• Spinnerbox, an updated take on slot machines.
• Keystone, a combination of Craps and Roulette.
• Fortune's Tower, a "press your luck" style of game.

• Peter Molyneux's stated ambition as a designer is to make FABLE 2 a landmark game. In order to achieve this three big design features have been added. The inspiration and rational behind these features will be discussed along with their evolution throughout the development process. The wider context of their impact and influence on the RPG genre with also be examined as the ambition is also to evolve the genre itself. The talk will be supported by retrospective videos as well as live game examples.

• Game stories can matter, even in first person shooters. But first we're going to have to give up a lot of our preconceptions about what people care about when playing a game. For too long, games (especially first person shooters) have been stuck in a "game sequence followed by story sequence" mentality. Ken Levine will tell the tale of how the BIOSHOCK took a pointy-headed idea about a pseudo-objectivist utopia and turned it into one of the most compelling and succesful game worlds in recent history. What were the tools used? What compromises had to be made? Where did the shooter end and the story begin? How did we make people give a crap? How did we use story and narrative to become perhaps the most talked about game at the super-crowded E3 2006? What does this all mean for stories in games? And must of all, what hell does "Mise En Scene" mean?

• The online multiplayer mode of HALO 3 features an automatic matchmaking system to place players into games. Players may join individually or with parties of friends, and are quickly matched into groups. This presentation describes the algorithms behind the peer-to-peer matchmaking model, and its implementation over Xbox Live. It examines the impact of matchmaking on the HALO online community, and provides techniques for shaping the player experience and discouraging cheaters. The tradeoffs of an automatic matchmaking system compared to traditional multiplayer game browsers will be discussed, and illustrated by some results from the first months of HALO 3's operation.

• This session will offer a look into key areas of CRYSIS development that markedly depart from Crytek's first project, FAR CRY. Main topics include Nanosuit design and gameplay, creating a rich, destructible/non-linear world, and peopling it with dynamic, believable AI enemies that challenge and entertain the player.

As I’m sure you can tell from the title, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is, quite simply, child’s play, a title developed so that both children and adults can enjoy those giant yellow, fun-loving, eager-to-please birds called chocobos that have proven a staple of every Final Fantasy game. For the first time since the relative disaster that was Chocobo Racing (1999) on the original PlayStation, the chocobos are back in their own premier title, ready to weave a spell of classic storytelling with a Final Fantasy twist upon both the young and the old. Strangely, the game’s friendly nuances, colorful atmosphere, and fun minigames make Chocobo Tales an enjoyable retreat from the fast-paced action/adventure games that make up the bulk of a gamer’s diet, and the title is much simpler than a regular Square Enix RPG, making for easier pick-up-and-play moments. Gather around for story-time: depending on your age group, this could be a winner.

The overall plot for Chocobo Tales is simple and direct, with minor twists and turns paired with fun or witty dialogue to keep the player interested regardless of age. Gamers are cast as a young yellow chocobo fond of a storytelling white mage who has gathered all her chocobo friends together for a fantastical treat, but as these things tend to go, the fun is spoiled by a thrifty black mage who has just purchased a rare storybook. The book, of course, is cursed, and as the black mage recites its spell it comes to life as Bebuzzu, a wicked fellow who proceeds to eat all the chocobos and retreat until a “dark” woman appears. It’s now up to you to free your birdy friends from Bebuzzu’s grasp by collecting their cards throughout the environment which, by the way, you navigate entirely with the status.

The usual method for freeing your friends involves completing tasks from various storybooks containing traditional fables (Three Little Pigs, Ugly Duckling, Jack and the Beanstalk, etc) told with Final Fantasy flair. Each storybook contains three options: trial (in which you attempt to meet a gameplay requirement for a reward), battle (you against AI-controlled chocobo opponents), and storytime (which gives the prologue/theme for each book; keep in mind that you can unlock new epilogues for completing certain goals). The story is told in colorful pop-up fashion, with cut-out characters interacting in the book’s picturesque environment. In Titan and the Beanstalk vol. 1 players help their chocobo climb the humongous plant by drawing leaves to propel the chocobo up, all while avoiding the hazardous bombs along the way; in vol. 2, gamers race down the stalk by drawing leaves that are used to slide the chocobo back down to earth, collecting coins to beat opponents. In Ugly Chocoling, players utilize a magnifying glass to find a flaming bird; in Shiva and Ifrit, gamers collect fruit without being frozen or burned alive by the ice and fire raining down upon the poor chocobo’s head. The majority of these storybook minigames are enjoyable and of an appropriate difficulty for children, though a few of them sport some tough spots to keep the title challenging.

To keep the storybook minigames from posing too much of a distraction Square also included microgames that are just as fun and entertaining as the minigames are. In Malboro Masher the object is to tap the screen whenever a malboro appears on the grid, but tapping a bomb by mistake ends the game. Job Juggler is a lovely nostalgic game in which a sprite representing a Final Fantasy class jumps across the screen and you have to identify its job from rows of class options. While both microgames and minigames give card awards, the minigames serve a double purpose, often manipulating the environment so the chocobo can proceed to the next area.

All this card business probably has you wondering what you’re supposed to do with your set other than examining their pretty pictures. Besides including mini and microgames, Square has capitalized on everyone’s strange fascination with card battling by including the option in Chocobo Tales in place of real fighting. Card battles are turn-based and give both you and your AI opponent three random cards pulled from a deck; each card has four colored zones that can feature either an attack (sword) or guard (shield) zone. If your card’s blue zone has a sword and the opponent’s card has a blue zone with a shield, your attack is blocked; if his card’s blue zone is blank, however, it goes through. There’s an element of speed introduced for the card battles, as the first person to select his card choice goes first, and it should be noted that any successful attack made against your card character will go straight on through to your chocobo, lowering his HP; when his HP reaches zero, it sucks to be you.

If single-player gameplay isn’t your thing, Square has included some multiplayer options for the adventurous. You can hop on Nintendo’s Wi-Fi option for a pop-up duel with players across the globe, which is especially enjoyable considering that human opponents are considerably more challenging than the AI ones offered in the storyline. Online play also motivates the player to collect additional cards via completing tougher challenges in storybooks, which grants further replay value.

Square is renown for creating wonderful visual presentations for its games, and Chocobo Tales receives the same star treatment. Your 3D chocobo explores a lush, vibrant 3D environment complete with small houses, forests, streams, and even a volcano. Movement is performed via lightly sliding the stylus across the screen, although you can use the D-pad if you prefer. The pop-up characters in storybooks and card battles are another visual treat, and special effects occur during card battles when you or your opponent pulls a card with a unique ability. Acoustically, you get the same Final Fantasy themes you’re familiar with, like the famous chocobo song, paired with ambient noises like choco-footsteps and squawks.

Though Chocobo Tales sports enjoyable micro and minigames as well as online play, a few of its games can become quite irritating. For example, in Titan and the Beanstalk the player has to draw leaves to propel the chocobo upward, but taking the time to draw an actual leaf is a waste – instead, draw a line or the top of a triangle to orient the leaf properly or you’ll spend the next hour bouncing all over the place. You’ll run into little problems related to drawing items or directing your chocobo in numerous minigames, but while frustrating, they still require only minimal effort to work around.

Probably the game’s biggest fault is its target audience, as the game often feels far too cutesy and childish for adults. Then again, it’s full of chocobos and moogles, so what can one expect?

Though you can send games to friends, you can only send microgames, which aren’t anywhere as pleasing or as cute as the storybook minigames. As for online play, there are plenty of gamers to compete against, but don’t be surprised by the standard disconnects.

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is a surprisingly pleasant game if you’re into fast pick-up-and-play gameplay and are enticed by cute visuals, card collecting, and card battling. It’s a fairly quick adventure, though, and a bit too easy to maintain an adult’s interest when more complex, similar titles are available. If you’re a Final Fantasy fan or enjoy card games, it’s more than worth a look, and especially if you’re under the age of 15. Others may want to rent first.

It’s much too simple for my tastes, but it’s functional and cute.

Very adorable visuals. Love the cut-out character design.

Standard Final Fantasy themes.

You’ll enjoy card battling and some of the mini and microgames.

If you love card battling, Chocobo Tales has got the hook-up.

]]> Sat, 28 Apr 2007 14:03:00 -0500 Shiva Stella http://www.gamebump.com/go/square_ships_fff_chocobo_tales_to_ds http://www.gamebump.com/go/square_ships_fff_chocobo_tales_to_ds http://www.gamebump.com/go/square_ships_fff_chocobo_tales_to_ds# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

"We are pleased that Wik: Fable of Souls is available so soon after the release of the Xbox 360, said Ross Erickson, Games Portfolio Manager for the Xbox Live Arcade. We believe that Wik is a shining example of the type of quality you can expect from the Xbox Live Arcade - now and as we move into the future. We intend to change peoples perception of what a downloadable game is with the release of Wik."

The full version of Wik is available for download via Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points