Ian Stevens from Tigon Studios has offered some details on the relationships engaged between films and games, these relations having in their turn some ups and downs along the way. Taking a film and turning it into a game reveals a difference based on the way each of them, film or game, offers the entertainment to the public; the interactive entertainment of the games compared to the passive one of the movies should bring the audience more filmed-based games, but unfortunately, the late releases didn’t measure up to the players’ expectations. All this happens because the filmic language is understood by the games’ producers as one that has to fit a commercial.
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The tale behind the games’ scene goes like this:

Lacking an outside model for games, gives the game producers restriction in releasing a game in a period of time that doesn’t allow them to improve the quality of the game or even its plot. And because of this aspect they need to be more respected since they struggle with technology, corporate business, other different things that prevent them from developing better games productions. Their activity is displayed between design and production and business development as well, which of course takes a lot of commitment and time.

Releasing a self-built game it involves a risky step but the game industry is striving to grow and attempts to bring innovations and quality through games that can be new and interesting, or simply good. The accent however must be put on this risk, even if some publishers are overreacting with making games to bring money, no matter what the cost! The setting of a deal both in developing and publishing it is based on looking for developers that have a new IP. After that a team comes in with its idea for a game and it is incorporated in building a franchise and a universe in order to resemble to a movie or animated series or whatever appropriate.

When Dark Athena was released it came as part of Activision/Vivendi merger, though Vivendi had this project worked with Taigon, but at the beginning it was merely a remake, a small project that in time proved to become a huge licensing deal than it was actually meant from the beginning. Releasing Dark Athena with an Activision merger was somewhat predictable, since the team over there is fond of brands and annualisation and Ian Stevens in his turn has many connections with the Activision team, since the time he had worked there.

Another exchange for publishers was made with the ‘Wheelman’, which went from Midway to Ubisoft. This game required a lot of work and everybody that was involved was anxious to see it on the store shelves, no matter its ending would be – good or bad. Being released as a Ubisoft-published product brought the producers a lot of excitement to see that their product made the object of a deal with Ubisoft, a very respected publisher. What is there more rewarding for a game producer if not a well-known publisher to be interested in running his game?

With the first release of Just Cause being a hit, its sequel seemed to be compulsory and it proved to lift itself up to its fans’ expectations. Just Cause 2 brings in new excitement element that offers a new dimension to the reality of the game.
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The thing that acts as an improvement is the element called the grappling hook – arm mounted that helps you perform a diversity of tasks. Through this element you are able to link two objects together, pull your body along, and get you lifted up hanging by a helicopter, all these skills being performed at the same time with situations that reflect abilities of a puzzle solving.

Being airborne through the help of your grappling hook not only gives you have more control, but you have an extreme legerity to handle your positioning choosing at your own pace the heights of your airborne. You can get attached to anything you aim at, in this way you have easier access to situations that can get you out of trouble. Tapping of a button you are able to chain the grapple swings together, and pointing at a tree will allow you to start your journey. All this time your weapon can keep on firing at different spots. Due to this technique you can also avoid to move at ease in order to avoid being shot and this aspect adds a new perspective to the displaying of the game in that of offering a view of verticality that is new for a gamer’s experience.

The grapple hook is the element that helps you to jump off of an helicopter and swing below. This position doesn’t prevent you from aiming your enemies and throwing grenades at them. Then is the turn of cars and trucks, when the wonder hook can grapple over an enemy car, as it is approaching, tying it to the rear of the car in this way giving the opportunity to be under cover. From there the character can smoothly duck around the side of the car and catch the enemy inside while pulling out the driver in one swift motion.

The best ability of the grappling hook however seems the one to tie two objects together and after that release them. For instance, you can nail up an enemy to an exploding barrel, for in the end to let them both go exploding that is! Or while performing the care chase described above you can actually grapple a car and then nail that car to a static point of the settings around as it is a bridge pylon or a wall. It will result in a catapulting action of the car through the air having the effect of a most audacious stunt ever seen in the world game.

Due to its “updated” physics engine, the game offers a lot of new experiences and together with them a lot of fun and excitement.

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.