Coming Attractions: Action Adventure

Part one of our action-adventure round-up looked at the likes of GTA IV, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Devil May Cry... 4, amongst others. Here's part two, complete with the new Ninja Gaiden, Resident Evil 5, Tomb Raider Undeworld and many more.

Army of Two

Is Army of Two a shooter or an action-adventure game? Lead designer Chris Ferriera reckons it fits into "a new genre - the genre of the pure co-op game, of everything being focused on two players from the ground up". Its "aggro" system is a bit like the one in RPGs, letting you draw people's attention so your mate can do some damage.

The storyline revolves around Private Military Corporations and the ethical issues surrounding them. You and a friend (or an AI partner, but that's sort of missing the point) will embark on a series of missions specially designed for two players, using unique tactics and taking advantage of your doubled firepower.

"With co-op undeniably enjoyable in virtually every shooter it's in, and broadband penetration in a genuinely sweet spot for the first time since consoles noticed the Internet, EA's timing is certainly right," observes Tom. "Army of Two looks like the first decent stab at the inevitable next step."

Bloodyform for you: For more on the game, including details of the AI, swearing and tampons, read the full preview. Army of Two is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360 this spring.

Infamous

Last year it was Naughty Dog's turn to leave cartoon characters behind and give it all realism, and now Sucker Punch is saying goodbye to Sly Raccoon. The developer's next title, Infamous, features a human lead and decidedly darker tone - as illustrated by the trailer.

Looks like your character will have various super powers that allow you to chuck cars about, blow stuff up, fight robots and so on. It's also been suggested that the city around you will change depending on whether you decide to pursue justice or wreak havoc. Or save the cheerleader.

Infamous is due out some time this year, exclusively on PS3.

On the Sly: How come no one in Europe liked the Sly Raccoon games apart from Kristan? Perhaps their genius will finally be recognised now he's dead. Sly, not Kristan.

Lost

Everyone may have stopped watching Lost in March 2006, but that's not going to stop Ubisoft doing a game based on it for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. You play as a survivor of Oceanic Flight 815. Not one of the characters from the TV show, though you do get to interact with them.

There are puzzles to solve, enemies to outwit and probably a load of nonsense about buttons and bunkers and her out of Babylon 5. The game is being developed in collaboration with ABC Studios, and series producer Bryan Burk has been left feeling "giddy" at the whole experience.

"Many of us on Lost have been hardcore gamers for years and the chance to work with Ubisoft, a company behind some of our favourite titles, has excited us to no end," he definitely said and didn't just approve for the press release.

"We’re giddy to be developing a game that, once completed, will be as engaging and fun to play as it is to create."

Find out if the game leaves you feeling similarly nauseous and disorientated when it's released this spring.

In this order: Sawyer, Mr Eko, Sawyer again, Jack, Sayid, Sawyer, Sawyer again. Maybe Jin if he asked really nicely, but never Boooooone.

Indiana Jones 2008

That's a working title, by the way. It was slightly different up until 11 days ago, but clearly there's been a bit of a delay - not too surprising when you consider what they're trying to accomplish with the new Indiana Jones game.

It's in development for PS3 and Xbox 360 and is being built using Euphoria, a behavioural simulation engine from NaturalMotion. According to LucasArts this makes characters (including enemies, not just Indy) "move, act and even think like actual human beings, adapting their behaviour on the fly and resulting in a different payoff every single time".

If characters stumble, they'll attempt to regain their balance; if they're about to fall they'll brace themselves, and so on. Because it's all unscripted, "You'll never see the same thing twice".

Kristan got to see a tech demo of the game back in May 2006 and reckons Euphoria has "big potential in a gameplay context". Read his preview for more.

Lucas hearts: King George himself has written an original story for Indiana Jones 2008. He's unlikely to do any interviews with videogame journalists about it. But just saying, watersports and everything.