GamesRadar - PC Features

Chinatown: Videogames versus reality (Vampire: the Masquerade Bloodlines)

Mar 17, 2009

Thanks to two films - Chinatown and Blade Runner - every action game is practically required to have a Chinatown level. It’s not the Chinatown you see in real-life - a thriving community and marketplace established over a unique hybrid of Western and Chinese culture – no, it’s all neon signs and gangsters, dragon statues and tile roofs. A lot of tile roofs. And it's usually in the future or ...

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Special Report (Vanguard: Saga of Heroes)

Sep 15, 2006

GamesRadar recently had the honor of spending two solid days completely immersed in the early version of Sigil Games Online's new massively multiplayer online role-playing game Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. We have returned from our journeys with more information than could possibly fit in our heads - good thing we brought a couple of notebooks. With deeper access than anyone else at this stage, we've compiled the most expansive hands-on preview you're going to find anywhere. Covering every nuance ...

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Special Report (Day 5) (Vanguard: Saga of Heroes)

Sep 15, 2006

For the final day of our Vanguard mega-info explosion, we've saved the best for last. Massively multiplayer games are about more than combat (no matter how rich a system one might employ), and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes provides more alternatives to hacking and slashing by offering two additional spheres for class advancement: crafting and diplomacy. We'll begin by taking a look at crafting and giving you an insider's perspective from Senior Designer Salim Grant. In the second section of today's ...

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Special Report (Day 4) (Vanguard: Saga of Heroes)

Sep 14, 2006

"The biggest weakness of our grouping system could be that grouping is actually too fun," proclaimed the mighty Darrin MacPherson, Senior Game Designer on Vanguard: Saga of Heroes... and after logging a few hours in the sprawling land of Telon, we'd be inclined to agree. This is not to say that you can't "solo" (MMO-ese for playing all by yourself) in Vanguard. The team at Sigil has been sure to include plenty of quests and adventures for individuals who would rather go it alone, but the most ...

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Special Report (Day 3) (Vanguard: Saga of Heroes)

Sep 13, 2006

Now that you have an idea of what kind of adventurers you can step into to quest through the land of Telon, we figured you might need an idea of the kind of foes you'll be facing. To that end, we sat down with Senior Artist Minoh Kim and Artist Rick Winter and shot question after question about the tons of monsters they'd created, and continue to create, in the ...

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Special Report (Day 2) (Vanguard: Saga of Heroes)

Sep 12, 2006

There are actually three different Spheres of classes in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (didn't we mention that this game is huge?). In this portion of the preview, we'll focus on the Adventuring Sphere of classes which you'll select when you initially create your character. (We'll cover the Crafting and Diplomacy Spheres later in the week.) Your Adventuring class determines what kind of skills your character will be able to learn as you gain experience. These skills are predominantly combat based, ...

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Special Report (Day 1) (Vanguard: Saga of Heroes)

Sep 12, 2006

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes bears one of the richest character customization systems in the vast universe of MMOs. Boasting nineteen races and fifteen classes, you're faced with overwhelming possibilities before you even start playing. In addition, for those that love tweaking their digi-persona's features, Vanguard provides a ton of sliders that give you complete control over every aspect from facial deformations to body physique ...

This is This is Vegas (This is Vegas)

Apr 21, 2008

Whereas some people feel the need to keep the map of their open-ended sandbox city under lock and key, a mysterious conglomerate called Boyercrop has seen fit to send us a detailed, and remarkably tourist friendly, visual aid on the thrills that await you in Midway's This is Vegas. It's everything you need to plan your descent into debauchery later this year, packed with enough coupons and boobies to keep the Missus safely at home. (They had us at the 99 cent Texas-Mesquite Fudge Sundae!) ...

The Top 7… greenest games (Viva Pinata)

Apr 20, 2009

How noble, the human species! Once a year we selflessly take a break from wrapping products in toxic plastics and burning piles of old tires to appease this stupid, stupid planet we live on. How dare it demand more trees, breathable air and animals that don’t choke to death on our trash? ...

These games are not what you think they are (Viva Pinata)

Feb 18, 2009

Why Sonic isn't a platformer and Final Fantasy isn't an RPG at all. ...

The 13 unluckiest videogame bastards (Viva Pinata)

Feb 13, 2009

As you’re probably aware, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. To hell with that. Friday the 13th is today, and aside from developmentally disabled serial killers with machetes, that means one thing: bad luck.

Over the years, continually playing as the hero in videogames has taught us to have a generally optimistic outlook when faced with challenges, to believe deep down that, whatever happens, we can overcome any obstacle. ...

Top 7... Cutesy Characters We Want to Beat the Crap Out of (Viva Pinata)

Apr 21, 2008

Admit it - you’ve thought about choking quite a few videogame characters to death. Whether it’s an annoying sidekick or a particularly tough boss, there’s no denying that the urge to bust somebody in the mush hasn’t seized you. There are a lot of deserving punks we could put into this article - but the most aggravating offenses come from the cutest characters. Those fluffy types just there to make a game more ...