At the Best Sports Game this edition, EA has presented Fight Night Round 4 promoting it as a “fighter” game, which due to the new analog stick-only punches controls and an improved focus on counterattacks, it really feels like a fighting game. All you have to do is learn the stick movements in order to obtain a good timing between the stick moves and the one displayed on the screen.
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But next to the uppercuts and hooks, you have to be in control of the countering that plays a major role in the gameplay. Timing the blocks and deviating the opponent’s punch enables you to find an opening to strike back with a fast, strong hit. But unfortunately there are still plenty of punches that remain uncountered, yet this new Round 4 is definitely more improved than the Round 3’s block system.

The game is breathing reality through a stunning graphics of the bodies, revealing the sweaty musculature while performing the punches and greatly improved physics that give a new face to the game. Your skills have a word to say while fighting, so long as deflected blows can damage and covering up doesn’t seem to be the solution.

Also present is the new Legacy mode that offers weak, poorly incorporated mini-games of training that partly contain games almost impossible to be successfully completed. This will determine plenty of the gamers to try the auto-train feature that would eventually be more successful.

Your goal is that through fighting, training, fighting again to finally reach at the top of the world, but this goal is unattainable as long as your opponent’s skills jump all of a sudden 20 levels forward. More fun is while playing against real living opponents. The online play both Xbox 360 and PS3 presents even a World Championship mode that enables you to fight against your folks.

Some of the critics agree with the fact that minigames of training are the weak point of the game, while the new physics is impressive. The option for auto training is giving better results in the upcoming fights where the fighting engine being physics-based gives a good sense of real. The game is running 60 frames per second, thus speeding up the rhythm of the fights.

As to the countering system critics disagree with the manner it is conceived since there are plenty of moments when sitting back and waiting for counter punch seem to be the only options. Others affirm that the counter-punching reacts a little bit too fast in this way determining a fighter to loose scoring otherwise good to be counted. In other gamers’ point of view the game seems to slow down for a second whenever a counterpunch is possible, and when you manage to land one, a bright flash appears as it hits.

But one way or another Fight Night Round 4 is about fighting and gives you the feeling of entertaining in a world where the graphics almost makes it tangible.

Petroglyph is known as a company to support the RTS games, but now with the new release (joined by True Games) “Mytheon”, the company takes a step further into the online games market.
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The new game “Mytheon” is revealed to be as a mixture of action, strategy, and RPG, further details being delivered by Peter Cesario, the director of product development at True Games and Chris Rubyor, the head of the design dept. at Petroglyph.

“Mytheon” is created as a game that mixes three genres addicted to an element that gives the ability to collect features. In this game players have to choose from a series of three different classes’ characters and start the quest for freedom that is reachable through powerful mythological gods. The ability to gain this godly freedom is possible due to the “Power Stones”, which are magical units converted into companions, structures and spells. The element that gives addiction to the game is gathering these innumerable stones that make the object of the player’s struggle.

The Petroglyph’s co-operation with True Games has the purpose to bring players an exciting gaming experience. The collaboration consisted in game mechanics, storyline, even web design. The beginning of the game is rendered by a fly over the city of Argos where the players start their quest into the Mytheon that is the connection place for the players to group, trade, and start new adventures. The trailer of the game displayed various combat encounters and plenty of creatures that players will be given the ability to control through Power Stones.

Mytheon is planned to be released as a 100% free to download and free to play for as long as one wants. The companies are striving to integrate the model into the experience of a normal play game in an attempt to avoid the oppositional effects over the dispute of “paying’ vs ‘non paying’ gamers. On the other hand the game gives the possibility of customizing the characters through the choice of three distinctive classes – Warcaster, Elementarist and Eidolon. The classes are strictly connected to power stone sets, thus enabling the gamers to gather a large amount of flexibility in playing solo or to group up for a tactical diversity.

The game is equipped also with an integrated social networking feature set, such as guild support, friends list, chat and in addition there will be a possibility to socialize through sites like Facebook and MySpace. Petroglyph in its turn brings a fresh perspective through the fact that Mytheon takes the best elements of strategy and action coloring them with light RPG features. This combination determines the game to be easier accessed to, and more exciting to the combat’s tactical elements while the settings keep the players deepened into the game. Mytheon, a quest into the mythical Ancient Greece is expected to be launched in 2010 and for anyone who needs updated news can access the company’s website.

The “Wizards of the Coast” have released the version of Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers for Xbox Live Arcade, which brings the main gameplay to XBLA in a form that is excitingly presented and easy-to-play. The “Magic” players would be disappointed to see that the deck construction of MTG is removed by the Duels of the Planeswalkers.
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The only access allowed is the one to some pre-constructed decks that give the possibility of gaining additional cards by playing matches against the computer. You are left without any option to control most of the aspects of the deck construction, so long as you are not permitted to remove cards from the basic deck. It is somehow believed that this is meant to make the game simpler to the new-comers, and to enable a more even playing field.

The “Stainless Games” company managed to put together the engine that provides a game played in the manner that Magic was meant to be played: at a table with digital cards in your hand. The graphics of the game table is well rendered without any useless details displaying the right layout for an exciting game of Magic between several players. The rhythm of the game is well paced, too. Time is on your side in case you need extra minutes to think before you make the move. The computer is playing fast enough and you are allowed to turn off the card animations if you need to hurry up the things.

The cards and all the tricks that a player is allowed to use can be very simple manipulated on the controller of the console. An Evish Piper is at handy to be used in case you want to call a creature when an opponent is ending his turn or you are allowed to move up the Shivan Dragon in order to end up a weakened opponent that is eventually caught without a flyer.

Magic: Duel of the Planeswalkers is a complex game, this time easier to be learned due to the pre-constructed decks that give access to the new players to finding out the subtleties of the game. The strong point here is to think fast enough in order to catch the opportunities to build a powerful play, and at the same time to learn the complex combos and strategies. Another mode is present: the one that enables you to plow through in order to unlock cards for all your decks, together with the mode that gives you a possibility of fun challenges (eight in number) that resemble to a puzzle game, in this way you are asked to learn more complex card interactions for you to clear each level. Another two modes are present designed in the form of a two-headed giant where you can play side by side with a friend.

Magic is seen as one of the greatest strategy games, partly because of its infinite options for customizing that confer the game a more friendly and easy brand, turning it into a novelty for a Magic serious player. Magic: The Gathering returns with a duel that challenges its old players in an exciting card game with chances to end up as a winner.