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Hands-on: High Stakes on the Vegas Strip
There's one thing we can confidently say about the upcoming PS3 Network title, High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: it's a good deal. While other poker games have retailed for full price, this download-only title will be available for only $10 in the new few weeks, and it comes loaded with features.In addition to the now-requisite 1080p graphics, High Stakes has a few unique features. There's a fast-forward mode, which allows you to cut past any unnecessary action of AI opponents. The "Turbo Fold" function lets you fold without having to wait for computer AI to play their cards. Most excitingly, we saw the EyeToy in action, which allowed you to capture your image while playing the game. Video appears on the screen, showing your opponents' faces as they play their hand. It was surprisingly easy to set up, and will work with most USB video cameras, not just the EyeToy.High Stakes isn't the most exciting game to come out on the PSN. However, it shows Sony's continued dedication to providing a variety of gameplay options for an affordable price.%Gallery-4861%
E307: Great while it lasted
... but all good things must come to an end, eh? It's always nice to wallow in the explosion of news that surrounds a trade show, and even the diminished E3 was no exception. Sure, for Nintendo fans, at least on the DS side, things started out a little slowly, but once the media hit, we no longer had anything to be disappointed about! So what was tops for DS owners? Here's the best -- according to us, at least.Top E3 trailers: Contra 4 -- After all our Contragasms, you knew we were going to say this! Front Mission DS -- What can we say ... we're big fans of ass-kickery. Brain Age 2 -- We know you'll probably disagree with us here, but we can't help it. We a) dig a good, brainy challenge and b) think the selection of games looks even better than before. Less-discussed games we desperately want right now: Professor Layton and all his mysterious locales -- Okay, we wanted this before. But it was mentioned in passing around E3, and now we're more rabid for it than ever! Nintendo Magic -- Another game we weren't sure would head our way, but that just sounds like fun. Advance Wars 2 -- The first is one of the best the DS has to offer, though it seems to rarely get a mention. Worst trailer that should have been awesome:Insecticide, hands down. Please pass us some Dramamine on your way out.Biggest disappointment:Probably the missing wi-fi for Mario Party DS. C'mon, Nintendo, slip it in there! We promise not to complain about friend codes for at least a week.
X3F hands-on: Viva Pinata: Party Animals
As a game designed to appeal to a younger audience, Viva Piñata had one fault that probably stood out the most: other than the cutesy characters, it wasn't really designed to appeal to a younger audience. The game is fairly complicated and requires some pretty intense micromanagement in later levels (at least it does if you want to advance). Furthermore, VP does almost nothing to capitalize on the children's property around which it is centered. The various piñatas, which are wacky and wisecracking characters on the children's program, are little more than grunting, mindless animals in the game. With Viva Piñata: Party Animals, Microsoft looks to take on all these problems at once. We took it for a spin at E3 to see what sets it apart.
Red Octane's new wireless guitars, but what's Xbox 360's extra cost?
Red Octane showed us their new wireless controllers coming to Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii with the release of Guitar Hero III this fall. The Wii version (seen above), allows you to put your Wiimote into it via a flap in the back. There is no word yet on why you would need to do this, if it's only to activate "star power" it just seems a little superfluous. The rest of the controllers look fine and the buttons are in the perfect place so you don't "pull a Peter Moore" in GH III like you would in Rock Band. In all fairness, Harmonix is already planning a software fix so gamers don't do the same thing as Moore. The best part about the new guitars is that you can take the guitar's neck off of the body by toggling a switch in the back and pulling. They wouldn't let us take pictures of this and they had none available. The new separation feature makes storage and travel easier, it also opens up the option for different types of necks. Also, there were an assortment of quality plastic faceplates which snap onto the guitar and come off easily by pressing an eject button on the back. Because all the faceplates were "prototypes" we couldn't take pictures of those either. Anyway, the new Red Octane guitars look and feel really good. Oh, and they moved the Xbox's guide button and d-pad higher up the guitar's body to get it out of your wrist's way. They also put the select (back) button within pinky length of the fret to activate star power by easily moving a finger instead of jarring the guitar. The redesign really looks great.The weird news was Red Octane's cagey attitude towards pricing between systems, the same thing we experienced with Harmonix about Rock Band. Following Rock Band's unconfirmed price difference between Xbox 360 and PS3 wireless guitars, it looks like Red Octane hasn't made a decision regarding their pricing of the Xbox 360 controller either. Will they charge more for the licensing fee attached to using Microsoft's proprietary wireless? And what is the extra cost? They will supposedly get back to us as soon an answer can be authorized. Yeah, this Microsoft wireless drama is just ridiculous, especially if it forces the peripheral manufacturers to punish the consumers for Microsoft's greed.
X3F interview: 4 minutes in the dark with Peter Moore
Peter Moore with Rock Band producer, Helen McWilliamsOn the second night of E3, we stepped into a large, dimly lit room filled with tables -- 8 tables to be exact. At each table sat important folk from the ranks of Microsoft. Bungie's Frank O'Connor, Peter Molyneux: there's some big names in this room (we'll have more on them soon). Sitting in front of us is Peter Moore, VP of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division -- i.e. Xbox. On the right hand side of the room is large LED chess clock. We have four minutes. That's it. The clock starts and we ask him the first thing we can think to ask. We've only got four minutes here, so there's no point in being coy about it. How do you like Rock Band? I love Rock Band. I actually, as you may or may not know, I actually went on stage again last night down in west Hollywood, and got up on the stage with the guys and had a good time. Once I can hear the music I can play the game, you know, so I think it's a great game. I love it, I flew to Cambridge, Massachusetts about six months ago, got my first taste of it. Just knew right then we needed to make it part of the briefing, and knew I'm stupid enough to go and put a guitar around my neck and give it a go.
E307: And that's a wrap
Yes, we're all sad to see E3 come and go. It was chock full of content and even though some of us are a little disappointed in Nintendo's keynote, they had a fairly decent show overall. Those of us dying to see more Mario got our kicks, we found out we're getting Forever Blue in the U.S. with the name Endless Ocean, and Nintendo revealed their next cash cow in Wii Fit.Sure, we could do just a regular wrap-up post, but we decided to offer up some of our favorite highlights from the show, instead. Head past the post break to check it all out.
Joystiq impressions: Contra 4 (DS)
Contra 4 is, for better or worse, a new Contra game. It looks and plays just like Contra games before it: it's classic 2D side-scrolling action gameplay, with a notoriously difficult 1-hit KO system. Of course, would Contra fans have it any other way? Those worried that the Nintendo DS would not provide the hardware capable of offering a decent looking Contra can rest their fears: the sprites are fairly impressive, with a good amount of detail and animation. The game's action takes place over both the top and bottom screens on the DS, but it seems like interaction with the top screen is fairly minimal at this point. That's a good thing: if too many things were firing from the top, the player would certainly be at a serious disadvantage. The game promises a lot of vertical platforming, which certainly sounds exciting to us. The new grappling hook helps players get to higher areas faster ... but didn't seem too consequential to gameplay. Maybe they can take a few pages from Bionic Commando? The legions of Contra fans have a lot to be excited about, but for everyone else, there isn't much new to appreciate about this DS-exclusive sequel. We're sure that it'll be a good game, but without any noteworthy gameplay additions, we can't say that we're too heavily excited for it. %Gallery-4766%
Joystiq hands-on: Medal of Honor: Airborne
Forget about Hour of Victory and put Medal of Honor: Airborne on your list if you're eager to get back to some WWII gaming. It'll help bandage the wound left by Call of Duty when they decided to go all Modern Warfare on us.What sets it apart from the other entries in the Medal of Honor series is the Airborne factor that really changes the way you approach each new campaign. You parachute into each level from a C-47 transport plane, and can choose exactly where you'll land on the map, if you're halfway decent at steering your 'chute. This changes the gameplay over the previous game dramatically, because you can play each map differently every time you drop in.%Gallery-4806%
Wii Party Station in the flesh, er, plastic
When you hear about the Wii Party Station by Nyko for the first time there's a moment where you think how ridiculous it is, but when you see it, you realize it could serve some purpose. An utterly ridiculous purpose, but a purpose nonetheless. Is it designed for "family fun" Wii play -- no. It is clearly designed for a bunch of guys sitting around and having a party.The unit has four removable can holders which have liquid built inside of them so it can be refrigerated or frozen to keep drinks cold, a storage unit underneath, and a removable chip holder. All of this makes for super easy cleaning. There is a fan for hand drying -- like a bowling alley. And four displays for keeping score if you're tracking who won which games (assuming you're playing various games). The non-corporate line would be to use those displays to keep track if you're playing the Mario Party drinking game so that nobody goes overboard -- but that's a story for another time.The unit runs off AA batteries and holds 4 Wiimotes (a hybrid unit with the Nyko Wiicharge Station built into this would be sweet in the future). The unit looks like it would sit in a dorm room coffee table or a house shared by a bunch of guys. Is it a little ridiculous? Sure. But it doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to see it being useful to certain demographics -- and the Wii is all about the demographic spread.%Gallery-4860%
Sessler: Don't judge unfinished Assassin's Creed
During Microsoft's E3 press conference, Ubisoft decided to demo their golden child Assassin's Creed, but things did not go as smoothly as they had hoped. You see, the demo was a tad buggy and suffered from bad collision detection, floating bodies and a somewhat questionable framerate. And everyone noticed. Assassin's Creed has suffered some negative press these past few days as some gamers have been bashing the on-stage demo and the game.Enter G4 TV's Adam Sessler who climbed atop his soap box to tell gamers that we have no right to judge the game based on the bugs, because it just isn't finished. Sessler makes a great argument stating that video games are one of the only artistic mediums in which the artists allow fans to preview their work before it's complete. Bugs are normal in unfinished products, it's as simple as that. And we have to agree. Let's just take a deep breath and ignore Assassin's floating bodies. See, we bet you feel better already.
Video: Show your dark side in Force Unleashed
One of yesterday's more riveting trailers that showed the most potential has got to be the gem embedded above. The trailer is none other than Star Wars: Force Unleashed and man does the opening cinematic make our geeky side go a flutter. And from the looks of things, you'll not only be able to play as Darth Vader's apprentice, but you'll also get to use the force to wreak havoc. Give the trailer a watch and fantasize about the many ways you'll be able to unleash the force.
Wii Warm Up: How long before someone cheats at exercise?
Not even one whole day of Power Pad ownership had passed before we were on the floor, drumming on the pad with our fists, flagrantly breaking the implicit rules of World Class Track Meet. Our other favorite move? Extending our long jump by simply stepping off of the pad. Yes, we are overweight now.There's a new Power Pad in town, although it has fewer buttons and a more solid-looking construction. And it's meant more as an exercise tool than a game controller, really. But we're gamers, and we can't help the way we are. Some of us are going to cheat. Do you think you have what it takes to play it straight, or will you take the hands-on approach to Balance Boarding?
Halo 3 four player co-op semi confirmed
In a video interview with Xbox.com's Major Nelson, Microsoft's Vice President of Global Marketing Jeff Bell just might have let one of Halo 3's long rumored secrets slip. Towards the end of the interview, while talking about his gaming habits, Bell said that he loved playing Halo 2 co-op with his son and then said that "we're really looking forward to playing with my three sons, all together on Halo 3". All together playing Halo 3 eh? Sounds a lot like a four player campaign co-op Halo 3 experience to us. But, to be fair, he didn't specify how he and his children were going to play Halo 3, although his remarks came right after he was talking about the teamwork he and his one son experienced while playing Halo 2 co-op. So, it's not "officially" confirmed, but darned if it doesn't make for some great water cooler material.[Via UNSCleric, Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Original PSP to be phased out
Much like Sony is phasing out the 60 Gig PS3, so too will go the original PSP. Sony PR, Patrick Seybold had this to say: "The newly designed PSP wil replace the original PSP design starting in September with the $169.99 PSP Core Pack and the $199.99 Daxter PSP Entertainment Pack." So if for some reason you like your handhelds with more bulk and less capabilities, quickly go out, and buy the original PSP while supplies last.
