For some, Sony's E3 press conference wasn't filled with too many surprises. However, its lineup at E3 was still rather impressive, featuring some high-profile sequels like LittleBigPlanet 2, Killzone 3, inFamous 2, and the return of Twisted Metal for PS3. Check out trailers for all of Sony's first-party traditional (non-Move) PS3 games at E3 2010 after the break.
Capcom's Global Head of Production, Keiji Inafune, who started with the company over 20 years ago as an illustrator, oversees production of the publisher's major franchises, including Resident Evil, Lost Planet, Street Fighter and Dead Rising. We talked to Inafune at E3 about the design decisions and criticisms of the Dead Rising series, as well as Capcom's ongoing attempt to balance east and west game design philosophies. (Don't forget to check out our preview on Dead Rising 2 for more.)
#nsfw
Blades-meets-boobs Queen's Blade recreated by real live human beings in assorted outfits. Sometimes it's the costume that sells the cosplay. Sometimes it's the cosplayer. And sometimes it's both. Not sure which ones these would fall under... More »
#toys
Intimidated by a $300 Prince of Persia statue? Try a $250 Prince of Persia action figure instead. This one even looks like Jake Gyllenhaal! More »
Ever since Telltale announced an agreement with NBC Universal to develop an episodic series of games based on Jurassic Park, we've been kept awake at night, wondering just how one goes about defeating a Tyrannosaurus Rex using nothing but an umbrella handle, a lightbulb and a unicycle. There are at least seven ways to do it -- trust us -- but Telltale design director Dave Grossman informed us at E3 that Jurassic Park won't quite fit the company's traditional adventure structure.
"... in the case of Jurassic Park, we've wanted to kind of step out and do something that's cinematically much more serious than the kind of.... you know, we feel like we're getting pigeonholed a little bit as a company that makes funny cartoon games about talking animals, whereas really what we think of ourselves as is a company that makes games about cinema," Grossman said. "And so we want to explore some different territory. How is the gameplay supporting the tension of the scene, and what kind of tension is it? How is the game paced? And so you're going to find all of that stuff in the Jurassic Park series."
While Jurassic Park will feature adventure mechanics deemed "appropriate," it seems its focus won't necessarily be on laid-back lateral thinking. "I don't want to have it be a game about hanging around and solving thinky puzzles at your own pace," Grossman explained. "It just doesn't seem like the right thing to do for that." And while that might seem to suggest an action-oriented approach, Grossman wasn't willing to characterize it to such a simple degree. "You can definitely expect tension elements, let's say. Whether they're action or, well, there are a lot of ways to do that. I think there'll be a liberal mix of stuff in that game."
Let's hope we learn more before Telltale's Jurassic Park begins its monthly excursions from Isla Sorna this Winter.
#callofduty
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's most famous aerial sequence may involve an AC-130 Hercules, but as this clip shows, the real stars of the show are the game's helicopters. All 147 of them. More »
#namcobandai
Namco Tales Studio is the developer behind Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Eternia, Tales of Destiny and Tales of Vesperia. The studio has seen better days. More »
It's been a long time coming, but Fat Princess is finally getting the long overdue pirates and ninjas DLC. In addition to the premium "Fat Roles" content, the online-only PSN game will be patched to version 1.06, which adds a rather significant new feature: four-player same-screen co-op.
Being able to bring three local friends into an online match does a lot to enhance the overall experience. There's the obvious benefit of being able to chat and coordinate strategy in person, but there's also the added bonus of enhanced spawns: so long as one member of the party remains alive, any fallen teammates can revive quickly at a captured tower. (No need to go all the way back to base!)
While the 1.06 patch is free, the Fat Roles DLC is a premium add-on. All players will be able to see the new hat which activates the three new classes (pirates, ninjas and giants), however only those that have purchased the DLC will be able to pick up and wear the hats. Obviously, each of the classes have their own unique abilities: pirates have a gun, which can be charged for a more lethal attack; ninjas can throw shurikens; and giants can instantly kill other players (but cannot regenerate health). In addition to these base powers, the Fat Roles offer additional special powers.
#xbox360
The new smaller Xbox 360 will not flash the "Red Ring of Death" — the iconic symbol of catastrophic system failure. It's new warning mark is the "red eye". Sounds...ominous. More »
#toys
Following on from DC Direct's first line of Batman: Arkham Asylum figures, here's a second series, this time featuring some villains that make more of a direct appearance in the game. More »
Sniper: Ghost Warrior is the first Xbox 360 game to be published by City Interactive. It's a first-person military shooter being released on a platform absolutely inundated with similar games. At first glance, it would be easy to discount the title and assume it's nothing more than an attempt to capitalize on a very popular genre. Thankfully, the game does a few things to set it apart from the Modern Warfares and the Battlefields, namely an emphasis on stealth and sniping finesse.
#kazhirai
Nintendo caused quite a stir at the E3 gaming expo with its glasses-free Nintendo 3DS. In an interview with Japan's Sankei, Sony Computer Entertainment honcho Kaz Hirai had this to say about the glasses-free 3D tech: More »
#nintendo
Earlier today, Japanese technology firm Digital Media Professionals sent out a press release confirming that they are the providers of the graphics chip for the new Nintendo 3DS. More »
Who knew the inside of a giant subterranean monster would provide such a great setting for a shooter? The first PixelJunk Shooter was abruptly ended by the awakening of a giant beast, one in which you happen to be trapped in the first numbered sequel in the PixelJunk franchise. Acid, light and darkness -- in addition to lava, water and gas -- are just some of the elements you'll get to play with in this PSN exclusive for PS3.
The short demo I played gave me a chance to play with some of the new elements. Acid works almost exactly as you would expect: it raises the temperature of your ship considerably. However, unlike other fluids, the acid will cling to your ship, continuing to damage it until you rinse yourself in water. It's definitely one of the simpler elements (for now, at least), but the levels do force you to swim through the substance, meaning you'll have to play even more cautiously than in the first.
Far more interesting than acid is the play on light and dark. As in the first Gears of War (or Pitch Black), staying in darkness for too long will summon a swarm of creatures that instantly destroy the ship. To rescue any marooned scientists, you'll have to figure out ways of getting light into darkened passages: whether it's by flipping switches, destroying rocks, or playing with the other elements. The mechanic lends itself really well in crafting complex puzzles; fans of the first game should be ecstatic.
2010 marked Nexon's first appearance ever at an E3, and that says quite a bit about both the company and the free-to-play business model it's adapted for MMO action titles. The South Korean company was showing off three different games at the show: the recently released 2D action MMO Dungeon Fighter Online, an upcoming 3D fantasy MMORPG with a casual bent called Dragon Nest, and this one, Vindictus, an action RPG using a heavily modified version of the Source engine to provide a little physics-based hacking and slashing fun.
While the look of these games is very different, they all have the same origin (free-to-play titles with lots of microtransactions, originating in South Korea and translated over to North America for Western audiences), and the same problems. They all have excellent premises and even some good design ideas, but they just don't have the polish, especially when compared to popular Western games, to make the experience shine.
1000 cars, 20 tracks, head-tracking (via PlayStation Eye), NASCAR, World Rally Championship, Super GT, two player split-screen, 3D, YouTube uploads, custom soundtracks and PSP connectivity. To say that Gran Turismo 5 is packed would be an understatement. This new batch of E3 media certainly looks pretty, but the real question is: will it be worth the wait? We'll all find out in November.
Despite starring the same character, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and last year's Batman: Arkham Asylum are worlds apart. Rocksteady's game used Unreal technology to realistically render a Grim & Gritty(tm) Gotham in which Batman has to rely on his detective skills and the element of surprise to survive every encounter. The Brave and the Bold, however, is brightly colored and brimming with cartoon flourishes, and stars a Batman who punches thugs with abandon in broad daylight.
Sure, you can't silently take a henchman down from a dark corner in The Brave and the Bold, but conversely, I don't recall Arkham Asylum allowing you to team up with Green Lantern Guy Gardner to drop hard-light anvils on the Weather Wizard.
Despite starring the same character, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and last year's Batman: Arkham Asylum are worlds apart. Rocksteady's game used Unreal technology to realistically render a Grim & Gritty(tm) Gotham in which Batman has to rely on his detective skills and the element of surprise to survive every encounter. The Brave and the Bold, however, is brightly colored and brimming with cartoon flourishes, and stars a Batman who punches thugs with abandon in broad daylight.
Sure, you can't silently take a henchman down from a dark corner in The Brave and the Bold, but conversely, I don't recall Arkham Asylum allowing you to team up with Green Lantern Guy Gardner to drop hard-light anvils on the Weather Wizard.
The Xbox Live Arcade versions of both Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure were playable at Sega's booth, and both still look great, even ten-plus years after their release. However, each game has one issue that keeps the XBLA (and PSN) version from absolute perfection.
In Crazy Taxi's case, it's the lack of licensed music and locations, meaning that destinations like Pizza Hut have been replaced by generic stores, and the Offspring and Bad Religion soundtrack has been swapped out for sorta/kinda soundalikes. Actually, given how many times we've heard the Crazy Taxi soundtrack in our lives (too many!), that might be a plus.
For Sonic Adventure, the limitation of the XBLA version is immediately apparent even to those who haven't played it before: it displays only in 4:3, with vertical bars (featuring a blue patterned background) on the sides of a widescreen display. A Sega rep told Joystiq that the code for Sonic Adventure couldn't be altered to support widescreen as easily as Crazy Taxi's.
That's it folks. E3 2010 is done and done. The Joystiq staff is now enjoying some much needed sleep and putting together what remains of our E3 coverage. You'll likely see a few more previews over the next few days, so be sure to keep checking back as we wrap everything up. After the break, watch our E3 goodbye, a montage of all the things we saw at this year's expo.
