Lego Indy’s back, and this time, he’s entering the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

The original Lego Indiana Jones was a smash hit, and with the arrival of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last year, there’s suddenly more material for a sequel. That’s the thinking behind Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues, which will also include material from the original film trilogy that didn’t feature in the first game.

We got to see reproductions of both new and old films in our GamesCom demo today, both with the diner section from The Crystal Skull and the opening of the ark from Raiders of the Lost Ark. The latter cutscene was particularly memorable, as the Nazis were compelled to perform funky dance moves before disintegrating into thin air. In-game, Indy can now do more with his whip, such as tie enemies up and drag them around, as we saw in the diner fight scene.

Lego Indy 2 also has plenty of upgrades that will please fans of the Lego series. When two players drift apart, the screen now automatically splits in two, letting players do what they want before joining seamlessly together once they’re close to each other. There’s also a new level builder that allows you to put down boards and pieces just like you might have done with real Legos as a child. However, with this being a children’s title, you probably won’t be able to share these creations online, although LucasArts is currently looking into this possibility. At least you and a friend can both work on your design at the same time.

The hubs in Lego Indy 2 have also been expanded and improved, with three hubs from the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and three from the original trilogy. The hubs are themed around different areas in the films, and you can fly around in a plane, parachute out, and then jump into levels straight from these hubs.

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues is looking almost finished, which is a good sign given how close we are to release. The game will be released on all major platforms in the third quarter of 2009.

Check out the source at GameSpot

We finally got to slay some monsters with a localised European version of Tri.

Monster Hunter is a game that has been synonymous with the PlayStation brand up until now. The Japanese cult hit has sold millions of copies (and helped sell plenty of PSPs) in its home country but has experienced limited success in overseas markets thus far. Capcom hoped to challenge this notion with a marketing campaign in Europe for Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, which launched to strong reviews, and is following this up with the series’ first outing on the Nintendo Wii. We embarked on a hunting quest at GamesCom 2009 in Cologne, Germany, armed with our wits and a Wii Classic Controller.

(more…)

The original Modern Warfare is coming to the Wii, and as we found out in Cologne, it’s an impressively faithful reproduction.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was a huge hit for Infinity Ward in 2007, and even though it’s been nearly two years since its release, the game continues to dominate the online gameplay charts. Its appeal is so enduring, in fact, that developer Treyarch is bringing the game to the Wii this November. As we found out in Cologne, there have been relatively few compromises necessary to bring the game to Nintendo’s console and there are even a few new features exclusive to the platform.

First up, it’s worth mentioning that the single-player game is exactly the same on the Wii as it was on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Sadly, it’s so faithful to the original that there’s not even a new Wii-specific level in the game–it’s exactly the same as it was before. Thankfully, though, this faithful reproduction also extends to the multiplayer side of the game, with all the same game modes, such as Search & Destroy, Domination, and Freefall all included. They’re also all playable online. The only difference is that the player count has been reduced to 10 players, although this is still up from the eight players that Treyarch managed in Call of Duty: World at War on the Wii.

Thankfully, there are also some features specific to the Wii version. Obviously, the control system is quite different, but like another recent Wii first-person shooter The Conduit, the controls are completely customisable. There are plenty of preset control schemes that are set up for different levels of skill, but you can also tweak these as much as you want and save them as your own. Then there’s the squadmate mode, which allows a second player to drop into the game for co-op play. The second player uses the Wii Zapper peripheral or the Wii Remote and plays the game like an on-rails shooter, taking out enemies that the main player may have missed.

Finally, the game also uses an upgraded version of the engine that has powered previous Call of Duty games on the Wii. Most notably, the textures are of a higher resolution than ever before, while the particle effects, such as explosions, have also been improved. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will arrive on the Wii in November 2009, and we hope to bring you a first hands-on soon.

Check out the source at GameSpot

EA’s racing series is getting a makeover for the Wii, and we got a chance to play its new Elimination multiplayer mode.

Need for Speed Nitro is the first game in the franchise developed exclusively for the Nintendo Wii and DS. Developed by EA Montreal, the game features an exaggerated, cartoonish style that feels naturally suited to the Wii while boasting a sharp 60 frames-per-second refresh rate. We got the chance to check out some new tracks and tried the Elimination multiplayer mode ahead of GamesCom.

-3041" class="more-link">(more…)

We suited up for another mission on the USG Ishimura, and this time we brought along a friend.

EA’s Dead Space challenged survival horror preconceptions when it launched last year, boasting spectacular graphics, nail-biting action, and strategic dismemberment. EA was so confident of Dead Space’s appeal that it began work on a Wii version even before the original game had shipped, and we got to finally try out the cooperative mode of Dead Space Extraction ahead of GamesCom.

“Some things, the more you understand them, the more you loathe them.”

(more…)