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Fairytale Fights (360, PS3, PC)
• Publisher: Playlogic
• Developer: Playlogic
• Release Date: Holiday 2009
• What We Saw:
We saw a developer led demo of a Red Riding Hood-esque character making her way through a forest of demented, chimp like wood cutters to an eventual showdown with a giant, malevolent beaver. No, I'm not making that up. Along the way we were shown the dynamic slicing feature that shows, in real time, just how much you're carving up your enemies resulting in copious pools of blood that the player can slide around in. Finally, some of the game's co-op was shown off as two players traversed a witch's gingerbread house, fighting off dimunitive garden gnomes when they weren't trying to kill each other.
• What We Think:
Brandon: The art style of the game is very well done with lots of bright colors and seemingly innocent fairytale characters that you can then behead with an axe and see said beheading pop up in a smaller window that takes up nearly a quarter of your screen. I'm not sure what tactical advantage the dynamic slicing will offer or if it's just a cool looking feature but it sure is accurate. The ability to play the game with just two thumbsticks is intriguing, especially given the ranged weapons, both traditional and magic we were shown. Two player co-op looks like fun, however the always-on friendly fire could be annoying if you play with the wrong person The developer told us that part of the fun of co-op is to annoy the other person, so clearly it's working as designed. Seeing how dark and serious the upcoming slate of 3rd person action hack and slashers are Fairtale Fights may provide a gruesomely bright and welcome contrast.

Fallen Earth (PC)
• Publisher: Fallen Earth LLC
• Developer: Fallen Earth LLC
• Release Date: Q3 2009
• What We Saw:
It’s about time that someone picked up the reigns of the post-apocalyptic MMO, and not with the cop-out of calling magic “nanotechnology.” Barring a few mutations, which provide temporary benefits, Fallen Earth is true to its Mad Max-ian roots. Beginning in the Hoover Dam, the entire game is set 150 years from now, in and around the Grand Canyon with Google Earth accuracy. Character creation has the perfect amount of versatility without going overboard, unless chest hair counts, and has no classes. Instead, players will develop their own class as they determine which skills and abilities to buy, and which of six factions to align with. The landscape is absolutely humongous, so at some point you might want to consider laying down some cash on a player-crafted car. Just don’t forget to mount the guns.
• What We Think:
Brian: It’s time for a little tip-toe action. As a participant in the closed beta, I know more than I was shown at the demo, but I am bound to secrecy. I’ll simply say that Fallen Earth has a lot of potential. The twitch-based combat (modified with stats) is accurately responsive, and the textural overhaul has done wonders for Fallen Earth, when it’s sitting still. An axe should never be swung like a Nerf bat, nor should enemies slide around like they’re on skates. I would also like the ability to swing the camera around and see myself once in a while. MMOs are about creating fantasy life-experiences, and regardless of how good your missions are or how interesting the environments are, small details like animations and vain camera angles can make or break that fantasy.

Flips Twisted World (Wii)
• Publisher: Majesco
• Developer: Frozen North Productions
• Release Date: January 2010
• Screenshots
• What We Saw:
Throw a cutesy, generic little wizard dude, the gravity shifting from Super Mario Galaxy and the world flipping from Super Paper Mario, and you have something a bit like Flip’s. It’s a 3D puzzle/platformer built around a “flipping” mechanic that allows you to move everything in the world on its side to continue your adventure.
I was shown a few short levels wherein our hero flicked his little staff to make the game world go topsy-turvy, and then he scampered along on the newly traversable territory. There were wacky looking enemies to pummel, environmental puzzles to solve (mostly based on the flipping mechanic) and plenty of hopping and bopping action. I also saw a sample boss battle with a giant cartoon dragon – our hero had to lure him into one of four towers and whack him on the head to bring him down.
• What We Think:
Danielle: Think of this game as Super Mario Galaxy-lite. It looks fun and colorful, and the flipping is intriguing, but this is clearly territory a certain plumber has covered before. To be fair, the game has plenty of time left in development for polishing, and if Frozen North really plays up the 3D puzzle elements, we could be looking at something special.