Game Room: May Roundup

SI Staff | Jun 1, 2011

Game Room: May Roundup /

Game Room: May Roundup

NCAA Football 12: Dynamic Conferences

Conference realignment was a huge storyline last year, and the folks at EA were obviously paying attention. In NCAA Football 2012 they have added a new feature that allows you to reshape existing conferences. Want to create an SEC super conference with 16 teams? Want to make the Big 12 whole again? Want to kick USC out of the PAC-10? You can do it. NCAA Football 12 is scheduled for a July 12 release on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Dirt 3

The core of Dirt 3 is the career mode, featuring a solid mixture of rally racing, group track races, time trials and Gymkhana stunt driving. Gymkhana, not to be confused with Gymkata, is a real-life racing form that features highly controlled drifting, spinning and jumping. Gymkhana events take place in closed arenas where you're racing the clock to achieve a score. As you progress through the deep and varied career mode you can pick which type of racing you prefer more, and skip events in race types you don't like. The rally races through open terrain feel more authentic and more exhilarating as you zoom across bridges, through sharp turns and across narrow cliffs. Progress in career mode is measured by successful placement in the various races, but Dirt 3 doesn't operate on the standard notion of making money and buying new cars. Instead, sponsors grant you access to new cars as you advance, which allows you to spend time racing instead of shopping. The game puts you behind the wheels of many licensed vehicles from the 60s through today. Each car has a unique feel, forcing you to learn the nuances of how it handles. Before each race you can quickly tweak your car across six settings that affect overall handling and acceleration. This quick tuning is handy as you're able to easily adjust to different race types and terrain. The game looks and sounds amazing, and the graphics are further put in the spotlight as you're able to race in rain and snow during the day and at night. The snow racing is tremendous, and hearing the compacting crunch of the snow under your tires is very satisfying. The AI in the game is very solid, though racing online is still where the best competition lives. Dirt 3 is the best racing game so far in 2011. Score: 9.5 out of 10

MX vs. ATV: Alive

For many racing fans there's always been an appreciation of games that offered something different. In MX vs. ATV: Alive, the difference maker is off-road racing using motorbikes and ATVs. Right off the bat you're going to want to race the motorbikes more than the ATVs. They handle more realistically and are more satisfying to drive. There are 12 national tracks in the game, which are longer and more interesting than the four short tracks and free-ride areas. It's during the longer racers that the game is at its best, especially if you're playing online against a full slate of human opponents. Unfortunately, MX vs. ATV: Alive's career mode is laborious and repetitive, and it takes way too long to unlock all the tracks. You can pay up front using Microsoft points to unlock them all, but that's hardly an acceptable solution. The game features the Rider Reflex system, which allows you to manipulate your body position to assist in landing jumps and in taking corners more efficiently to generate more speed and control. That dynamic works pretty well and once you master the timing the racing is pretty fun. The graphics and sound are competent, but not memorable. While racing is entertaining, the game feels like it needed more time in development. Score: 6.5 out of 10

Tecmo Bowl Throwback

Tecmo Bowl is one of the classics in the pantheon of electronic football games . And though we usually prefer to ignore inherently inferior mobile versions of console ports, we couldn't ignore the return of this beloved franchise. Gameplay in Tecmo Bowl Throwback is easy to learn. On offense you can pick from four running plays and four passing plays. On defense you're trying to guess which of the eight plays the opposition has called. If you're right a sack or interception is the likely outcome. It's a simple dynamic, but player skill in executing plays is the difference between a punt and a touchdown. Executing offensive plays is a matter of tapping the screen to snap the ball and then either guiding the ball carrier or picking a receiver to throw to by tapping on him. Player movement can be tricky as the players are very small on the screen, and switching from one player to another during a play is hit or miss. Trying to tackle on defense is also pretty tough as your finger often eclipses the action. There are 28 city teams to pick from, but there's no NFL license, so all the names are made up. You can play a single game or a full season, but unfortunately you can't play against networked human opponents. The graphics and sound in the game are decent for an iPhone game, and the familiar side-to-side view does the Tecmo tradition well. Tecmo Bowl Throwback is available in the Apple store for $7.99. Score: 8 out of 10

Brink

Brink is a third-person shooter that takes places on a futuristic island, The Arc, where the last of civilization is falling apart. Users can choose to play on the side of the rebels, who want out of The Arc, or the security force, which is determined to keep everyone in. Before you start the campaign you create a character from among three body types. The skinnier type is faster, but can sustain less damage. Conversely the larger type is slower, but can take more damage. Within each level you pick among four classes: soldier, medic, operative and engineer. On each level you're able to change classes, and generally you'll need to do so to achieve mission objectives. Between the types and classes Brink is successful in creating an environment where you can define your playing style. Player movement is handled in the traditional manner, but Brink features a one-button dynamic that allows you to hurdle forward over objects and climb very smoothly. It's especially ideal for the skinny characters who can reach elevated spots and move faster. The map designs are pretty good, though there's not as much variety as you'd expect. As you progress in the campaign mode or in multiplayer, you'll level up and get access to better weapons and abilities. You can play the campaign with AI bots or with humans online. The AI is pretty awful, so playing with others is a superior experience. The graphics and sound design are somewhat underwhelming, as the textures and colors are murky and not very interesting. Ultimately, the game has a lot of cool options but feels unfinished. Score: 7 out of 10

L.A. Noire

L.A. Noire takes place in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, and immediately puts you in control of Cole Phelps, a war hero who has decided to ply his skills with the LAPD. Cole starts off as a patrolman and works his way up to homicide by solving cases. As a member of the LAPD you'll get to investigate crime scenes, engage in car and foot chases, fight resistant perps and engage in shootouts with criminals. The game does an amazing job of creating an open and realistic looking Los Angeles, but the real star of the show is the amazing motion capture work that shines whenever you interact with the hundreds of characters in the world. The core of the game is solving crimes. When you're at a crime scene you'll walk around to find and examine clues. All of that information is logged in your notebook and plays a vital role later on when you're interviewing suspects and other persons of interest. When you interview people for cases you really have to pay attention not only to what they're saying, but how they're saying it. After listening to an answer you have to decide if the statement was true or if you have doubt or if it's a lie. If you pick the wrong response, the characters clam up and tell you less information. Picking correctly leads to confessions or revelations of additional evidence, locations and suspects. If you accuse someone of lying you have to back it up with a piece of evidence collected from the screen. It's a straightforward dynamic, but it's a ton of fun and it keeps getting harder as you advance. L.A. Noire is a deep and engaging adventure game that defies traditional categorization as it establishes its own brand of addictive and unique gameplay. Score: 9.5 out of 10

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean

After successful LEGO game runs with Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman and Indiana Jones, it was inevitable that we'd see the Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney's game allows you to play through the events of all four movies, including the recently released POTC: On Stranger Tides. As with all LEGO games there's no dialogue, because everyone knows LEGOs can't talk! Each movie is broken into levels, which are set up with clever cut scenes that are kid-friendly and cute. In each level your goal is to collect coins and discover other hidden items as you fight through enemies and attempt to solve various puzzles. Gameplay allows you to change characters on the fly, though when you're not controlling a character the AI takes over, and often gets in your way. The game looks great and is well enhanced by the official movie soundtrack and scattered audio effects from the films. You can play the game co-op split screen, but that option is only for local play and not online, which is very disappointing. Score: 8 out of 10

Published Jun 1, 2011

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