Game Advancer

AM G

CER VAN AD E
THOR
God of thunder
Exclusive look: -Sonic Generations

MAY 2011

Game of the month

-Lego Pirates of the Caribbean

Multiplayer Co-op with friends for strategizing

This is

Use character classes to choose your path of domonation

Agility moves allow you to move through obsticles easier

May
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2011

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Game Releases: -Thor: May 3rd -Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: May 10th -Brink: May 10th

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Thor: god of thunder the video game take a look of this months game Sonic GenerationsExclusive look into SEGAs 20th annivesary game Lego Pirates of the Caribbean the video gameHave some Lego fun with this pirate hilarity!

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Check out what one of the head honchos behind the THOR video game has to say about creating the game and its similarities between the film.

I managed to catch up with Matt Powers, the producer of SEGAs latest comic movie/video game adaptation, THOR: Pietro Filipponi: How soon did your team begin production of the game? The started production of the movie about a year and a half ago so thats when we first started working on the game. But then they delayed the movie and pushed it our for almost a year so it was a bit hard for us to continue without knowing the direction [the studio] was going to take. PF: It seems you we almost leapfrogging over each other, so who was responsible for the designs of the Nine Realms, the intricacies of the costumes and all the aesthetic details? We wanted to start on the designs of the Worlds and such right away but we had to slow down for a bit to let the film crew finish conceptualizing them. Worlds like NIFLHEIM and ALFHEIM arent featured in the film but the movie people needed to take the lead on their designs. And they really learned their way around the comics mythology, theyre true experts. PF: Is this game based on the films storyline or is it an original one? Its a complete original story. Matt Fraction helped us by consulting on it. PF: Whats been the most difficult part of the process? Id have to say its getting in tuned with the movie crew. We had a tough time making a lot of forward progress because the movie guys took a long time to finalize what they wanted. Just learning to pronounce the names of these characters and places in hard enough, but we didnt know how Kenneth Branagh was going to direct Chris Hemsworth, or how Chris was going to speak as Thor, so writing the games script was a hard thing to lock down until production of the film was in full swing. PF: Was there anything that the production crew did to help you guys along? The Marvel guys were a tremendous help. Like with the cape, they sent us actual swatches of the cloth so we can make sure the game matched up with the film. As for the helmet, which you dont see here [in the concept art], Marvel changed the helmet design three times on us so far. Even now they are still tweaking the helmets and costumes with CG, even though they are already done filming. Were constantly getting new designs in. PF: When comparing the Thor game to others like Iron Man or Wolverine, what would you say it the biggest difference? This whole experience has been great and mostly because its so different. Its not grounded in Earth or technology, its so vast and deep with all the Worlds and characters that there is so much more room to be creative with it. Its a very fun time

The Video Game

THOR:

Sonic Generations
egas fast-moving blue rodent mascot has had some stumbles as the latest console generation has unfolded. Fans continue to anticipate each new release in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, but theres a wariness now, a sneaking suspicion accompanying every new announcement that each release will be followed by a tidal wave of unfulfilled hype and disappointment. Theres a larger question here, of whether Sonics brand of high-speed platforming gameplay can still be relevant today. Ponder that as you consider the newly announced Sonic Generations, which celebrates Sonics 20 years of life with a game that promises to reel in touchstones to all of his adventures, from the Genesis era all the way up to the modern generation of consoles and handhelds. The game was announced earlier this month with a title-less trailer featuring two Sonics running side-by-side, his slim, present-day iteration and his pudgier former self. On 2D maps, Sonic controls just as he did in the classic games. Using an Xbox 360 controller as a reference point, the A button jumps while pressing down and A performs a spin dash. This move has also been mapped to the X button, trading authenticity for simplicity. On the 3D side, the perspective (on the GHZ map at least) jumps pretty frequently between an over-theshoulder perspective and a more traditional 2D-style side view. Pressing A (again, on a 360 controller) jumps and also performs Sonics mid-air homing attack while holding X activates boost, depleting an on screen meter in the process. This meter can be refilled by knocking out enemies and performing tricks in mid-air -- done simply by moving the two analog sticks in different directions -- after hitting a rainbowcolored jump ramp.

With just the one level played in each mode, theres really no telling at this point just how much fans will be serviced. There are a lot of small nods however, such as the return of classic Sonic enemy Crabmeat, who does a little dance for joy if he happens to steal some of the hedgehogs rings. Sega isnt saying much about the story at this point either, though the games crossover elements will be a part of it; the story opens with Sonic and his friends being pulled into a rift in time by a mysterious power. Theres also nothing being said one way or the other about the presence of multiplayer, leaderboards or anything like that, though more news is promised to be coming at E3. There was some mention of an interactive menu system, though exactly what form that will take remains to be seen.

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Prepare to experience the thrilling Pirates of the Caribbean franchise in LEGO video game form for the first time. Today, Captain Jack Sparrow and his band of pirates set sail for their greatest adventures in LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, now available for the Wii console, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable) system, Windows-based PC/Mac Hybrid and the Nintendo DS family of hand-held systems, including the Nintendo 3DS. Published by Disney Interactive Studios and developed by the renowned team at TT Games, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game can be purchased for $49.99 on consoles (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3), $39.99 on Nintendo 3DS and $29.99 for PC, Nintendo DS and PSP system. Bringing together the magic and humor of the Pirates of the Caribbean world with the timeless joy of LEGO toys is a natural fit, said Adam Sussman, senior vice president of publishing, Disney Interactive Media Group. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game represents a new and exciting way of telling the story of Captain Jack Sparrow, and players of all ages will enjoy exploring the action from the movies in a way they have never experienced before.

Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean

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LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game re-creates the action, adventure and memorable moments of the Pirates of the Caribbean mythology in LEGO form, incorporating the humor of LEGO minifigures and fantastic worlds built from LEGO bricks and elements for players to explore. Players take on the role of more than 70 characters from the movies and experience all the pirate adventure, irreverent humor and amazing creatures of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, including the upcoming fourth film, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Throughout the game, players will explore environments from the highly acclaimed movie series in more than 20 levels. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game features two-player Cooperative mode and Freeplay mode, which let players return to levels to discover new treasures.