Logo

Megabits of Gaming trawls the web for the tastiest morsels of news, so you don't have to...




Wii U to be in our hands by Christmas 2012
The president of Nintendo has confirmed the much-awaited Wii U will be available in the second half of the year in Japan, Europe and the US. So now you can get your Christmas list in early.

Next Assassin's Creed to be biggest so far
If it’s possible to imagine, Ubisoft has said its next Assassin’s Creed title will be bigger than any of its predecessors in the series. The next instalment is expected to be released around Christmas so another one for the list I guess.

Nintendo expects to make a loss
Bad news for Nintendo. The gaming giant expects to make a loss the year ending 31 March, despite previously predicting that it would report a small profit.

No need to "Resist" further, its over
According to VG247, game developer Insomniac has said it will not be making any more titles for the Resistance franchise. The company will now focus on different projects. How will I protect the world from an alien invasion now, Resistance 3 was brilliant - I say Boooo!!

FIFA 12 takes top spot in sports game sales
“Take a bow, son.” FIFA 12 really made whipping boys out of the competition after becoming the highest grossing sports game in UK history. It has already made more cash than any other FIFA title, without breaking a sweat.

After our Top Ten Train Levels article, I figured I'd return to the gaming world to list my favourite wet and wild game levels. So, here's our Top Ten Ship Levels. For clarity's sake, I'm using 'ship' as a catch-all term for nautical vessels of any kind, be it on the sea or in space, and 'level' for games not entirely built around being on a ship. Enjoy!

AVAST YE MATEYS! Here be spoilers!

10) USS Nautilus, Crysis 2
Cruising through the waters off New York, the Nautilus makes a good impression of the might of the US armed forces - until it's sunk in the opening moments of Crysis 2, leaving the US Marine strike force trapped belowdecks, scrambling to get out before the mighty sub is left at bottom of the Hudson.



It may have only been a fleeting moment, but this opening set the tone for the rest of the game - brutal, intense, and with the odds stacked firmly against you. Plus, the fact that it looks great graphically - and the music is perfectly pitched - adds to the experience.

9) The cargo ship, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Although the plot of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory was the kind of techno-drek that rattles around in Tom Clancy's mind and is occasionally vomited onto a page and turned into a best-seller , the game itself turned out to be pretty good.

About half-way through the title, agent Sam Fisher finds himself infiltrating a cargo ship filled with terrorists, in order to have a nice chat with a bad guy up on the mess deck. Starting you off on the poop deck (no jokes, please, we're British), the canny agent has to sneak his way through the superstructure of the aged lady.

Taking you through the noisy, hot engine room (which makes your thermal goggles useless) and along rainswept decks alike, sneaking around a ship at sea was never more fun - or more deadly.

8) U-4901, Medal of Honor
Although looking at it now you'd think you were fighting boxes of pixels in Nazi uniforms, at the time, Medal of Honor's 'Scuttle Das Boot U-4901' mission was a thrilling battle.

Starting with the infiltration of the mighty, oversized Nazi U-boat, the mission saw OSS agent Jimmy Patterson storming through the metal guts of the boat, killing off its crew, stealing codebooks and finally forcing the ship to the surface.

Sure, the level was linear as hell, but the close-range firefights left an impression on my 13-year-old mind, as did the angry Captain yelling "You're Jimmy Patterson!" at me. Exactly how he knew that remains a mystery... I had a hat on and everything!

7) The cargo ship, Final Fantasy 7
Another game which looks woefully awful when compared to today's graphics, FF7 is nevertheless the best RPG of all time - and it has a pretty kickass level set on a ship as well.

Having snuck onto a Shin-Ra cargo ship, spiky-haired, psychologically deranged, cross-dressing hero Cloud Strife and his band of weirdos are on their way to Costa Del Sol for a much-needed break. Donning stolen uniforms, which don't fit very well - leaving gun-armed Barret looking like a terrifying nightmare of a sailor, and talking wolf/lion/tiger Red XIII on his hind legs - with a tail sticking out - the team try to keep a low profile.

That is, until the calamity from the skies bursts in, and needs to be put back in her box in the cargo hold before she rips the ship to shreds.



Combining comedy with utter terror as Jenova makes an appearance, this ship-based level was both tricky and fun in equal measure.

6) Pirate ships, The Curse of Monkey Island
Everybody loves pirates - and Guybrush Threepwood wants to be one. A shame he can't get the hang of the insult sword-fighting...



Yes, The Curse of Monkey Island takes a break from it's nautical point-and-clickery to indulge in a little piracy two thirds through the game, as Threepwood and his crew of singing barber/sailors taking on other pirates for their booty, cannons and kudos.

Once the crew have subdued an enemy vessel (or the tourist boat that is also cruising the Caribbean – "Oooh! Pirates!"), Threepwood must board and beat the enemy captain in insult sword-fighting, which is a hell of a lot less bloody than the Master and Commander approach...

Hilarious and fun, this challenging section of a great game has stayed with me for a long time.

5) The Katariah, Skyrim
As one of the later missions in the Dark Brotherhood story arc, the mission to the Katariah sees the Dragonborn infiltrating the stately vessel, which is anchored just off the citadel of Solitude - your mission? Kill the Emperor of Tamriel.

That's no easy task...

Sneaking aboard from the lower decks, the gamer has to battle a legion of bodyguards, mages and lowly deckhands as you close on your quarry, forcing back the furious soldiers with magic and sword, while no doubt robbing every bit of shiny loot you can find (of which there is a lot...).

A while later, after breaking into the cabin occupied by the prey, the assassin comes to face-to-face with the Emperor himself - who's been waiting for you. Instead of a huge, brutal fight, you instead find yourself standing in front of an old man who's come to terms with his death and meets you as an equal, turning his back and allowing you to finish your mission.



A hell of a moment, which certainly stopped me in my tracks, even though it didn't stop me killing him and looting his corpse.

4) The Normandy, Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect was a brilliant game. It captured my attention right from the start, and I played through it ferociously, almost obsessively. Bioware did such a good job creating believable, understandable characters and a galaxy with such depth of intrigue that I just kept coming back for more, especially with my trusty starship, the Normandy.

So, for the developers to open Mass Effect 2 with the total and utter destruction of the Normandy, and the apparent death of lead character Commander Shepherd, was a massive shock to me, and a moment that seared itself on my memory.



Characters I’d come to enjoy listening to died in an instant, and the ship I’d come to think of as my own personal passport to the galaxy was gutted and left to crash.

A chilling level to play through, after all the battles the Normandy fought and survived, as well as a kick-ass opening sequence.

3) The Sulon Star, Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight
Quite possibly the best Star Wars game ever made, Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight also featured one of the most atmospheric, intense levels of the 1990s.

Wannabe Jedi Kyle Katarn has tracked his foe, Imperial Inquisitor Jerec, to the Valley of the Jedi, confronting him on the refueling dock of Jerec's huge cargo ship, the Sulon Star. Pretty quickly Kyle finds himself Force-pushed on to the ship - which is hanging over a huge drop - trapped on board, and left to die as the vessel plunges towards the ground.

What follows is as crazy a level as I've every played, as the Star falls into the canyon, rolling over, turning the floor into the ceiling, seeing the artificial gravity failing - and leaving panicking Stormtroopers desperately trying to escape.

A breakneck sprint through the creaking, cracking ship follows, until Katarn manages to make it to his ship, the Mouldy Crow, and gets the hell off the Star before it's consumed in a pillar of fire. Of course, that's only the start off his problems... (incidentally, check out the live-action cutscenes - they don't make 'em like this anymore!).



2) The Long Night of Solace, Halo Reach
Something of a nod to the first Halo's 'Truth and Reconciliation ', the Halo: Reach mission involving the Covenant corvette Long Night of Solace was a bold step for the series, introducing enjoyable, colourful space combat in a pretty nippy little fighter, as well as battleships blowing the crap out of each other - and a zero-G boarding action.



Follow this with an intense, close-range firefight against a legion of pissed off Covenant creatures, a bomb strapped to a gunship and a sad (but not unexpected) sacrifice, and you've got a lengthy game level that leaves a strong impression on you. Naturally, having some friends along for the ride - from launchpad to interstellar combat to boarding action to HALO-jump escape (yes, we get the pun, Bungie) - makes it all the better.



For graphical beauty, brilliant sound effects and capturing the beauty of space warfare, this one is well worth a look. I especially enjoyed the low-gravity scrap in the corvette before Noble Five makes his arrival - the eerie lack of sound makes the battle all the more intense.

1) Discovery/Arsenal Gear, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
If, like me when I thought up the title of this quote, you immediately thought of this game being number one for levels set on ships, you'd be right - it's not just got one, but two whole suites of levels devoted to battling on the high seas.

Starting off, we have Solid Snake's infiltration of the tanker Discovery, which is slowly moving up the Hudson river with a very unusual cargo - Metal Gear Ray , a bipedal, amphibious mech with some terrifying offensive powers.

Cue the stealth action, contrasted with the tension of an invading group of Russian special forces soldiers, driving rain, helicopters strafing you, creaking metal - and cardboard boxes.



Later, the action moves to the form-fitting 'skull suit' of Raiden, a pretty boy-cum badass who finds himself trapped aboard a massive, submersible battleship called Arsenal Gear. The huge ship is full to the brim with supersoldiers, crazed artificial intelligences who keep insisting "It's all a game! Turn off your computer!" and no less than 30 mass-produced Metal Gear Rays defending it.

Add in the fact that the ship's innards have names like 'rectum' and 'ascending colon', and you get the feeling that you're into something special.



I mean, who can honestly say they spent a good 20 minutes fighting off waves of enemies with a ninja's katana... in a giant rectum.

Yep, for variety, great level design and sheer fun, MGS2's ship-based levels deserve the top spot.

As for Raiden... yeah - he got awesome.

You really don't wanna mess with him.

UFC Undisputed 3 is poised to take players inside the virtual Octagon with extensive focus on intense toe-to-toe combat, impressive visual presentation and significantly increased accessibility, including the introduction of PRIDE Mode, two new weight classes and an impressive playable roster of more than 150 UFC fighters.

The long-awaited addition of Featherweights and Bantamweights opens up the game’s roster of fighters by a large scale, letting you play as world class fighters like Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz for the first time in a UFC game.

“UFC Undisputed 3 is on track to deliver an incredible virtual MMA experience unlike any other,” said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President, Core Games, THQ. “This product is intense, engaging and highly competitive while still being extremely accessible, making it a must-have for millions of UFC fans, traditional fighting game enthusiasts and more casual sports fans around the world.

UFC Undisputed 3 brings significant advancements to the franchise, including the opportunity to fight in Japan’s PRIDE tournament for the first time ever and more casual sports fans around the world.

UFC Undisputed 3 will mark the debut of PRIDE Mode, enabling players to fight for the first time in the renowned Japanese MMA organisation. The mode will include official commentators Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros, authentic environments and notorious MMA rules, including the ability to execute soccer-style kicks, head stomps and ground knees to the head. Finishing an opponent will be more important than ever through devastating new moves, responsive striking controls, refined visual presentation and the introduction of a brand new submission system. In addition, players will now enter the Octagon with a choice between traditional and simplified gameplay control options, enabling them, regardless of skill level, to experience the intensity of UFC and nuances of MMA combat while executing simple standing strikes or more complex ground and transition mechanics.

Players will also experience the excitement of a live UFC event through significant visual improvements, including the introduction of much-anticipated fighter entrances, new camera positions, improved facial animations and a gritty, high contrast appearance. They will enter into battle with an unparalleled choice of more than 150 playable UFC fighters, including talent from the newly added featherweight and bantamweight divisions.

Rounding out the virtual UFC experience with a significantly revamped online experience, as well as a variety of new and returning gameplay modes, UFC Undisputed 3 lets players have their fights – their way – to deliver the most intense, competitive and engaging experience to date for the franchise.

We took to the Octagon with the game developer, Neven Dravinski, to learn how to tackle this latest challenge in the ultimate fighting franchise.

What is the PRIDE Mode?
We are introducing PRIDE Mode to offer players even more new gameplay experiences. PRIDE is a former Japanese MMA organisation that was purchased by the UFC; in fact, several UFC stars today had some of their most iconic fights in PRIDE. PRIDE rules allow for more brutal attacks, like kicking an opponent in the head when he is on the ground with face stomps and soccer kicks. PRIDE fights occurred in a ring, opposed to an Octagon, and it really allowed us to offer a new look and new gameplay experience in UFC Undisputed 3. What’s really cool is players can take any UFC fighter and fight using PRIDE rules and vice versa. Hardcore fans are going to love our attention to detail, while those not familiar with PRIDE will get a real treat in terms of both gameplay and presentation.

How big is the roster of players - any new weight classes?
The UFC Undisputed 3 roster includes more than 150 fighters. This year, we added the former WEC weight classes of Featherweight and Bantamweight, giving players a great opportunity to see the speed and pace of these lighter weight fighters.

Have you improved upon the finishing moves?
We have been able to put a lot of new animations in the game, and once people get their hands on it, they’re going to love what they see. The biggest compliment comes from those guys who have played all the UFC Undisputed games; it’s great when they tell us how far we’ve come.

What visual improvements have been made?
We’ve worked a lot on improving and tuning our shaders for both the UFC and PRIDE modes. PRIDE offers a lot of opportunity to play with our lighting to mimic the different look of PRIDE fights. We’ve improved our dynamic lighting, our character models, and as mentioned, have added a ton of new animations to the game!

How do you ensure the player is drawn into the Octagon experience?
I think once someone plays UFC Undisputed 3, he or she will be really drawn into the experience because it’s just so real. The visual fidelity and visceral impact experienced by players is one of the hallmarks of the UFC Undisputed franchise. Combined with both pro and amateur controls for players of all types, a more fluid striking system and a graphics-based submission system, these features will all help in making this the best MMA game yet.

How did you research the PRIDE element?
We have a lot of hardcore fight fans on the team, and most of us have been watching PRIDE fights since the early days. Our development team at Yuke’s Osaka is Japanese as well, and some of those guys had the special opportunity to see PRIDE fights in Japan. I would say when one has a team as passionate about MMA as ours; the “research” for PRIDE was actually really fun to do.

How much difference is there between PRIDE and our traditional tournaments?
PRIDE tournaments were the ultimate test of skill for an MMA fighter. Fighters had to survive multiple fights in one night to survive. Imagine facing Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and after a brutal war, your reward is to face Wanderlei Silva? In UFC Undisputed 3, players will carry damage and stamina and energy loss into the next fight. It’s a tough journey – believe me.

Is there the ability to bridge the PRIDE and UFC tournaments?
At any time in UFC Undisputed 3, the player can pick between PRIDE or UFC rules in Exhibition matches. He or she will be able to compete with any UFC fighter using PRIDE rules and any historical PRIDE fighter in UFC rules. This makes for a lot of really cool fantasy matchups. Going through a career in the game will also provide opportunities to compete in one-off PRIDE fights and PRIDE Grand Prix tournaments.

Did you work with any real life fighters to increase the reality of this title?
Absolutely. We have a great relationship with the UFC and its fighters. We have brought in fighters like Frank Mir, Nate Diaz, Matt Hughes and Sean Sherk to do motion capture, and in addition, all the fighters are welcome to stop by the office any time they’re in the area, which many of them do. For the developers, that is a pretty nice perk of the job.

Has the game been endorsed by any recognised fighters?
Diego Sanchez often talks about how he uses the game as mental preparation before fights to imagine himself winning. There are many UFC fighters who play games, and it’s cool to get a chance to play with these guys and to be surprised at how good they are at UFC Undisputed.

Why did you choose to exclude motion control – is this feasible in the future?
UFC Undisputed 3 is really focused on delivering a fighting game experience running at 60 frames per second with responsive, rapid controls. While we are always looking at ways to expand our technology, motion controls didn’t make sense at this time. However, if you check out UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System, you’ll be surprised at how good a job it does at utilising the motion controls for an MMA game!

How long did the title take to develop?
UFC Undisputed 3 spent roughly 18 months in development.

What were the biggest challenges?
Our biggest challenge is always how to get everything finished. These games get bigger and bigger each year. PRIDE Mode is essentially a game within a game, including new announcers, new fighters and new animations. Add that to a new control scheme, a new submission system and two new weight classes, plus all the combat improvements, and let’s just say it was a huge undertaking.

How big was the development team, where was it based and what experiences (previous titles) were brought together?
Our team at Yuke’s Osaka averages around 60 people, depending on the point of development. On top of that, we have a team of folks at our headquarters in Agoura that focus on art, animation, design, production and more.

Was this game designed for your core fighter game fans or designed to entice newbies to the genre?
We designed UFC Undisputed 3 to be played by anyone – and in the ways they want to play. New “Amateur Controls” were specifically designed with new users in mind, but then things like our new Simulation Energy setting were designed with only the hardcore in mind.

How has the online functionality been improved?
In previous UFC titles, we used a lot of middleware; this is no longer the case with UFC Undisputed 3. This year, we also ran an Online Alpha Server test to stress test our servers before launch. From a feature perspective, we are offering a lot of content sharing this year, from highlight reels to logos to fighters, as well as the return of Fight Camps, which have been improved this year.

What can we expect from future editions?
I think the thing our team has always shown is that we are able to have a strong connection with our fans and our community. We’re just as big of MMA fans as anyone else, and I think our record has shown that every year we’re putting in features synonymous with the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts. PRIDE and former WEC weight classes are great examples. What the future holds for the UFC Undisputed franchise is really dependent on what the people want!

• Michael Gordon is editor of Charged Middle East magazine, a leading Dubai-based gadgets and games title that provides news, reviews and features on the latest home and consumer electronics. For more about the magazine, visit its Facebook page after the jump. Check out this article and many more in the February issue.

Megabits of Gaming trawls the web for the tastiest morsels of news, so you don't have to...


SEGA Sonic store sale now online
Good news for all Sonic merchandise hunters as SEGA officially launches its full online Sonic the Hedgehog store. For those who love a bargain, customers can get 15% off any order until the end of January by entering the following code – JANSALE15. See www.sonicmerchandise.com for details.

Ubisoft shuts studio in Vancouver
Publisher Ubisoft has shut its studio in Vancouver, Canada. Employees at the studio - apparently previously known as Action Pants - will have chance to consider jobs at some of Ubisoft's other studios, says Joystiq.

Official Video Game for London 2012 announced
Limber up your thumbs and forefingers - or even arms and legs if you have motion control support with an Xbox Kinect or PlayStation Move - as SEGA has confirmed an official tie-in for the London 2012 Olympic Games, featuring over 30 events.

Rockstar’s GTA V could be out by March 2013 - analysts
According to VG24/7, analysts believe Rockstar will have Grand Theft Auto V released before March 2013. Little has been revealed about the game to date.

Katy Perry collaborating with EA’s The Sims franchise
CVG says gaming giant EA has brought in pop star Katy Perry to advertise its new advertising and marketing campaigns for the Sims brand. Perry will also collaborate with EA to develop special Katy Perry themed in-game content.

I haven't even paid Bojeeva his winnings from the 2011 competition, yet here we are doing it all over again: picking the ten games we're most excited about for the coming year and gambling on who's list will get the highest aggregated review scores (here's Bojeeva's list).

It's a risky list-there are a lot of sequels, and a lot of them are to games that weren't that great in the first place. Where 2011 was a bumper year for great games, 2012 isn't looking so rosy. For every Bioshock or Grand Theft Auto carrying on a tradition of brilliance, there's a Prototype or Transformers, games that have shown bags of potential but thus far fulfilled none of it. We're hoping that 2012 is the year that good ideas are matched with good execution.

A flying city named after the personificationof America violently imposes it’s will with death from above? You have to say,the setting for the third Bioshock game doesn’t exactly scream subtle.Furthermore, another exceptional city that stumbles across “vigours andnostrums” rather undermines the unique qualities that made Rapture and it’splasmids and adam feel so special. You’d be forgiven for feeling underwhelmedat the prospect of Bioshock Infinite. I’m choosing to be optimistic, however.After all, we weren’t expecting much from Bioshock 2 either, and it turned outto be marvellous, action-packed fun. Add to that the fact that Bioshock’soriginator, Ken Levine, is part of the Infinite team, and you have a recipe foryet another beautiful, bombastic outing.

The non-arrival of MassEffect last year may well have cost me a win in 2011, but with a bit of luck itwill show up in 2012 and bag me plenty of points. After all, if there is asimilarly enormous improvement between Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 as therewas between ME 1 and 2, then Mass Effect 3 should be one of the best games ofall time. Bioware have already replaced the convoluted menus with a streamlinedinterface, the bland planets with worthwhile exploration, and the mediocre bossfights with genuinely absorbing battles. Minor tweaks are all it will take tomake the 3rd instalment a GOTY contender.

(8) Grand Theft Auto V

Familiar faces in a familiar setting meanthat the GTA series’ return to San Andreas for its fifth full instalment hasgot fans feeling at home long before the game shows up. What’s more exciting,however, is the appearance of jets, biplanes and jetskis within the trailer. InGTA IV the games gonzo vehicles were kept largely in the background, but thereturn the beautiful and varied environments of San Andreas seem to bring withthem the resumption of the series’ traditional full on vehicular indulgence.

(7) Half Life 2 Episode 3

Humorous haiku from Valve boss Gabe Newell,and a leaked coded containing references to Ep3 has got the whole internethoping that the long, long wait might soon be over. Ok, I’ll believe it onlywhen I finally have Half Life Episode 3 in my hands, but still, I’m optimisticenough to put it in this list. The cold light, unscripted construction andexcellent shooting are oft talked about, but for me the best thing about theHalf Life series is the locations-decaying European cities, vertiginous bridgesand towering alien strongholds. Ep3 promises to add ice locked freighters tothat list, and I can’t wait.

(6) Syndicate
Ok, all the early hints make this look like theisometric, upgrade-happy tactical adventure we remember has been chucked out ofthe window in favour of an FPS with a tech tree. So, that’s Deus Ex all overagain. But have a little faith, this is Peter Molyneux we’re talking about. Theman has one of the most consistent hit lists in gaming, and if he’s turning hishand to an FPS, then we’re sure it will be worth playing.

(5) Prototype 2

The original Prototype combined dozens ofgreat ideas into a strangely uninspiring package. Perhaps it was the genericenemies, or the sprawling, unfocussed nature of the upgrade paths, or perhapsjust the dull, unconvincing city in which the game took place. But there’s atrend in recent years for weak first games to fix their flaws in the sequels,and we reckon Prototype 2 will live up to its predecessors potential.

(4) I Am Alive

I love a good apocalypse/post-apocalypsestory, and the long delayed I Am Alive puts a particularly nice twist on thegenre: instead of being a heavily armed and armoured warrior in a world that’sstarted anew, I Am Alive has you as an underpowered everyman in a world stillreeling from the disasters that have befallen it.

(3) Borderlands 2
The appeal of the original Borderlands as so simple and appealing that I'd be perfectly happy to just play it all over again with different missions but no real changes to the gameplay. Borderlands is all about loot. That addiction to crate-smashing and chest-searching that affect every RPG player are brought to the fore here-every time you think you should turn it off, you decide to just have another rummage in the next box, under the next rock, or in the next crate. Pretty much all you find is money or special guns, and pretty much all you'll spend the money on is more special guns. Get together with your mates, tool up with lightning shotguns and acid assault rifles, and go get yourself some money. It's a simple idea that bears plenty of repetition.

(2) Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
There's an alarming trend in this list-it's almost entirely composed of sequels, and many of them are sequels to games that needed some serious polishing. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is the perfect example. It's predecessor was a perfectly passable third person cover shooter, but it should have been so much more. It could have been reskinned to feature space marines, gangsters or just about any standard gaming protagonist-amongst those towering metal environments, with all those distinctive character designs, you never felt like you were actually controlling a giant steel robot. Tweak the animations and sound effects, add a dash of melee combat, and beef up the floaty handling and you'll have fixed the flaws that held back the original.

(1) Resident Evil 6
Floppy fringed emo-cop Leon and grunting man-tank Chris, together at last. Amazingly, that's not a gay porn synopsis but a selling point for Resident Evil 6. The question is, will they be two separate playable characters with discrete missions, or will we be subjected to another ill-advised co-op adventure? This could be the difference between the heights of RE2 and 4, or the depths of RE5.