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E3 Archive

E3 2009 poll results

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/05/2009Tags: , , , ,

Earlier this week I ran a poll asking you the readers who you thought would have the best showing at this year’s E3 Expo. The results are in and I must say I’m a little surprised. It was a land side. Here are the results:

Nintendo came in last with 0 votes. No votes whatsoever. Although Nintendo didn’t have any “blockbuster” announcements this year, they did show off more of Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus which look like they will be a huge sellers. And they did profile Wii MotionPlus pretty dominantly throughout their press conference. Showing how they have improved motion controlling and hopefully creating a better overall Wii experience. But is it too late? Is the honeymoon over?

Second was Sony with 22% of the votes. Demos of Uncharted 2, God of War III and the highly anticipated MAG weren’t enough to boost Sony into first. Or anywhere near it for that matter. Maybe some of you were disappointed that Sony didn’t announce any price cuts for the Playstation 3 (I know I was).

And finally we have the big dog. Microsoft. Which grabbed 78% of your votes making it your number one choise by far. With big announcements like the integration of Twitter and Facebook onto Xbox Live, preveiws of Forza Motorsport 3, the announcement for Left 4 Dead 2, and of course the showcasing of one of E3’s biggest stories Project Natal it’s easy to see why so many of you sided with Microsoft.

Overall the real winners are us, the gamers. We have some real treats to look forward to in the coming months. Games and breakthroughs that will make this year one of the best years for gamers. Sounds good to me.

What were some of your favorite announcements/moments coming for E3 this year?

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Sony’s E3 Uncharted 2 live gameplay footage

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/02/2009Tags: , , ,

Earlier today Sony showed the world for the first time some extended play of their upcoming game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The game looks as amazing as the original if not more. The texture shading, shadow and reflection effects look outstanding. And Nathan Drake’s interaction with his surrounding environment is great as well. The way he climbs objects and scales walls look more natural and less pre-programmed. Very fluid overall.

There are a few instances in the video where you can still see that the camera angle does get a little awkward, but it still looks like an improvement over the original Uncharted title. And the gun play looks improved as well. Aiming seems less painstaking and more natural this time around.

GameStop has the game listed with a 10/01/09 release date. Click here to pre-order your copy.

Check out the gameplay footage and let me know what you think.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort live demo

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/02/2009Tags: , , , ,

The other major showcase during Nintendo’s E3 press conference besides the Wii Fit Plus was it’s demo of Wii Sports Resort. The game was originally announced at last years E3 Expo.

The game showcases the new Wii Motion Plus accessory that will be hitting store shelves later this year. Wii Motion Plus will make the movements you make with your Wiimote a lot more accurate and precise. Taking into account how the player is holding and waving the Wiimote. Vastly improving the players interactivity and motion controlling. Making it a more intuitive controller to use.

Where was this when the Wii was first released!?

You can view the demo below.

.

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Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/02/2009Tags: , , ,

Today Nintendo spent the majority of it’s press conference time at E3 to talk about it’s new Wii Fit Plus. Improving on what made the original Wii Fit a success, the Wii Fit Plus promises to “enhance and reinvigorate” your workout.

Players will now be able to customize their workouts to their liking or pick from 20, 30 and 40 minute routines. In addition to the activities available with the original Wii Fit, players will also be able to choose from new activities such as Skateboarding and Rhythm Kung Fu. Eat your heart out Billy Blanks.

Click the jump to see Nintendo’s full list of features for the Wii Fit Plus.

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Sony reveals the super secret PSP Go

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/02/2009Tags: , , ,

Can you sense my charming sarcasm in that title? Huh can you!?

Today during Sony’s E3 press conference they confirmed what we already knew. The existence of the PSP Go.

All of the specs that had been leaked earlier in the week turned out to be accurate. It’s half the size of the original PSP and also weighing in at 40% lighter than it’s electronic relative. It will be packaged with 16 gigabytes of flash memory and feature a slide out controller. Making it easier and more comfortable to play than the 3000 series. It will also feature wi-fi connectivity and have access to the PlayStation Network.

The only real downer during the announcement was the price. A hefty $249 in the US. That means it will cost almost $70 more than it’s core counterpart.

Are you willing to fork over that kind of cash for your portable console?

psp-go

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Left 4 Dead 2 coming this winter

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/02/2009Tags: , , , , ,

l4d2

Looks like November is sizing up to be a big month for sequels. With the November 10th release of Modern Warfare 2, and now the November 17th release date of Left 4 Dead 2 (it will be a Xbox 360 and PC “exclusive”). Although the game was brought up briefly yesterday morning during Microsoft’s press conference, it wasn’t until later in the day that Valve dropped more details for us to drool over.

First, the sequel will feature melee attacks! Something that was sorely missing from the first Left 4 Dead. Available melee weapons will be the following: A frying pan, complete with awesome cartoony sound effect when bounced off a zombie skull. An ax, that the players can swing high or low, depending on if you want your zombie foe to suffer leg less and bleeding out, or if you want to be a sweetie and make it quick by taking the head off. A baseball bat, which is useful in getting you through hordes of undead. And last but not least a chainsaw. A gas powered zombie mangler!

Click the jump to read more and see the trailer!

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Project Natal

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/01/2009Tags: , ,

One of the highlights of Microsoft’s key note speech was the announcement of their ambitious new hardware/software package for the Xbox 360. Called Project Natal, the bundle is a motion capturing user interface. The video (which I am posting below) revealed some of the intended uses for the utility. Check it out.

The first thing I noticed right away was the caption at the bottom of the screen stating “Product vision: actual features and functionality may vary.” I’m not so sure we should be reading too much into that statement. Almost all promotional material contains some kind of disclaimer. The legal department makes sure of that.

The second thing that came to mind while watching this video was it’s genius. What other product does it look like those people could be playing. That’s right, the Nintendo Wii. It looks like Microsoft is ready to lure some of those casual gamers away from it’s Japanese competitor. And what a smart way to do it too. Instead of trying to improve upon what Nintendo is doing, Microsoft throws out motion controlling altogether and brings in it’s cooler relative, motion capture. Achieving that same interactive feeling just in a funner way.

Although the release of this product is probably in the distant future (if at all) it would still be a huge gamble on Microsoft’s part. Gimmicky game controllers (or lack thereof in this case) almost never work. Nintendo’s Wiimote and Nunchuck controllers are exceptions to the rule.

And just getting that kind of harware/software to work flawlessly together is a feat in itself. I’m very anxious to see what Microsoft can pull this off. They’ve managed to get me interested, how about you?

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The Metal Gear franchise is coming to Xbox

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/01/2009Tags: , , ,

The title says it all.

During Microsoft’s keynote speech at E3, Hideo Kojima made the announcement today that the next installment in the Metal Gear series will be coming to the Xbox 360 . The game, which will be titled “Metal Gear Solid: Rising” will feature Raiden as the main character. A short trailer was shown but no other details were released during the speech.

This is not good news for Sony. Although it’s doubtful that the game will be a 360 exclusive, it’s still a major victory for Microsoft.

Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. had this to say:

“The Metal Gear Solid series is one of the most highly acclaimed video game franchises of all time. With Metal Gear Solid: Rising, the Xbox 360 community will finally get a chance to enjoy the action and excitement that this popular franchise is known to offer.”

Is this big news to you Xbox fanboys? How about you Playstation fans?

Check out the trailer below and comment away!

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E3 2009 madness

By
Chip Loan
Published: 06/01/2009Tags: ,

Well the avalanche of E3 news has begun. Big stories are rolling in already with announcements from Microsoft, Valve, Konami and others. I’m going to report most of these stories to you later. Instead of just spitting out small, half-assed stories just to get them out on the web like I’ve noticed some other sites are doing. I want to do a little research and digest all of the news before I post them here for you guys to read.

Check back later or subscribe to the feed to stay in the loop!

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Bioshock 2 Multiplayer details

By
Chip Loan
Published: 05/08/2009Tags: , , , ,

As E3 gets closer details about big time releases are starting to trickle out. Today is no exception, with a few details about Bioshock 2’s multiplayer being released by 2K Games. In a press release today 2K’s Cristoph Hartmann had this to say:

“The fans asked for a multiplayer experience and we answered, with Digital Extremes delivering a multiplayer experience for BioShock 2 that features all of the things that made BioShock unique, we’re holding ourselves up to a high standard so that we can deliver the depth and variety that fans of the BioShock universe demand.”

The multiplayer will act as a prequel to the actual game. Taking you to Rapture before it was demolished. Playing as Plasmid test subjects, you will progress through the mode to uncover the fate of Rapture. And it will also include experience points to help you unlock different plasmids, tonics and new weapons. Some areas from the previous Bioshock will probably also be available giving you some surroundings you will be used to.

Other details will probably be available at 2K game’s E3 presentation so check back for further details.

How many of you are looking forward to another go around in Rapture?

Via 1up!

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Let the E3 over-hyping begin…

By
Chip Loan
Published: 04/28/2009Tags: , , ,

Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all spit out press releases today to make you think they are going to change the world at E3 2009 in June.

Here’s what they had to say:

Microsoft:

“Microsoft is gearing up for a big presence at E3 which will completely transform how people think about home entertainment,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “We’re excited about the momentum that is building in the industry in anticipation of our June 1st media briefing, which will kick off E3 in blockbuster style.”

Sony:

“Sony Computer Entertainment America is looking forward to another great showing at this year’s E3 Expo,” commented Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. “The audience of North American-based and foreign media and key industry partners makes E3 Expo an ideal place for us to unveil the latest PlayStation news and products at our press event on June 2.”

Nintendo:

“Nintendo has been a long time attendee of E3 and it has our full support,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO, Nintendo of America. “E3 brings a wide variety of key audiences into contact with products from many companies, including Nintendo. It’s the place where creativity is on display, and as a ‘sneak peak’ for our entire industry it helps generate excitement for gamers around the world.”

Way to play it conservative Microsoft. Unless you unveil some kind of warp drive technology or a time machine, I’m going to be thoroughly disappointed. 

This years expo will have over 150 companies showing you what they have lined up for the coming year. I was a little dissapointed with last year’s E3 so let’s hope they have something up their collective sleeves for this year. The expo will run from June 2-4 at the L.A. Convention Center. 

Check out the official E3 site for more details.

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