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They say that if adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones… Okay, I'll give them that. But you know what? If trouble has a name, I'm pretty damn sure it's Nathan Drake.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception releases exclusively for the PlayStation 3 on November 1st, 2011.
Well, you certainly can’t say that Bioware makes dull cinematics, that’s for sure. This time around, we’ve got the opening movie for the game - and once again, it’s truly a visual treat. Enjoy.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is scheduled to launch for Windows PCs in late 2011.
The "Ezio trilogy" that was started in Assassin's Creed II comes to it's conclusion. Ezio has spent the last two games looking for answers that weren't always meant for him, now it's time for Ezio to find out the truth - but as always, knowledge never comes easily.
Furthering the Assassin's Creed saga, Assassin's Creed: Revelations will allow players to further the story of Desmond and Ezio, while also featuring the return of Altair as a playable character in the campaign.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations is scheduled to release on November 15th, 2011 on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Windows platform.
A few years ago, I ran a short article about the amazing work people were doing with the vinyl editor in Forza Motorsport 2. As it turned out, it was one of the most popular articles I ever put up on here, and I always planned on making a followup post.
You see, I truly fell in love with the auction house in Forza 2 - almost to the point that I think I spent more time there than I did on the racetracks - and in doing so, wound up with a truly stunning selection of car art.
The problem was that I was always looking for that next vinyl - and as such, would delay the post until I could update it with my latest finds. Long story short, by the time I finally said "okay, let's just get this thing up" and started putting it together, Forza 3 was upon us.
I can't even begin to describe how crushing it was for Turn 10 to have not put an option to import your old vinyls into Forza 3. After all the time I spent collecting my cars, to have to start from scratch was just pointless. I think it's one of the reasons why I never really took to Forza 3 - there was just a feeling that it would be pointless.
Now word out of Turn 10 is that Forza Motorsport 4 will include support for importing your profile from the third game - and your vinyls with it. While I think that's great, I'm still hoping that somehow, an import process for Forza 2 can be made and added to the game as well. It would certainly bring me back to the fold.
Anyway, enough with the sob story. What we're here to do is appreciate some of the amazing efforts vinyl designers made in Forza 2. My hat is off to you guys, some of these were truly amazing.
And now, some of the highlights of my Forza 2 garage.
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Hey gang, look! A new post! Why, it almost seems like a year since I've added anything… probably because it has been. We won't even discuss how long it took me to figure out how to post again, okay?
Anyway, due to circumstances beyond my control, there won't be any E3 liveblogs on the site this year… which I find a little depressing as they really were the last vestiges of the days when the site was active. I'm hoping to at least post some videos and information about anything thrilling mentioned, but I'm not going to make any promises.
Still, I don't plan on leaving you guys totally empty handed. Instead, I'm going to throw a post I meant to make AGES ago up on the site. It was a situation where I was forever adding to the post, and by the time I was finally ready to put it up… well, it was pointless. I'll explain more in the next post.
So again, no new E3 liveblogs this year. Sorry. (Really, I am!) - Instead, just enjoy a little bit of visual magic…
4:53pm - …and that's a wrap!
4:52pm - Jack is wrapping it up now.
4:50pm - Nuke mode is basically a capture the flag game.
4:48pm - Another multiplayer demo of TM - This time, TM's new mode - "Nuke".
4:47pm - TM looks a little unpolished at this point.
4:46pm - Twisted Metal team deathmatch mode now being shown.
4:45pm - David Jaffe now on stage.
4:45pm - Twisted Metal teaser shown
4:43pm - Infamous 2 coming in 2011.
4:42pm - Infamous 2 trailer now showing.
4:41pm - Gran Turismo 5 coming November 2nd. It will include full 3D support.
4:38pm - Gran Turismo 5 trailer now showing.
4:38pm - Still no sign of The Last Guardian… even in that montage.
4:34pm - A montage of upcoming games now showing.
4:33pm - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood coming November 16th.
4:32pm - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer trailer showing.
4:31pm - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will have exclusive PS3 content. The Multiplayer beta for it will be a PS3 exclusive.
4:31pm - Mafia 2 hits August 12th with exclusive free content for PS3.
4:29pm - Final Fantasy XIV (MMO) trailer showing.
4:28pm - Portal 2 trailer showing.
4:28pm - Steam support for Valve games coming to PS3.
4:27pm - Portal 2 will be coming to the PlayStation 3.
4:25pm - GLaDOS has interrupted. Gabe Newell coming to the stage.
4:24pm - That was a demo? It was more like a movie with a few seconds of gameplay. There will be an exclusive Dead Space 2 pack with Dead Space and Dead Space Extraction.
4:22pm - We're seeing a boss fight that's very heavy on the cinematics side.
4:21pm - Next up for EA - a live demo of Dead Space 2.
4:21pm - There will be an exclusive PS3 limited edition that has a remastered version of Medal of Honor: Front Line.
4:20pm - Multiplayer seems very… Modern Warfare 2ish… Beta starts June 21st. (Preorder deal, I believe)
4:19pm - Now they're showing off some of the game's multiplayer.
4:18pm - Medal of Honor releases October 12th.
4:16pm - Medal of Honor trailer being shown now.
4:15pm - Medal of Honor will have exclusive content/features on the PS3.
4:15pm - John Schappert (EA Sports) has taken the stage.
4:14pm - Really don't like the sound of PlayStation Plus - specifically the whole "So long as you maintain your subscription" part, which Jack repeated several times.
4:10pm - While the current PSN features will stay free, PSN is introducing PlayStation Plus, a pay PSN service. Users will get things like exclusive digital content, preferred early demos and beta invites plus free content like full PSN games and minis. Automatic updates will also be included with PlayStation Plus - available later this month - full year $49.99 or 3 months for $17.99 - Initially 3 months will be free. If this goes the way of Qore, it'll be a waste of money. (Because a lot of these promises sound like what was promised with Qore and that never delivered) - Wipeout HD for free, 2 PlayStation minis and Rally Cross.
PlayStation Plus will also include Qore. All the content will be available to you so long as you maintain your subscription. (So the free games go away once you stop paying?)
4:10pm - Little Big Planet 2 will be available
4:09pm - A video of some games created in 24 hours with LBP2
4:05pm - Little Big Planet 2 will support bots.You should be able to make almost any kind of game now - RPS, racer, platformer or shooter.
4:04pm - Little Big Planet 2 being demonstrated.
4:04pm - Now he's talking Little Big Planet. Sony has bought out Media Molecule, the company behind it.
4:03pm - PlayStation Home currently has a replica of the Sony E3 booth. You can check out all the new games there and get Home items for free (no demos though apparently)
4:02pm - The Tester Season 2 announced.
4:01pm - Back to the PlayStation Network.
3:59pm - PSP Game montage now showing. For those wondering, InviZimals seems to be some kind of Pokemon type game. The 3rd Birthday looks interesting.
3:57pm - More PSP games coming soon - Tron: Evolution, Ace Combat, The Third Birthday, UFC Unleashed,Kingdom Hearts & Toy Story 3. Over 70 new games coming by December.
3:56pm - New PSP games coming - InviZimals. (Camera support game) and God of War: Ghost of Sparta (God of War prequel)
3:54pm -This kid Marcus seems to be doing the same kind of commercials Kevin does, but for the PSP - while trying ot be a little hipper. (for the kids!)
3:53pm - New campaign push on PSP. Commercial now showing. More Kevin Butler - hiring a kid named Marcus.
3:52pm - Jack begins to talk PSP.
3:51pm - PlayStation Move game montage now showing.
3:50pm - Current games that will get Move title updates. Toy Story 3, Tiger Woods, Heavy Rain & Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition.
3:49pm - Franchises coming to Move - SOCOM 4, Time Crisis, Ruse, Killzone 3, SingStar Dance, Echochrome 2, EyePet & NBA 2K11.
3:47pm - PlayStation Move will be available in North America on Sept 19th, PlayStation Move controller alone $49.99, PlayStation Move Navigation Controller: $29.99. Bundle: Move Controller, Navigation, Sports Champions game and Eye Camera: $99.99. PlayStation 3 Move Bundle (all of the above + the PS3) $399. All Move games are $39.99.
3:46pm - Que the patriotic speech music and images of Kevin Butler.
3:45pm - Shot at Nintendo "We can all bos with game characters who have arms… and necks"
3:44pm - You know, only Kevin Butler could be this over the top and get away with it.
3:43pm - "Gaming is having a ridiculously huge tv in a tiny one room apartment. Staying up until 3am to earn a trophy that isn't real… but is."
3:42pm - Kevin Butler: "Am I crazy or did I just see 100 french acrobats prancing around an arena the other night? I hear there was a sale on blue ponchos"- another shot at MS.
3:41pm - Kevin Butler has shown up!
3:40pm -Coca-Cola and Sony will be teaming up to have a PlayStation Move - promo 130 million packages - giving away systems, games and more.
3:39pm - Heroes on the Move - PlayStation Move exclusive. Ratchet, Clank, Bentley, Jak, Sly Cooper ad Daxter team up.
3:37pm - The Move update for Tiger Woods will be available as DLC this November when PlayStation Move ships.
3:36pm - By the way, watching video game golf on tv is even duller than watching real golf on tv. Didn't think that was possible, did you?
3:35pm - Of course, if it's reading your moves and you suck at golf, this game may not be for you.
3:35pm - He's saying 1 to 1 movement, but there was a considerable amount of lag on his first swing.
3:34pm - Instead of a precanned swing, the game will read his motions exactly and make his swing as realistic as possible.
3:32pm - He's talking about motion control in Tiger Woods golf. (No snide remarks about what motions you'll be making, please.)
3:32pm - Andrew Wilson (EA Sports) is coming to the stage now.
3:32pm - Sorcery releases in Spring of 2011.
3:30pm - Some nice concepts, especially the ability to enhance one spell's ability with another.
3:29pm - It's a third person action game so far where you use the PlayStation Move to cast spells and make selections.
3:29pm - Well, I'll give it this, it's mimicking his moves precisely.
3:27pm - Demo of Sorcery about to begin.
3:26pm - Time to reveal some new games. First up, "Sorcery" for the PlayStation Move.
3:25pm - 40 developers are working on PlayStation Move games.
3:25pm - Jack is still pushing on how precise Move is.
3:22pm - and now a video of developers talking about PlayStation Move.
3:21pm - Dille says that PlayStation Move will be the most accurate of all the motion controllers. This way it will allow both casual and hardcore games.
3:20pm - PlayStation Move time! Peter Dille from Sony out to talk about Move.
3:19pm - Jack is talking PlayStation Network now.
3:18pm - PlayStation 2 turns 10 this year - and Sony expects to continued support… though they didn't say how.
3:16pm - One last 3D video showing a montage of those 3D games.
3:16pm - Move + 3D coming in the next MLB: The Show. Other "Move" titles EyePet, Tumble & The Fight.
3:15pm - Third Party 3D titles: Crysis 2, Mortal Kombat, Shaun White Skateboarding, Tron Evolution, NBA 2K11 & Ghost Recon.
3:14pm - First Party 3D titles: Motorstorm Apocalypse, Killzone 3, Sly Collection and Gran Turismo 5 will all support 3D
3:12pm - Back to Kaz.
3:12pm - Killzone 3 coming in February of 2011. It will have full PlayStation Move compatibility.
3:11pm - Now with the AA gun down, we're seeing the PoV from a helicopter gunner during a rail-shooter segment of the game.
3:10pm - Some platform style elements with the jetpack as the player moves along the outskirts of an entrenched AA gun in an attempt to blow it up.
3:08pm - Second part of the demo - now we get to use the jetpacks.
3:06pm - Naturally, with a video feed only, I'm not getting the 3D effect. Right now on screen we've got soldiers fighting Helghast (sp?) with jetpacks.
3:05pm - The demo will take place in the northern areas of the planet - 3D glasses required.
3:04pm - Killzone 3 being demoed in 3D.
3:04pm - 20 3D titles coming by 2011
3:03pm - Sony again wants the Playstation 3 to spearhead a new technology 0 last time it was Blu-Ray, now it's 3D tv. (The last system update made all PS3's 3D capable)
3:02pm - Kaz wants to talk about 3D. Innovation and content.
3:01pm - SCEA's Kaz Hirai is coming to the stage now.
3:00pm - Jack is singing the praises of PlayStation 3.
2:58pm - Jack Tretton takes the stage.
2:58pm - Sony takes a shot at MS right off the bat. Kevin Butler from the tv ads appears on screen and says "Who wants to pretend their hand is a gun - what is this third grade? Pew pew pew"
2:57pm - Sony opens with a montage of upcoming games.
2:55pm - Looks like they're starting just a little bit early.
2:34pm - A little under 30 minutes to the Sony presser. Stay tuned!
1:19pm - That's all folks!
1:16pm - Another 3DS demonstration - Booth babes coming out to the audience to demonstrate the 3DS hands on. Stations are also being made available in the hall to try out the new Zelda game (with all the interference we saw in the demo, that may be a bad idea)
1:14pm - Showing a goofy vid trying to sum up the 3DS experience. (Since there's no really good way to demonstrate 3D other than in person, hands-on)
1:12pm - Reggie sounds like he's wrapping up now.
1:12pm - …and Reggie is back.
1:10pm - Iwata is closing with a montage of game developers talking about their first impressions of the 3DS.
1:08pm - Some third parties supporting the 3DS - Activision, Level 5, Square Enix (Kingdom Hearts), THQ, EA (Madden), KT, Capcom (Resident Evil), WB Games, Ubisoft, Namco & Konami (MGS).
1:07pm - Nintendogs + Cats announced.(Not third party)
1:07pm - Iwata is now talking about focusing on third-party support.
1:06pm - Iwata is also discussing the wireless capabilities of the 3DS.
1:04pm - Iwata is discussing the advantages of 3D gaming.
1:02pm - Kid Icarus trailer now showing.
1:01pm - Iwata is introducing the first 3DS game - Kid Icarus: Uprising.
1:00pm - The 3DS will be capable of running movies in 3D. No concrete plans for releases of those films just yet. They will have displays of movie trailers at their booth running in 3D on the 3DS.
1:00pm - The 3DS has two cameras built in - so you can take pictures in 3D.
12:59pm - The 3DS will have improved graphics (compared to the DS), will have a motion sensor and gyroscopic sensor and will be compatible with the DSi. (It also looks to have the previously mentioned analog stick)
12:59pm - Only the bottom screen will be a touch screen due to issues between 3D and touch displays.
12:58pm - The 3DS has a slider that will let you control the degree of just how much 3D effect you'll get.
12:57pm - Iwata just referenced the Virtual Boy, just not by name.
12:55pm - Satoru Iwata (President, Nintendo) has come ot the stage to show off the 3DS.
12:54pm - They're showing a retrospective on older 3D technology… yet they seem to have skipped over the Virtual Boy =)
12:52pm - Nintendo 3DS now being discussed. It's 3D that does not require specialized glasses.
12:50pm - Looks like a really top-notch side scroller - which is nothing less than what I would expect from a game in that series. "Donkey Kong Country Returns" releases this holiday season.
12:49pm - New Donkey Kong Country game!
12:49pm - Metroid: Other M releases August 31st.
12:47pm - "Metroid: Other M" trailer showing now - looks like a mix of a FPS and a side-scrolling action title (think Shadow Complex)
12:45pm - DragonQuest IX for DS coming. Will allow wireless multiplayer. Arrives here in the US on July 11th.
12:44pm - Kirby's Epic Yarn releases this fall.
12:43pm - Kirby's Epic Yarn announced. Looks like a cute platformer where the main gameplay item is a lasso. Kirby can also apparently become a car (among other items)
12:42pm - Looks like a new Kirby game is coming as well.
12:39pm - Travelling between zones will be done by playing a side-scrolling platform game taking the aspects of many older cartoons.
12:38pm - The game will change based on how you play - in short, do you create or destroy, fight enemies or make friends with them, etc.
12:37pm - They're going to allow Mickey to do things no other character can do - draw and erase things… because Okami didn't do that?
12:36pm - We're going to Wasteland - where all the retired, abandoned and forgotten Disney characters and locations wind up.
12:35pm - Warren Spector (Junction Point) and Adam Crayton (Disney) to demo Epic Mickey.
12:34pm - Reggie is now working towards Epic Mickey!
12:32pm - The question here is can it hold up to today's standards? It did look quite archaic - both graphics and gameplay. Releasesthios holiday season.
12:31pm - GoldenEye is coming back to Nintendo (Wii exclusive title)
12:30pm - It definitely seems to have that old SNES RPG feeling. Releases this holiday season.
12:29pm - Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for DS confirmed. Trailer now showing.
12:27pm - Another dance game…what is it with dancing games this year? - "Just Dance 2" from Ubisoft announced.
12:25pm - Yup, he's talking about how the casual games serve as a bridge to other gaming types… and with that he's announcing a new party game for Wii…. "WiiParty" - 13 game modes & over 70 mini-games. Coming this holiday.
12:24pm - Reggie is now talking about Wii sales figures and how the experts have been wrong about the system's chances and sales time and time again. Don't know if I buy some of these stats, but I'm sure Reggie has a point coming.
12:22pm - It's a Mario sports game - volleyball, hockey, DODGE BALL & basketball - "Mario Sports Mix". Releases 2011.
12:22pm - New NBA Jam for Wii is coming.. and it sounds like Mario is getting another sports game.
12:21pm - Reggie says Nintendo is continuing to make games with universal appeal.
12:20pm - Reggie back on stage.
12:19pm - The game is scheduled for a 2011 release - so there should be time to fix some of the issues.
12:18pm - Miyamoto is saying that the problems they had were due to the wireless issues they ran into - the game will be playable on the show floor, so hopefully there will be some more hands on impressions coming from attendees.
12:17pm - Remember what I've said in years past about how watching people play Rock Band on stage is the worst thing you can sit through? Well, I could be wrong - this is painful. (Then again, I've blocked most of those Rock Band memories out of my mind, so I could be wrong.)
12:15pm - Looks like Nintendo is getting some interference as they can't control the game anymore… or is it that they see how bad this is going and are trying to cut it short or have an excuse? I don't know, I just know that this demonstration has totally killed any enthusiasm I have for the game.
12:12pm - He's trying to shoot some on screen spiders and just can't hit them - again, seems the control scheme is going to be a hindrance rather than an enhancement.
12:11pm - Even Miyamoto is having a hard time with the game… and he made it.
12:08pm - Little disappointed - the combat looks a bit annoying.
12:07pm - Shiggy has just come out on stage!
12:06pm - They're demonstrating the controls on stage now - for those wondering about Skyward Sword - it looked a lot like Twilight Princess, but with a little more cell shading.
12:05pm - Your sword and shield will be controlled by the Wiimote and Nunchuck.
12:04pm - They're getting Shiggy with it (Shigeru Miyamoto is now speaking to the crowd via video link)
12:04pm - Looks like we have a new Zelda game on the way. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
12:02pm EST - Reggie Fils-Aime has taken the stage.
12:01pm EST - aaaaand here we go!
11:59am EST - We're almooooost there.
11:29am EST - We're 30 minutes away from the start of Nintendo's press briefing, so grab yourself a drink and a bite to eat and hurry on back!
3:02pm - And that's our show for now, I don't know about you, but I'm kind of underwhelmed overall. Signing out!
3:01pm - As for that new model Xbox announcement, I would assume we're going to see sales on the old form factor almost immediately.
3:00pm - That got him the first big round of applause for the whole show - and that's what they close with. Too bad they didn't show much in the way of games for their, you know, game console.
2:59pm - Everyone at the actual presser has also just been told they're getting one this week for free.
2:58pm - It's smaller than the 360, has a 250gb hard drive and built in WiFi - and a shiny finish. It'll be priced the same as the current model. IT IS SHIPPING TO RETAIL TODAY! IT WILL BE IN STORES LATER THIS WEEK.
2:58pm - He's showing off the newly designed 360. If you're wondering about the price of Kinect, no they didn't give a price.
2:58pm - He…is…reading…off…a…cue…card…as…if…he's…seeing…it…for…the…first…time.
2:56pm - Don "I'm totally uncomfortable on stage" Mattrick is back.
2:55pm - Turn 10 racing game coming in 2011.
2:54pm - Kinect allows you to walk around and inspect the car - you know, something you'll do once and then never do again.
2:52pm - Turn 10 Studios on stage showing off a Kinect racing game.
2:51pm - LucasArts will have a Star Wars game next year as well. Gameplay showing now - it's a Jedi against an army of stormtroopers using a lightsaber and the force… culminating with a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader. It seemed a little wonky on screen, but then again, it's still probably a year away.
2:49pm - Phil Spencer is back on stage.Looks like they're wrapping up Kinect's part of the show. Launches this holiday season in North America on November 4th. 15 launch games expected, compatible with all 360 consoles.
2:48pm - White Boy Dancing in the hoooooouse! Harmonix showing you just how bad you'll look when playing this thing if you don't have rhythm!
2:47pm - He's talking up Dance Central and how it's designed so anyone can play it - by using "break it down" mode. So… it's a tutorial. Yes , we're familiar with tutorials.
2:46pm - Alex Rigoppolous from Harmonix taking the stage.
2:44pm - Dance Central from MTV Games & Harmonix. Think DDR but with more motion reading.
2:41pm - They're showing off some of the exercises and the calorie burn counter. The game tracks your movements and gives suggestions to help you do the exercise correctly.
2:39pm - It scans you and puts your shape on screen… for some of us (read: me), that may not be so pleasant! Time to cut back on those Whoppers!
2:38pm - Kinect seems very dead on with motions with this game (so far)
2:38pm - Felicia Williams from Ubisoft on stage talking about Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.
2:37pm - Some work out game from Ubisoft - "Your Shape: Fitness Evolved"
2:36pm - I can't tell you how goofy Kudo Tsunoda looks, you really have to see it for yourself. Oh, and those pictures Kinect takes can be sent to Facebook and Twitter.
2:34pm - Rafting (Kinect Adventure) - this one looks craptacular.
2:34pm - ROFL - and Kinect Adventures takes photos of you while you play it and then show you them after the game.
2:32pm - Kinect Adventures - A game that will require a lot of room (as do most of these games from what I can see) - It's like being on n amusing park ride where you have to dodge and collect items on screen. All I can think of is that Japanese game show where you have to fit through an oncoming wall. I could see this being fun when you're drunk at a party, but not much past that.
2:30pm - Kinect Joy Ride (Previously Joy Ride - you know,t he game that was supposed to be free) - a racing game where you hold your handls as if you're holding a wheel.From what I can see, the game doesn't seem to be responding to the movements of the woman who's playing it that well. 5 gameplay modes racing, stunts, etc.
2:29pm - Kinect Sports trailer - Soccer, Bowling, Track & Field, Ping Pong, Boxing & Volleyball.
2:28pm - It's the 200m hurdles … and it kinda sucks from what I can see…
2:26pm - Kinect Sports - shit, it even looks like the Wii Sports logo…
2:25pm - "Skittles" the tiger is starting to annoy me. Any more sweet and this thing could be a kid's breakfast cereal.
2:23pm - 6 Kinect launch games - #1.) Kinectimals (a virtual pet -it's cute, for sure.)
2:22pm - Kudo Tsunoda (MS - Kinect) - He's introducing Kinect games.
2:21pm - ESPN will be available to Xbox Live Gold members at NO ADDITIONAL COST. NICE!
2:20pm - Sports quizzes on screen, access scores on screen while watching a game, etc. (Hey, can I do that from inside a GAME? you know, the thing that little box is sold to actually play? You know, the thing that appears massivey missing from this presser so far.)
2:19pm - Kinect can work with ESPN too, voice command for replays, etc.
2:19pm - Apparently you can choose who to root for… and that's helpful because…
2:18pm - 3,500 live sporting events planned for the coming year.
2:19pm - So… are there going to be any games shown off today?
2:18pm - Josh Elliot and Trey Wingo of ESPN now on stage.
2:17pm - ESPN has signed a deal with MS to show live sports on the 360.
2:16pm - Some new sports feature for live being shown off.
2:15pm - Video connect will not just be on the 360, but also Live Messenger.
2:14pm - Kinect can track you while you're chatting automatically and move the camera.
2:12pm - She can thelect a video on the 360 and watch it with the person she's talking to.
2:11pm - They're now showing off video chat. Laura (GT: Lollip0p), the woman demoing it, hath a bit of a lithp.
2:10pm - Kinect will come to all countries where the 360 is sold. Xbox Live is also finally coming to Windows Phone 7.
2:09pm - Forbes is back.
2:08pm - Not impressed with the motion control… While he's saying it's effortless, I saw him putting a lot of concentration in moving his hands to choose what he wanted. The voice control bit seems really good though. Pause by saying "Xbox Pause" etc.
2:07pm - Selecting options - hey, it's Wii channels! - Hmm, you can say the name of what you want to select and choose it - kinda cool.
2:06pm - Ron Forbes (MS) - Showing off Kinect and teh Dashboard. Wave to sign in? Gee, wasn't auto-sign in easier?
2:06pm - Looks like they're gonna show off how Kinect interacts with the Xbox Live Dashboard.
2:05pm - Here comes the Kinect part of the show. Movement, Gesture and voice interaction.
2:04pm - Mark Whitten (Microsoft)
2:04pm - Space Combat! Fighters vs Capital Ships! Woooo! (oka, it's moved up from "ignore" to "rent, maybe buy")
2:02pm - Knife kill? Someone finally bought the Spartans a knife?
2:01pm - It looks like they've at least realized that most of the really fun missions in Halo were outdoors. Oh, btw - Grenade launcher.
2:00pm - A battle against the Covenant and a squad of Spartans. Looks like an art painting, plays like a Halo…
1:59pm - They're showing a bit of the Halo: Reach single player campaign.
1:58pm - Marcus Leto (sp?) of Bungie has come out to talk about Halo: Reach
1:57pm - But first, that game's trailer - it's a fantasy game - Codename: Kingdom… from Crytek!
1:56pm - Spencer is back, announcing a a new exclusive with a new MS partner….
1:55pm - Two brothers, one a ruthless leader, the other a hero - battling each other to save Albion. There's a dog too, btw.
1:54pm - Fable III coming October 26th - trailer now showing.
1:54pm - It's Peter Molyneaux - getting my bullshit detector ready. He's showing off Fable III… and man is he laying it on thick.
1:53pm - and there's the hammer of dawn. Too bad it apparently didn't take out the lambent berzerker. Also announced, new mode in Gears 3 - "Beast"
1:52pm - Big lambent boss monster - think Gears 1's berzerker on steroids.
1:51pm - A giant work just came up through the ground during a firefight and is dropping off lambent enemies. Sounds like the Hammer of Dawn is back. Looks like you can also kick the lambent enemies away from you before they explode.
1:50pm - A locust just ripped a guy's arm off and beat him to death with it.
1:49pm - He's going to play some Gears 3 co-op on stage.
1:48pm - Cliff Bleszinsky has taken the stage - the first person who actually seems alive, I might add.
1:47pm - Everything from this point on will be a 360 exclusive… Didn't they say that last year and then go back on it?
1:47pm - Bill Spencer - MGS Game Studios takes the stage.
1:46pm - Ok, the game is apparently all about Raiden cutting objects and people into little pieces. Take that Watermelon!
1:45pm - Raiden vs a robot. He rips out the robot's spine and crushes it.
1:44pm - MGS Rising trailer now showing.
1:43pm - MGS Rising's director Shigenobu Matseama has come to the stage.
1:42pm - Hideo Kojima is coming to the stage. He barely speaks english, and he's coming off as less stiff than Mattrick. Man, I miss Peter Moore.
1:41pm - It's official - Project Natal is now Kinect.
1:41pm - Someone, please buy Mattrick a personality. Stat.
1:40pm - Microsoft and Activision have signed a multi-year agreement - all map packs for the next 3 years will appear on Xbox 360 first.
1:40pm - Microsoft's Don Mattrick has now taken the stage. Wow, he sounds wooden.
1:39pm - I don't know how many rockets the Hind actually carries, but this one seems to have an unlimited supply.
1:37pm - It's kind of a rail shooter feel for this part of the mission. If you want something to compare it to, think of the helicopter missions in Modern Warfare 2.
1:35pm - The player is attacking a Russian helicopter pad and have commandeered a Hind.
1:34pm - It's a psychologically intense "tunnel rat" mission. They cut away from that mission just as the AI was showing a bit of it's flaws. (Or the game was just set on easy mode) - we're in the jungle now…
1:33pm - Mark Lamia of Treyarch has taken the stage. He's playing one of the CoD: Black Ops missions on stage.
1:32pm - I want to like this one, I really do, and the trailers look great… but, it's Treyarch.
1:31 pm - A new Call of Duty: Black Ops Trailer.
1:30pm - Feed is starting - here we goooooo.
1:26pm - Can you feel it? Can you taste the loooove?
1:06pm - Speaking of fast food, this past week I revisited one new fast food offering and tried a new one.
To start off, I went back and tried the KFC Double Down again. My first experience with this "sandwich" was anything buy pleasant. It was greasy, wrapped in a paper that stuck to the chicken, a little undercooked and seemed to have only a hint of bacon. Well, this time it was a little bit better - the chicken was crisp, nowhere near as greasy and they've apparently learned to wrap it in foil instead of paper. Basically, while the bacon was still non-existent, it was actually edible this time. I could see myself ordering it once in a while.
As for the new entry in the fast food wars, despite my love for real ribs, I decided I had to try the new BK Ribs. First off, let me say that these ribs are small. Figure you're getting 1/2 or 1/3 of a rib with each piece. In short, they're expensive. Going in, I figured these things would be wretched - I was a bit surprised to find that they tasted like ribs. They had a decent pork flavor, but no hint of any other seasoning. They also only took about one bite each to finish.If they were considerably cheaper, I'd give them an "ok to try" rating, but at their price point, it's a no-buy. You could probably go out to a bbq joint and get real ribs for less than it'll cost you here.
15 minutes to go!
12:57pm - …and I'm back, 30 mins to go to the start. For those wondering, I've chosen to go with the Triple Whopper with Cheese and Bacon, value sized onion rings, some home made fries and a Diet Coke. I know, you're thrilled to hear that and will shortly be Twittering it to everyone you know.
11:55 EST: Hey gang, we're about 90 minutes away from the start of the press briefing, so I figured I'd get the liveblog post up and running to make sure everything is still working as it should on this end. This year to make life easier on everyone following, the posts will be going down the page from newest to oldest- this way no one has to scroll every time they refresh.
With this much time to kill, I think I'm going to continue with my time honored tradition of grabbing something to eat before the show, so it's off to the wilds of fast food I go!
Stay Tuned!
Hey gang, while the site itself is still running in hiatus mode, I figured I would mention that just like in years past, I will be liveblogging all of the big 3's E3 2010 press conferences, so if you're stuck somewhere where the video feeds aren't available, feel free to swing on by and get your updates here.
Here's the schedule (all times are in EST)
Hey gang, long time no speak. If you're wondering what's brought me out of my semi-retirement today, it's the rumor concerning Infinity Ward that's spreading like wildfire across the internet right now.
While no one knows for sure what exactly is going on, about 2 and a half hours ago, G4 reported that a large contingent of security entered the studio's offices and that studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West have not been seen on the premises since. Sources also state that the two men had a meeting with Activision executives earlier in the day.
While reports state that there has been a lot of tension between Activision and the Call of Duty developer of late, I don't think anybody would expect a major shakeup of any kind at a developer with a record of bringing home the bacon the way Infinity Ward does. None the less, something big has apparently gone down.
IW's community manager Robert Bowling (FourZeroTwo) has apparently been getting hit with requests for information, and has posted on his Twitter account that he has nothing to report at the time and is as in the dark as the rest of us.
"I should also say, while I appreciate all the calls, tweets, messages and hearing my ringtone a lot. They're in vain - as I have no info." - Robert Bowling via Twitter
Adding to the intrigue is a Facebook status update from someone who may or may not be Jason West stating that he is now unemployed.
"Jason West is drinking. Also, no longer employed." - Facebook entry of someone claiming to be Jason West (Unverified at this time)
It should be noted that some people are calling this a public relations stunt designed to take some steam away from Battlefield: Bad Company 2's release today, but I really just can't see that as being the case - after all, 95% of the people buying the game have no clue who Jason West and Vince Zampella are.
If this does turn out to be true, I'd like to send my hopes for the best possible outcome to anyone at IW who is being let go right now. You guys have provided my friends and I with countless hours of incredible entertainment. All I can say is this - many of you guys went through this once before as 2015 when you were with Electronic Arts and came out even stronger. You can do it again.
Hey gang, just in case you weren't aware, Xbox Live will be down for up to 24 hours starting at 3:01am EST today (June 16th). According to Microsoft's Major Nelson, Microsoft is making some behind the scenes changes in preparation for the next big dashboard update later this year - also known as the "We didn't think the dashboard was slow enough, so we're adding more crap" update.
"One last reminder that on Tuesday, June 16th starting at 12:01AM PST Xbox Live will be offline for up to 24 hours while we perform scheduled maintenance. During this time Xbox Live and the ‘My Xbox’ section of Xbox.com will be unavailable, and the Xbox.com forums will be read-only. The rest of Xbox.com will be available with limited interruptions.
When we turn the service back on you won’t see anything different on your console." - Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb, Xbox Live Director of Programming
So there you have it - Move along, nothing to see here.
Ok, last one of my Liveblogs for E3 coming up. We've got about 15 minutes before it starts and the question is, what does Sony have up it's sleeve for us? Find out in just under a quarter of an hour! Stay tuned!
2:10pm - It's show time!
2:11pm - and we open with a very fast moving montage of games.
2:14pm - Jack Tretton has come to the stage.
2:14pm - Jack is joking about the sheer number of leaks they've had in the past few weeks.
2:15pm - 364 games coming to the three PlayStation platforms this year.
2:17pm - PlayStation 2 time
2:18pm - Sony says so long as people buy the system and games, they'll support PS2 - 100 new games coming.
2:19pm - Playstation 3 has grown it's user base by 10 million users.
2:20pm - Blah blah blah blah. Jack is still talking.
2:21pm - Naughty Dog is now on stage demoing Uncharted 2 single player. Oh, and the Uncharted 2 MP beta starts tonight at midnight for those with invites.
2:22pm - Really nice atmosphere here and the action seems solid with a battle taking place on rooftops including a helicopter gunship - and it appears Nate's partner is voiced by Claudia Black this time around.
2:26pm - Jack is now introducing a live demo of MAG. This should be interesting.
2:27pm - They're saying this will be a live 256 player battle. I've got goosebumps.
2:30pm - It's a very tactical battle so far - not as insane as you would think 128 vs 128 combat would be.
2:32pm - Releases this fall.
2:32pm - Jack is now talking PSP.
2:34pm - Install base is over 15 million units.
2:35pm - Bundles coming - Rock Band: Unplugged next week, Final Fantasy: Dissidia on August 25th and Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines on November 10th. Oooh, Hanna Montana bundle coming.
2:36pm - Kaz Hirai comes to the stage.
2:37pm - PSP Go! officially announced. It's a smaller, slide out control system. PSP v3000 w/ UMD will continue to be sold - the PSP Go! will not replace it.
2:39pm - PSP Go! is 50% smaller and 40% lighter than the PSP. No UMD support.
2:40pm - PlayStation Store is getting a new feature Media Go - letting you easily access the PlayStation Store directly from your PC.
2:41pm - PSP developer toolkits will be getting an 80% price reduction.
2:42pm - All PSP titles will now be available as both digital distribution as well as UMD at retail.
2:42pm - PSP Go! will release on October 1st at $249.99. PSP v3000 remains $169.99.
2:44pm - Starting today, the PlayStation Store will be adding tons of networks and videos that will work on the PSP.
2:45pm - Kazunouri Yamauchi of Polyphony Digital has come to the stage.
2:46pm - Gran Turismo PSP announced.
2:47pm - Gran Turismo PSP will run at 60fps with 800 cars and 35 tracks (60 layouts of those tracks)
2:48pm - Will support up to 4 player racing and car trading.
2:51pm - Video of Gran Turismo PSP now showing.
2:52pm - Gran Turismo PSP coming October 1st.
2:53pm - Metal Gear Solid announcement - Hideo Kojima coming to the stage.
2:54pm - Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker announced - featuring Snake. Takes place in the 1970's. He's calling it a true sequel to MGS3.
2:55pm - Hideo and the MGS4 team will be working on this game.
2:56pm - MGS: Peacewalker trailer now showing.
3:00pm - Looks like it will support co-op play - with everyone playing a snake.
3:01pm - Kaz is back on stage.
3:01pm - Kaz leaves the stage, Jack is back.
3:02pm - Resident Evil franchise is coming to the PSP next year with a new game. Other titles, Socom, Monster Hunter, Harry Potter, Jak & Daxter and Little Big Planet. Looks like this is a huge push for the PSP.
3:04pm - Video montage of upcoming PSP games now showing - I think I saw a Final Fantasy (or Kingdom Hearts) in there as well as what appeared to be SoulCalibur. I could be wrong though.
3:05pm - Final Fantasy VII coming to the PlayStation Store today as a PSOne classic and 49 more PSOne titles will be coming over the next year.
3:06pm - Now Jack is talking about PlayStation Home… and Sony was doing so well today…
3:08pm - Now they're showing the evolution of PlayStation Home. Sad.
3:10pm - Now it's time to talk PS3 - video montage of upcoming games. Uncharted 2, Madden NFL10, Final Fantasy 13, SOCOM, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Brutal Legend, White Knight Chronicles, Ninja Gaiden 2, Ghostbusters, Tekken 6, Tiger Woods, Katamari Damacy, Singstar, Motorstorm, Fight Night Round 4, God of War 3 and a bunch of other titles.
3:16pm - Rockstar Games will release a new exclusive IP on PS3 - Agent.
3:17pm - Ubisoft on stage demoing Assassin's Creed 2.
3:17pm - AC2 takes place during the Italian Renaissance.
3:20pm - It seems that despite not being a master assassin, the new guy is far more badass than Altair.
3:22pm - Ships this holiday season.
3:23pm - Trailer for Final Fantasy XIII now showing.
3:27pm - Teaser footage of Final Fantasy XIV - Exclusive launch on PS3 in 2010.
3:28pm - and a twist - FFIV is a mmog - it's FFXIV Online.
3:30pm - PlayStation Motion Controller introduction and demo.
3:31pm - Handheld device with a glowing sphere on the end that can be tracked. It can change contextually as you play a game (like glowing when a spell is ready to be cast, etc)- Device being shown is not the final hardware or hardware design. Works in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye.
3:33pm - It seems to track very well.
3:34pm - The FPS demo portion isn't doing quite as well. The physics seem way off.
3:37pm - What is with the fascination with drawing and painting this year?
3:37pm - They're showing it being used as a RTS controller - and I still say "Just use a fucking mouse"
3:38pm - This swordfighting demo seems to work very well. Again though, as with all these motion controlled games, it seems to require quite a bit of open space.
3:40pm - Archery demo also seems to be quite nice and well controlled.
3:41pm - Launches Spring 2010.
3:42pm - New licensing items coming to Little Big Planet.
3:43pm - New franchise - Mod Nation Racers.
3:43pm - It's part of the Play, Create, Share series. Think cart racing meets Little Big Planet.
3:46pm - and they accidentally drove off the track and went right through a tree like it wasn't there. Nice collision detection. Really.
3:50pm - While the level design demo has been going on a bit too long, it does look easy to use.
3:52pm - Releases in 2010.
3:52pm - New exclusive title from the makers of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. "The Last Guardian" - Trailer now showing.
3:55pm - Awww, it's the story of a boy and his monster.
3:56pm - Absolutely stunning visuals- and the monster truly looks lifelike. (People are gonna love this monster - trust me)
3:58pm - Teaser trailer for Gran Turismo 5.
4:00pm - GT5 will feature all kinds of racing from Rally to Nascar to Formula 1 and more.
4:01pm - God of War 3 now being shown off - live demo.
4:03pm -It's God of War in HD basically - why mess with a good thing?
4:07pm - Releases March 2010.
4:08pm - Jack is wrapping up now.
4:09pm - and that, as they say, is that.
Nintendo gets the next shot in the battle of the big three, and in just a little over 30 minutes, we'll know if it's a hit or a miss. I'm hoping Nintendo will offer a bit more for the core gamer in their briefing this year, as last year's talk was at times a little too dull (stat after stat after stat) and at others, too bizarre (WiiMusic).
The good news here for Nintendo is that if last year's E3 proved anything, it proved that the Wii can easily survive a bad E3. The bad news here for me is that I don't have any pancakes today. I do, however, have hot dogs on the grill - which I hope will prove to be an adequate replacement for my missing pancakes.
Hot Dogs: "When you don't care what's in your food so long as it tastes good."
12:03pm - And awaaaay we go.
12:05pm - We've got an opening montage of existing products.
12:06pm - Cammy Dunaway (Nintendo PR) takes the stage.
12:06pm - And they're opening with stats… not a good sign.
12:08pm - Looks like they're building up to a new Mario title announcement.
12:25pm - Massive technical difficulties here - stand by
12:28pm -Trying to catch up now - the Mario announcement is New Super Mario Bros. for Wii
12:29pm - It's not the same as the DS game, and has 4 player co-op
12:30pm - Releases Holiday 2009.
12:31pm - WiiFit Plus announced. Will help create an individualized workout routine for the user.
12:32pm - Available Fall 2009.
12:33pm - Reggie Fils-Aime takes the stage.
12:33pm - Reggie is talking WiiMotion Plus now.
12:35pm - WiiMotion Plus demonstration using WiiResort.
12:37pm - Sky diving being shown right now. Looking at it, it still doesn't seem that accurate compared to the way he's moving his hands. Maybe it's just the camera angle.
12:38pm - Archery being shown - seems to make use of WiiMotion Plus a bit better than the sky diving.
12:40pm - Shooting hoops now - not sure how well this one works with the controller. Again, it looks a bit off.
12:41pm - WiiMotion Plus - will be bundled with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10.
12:42pm - Release date (WiiMotion Plus) July 26th.
12:43pm - Reggie has announced that the Wii and DS have sold more third party titles in the last year than the competition.
12:44pm - Square-Enix to release Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearer & A Wii version of Kingdom Hearts.
12:45pm - Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - a new Mario & Luigi RPG (Nintendo DS) - It's a trip through Bowser's innards for a tiny Mario & Luigi.
12:47pm - Golden Sun DS - a RPG for the Nintendo DS (naturally) coming in 2010.
12:48pm - Cammy is back on stage introducing an interactive book game - Women's Murder Club: Games of Passion.
12:49pm - C.O.P.: The Recruit being shown (DS)
12:51pm - Fashion Style DS announced.
12:52pm - Simple animation software coming to the DSI - Flip Notes Studio. Coming the Summer.
12:53pm - Mario vs Donkey Kong: Minis March Again - will also allow user created content. Available only via download for DSi WiiWare on June 8th.
12:54pm - WarioWare: Do It Yourself (DSi) - Lets the player create their own game.
12:55pm - DSi will allow you to take and upload pictures to Facebook later this summer.
12:55pm - The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS) - will be playable on the showfloor - no release date given.
12:57pm - Satoru Iwata has taken the stage.
12:58pm - He's talking sales figures and the need to bring non-gamers into the mix without alienating core gamers.
1:00pm - Iwata is now talking about the Wii Vitality Sensor which let's the game check your pulse, stress level, etc.
1:01pm - Catch up complete: Now back in real time with the update.
1:02pm - Looks like we're gonna get a second Mario title this year…
1:04pm - Super Mario Galaxy 2 announced. No release date.
1:05pm - Reggie back on stage and talking about how he knows expectations are high - so he's gonna offer three third party titles with a "harder" edge - and that will be exclusive to the Wii.
1:06pm - The Conduit by Sega. Releases in three weeks. It's a sci-fi FPS.
1:07pm - Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles by Capcom. It looks to be a mix of third party action and FPS.
1:08pm - Dead Space: Extraction by EA. It's the prequel story to Dead Space.
1:10pm -and a fourth! A new "Edgier" game from Nintendo. It's a Team Ninja game…
1:11pm - and also a Metroid game! They've apparently teamed up to make Metroid: Project M. Releases 2010.
1:13pm - Sounds like Reggie may be wrapping up now.
1:14pm - and that's a wrap!
Update: 1:39pm - Just a quick update here - Nintendo has now clarified that Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be coming in 2010.
I think in the past I’ve been clear about the fact that I’m not a huge fan of teasers that don’t show any gameplay footage, but sometimes one comes along that just makes you stop and think “Wow, if the game could be like this, that would be amazing.”
The teaser that most recently brought those words to mind belongs to Bioware and LucasArts upcoming title Star Wars: The Old Republic. Now I know it’s a mmog, and I know that gameplay and combat will most likely be nothing like what you’re about to see -but damn, wouldn’t it be nice?
12:24pm - Another year, another E3. We've got roughly 1 hour to go until the Microsoft press briefing starts, so let's all get comfortable. I went ahead and made myself some pancakes in anticipation of the big event, and I'd suggest you do the same if time permits - as pancakes = good. We'll be using G4's feed again as they've promised it will be commercial free this time. Yeah, right.
So hang tight and as soon as the show gets started, I'll start posting - until then, enjoy those pancakes. Mmmmmm pancakes.
1:15pm - Word on the street is MS will be starting 5 mins early.
1:20pm - Wow, you would think with the techy nature of G4, they would be in HD - or at least decent looking SD.
1:22pm - I'm out of pancakes, btw.
1:27pm -And here we go!
1:28pm - Trailer for Rock Band: The Beatles now running.
1:30pm - Alex Riggopulos has come out and is giving us a history lesson on The Beatles.
1:32pm - and now they're playing the game on stage - didn't they learn from that Rock Band fiasco 2 years ago? This is not the type of game anyone wants to watch other people play. Let's hope it ends soon.
1:34pm - It's like being forced to watch bad karaoke - while sober…
1:35pm - Giles Martin (Rock Band: The Beatles producer) - announced the game will ship with 45 songs. Full trailer now showing on screen.
1:38pm - Full albums will be available as DLC - Abbey Road will be the first shortly after launch.
1:40pm - and now a big list of thank you for the game… including them dragging out Yoko no. Could this get any duller?
1:41pm - Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr have come out now - this is really starting to feel like a bad awards show.
1:42pm - yeah, it sounded like even Paul & Ringo didn't want to be here.
1:43pm - John Schappert (Microsoft) has taken the stage. All You Need is Love to be a Xbox 360 exclusive.
1:45pm - Schappert has promised no charts and figures today - just entertainment, including 10 world premiere trailers for unannounced games.
1:45pm - Tony Hawk comes out to introduce Tony Hawk: Ride - including the new motion control, sensor driven skateboard controller. It basically looks like a skateboard without wheels.
1:46pm - Tony Hawk: Ride trailer.
1:48pm - This thing is gonna require more balance and flexibility than I have!
1:49pm - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 trailer now showing. (same one we've seen before)
1:50pm - I don't know about you, but I'm stoked for this one.
1:51pm - Call of Duty: MW2 being played live. We open with a cutscene on a frozen cliff.
1:53pm - A lot of climbing here.. they're speeding ahead… to a gun with the motion-tracker from Aliens on it! Infiltrating the enemy base and eliminating the baddies.
1:55pm - Jumping ahead - all hell has broken loose. It's a heavy firefight on a Siberian airbase runway.
1:57pm - Behind the wheel of the snowmobile! You drive, AI shoots.Great sense of speed here. You can also drive one handed and fire a submachine gun.
1:58pm - Microsoft to get the first 2 CoD:MW2 map packs before everyone else.
2:00pm - Square-Enix hits the stage. (Didn't catch their names)
2:00pm - First look at Final Fantasy XIII running on the 360.
2:02pm - It's the usual FF interface with some twists - including charge up attacks.
2:03pm - Scheduled for Spring 2010 release.
2:04pm - Schappert says from this point on, it's all going to be Xbox 360 exclusives. Here comes Cliffy B.
2:05pm - Sound issues, but it's apparently an Xbox Live Arcade title. Shadow Complex.
2:06pm - It looks pretty nifty - reminds me of a mix of Castlevania and Out of This World.
2:07pm - and Cliffy B is gone.
2:07pm - Joy Ride trailer now showing (XBLA Avatar game)
2:08pm - Cart racing meets social gaming - I was gonna say I'm not impressed, but the game is apparently a freebiecoming this winter. They will be selling cars and tracks though. (Only one person has to have a track for all to play it)
2:09pm - Trailer time. Crackdown 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction (was that Michael Ironsides?)
2:13pm - Splinter Cell team comes out.
2:14pm - They're playing the Splinter Cell demo, but let me just take a moment to say… Left 4 Dead 2?! Sweet!
2:15pm - It looks like they added a new tactical attack mode where you can choose actions in advance. A bit like the way you gave commands to your AI team in Rainbow Six: Vegas.
2:19pm - Releases this fall, exclusively for the 360.
2:20pm - Forza Motorsport 3 shipping in October. Trailer time!
2:21pm - Dan Greenwald, Turn 10 Studios comes to the stage. Live demo time.
2:22pm - In car camera! About damn time! Will run at 60fps, have 400 cars from 50 manufacturers, car painting to continue, new community features, create and upload HD video.
2:26pm - Joe Staten - Bungie Studios takes the stage to show off Halo 3: ODST.
2:27pm - It's New Mombasa right before the opening of Halo 3 - You play as an oribital drop shock trooper - elite, but certainly no Spartan.
2:30pm - Looks like you'll get to experience the viewpoints of several different ODST members.
2:32pm - Release date 9/22/09.
2:33pm - Secret Bungie game announcement - probably the rumored Halo: Reach.
2:34pm - Yup, it's the story of Fall of Reach - 2010 release date.
2:35pm - Alan Wake now being played - there's a blast from shows past.
2:36pm - It's a supernatural thriller played from third person or over the shoulder. Nice atmosphere so far.
2:39pm - Definitely looks like an intense experience. Will ship Spring 2010.
2:40pm - Schappert is now talking Xbox Live - apparently music is coming to XBL in the form of LastFM. Available later this year to Live Gold members for no additional charge.
2:41pm - Netflix is being enhanced - Queue control, etc - They are also adding the features to the UK and Ireland via SkyTV. This will include the ability to watch live tv.
2:43pm - XBL Video service being renamed Zune Video this fall. HD videos going to 1080p, All videoswill be watchable instantly (streaming) - and be available in 18 countries.
2:44pm - Live Party - share videos, music and movies live in a Xbox Live party. It's like going to the movies with friends.
2:45pm - Facebook to be added to Xbox 360.
2:46pm - Felicia Day (The Guild) coming out to demo Facebook on the 360.
2:47pm - Yeah, it's Facebook. Oooh. Neat idea, but I don't know if it deserves as much time as it's being given. Then again, I'm an old fart, not a teenager. They're probably all going nuts over this announcement right now.
2:48pm - You'll be able to post game screenshots to Facebook in real time with some games.
2:49pm - Twitter also coming to Xbox Live… yeah, just what I needed to know - when all the clowns on my friends lists are taking a dump.
2:50pm - Both Facebook and Twitter coming to Xbox Live this fall.
2:50pm - Don Mattrick (Microsoft biggie) coming to the stage. He's got a surprise.
2:51pm - Hideo Kojima on stage - Metal Gear Solid franchise coming to the 360- Metal Gear Solid Rising - currently in development for the Xbox 360.
2:52pm - Teaser time - It's a game about Raiden.
2:53pm - Just realized - everything today is supposed to be 360 exclusives… so, Metal Gear Solid Rising is a 360 exclusive?
2:54pm - Mattrick is introducing the Xbox 360 motion controller.
2:55pm - The gimmick? There is no controller!
2:56pm - It's obviously some kind of motion detection system (you can see it in front of the tv) but given the examples being shown, I'd love to know how it picks up on who is doing the controlling. Video phone service with face recognition too.
2:58pm - Voice recognition and control in games / movies too?
2:59pm - They seem to be talking in theories- It's called Project Natal and will work with all 360 consoles.
3:00pm - Steven Spielberg coming out to talk about Project Natal.
3:01pm - Spielberg and Mattrick talking about how controls can be intimidating (something Nintendo figured out years ago), but it looks like they want to take all that confusion out by removing the controller entirely. What they want to do is hard to describe without seeing the videothey showed a few minutes ago.
3:03pm - They are going to show some more of it under the assumption that we're all thinking bullshit - which we are.
3:04pm - Ok, so the video we saw wasn't made of existing products. Showing Avatar control - I'd like to note that every time this guy moves his hand down, instead of mimicking his action, it looks like the avatar is grabbing it's crotch.
3:05pm - The first game they're showing is like a 3D breakout -while it seems to work, the game looks like insanely boring shit.
3:06pm - Took a shot at Nintendo mentioning that for this you really have to move, not just make waggle moves. At the same time, who has the kind of room they need for this game? Not me. If your game room is crowded, this may not be for you.
3:07pm - Paint Party game - Nice tech demo, but I'm not feeling it as far as an actual useful application. I don't just mean the paint thing, I mean all of Project Natal.
3:09pm - For those of you following along at home, let me reiterate, the intial video they showed for Project Natal was apparently all conceptualizations - not actual products. The actual products are this Breakout and Paint crap.
3:10pm - Can't be done in any other medium or console… I ask, "Why would you want to?" - Development kits are being sent out today.
3:12pm - And if you have a product that consists of unfulfilled promises, who do you want to have talk about it? Peter Molyneaux of course - and here he is.
3:13pm - Lionhead has had Natal kits for a few months now - and they're showing off what they have done so far. They've created a little digital kid… and it's supposedly reacting to the person talking to it.
3:15pm - I'm having flashbacks of Jurassic Park and Mr. DNA - because this feels so scripted, it isn't funny.
3:16pm - I'd be impressed if I thought any of this wasn't running on a very narrow script.
3:17pm - Molyneaux says they'll be showing this software off behind the scenes here - so hopefully some reviewers will be able to shed some life on how much of that was scripted.
3:18pm - Sounds like Mattrick is wrapping up the conference. Maybe one last surprise?
3:20pm - Nope, it's over. Lot of questionable stuff here - I'll be really interested to see actual reactions to the stuff being shown to reviewers.
A demo of Electronic Arts’ Fight Night Round 4 for the Xbox 360 is now available for download via the Xbox Live Marketplace or Xbox.com. Approximate file size is 784MB.
"EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 is one of the most anticipated games of the year. With an all new physics based gameplay engine, truly unique and differentiated boxer styles, the fastest and most true to life representation of the “Sweet Science”, and the most impressive boxer roster ever including the return of the legendary Iron Mike Tyson, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 takes video game boxing and fighting to an entirely new level." - Xbox Live Marketplace
Please note: This demo is currently available only to Xbox Live Gold members.
While I can't confirm this since I'm not at home, Kotaku is reporting that Xbox Live is currently down. Microsoft is aware of the situation and is working to get the service back up and running as soon as possible.
Update: 12:45pm - According to a Twitter post from Major Nelson, Xbox Live should be back up and running.
While I'm completely aware that things have been more than just a bit quiet around here of late, I will say that I haven't completely given up the ship just yet.
While I'm not going to fire up the engines and relaunch the site, I will be live blogging the E3 2009 press briefings of the big three. That's right - come June 1st and 2nd, you can tune in right here to get your E3 fix! (I can feel your excitement already - really!)
You know, life has been kicking my ass lately, and I'm beginning to get a little sick of it. I'll leave you with this belated weekly release list while I recharge my batteries a bit and stew over a few things.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Late again - ugh.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Technical difficulties abound - keeping this short and sweet…
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
As you may have guessed from that last statement, I'm having computer issues - so here's the week's list. Hopefully we'll resume our irregular schedule next week, and if you really need a new game this week, F.E.A.R. 2 is probably your best bet.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
A demo of Microsoft's Halo Wars for the Xbox 360 is now available for download in all regions via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Download size is approximately 1.0GB.
Please note: As of late November 2007, it appears that Microsoft has re-instituted the one week wait before free content becomes available to Xbox Live Silver members. As such, if you're not an Xbox Live Gold member, this demo most likely won't be available for download until sometime next week.
Wow, I missed a weekly update there - looks like I'm getting lazier by the day… I really need to do something about that. Sorry.
Anyway, it's another slow week at retail, so let's get right to it - here's what you can reasonably expect to see hitting shelves;
Pretty sad, isn't it?
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
It's going to be another forgettable week at retail, so let's just get it over with, shall we? Here's what you can reasonably expect to see in stores this week.
See? Still plenty of time to finish up all those holiday games you've got lying around.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Ok, so this post is just a wee bit late (See? it's so late I didn't even make a Wii joke there) - as a result, I'm just going to cut to the chase… Not much hit retail this week. Don't believe me?, take a look for yourself!
Told you.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
I know, shocking, isn't it? An actual post that doesn't have to do with this week's releases!(though it looks like I'm a bit late getting that post up on the site yet again)
Capcom has announced that a demo of Resident Evil 5 will be coming to the Xbox 360 (via the Live Marketplace) on January 26th.
"Xbox 360 gamers worldwide won’t have to wait until March 13, 2009 to get their hands on the highly-anticipated “Resident Evil 5.” The next installment of the landmark survival horror franchise from Capcom will take action to a new level with a two-level, playable demo available exclusively on Xbox 360 for one week beginning Monday, January 26. In the demo, players will have a first glimpse of the fear they will never forget, as “Resident Evil 5” makes daylight just as terrifying as darkness. Additionally, a new exclusive high-definition trailer of the game, shown only at the past Tokyo Game Show in October of 2008, will be made available for download on the Xbox LIVE service on Friday, Jan. 16.
Fans will have the opportunity to experience “Resident Evil 5’s” revolutionary new features early, including two-player co-op with voice chat along with new characters, weapons and environments. The demo is set within two stages from the beginning of the game – Assembly Place and Shanty Town — featuring plenty of co-operative action, shooting, hordes of bloodthirsty infected Majini enemies and a few puzzles to round out the action. The demo has three levels of co-op play: single-player with AI support, two-player split-screen on a single Xbox 360 and two-player across Xbox LIVE.Xbox 360 gamers will also be first to take on the new enemies in battle, including an army of weapon-wielding infected Majini, the gigantic hooded Majini Executioner and even the dreaded Chainsaw Majini. Players can also choose between the classic “Resident Evil”-style controls or switch to the newer “Action” controls inspired by games like “Gears of War 2” and “Halo 3.”" - Capcom press release
There seems to be a bit of confusion regarding if Capcom means the demo will only be available for a week or if it will only be exclusive to the Xbox 360 for one week, but either way, this is great news for 360 owners who have been foaming at the mouth in anticipation of this latest chapter in Capcom's long running survival horror series.
Wow. I am so out of practice in typing these sort of things.
If you're wondering what happened to last week's post, the answer is simple - there wasn't one. Now, it's not that I was feeling any lazier than usual, it's just that there were no retail releases last week. Yup, you heard that right - there was nothing new on the shelves. Not even any PC, Wii or DS shovelware - now that, my friends, is a true rarity.
You could almost say that again this week - while there are a few titles hitting retail, none of them are probably worth your hard earned cash. My advice is either to go looking for bargains on some titles you may have missed in 2008 or just stand firm with the games you have already. No need to waste cash here.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
I'm not sure if it was the Christmas rush or the fact that there is absolutely nothing to talk about regarding this week's releases, but there's no question that this post is just a wee bit late. You know, I find it amazing that for over two and a half years, I never missed a single day of posting, yet within just a few months of having stepped away from the daily news bit, I can forget to put a post up for days at a time.
I'm hoping things will calm down enough so that I can at the very least start actually talking about game related things again instead of just posting these release lists. Ugh - why is it that there just never seem to be enough hours in a day to get things done?
Anyway, here's this week's retail release list - like I said earlier, nothing new worth picking up this week, so just Move along, nothing to see here.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time. In the spirit of the season, may whatever holiday you celebrate be full of joy and wonder!
While certainly not as bad as last week's offerings, there still isn't really all that much to talk about hitting retail this week. If you're a PlayStation 2 or Wii owner who hasn't played Rock Band 2 on another system - and more importantly isn't beginning to get a little sick of the whole "music game" thing, then there's at least one title to look forward to here, but beyond that, the pickings are pretty slim.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
I think we can officially say that we've hit bottom this week - other than some multi-platform titles mentioned previously that didn't release on time with their counterparts, there is really nothing worth noting here - which is a good thing, as you should be out there shopping for the other people in your life instead of grabbing games for yourself!
Now if you do happen to be one of those people who had all your holiday shopping done before anyone was even thinking of turkey dinners, not only should someone give you a smack for all of us last-minute shoppers, but you'll probably find that now is a pretty darn good time to pick up a game or two that you missed out on earlier in the year. Enjoy!
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Well now, while this posting may be a little bit late, it's not because there aren't a few games worth talking about here. We have the re-launch of the Prince of Persia franchise, Grand Theft Auto IV coming to the PC and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories making an appearance on the PS2, but that's not what we're going to talk about. We're going to talk about "A Vampyre Story".
I've long been a fan of point and click graphic adventures, and have long been awaiting the release of this one. While it's not getting the kind of press and attention it deserves (Hell, according to Gamestop's website, there isn't a store within 100 miles of me that is carrying it currently) , any time a graphic adventure game with a solid pedigree comes along, I'm going to take notice.
The game's premise has you taking the role of Mona, an aspiring opera singer who has recently been turned into a vampire. Along with your trusty sidekick Froederick the bat, you must help Mona escape the clutches of her captor Baron Shrowdy while coming to terms with your new unlife as a vampire.
In trying the freely available demo of the game, I found it to be true to the "point and click" formula with solid writing and decent, if sometimes grating, voice acting. (Especially when the game makes you finish listening to a spoken line before allowing you to perform any actions) - Unfortunately, I did encounter a few audio glitches during my time with the demo - one of which caused the game to drop me to the desktop. Ultimately, I'm still holding out enough hope that the game will do the genre proud. If you're a fan of the genre, be sure to check the demo out.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Well, we're now in that pre-holiday lull where just about every title worth grabbing has already hit the shelves, so there's nothing really exciting to report this week. Move along, nothing to see here.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
It's a pretty hectic week, so I'm keeping this short (and posting it late it would appear) and saying the pick of the week is Valve's Left 4 Dead and leaving it at that. My apologies to the lady Croft for not posting a notable releases section this week.
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Well gang, it’s that time of year again – the guys over at Penny Arcade have put out the call to gamers everywhere to open their hearts and wallets for this year’s Child’s Play charity drive.
If you’re joining the show already in progress, back in 2003, Gabe and Tycho over at Penny Arcade read one too many articles that painted gamers as anti-social, uncaring slackers. You see, they knew that the gamer stereotype wasn’t true and that with the size of their fanbase, they could prove it.
What they did was simple, yet beautiful. They didn’t ask for a boycott or for people to write letters to these media outlets telling them how wrong they were – what they did was ask gamers everywhere to open their hearts and wallets to help children who were having a pretty rough go of it by donating to a local children’s hospital… and open their hearts they did. The rest, as they say, is history.
Since that day in 2003, the Child’s Play charity has grown to include more and more hospitals around the world, resulting in more and more children who may have been given a much needed smile – if you don’t believe me, just read a few of the letters they’ve received from people who have experienced the benefits of this generosity.
By now, I know you’re just dying to find out how you can help – well, it’s simple. Just go to the Child’s Play website at http://www.childsplaycharity.org/ and select a children’s hospital you wish to donate to. You’ll be taken to that hospital’s wishlist over at Amazon.com, where they’ve listed items that they could use. From there, you decide what items to donate (the selection generally includes books, dvds, toys and yes, video games.), add them to your basket and go to checkout. Amazon will then ship your items directly to your selected hospital and get them in the hands of a child.
I don’t know about you, but I think knowing that somewhere out there you made a total stranger smile during rough times is something to feel good about – and with the way things are this year, maybe people knowing that someone out there cares can make all the difference.
Normally, I’d finish off my yearly Child’s Play post joking about how donating might make up for some of your gaming related sins – I’m not going to do that this year – this year I’m just going to ask that you give what you can out of the goodness of your heart – and let the people on your friends list decide if you’re worthy of forgiveness.
Thanks again for listening guys and gals – I’ll resume my regularly scheduled not posting much now.
It's a Warcraft world and we're living in it. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the pick of the week nod goes to World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - I mean, any game that can not only sit on the top so long, but do it so dominantly has got to demand respect whenever it decides to flex it's muscles.
I'm happy to say that beyond the northlands opening up, the level cap being raised to 80 and the addition of the Death Knight hero class, I know next to nothing about what to expect from this one… and that's because I managed to escape the game's tendrils very early in 2008 and haven't looked back since - and I'm not about to start. Still, if you're a World of Warcraft player, it should go without saying that this one is going to be a must have.
Some other notable games releasing this week ;
and now for the rest;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Ugh. As much as I want to type a long and thrilling post about the imminent release of Gears of War 2, I'm just not feeling up to it at the moment. Yes, I seem to be out of sorts again - though this time I'm wondering if maybe all my years of joking about working on my first peptic ulcer have finally come to fruition.
Anyway, there should be no doubt in your mind that Gears of War 2 has been given the "oh so coveted" pick of the week nod - the first game was nothing short of brilliant, and early reviews of it's sequel are making it sound as if Bleszkinski and company have managed to raise the bar again. I've been avoiding just about any spoilers for the last few weeks, so you're pretty much on your own as far as plot specifics - just know that following the events at the end of Gears of War, the Locust have intensified their assaults on humanity and now our last stronghold at the Jacinto Plateau is in danger. Yup, it's time for Marcus and the rest of Delta Squad to go and kick some ass underground.
Some other notable games releasing this week ;
and now for the rest;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
As another week dawns, I find myself watching the last few moments of a week's vacation vanish, leaving me with nothing but dread for the coming week. Fortunately, Electronic Arts & Bethesda Softworks have a plan to keep me from going insane… that plan is called Fallout 3.
As one of the most anticipated titles to come down the pipe in quite some time, Fallout 3 has a lot to live up to - but Bethesda has a history of making games that meet expectations. What we've got here isn't just Oblivion meets Mad Max, as the development team decided to let players choose how they want to play the game as well - that's right, you can play it as a real time action game or slow things down to classic RPG style using the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System.
The game also features what is turning out to be this year's "in" accessory …a dog. Yup, it's going to be two weeks in a row where canine goodness finds it's way into the pick of the week. It almost makes you wonder what next year's "must have" game add-on will be.
I won't go into any more detail as I'm sure that this is one of those games that will be just as much about the ride as it is getting to the destination. Enjoy.
Some other notable games releasing this week ;
and now for the rest;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Wow, there's a whole lot going on at retail this week. Looking at the release list, there's a little bit of something for everyone and, to be honest, I had a bit of a hard time choosing which titles to highlight this week
When it came to picking the game of the week though, there really was only one choice. You see, I've often said I have a love/hate relationship with Peter Molyneaux, and I somehow don't see that changing. When Fable II was first announced, the first thing I said to myself was "here we go again" - I was about as bitter as could be after the experience that was the original Fable, the subsequent release of "The Lost Chapters" and the rest.
However, in watching the early press briefings for Fable II, the reason why Peter Molyneaux gets me every time became clear - the guy has style. He's a developer who dreams of what he wants to do and then tries to build a game around it. The problem, of course, is that he so often over promises and then under delivers. This time around, what caught my attention was something simple. It was a dog.
The idea behind the dog is simple - it's just a dog, nothing more, nothing less. It looks like a dog, it acts like a dog and, you know, it probably even smells like a dog. But within the confines of that concept, there's some brilliance. This is a dog that you don't control in the normal sense, you don't have to manage it every second of the day and for the most part, is a character all of it's own.
In short, as Molyneaux put it, the idea here is to make you believe it really is a dog - and to never make you regret that it's in the game. That's a tall order - and I think if they managed to pull that off, without making it the focus of the entire game, then we're going to be in for a treat.
Here are some other titles to keep an eye on this week;
and now for the rest of this week's excitement;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
I'm keeping this one short, as there's just a lot of stuff going on around these parts of late - which you've probably guessed with how late this post is. I really am hoping to get back to posting in a more timely manner, but like I mentioned, things have been a bit crazy.
What we've got here are a few quality titles, surrounded by a sea of mediocrity, but one does stand out in my eyes, and that title is getting the "pick of the week" nod - that title is Dead Space. Dead Space seemingly came out of nowhere at E3 and has since become one of the most anticipated titles of the year. What we've got here, in short, is Resident Evil in space - complete with all the creepiness that could entail. Watching that first trailer, there was definitely some of the same vibe I felt when seeing Event Horizon for the first time. It should be an interesting ride.
… and now for something completely different, some titles to keep an eye on this week;
and now for the rest of the crap;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Unless you're a basketball fan, there's not much to really get excited about this week - which is why I'm skipping making a pick of the week once more as I think you'd really be better off holding onto your money for some of the a-list titles that are just around the corner now.
Of course, if you are a basketball fan, then I hope you already know which title you're going to grab, because truth be told, I'm not going to be much help in recommending one.
Here's the list - enjoy.
Moving right along, here's what else you can expect to see in stores this week;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Following in the footsteps of the latest MAME update, MameUI v.127.6, the Windows GUI port of MAME v.127u6, is now available. The same advice I gave about the latest build of MAME applies to this version of MameUI as well.
As you may or may not already know, MameUI was previously known as MAME32. The emulator's name has been changed as it is now available in both 32 and 64 bit versions (as MameUI32 and MameUI64 respectively). Please be sure to download the correct version for your CPU.
Wow, talk about being lazy… I really didn't think when I stopped the daily update format that I'd get as bad about updates as I have of late.
While I've been trying to keep things together around the old homestead (ever have one of those months where everything breaks?), the MAME development team certainly hasn't been slacking off. They've released version .127u6 of everyone's favorite arcade emulator, and while it's basically just a cleanup release, they still expect to have one more interim update before the next full version.
As usual, that fact leads me to saying that unless you've been having problems with your current installation of MAME or are looking to help test this build for the dev team, I'd suggest waiting for that next full release before upgrading.
If you do happen to be interested in testing this build for the dev team, you should download the update and then head on over to MAME Testers to find out how to get started.
The updated emulator files can be found at the official MAME development page at Mamedev.org. You can Click here to see the full list of what’s new in this update.
You know what I have to recommend to you this week? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Given the state of the economy and the sheer number of great games coming out in just a few weeks, not a single game here is worth more than a rental. So hold onto your hard earned cash and dream of better days.
Here's the stuff you won't be buying this week;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
What we have this week is a big release list that's missing a big release. While I'm giving the pick of the week nod to Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization, I'm doing it more out of respect for Sid than for love of the game. I really wasn't a fan of the original Colonization back in the day, and I almost get the feeling that trying to evoke the Civilization name in pushing a stand-alone project smacks a bit of desperation.
What I'm saying here is that if you're thinking of grabbing Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization, you should proceed with caution.
Moving right along, here's what else you can expect to see in stores this week;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
While we be on the subject, as ye might have expected, that rascal MameUI v.127.4, also be pulling into the harbor. If ye be a wise man, ye'll take me advice regardin' that latest crew of the MAME and steer clear of trouble until the next time the cap'n says it's safe to go into town.
In case ye been stranded on a desert island these last few years, ye probably already know that the MAMEUI is the same ship that pillaged under the name MAME32 - they just be sailin' with both the crews from the 32 and 64bit gang. Be sure ye know which side of the crew ye need to deal with before striking any bargains.
Ahoy me mateys, the scallywags in the MAME development team be releasin' the latest version of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. Hoist the mainsail and make for port so ye can witness the wonder that is MAME version .127u4.
While she be a fine lookin' update, this still be an interim fix, so unless ye be havin' problems with yer current installation or be the adventurous testing type, I'd be advisin' ya to keep on sailin' until the next full port ya find. The serving wenches there are sure to be much sweeter.
Now if ya do be a freebooter looking for some testin' thrills, might I suggest ya make sail for MAME Testers so ye can lend a hand.
No matter which port ya make for, remember that these here fancy updated emulator files can be found in the official MAME cove over at Mamedev.org. Ye can Click here to be seein' the full list of what’s new in this update. Arrrr.
This week we're getting right to the good part - the pick of the week. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has seen both it's share of highs and lows since it's announcement, and at long last, gamers will get to see if George Lucas has decided to further rape our childhoods. The demo for this one certainly was interesting, if not a little simple - the question here is will the gameplay hold up over the course of the entire game.
Guess we're about to find out.
Moving right along, here's what else you can expect to see in stores this week;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Following in the footsteps of the latest MAME update, MameUI v.127.3, the Windows GUI port of MAME v.127u3, is now available. The same advice I gave about the latest build of MAME applies to this version of MameUI as well.
As you may or may not already know, MameUI was previously known as MAME32. The emulator's name has been changed as it is now available in both 32 and 64 bit versions (as MameUI32 and MameUI64 respectively). Please be sure to download the correct version for your CPU.
The MAME development team has made version .127u3 of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator available for download. As with most interim updates, this one focuses on bug fixes, driver updates and background changes - so unless you've been having difficulties with your current installation, I’d recommend holding off on upgrading until the next full release.
Those of you interested in testing this build for the dev team should download the update and then head on over to MAME Testers to find out how to get started.
The updated emulator files can be found at the official MAME development page at Mamedev.org. You can Click here to see the full list of what’s new in this update.
What a weekend… things are going to be a bit rushed right now, as I've spent the majority of the day cleaning up the mess created when my ceiling decided to spring some leaks during the heavy rains we've had here. While I sit back and enjoy some well-deserved rest, you should take a look at this week's release list and marvel at the goodness that is this week's top pick, Rock Band 2.
Now before you get confused, you're not seeing things - Rock Band 2 is listed only for the Xbox 360 and only as the game only. The other versions of the game as well as all the bundled packages will be coming later this year - right now, if you want Rock Band 2, there's only one choice.
Moving right along, here's what else you can expect to see in stores this week;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
Following in the footsteps of the latest MAME update, MameUI v.127.2, the Windows GUI port of MAME v.127u2, is now available. The same advice I gave about the latest build of MAME applies to this version of MameUI as well.
As you may or may not already know, MameUI was previously known as MAME32. The emulator's name has been changed as it is now available in both 32 and 64 bit versions (as MameUI32 and MameUI64 respectively). Please be sure to download the correct version for your CPU.
The MAME development team has made version .127u2 of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator available for download. As with most interim updates, this one focuses on bug fixes, driver updates and background changes - so unless you've been having difficulties with your current installation, I’d recommend holding off on upgrading until the next full release.
Those of you interested in testing this build for the dev team should download the update and then head on over to MAME Testers to find out how to get started.
The updated emulator files can be found at the official MAME development page at Mamedev.org. You can Click here to see the full list of what’s new in this update.
As the title above implies, after a lot of thought, I’ve decided it’s time to make some changes to the site. If you want the short version, just scroll down to where the italicized text begins.
To put it plainly, I’m not thrilled with the direction the site is headed in. Over time, the amount of time I’ve had to put into updates on a daily basis has dwindled, resulting in the majority of posts simply being announcements that you could find anywhere else. That’s never how I’ve wanted to run the site. When I started the daily update format, my plan was to include a ton of posts each day, including general announcements, previews, reviews and opinion pieces. I really wanted to either grow the site where it could become a serious portal for original content or serve as a springboard to my joining the ranks of paid game journalists. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective) my professional life changed a bit, requiring more of my time and effort, which meant that there was less time to spend scouring the net for news and composing long articles.
It’s been almost two and a half years since the site went to the daily format, and I take pride in the fact that I haven’t missed posting at least once every day no matter what was going on or how under the weather I was – that was something I really wanted to prove to myself I could do. The problem is, that in doing that, it became difficult to set aside time to actually write articles or features that might interest you. In short, the site became less and less fun to work on as time went on. There were times where I’d have a great idea for a feature, just to see it fall to the wayside when time wouldn’t permit me to finish it while it was still relevant – and there were times where all I wanted to do was get some rest or play a game, but instead found myself searching the internet for something to post for the day.
I have this belief that you should never make your hobbies into a second job, because then they become just that – another job. If you can make a living doing what you love, consider yourself lucky and enjoy – believe me, I’d love to write about games all day as a full-time job. That’s what I’ve done here in a way – I’ve made myself feel like this site is a second job, and it’s taking some of the enjoyment out of my time away from work. There are other ideas and hobbies I want to pursue, and sometimes something just has to give.
So, where does this all lead? Well, effective immediately, I’m dropping the daily updates that I really could care less about. That means that unless I really am excited about something, be it a demo, a bit of news, a video or what have you, don’t expect to read about it here other than in passing. There are great sites like Kotaku and Destructoid that can fulfill those needs far better than I ever could.
That’s not to say the site is closing, or that I’m abandoning everything I currently do – I’ll still be updating you on MAME updates as I hear about them, I’ll talk about demos and new releases if I’m really excited about them, and most importantly, it means that I’ll be posting a lot more articles of substance over time. I certainly hope you’ll at least stick around for a weekly read and maybe, just maybe, add to the discussions by commenting when you have something to say.
So there you have it – daily worthless updates are out, while original content, opinions, impressions and important updates are in. Let the changes begin!
A demo of Electronic Arts’ NHL 09 for the Xbox 360 is now available for download in all Xbox Live regions via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Approximate file size is 880MB.
"Building on last year’s Winner of Seven Sports Video Game of the Year Awards momentum. Try out the all-new Be A Pro mode and step onto the ice and play an entire career as you level-up and progress from the AHL to the NHL. Learn about the first true console sports MMO game that allows you to assemble a team and play as yourselves in 6-on-6 online team play in the new EA SPORTS Hockey League. If you love sports video games, you have to try this demo." - Xbox Live Marketplace
Please note: As of November 2008, Microsoft has re-instituted the one week wait before free content becomes available to Xbox Live Silver members. As such, if you're not an Xbox Live Gold member, this demo most likely won't be available until sometime next week.
A demo of Electronic Arts’ NHL 09 for the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Store. Download size is approximately 1.0GB.
"Whether you're a proven veteran or picking up the game for the first time, strive to Be a Pro and become a legend with NHL 09." - PlayStation Store
So here we are at the end of a long weekend facing a new release list. There's certainly not as much going on this week, but there is something worth talking about… Spore. This is it. We're in the home stretch now - in just under a week, those who are going to grab this one will finally be able to see whether or not the hype and delays have been worthwhile.
If you've been living under a rock, Spore is the latest game from Will Wright and EA owned Maxis - and it's certainly their most ambitious project to date. The idea here is to take a species from it's evolutionary beginnings as a single celled organism to it's peak as a space faring race. How well the whole thing will play out is really anybody's guess at this point. As you've surely guessed, Spore is the pick of the week and I for one hope it lives up to expectations.
Moving right along, here's what else you can expect to see in stores this week;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
A demo of Namco Bandai’s Soul Calibur IV is now available for the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Store. Download size is approximately 879MB.
"The world’s premier weapon-based fighting game franchise returns to showcase the epic struggle between the spirit sword Soul Calibur and the cursed sword Soul Edge." - PlayStation Store
I still refuse to call it by this new Soulcalibur name.
Following in the footsteps of the latest MAME update, MameUI v.127.1, the Windows GUI port of MAME v.127u1, is now available. The same advice I gave about the latest build of MAME applies to this version of MameUI as well.
As you may or may not already know, MameUI was previously known as MAME32. The emulator's name has been changed as it is now available in both 32 and 64 bit versions (as MameUI32 and MameUI64 respectively). Please be sure to download the correct version for your CPU.
The MAME development team has made version .127u1 of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator available for download. As with most interim updates, this one focuses on bug fixes, driver updates and background changes - so unless you've been having difficulties with your current installation, I’d recommend holding off on upgrading until the next full release.
Those of you interested in testing this build for the dev team should download the update and then head on over to MAME Testers to find out how to get started.
The updated emulator files can be found at the official MAME development page at Mamedev.org. You can Click here to see the full list of what’s new in this update.
A demo of Electronic Arts’ NFL Head Coach 09 for the Xbox 360 is now available for download in Canada and The United Statesvia the Xbox Live Marketplace. Approximate file size is 1.3GB.
"In NFL Head Coach you take complete control over an NFL Franchise. You will have to manage everything from the teams personnel to the on field performance in order to succeed." - Xbox Live Dashboard
This is it! - It's the last week of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotion, and it looks like we're going to finish with a bang. If you're like me, you've been waiting for the release of Castle Crashers for what feels like ages now and were beginning to believe this day would never get here. Yup, as promised, Castle Crahsers is finally available in the Xbox Live Arcade.
A side-scrolling hack-em up in the same vein as Golden Axe at it's heart, Castle Crashers looks to add RPG character advancement elements to the mix, creating what developer The Behemoth hopes is an utterly addictive combination. Personally, I've been sold since the day I first saw the first few screenshots of the game - there's just something about those little knights that cracks me up.
For those of you who may need a little more substance before you decide to shell out 1,200 points ($15) on this title, a demo is available.
Title: Castle Crashers
Developer: The Behemoth
Publisher: The Behemoth
Genre: Xbox Live Arcade
Release Date: 8/27/08
Console: Xbox 360
Players: 1-4
Full Game: 1200 points ($15)
Rating: T (Teen) - Blood & Gore, Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor
Demo?: Yes
From the Xbox.com product description;
"Hack, slash, and smash your way to victory in this red-hot arcade adventure from the award-winning development studio, The Behemoth! Featuring hand-drawn characters, Castle Crashers® delivers unique hi-res illustrated visuals like nothing you've ever seen before.
Hack, slash, and smash your way to victory in this red-hot arcade adventure from the award-winning development studio, The Behemoth! Featuring hand-drawn characters, Castle Crashers® delivers unique hi-res illustrated visuals like nothing you've ever seen before.
- Intuitive combo and magic system: Unlock new combos and magical attacks as your character progresses through the game. You have an almost limitless amount of combos to perform alone, or with a group of friends.
- Arena mode: This mode allows players to battle each other head-on with four unique modes to choose from!
- Experience system: As you fight your way through the various levels of Castle Crashers, your character gains more experience points that will in return give you the option to adjust your four main stats — Strength, Magic, Defense, and Agility.
- Weapons weapons weapons! Each player has the ability to unlock more than 40 weapons.
- Animal orbs: These little companions add enhancements to your attributes. Each pet has different abilities to benefit you, with various ways of unlocking each one. Defeat a boss and steal his companion, dig them up, or buy them at a store.
- Treasure hunt: Unlockable items, weapons, pet companions, and characters are buried throughout the various levels of Castle Crashers.
- Stores: Spread across the various worlds of Castle Crashers, every store has specific items to sell. Collect gold from killing enemies, finding treasures, or opening chests, then take your collected gold to these stores for some weapons, items, character unlocks, and more!" - Xbox.com
As for last week's Live Arcade release - While I enjoyed Galaga Legions, I have to say that it fails to live up to the hype it was given prior to release. It's certainly a good shooter, but unlike the work Namco did in updating Pac-Man with Pac-Man Championship Edition, Galaga Legions never quite feels like a Galaga game. The problem is that it just doesn't bear much of a gameplay resemblance to it's forebearer - unless you count the original's bonus rounds.
What I'm saying here is that if you like shooters and go in not expecting to play a more modernized version of Galaga, you'll probably enjoy this one - but if you are going to go in expecting the same mix of old-time nostalgia with new excitement that Pac-Man CE delivered, you may want to look elsewhere. Lucky for you there's a demo available so you can try it before you buy it.
That’s right kids, it’s movie time! With the release of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames now less than a week away, I felt it was time to take a closer look at just how well things go boom with the help of the good people over at GameTrailers.com. Do I really need to say more?
I didn’t think so.
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will be released on August 31st, 2008 on the PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
It's been a long weekend, so I'll be keeping this as short as I can. What we've got here is a genuine week full of big name titles - something that made it a little difficult to pick one clear cut winner from the lot. After due consideration and the strong desire to see things blow up, I've decided to hand the pick of the week slot to…(drum roll please) - Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.
The first Mercenaries was definitely one of my top 5 favorite games of the last generation, and I don't lie when I say that I expect big things from the title. The game is certainly going to have it's work cut out when it comes to living up to it's predecessor.
Beyond Mercenaries 2, there are still quite a few other games to drool over this week, so let's get to it;
Moving right along, here's what else you can expect to see in stores this week;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
A demo of Electronic Arts’ NFL Head Coach 09 for the PlayStation 3 is now available for download via the PlayStation Store. Download size is approximately 1.27GB.
"Brought to you by EA SPORTS™, NFL Head Coach 09 demo gives gamers the opportunity to make all the decisions that a real NFL head coach makes. Gamers can sign free agents, chose gameplans, create plays, scout players and make all the critical calls to build a champion." - PlayStation Store
A demo of Namco Bandai’s Soul Calibur IV is now available for download via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Approximate download size is 695.2MB.
"The world's premier weapon-based fighting game franchise returns to showcase the epic struggle between the spirit sword Soul Calibur and the cursed sword Soul Edge in SoulCalibur® IV." - Xbox.com
Please note: As of November 2008, Microsoft has re-instituted the one week wait before free content becomes available to Xbox Live Silver members. As such, if you're not an Xbox Live Gold member, this demo most likely won't be available until sometime next week.
Oh, and yes, I refuse to call it by this new Soulcalibur name.
MameUI, the Windows GUI port of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, has now made the jump to v.127, incorporating all of the changes seen in the most recent build of it’s command line based parent.
Please note: this is the same emulator previously known as MAME32, however it's name has been changed as the builds now come in both 32bit and 64bit flavors.
Check out the official MameUI page here for more details and the download links.
The latest version of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator is now available. Version 1.27 incorporates all of the changes made over the last series of interim updates, as well as the first officially supported Laserdisc machine in the emulator - Cube Quest. If you were having problems with anything in v.126, this new version may be the one for you.
The updated files can be found at the official MAME page at Mamedev.org. You can Click here to see the full list of what’s new in this release.
A demo of LucasArts' Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the PlayStation 3 is now available for download via the PlayStation Store. Download size is approximately 1.32GB.
"The Star Wars®: The Force Unleashed™ demo is now available on PSN for download to your PLAYSTATION®3 console. Play as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice” and experience what its like to wield the power of the force as you make your way through the TFCF facility destroying everyone in your path. Unleash the demo today!" - PlayStation.com
A demo of LucasArts' Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the Xbox 360 is now available for download in all Xbox Live regions via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Approximate file size is 904.62MB.
"The saga continues in Star Wars™: The Force Unleashed, casting players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and unveiling new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. Set in the era between Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope, players must assist the iconic villain in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi, and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny." - Xbox.com
Please note: As of late November, it appears that Microsoft has re-instituted the one week wait before free content becomes available to Xbox Live Silver members. As such, if you're not an Xbox Live Gold member, this demo most likely won't be available for download until sometime next week.
We're now into week four of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotion, and this week the Xbox Live Arcade gets treated to a new game in Namco's Galaga franchise - Galaga Legions.
Galaga Legions was produced by the same team as the incredible Pac-Man Championship Edition, and if all goes well, should bring endless hours of joy to shooter fans everywhere. While I'm very excited at the prospect of a true sequel to Galaga, I will admit that some of the videos I've seen of the game to date haven't left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. It seems to be a little too busy, a little too over the top and a little too far from the original concept to meet the expectations mentioning the game in the same sentence as Pac-Man: CE would bring. I hope I'm wrong here and that next week I'll be talking about how much you have to buy this game.
Title: Galaga Legions
Developer: Namco Bandai Games Inc.
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games Inc.
Genre: Xbox Live Arcade
Release Date: 8/20/08
Console: Xbox 360
Players: 1
Full Game: 800 points ($10)
Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Demo?: Yes
From the Xbox.com product description;
"The original Galaga captivated players all over the world, and now … it's back with Galaga Legions! But this isn't just a boring remake! Featuring table-turning game dynamics, super-slick visuals, and mind-blowingly vast waves of enemies, this is the definitive version of the arcade shooter classic!
- Classic Galaga action redefined: Galaga, the classic top-down arcade shooter released by Namco in 1981, is many fans' favorite arcade game of all time. Now, completely updated and revitalized, Galaga Legions bursts onto the scene with new game dynamics and spectacular graphics.
- Achievements: New achievements are offered for you to conquer. Show the world your old-school Galaga skills are new school enough to beat them!" - Xbox.com
As for last week's Live Arcade release - I've got to say that I was a little disappointed by Bionic Commando Rearmed - I think somewhere in there, my lack of enthusiasm comes from the inability to jump - sure it was an integral part of the original arcade release, but I really do think it could have been added without ruining the experience. In fact, I'll go so far as to say there could have been some very interesting things they could have done with it. It probably didn't help that the 360's d-pad is still ill-suited to playing any type of arcade style game. Give the demo a try and decide for yourself.
As for Fable II Pub Games, it is exactly what it says it is - simple little gambling games to give you a leg up when Fable II comes out. It's a worthwhile addition if you're getting it free, but I really would not recommend spending 800 points ($10) on it.
A demo of 2K Sports NHL 2K9 for the PlayStation 3 is now available for download via the PlayStation Store. Download size is approximately 638MB.
"Developed by award-winning Visual Concepts studios, NHL 2K9 brings a totally rebuilt NHL experience to life with a brand-new in-game presentation system, as well as fresh player animations and controls that fans will enjoy from the moment they play their first game, until well after they become a seasoned veteran." - PlayStation Store
Well, it's another light release week, made even lighter for me by the fact that my Xbox 360 - the Xbox 360 I just got back from repair - now has a dead DVD drive. Thanks Microsoft, good work there. While I wait to get in touch with customer support about my wonderful console, you get to try this week's releases.
This week isn't looking too stellar for anyone without an Xbox 360, as the only two titles really worth mentioning are system exclusives. Of those two, I'm going to go with Too Human as my pick of the week - not because I want to give Denis Dyack some wood, but because I just haven't been too enthused by what I've seen of Galaga Legions so far.
So it's been what now, 9 years since Too Human was first announced at E3? From PlayStation to Gamecube to Xbox 360, the game has certainly had it's fair share of false starts. It's finally going to be time to see if all the hype (and the delayed development of a sequel to Eternal Darkness) has been worth it. Take the role of Baldur, son of Odin and protector of the human race as he battles against machines intent on harvesting human blood in an attempt to become more humanlike.
Moving right along, here's what else you can expect to see in stores this week;
Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.
A demo of Electronic Arts’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 for the PlayStation 3 is now available for download via the PlayStation Store. Download size is approximately 1.0GB.
"Tiger Woods’ coach is now your coach! In Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 09, Hank Haney will be there from the start to assess your skills, help you tune your clubs and give you feedback after every round as you attempt to climb the leaderboards and win the FedExCup." - PlayStation Store
A demo of Electronic Arts’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 for the Xbox 360 is now available for download in all Xbox Live regions via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Download size is approximately 1.00GB.
"Everyone Plays in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 09 – Play the demo featuring 3 holes on the new course, Gary Player Country Club in South Africa. After playing you’ll receive custom feedback from Tiger’s very own personal performance coach, Hank Haney. Hank will provide you with custom drills to improve your Power, Accuracy, Short Game or Putting. You’ll also be able to go into the all new Club Tuner and maximize your swing by customizing you’re clubs." - Xbox Live Marketplace
