Ubisoft’s Gamescom offering was strong, taking in a combination of big name games and some promising looking smaller titles.

I have to give credit where credit’s due: my experience at Ubisoft’s Gamescom booth was the best of all the publishers I visited. It was smooth, organized, flexible, friendly and helpful.

It’s easy to get hung up on Ubisoft being some sort of “empire of ultimate evil” thanks to its controversial DRM strategies and use of initiatives like UPlay Passport (neither of which are unique to Ubi by any means), but what was abundantly clear from speaking to the various developers operating under the Ubi umbrella is that this is a company that is immensely proud of its games and the people who make them. Sure, everyone would prefer that DRM and “project $10″ type initiatives didn’t exist, but sometimes you have to take a step back from all that and consider whether the games themselves are actually any good.

So are they? Read on and find out over the next few pages.

NCSoft’s new MMO, announced this Gamescom, takes the things that work well about current MMOs and adds a selection of interesting new mechanics atop them.

WildStar is the newest MMO from NCSoft, developed by Carbine Studios. It’s a sci-fi MMO with a distinctive World of Warcraft-esque aesthetic and combat system, but some interesting new features atop these tried and tested formulae that set it apart somewhat from typical examples of the genre.

This is perhaps best exemplified during the character creation part of the Gamescom demo, where choosing a race determined the player’s “class” and combat style, whereas choosing their “role” — either Explorer or Soldier at the moment — determined what sort of gameplay and missions they’d encounter.

I took on the role of an Explorer. Explorers’ primary responsibility is the location of places to put down beacons. Early in the game, these positions are introduced through questlines, but later in the game you’ll have to carefully explore the zones and make use of the interface to locate them yourselves. They’re often in seemingly inaccessible areas, which brings another of the Explorer’s key abilities into play — the ability to discern and use hidden paths. Spotting one marked with an icon and interacting with it causes new platforms to appear, allowing the explorer to reach otherwise unreachable positions.

The Explorer also has an eye for the unusual. Occasionally simply while wandering around, you’ll get a “sub-mission” quest pop up prompting you to investigate something nearby. In the case of the demo, investigating some wreckage revealed a subspace anomaly which the player had to chase, making use of the residual gravity-defying anomalies it left behind to make some physically-impossible huge jumps and gathering data using the scanner.

A fun element which comes into play with all the roles is the Challenge system. Killing an enemy sometimes pops up a prompt saying something along the lines of “You’re good at killing yetis! Think you can kill 5 more in 5 minutes?” Accepting and completing the challenges (which weren’t very difficult in the demo) provides additional rewards.

WildStar’s world feels a lot more alive than many MMOs. The use of “phasing” to change the conditions in the world for players who have fulfilled specific quests is not new — World of Warcraft has been doing it for a while now — but here it’s been implemented from the outset, rather than being added later. The example given in the demo came where completing one of the quests caused the visibility-hampering snowstorm that had been blighting the area since the start of the game to dissipate, making it much easier to get around. This feature, coupled with the dynamic challenges and sub-missions that pop up along the way, make the player feel much more like what they’re doing in WildStar “matters” — despite the fact that other players will have done it before them, and others will follow them.

In short, it’s looking good, and the public responded well to it, too, with lines for the playable booths on the show floor almost as big as those for the neighboring Guild Wars 2. Watch out for more on WildStar in the coming months, and sign up for the beta here.

Sony’s upcoming Move title is firmly on rails, but that doesn’t necessarily have to stop it from being fun to play.

When Medieval Moves was first revealed, there was a collective “meh” around the world, as it looked like a very simplistic action adventure that might not even have given the player full control of the character.

Having played it at Gamescom this week, I can confirm that it most certainly does not give the player full control of the character — but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing. If anything, the fast-paced gameplay, which consists of moving from “hot spot” to “hot spot” and completing whatever task awaits there, is strongly reminiscent of light-gun shooters such as Namco’s own Time Crisis series, albeit with swords and bows rather than big guns.

It’s not just about killing things, though — the player has access to a selection of moves, all of which are impressively motion-tracked using the Move controller. Slashing with your sword in different directions can attack different parts of enemies — something which becomes necessary when fighting those with large shields. Making a motion like pulling an arrow out of a quiver behind you while holding the trigger button draws an arrow and prepares your bow to fire — releasing the button fires it. Holding the Move button and moving the controller in front of your face causes your shield to block incoming blows and projectiles. Holding the trigger button and making a “throwing” movement tosses throwing stars. And “drawing” the Move controller out of an imaginary holster pulls out a hookshot, necessary for traversing certain situations. Each of these moves are required for completing each “hot spot” — some by killing enemies, others by solving simple puzzles.

The game is resolutely linear, at least in the extract I played from early in the game. There are a few secrets in the form of breakable objects which conceal items and bonuses, but there doesn’t appear to be any means of choosing a specific path to follow. Perhaps this will follow later in the game.

As it is, Medieval Moves could prove to be a fun game for younger players, but those reared on a diet of Zelda and Darksiders will probably come away wanting something a little more.

BioWare believes that Mass Effect 3, despite being the conclusion to the trilogy, will be a good entry point to the series.

Speaking at Gamescom, BioWare said that it believed Mass Effect 3 was the perfect entry point to the series thanks to the refinement of all the game systems, and the balance between action game and RPG.

The company compared its series to Star Wars, noting that the “first” movie that was released in that series was actually the fourth episode, and that the later-released prequels added background story that wasn’t essential to appreciate A New Hope. Mass Effect 3, they argue, is the same — the “invasion of Earth” story stands alone, but having played Mass Effect 1 and 2 will provide players with more in the way of context.

And there will be plenty of context — BioWare promises that it will resolve the consequences of each and every decision that players have made throughout the course of the whole series. The team is very keen on what it calls its “emotional storytelling” approach, where the consequences of Shepard’s actions and decisions aren’t necessarily immediately clear — but they have a profound emotional impact when they do. During the demo, an example was shown: while exploring, Shepard came across a young boy in an air vent. Shepard reached out and tried to help the boy, who ran away. Much later, Shepard saw the same boy boarding an evacuation craft as the Normandy lifted off from the fallen Earth — an evacuation craft which was quickly destroyed by the invading Reapers.

Mass Effect 3 is out next March, releasing simultaneously on Xbox 360, PC and PS3 for the first time in the series’ history.

Deep Silver and Piranha Bytes showed off their upcoming Risen 2 at Gamescom, and promised that they’d make a better job of the console version this time.

The first Risen suffered from an appalling console port. Developer Piranha Bytes is well aware of this, and a little embarrassed about the whole thing. As such, one of the first things that was pointed out to the audience of the new game’s Gamescom demo was the fact that this time around, the console and PC versions were being developed simultaneously.

It shows; while the current Xbox build suffers from a poor frame rate that is still being optimized, the resolution of the textures and the detail of the character models is certainly on par with the PC version. This hopefully means that you’ll be able to have a satisfying experience whether you’re on computer or console.

Technical issues aside, Risen 2 marks the second pirate-themed game of the show — the first being TopWare’s Raven’s Cry. Unlike TopWare’s title, however, which had very little to show us besides a live action trailer, Risen 2 is already playable. The player takes on the role of a character dumped on a lush tropical island and stripped of his clothing, weapons and dignity. Thus begins a lengthy journey for revenge — starting with becoming a pirate.

The game is dark and gritty — thematically at least. The tropical setting means that the visuals are bright and colorful, but the plot is mature. Expect much in the way of drinking rum (which is a key element of creating potions in the game) and violence.

Risen 2 is set to hit Xbox 360, PS3 and PC next year.

Hyperbolic statement it may be, but Modern Warfare 3′s Spec Ops Survival mode does have a certain addictive quality to it.

PR teams are paid to be enthusiastic about their products, but it’s usually easy to notice when they’re just going through the motions. Something seemed different about Modern Warfare 3′s promotional team, however — they seemed to genuinely believe in their product. So it was that after explaining Modern Warfare 3′s new Spec Ops Survival Mode and asking me not to tell anyone that he’d referred to it as being “a bit like Horde mode” (sorry, but it, well, is) one of Activision’s representatives blurted out that it was “like adrenaline-soaked crack, and that you can quote me on.”

I was skeptical, of course, but willing to give it the benefit of the doubt until I’d at least tried it out for myself. I’ll happily admit I’ve never been the biggest fan of Call of Duty, but I do have a soft spot for high score competitions — Score Attack mode in Halo Reach was my most-played mode, for example, and the leaderboard warfare that ensued between my friends and I upon Geometry Wars 2′s release became the stuff of legend.

I sat down with one of the team from Sledgehammer and we entered our theater of war — a city streets map featuring a marketplace, a few stairwells, some abandoned vehicles and what would become our stronghold — an easily defensible bridge with just two ways in. We moved into position and waited for the enemies to arrive.

Before long, they were upon us. Beginning with simple soldiers and gradually introducing suicide bombers, attack dogs, helicopters and the immensely powerful Juggernaut, clad in an armored bomb-disposal suit, the waves gradually increased in difficulty at a good pace. Theoretically the game can go on forever, with waves of enemies getting more and more numerous the longer you last, though the highest score among the team at Gamescom was wave 28.

Between waves, you can visit the three “stores” scattered across the map and equip yourself with new weapons, refill your ammunition, gain equipment (including machine gun and grenade launcher turrets — be sure to stay out of the way of the latter in particular) and call in air support. Said air support can even include your very own AI controlled Delta Squad who will assist you and your co-op buddy until they get killed, helping to even the odds in your favor somewhat.

But was it truly like “adrenaline-soaked crack?” Difficult to say, as I only had the time to play one map — though I enjoyed what I played and could have happily played more. Unlike Black Ops’ zombies mode, which was thematically inconsistent with the rest of the game, Modern Warfare 3′s Spec Ops modes are much more in line with the other content, making the package feel like more of a cohesive whole. If the in-game rewards are paced as well as the last few Call of Duty’s multiplayer modes, then this could be a mode which finds itself getting a lot of play time.

Now if you’ll excuse me, maybe I will just have one more try…

If you’ve always wanted to be able to point out to your friends just where the Lost Ark was found, well, now you can. Thanks to a limited edition map, you can see all of Indy’s discoveries.

There’s fandom, and there’s obsession. Artist Matt Busch clearly embodies the latter in his passion for Indiana Jones lore. The world map depicts every archeological dig from not only all four movies, but the video games, TV series, and comics. Authorized by LucasArts and funded by the Adirondack Comicfest, all proceeds of the map’s sales will go to American Disabled Veterans. The print measures 24″ X 36″ (standard movie poster size) and each one is signed and numbered by the artist. There are only 255 of these, so Indiana Jones fans need to act fast.

This stylish mini-golf game may be the most surreal time you’ll ever spend on the green.

Wonderputt

I’ll admit — I’m not a big golf game guy. Outside of a passing fascination with Hot Shots Golf back in the day, I’ve found far better things (read: zombies, post-apocalyptic Raiders and Super Mutants, er, Nazis) to smack with a golf club upon booting up my game consoles. That said, I’m having a pretty tough time not playing Wonderputt, a stylish game of mini-golf from art and animation studio Damp Gnat that probably isn’t what you’re expecting.

With an isometric “golf green by way of Ikea catalog” aesthetic, Wonderputt sets itself apart from its Flash game contemporaries largely because of its imitable, eye-catching presentation. Each of its courses is presented on the same screen, which regularly shifts and undergoes quick bouts of chaos to make way for the next hole. The game’s easy enough to get into, although it can be tough to be precise with the controls from the game’s forced perspective. Still, Wonderputt isn’t your traditional golf game, and is much more about the journey than what the score card reads at the end of the day.

Call it interactive art before you call it a golf game, but Wonderputt’s a stylish experiment that’s certainly worth a half-hour or so of your afternoon.

Estimated playtime: 45 minutes.

Have a Flash game you’d like to see featured next week? Leave a comment below, and let us know!

Tom and Kat sit down to interview Deus Ex Human Revolution designer Antoine Thisdale, and Richard from Japan returns to brief the gang on Final Fantasy Type-O

We’re slowly but surely heading toward release season, and one of the first biggies happens to be an RPG–Deux Ex Human Revolution. So we’re kicking off our coverage of Eidos Montreal’s revival with an interview of designer Antoine Thisdale, who talks about everything from the customization to the challenges of designing hybrid first-person/third-person combat.

Richard from Japan is also in the house (if you count Skype as “the house”) for a discussion of the recently-released Final Fantasy Type-0 demo. It’s an interesting game–not quite a Monster Hunter clone, but not a traditional RPG either. My impression is that this one is going to be pretty good, even if it’s chances of being released in the west seem pretty tenuous.

Next week marks the release of both Deus Ex and the 20th anniversary of the Super Nintendo’s release, and we’re going to have plenty of coverage for both. Are you excited? Because I’m excited.

In the meantime, check out the episode summary below!

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Episode Breakdown: Download it now!

• 0:00 | Theme & Introduction

• 0:30 | Final Fantasy Type-0 Discussion w/ Richard from Japan
• 31:30| Interview: Deus Ex Human Revolution w/ Antoine Thisdale
• 01:09:30 | Musical Interlude: Lightning’s Theme (Final Fantasy XIII)
• 01:10:00 | Outtro & Next Episode

Fan group Korriban’s Lancers is holding a raffle for LucasArts upcoming MMO; $10 could net you a $150 copy of the game.

Want a chance to win a copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector’s Edition or digital deluxe edition and also support charity? Korriban’s Lancers, “a (mostly) Texan guild” is holding a $10-dollar-a-ticket raffle for the games. Proceeds from the ticket sales will go towards Child’s Play, the gamer-focused charity started by Penny Arcade that provides toys, games, books, and cash to sick children in partner hospitals across the United States.

For every 60 tickets they sell, the group will distribute a CE copy of the game (up to four times); for every 60 tickets after that, entrants will be able to score a digital copy of the game. If you’re wondering exactly what you get for the physical copy, well, we already covered the physical and digital freebies you get in the special editions right here.

To enter, you use the paypal donation button at the bottom of the guild’s site. Then email the receipts from those transactions along with your real name, address, and telephone number to korribanslancers@gmail.com. As the group details in their press release, your receipt number(s) will be your raffle ticket numbers, you may email multiple receipts as attachments, and entries will be accepted starting today through 11:59 PM on September 15, 2011.