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We delve into a world filled with kamikaze robots and arcade-style deathmatch action in Beatnik Game's latest multiplayer game.

If there's one thing the gaming world is missing, it's samurai-sword-swinging ninja robots. Thanks to the efforts of indie developer Beatnik Games, that void is set to be filled with its latest multiplayer deathmatch creation, Plain Sight. With nods to the madcap level design of Mario Galaxy, to the control systems of flight simulators, and to the addictive point scoring of classic arcade games, Plain Sight wears its influences on its sleeve. Despite this, Beatnik Games has crafted a game that feels wholly original, with a unique visual style and a just-one-more-go quality.

Plain Sight puts you in control of a robot named El Mono, whose sole aim in life is to destroy other robots. Destroying them nets you points, which in turn makes you bigger, stronger, and generally more badass. However, those points don't count towards your score until you commit mechanical suicide and detonate your robot. If another player destroys you beforehand, you'll lose all your points. This simple mechanic gives the game a strategical twist, and you have to decide whether to squirrel away your points for a larger score or detonate more often after a few kills. There are other considerations too; saving up points makes your final detonation more powerful, meaning you can take other robots down with you, but it also makes you bigger and an easier target for others. There is also an upgrade system which allows you to augment your robot with power-ups such as shields, double-jumps, and faster lock-on times. Upgrades cost a certain number of experience points, which you're awarded after each detonation.

Combat takes place on spherical structures floating in space, and you're able to affix yourself to any side. Controls are a simple affair, using the now standard W, A, S, and D keys for movement. However, combat is a little more unconventional. You launch into the air by jumping, and once there, you target other robots with the mouse. Spotting enemies is made easier by brightly coloured trails which follow them around as they jump. These are colour coded according to how many points they have, so you can decide whether to pick off the weak robots or go after the high-scoring strong ones. Once you have an enemy in your sights, a reticle appears around him, which changes colour to red to indicate you're locked on. You charge up your energy by holding down the left mouse button, and then you release it to see your robot fly towards the enemy like a missile. By chaining several attacks together you're able to stay in the air for long periods of time amassing points. We found it incredibly addictive in practice, and a sudden death just before we cashed in our points only made us want to exact bloody revenge on our opponents.
Though we were able to sample only two maps and standard Deathmatch, the game will ship with 13 maps and five different modes. These include standards such as Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, as well as more esoteric modes such as Ninja! Ninja! Ninja! Robozilla! where you work together with others to destroy a giant robot Godzilla. Each mode supports up to 20 players, and there is also an offline practice mode where you can perfect your skills against computer-controlled bots before taking the fight online.

By the power of Grayskull!

The visuals are a mix of cel-shading and over-the-top colour schemes. The sweeping trails that follow jumping robots create a hypnotic stream of lights, augmented by bright neon flashes from successful kills. Everything is designed with a thick black outline, giving the robots and levels a distinctly cartoon-like look. Structures on maps light up different colours as you land on them, letting competitors know where you are and illuminating the surrounding environment with an effervescent glow. Plain Site is set for release March 22 on the PC, with WiiWare and PSN versions following in 2011.

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First PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 outing for the UK publisher's take on the pinnacle of motorsport confirmed for an autumn release.

While Formula One fans don't have long to wait until the cars roll onto the grid for the first race of the 2010 season in Bahrain, they will have a little longer to wait for the championship's official game. Today, Codemasters confirmed that the 2010 iteration of its nascent Formula One franchise will arrive for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in September. This marks the first outing for the publisher's F1 games on high-definition platforms after the commercial success of the PSP and Wii F1 2009 games last year.

The nearer your destination, the more you're slip sliding away.

F1 2010 is based on the publisher's Ego engine, which was also behind previous hit racing games Race Driver: Grid and Colin McRae Dirt 2, and is being developed at Codemasters Studios Birmingham. It will be the first official Formula One game on the PC platform for eight years, and the first-ever official F1 game to appear on the Xbox 360.

The game will feature all the drivers, teams, cars and tracks from the 2010 Formula One season, recreated with the help of "unprecedented access to Formula One teams and drivers." The Ego engine has been further developed for F1 2010, according to the publisher, "to accurately recreate the unique aerodynamics and handling" of Formula One cars.

F1 2010 will feature a variety of modes including an "innovative" career mode, as well as time trials, Championship and Grand Prix options, although details of these modes have not yet been made public. The publisher has also promised a "highly advanced damage model, fully dynamic weather system and extensive competitive multiplayer options."

More on the game is expected in the coming weeks, so keep it tuned to GameSpot for more news and previews as they emerge.

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We suffer a nasty cut above the eye with our latest look at EA…s upcoming mixed martial arts brawler.

The public slanging match between THQ and EA…s competing mixed martial arts franchises has been heating up of late, with both sides more than happy to take shots at each other, including UFC VP Don Gold and MMA fighter King Mo. EA is the latest to take a swing, unveiling more details on EA Sports MMA at an event held overnight at GDC 2010.

Oh yes. There will be blood.

While our last look at the game focused more on what EA…s overall goals were when it came to transferring the brutal sport of mixed martial arts to home consoles, EA…s GDC event got more granular, unveiling a few tidbits on how the game would control. As was previously hinted, EA Sports MMA will use a system called Total Strike Control, a modified version of the right stick focused controls found in Fight Night Round 4. Players will use the right stick for all strikes, with different stick movements resulting in different attacks (flicking down and up, for example, will make your fighter attempt their version of a roundhouse). Holding down the left bumper will modify the attacks to become leg moves, while moves will also change depending on the distance your fighter is away from his opponent. If you…re not a fan of the right stick, then EA still has you covered: all of these moves can also be assigned to your controller…s face buttons.

While EA let out some details about standing attacks, they still didn…t unveil the control scheme for defence, clinches, or ground moves. One thing EA reps did confirm, however, is that a controller…s rumble functionality will be used when fighters are grappling on the ground. When on the mat, rumbling will indicate that your opponent is trying to move position, giving you a tactile indication of what your opponent is planning and allowing you to perform a counter-move should your skills permit.

When it comes to finally taking down your opponent, each fighter will sport both a stamina and health meter (although the only visible one on the HUD will be stamina). Your stamina will decrease with missed blows, prolonged clinches, or constant movement, and while it will regenerate with time, its total value will slowly decrease as the match progresses. As for health, each fighter will have three health measurements…head, gut and legs. Each measurement will be tracked individually, with more strikes to each area affecting fighters in specific ways. And yes, fighters will display damage specific to where they…ve been hit. In our hands-off demo, we saw plenty of cuts resulting from successful head strikes, with the blood splashing on the mat and opponents in a realistic but grizzly manner.

While that was about all EA chose to disclose about game play at its GDC event, it did let out more detail about the game generally. First up, while the Strikeforce organisation would indeed be one of the promotions featured within the game, the Hexagon won…t be the only type of arena players will battle in within EA Sports MMA. Circular and square rings will also be featured, as will three different rule sets: unified (which allows elbow strikes), Japanese (which allows foot stomps), and Strikeforce rules.

And the final bits of information we gleaned about the upcoming MMA title came from the demo fight EA showed at its GDC event, a fight which featured Nick Diaz and Cung Le. First up, as you…d expect from an EA Sports title, presentation was top notch, with each fighter receiving a flashy ring intro before the match (complete with their own music and walk down the ramp). From the loading screen, it looks like fighters in EA Sports MMA will be rated on the attributes of stand up, clinch, ground, submission, and health, and will be able to focus on one specific fight style. Real life MMA personalities will also make an appearance, including announcer Jimmy Lennon Jnr and former UFC ref John McCarthy. Once within the fighting arena, each fighter will also exhibit unique stances depending on their specialities: Cung He, for example, stood in a classic martial arts pose, while jiu jitsu expert Nick Diaz sported a more fists in the air stance.

EA Sports MMA is looking impressive, and we can…t wait to finally get our hands on the title to see if the game can match the looks. Look for more on this mixed martial arts title in the coming months on GameSpot.

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Infinite Interactive is taking Puzzle Quest back to its fantasy roots with the upcoming sequel.

If Puzzle Quest: Galactrix's sci-fi trappings and hexagonal battle board left you feeling cold, then perhaps a straight shot of retro Puzzle Quest will bring you back into full-on PQ addiction. That's the bet that developer Infinite Interactive is making with the upcoming Puzzle Quest 2, a sequel to the original swords-and-sorcery puzzle adventure game Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords from 2007. The game is due for release this summer on Xbox Live and the Nintendo DS. And, as we found out during some hands-on time earlier today, Infinite Interactive has tweaked the formula of the original game without upsetting the apple cart completely.

Though technically a sequel, PQ2's storyline and characters have nothing in common with the original game. This time around, you play as a lone adventurer who discovers Verloren; an unhappy city that has a connection to a mysterious nearby castle. Your goal is to uncover that connection--to do so, much hacking and slashing must occur. Put more accurately, much gem matching must occur, which will then allow you to hack and slash the various enemies you'll encounter in the game's single-player adventure.

Matching gems of the same color in three-, four-, and five-count rows is still at the heart of PQ2's gameplay, but unlike Galactrix, PQ2 is still played in a rectangular grid with gems dropping down from the top. However, the changes that have been implemented are subtle at first, and they have some significant impact on gameplay. For instance, experience points and gold have been removed from the grid--you now earn money and experience after a battle is finished. In its place, purple mana has been added (along with associated spells that use purple mana). There are also gauntlets strewn throughout, and matching them will earn you action points that will let you attack with any of your equipped weapons.

A focus on weapons and items over the spells that were such a huge part of the original Puzzle Quest is another difference. Though spells play a big role in combat (especially if you're playing as the sorcerer class), attacking with weapons can be just as effective, as we found out when playing with a barbarian-class character. This class can dual-wield weapons and use two-handed weapons (such as the bastard sword). A single swipe of our character's axe did a hefty 10 points of damage to an opponent. A character's defensive rating can affect the amount of damage he or she (or it) takes, and you can cast spells, as well as wear armor, that will increase your armor rating.

Your character has a number of slots for items that you collect during your adventures; two slots for weapons, shields, or potions you can wield in battle and four slots for armor (head, body, legs). After battles, you'll also pick up elemental items you can use later in the game to improve your weapons and armor.

In true Puzzle Quest fashion, you'll be matching gems on the play grid even when you aren't immersed in combat. There are occasional challenges you'll run into as you go; early in the game's tutorial, you'll need to fight a raging fire by battling it on the grid. Of course, the fire can't fight back, but if you unwittingly match red gems, the fire will gain strength. Another challenge required us to bash down a castle door; in gameplay terms, we had to cause a set amount of damage to the door in a certain number of turns in order to succeed. There's also a treasure-hunting minigame that you'll occasionally find after beating a monster where you can earn cash by matching gold, silver, or bronze coins or special items like potions by matching keys on the playing grid.

Beyond the subtleties of gameplay, Puzzle Quest 2 has an art style all its own--forgoing the manga influence of the first game for a more Western art style. In addition, the game's interface has changed a bit--instead of moving around a character icon on a map of the world as in the original game, the camera is drawn down closer into the world. In the tutorial, for example, you'll explore the city of Verloren and interact with individual townsfolk as you go.

Puzzle Quest 2 will feature four character classes: the offensively minded, magic-using sorcerer; the weapons-first barbarian; the defensively strong templar; and the stealthy assassin. All of these character classes will have strengths and weaknesses of their own. You'll be able to pit those characters against the game's single-player campaign or against other players via online multiplayer in the Xbox Live version of the game and via ad hoc wireless on the Nintendo DS. Our brief time with the game was just that…all too brief, and we look forward to sinking more time into the game in the near future.

There's no firm release date for Puzzle Quest 2 yet, but publisher D3 is expecting the game to come out this summer.

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2K Games and Firaxis finally show Civilization V at GDC 2010. Get the details here.

For years, the Civilization series has challenged players to assume the role of one of history's greatest leaders, such as Napoleon Bonaparte or Genghis Khan, and try to conquer the world through force of arms, scientific research, or overwhelming cultural superiority. And for years, the series has been synonymous with things like turn-based strategy, insidiously addictive gameplay, and the compulsion to explore every last square on the map. Except that with Civ V, you won't be exploring squares. You'll be exploring hexes. Yes, as you've probably heard, the new version of Civilization will make some noticeable changes to the series, including changing how maps will be divided not into four-sided squares, but into six-sided hexes, and how archers and other ranged units will actually be able to fire on their enemies from more than one hex away (previously, all units did battle by getting adjacent to their targets). These are big changes, but from what we've seen, they not only seem plausible enough to work, but also seem like they'll open up lots of new strategic possibilities. (Which means, you know, more of those sleepless nights.)

We saw Civ V in a hands-off demonstration at the 2010 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, in the early settlement game, as well as in a later, more-established session against more-developed nations. Civ V's interface is being designed by Firaxis staffer Russell Vaccaro, who also contributed to Firaxis' previous console Civ game, Civilization Revolution. Like that game, Civ V will have a highly streamlined interface that keeps a lot of the information off the main map view in favor of showing the game's detailed 3D world. From a technical perspective, Civ V's overland maps look better than they ever have and feature realistic-looking forests, mountain ranges, and flowing water in the form of inland rivers and sparkling oceans.

Ah, Chancellor Bismarck. How good of you to join us.

While you're gazing from sea to shining sea, you won't have to stare at piles and piles of numbers and icons--instead, while you'll still be able to access menus like your city's build menu, the scientific technology tree, and your diplomacy standings with other nations, they'll all be nested in menus that can be quickly and easily closed up. To make sure you don't forget what you were going to do next, the game will instead offer an enhanced notification system that will alert you to pretty much all happenings in the game, from completed scientific research to finished construction in your cities to discovering ruins (which appear to be the new game's version of goodie huts), and clicking on the notification will always open up the relevant menu and let you do whatever you need. In addition, Civilization III's advisors return in Civ V and will, as usual, offer you helpful tips on the next move you might want to make.

The demonstration we watched showed an early starting game for Greece with a troop of settlers (which act as the single settlers unit from previous games) and a troop of warriors (which act as a single warrior unit from previous games). The settlers immediately started a new city, while the warriors headed out into the wilderness to find a neighboring city-state, one of Civ V's new features. City-states are basically neutral cities of varying specializations (such as a militaristic city-state) that can be conquered if you prefer, though you can leave them neutral and form treaties with them, or take missions from them. Forming a strong relationship with a neutral city-state can be very beneficial--becoming buddies with the militaristic city-state in our demonstration meant that the neutral burg would send us free warriors every few turns--but it can also upset nearby civilizations who would prefer to have that city-state's services for themselves.

Ranged units will attack from a distance. Maps will be hex-based. This will be a different Civ.

Expansion will still be crucial to your success in Civ V, and the amount of "culture" your nation produces will still be the determining factor in how often your cities expand, but this time around, cities will not automatically expand outward in giant concentric circles. Instead, your holdings will expand one hex at a time and will tend to automatically grow toward specific nearby areas that your current civilization needs--for instance, if you've been developing your agricultural base, your nation will automatically tend to expand toward that nearby wheat-growing plain. While you can still use the old trick of annexing nearby resources by just sending out a settler to build an adjoining city nearby, there will apparently be game-specific disadvantages to having two cities too close to each other. Instead, Civ V will offer you a new alternative to send settlers to a desired area and plunk down a huge sum of gold to simply annex that zone and its resources.

After observing the early ages, we skipped ahead to a more-developed version of Greece that lay near holdings from Germany and the good old U. S. of A. Our first encounter with Germany came in the form of greeting a German settler, which brought us an audience with Chancellor Bismarck in his private chambers. Meeting with world leaders will look and sound different in Civ V, since the game will switch to a full-screen view of that leader in his or her current environment (whether that be in a home office or out at war, for instance), which shows more or less a full-body view of the leader as he or she paces about the room, smiling (or frowning), gesticulating, and speaking his or her native language.

Expansion will still be based on your culture but will work differently.

That's right, leaders will no longer be mute mimes who make grandiloquent genuflections in your general direction--Chancellor Bismarck will speak full-on German, while General Washington will speak perfect English. This is a new change that Civ fans have apparently been requesting for some time. In addition, while you'll still be able to negotiate trade agreements, travel agreements, and peace treaties with neighboring nations, Civ V will also let you enter into research treaties--essentially, a joint investment of a lump sum of cash that will accelerate scientific research for both nations. This can be a highly beneficial arrangement that earns you friendship points with other nations, and it can also be a serious bone of contention if you cut the treaty short midway.

In this session, after exchanging pleasantries with Bismarck, we set about making overtures to a nearby city-state along the American border. While we definitely made some friends there, General Washington of America didn't seem quite as happy and addressed us in a cordial but stern manner when we sought an audience with him. For the sake of the demo, our Firaxis hosts went ahead and declared war on the indignant dignitary, and we had our chance to observe Civ V's tactical combat in action.

Civ V, as mentioned, is making some significant changes to the way combat works. For instance, the combined armies of the previous games are a thing of the past--instead, only one "stack" (a single battalion of troops that occupies any given hex) can occupy a hex. No more combining units to make them stronger. In addition, units will take longer to produce and will eventually come to have upkeep costs associated with them--however, they will also have veterancy along the lines of what was introduced in Civ IV. That is, units that survive various skirmishes will eventually grow in power and may be able to select various bonuses to increase their usefulness and survivability. The Firaxis team, led by designer Jon Schafer, envisions more-intimate, tactical battles in Civ V (based on Schafer's fondness for the classic Panzer General)--generally speaking, you and your neighbors will have fewer military units in play than you might have had in previous games in the series, and they'll last longer and be more valuable.

The combat demonstration we watched showed a land invasion of America along two fronts, with enemy spearmen guarding General Washington's town on both sides. Our ranks consisted mainly of warriors, spearmen, and a few archers, and though our relatively weaker warriors unfortunately started on the front lines ahead of our spearmen, we were able to use Civ V's new switch move order to have the two units swap positions, and then we pit our spearmen against theirs. Those crafty Americans set themselves up behind a river, which gave their units a natural terrain bonus, but we softened up our foes with a volley of arrows from a stack of archers placed atop a nearby hill. By softening up our foes and weakening their remaining health, we effectively reduced their terrain advantage and were able to mop them up with our own spearmen, which were at full strength. Meanwhile, on the western end of the border, our troops encountered worse luck. Washington had built his empire around a one-hex-wide choke point in the mountains and blocked it off with spearmen backed up by archers. Because only one unit can occupy any one hex at any given time, there was no way to pass through the mountains without going through the enemy spearmen--cases like these will require your own archers (and other ranged units) to soften up the front lines. However, archers themselves will be extremely fragile and can be easily decimated if they're engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

You'll need to think smarter and make better use of the terrain in Civ V's battles.

And as it happens, in Civ V, units may no longer be garrisoned inside your cities, so defending your holdings will have two aspects. One--all cities will automatically defend themselves based on their current growth level and any defensive structures you may have built inside. Two--you'll want to make sure you defend your key cities with army units, possibly building fort structures nearby to enhance your defenses. This task may or may not be as impossible as it sounds since Civ V's "conquest" victory condition has been tweaked to require you to capture all enemy capital cities, as opposed to capturing every single city on the map. Again, these are big changes and are really pretty bold--but they seem like they could add real depth and exciting new direction to the series. Oh, and one last note--although Civ IV's religion system (which was met with mixed reactions) won't be making a comeback, we're assured by Firaxis that the feature wasn't simply cut without any plans for other new features to replace it. There are definitely more changes afoot for Civ V, and we can't wait to find out more. The game is scheduled for release later this year.

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We take to the skies and water-bomb forest fires in our first look at this kid-friendly flight game.

Kid Adventures: Sky Captain is a Wii game aimed at fulfilling the flight fantasies of younger gamers by putting them in the cockpit of a series of planes and tasking them with a variety of airborne missions. We donned the aviator goggles and jumped in the cockpit in this hands-on from GDC 2010.

Who's Making The Game: Aussie developer Torus Games is the captain on this title. The company has a long history of making kid-friendly games, including Zoo Hospital for the DS and the Wii, and Scooby Doo! First Frights.

What The Game Looks Like: Kid Adventures: Sky Captain sees you flying around three different zones, each one sporting its own unique look and features. The first world you…ll be in is essentially a large island surrounded by smaller islands. It's lush, green, and laced with roads, tunnels, and railway tracks. The second area, which you'll need to unlock, is prehistoric-themed, with a large volcano as its centerpiece. The third is set amid floating landmasses in the sky, reminiscent of the gravity-defying mountains in Avatar. Each area looks bright and colorful, if a little plain.

What There Is To Do: Apart from just flying around and enjoying the scenery, each of the three areas is littered with different missions you can undertake, with 40 different mission types to be found in the game. Missions range from simple checkpoint races where you have to fly your plane through a series of hoops, to shooting down midair targets, to taking aerial photographs of key landmarks. Successfully completing missions earns you experience points, which you can use to unlock new planes (and skins for your new rides).

How The Game Is Played: You fly by holding the Wii Remote on its side and tilting it to go up or down, left or right. The 1 and 2 buttons are used for braking and accelerating, respectively, while holding down the trigger and tilting the remote will see you perform tricks like barrel rolls. Your plane is also equipped with a water cannon and a camera, and you can switch between these by holding down on the remote's D pad.

What They Say: "The game includes 40 exhilarating missions from sky racing, stunt flying, target shooting, and treasure hunting. Players will also have the option of inviting a friend to the cockpit and playing cooperatively in any of the missions or head-to-head in multiplayer mode and can unlock several flying machines, including a jet plane and UFO."

What We Say: Kid Adventures: Sky Captain is reminiscent of the Wii Sports Resort minigame that allowed you to fly around Wuhu Island, although with more purpose thanks to the many varied missions on offer. Controls were simple to learn, and we can see this being popular with young children when it comes out on the Wii on June 15 this year.

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