APB Review & Preview

Here is a little APB review. We’ve been intrigued by APB since we first heard about it. The concept of a sandbox style MMO is both fascinating and terrifying all at the same time. The real trick is to keep the the chaotic way people tend to play sandbox games in check, so that it’s possible to complete a mission without dying every thirty seconds at the hands of random strangers. Fortunately, Realtime Worlds seems to have things under control.

The game is set up such that criminals are encouraged to terrorize the city at large, and the enforcers are encouraged to terrorize the criminals. Each time a criminal levels up, or parties up with three other criminals, the game posts a notification. Enforcers can then opt to go after that group of criminals, and attempt to thwart whatever crime they’re trying to commit. You can’t just kill random players, you have to actively engage their group with a group of your own, which creates balance in a game that would otherwise be completely chaotic.

The actual gameplay is in line with most open world sandbox games you’ve played before. The only real rough part was the driving. The exaggerated in game physics lead to a lot of unnecessary swerving and drifting while driving around town. If the destination you’re heading towards isn’t too far away, consider walking.

The game play and mission structure seem solid, but the level of customization present in APB is the real star of the show here. You can customize anything in the game, from clothes, to cars, to the music you hear while driving a car. You can actually create your own songs using the in game music editor. If you’ve ever created or edited a song in a MIDI sequencer, you’ll be able to jump right into the in game track editor easily. If not, well, you might want to look up some tutorials before attempting to create a musical masterpiece. The track editor also lets you create a five second “death song” that will play for your enemies when you kill them. That’s right, you can even customize what your dead enemies hear.

With solid gameplay, and more customization options than you can shake a stick at, APB looks like a strong addition to the MMO scene. We’ll have a full review for you shortly after the game launches on June 29th

Five hours in the city of San Paro.

Sitting in a cubical in Boulder, Colorado, I lay my greasy nerd palms atop a keyboard and mouse. I’m in the Realtime Worlds US office, where I was told most of the “business-side of things” happened. Behind me sat EJ Moreland, Design Lead, talking me through the introductory screen of APB. An online game of cops-and-robbers, APB is frequently compared to Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series. The comparisons are at first very obvious – regardless of whether you play as an enforcer (the law-type character) or a criminal players can hijack cars, attack (or avoid) pedestrians and cause chaos on the streets.

But that’s where the comparisons end. GTA is story driven, and the only buildings you can enter – in most GTA titles, anyways – are few and far between; they’re there to provide some sort of service. It works in GTA, but, for awesome firefights, sticking to the streets can get a little stale. The focus of GTA isn’t on the firefights, but it is for APB, and as I skipped my way through the extremely robust character creator and entered the game, the focus on gunplay is something I quickly learned.

Friendly fire is turned on when you're in a group, so aim carefully

Before I could start wreaking mayhem on San Paro – the city in APB – I had to choose between the two factions of enforcer or criminal. Each choice is accompanied by a short introductory video that explains in a nutshell just why the city is in a state of war and what each side is fighting for. For enforcers, the motivation is simple: earn a living by stopping lawbreakers, preferably by using non-lethal force, although the powers that be will turn a blind eye if things go awry. Criminal motivations are a little more complex, and are tied to the state of San Paro as a whole. As the rich become richer, the poor must take extreme measures to survive. Criminality has a certain allure for the prim-and-proper children of the wealthy, so they too feel the pull of a life without rules. As methods for dealing with criminals become more and more ethically questionable, the actions of the criminals they are trying to stop become more extreme.

And that’s where I stepped in. Wearing blue jeans and a white tee, the most basic attire, I began my life on the wrong side of the law. Normally, a series of tutorial missions will teach you the basics of gameplay – movement , aiming, etc. — but as my time in Colorado was limited, I forewent the lessons and jumped straight into the meat of the game. After selecting a character, players choose one of three different areas: The Social District, where you can buy vehicles and clothes, customize your character, and just hang out; the Financial District, a landlocked, roundish city filled with skyscrapers and surrounded by slummy regions; and the Waterfront, with ritzy restaurants, cruise ships along the coast, and a general touristy ambiance. The Social District is a combat-free zone, while the other two are combat focused.

Landmarks scattered throughout the Financial district help you learn your way around.

Selecting a location brings up a map of the area, with a few spawn points to choose from. I chose the Financial District and picked a spawn somewhere close to the center of the area. I soon found myself within what appeared to be a garage, with a few other players standing idly nearby. I lurched forward, adjusting myself to the controls and immediately started taking gunfire from behind me. Another criminal was attempting to shoot me, but to no avail. As it stands, in the normal ruleset, players can’t directly harm each other – regardless of faction – unless they have been directly matched up against each other. Players who aren’t matched have their names grayed out, and their bullets pass straight through.

That’s lame, I thought to myself when I first learned of this. What’s the point of having other players if I can’t play with them? In practice, however, it is a very important aspect of APB. Here’s why: I would later pass a shootout between a group of enforcers and criminals – grenades and bullets flying everywhere. If I could be targeted by anyone at any time, the streets would turn to chaos. Shortly after that failed assassination attempt by a fellow criminal, I received a call from another. The call was put out to all criminals who fit within certain guidelines determined by the game, and I heeded it. An enforcer was out doing enforcery-type things, and it was my duty to try to put a stop to it. I set foot outside my underground lair and found myself staring at Memorial Park, occasionally obscured by passing vehicles. A woman in an SUV stopped at a red light in front of me, so I wandered over and hit my ‘F’ key to yank her door open. My character then punched the woman in the face and yanked her from the car as she yelled something in Korean. I felt a little bad, but I didn’t have time — my mark was on the other side of town, and the clock was ticking.

Driving through the streets I saw other cars racing past me on their way to other mission targets or in pursuit of others. Driving with WASD took some getting-used-to. Mouse movement only served to change the camera, unlike on foot where it changed my direction, and this shift in control was a little jarring. I found myself unintentionally running down pedestrians, and as I did so, a little bar – the notoriety meter – in the top right corner began to fill up. This meter serves to track your actions. As I accidentally laid waste to harmless civilians, I began to gain a name for myself, and as I reached level 3 (of 5), the possibility of a bounty being put on my head opened up. However, with higher notoriety, the potential for reward also rose, so by the time I arrived at my destination just behind the Concert Hall I would be receiving a slight bonus on any rewards I reaped.

My foe was standing behind a van, trying to defend a strategic point, and I had to try to kill him five times before the clock ran out. Of course, if he killed me five times, it would push to the next phase of the mission. This player was a somewhat significant threat, according to APB’s internal ranking system. His threat level was around 8 out of a possible 15, while mine – being on my very first mission – was on 1. As I closed in on him, highly decorated player-cars whizzed past. Sneaking closer, I began to open fire. My opponent responded in kind and in short order I found myself lying on the ground as my opponent’s player-made kill-song – a crude rendering of the Final Fantasy fanfare – played. Bummer.

Controlling your car is a little jarring at first.

I was outclassed. I chose to respond to a mission well above my abilities and I paid the price by dying over and over again. Even so, I was rewarded with some cash and increased my standing with the criminal organization.

Strange as it was, I felt pangs of guilt from all the completely fictional people I ran over, and decided that perhaps a life of crime was not for me. I logged out, whipped up an enforcer character and jumped into the Social District so I could turn my standard-looking squad-car into a love-mobile of justice. I painted it bright pink and slapped a red love-heart on the sides. Playing as an enforcer required a lot more restraint, as the notoriety meter is replaced by a prestige meter, and unlawful actions cause it to drain. That meant that I rapidly had to learn to not blow through five people crossing a road in my love-mobile. Of course, slaying criminals causes it to go up, and arresting them without killing them causes it to increase even further. Stealing a car makes it decrease slightly, although the real punishment came from an NPC who, after commandeering her vehicle, said to me “Y’know, this is why everybody hates you guys.” Ouch.

Sometime around hour three I accepted a mission to try to halt a group of four extremely high-threat criminals. I called for backup and tracked them to the hospital at the southern end of the city. As I pulled up, the whole crew drove past. One jumped out of their car and took me out in a couple of shots. My call for backup was picked up by four other players and, as the criminals raced through the streets, we coalesced at the mall in the west. There we tried to capture various points. The criminals holed up on an upper tier and laid waste to us. No matter which enter from, the crims were far more heavily armed and were able to hold down the fort.

The Waterfront is longer and thinner than Financial. Also, boats!

Each district is built to support 100 players. Coming from a rather heavy MMO background, that didn’t sound like a lot of players, but even though I was playing on a server with about half the maximum, the game world never felt empty. Going on missions, 100 players was enough of a pool to draw from that there would be a good variety of opponents and allies, but small enough that if you played for a few hours, as I did, you’d get to know some names. One player I was pursing on a criminal-versus-criminal mission was later paired with me as an ally. He wasn’t the best player, and having killed him several times earlier, I feared he probably wouldn’t be forthcoming with the help. I was right.

Driving through the Waterfront as an enforcer, rockets whizzed past my car and fleets of cars passed me in both directions. Sure, they couldn’t directly affect me – for now – but they helped build excitement. When I got out of my van and entered a warehouse (there are quite a lot of enterable buildings) to diffuse a car-bomb, the rocket-toting crims drove past and blew up my van. Dicks.

Coworkers had seen APB at various events over the years and had told me there were numerous issues that were bringing the ambitious game down. While what I saw was certainly not perfect, I saw very few of the aforementioned issues. When I asked EJ Moreland about specifics, he told me “Yeah, we had issues. We had animation issues, server issues, lag issues…” But it was looking much improved. There were occasional hiccups – a little rubber-banding and occasional animation-skips, and little nit-picky things – trying to get off a ladder just a little too early causes you to fall off the building – but it was highly playable and even enjoyable. Realtime Worlds still has a little over a month before APB launches which is plenty of time for bugfixing, especially after the game enters open beta in the next couple weeks.

[Source]

As a Criminal your job is to run over pedestrians, mug them, break into their shops and steal their cars; basically, cause as much havoc as possible. As an Enforcer, your job is to stop the Criminals in their tracks. This is what APB is all about.

You’d think, then, that the Criminals and the Enforcers would hate each other. Not just any old hate – the kind that’s always overused and applied to everything – but spit in your face if I see you walking in the street hate. There’s probably an element of that, but such strong emotion betrays the dependency the two rival factions have on one another. APB’s Criminals and Enforcers are intrinsically linked. Without one another, APB would be nothing.

This, I discover during a hands-on session at EA’s recent spring showcase, is what’s most interesting about Realtime Worlds’ Grand Theft Auto MMO, as it’s so often been described. Sure, the character customisation, which we’ve seen at previous events, is incredible, and the game’s business model, which allows players to sell user created gubbins to other players for game time, is genuinely interesting. But APB will live or die on the quality of its combat; the simple act of shooting people in the face; the innovative, perhaps even revolutionary way Criminals and Enforcers depend on each other to have fun. As a Criminal, there is no fun in the mindless destruction of AI-controlled flesh and bone, the burning of virtual cars that belong to no-one, or the stealing of cash no-one wants to spend. The fun comes when someone not only cares that you’re acting like a tool, but clips you around the ear for it.

Each server will house 100,000 players. That should ensure each version of fictional city San Paro feels nice and busy.

I am in the Financial District of San Paro, one of two action districts that’ll be live in time for the game’s release. I am hanging out of the passenger window of a car, shooting pedestrians in the face for no reason other than I think it’s funny. Someone from Dundee, where Realtime Worlds is based, is driving. Another journalist is hanging out of the backseat window, also taking pot shots. We run over lots of people. Lots of them. They scream as they crumble under the force of our metal monstrosity. We are building up notoriety, which, hopefully, will drive the Enforcers crazy.

Our team leader accepts a mission, which then pops up on the top right hand corner of the screen. We are to drive to four cars and burn them. Their locations are clearly visible because APB’s objective marker, displayed on the HUD, is brilliant. It only takes a few minutes to get to the first car. I get out, using the classic W,A,S,D control scheme to move, and Shift to sprint, then press F to begin pouring petrol all over the vehicle. Once done, I light the fuel. The car erupts in a blaze of fire. I run back to our getaway car – inside my two companions are waiting patiently. Then we drive off towards the next car.

We can't wait to wind up our defeated opponents by forcing them to hear our composed death themes.

It’s not long before an APB – All Points Bulletin – is sent out to Enforcers who are in the vicinity. They will have seen the APB logo flash on their screen, an alert that the game has dynamically matched them as our opponents. There is no lobby. No server to select. No waiting. All this has been done in real time, which, given the name of the developer, is the least you would expect. I am also alerted. I know we are in trouble. The Enforcers are coming.

The engagement begins as a sort of urban vehicle-on-vehicle drive by. I am pumping as much lead from my assault rifle into the enemy car and its passengers as rapid presses of the left mouse button will allow, occasionally zooming in for increased accuracy with a click of the right mouse button. Eventually, our bonnet starts to wave the white flag – smoke is billowing out. “It’s going to explode,” says my team leader through the game’s team-based voice chat. “You’d better get out.” I heed his advice.

Weapons are swapped by scrolling the mouse wheel. Ammo is replenished from crates found throughout the city.

On foot, APB feels very much like Grand Theft Auto – that is, like GTA, APB is a third-person shooting game set in a contemporary fictional city. Mouse control makes aiming a breeze, but headshots are difficult. In classic online shooter fashion, most players strafe left and right as they try to keep their targeting reticule aimed, hopefully, at enemy heads. When you do die – and you will, often – you respawn nearby. I spend a lot of time sprinting back to the action. But then, I am an APB virgin.

The Financial District is a twisting, turning, vertical jungle of towering concrete and advertisements. Driving will only get you so far – but it does so quickly. More often than not you’ll get as close as possible to your objective marker, then get out and sprint the rest of the way. The F button is used to vault fences, smash open doors, climb up ladders to rooftops and activate all the context sensitive actions in the game, such as pouring petrol on cars. Much of my time is spent climbing and running about, trying to find sneaky routes back to areas I know Enforcers have assaulted. Remember, these are real people you’re shooting at. And real people shoot back good and proper.

Occasionally I hear player voices, and they’re not from my team mates. That’s because APB has what Realtime Worlds calls “locational-based VOIP”. If you talk through your headset, nearby players will hear your voice whether they’re in your team or not. So, when you scream a profanity after getting killed, be aware that you’re doing so in a public space.

In another mission, we’re charged with stealing four suitcases full of cash from four separate locations and returning them to a safe point. As in the burning cars mission, we drive toward the objectives in a stolen car. This time, though, I drive. APB’s cars seem hard to control at first. The drift-oriented driving model is grounded in reality, but it’s clearly been designed to lend the game a dramatic, action feel. It’s pretty much essential to use the space bar to handbrake around corners, for example. But you soon get used to it. Driving never gets easy – it always requires careful attention, particularly as a Criminal who’s trying to escape pursuing Enforcers – but it’s not frustrating. The potential is clear: bumper to bumper car chases and lots of shooting.

Soon enough, an APB is sent out, and a group of Enforcers is hot on our tail. With the suitcases stolen, the mission progresses to a second stage: to defend an area for three minutes. We drive towards the objective and hole up behind cover up on higher ground, waiting for the Enforcers to arrive. When they do, all hell breaks loose. There is a lot of shooting, a lot of dying, a lot of respawning, and more dying. Somewhat inevitably, we fail the mission. The Enforcers have won, and are rewarded with loads of cash. Bah.

You'll be able to sell items you've created on APB's auction house for Realtime Worlds Points, which can in turn be used to buy game time.

What’s great about APB, and indeed what sets it apart from most MMOs, is that progression is entirely skill based. Let’s be honest, if you put loads of time into most MMOs you’ll end up with a powerful character. If you go up against another player who’s of a lower level than you, 99 per cent of the time you’ll kick his arse, even if you’re using your nose to press the hotkeys. In APB, however, your chance to shoot someone in the face is determined by your skill with a mouse, not a dice roll. Really, if you’re good at shooters, you’ll probably be good at APB. Even though I’d only played the game for half an hour, I felt I had a chance against the schooled beta testing Enforcers. I felt I had a chance not because my gun did 330 more points of damage than my opponent’s, but because I know how to headshot.

What this means is that APB is not just another MMO. It’s not trying to dethrone World of Warcraft. It’s not got orks or elves or flaming swords. It’s not, even, a GTA MMO. APB is a massively multiplayer online game of cops and robbers that busts a gut to strip away all the boring stuff you normally find in MMOs. This is why APB has a chance of being something special, and this is why you should care.

[Source]

In terms of weapons, I was only able to play around with the standard-issue assault rifles, handguns and grenades, but I’m told a whole range of weapons will be available to both sides from various reputable (and not so reputable) sources. Regardless, if there’s one thing I noticed in my playtest, it’s that you shouldn’t expect firefights to be a simple case of run-and-gun – some key locations in the city are surrounded by twisting alleyways and some with huge open areas, so tactics are necessary to avoid coming a cropper.

After sitting down to play a few missions for a good hour or two, I came away feeling something that is rare for me when it comes to Massive Multiplayer Online games – a desire to carry on playing. The presentation and structure of play makes this a more casual (and in my case, fun) experience than hardcore grind-fests such as World of Warcraft.

There’s ample reward for getting hooked as well. The game comes with 50 hours of game time within the Action District, but you can top up your hours or purchase a monthly subscription for unlimited time in the main gameplay arena. But besides the chaos and destruction is a deep level of creation and customisation that makes APB truly feel MMO-worthy.

As well as creating almost every aspect of your character, there’s a vehicle studio to tune various acquired cars, and a music studio that allows you to play with a sequencer and make your own ‘death jingles.’ The next time you kill an enemy, that ditty will play on their screen, just to rub it in. Make it something annoying, like the McDonald’s theme tune, for maximum impact.

RealTime Worlds’ tagline for APB is ‘Creativity, Conflict and Celebrity.’ Excelling at one of the first two elements and the ‘celebrity’ status becomes available to you in the form of social notoriety. If you’re known for being a bit of a hotshot in combat, then your bounty from the opposing side ticks up. Whoever kills you wins the bounty – and a renewed price on their own head.

On the flip-side, you can get ‘famous’ by simply creating a lot of items and passing it on to other players. Apparently the editing modes are so intricate that one could create totally custom designs and sell them for RealTime World Points – the virtual currency that gives you game time in the APB’s Action District. The developer hopes that, despite being unproven, this online marketplace scheme will take off.

Throw in virtual rewards, leaderboards, social leagues, and even the ability to place statues of yourself in San Pero, and you have a game that has the potential to be the next evolution of open-world games. Of course, between now and then there remains a few questions unanswered – will exploring the Action District without engaging in missions every so often get tedious, for example – but it’s something that the ongoing Beta will hope to address before launch.

[Source]

Electronic Arts and Realtime Worlds have announced that “All Points Bulletin” will be released in early 2010.
APB is arguably one of the largest and most ambitious independent game projects in development worldwide and I am so looking forward to this one…

APB (All Points Bulletin) is an MMORPG, as well as the latest creation from David Jones and Realtime Worlds, the developer of the well-received Crackdown. Set in a modern, urban city, the game pits law enforcement against gangs, as they both aim to wipe each other out. According to the developer, this will be the first MMORPG in which the player’s skill, not the amount of time invested, would be the main factor in character progression. There have been several rumors surrounding the game, including the main one that Rockstar games was planning on purchasing the software in order to create a GTA MMORPG.

APB is set to release in Spring 2010 on the PC. The game is also being developed for Xbox 360 and there was also an indication that a PlayStation 3 version could be on the table. At GamesCom 2009 it was made known that they are releasing the PC version of APB first, then focusing on the console versions afterward.

The game was originally thought to have been following in the steps of many other MMO’s and charge a monthly fee to play but according to the games website FAQ it will not have any subscription fees to play. It is yet unknown if they will seek other types of income from micro transactions or some other form of payments.

The game is set in the huge metropolis of San-Palo, where all the missions will be started with triggers. Other situations will start inside the game world. For instance, the police would have to escort a van carrying money and all the criminals could attack it in order to get the money. If the police manage to protect it, they will get a reward as well. The quests given by NPCs will be more focused on the PvP aspect of the game.

The main game designer John Morlend says that for example, in other MMOs, players are asked to get 10 bat wings. In APB, you will have to kill other players to get whatever the NPC requires. The police force will be required to protect the average NPCs (citizens), patrol the streets, and catch the more wanted criminals.

The city of San-Palo is going to be made up of 2 large districts: Havalynd (the commercial part of town) and Waterfront (the tourist entertainment part), where each will be the size of a square kilometer and will have 40 blocks, and each block is the size of an average map in an online shooter.

The developers are saying that they won’t just release addons like all average MMOs, but will instead work together with the players to decide on certain things. For example, they could add new blocks, which would be made for a specific event (street racing, capture the flag, etc.)

The amount of weapons a character will be able to carry will be strictly limited, as well as the interface (there will only be a life bar), so the only difference between players will be based on their skill. The main thing characters will be trying to fight for in APB will be reputation; the more famous players will even have statues set up on the streets to honor them.

The developers are saying that jobs in this game will be very different from normal MMOs. For example, a person may get money in APB by designing new clothes and selling these designs at the auction house. This customization will also apply to cars, where various vinyls and other such things will be available for design. The number of people per server will only be limited to 100 people, since the Unreal Engine 3 (on which the game is created) simply wouldn’t handle any more people.

The game will also calculate what kind of opponents to set up against players. If 1 group of bandits is constantly successful, the game might add more cops to chase it or if 1 player is highly skilled, it could throw 3 rookies at him. However, if a police player will, for example, deny the request to chase the band, his reputation will fall, until he would only be able to do the most simple missions. The bandits will also be able to fight other gangs, along with the police.

Finally, the service Last.fm will be available in APB, so players could choose to add any song they like to their car radio and drive around listening to whatever they want.

[Source via GiantBomb]

For there really is a world within ours, a secret world, where magic exists, monsters roam and ancient forces are fighting for the dominance of earth.

It is a world of legendary stories, ageless conflicts and powerful cabals. In this world, even modern cities hide secrets. In this world, players can take part in the greatest conspiracies of our age, and battle the forces of darkness across the world and throughout time.

Release Date: 2010??

Platforms: PC/Xbox 360

In Batman: Arkham Asylum, the Dark Knight takes on his greatest challenge yet when he becomes trapped with all of his most dangerous villains inside the insane asylum of GOTHAM CITY – ARKHAM ASYLUM! Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum –Gotham’s psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane.

Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City’s most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum. Using a wide range of Batman’s gadgets and abilities, players will become the invisible predator and attempt to foil The Joker’s demented scheme.

Batman: Arkham Asylum features an original story penned exclusively for the game by famous Batman author and five-time Emmy award winner, Paul Dini, whose credits include Lost season one and Batman: The Animated Series. With amazing graphics and a moody, immersive setting, Batman: Arkham Asylum offers diverse gameplay options that push the envelope for all action, adventure and superhero games.

Released August 25, 2009

Story
Batman: Arkham Asylum features an original story penned exclusively for the game by famous Batman author and five-time Emmy award winner, Paul Dini, whose credits include “Lost” season one and “Batman: The Animated Series.”

As the game begins Batman is personally delivering his nemesis, The Joker, to the asylum at Arkham Island, but he is uneasy. Although the Arkham asylum is well fortified, he has a nagging feeling that all is not well, which proves to be the case when seconds after turning The Joker over to the guards, the master criminal breaks free of his captors. Even more surprising than this quick turn of events is the revelation that it was never The Joker’s intent to escape the vault-like facility, but instead to trap Batman there.

Surrounded by an asylum full of dangerous criminals, many of which he put there and all at the beck and call of the Joker, can Batman survive and discover what is behind the Joker’s intricate plot?

Gameplay
In Batman: Arkham Asylum players strap on the gadget-heavy utility belt of the Caped Crusader. Gameplay here is a combination of both the knuckle crunching rush of hand to hand combat as you take on the hordes of thugs that infest Arkham Asylum, and stealth gameplay in which you must dispatch individuals from the shadows. Players can expect an engrossing single player campaign in which Batman continually moves forward to face the henchmen, bosses and traps that The Joker has set for him.

With regards to opponents, in addition to The Joker who you will hear more than you see, the dark walls of Arkham also hold familiar villains from the the Batman criminal universe including Harley Quinn, Victor Zsasz and Killer Croc, that you will have to deal with, but don’t expect a one-dimensional experience. As players progress from environment to environment within Arkham they will have to use varying combinations of muscle, detective skills, gadgetry and a certain degree of light RPG-like leveling of Batman’s skills, arsenal and physical characteristics to survive and discover what The Joker’s underlying scheme is.

In addition to the story-driven single player campaign Arkham Asylum also contains various additional play modes. These include an arcade styled combat mode where players accumulate points by engaging hordes of thugs in a hand to hand slugfest across a series of maps, in which Batman’s physical strength and agility play a major role. The key here is to chain together as many attacks as possible due to the fact that with each successful combo players increase the point multiplier associated with their actions.

The game also features a time-based stealth mode where players must hone their ability to strike silently from the shadows. This gameplay, referred to as ‘Invisible Predator’ utilizes the Dark Knight’s skill with gadgets like the grapple tool, batarang and explosives. These allow for vertical/horizontal mobility, the ability to quickly strike from above and at a distance and to take out enemies and create distractions, even through walls. But remember that Batman works solo and is not superhuman. Your enemies will congregate around trouble areas and work as a team against you, so you must be silent, plan your attacks wisely, strike quickly and discover the value of encouraging fear within enemies.

Key Features

* Utilize the unique FreeFlow combat system to chain together unlimited combos seamlessly and battle with huge groups of The Joker’s henchmen in brutal melee brawls.
* Investigate as Batman, the world’s greatest detective, by solving intricate puzzles with the help of cutting edge forensic tools including x-ray scanning, fingerprint scans, ‘Amido Black’ spray and a pheromone tracker.

* Face off against Gotham’s greatest villains including The Joker, Harley Quinn, Victor Zsasz and Killer Croc.
* Become the Invisible Predator with Batman’s fear takedowns and unique vantage point system to move without being seen and hunt enemies.
* Choose multiple takedown methods, including swooping from the sky and smashing through walls, and use the predator camera get a closer look at the action.
* Explore every inch of Arkham Asylum and roam freely on the infamous island, presented for the first time ever in its gritty and realistic entirety.
* Experience what it’s like to be Batman using batarangs, explosive gel aerosol, the Batclaw, sonar resonator and the line launcher.
* Unlock more secrets by completing hidden challenges in the world and develop and customize equipment by earning experience points.
* Enjoy complete superhero freedom in the environment with the use of Batman’s grapple to get to any place you can see, jump from any height and glide in any direction.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Entitled “Crash Course,” the latest DLC delivers new single-player, multiplayer and co-operative gameplay to both platforms. Targeted for release in September, “Crash Course” bridges the gap between the end of the “No Mercy” campaign and the beginning of “Death Toll” in the original game, expanding the game universe with new locations, new dialogue from the original cast, and an explosive finale.

While containing both Survival maps and a Co-operative Campaign, the primary goal of “Crash” is to deliver a complete Versus mode experience in just 30 minutes, resulting in a streamlined version of the game’s existing Versus campaigns. A recharge timer for infected teammates has also been added, and item spawn behavior has changed for more balanced gameplay. “Since the release of Left 4 Dead last November, the design team has been excited about creating new experiences for this world and allowing players to do the same, by releasing much of our internal toolset, like the Survival Pack and Authoring Tools,” said Gabe Newell. “We’re working with the fans toward the ongoing entertainment value of the product.”

Left 4 Dead is an action horror game from Valve that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games. Released in November of 2008, L4D has earned over 50 industry awards from outlets around the world and sold almost 3 million copies worldwide.

Left 4 Dead: Crash Course is targeted for release in September and will be available free of charge on the PC and for 560 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live. For more information, please visit www.l4d.com

All information contained in this news post comes directly from a press released sent out by Valve Software.

New Left 4 Dead Campaign Comes Pre-Loaded With Controversy

Left 4 Dead 2 is coming later this year! It’s a much larger game than the original, and features new co-op and versus campaigns, all-new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, as well as melee combat.

I loved the original Bioshock game and I must say this is probably the one new game I am really anxious to get my hands on.  This time around We get to play as a Big Daddy.  The graphics look pretty amazing.  The game play looks smooth.  An added feature to this game I am looking forward to is the ability to move around the outside, under water environments.  It always looked so amazing looking from the inside out.  This game is going to be huge.  I highly recommend this new game.

Developer: 2K Games
Release: 11/30/2009
Genre: FPS
Platform: PS3/X360/PC
Publisher: 2K Games