e3-2008
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The NSFAmerica Dead Space 'Lullaby' trailer
Send the kids to bed, dear readers. It's grown folks time. The Dead Space "Lullaby" trailer we've placed cautiously after the jump is full of ominous environments, severed limbs, and creepy children's songs -- the horror game trailer trifecta. In fact, Ars Technica reports that shortly after viewing the trailer at E3, they received an email from Electronic Arts telling them that the ESRB refused to approve the trailer for American audiences. We're not experts on the subject, but it might have something to do with all the disappendaged torsos. It was cleared for European regions, however, and of course, for the great nation of Internetania. Check it after the break, if you think you can handle it (you probably can).
E308: Walking through The Agency's trailer
While at E3 2008, we had a great deal of time to talk to Matt Wilson, Executive Director of Development for SOE Seattle, the studio in charge of making the new MMOFPS title, The Agency. While we were sadly unable to procure the video they were showing at E3, we did manage to get oodles of pictures to help illustrate just what we were seeing. Join us now as we take you through Matt WIlson's walkthrough on this great upcoming title!Matt Wilson: Back in the old days (which was like three years ago) we thought "hey, let's make an MMO that breaks the mold of MMOs." We had worked back in Microsoft on Asheron's Call and a variety of other games that were more geared towards the fantasy MMO space. So, we really wanted to break away from that. Our goal at the very beginning was also to attack the console as a primary platform. However, to really crack the console open, you have to design for the console. You can't just take a PC MMO and cram it onto the console. Thus, we came up with an idea called The Agency. The whole inspiration for The Agency came from the spy and espionage genre. In all the places I've been, even internationally, everybody knows who James Bond is. It has that kind of broad appeal. It's easy for me to say "hey, what's your favorite Bond moment"; "what's a great villain that you can remember"; or "who was a femme fatale you liked?" All manner of things will come from off the top of your head when I ask those questions. So we figured if we put those elements in the game, players would be able to recognize the world right off the bat.
E308: Monster Lab blinded me with science
Backbone Entertainment's Monster Lab, published by Eidos, seems better every time I see it. I don't think that this is a function of improvements being made to the game so much as it is a matter of me understanding it a little better and getting more into the gameplay. I hope this game doesn't end up as overlooked as I think it will!My demo at E3 took me through most of the steps to monster-fighting success: creating parts, building a creature, and fighting. Parts for the monster are made in minigames, and come in three categories of mad science: mechanical, alchemical, and biological. Mechanical parts range from gear-covered steampunk-looking stuff to futuristic robot parts; biological parts are your basic gross monster stuff, and alchemical parts are magic-themed. %Gallery-15038%
E308: Wii Fanboy tends farm in Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility is a big game. The first thing that I noticed was just how large the game world is. You aren't restricted to just one farm, instead able to spread many a seed across many a land. Aside from that, the game very much feels like all of the other Harvest Moon titles, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whether you're a fan of the series or not. %Gallery-3745%
E308: DS Fanboy raises its spirits with Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness
To be honest, the last time I played a Harvest Moon game, it was on the GameCube. We're talking years ago, folks. But, like riding a bike, Harvest Moon is an experience that doesn't change much over time. Fans like it that way, I imagine. And, just as I expected, Island of Happiness featured a lot of the same things previous titles in the franchise offered. %Gallery-15230%
Reggie: Wii storage is a 'mainstream' problem
Reggie recently sat down for a little chat with Stephen Totilo from MTV Multiplayer to discuss what's on everyone's mind. No, not the company's showing at E3, but rather the storage issues of the console.He said that "from an Americas-centric perspective," the Wii's storage limitations are becoming a "mainstream" problem. Again, he reiterates that the company is working on a solution, but isn't ready to reveal any specifics yet. Seriously, Nintendo, how long are you going to wait? Each week, more Virtual Console and WiiWare content releases and gamers can't download because they have no space![Thanks, il_duce620!]
E308: DS Fanboy explores the lands of Rune Factory 2
When hitting up Natsume's meeting room at E3, I kept catching myself wishing I wasn't alone. In fact, I wished that one specific person was with me, because all of these games that the company had on display were based on franchises I, frankly, didn't have the most experience with. That's not to say I went in biased, just that I prefer to be as well-informed as possible going in.Imagine my surprise when I played Rune Factory 2 and it was like Harvest Moon had a baby with Secret of Mana.%Gallery-25983%
E308: Wii Fanboy takes a hammer to Our House
Majesco had a solid line-up of games at E3. Cooking Mama: World Kitchen looks promising and, until I got my hands on it, Major Minor's Majestic March also looked very good. Suffice it to say I was kind of shocked at just how lackluster Our House is, considering it was next to these games at Majesco's booth.Our House is going to need a lot of renovations before it's ready for a final inspection.
E308: The other musical pantomime game
Wii Music was the big news at E3 in terms of Wii games about pretending you were playing a fake instrument (in contrast to games like Guitar Hero, in which you actually play a fake instrument). But it wasn't the only game in town: Disney's Ultimate Band also features the Wiimote and Nunchuk subbing in for guitar, bass, and drums. Except, instead of MIDI versions of your public domain favorites, Ultimate Band has you playing along to abhorrent covers of recent pop/rock hits. Also, unlike Wii Music's freeform nature, Ultimate Band is a game with, like, goals and points and stuff.%Gallery-28417%
Molyneux: 'I feel sorry for Denis Dyack'
Fable frontman Peter Molyneux has raised his metaphorical fist of solidarity, showing support for fellow game designer and Too Human trumpeter Denis Dyack. "I feel sorry for Denis Dyack because you know, I think a few things were said wrong, there was that really unfortunate showing at E3 a few years ago," Molyneux told VideoGamer.com at E3 last week. "Everyone got on the bandwagon of saying things about Too Human. Now I've played it and, you know, it's a good game. It doesn't deserve a lot of that harsh criticism. But as soon as something starts it's very hard to turn the tide and pull it back again." Molyneux, of course, speaks from experience, having survived a similar "avalanche" of negative criticism after the first Fable game was released in 2004 and failed to meet expectations hyped by Molyneux himself. While Molyneux doesn't offer any sage advice for braving the inevitable storm to come (you don't actually have "something" in your back pocket, do you Mr. Dyack?), might we suggest, sir, that you quietly step away from the computer and out into the open air. Take a deep breath. You'll be safe there. Remember, it's not the whole world that's judging you (just a teeny, tiny nugget of web real estate). And besides, just like your pal Peter, you've always got the sequel to make good on empty promises.
The games that weren't there: Missing from E3
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/The_games_that_weren_t_there_Missing_from_E3_2'; Whether delayed by last-minute technical deficiencies or a newly discovered apathy towards overblown trade shows, several announced, expected or downright anticipated games managed to escape our studious glares and hastened notepad summaries at this year's E3. Dash through our punchy list of MIA attendees and let us know which ones had you tapping your wrist watch and asking, "Do you have any idea what time it is? We've been worried sick."%Gallery-28387%
E308: DS Fanboy plays God with Populous DS
It's been a very long time since I played Populous. In fact, the only version I ever got to play was the SNES port (the game first released on the PC, Atari ST-1 and Amiga) back in the day. But, I did play that port quite a bit in my youth, so seeing the game hit the DS is very exciting to me. Populous DS very much feels like the game of old, but in truth is nothing like the SNES title in both presentation and gameplay.%Gallery-11987%
E308: Wii Fanboy sets records in Guinness World Records: The Videogame
Aside from knowing the game exists, I didn't have anything else to go on when I came across Guinness World Records: The Videogame at my closed-door session in the back of the Warner Bros. meeting room at E3. When the game was revealed, I figured it would just be another cookie-cutter mini-game compilation that didn't hold much value. Actually, I was wrong, as Guiness World Records is a pretty fun title.
Fanpoll: How was Microsoft's E308 showing?
After being privy to everything we heard, saw and played at E3 2008 we'd like to hear what you thought of Microsoft's overall performance. With suitable OMG-megatons like Final Fantasy XIII, awesome exclusivity announcements like DLC in Fallout 3 and rad showings of games like Gears of War 2 -- it seems like it was a great show! But ... noticeable absences like Alan Wake, the controversy surrounding the Bungie announcement and debatable decisions like the dashboard revamp this poll could go either way. So, X3F Army we ask you. How did Microsoft do overall?%Poll-17216%
E308: Mega Man 9 video lets you start memorizing a level now
Our operative (me) couldn't even get through the Plug Man level featured in the E3 Mega Man 9 demo. The heroes at Gamersyde, however, succeeded in that task, and recorded the event as well. That means a whole level of Mega Man 9 for your viewing pleasure, in only slightly shaky cam-vision. Or at least as much of a level as was available: the bosses were not present in the demo, with only a "Coming Soon" window in their place.We can't embed the video, but we think seeing Mega Man 9 in action is worth having to click on a link.
Watch the direct feed Mirror's Edge demo
It occurred to us that despite all our passion for first-person parkour-inspired game Mirror's Edge, you probably still don't get the appeal unless you've seen it in action. "A girl running around on rooftops fighting crime?" you ask with a sneer. "I liked it better the first time, when it was a guy, and it was called Batman." We understand distrust of the unknown (it's the reason we're still alive) so we'd like to present, for your edification, the Mirror's Edge demo. Now, if you can watch this and still not get excited we really have nothing more to talk about.
Nintendo failed to notify third-party devs of MotionPlus prior to E3
We weren't terribly impressed with Nintendo's recently unveiled MotionPlus add-on, but we're even more disappointed by this. Reportedly, scads of third-party developers revealed at E3 that the Big N's latest Wiimote accessory was just as much a surprise to them as it was to any of us. In other words, Nintendo didn't bother giving its external devs any advance notice in order to get the ball rolling on compatible titles, or so it seems. Unfortunately, this also means that we probably won't see any MotionPlus-ready games hitting shelves from anyone not named Nintendo for months to come, but it's not like Wii Sports Resort can't hold our attention for a solid year, right?[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
Capcom to sell intentionally awful Mega Man 9 shirts
In keeping with the retro-y spirit of Mega Man 9, Capcom decided to commission I Am 8-bit artist Gerald de Jesus to create the most awful faux box art possible for the game. Capcom then put it on T-shirts for its staff to wear at E3. The idea was to mimic the atrocious cover of the original Mega Man for NES (widely considered to be the worst box art of all time) and it worked. Really well. Capcom's head PR honcho, Chris Kramer, has updated the company's blog with word that the exceedingly kitsch shirts will actually be re-printed for sale to the masses, although exactly when and where we can expect to snap one up is still being ironed on out.
Scoring the Massively E3 bingo card
If you missed it, prior to heading in the direction of E3 we joined Joystiq and the other network sites in pulling together a predictive Bingo card for the big event. We jotted down a number of things that we thought for sure would make an appearance, and laid out a number of news tidbits that we were almost sure wouldn't get covered at the event. As it turns out, we did okay despite some major upsets. We'll own up – this was a pretty different event from a lot of others. Concepts and games we were sure would get talked up didn't get mentioned, while some out-of-left field announcements hit during the week. Read on below the cut to see how we faired from A to ... well, F.
E308: Wii Fanboy survives Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked
Click to embiggen While cruising around Konami's booth at E3, I saw Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked and, honestly, wasn't too excited to play it. Once the demo person showed me exactly what was up with the demo (a variety of minigames and the main Survivor mode), the title grew on me a tad, but, overall, failed to leave me with the impression that it could provide a lengthy, worthwhile experience.%Gallery-22949%
