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Monday Night Combat DLC is coming for free!

J. Bradshaw
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Monday Night Combat DLC is coming for free!

Monday Night Combat was a great summer of arcade multi-player title.  Unfortunately, it was plagued by a number of people who hate to have fun and just want to exploit bugs for the sake of ranking up.  Uber Entertainment fixed many of these through patches and is now hoping to rejuvenate the player base who left to play that other shooter.  They are releasing two new arenas, one for Crossfire and one for Blitz mode.  A new type of Blitz mode will also be made available.  They are also releasing the Churro pickup, no joke.  In addition, a number of bugs, glitches and problems will be fixed.  Get the FREE downloadable content tomorrow.  Read on for more details.

NEW ARENA DETAILS!!!

  • Spunky Cola Arena: A single lane arena that puts players into the action faster and guaranteeing more explosions, more shooting and more awesome!
  • Bought from Grandma Betty’s, the Survivitol Arena is the next level of Blitz action. Small and deadly with two tiers of bot spawners will keep Pros on their toes!
  • Only in the Survivitol Arena will you be faced with the deadly, the intense, the incredibly frantic Super Sudden Death Blitz!
The New Spunky Arena
The Survivitol Arena

New Private Game Options

Set game duration

  • Set overtime duration, including 0 time for no overtime
  • Toggle buying bots
  • Toggle buying Juice
  • Toggle Bullseye spawning
  • Toggle using Hazards (Annihilator / Ejectors)
  • Choose specific or random map
  • Hazards on / off
  • Force random classes
  • Toggle use of custom classes
  • Toggle class changing
  • Class limits on all classes

    All Star Mode

    • Added a feature that allows players to go beyond level 99 by going back to level 0 and getting a new “All Star” icon next to their name.

    Highlights

    • Added in 12 new highlights with associated ProTags.

    Career Milestones

    • Added career milestones and ProTags for bacon pickups.
    • Added career milestones and ProTags for killing each type of class.

    Churros

    • Added Churros, a prize that drops and gives a instant burst of skill regen and health.
    • Added career milestones and ProTags for Churros.

    Club Tags

    • Added a 4 character ‘Club Tag’ that players can append to their name.

    Other Additions

    • Added “South Paw” and “South Paw Tactical” control schemes.
    • Added multiplayer ready functionality so a game can start before the timer runs out if most players press X in the lobby and set themselves as ready.
    • Added several new loading movies.
    • Added a mascot head icon on the locker room menu denoting when you have a new ProTag from a highlight or career milestone.
    • Added many new Mickey Cantor announcements.
    • Added new effect for picking up bacon and [TASTY PICKUP].
    • Decreased effectiveness of Lazer Blazer Turrets vs players.
    • Increased effectiveness of RockIt Turrets vs bots.
    • Reduced cost of all levels of RockIt Turrets.
    • Greatly increased the cooldown time for Juice machines in Crossfire.

    Assassin

    • Reduced damage done by the dagger to the Moneyball.
    • Increased the damage Assassins do after both dagger and sword lunge.
    • Normalized multipliers for both dagger and sword when doing damage from behind an enemy.
    • Reduced recovery time on Assassin’s alternate fire grapple on the Dagger, Sword and Shuriken Launcher.
    • Fixed an issue that caused Assassins to do too little damage from front facing, alternate fire, Shuriken face slap grapple.

    Sniper

    • Reduced the damage the Moneyball takes from a sniper rifle.
    • Reduced the skill drain rate of Sniper Traps.
    • Reduced the amount of juice gain from the sniper rifle damaging targets.

    Support

    • Reduced juice gain from healing with the Heal/Hurt Gun.
    • Increased skill recovery time of level 2 and 3 of the Support’s Air Strike.

    Gunner

    • Reduced minimum damage on Gunner’s minigun, making it less effective at long ranges.

    Tank

    • Reduced the damage the Moneyball takes from the rail gun.

    Other fixes and changes

    • All Arenas:
      • Added game clocks to spawn rooms.
      • Added new opening and closing cinematics.
      • Added heat vents to top of spawn room tunnels.
      • Changed all jump pads to be non-enabled at the start of a match.
    • Steel Peel Arena
      • Added glass walls to break some long lines of sight.
      • Moved turrets in each base.
      • Moved some jump pads to help getting ‘stuck-in-jump’ loops.
      • Added game clocks to the inside of the dome.
    • Ammo Mule Arena
      • Added bridge supports to better protect turrets.
      • Fixed issue that caused AmmoMule to show up less often than intended.
    • Lazer Razor Arena
      • Added extra jump pads to get to the top level of the left side of both ends of the arena.
      • Fixed Bot Spawners showing usable by wrong team.
      • Fixed jump pads not lighting up green when active.
    • Grenade Arena
      • Reduced the number of juice machines so there are the same amount as other arenas.
      • Fixed Bot Spawners showing usable by wrong team.
    • Sprintz Arena
      • Added game clock to spawn room.
      • Added multiple round displays in the arena.
      • Added two more digits to round displays so that they show up to round 9999.

    Tank

    • Fixed Rail Gun from being able to shoot through nearby walls.
    • Fixed various issues with the Jet Gun.

    Sniper

    • Sniper Traps will now only freeze enemy Pros caught in the initial freeze trap explosion. An enemy Pro entering the area while the effect is active after the initial explosion will only be slowed. Traps work the same on bots as they did before.
    • Changed Flak visual effect to include team color and to have better performance.
    • Fixed issue where Sniper’s Flak would damage players inside their spawn.
    • Fixed Snipers disappearing in the other view port in split screen when they are zoomed in with the Sniper Rifle.
    • Using bot spawners as a Sniper will now spawn two Scrambers.
    • Fixed issue where the sniper rifle, in certain instances, could shoot through walls .

    Gunner

    • Fixed Minigun getting stuck with no ammo and not reloading.

    Assassin

    • Assassins no longer make an audible hum to allied players.
    • Fixed an issue with the cloak sound not going away when the Assassin dies.

    Support

    • Fixed an issue with Firebases that caused them to focus on a Moneyball they can’t hit.
    • Reworked Heal/Hurt Gun code to make it more reliable.
    • Fixed griefing with Firebases: Firebases placed on an active jump pad or activating a jump pad with a Firebase on it will now destroy the Firebase.

    Final Changes

    • Fixed GapShots in Blitz from moving on clients when they are stopped on the host.
    • Reworked reload to greatly reduce the occurrence of having to restart reload when the reload animation was interrupted near the end.
    • Reworked the death UI so that it now displays the endorsements of who killed you.
    • Fixed players assisting in their own death.
    • Fixed Tank’s and Gunner’s jump jets staying on after a jump.
    • Fixed getting charged multiple times when using hazards and juice machines in high lag situations.
    • Changed money, kills, assists and deaths font in the scoreboard to add more emphasis on money making.
    • Fixed new round music riff and crowd cheer to play during Crossfire.
    • Changed formatting of numbers in the ticker to make them more readable.
    • Fixed seeing two Moneyballs in the end-game cinematic if the game ended without one being destroyed.
    • Fixed Bouncers playing their grapple animation when they charge at a player but hit a Blackjack.
    • Fixed Moneyball sometimes showing its shields when it has none.
    • Fixed players recovering health very quickly while juiced.
    • Various audio tuning for frequency and balance of sounds and voices.
    • More improvements to host migration to make it faster and more reliable.
    • More improvements to the party system when joining games and after host migration.
    • Reworked how random maps are chosen to be less repetative.

    DoDoGo! Challenge Launches on the DSiWare…

    Dustin Spencer
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    The DSiWare is honestly starting to fill up with unique and off the wall indie titles and I am really liking how broad the selection has been growing as of late. One new title that just recently hit the DSiShop is Neko Entertainment’s DoDoGo! Challenge. If the name sounds a bit familiar that is due to the fact that this title is a sequel to the popular puzzler, DoDoGo! which released earlier this year.


    “DodoGo! Challenge is a Nintendo DSi stylus touch based game designed exclusively for the Nintendo DSi™ that is full of surprises and bonus levels”, said Laurent Lichnewsky, Managing Director of Neko Entertainment, “Whether you’re a casual player or an experienced gamer, DodoGo Challenge will keep you entertained for hours on end”

    The story pretty much involves traveling back into the pre-historic age and rescuing the DoDo’s eggs after a title wave scattered them all across the land. Using the stylus the player must safely transport the eggs back to their nest while avoiding different obstacles such as predators, pitfalls and many other dangers. In a way, DoDoGo! Challenge reminds me of the Mario vs DK series or the Lemmings series so if you are a fan of either of those like me, this one should be a no-brainer. Players can dig, fill holes, saw, and cut their way to victory in over 100 levels.

    Games like this I have a habit of getting into quickly and from the looks of the art style, visuals appear to be just as charming as the gameplay. You can check out the trailer below for DoDoGo! Challenge and pick up the game in the DSiWare shop for 500 Nintendo points. For even more information, check out www.dodoGoHome.com.

    BFBC2 Vietnam Expansion pack dated; VIP map pack 7 tomorrow

    Travis Bruno
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    No more guessing anymore because Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam has finally gotten a solid release date. No more vague Winter 2010 release, now we know that the release date will be on December 21st. PC users will luckily be able to eaccess this content a bit earlier on December 18th by downloading the DLC through the EA store.

    But that isn’t all because DICE also announced that fans of the game will be getting a nice little present tomorrow on December 1st in the form of the VIP Map Pack 7. The map pack will be free to those with the VIP Pass and free on PC in general. The map pack will add four new maps to the game, though they are somewhat familiar. Harvest Day and Oasis are from Bad Company 1, and Cold War and Heavy Metal are both levels from Bad Company 2’s single player. There is even a trailer for these maps to get you nice and excited for the download tomorrow.

    Deus Ex: Human Revolution pre-order packs revealed and Augmented Edition detailed

    Travis Bruno
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    Feel like spending a little extra? Well we just saved a bunch of money on all of those Black Friday deals now how about spending an extra $10 to get the Augmented Edition of Square Enix’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution? The Augmented Edition announced today by Square Enix will come in at a price of $70 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 and $60 for the PC. If you feel like purchasing this you will be getting a premium packaged box, a 40 page art book, a motion graphic novel, a making of the game DVD, and the soundtrack for the game all for that extra $10.

    But that isn’t all, if you feel like pre-ordering the game you will be getting additional bonuses depending on whom you pre-order from. Gamestop pre-orders will give players the Explosive Mission Pack which gives them a Lineback G-87 multiple shot grenade launcher, a M-28 Utility Remote-Detonated Explosive Device, an automatic unlocking device, and a full new mission to play through with a cameo from the original Deus Ex game. You can see the pre-order weaponry in action below.

    [pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ABLnDpcseU&feature=player_embedded[/pro-player]

    If you don’t feel like pre-ordering from GameStop or are unable to then you will still be getting a bonus to your game. Any other retail pre-orders will provide players the Tactical Enhancement Pack. This pack will give players the Huntsman Silverback Double-Barrel Shotgun, the Longsword Whisperhead Extreme Range Sniper Rifle, and extra credits to spend in game. Just like before you can also see the pre-order action below for this pack.

    [pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL60HJWaqaM&feature=player_embedded[/pro-player]

    Dead Rising 2: Case West coming next month; new trailer!

    Travis Bruno
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    Dead Rising 2: Case West coming next month; new trailer!

    Talk about good but abrupt news huh? Capcom announced today that Dead Rising 2: Case West, which can be seen as an epilogue to Dead Rising 2, will be released next month in December. No actual set date in the month, but it’s going to be a good present either way! Also no news of a pricetag, but one can hope that it will retain the price tag of the Case Zero DLC of 400 MSP.

    But if you are a bit wary on what they could have added then you don’t need to worry because we’ll not only seeing Frank West from the first Dead Rising teaming up with Chuck Greene, but we’ll see cameo appearances from other characters as well. Will be interesting to see who is still around and fighting against the zombie outbreaks.

    Chuck Greene and Frank West will be infiltrating the Phenotrans Facility which is outside of Fortune City and players will be given cameras again. Yep photograph is back. Players will use their cameras not only for the standard picture taking that they grew accustomed to in the first game, but will use them to take pictures of evidence to prove that Phenotrans was involved in the zombie outbreaks. On top of that we are going to see new combo weapons, primarily the Reaper that you can see above and the Zap ‘n Shine.

    Sounds awesome, but don’t take our word for it catch the gameplay trailer below to get your first look at Case West’s content.

    PS Move ships 4.1 million units worldwide

    Travis Bruno
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    Sony has a pretty big number to boast about because they have announced today that they have shipped 4.1 million units worldwide. With there being only two months since the Move controller was released this is great news for the motion gaming peripheral. The core Move controller was the product listed for the 4.1 shipping number.

    This came at first with some confusion as a press release earlier from Sony stated that they had sold 4.1 million units that would have been a huge achievement, but later was retracted as the Japanese press release of the same information instead talked about units shipped. Joystiq was able to get a hold of a Sony representative about this inconsistency and was told that the number actually meant shipped.

    While the difference in meaning between the two announcements is large, it does still show the success of the Move. Because after all… why would they be having to ship so many units to stores if there wasn’t a high demand in the first place?

    WRC FIA World Rally Championship Review

    Jack Joly
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    WRC FIA World Rally Championship
    Publisher: Black Bean Games
    Developer: Milestone
    Platform: Xbox 360, (PS3, PC)
    Genres: Racing, Simulation
    Released: 8th October

    In recent years there has been a decline in the rally-sim, usually ousted in favour of something a little more arcade-like and a little less simulator-like. Even the Colin McRae franchise, which was once a very ‘core experience with an emphasis on precision driving and steady navigation of each course, has been turned into a more arcade-style driving experience recently through the DiRT series. Thankfully, spotting the gap in the market, developers Milestone with the help of publishers Black Bean have put their offer on the table in the form of WRC FIA World Rally Championship, the official licensed rally game of 2010.

    As the license holders of everything rally-related, they’ve been able to bring World Rally Championship back to our consoles, and the license really does work wonders for the game; the same calendar and tour of the real-life sport; official cars with sponsors emblazoned on each and every free space; all four official categories of the sport (WRC, JWRC, PWRC, SWRC); and real rally driver names racing on real-world tracks. These all add up to give the game an authentic feel, further backed up by other realistic features which aren’t linked to the license. Such as 32 types of car damages, a variety of weather conditions out on the track over a wealth of different course surfaces, and just generally a huge choice of different game modes to play.

    Then there is the gameplay, which is just phenomenal. The handling is great, the courses are well designed and most important of all, it is challenging but to a point where it is still enjoyable. Instead of putting you off playing with unwelcome levels of frustration, it challenges you in order to stimulate your enjoyment of the game, causing you to aspire to improve rather than abandon it as a lost cause. You are more inclined to practice and perfect one corner you are struggling with, rather than give up. However, this is partly down to the superb handling. It’s realistic and reflects the surface you are racing on, staying true to the sport. If you are racing on tarmac then the tyres grip to the track, offering responsive and sharp turning, but if you’re racing through a forest in wet conditions or on dusty track in the desert (more common occurrences given the title’s off-road nature), you will quickly find that power sliding becomes key, but if you aren’t careful, you can easily lose control and spin out of control. The handling, when combined with the responsive controls, makes for brilliant rally experience with the realism putting it under the ‘simulation’ category and, in turn, setting WRC aside from the competitors on the market.

    Don’t get me wrong though, just because it is classed as a rally simulation doesn’t mean it is boring, nor does it mean it is inaccessible. In actual fact it is an exhilarating game to play, working out how to manoeuvre through corners at speed, and demanding quick response times as you react the instructions of you’re co-driver. That’s right, one of the defining features of rally games are the co-drivers, and WRC is no different, with helpful audio notes guiding you through all sections of the courses. Occasionally it is a little behind the actual race action, with your pal in the opposite seat saying something like “handbrake turn, rocks-don’t cut” just as you are ploughing into said wall of rocks, but in general it is very good, in-time with the course, with concise instructions which manage to portray exactly what lays ahead.

    Although it does have a steep learning curve, it also isn’t as inaccessible as you might think. This is mainly down to the thoughtful inclusion of the mode known as ’WRC Academy’, which is basically just a short school of rally driving. It provides 16 different challenges over two different categories, basic and advanced, ensuring to cover all aspects of the racing so when you race for real you will be able to cover the course at speed and reduce errors, shaving off precious seconds from your final race-time.

    Once you graduate (the WRC Academy is optional, but highly recommended if only to get a feel for the gameplay), you can then embark on your journey into the unbelievably in-depth ‘Road to the WRC’ (Career) mode, a unique feature of WRC, on top of traditional time attack and single rally races you would expect to see in other games. Road to the WRC, given the fact that Black Bean landed ownership of the lucrative World Rally Championship license, has the official scoop on the rally racing sport. It follows the official WRC calendar as you see out the season, driving in a range of locations around the world. These settings are hardly what you’d call exotic, due to the fact the sport seeks out the most challenging off-road tracks they can find, so expect to be racing everywhere, from Wales to New Zealand to Spain over plenty of different types of race course. The mode gives a huge amount of play time, with your rally career starting as a Junior until you progress enough to enter the big league of the WRC by earning the elusive contracts with official teams. In-between races there are a whole host of other detailed settings to indulge in. From the customisation options to just repairing the vehicle if it got a bit beaten up in a race, they all add to the authenticity of the career and provide a decent level of depth.

    There are also multiplayer options included in the game, both Xbox Live and Local for those who want to put the pedal to the metal and human opponents. The Xbox Live settings are nicely done, with simple interfaces to operate in the lobbies, and from then on it’s a standard race. As WRC is one of the more serious rally games, ghosts are used of your rivals, rather than the physical body work of the car. As a result of this, there is no ramming and shunting during the course of the race. While the more serious rally gamers will appreciate this choice made by the developers, it alienates the more casual gamer, as it loses the excitement that comes with the physicality of barging your way into pole position. This revelation particularly negatively affected the local multiplayer options. You play in what is know as ‘Hot Seat Mode’ which in other words, is turn-based play. This is disappointing as it loses all the thrill of racing simultaneously, and in all honesty, it can’t have been that hard to implement split-screen play, unless of course it only missed out because it would have ruined the frame-rate.

    All in all, WRC FIA World Rally Championship is a fantastic game which utilises it’s ownership of the official license to the fullest extent. It is an example of a great ’core rally racing game, a style which hasn’t been seen since the last ‘real’ Colin McRae game. It can be a little forgiving at times, which more serious players might not appreciate, but it still keeps it in the running as a game for more casual players too, and there’s a great amount of difficulty available, with a slider to precisely control the level of the AI. As a single-player game, it promises a lot of game time through the Career alone: it’s lengthy and detailed. Multiplayer isn’t bad and while it loses some casual appeal due to the ghost opponents and therefore no collisions, it still has a nice level of competition. The same cannot be said for the local multiplayer, which loses it’s thrill due to the turned-based style of play in place of simultaneous racing, rendering it unenaging. However, this is the only substantial negative factor in the game, and anyone looking for a rally game should look no further, as this is the best rally game released for years.

    Pros

    • Plenty of play time in the bulky Career mode
    • Official licensed game of the sport
    • Great handling
    • Overall, the best rally game in a long time

    Cons

    • Turn-based local multiplayer lacks any thrill

    9-0-capsules-out-of-10

    Infinity Blade will hit the App Store in 9 days!

    Joey Liew
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    Finally, we have a release date! Epic Games’s first game for the iOS devices, named “Infinity Blade”, will hit the App Store as a universal app in just 9 days! That is 9th of December for ya. The best thing is, the game is priced at only $5.99 on the US iTunes Store, a very unexpected low price as its console-quality graphical presentation and game-play is certainly a WOW factor here. Sadly, the game can only be play on the newer devices (specifically, the iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 3rd and 4th generation), as the Unreal Engine 3 that powers the game is not supported by the older devices.

    “Infinity Blade” is developed by Epic Games’s critically acclaimed studio, chAIR Entertainment, also the creator of Xbox LIVE Arcade game of the year “Undertow” and “Shadow Complex”. Epic Games is also the maker of Gears or War on the PC and the Xbox 360. This game would be their first attempt to bring Unreal Engine 3 on the Apple devices. As said by Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps, “This is a testament to the sheer power of iOS devices as up until now, Unreal Engine 3 has typically been used to create high-end gaming experiences on game consoles and computers.”

    I am really looking forward to play this on my iPhone 4. I know you are too! While we wait, check out the stunning debut trailer below!

    (You can follow them on twitter (@InfinityBlade) or on Facebook (Infinity Blade) for any latest news about the game.)

    Gameloft’s Advent Calendar

    Joey Liew
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    December is near, which means Christmas is coming! The very nice peoples at Gameloft have decided to gives you some early Christmas presents during this month of celebration! Starting from December 1 (that’s tomorrow!), they will offer ONE surprise gift each day until Christmas day for their fans. This comes to a total of 24 presents for ya’all!

    Here comes the best part, you can get stuff varies from a free game (for Apple portable devices, Android devices, or Facebook), some exclusive sneek peeks, crazy game discounts, cool goodies for their upcoming Christmas games,  and special free in-game content.  All you have to do is to follow them on twitter (@Gameloft) and wait for the special tweets! Don’t miss out this special giveaway!

    Q&A (courtesy of Gameloft):

    1. How can I participate? What do I have to do?

    This is not a contest! There are no questions to answer and no lotteries to enter. You can grab a present once you see the Advent Calendar tweet of the day and time hasn’t run out yet. Just click on the link in the tweet to access your present.

    2. Is there a limited supply of free presents you’re giving out?

    No, there will be no limit to how many people can download or access the daily present. Just be quick!

    3. Is Twitter the only way to hear about the daily gift? Is there anywhere else I can find out about the gift of the day?

    We’ll only let you know what each daily gift is and how to access it on Twitter, because it allows for instant communication with our fans and because the availability of each present is limited. You may find news about it elsewhere on the web, but we can’t guarantee the gift will still be available when you see it.

    4. How long will each gift be available?

    All gifts will expire after 24 hours, so be quick!

    5. I don’t have a Twitter account. What should I do?

    We suggest you create one. It takes only a few seconds athttp://twitter.com/! Once you’re done and connected, go to http://twitter.com/gameloft and click on “Follow”. You’ll then receive all our tweets on the home page of your Twitter account. You can also download one of the many Twitter clients for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android. Plenty of them are free and they allow you to receive tweets directly on your device.

    MotionSports Xbox Kinect Review

    Philip Federico
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    MotionSports Xbox Kinect Review

    Game Name: MotionSports – Play for Real
    Platform(s): Xbox 360 –  Kinect Required
    Publisher(s): UBISOFT
    Developer(s): UBISOFT
    Genre(s): Sports
    Release Date: November 10, 2010 (US) November 4, 2010 (EU)
    Price: $89.99 AU

    The Kinect has definitely turned some heads in the gaming community, and with its introduction to the world – a whole new demographic of gamers have emerged eager to try out and see what this motion, controller-less peripheral has to offer.  With only a handful of launch titles, (all of which are quite basic) showcasing what the Kinect is capable of doing, newcomers can familiarise themselves with how to move, jump, kick, punch roll over, sit, play dead and whole lot of other fun and whacky things that they’d never thought of doing whist playing a video game!  If you thought video games were bad for you , you won’t anymore.

    UBISOFT’s MotionSports introduces you to six sports – some we’ve played to death on other consoles and some which I personally would never have imagined playing whilst standing in front of the tv.  Each of the  sporting challenges (I’d like to call them mini-games) don’t take very long to complete but do gradually get more challenging and a little frustrating at times – due to the unresponsive nature of your movements being captured onto the screen. 

    With Kinect titles you are the controller, so everything you do in front of the camera is relayed back into the game as quickly and as accurately as possible.  I know that at times you wish the game would respond a little quicker to your movements such as ducking, jumping or punching , but something we all have to understand and appreciate is that even though the technology is amazing and truly revolutionary, it’s not perfect.  Take for example stepping into the ring in for MotionSports Boxing – swinging at 100miles an hour will result in you simply wearing yourself out physically and you will probably only end up hitting your virtual opponent about 2-3 times if that.   If you took a more conservative approach on the other hand,  keeping your guard up and counter punching with jabs, a few wild left hooks and uppercuts  – you will most likely achieve a far better result.  It’s not how you’d expect to play a boxing game but due to the not so great motion tracking, you have to meet half way and improvise to get the results and the KO you need to unlock harder challengers, obtain high scores and medals and also build up your “fame”. “Fame” is and works similar to the Wii Sports professional ranking / grade system.  The ranking (shown to you in a graph form) raises or falls according to how well you perform at the end of each challenge.  In MotionSports,  you  start off as a local hero and by performing well, you can rise to a national star and then to an international/professional superstar. 

    The five other sporting challenges in MotionSports are : Soccer, Skiing, Hang Gliding, American Football and Horse Riding (similar to equestrian events you see in the Olympics).  American football was a little disappointing – initially I thought I’d be playing a real game of football but this wasn’t the case.  All you’re actually doing is running towards the goal line, ducking or jumping over tacklers with a pass or two thrown in.  In the first basic challenge you run through a fairly simple looking obstacle course where you have to duck and jump over hurdles which in turn will represent opponents coming at you in the harder challengers.  This sounds very simple, but it wasn’t – the game failed to register ducking under hurdles even though I was actually crouching as low as I could go without dropping to the floor, the jumping part worked fairly well most of the time, but the ducking had me frustrated as to why it was not registering my movements.

    The Hang Gliding and the Horseback riding challenges we quite interesting and fun.  I’ve never really seen either before in other games and I surprisingly handled both quite well, especially the hang gliding where you have to glide through the air using only your arm motions to lower (gain speed) and raise (gain altitude). You tilt your hands to move the glider left and right through gusts of air to reach a landing zone that looks like a giant dart board where you must land as close to the centre as possible to obtain the best result / score.  Riding the horse was also very fun – a little challenging at first but once I got the hang of the controls for steering the horse and the motion for performing the jumps – it all felt very fluid and I was picking up some great diamond medals and unlocking the rest of the challenges in no time. 

    Just a note on the challenges – not all of them are available to you at the beginning of the game.  You only get the basic challenge for all the six sports.  There aren’t really any details on how to actually unlock them apart from just performing well in the previous challenges that you have unlocked.  If you score well you earn gold or diamond medals and you may unlock the next challenge within that sport.  This may not always happen but I could only assume this is the case as there are no actual guidelines explaining this.

    Multiplayer mode is only available to you via split screen, there isn’t any online play so you won’t be able to punch some random on xbox live player in the head if you are boxing, which is quite disappointing –  but you can do it split screen (which is better than nothing).  Some games allow up to four players to participate and play challenges one after the other.  This was cool but I found that Motionsports was constantly having problems working out which player/guest was on the screen.  I also had to login and re-select my player profile (xbox profile) on several occasions when playing with other people.

    As a launch title, UBISOFT’s MotionSports has provided us with a fair effort.  It’s a little rough around the edges with its control system not registering specific movements on certain games. A lack of online multiplayer oprtions does kill the fun a little as you’re forced to play offline with friends or family that come to visit.  Some of the sporting events are great fun and the ranking system ability and achievements will keep you busy for quite some time – especially if you want to become an international superstar.

    5-0-capsules-out-of-10

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