Game report from Igromir: part two
Yes, unexpectedly, here is the second part of the report from Igromir. Don't waste your time looking for the first part in my profile, it's right here, published by serick. This time, as representatives of the press Gamer.ru at Igromir, we collectively talk about the games that were presented there. Yes, believe it or not, it's not just about getting freebies and taking pictures with girls; there are also computers and consoles, where you can often meet world-class developers who came to Russia specifically to showcase their new creations.
There were presentations, conferences, and choir performances, and a lot of interactions. But now we're talking about games, starting with what didn’t deserve a separate paragraph but needs to be mentioned. Why did I go to the presentation of [Modern Warfare 3](/games?search=Modern Warfare 3) – I don’t know; I couldn't finish any part of the series due to the overwhelming nonsense. But the line on press day was short, it was presented by the developers, and hoping to hear something interesting, I went in. The Activision representative, smiling broadly and sitting in front of a full hall, blew up and then shot the crew of a submarine, the inscriptions of which were in Russian. The coolest part – even after that, almost everyone left saying "How cool!", and surely many of them will buy the game on the first day. Activision found a brilliant golden vein, that's all I can say. But enough about the sad stuff, there were many really worthwhile exclusives at Igromir. The first part of the story, I repeat, is available here, and today – the second part. But this is not the last. I’ll start with the main exclusive of the exhibition:
[Tomb Raider](/games?search=Tomb Raider)
Square Enix brought to Moscow two major hits – [Hitman: Absolution](/games?search=Hitman: Absolution) and [Tomb Raider](/games?search=Tomb Raider), and both presentations can be called the central events of Igromir. The bald killer has already been covered by serick in the first part of the report; I will talk about the newest story of the tomb raider, for which they brought a completely new build, shown to the public for the first time in the world. The [Tomb Raider](/games?search=Tomb Raider) series is unique in that it is experiencing its second reboot on the same generation of platforms. [Tomb Raider](/games?search=Tomb Raider) Legend changed Lara's appearance, making her humanly beautiful, internally keeping the same fearless warrior. The [Tomb Raider](/games?search=Tomb Raider) of 2012 goes even further on the path of “humanization,” showing Lara as an ordinary girl caught in terrifying conditions and forced to survive.
Just as Uncharted redefined [Tomb Raider](/games?search=Tomb Raider), the new [Tomb Raider](/games?search=Tomb Raider) takes a lot from the renowned PS3 exclusive: no more painful searches for that necessary ledge, now you can glide through levels just as easily as Nathan Drake. Of course, by ease I mean technical ease; psychologically, making decisions can be harder than scaling ledges in Angel of Darkness. You genuinely feel Lara's emotions thanks to the new animation technology that unifies speech and character animation, allowing you to get attached to her during the demonstration of the initial level and physically feel how much it costs her to be in such a horrific place, especially while wounded. The only game for me where I had to take pauses due to emotional intensity was [Heavy Rain](/games?search=Heavy Rain), so I dare to compare [Tomb Raider](/games?search=Tomb Raider) with it. An amazing opportunity for PC and Xbox 360 users – to experience both main exclusives of PlayStation 3 within a single game!
But what even Drake didn’t have to deal with – solving puzzles based on the physics of the world. From simply being able to ignite an obstacle to serious multi-layered riddles, like carrying a fiery torch through a veil of water. Just like in the new part of Hitman, here Lara is aided by special vision that allows her to see, for example, items that can be ignited; so it’s unlikely that solving these tasks will stretch long enough to lose emotional contact with the heroine. The first scene ends with a picturesque view of a harbor filled with shipwrecks from different eras, from which a miraculously survived Miss Croft looks down. At that moment, the game feels like a fanfiction of the series – as if the girl played the old parts of [Tomb Raider](/games?search=Tomb Raider), decided to become just as fearless a raider, but faced a much scarier reality than what the previous games of the series or both parts of Uncharted showed. In Drake’s games, he could sit for weeks in a dirty prison in some godforsaken country and come out healthy and smiling. Reality is quite different.
I could tell you about the second scene now, but that would be completely unnecessary. [Tomb Raider](/games?search=Tomb Raider) looks like a dream game even for me, familiar with Uncharted and [Heavy Rain](/games?search=Heavy Rain); I can hardly imagine what a powerful revelation it will be for PC gamers. All that’s left is to believe and wait for the release scheduled for next fall.
PlayStation Vita and Sony's Conference
The Sony conference did not reveal the primary details anticipated – specifics about the Russian launch of PlayStation Vita. No date, no price, just a couple of enticing trailers and Russian names for applications that will feature on the new portable console. So if you are reading this text for PS Vita – skip on to my personal experience with it. The conference raised other, but equally interesting issues. For example, Russia's console sales figures: PS3 sold 200,000 units in a year, with a total of 600,000 since its launch. The growth is huge, but even more impressive are the forecasts: by the end of 2012, the figure should reach seven digits, aided by a price cut on the console and the opening of a factory for producing Blu-ray discs right in Russia. To grasp the importance of that last point: earlier, discs were shipped from Austria to Russia, through customs, which often led to delays in release dates and increased prices on large editions. Problems with the release deadlines for PS3 games and Blu-ray films will certainly vanish with the opening of the factory; prices – we hope so. The PSP also shows significant growth due to a price reduction to 5990, with even more growth expected after the launch of the new model without wi-fi for 4990 in October. Considering the huge lineup of games for 599 rubles, the console has a future even after the release of PS Vita, and by the end of 2012, a two-millionth console should be sold (currently 1.5 million sold). Other figures – 1.1 million PS2 sold, 515 thousand accounts in Russian PSN, one and a half million games sold, a record for [Gran Turismo 5](/games?search=Gran Turismo 5) – 75 thousand copies. I won’t mention figures for PS Move, I’ll just say the main thing: FIFA 13 will support this controller. You understand, with this situation, sales next autumn will be record-breaking.
The demo area for PlayStation Vita was set up right at the entrance to the exhibition, drawing huge lines immediately. Sony acted wisely, and everyone who subscribed to the official PS Vita newsletter could skip the line with a special ticket, so I managed to check out the console twice – on press day and with a ticket on Saturday. Inside the demo area, eight different games were presented, but you could only check out one, depending on luck. I didn’t get to play Uncharted, but LittleBigPlanet demonstrated the console's potential excellently.
It feels like a game on iPod touch with buttons and sticks: for precision, you can always use the buttons, but the familiar touch navigation works just fine for me. The gyros are also familiar, used here to swing objects and move horizontal platforms. What is really new and unusual – the back touch panel. I remind you, LBP – it’s a two-dimensional, yet layered platformer – meaning you can jump back and forth between 2D layers. So, the touch screen and back panel allowed for a very cool feature where tapping from the back pushes the platform forward into the layer, and tapping on the screen pushes it back, allowing you to build stairways from complex shapes. Quite impressive. And catapults working similarly to [Angry Birds](/games?search=Angry Birds) make LBP a must-have for console buyers – the Birds will surely be one of the first and major games recreated by users (the powerful editor hasn’t gone anywhere, after all), and it's hard to imagine a portable platform in our time without them.
The second attempt turned out to be less successful – Wipeout. It's like [Mario Kart](/games?search=Mario Kart) at tremendous speeds, offering no forgiveness for mistakes. As I didn’t understand it on PS3, I still don’t understand it on Vita. The console’s advantages aren’t utilized at all: in settings you can turn on gyroscope controls similar to those for iOS racing, but it becomes unplayable that way – you need to navigate so precisely that it’s easy to fly off the demo track, which is set somewhere in the clouds.
In conclusion – I’ll repeat the phrase from the beginning: iPod Touch with sticks. On one side of the scale, extremely comfortable controls to suit any taste, graphical power, and social capabilities of the platform; on the other side – games priced almost as much as for PS3 and a vague future regarding major exclusives, as all announced so far are internal Sony games, ports from other platforms, or PSP level games with new controls. There’s no regional lock, and the console can be ordered directly from Japan in December, but I advise watching the Japanese launch from the sidelines – who knows what might happen. And if everything goes smoothly, the most powerful portable console will be available in the West around the beginning of 2012.
[Torchlight 2](/games?search=Torchlight 2)
To present [Torchlight 2](/games?search=Torchlight 2) in Russia, the very Max Schaefer arrived, who once founded the company that eventually became Blizzard North, participated in creating both Diablo, and then left the studio with Bill Roper for Fragship Studios and the ambitious but completely failed [Hellgate: London](/games?search=Hellgate: London). Learning from his lesson, this well-known developer created his next game in a small circle at Runic Games, and Torchlight became a huge success, selling a million copies and gathering many fans. The formula for success was simple: a friendly interface, extremely low system requirements, and everything that players love about Diablo. The first part had two major shortcomings – a lack of multiplayer and… How to say, it looked overly indie, with just one town and fights only in dungeons. [Torchlight 2](/games?search=Torchlight 2) promises to fix both of these.
The network part works through LAN and P2P, without using any Steamworks. All of this is so that enjoying network gameplay is possible even locally, on netbooks not connected to the internet. System requirements will also remain at the plinth level of the first part. But in all other respects, the game has noticeably increased its caliber. There are now three towns, and you’ll need to spend no less time above ground than in the dungeons. The classes are entirely new, and veterans of Torchlight will find it just as interesting as fresh players. And as for gameplay… what can be added to the perfect formula? The modest demo stand of [Torchlight 2](/games?search=Torchlight 2) was situated right across from the monstrous zone of [Diablo 3](/games?search=Diablo 3). When asked whether the developers feared comparisons with the well-known competitor, Max replied, "If we were making a shooter, we would have twenty competitors to worry about. In our subgenre, we have one competitor, albeit significant, and it’s not hard to create a slightly different game". [Torchlight 2](/games?search=Torchlight 2) does not require a constant online connection, contains no real-money auctions, costs much less (the same 0 in the West), and has no objection to being a game played on netbooks when there’s no opportunity to continue adventures in [Diablo 3](/games?search=Diablo 3).
The social features, as in the first part, will only be in the Steam version – achievements and Steam Cloud. Many criticized Novy Disk for the fact that the first Torchlight was released without Steam support, not understanding that this was the main idea of the developers – to make the game as accessible as possible for the audience. [Torchlight 2](/games?search=Torchlight 2) has no Western publisher, and it will be sold through the developers' website, Steam, and regional partners like 1C-SoftClub. This time, localizations won't take a year to arrive as they did with the first part, and the price in the ruble Steam will be much more accessible than 0 during the original Torchlight release. When to expect the game is not definitively known, as Max and the other developers have already gained access to the beta of [Diablo 3](/games?search=Diablo 3), and as he said earlier, this may delay the game for a long time. But we believe that happiness will arrive this fall, and [Torchlight 2](/games?search=Torchlight 2) will allow us to pass the time until the release of you-know-what.
[Rayman Origins](/games?search=Rayman Origins)
From the perspective of PC gamers, it’s almost unnoticed, but on consoles, the genre of cooperative 2D platformers is thriving. [Castle Crashers](/games?search=Castle Crashers), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Castlevania Harmony of Despair, Moon Diver, and many other names, most of which are unfamiliar to you. Why such platform discrimination? Often these games do not support online multiplayer and are aimed solely at local four-player battles in front of the console, which is problematic to organize in computer conditions. Such games are usually characterized by high difficulty, character leveling, and an overall old-school vibe. [Rayman Origins](/games?search=Rayman Origins) will showcase this concept from a different angle – what they call all about fun. The team, consisting of Rayman, Globox, and two Teensy, investigates the mysteries of the world that took place even before the events of the first part. The plot here is mostly an excuse for nostalgia for those familiar with the series, while for new players, it serves as amusing animated interludes between cooperative runs.
The game was presented by the technical director and designer from the development team. I got the third gamepad, and we three ran through several levels from different stages of the game. Characters here die from a single hit and, strangely enough, also revive after a single hit from a teammate. Compare this to [Castle Crashers](/games?search=Castle Crashers), where everyone has health bars, and the resurrection process takes a solid five seconds. [Rayman Origins](/games?search=Rayman Origins) doesn’t become easier for it, but rather more light-hearted – there’s no need to plan tactics several screens ahead, and you can completely rely on arcadey reflexes. Sliding on ice at speed, chasing after chests, maneuvering through moving obstacles and traps of all kinds, gliding in air currents – Origins contains seemingly everything that can be conceived within a two-dimensional platformer. The special abilities of the characters are the same for everyone; some are available right away (like bouncing off walls and soaring on helicopter ears), while others unlock as you progress (like shrinking).
But the game truly opens up in cooperative mode. Even on the loading screen for a level, you can fight with the characters. The levels of [Rayman Origins](/games?search=Rayman Origins) are total concentrated cooperative fun. Pushing each other, snatching bonuses first, catching each other off guard on different traps… And all without harming the completion of the game. Bosses also have to be beaten together, building towers of characters to collect bonuses… By gathering special bonuses, you can even unlock a secret world with levels that can give you yet another hour of gameplay.
The game will be released on a huge number of platforms – PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, PS Vita, and probably iPad. The big console versions will follow in late November, while the portable versions will come later with support for each platform's features (you remember how many there are for PS Vita?). The only concern is the game’s format: while most peers in the genre sell on PSN and XBLA for
And I almost forgot the main thing: the game will have no crazy rabbits. Not a single one.
[Final Fantasy XIII-2](/games?search=Final Fantasy XIII-2)
The playable segment of [Final Fantasy XIII-2](/games?search=Final Fantasy XIII-2) at Igromir was familiar from previous exhibitions: a battle with the mechanical giant Atlas, awakened in the residential area of the city. Since I had already seen the video walkthrough of this segment, my main interest was to try it live to see if there was any difference between playing [Final Fantasy XIII](/games?search=Final Fantasy XIII) and [Final Fantasy XIII-2](/games?search=Final Fantasy XIII-2). And the difference is certainly noticeable. While the original was a long linear corridor with a slight widening at the end, the sequel offers branching paths at important stages. When the heroes face a choice, a special menu appears where you can ask other characters for advice on what consequences to expect from each road. In the demo segment, the choice was: kill Atlas immediately or try to weaken him using a terminal in ancient ruins. First, I tried to hit him directly, and, of course, my skills didn’t save me – the first blow knocked out the entire party. This option might have worked if I had leveled up on the surrounding mobs first, but I didn’t want to waste time grinding: the terminal awaits. Activating the ancient device transported the hero to another dimension with trials. Nothing like this was in the original – just battles. Here, you will also need to solve puzzles to make your life easier – specifically, in this terminal, you had to run across a path of tiles, stepping on each one only once, and collect all the crystals. It’s hard to lose, but that’s the point of a demo version, and the release will surely delight with extremely brain-bending labyrinths in Japanese style.
But the terminal only weakens Atlas; you’ll still have to defeat him personally. On the way back, we notice a strange glow in the corner of the corridor, resembling chests with items from the original, but you can’t pick it up just like that. Now these gifts are hidden much deeper – you need to activate a special search mode with your little companion Mog, and he will scan the area with a cute cry and return those chests to our reality, so we can loot them. Kind of like evidence searching in [Heavy Rain](/games?search=Heavy Rain), right? Naturally, besides chests, you can encounter unfriendly monsters in the corridors, but now avoiding them has become even easier than before: the city guards constantly distract the beasts, and slipping through the dead zone of their visibility is a piece of cake. If you want, of course, leveling up is still necessary. But my goal was to quickly break through to the titan and engage him in battle, which I did.
As promised, the titan became weaker, and now he can actually be defeated with the right tactics and successful QTEs. Yes, the strength of the blow and the damage taken now depends not only on leveling but also on successfully pressing the buttons that appear on the screen. If you managed to jump away from the huge fist’s strike – you take a third less damage. In the demo version, this turned out to be extremely simple, as the buttons from battle to battle didn’t change, were easy to memorize, and you could instantly replay any battle. Of course, this isn’t [God of War](/games?search=God of War), and it doesn’t seem like a significant innovation of QTE in the demo, but since the full version promises interactive cutscenes similar to [Mass Effect 2](/games?search=Mass Effect 2), developers deserve praise for the beautiful and appropriate implementation of this system in the familiar battles of FF XIII.
But interactive cutscenes impose a serious limitation – now many of them will be on the game engine rather than pre-rendered in insane quality like in FF XIII. Thanks to this, the game will occupy one disc instead of three on Xbox 360, but… If you’ve seen the original’s cutscenes, you understand what we’re missing. Although the in-game graphics on PS3 still look magnificent, just take a look at the recent story trailer. What can be said in conclusion… [Final Fantasy XIII-2](/games?search=Final Fantasy XIII-2) should finally make fans of the series who started with XIII and were thrilled with it, like me, fall in love with it all over again. But at the same time, there are many details that will definitely recapture the attention of old-school fans for whom the original part was heresy. Well, peaceful towns are now available, the world is much more open, leveling is no longer limited… The advantages of the sequel can be enumerated for long, but JRPG is too complex a system for these components to be sufficient for success. But for me, XIII-2 is definitely a day-one purchase. Along with the figure of Lightning in the splendid armor of the goddess of war.