Anyone who owned an Xbox 360 in November of 2006 picked up one of two games -- or, if you're lucky enough, you bought both Rainbox Six Vegas or Epic's Gears of War. While Gears was certainly the more hyped of the two titles, Rainbox Six Vegas rose to the forefront of many gamers' minds as a contender for Game of the Year. While it did concede the honors in the end, the series clearly made the jump to high-definition gaming much easier than others. Some say it was the first fully realized Xbox 360 game to come on the market. Period. We would agree.

Ign interview with Jean-Pascal Cambiotti!!

IGN: Give us an example from the new game that outlines how the structure of a level is geared more towards a co-op experience than what we saw from the first Vegas.

Jean-Pascal Cambiotti: Well, in the first Rainbow Six Vegas (RSV), all levels were created around the SP campaign. This time around we really wanted to put more emphasis on playing co-op. Our maps were designed from the ground up with co-op in mind.

The layouts accommodate more players in a given area. There are more entry points so that no one is stepping on other's toes. This goes beyond adding a few doors here and there. This includes adding more skylights so your partner can fast-rope down onto terrorists and multi-level areas that allow your teammates to clear the lower level while you and your Co-op partner take on the terrorists on the upper level.

IGN: Will the co-op gameplay now have dialogue during cut scenes (that was sorely missed in the first Vegas)?

Cambiotti: As mentioned before, co-op was a major focus for us. So yes, you can play the complete story in co-op with the help of a friend. All dialogs and scenes remain completely intact in co-op.

IGN: Will your friends be able to bring their created character over to your house on their hard drive or memory card and import it for co-op action?

Cambiotti: You can bring over your customized character to play split-screen at your friend's house and continue to evolve him during that time.

IGN: When you say you can invite a friend to jump in at any time during your campaign, does this apply to Xbox Live and split screen?

Cambiotti: Yes, the SP story campaign can all be played through co-op with a friend. The host controls the teammates, and the guest is the 4th character in the story that helps you complete your missions. This can be done through online and offline and of course offline is accomplished through split-screen. As the question states, your friend can jump-in and out of your game at anytime. Both characters progress and share any experience points you get. Since our game is about playing as team, there is no competition between the players for points and rewards in co-op.

IGN: Can I port my character from Vegas 1 over to Vegas 2? If not, why not?

Cambiotti: This is something we looked into from the start of the project, but unfortunately it isn't possible due to technical issues and 1st party limitations. However, for those loyal RSV gamers, we offer some rewards by granting them Veteran status, which immediately unlocks some cool stuff and gives them an XP boost.

IGN: Can you explain the two new adversarial multiplayer modes for us?

Cambiotti: All I can say at this time is that we have 2 new team-based adversarial multiplayer modes. We also revamped our other game modes based on our observations of what worked and what didn't in RS Vegas.

IGN: Why make the new multiplayer maps smaller rather than more expansive? Don't players want to see sprawling landscapes rather than be confined to tight quarters?

Cambiotti: Bigger maps don't necessarily mean they are better. However, we do offer both bigger and smaller sized maps in RSV2. Our objective was to balance all the maps as best as possible by making more intense firefight zones. In an MP map, you want to be able to find enemies instead of spending all your time wandering around the landscape. There's still plenty of room to maneuver and approach your objective from different paths.

In addition, one way Rainbow Six differentiates itself from other shooters is through close quarter battles.

IGN AU attended an event in Sydney today to get up close and personal with Radical Entertainment's latest open-world titlePrototype. Following in the footsteps of the other games the studio has made in the genre - The Simpsons: Hit & Run, Scarface and Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Prototype is the first to be based around a new IP, and it's clear that the team are pleased that the cuffs are off. Rather than conforming to the expectations of a license (and more importantly, a license holder), with Prototype Radical is letting its imagination run wild, and the game is already a riot of energy and destruction.

At a basic gameplay level, the initial impression is Hulk: Ultimate Destruction meets Crackdown. This game has a similar sense of chaotic freedom and power. Rather than feeling artificially restrained, this is a game where you can run up the side of a building, then leap from rooftop to rooftop. This is a game where you can barrel down the street like a charging bull, knocking pedestrians aside and vaulting off the bonnets of any vehicles in your path. Hell, this is a game where you can jack a helicopter... while it's in the air.

While we were shown a mission from later in the game, the basic concept is that the player will be uber powerful right from the off. You will feel like a certified bad-ass the second you hit the streets of New York, capable of taking on anything. The balance, then, will come in the way the threats you face change over the course of the game. Indeed, while Prototype will open with players exploring a familiar snapshot of Manhattan circa 2008 (built from 11,000 photos the team took on site), the future of the city is most certainly a damaged one.

Before we discuss the path to martial law, however, let's quickly recap on the titular prototype, protagonist Alex Mercer. Designed as an anti-hero, Mercer begins the game as an amnesiac (ah, old faithful), the result of some highly potent genetic experiments. Over the course of the game you'll discover more and more about who you are and what was done to you, but for now all you really need to know is that you're highly ****fied, highly dangerous and the military will do almost anything to get you back.

Of course, losing your identity and being experimented on isn't all bad... at least, not when you come out the other end with the ability to absorb the powers, form and memories of any enemy, not to mention the fact that you're packing some formidable offensive and defensive options. Soldier in your way? A tap on the D-pad and you can morph your arms into great gnarled trunks, ending with jagged claws, perfect for ripping anything fleshy in twain. Helicopter firing rockets at you? Again, a tap in a different direction and you can form a hard shield to block incoming rounds and projectiles.

There are a huge array of abilities you'll be able to use (the team call Alex the 'human Swiss Army Knife'), including skewering enemies with jagged spikes, and assuming a rock hard form so you can barge your way through traffic, a nearly unstoppable machine. The whole idea is to let you assign abilities to directions on the D-pad (with up for your attacking toggle, down for defence, right for disguise and left for your sensory ability) so that you can instantly switch between them. Combos and ability mixes will be the order of the day here, with an emphasis on speed. As Tim Bennison, the Executive Producer on Prototype, told the gathering: "This is not a slow paced game... so the menu system is designed to allow you to flick these combinations on and off, literally in mid-combat, in mid-jump, in mid-spike, you can transform, change, reconfigure your character... which affects what [abilities] you have available, then you can use that in your combat." Oh, and lets not forget there'll also be a massive array of more traditional weapons to play around with - none of which were implemented in the build we saw.

In past console generations, third party accessories for the various systems were traditionally relatively rare in the first year or two after launch, but grew to proliferation as installation bases reached the critical mass required to make first-party-alternatives commercially viable. The current crop of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii, however, are apparently progressing along an opposite release timeline. Though Wiimote add-ons are arriving in ever increasing quantity, Microsoft's unwillingness to license wireless technology to third parties and the extremely slow sales of wired controllers that launched with the console have more or less shut down the third party controller business for the system. The PlayStation 3 found some support at launch, but until the recent price drops, slow initial sales led many manufacturers to delay or indefinitely postpone release plans.

To open the New Year, however, Pelican is giving us a look at the company's upcoming AfterGlow controllers for the PlayStation 3. The controllers are the latest iteration of the AfterGlow line that was popular on the PlayStation 2.

As the AfterGlow name might suggest, the big feature of the controllers are the internal LEDs that shine through the translucent plastic shells to make the controllers easy to spot in a dark room, or perhaps just look cool. Pelican will launch four flavors of the controllers based upon the color of their lighting, which will include white, blue, red, and green. Of note is the fact that the AfterGlow PS3 controllers will feature a dedicated Home button, which some other PS3 third-party controllers lack.

Pelican will launch the AfterGlow line for the PlayStation 3 in the second half of January. Pricing is set at $19.99.

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