Alan Wake, Forza 3 and Halo 3: ODST get previewed
IGN has posted hands-on previews of Alan Wake, Forza 3 and Halo 3: ODST.
However, if reading lots of words is all too much for you, we've taken what we feel are the most interesting bits from each one.
Alan Wake:
What I enjoyed most about Alan Wake as I moved from cabin to cabin in the eerie mountain village of Bright Falls, was how effectively Remedy has implemented strong action-oriented gameplay without sacrificing atmosphere. Alan is the only normal person in a very paranormal place, and he's not the type that can just run and gun his way through the horde of evil things surrounding him. Running away is probably the smartest strategy in the game and combining that cowardice (or as I like to call it, tactical withdrawal) with a clever use of your flashlight and gun combo is every bit as entertaining as previously 'roided up horror titles like Resident Evil 5.
Forza 3:
But then there's also the new rewind functionality, which enables you to jump back five seconds in time to erase your mistakes. This isn't a feature new to racing games. Codemasters' Grid showcased a similar feature. But in Forza 3, it's more welcome. In Grid it was an "oops, I screwed up" button. And sure, I used it as a mulligan for when I slid out and slammed into a median. But really, the rewind function is going to be a learning tool because Forza 3 is all about the subtleties of accelerating and braking. And each car reacts differently, even if it's just in subtle ways. As a practice tool, rewinding is going to help you learn the right speed for a turn.
Halo 3: ODST (Firefight mode):
Two maps were open for play: Security Zone and Crater (Night). Security Zone takes place near the ONI complex and is a large, well lit area. A central valley funnels most of the action into one column while sniper rifles and turrets conveniently sit atop overlooks. Midway through each round of enemies you'll find a Wraith or two to tackle. Sadly, you can't jack these in this level though I'm told ODST do have the ability to jack vehicles. It was just disabled for that map for balancing purposes.