14 DAY TRIAL // Andrei Dumitrescu: I am getting ready to go to Koln for the upcoming Gamescom 2012 trade show, which means that next week I will be getting some hands-on time with a number of high-profile games to be launched later this year and I will spend my days exploring the cavernous convention center and my nights writing about what I see.
In order to get ready I will expunge most gaming activities from my weekend plan and spend time watching the final few days of the Olympic Games in London.
Seeing the athletes in action has made me think about how much emotion a good developer could extract from something like fencing or from gymnastics, despite the clear difficulty that arises from translating the real-world motions into mechanics.
Unfortunately, the gaming representations of the Olympics consist of just a cartoon like simulation starring Sonic and Mario and a rather feeble simulation from SEGA.
Andrei Dobra: I’ll be continuing my journey through the ravaged New York City of Prototype 2 this weekend and might squeeze in some more time with Hybrid, the newest third-person shooter release on the Xbox Live Arcade.
Prototype 2 is probably one of the best definitions of chaotic fun, as the combat is fast, hectic and, as always, quite bloody. It’s not quite mindless, however, as it still requires some degree of strategy skills, because certain powers give protagonist James Heller an advantage over certain enemies.
When I won’t be using various supernatural abilities to ravage my way through New York City, I’m going to try out Hybrid, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi shooter from 5th Cell, which just appeared on the Xbox Live Arcade, as part of the Summer of Arcade promotion.
While I’m pretty fed up with third-person shooters, the drone and jetpack mechanics do make going through Hybrid’s multiplayer-only matches a more pleasing experience. Hopefully, the novelty won’t wear off until I’ve played enough to form an opinion about it.