Welcome to the Weekly Recap! Yes, it’s later in the day than usual, and yes I could use the holiday as an excuse, but the truth is that I got home from work, sat down, and read the entirety of Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis… then I put my head down on the desk and passed out for most of the day.

And now that I’ve woken up and gotten the horrible crick out of my neck, I thought it was about time to knock out this recap so you can take off your shirt, grab a cold beer, and go BBQ some delicious meat. That’s what this holiday is about right?

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Published by SEGA, Obsidian Entertainment’s Alpha Protocol, branded as an “Espionage RPG”, tries to blend the kind of stealth action found in Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell with the narrative structure and character development found in Western role-playing adventures such as Mass Effect, and the result is unfortunately a very rough mix. Technical errors, a dated look, and emotionless narrative all combine to deliver an experience that, while lengthy and occasionally interesting, is ultimately unsatisfying.

After such a delay-riddled wait for Obsidian’s latest release, is there a silver lining to this flawed title? Read on to find out.

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It’s funny really. The first half of 2010 has been almost completely devoid of high profile racing games, but within the space of a week we now have not one, but three significant racing releases to choose from. A hearty round of applause goes out to the moronic marketing men who didn’t foresee that.

This has caused congestion on the roads of the racing class, particularly as each title has the potential to offer a fresh take on the increasingly stale genre. There’s both the eccentric Blur and the downright loopy Split/Second: Velocity vying to capture your attention, but it’s the Sony exclusive ModNation Racers that has been the most publicised after it debuted to warm reception at E3 last year, a gleeful kart racing title that adopts the same “Play, Create, Share” philosophy that brought LittleBigPlanet into the limelight.

I could even go as far as to say that this is one of the most anticipated kart games since Mario Kart. I’m sorry, but you know it’s impossible not to allude to the granddaddy when it comes to kart racers; even the resident Ashley King and Steven Shepherd of Gamer Limit are guilty of it, but then it is after all the undisputed benchmark of the genre. So then, can United Front’s driving debut do for kart racers what the loveable LittleBigPlanet did for platformers?

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This time last year, I knew nothing about Mixed Martial Arts. The sport was as alien to me as Olympic curling or picking up women. Thankfully, my new job at the time put me in close proximity with an MMA nut. He simply couldn’t get enough of the sport, and, after viewing just a single UFC tournament, I too was drawn into the brutal ballet of Mixed Martial Arts.

UFC Undisputed 2009 was our first chance as gamers to experience the violent thrill ride of an MMA melee. And while it had its flaws, it was by and large considered a success. A year has passed since then, and both developer and publisher have had the chance to listen to feedback and fine-tune their product. Is UFC Undisputed 2010 the ultimate fighting game we’ve been waiting for?

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Today our good friends over at the KritzKast, a Team Fortress 2 centric podcast, let us know that they recently got a hold of TF2‘s co-creator and software developer Robin Walker. Robin was kind enough to answer some questions about the history, current and future development of TF2.

It is important to note that this interview was conducted before the release of Steam on OSX. Despite this, Robin’s answers are still insightful and entertaining. Even if you don’t play TF2 this interview grants gamers a glimpse into the life of a game developer and the choices they face. Read more… »

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We’ve all heard the talk: Japanese RPGs are dying, being replaced with the philosophies of the superior Western RPG. Either that, or JRPGs are evolving to become more like WRPGs. They’re grittier, more straightforward, and essentially devoid of all things that make a JRPG “Japanese”. Casts of characters filled with strange creatures, insane female ninja with massive breasts, and naive teenage boys are quickly being replaced with hard-ass males and females.

Amidst these changes and claims certain developers have levied, such as Hideo Kojima’s suggestion that Japanese games simply can’t compete worldwide anymore, it certainly might seem that the WRPG will win out over the JRPG.

But I’m not ready to declare a victor quite yet. There’s plenty that Western games in general can learn from the JRPG.

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Well this is a pretty big shocker: the classic Prince of Persia, the one that started it all, is now on sale on the iTunes marketplace for $0.99. I know a heap of retro gaming fans that will want to jump on this one as soon as possible – especially since it’s a universal iPhone and iPad app!

I was able to play a bit of the game, and I’m actually quite impressed. I can see the controls getting a bit sticky later in the game, but as it stands, I was able to beat the first level without dying. Compliments of Touch Arcade, there are actually nine forum pages worth of impressions if you want some insight into the controls. Keep in mind this is the classic version of the game, not the (what some would consider superior) SNES remake.

Buy the game here

If you’re a gamer on a budget, this month was carefully crafted by evil executives to make you hate everyone and everything. And if you’re one of those people with the disposable income to buy every new title you want, I’m guessing you should keep quiet or the rest of us might form a posse and go Red Dead on your ass.

But with all these awesome games happening in just one month, everyone should be playing something, right!? So let’s hear what you’ll be playing all weekend and maybe, just maybe, we can waste our weekends together. I’ve heard rumors of these people called “friends” tending to do that. It’s worth a try, right?

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Okay, when I say football I mean just that… you use your feet to kick the ball. None of this fancy running with the ball shenanigans here. No, we are talking about what is commonly referred to as “the beautiful game” – although I think these days that refers to the fact that the players spend more time getting spruced up for a match than actually playing it! And NO, I won’t use the term soccer!

This is Ubisoft’s attempt to break into the stranglehold that EA and Konami have over the market in the form of FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer, respectively. From the look of the launch video, Ubisoft are taking this seriously right off the bat, pulling in heavyweight UK players like Steven Gerrard to consult on the title.

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Now I’m not sure how far back your gaming lineage goes, but Rayman creator Michel Ancel made an absolute blinder of a game called Beyond Good and Evil back in November 2003.  Unfortunately this game slipped through the cracks of many a gamers mind. With poor sales despite rave critical reception, this game was consigned to the bargain bins after only a few month.   What many missed was an absolute master class in story telling and interaction.

Well, the great news was unveiled back in 2008 that Michel Ancel and Ubisoft were working on a sequel to the much-loved title.  Trouble is, everything has been deathly quiet over at Ubisoft’s French HQ about the games development, prompting many to ask where it was. Earlier this year a Ubisoft Exec went on record as saying the games was “Still in development” and many breathed a heavy sigh of relief – until now.

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Indie pay whatever deals have run into problems recently with the miscommunication stirred up from the last deal, however the most recent set of indie games to feature this pricing scheme are very much legit. They are both being offered by their original creators and while they are not part of a bundle, it is worth checking out these titles if you enjoy platformer games.

The first of the two is the Lunar Pack bundle which contains two different games, including Wake and Lunneye Devisty. Both are platforming adventures with Wake focusing on the story of an engineer who must navigate a sinking ship in order to be rescued, and Lunneye Devisty the story of an alien who has fallen off of the moon and must find his way back. The Lunar Pack features 360 controller support, which makes them even more appealing for hardcore platformer lovers.

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Today word got out that Hollywood director John Hilcoat, most famous for his films The Proposition and The Road, has teamed up with Rockstar Games to produce “A Short Film Made From Red Dead Redemption.” Apparently the 30 minute film will utilize in-game assets to tell the story.

For those of you who are interested in watching this (and who isn’t?), the short movie will be airing at midnight Saturday, May 29 on FOX. In celebration of this news Rockstar released a short teaser trailer promoting the film. Read more… »