completing the campaign you unlock Nightmare difficulty. In this mode you can replay the same levels but earn an entirely new set of skulls for each level you complete. What makes Nightmare mode so much harder is that you don't get more than three seconds between waves at any time to setup traps. Often you must set your traps during combat. It is much more hectic without the occasional pause to place your defenses. Orcs Must Die! provides an interesting twist on tower defense style gameplay, and is yet another good example of genre mixing done well. It never feels too strategy heavy or entirely too much like a basic hack and slash game. It succeeds in having its own style and very solid gameplay. If you are looking for a fun but strategic game, Orcs Must Die! is a fine choice. It is currently out on the Xbox LIVE Arcade, and releases for the PC on October 12th. Click here to view the article

As you may or may not know, Dejobaan Games has been making quality games for over 75 years. They have released several PC games full of oddball humor and wackiness, held together by smooth gameplay. These include The Wonderful End of the World, AaAaAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, and their very recently released game, 1... 2... 3... Kick It! (Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby). The latter two compete for alphabetical superiority in my Steam library. 1... 2... 3... Kick It! was technically released as an alpha, which can be bought and will be supported and updated over time with the aid of user feedback, much like Minecraft. It's a music based game along the lines of AudioSurf and Beat Hazard, with gameplay similar to AaAaAA!!! but influenced by your music. Now why, you ask, are you getting a brief history lesson on Dejobaan Games? Because all three of these games can be yours if you enter the contest at our forum. All you have to do is register and post something interesting about potatoes in the contest thread. Yes, potatoes. You can use teh internetz if you must. Still can't think of anything? Make something up like so: Chuck Norris tried to roundhouse kick a potato once. Curly fries were invented. The winner will be chosen at random and will be gifted all three of the games on the PC via Steam. If you don't already have Steam, you can download it here. Registration is simple and free. Feeling statistically inferior? No worries, if you don't think you'll win the grand prize there will still be a copy of AudioSurf or Super Meat Boy you could win, also through Steam. All collected potato information will be compiled into a spreadsheet, analyzed by trained monkeys, then destroyed using an approved Aperture Science Emergency Intelligence Incinerator on Tuesday, April 19th. Oh and the winners will be announced then, too. Click here to view the article

All of what makes Orcs Must Die! fun to play is there, and improved. All of the traps, the strategy, the weapons. The gameplay is largely the same, but new weapons and traps abound, as well as a new upgrade system. Several new traps range from bug zapper-like shock turrets to bear traps, and an awesome new guardian, dwarves that throw explosives and can melee enemies that get too close. Dwarven mud wrestlers. Always effective. There are so many new weapons and traps that I barely had a chance to try them all by the time I finished all of the main story levels. I did find myself sticking to old favorites, but only because they worked so well. Namely the crossbow, excellent for picking orcs off from a distance and now with an added secondary stun attack that can stop enemies, including large ones, dead in their tracks; and the wind belt, which gives you a spell to push enemies, perfect for throwing them to their demise over a pit or back into your deadly traps, or buying yourself some time. It never gets old. All items (including the newly added trinkets, which give you a constant passive bonus when in the inventory, and an active spell when used) can now be upgraded with damage bonuses, perks, and more. For instance, the crossbow can gain a perk to generate extra mana with each headshot, allowing for more frequent use of spells like the push mentioned above. A perfect place for the wind spell. You can keep the orcs in the kill zone you've created. The name of the game now is replayability. You gain skulls as upgrade points for completing levels and occasionally mid-level for accomplishing feats such as kill combos. New modes like Endless, a 40 wave endurance challenge, give you more opportunity to collect skulls in addition to replaying levels on Nightmare difficulty. These skulls are then used to buy all of your upgrades. The game truly encourages you to develop your own play style, because there are a lot of tools and upgrades to choose from. Thankfully a respec option has been added, a feature that lets you refund all of the skulls that you've spent. This option was grudgingly absent from the first game, so it could get annoying when you bought a trap that didn't fit your play style. Unfortunately you can't individually remove upgrades so you just have to remember where you've put all your points if you want to refund some. You can place up to 25 guardians at once. Glorious. One thing I did find annoying is that in order to play the new character The Sorceress, you have to make a separate profile with completely separate unlocks. This means that none of your upgrades or unlocks carry over and it's like starting the game over. With how many unlocks there are this can be annoying. The draw of playing as the new character is that she has a few unique weapons such as the polymorph ring, a ring that can turn enemies into other things like harmless chickens, or turn the sorceress into a powerful ogre. Some weapons are unique to the Sorceress, while the War Mage has a few of his own as well. Of course having the second character means another great addition to the game: co-op. You can now have a friend join you for the slaughter. From the campaign menu you can invite a friend to join you. Once in game you each get 6 trap slots and each have your own money. Currency from kills seem to be shared to an extent, where you also get a few points from kills by your partner and their traps. The game certainly seems geared towards co-op, as playing a later level I was able to 5 star it, whereas I had difficulty completing it solo. With most of the later levels having the orcs come at you from at least two directions, having someone to focus on either side of the Rift makes things much easier. The graphics are still just as fine as the original with a mildly cartoony style, and rock/adventure style music that sets the tone before the taunting victory theme that makes its return. There are actually fewer levels, 15 versus the first game's 24, but with the added Endless mode, and the inclusion of Classic mode (10 levels from the first game for those who own it), and all of the permutations that can be made to your loadout, there is tons of replayability. Orcs Must Die! 2 is a nice improvement over the first game and definitely worth checking out for fans of the tower defense or third person action genre, or anyone looking to have some plain old fun slaying orcs. Click here to view the article