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I guess it's finally time for me to level up.

It was the summer of '99 when I convinced my then editor to send me on a tour of the U.S. videogame industry. When I finally returned three weeks later, my head was still spinning. I felt as though I'd seen the future of entertainment. It was then that I made it my mission to put NEWSWEEK's coverage of this growing medium on the map. I did that in print, with cover stories on the Japanese launch of the PlayStation 2 and the spread of online gaming. I did it online, with the debut of the blog N'Gai Croal's Level Up. I did it on television, with appearances on MSNBC and CNN. You all watched me push, prod, praise, scold, discuss and debate videogames across multiple media, both mainstream and enthusiast. That's because my editors were prescient enough to let me apply my talents and establish my reach beyond the magazine, from co-blogging with MTV News to writing a monthly column for Edge and more. For this, I say to them all, thank you.

Having achieved all of this, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I've accomplished what I set out to do ten years ago. And now it's time for me to take that decade’s worth of accumulated knowledge and do something else with it. After Friday March 6th, my passions will take me beyond the world of journalism. I’ll be wearing many hats on this new journey: videogame design consultant, media strategist, consumer technology reporter, columnist, blogger and, as always, provocateur. You’ll be able to keep track of my various adventures at ngaicroal.com, and feel free to reach out to me via email at ncroalbiz@gmail.com. It’s been a pleasure conversing with all of you, and I look forward to continuing our dialogue in the years to come.

Cheers,

 Matt Bertz, Content Manager for Game Informer magazine

When we launched our "Make or Break" series last November, we promised to ask "prominent developers, reviewers and expert gamers to share with us via email the five key features, details, techniques or flaws that they look for in games in the same genre." We've done fairly well thus far on the developer front, scoring responses from the folks behind Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (creative director Brian Allgeier), Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (lead multiplayer designer Todd Alderman), Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (game director Amy Hennig), and the colon-free Crysis (company president Cevat Yerli). But we haven't yet offered up any opinions by reviewers. Until today, that is.

The first videogame reviewer to enter the "Make or Break" hot seat is Game Informer content manager Matt Bertz. With six years of covering games and technology in New York City under his belt prior to joining GI Bertz was the editor-in-chief of Surge, a short-lived gaming magazine that won the 2004 Silver Eddie Award in the Consumer Entertainment Under 250,000 category. His writing has appeared in many outlets, including Next Generation, AOL, Laptop, Mean, Men¹s Fitness, GameSpy, and XLR8R. Because Bertz recently reviewed Crysis for GI, we asked him to tell us what he looks for when he's evaluating a first-person shooter. Here's what he had to say.

 Crysis, developed by Crytek and published by Electronic Arts

1. Non-linearity (or the illusion thereof)

Why it matters: Gamers have spent the greater part of two decades navigating claustrophobic corridors and taking cover behind boxes. The last thing you want is for the player to feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, reliving the same basic experience throughout the entire game. Non-linear level designs allow the players to engage the enemies in a manner of their own choosing, rather than having opposing forces repeatedly spring from behind closed doors and cover after the player crosses a trigger line.

Who got it right: The paramount example of a developer that understands the advantage of non-linear gameplay is Crytek. The German wunderkinds have created two stellar titles, Far Cry and Crysis, each of which offers a sandbox world for gamers to engage with tactics of their own choosing. In these open worlds, players can determine their own play styles; they can move stealthily through the jungle to avoid unnecessary combat, ambush soldier patrols and disappear back into the heavy brush, or walk up the roads guns blazing in classic Rambo fashion. These titles also sprinkle carefully scripted events in certain segments without sacrificing the freedom of movement and decision making an open world affords. Despite its overall unpolished nature, GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl also offers enjoyable experience because of the sense of exploration its open environments offer.

 Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli, whose Windows PC game Crysis shipped in November of 2007

When we're conducting an interview with a developer, the bulk of our time is spent discussing their current project. But after the voice recorder is turned off and the liquor is flowing, the conversation almost inevitably shifts to videogames made by other teams working in the same genre as that developer. For us, it's always fascinating to look at games through the eyes of those who make them, because they often see things through a different set of eyes than the typical gamer; the same can be said of reviewers who are particularly knowledgeable about a certain genre. As part of our ongoing quest to take the best conversations that are occurring in the shadows and bring them to light, we offer you the new occasional series Make or Break, which asks prominent developers and reviewers to share with us the five key features, details, methods or flaws that they look for from games in the same genre.

Our newest contributor is Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli. His company first won attention for the large, lush environments and open-ended gameplay in the 2004 title Far Cry, which was published by Ubisoft. Its second game, the military sci-fi thriller Crysis, was released last November to rave reviews for its landmark visuals. In today's installment, Yerli explains what he looks for in a first-person shooter.

2007 has been a fantastic year for gamers. A lot of excellent games were released, all fighting for my limited time and attention. Here are the qualities that kept me playing games even while crunching on Crysis. Every one of them is a make or break criterion; a potential stopping point for me whether playing or even when we're designing our own productions here at Crytek.

 Portal, developed by Valve Software as part of Half-Life 2: The Orange Box, and published by Electronic Arts

1. Make me feel smart

Why it matters: I like to feel smart, and I like to win. Games should account for this by balancing challenge and reward, skill and intellect, in the right mixture. The core gameplay should be easy to learn. One of the few games I actually finished and was sad to see end was Portal, although the song made up for it.

The core mechanic is deceptively simple--a gun-like device that makes two holes that the player can pass through--but it manages to give me enough complexity to keep me wanting to solve the next puzzle.

Amy Hennig, game director at Naughty Dog for the Playstation 3 game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

When we're conducting an interview with a developer, the bulk of our time is spent discussing their current project. But after the voice recorder is turned off and the liquor is flowing, the conversation almost inevitably shifts to videogames made by other teams working in the same genre as that developer. For us, it's always fascinating to look at games through the eyes of those who make them, because they often see things through a different set of eyes than the typical gamer; the same can be said of reviewers who are particularly knowledgeable about a certain genre. As part of our ongoing quest to take the best conversations that are occurring in the shadows and bring them to light, we offer you the new occasional series Make or Break, which asks prominent developers and reviewers to share with us the five key features, details, methods or flaws that they look for from games in the same genre.

Our newest contributor is Naughty Dog creative director Amy Hennig, whose resume includes stints at Electronic Arts (as an artist/animator and game designer), Eidos (as director for several acclaimed titles like Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2, and Legacy of Kain: Defiance) before joining Naughty Dog in 2003, where she directed Jak 3. Her most recent title, the Playstation 3 game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, launched last month to strong reviews. In today's installment, Hennig explains what she looks for in an action/adventure game.

The first adventure game I ever played was (appropriately) Adventure on the Atari 2600, almost thirty years ago. It completely hooked me, and I've been a fan of the genre ever since. As a gamer, I'm always looking for an immersive, story-driven action/adventure game--finding a good one is like losing yourself in a really great book. And as a developer, this is the kind of game I'm most passionate about making. There's no greater reward for a designer or storyteller than knowing that you've transported the player out of the mundane and into the world that you've created.

So all that being said, here are some of the features I look for in the action/adventure games I play--and the qualities I've hoped to achieve in the games I've worked on.

1. The Urge to Explore

From the moment the player steps into the game world, the environment should ignite the imagination and inspire our natural human instinct to investigate and explore. Obviously this urge is driven by a lot of factors, including story and character. But even in the absence of any plot motivations, the environment--taken all by itself--should inspire exploration.

This doesn't mean that an adventure game has to have wide-open levels like GTA or Assassin's Creed--in fact, some of the best adventure games are pretty linear, with only an illusion of open-endedness, but you still feel compelled to find your path through the space, figure out a way to reach a landmark in the distance, or just see what's around the next corner. So why do some games succeed at this, while other games fail to inspire?

Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat lead multiplayer designer Todd Alderman

When we're conducting an interview with a developer, the bulk of our time is generally spent discussing their current project. But after the voice recorder is turned off and the liquor is flowing, the conversation almost inevitably shifts to videogames made by other teams working in the same genre as that developer. For us, it's always fascinating to look at games through the eyes of those who make them, because they sometimes see things differently than does the typical gamer; the same can be said of reviewers who are very knowledgeable about a certain genre, or people who have become experts at a particular game or genre.

As part of our ongoing quest to take the best conversations that are occurring in the shadows and bring them to light, we offer you the new occasional series Make or Break, which asks prominent developers, reviewers and expert gamers to share with us via email the five key features, details, techniques or flaws that they look for in games in the same genre. One of the best reviewed games of 2007 is Infinity Ward and Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat, and much of that praise stemmed from its superlative multiplayer component. In today's installment, lead multiplayer designer Todd Alderman tells us what he looks for in an online multiplayer game.

1. Fun.

Why It Matters: I know it sounds blatantly obvious and simple, but it's the most important thing to have in your game as well as the most difficult to get right. Great gameplay and good controls go a long way into making a game fun, it's really a sum total of a lot of different pieces that have to be matched just right, but when a game is fun you know it. A good litmus test for knowing if a multiplayer game is fun are the stories that you can tell after you play.

Who Got it Right: Excellent controls, great balance of weapons and racers, and maps made Mario Kart a blast to battle on.

2. Community.

Why It Matters: If you build it, they must come. There have been a lot of great multiplayer games that have died off because the people just weren't there. A great multiplayer game has to be community friendly within and outside of the game. There have to be tools for enhancing the community aspect within the game, be it party systems and private games for the social gamers, or leaderboards and rankings for the competitive folk. Outside the game, you need forums and stats, places for people to talk about all the great stuff within the game. Mod support and developer-to-community relations are also really important. If the community is voicing an opinion and the developer reacts and solves the problem, it makes the game much stronger.

Who Got it Right: The modern multiplayer scene is almost a direct result of the Quake series. Popular gaming web sites, hundreds of game developers (including myself) and even some high profile games were spawned from Quake. Level editors, code releases, and developers active in its game's community made Quake one of the largest gaming communities of all time.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction creative director Brian Allgeier

When we're conducting an interview with a developer, the bulk of our time is generally spent discussing their current project. But after the voice recorder is turned off and the liquor is flowing, the conversation almost inevitably shifts to videogames made by other teams working in the same genre as that developer. For us, it's always fascinating to look at games through the eyes of those who make them, because they sometimes see things differently than does the typical gamer; the same can be said of reviewers who are very knowledgeable about a certain genre, or people who have become experts at a particular game or genre.

As part of our ongoing quest to take the best conversations that are occurring in the shadows and bring them to light, we offer you the new occasional series Make or Break, which asks prominent developers, reviewers and expert gamers to share with us via email the five key features, details, techniques or flaws that they look for in games in the same genre. First up: Brian Allgeier, a 15-year veteran of the videogame industry creative director who's led the design for the Ratchet & Clank series since its inception. Fresh off the just-released Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Allgeier explains what he looks for in an action/adventure game.

Sometimes being a game designer can take all the fun out of a game. When I play, I often find myself in research mode, taking mental notes on how it was put together and the choices the developers made. I think about the game's overall structure, the moment-to-moment gameplay, and where the developers focused their efforts. Looking at all the strengths and weaknesses, I apply this knowledge to each game I work on with the hope that it will push the envelope, be competitive, and become, well, "fun." I typically look for the following five things that can make or break an action/adventure game:

1. A Beginning with a Bang

Why it Matters: Nowadays more and more games are starting off with a heart pounding opening that gets players on the edge of their seats and keeps them there. Other forms of entertainment like movies, books, and theatre have been doing this for years. A classic example is the typical James Bond movie. They start off with a high intensity action sequence that sets the tone for the film before going into the slow expository scenes that set up the bigger story. Players want to jump into the action immediately rather than getting a series of tutorials in a non-confrontational setting like a boot camp or training facility. While tutorials are necessary to get players started with the basic moves, it does not have to feel like eating peas and carrots before getting dessert. A great opening level can both teach and "wow" players at the same time.

The first level can also serve as a technical showpiece for the game. I find it funny that even back in 1929, films would show off new technology to get the audience excited from the start. For instance the Academy Award winner, "The Broadway Musical," was the first best picture film with sound. It opened with multiple bands in a studio performing a cacophony of different musical styles that showed the audio intensity of what a "talkie" could deliver. In games, many people are motivated to buy them based on graphics and new technology. Why not kick it off with a showcase of amazing graphics, physics, sound, and special effects?