Preview

Sword of the Stars II: Lords of Winter

VITAL STATISTICS
Publisher Paradox Developer Kerberos Productions Genre strategy Web www. paradoxplaza.com/games/sword-of-thestars-2

RELEASE 16 AUGUST 2011

4X space exploration straight from the Homeworld school

which we could see that the nearest neighbouring star had one habitable planet; beyond that wed need to send out eets to investigate the systems for colonization and upgrade. The seven races are substantially different from each other; not only do they not share the tech trees, they dont even travel between the stars the same way. And were promised the new seventh race, the Suulka, are even more alien to play than anyone else. Each race has pleasingly different spacecraft and stations, all of which are customisable. New parts are discovered through the tech tree and each has different functions and statistics. The new, largest ships though, like the Space Dolphins leviathan-class tentacle-saucer, are only lightly variable in terms of personal customisation. Taking your new creation into battles is both exciting and nerve-wracking. The drop-in, drop-out multiplayer campaigns sound awe-inspiring and the huge variety of races and star systems will keep even the most jaded general busy - our only worry is could be getting too complex? Dan Griliopoulos Far out
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WHATS THE STORY?

Explore, expand, exploit and... exterminate? The 3D space strategy game returns with a new graphics engine, more detailed systems, bigger ships, and a whole new evil alien race.

pace can be represented a hundred ways; from a soldier staring at the sky to a scientist working in an antigrav lab to alien spaceships orbiting gas giants. For every perspective, theres a game design that ts it. SpaceChem, X-Com, Freelancer. Sword of the Stars II may look like GalCiv, but its just as close to Homeworld (a franchise which some of the developers worked on before). This is a classic 4X game but in a unique 3D galactic space. The game operates in real-time with eets moving on a 3D star map straight from the dreams of Carl Sagan, complete with nebulas and other astronomical phenomena, before diving into combat that looks very much like Homeworld. In our play, we started with a single planet in a single system from

Each ship is customisable: the cruisers coming in three separately upgradable parts

You cant argue with a space map with nebulae pretties

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Its already looking like the most beautiful 4X strategy game weve ever seen

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Sword of the Stars II/Call of Duty: MW3

RELEASE 8 NOVEMBER 2011

Call of Duty: MW3

If Bruckheimer made war games...
The SAS return. This is a shot from the Canary Wharf level

VITAL STATISTICS
PUBLISHER Activision DEVELOPER Innity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, Raven GENRE FPS WEB www.callofduty.com/mw3/

WHATS THE STORY?

The nal game in the Modern Warfare series sees those pesky Ruskies invading sovereign US soil . Its Hollywood blockbuster visuals and all the splodes your screen could wish for.

Call of Duty Elite, or How to Elite Monetise the Franchise in the Future Elite

obert Bowling, Innity Wards creative strategist is lit in a Modern Warfare-green glow: Were taking it to an entirely new level, he says (sagely). Hes right but not in the way he means; this is a new game level to me, but the games formula and game engine appear largely untouched since the last outing. In classic MW-style we follow cries of Lets go! and Engage, Engage! across Manhattan, shooting Ruskies with ease. The IW 4 engine continues to plod on so although the skyscrapers of New York add grandeur to the conict the Russians have invaded the US I know the falling masonry from incoming re is scripted. The street battles, with ballistics of all sizes whipping through the air, are hectic but its the less jammy blood splattering the screen that I notice and not things like glass cases shattering, or the way debris pings off ofce desks when hit. The trouble is Ive seen it all before. In fact when we get to the detailed reproduction of the New York Stock Exchange and riddle it with bullets, Im thinking back nostalgically to the TV station in the rst game. Bowling mentions something about the game being locked into delivering 60 frames per second, which is good to hear but Im already mulling over Activisions other news: Call of Duty Elite. This is a free online service linked MW3s to the MW3 release, which will enable players to pore over their match stats, join groups and study handy heat maps of previously played games to plug tactical weaknesses. Its also a thinly veiled way for Activision to charge a monthly fee for future updates. The dumb Hollywood blockbuster continues unabashed then, but the discerning PC gamer will be looking to Battleeld 3 for something fresh in Chris Thornett the FPS arena. Woefare
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Itll defo be worth the monthly fee if you can watch YouTube in game

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