e3-2008
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A trio of Fable 2 Molyneux walkthroughs
We realize that not everybody was fortunate enough to attend E3 last week, and therefore, missed out on their first chance to get their hands on some of the expo's much-anticipated titles. This group will have to settle with living vicariously through those lucky enough to actually get some facetime with these upcoming blockbusters -- really, though, who's a better candidate to serve up a slice of secondhand gaming than the notorious creator of one of these aforementioned high profile releases?GameTrailers recently posted three Fable 2 walkthroughs given by the title's ambitious creator, Peter Molyneux. The first of which, posted above, gives a brief demo of the combat, followed by a preview of your hero/antihero's canine companion. In the second and third parts, posted after the break, Molyneux discusses contraception and murder, respectively. We'll be looking forward to getting our hands on this dog training/sexual health/township massacring simulator when it drops in October.
The week in Massively features (E3 Edition)
E308: DC Universe Online roundupSony Entertainment Online revealed a metric ton of new information on their upcoming superhero MMO DC Universe Online at E3 this week, and Massively was on hand to pick the spicy brainmeats of Creative Director Chris Cao, SOE-Austin VP of development John Blakely, and famed DC artist and Executive Creative Director for the project, Jim Lee. The Digital Continuum: Five KOTOR MMO Jedi counter-measuresWith the less-than-grandiose announcement that Electronic Arts, BioWare and Lucas Arts are working together on a KOTOR MMO, I've found myself pondering the game that until now was nothing but a rumor. Granted, I already thought about the game quite a lot even before it was the now more official affair. E308: Membership and microtransactions in Free RealmsWe know that SOE's upcoming title Free Realms will be free to play, but that begs the question of how SOE might profit from the title. (Especially considering that Lead Designer Laralyn McWilliams stressed that Free Realms is just as important to SOE as the other titles being shown off at E3, The Agency and DC Universe Online. E308: Erling Ellingsen talks patch timeframes for Age of ConanEarlier today we sat with Age of Conan product manager Erling Ellingsen. Due to the development cycle Conan is in right now, Ellingsen didn't really have anything in particular to show us - but he did have some things to tell us. E308: SOE President John Smedley talks Free Realms, possible sequelsYesterday at Sony Online Entertainment's E3 headquarters, the Massively team got to see and hear the latest details on SOE's trifecta of new titles: The Agency, DC Universe Online, and Free Realms. There will be in-depth coverage of these games across the site during the rest of the day. To kick off, and to give you some perspective on what these games mean for the company, we sat down to talk with SOE's CEO John Smedley.
Joystiq E3 eyes-on: Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization is an interesting title in its marketing and presentation. The Civ IV tag is put on the game to give an idea of what to expect for those who don't remember the original Colonization, but the game is also clearly based on the Civilization IV engine and uses similar assets. Also, given some of the well-designed mods in Civ IV expansion, Beyond the Sword, we were wondering if Colonization would end up being a glorified mod or appear to be an actual new game? We still haven't come to a conclusion on that question, but there's a lot in this stand-alone product that certainly goes beyond what we'd call "a mod." For starters, and it really bites that we can't show the UI or find videos, the interface and music are different from Civilization IV. Also, the graphics have been given a nice boost and, seeing them in person, it's certainly noticeable. Senior Producer Jesse Smith also walked us through several other things that make Colonization different from Civ IV. %Gallery-24746%
E308: Viva Pinata was an Xbox game?
Okay, confession time: I never played Viva Piñata the first time around. The allure of festive animal husbandry was insufficient to entice me into the console purchase required. I've researched the original (by, uh, watching some YouTube videos and such), but I went into my quick demo of Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise without a real preconceived notion of how Viva Piñata is supposed to look or play.How was this ever anything but a DS game? The tasks involved in playing Viva -- watering and planting plants, clearing land, building structures for critters -- make so much sense in the top-down perspective of Pocket Paradise that it's hard to imagine this game in a different perspective on a different system. It would be so much harder, I think, to manage a large-scale garden in a more zoomed-in view. Having a larger, wider look at the goings-on in the garden makes the game seem more natural and easier. %Gallery-8991%
E308: Black Prophecy debuts with trailer, closed beta registration
Reakktor Media, the brains behind the cyberpunk MMO shooters Neocron and Neocron 2, have recently recently a brand new movie-esque trailer for their new game, Black Prophecy.The game is a futuristic space combat game, a la Jumpgate, in design. By the look of the trailer, there's going to be dogfights, explosions, pretty planets, huge ships, and pretty much everything else you could expect. The game world has also been penned by Michael Marrak, a German science-fiction author, so we can also expect a full plotline and deep world. If the text in the trailer is to be believed, it looks like all of life might be nearing a universal apocalypse?More importantly, Reakktor has also opened the registration for the Black Prophecy closed beta on their website, so if you're interested in flying around and blowing stuff up, you might want to stop over and drop your name in the hat. There's currently no word as to when the closed beta will start up, but we'll keep our ears to the ground for you and will post up the information as we receive it.But while you're drooling, waiting for the beta, you can also look at the trailer on the Black Prophecy website, plus a couple of screenshots, to keep you guessing until the game falls into your hands. Or, maybe go check out Reakktor's other work, Neocron 2, perhaps?
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Far Cry 2
Adding on to our hands-on with Far Cry 2 a couple months ago, our most recent experience at E3 gave us the same feeling that we'd only begun to scratch the surface of this title. For a general overview of what to expect in Far Cry 2, check out our previous hands-on with the game. Here we're going to get into a little bit more detail about our experience within the game.For starters, the African Serengeti, the open-world venue for the game looks the same on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The location has some great level design put into it with our 20-minute experience presenting us with several locales. After a battle in one particular village, we got on a boat and drove through a well-detailed ravine; while in another instance we drove to a location in a car along dirt roads. The driving in the game is surprisingly good, making sense depending on what terrain is being driven over, and we didn't find ourselves unnecessarily fighting with the controls at all. Now, let's discuss the surprising AI in the game.%Gallery-6687%
E308: Buns-on with Raving Rabbids TV Party
I am happy to report that Raving Rabbids TV Party maintains the same balance of well-designed, clever motion-based minigames and puerile humor that have made the first two Rabbids games a not-so-guilty pleasure. The addition of the Balance Board just means that the team at Ubisoft has a new tool in their ongoing effort to make you look ridiculous. Which I certainly did while sitting on the floor pretending to sled in the middle of the E3 show floor.
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Puzzle Quest Galactrix
Puzzle Quest Galactrix takes the fantasy world of the original Puzzle Quest and injects it with a healthy dose of sci-fi. The "match three" gameplay is still present, as are the RPG elements, and it all comes together in a Puzzle Quest experience for those who prefer interstellar drama over orcs and goblins.We're going to write the rest of this hands-on with the idea that the reader has played the original Puzzle Quest, because if they haven't, they should go out and rent/buy it right now. For those who played the first Puzzle Quest and didn't like it, Galactrix won't convert them, unless the sci-fi concept is the only thing they felt was missing from the original.%Gallery-16892%
Wii Warm Up: What surprised you at E3?
We all have our own opinions on E3, and whether it made us more or less excited to be Wii owners. Most likely, you kept tabs on games that you were already looking forward to. Did anything surprise you, though? Have any games or publishers that you previously haven't payed much attention to grab your notice? If so, let us know here (or here, should your answer be DS related).
DS Daily: Well, well, look at that
We're asking this question over at Wii Fanboy this morning as well, but we think it might be more pertinent here -- if only because of the niche nature of most DS games. With that said, let's get to it -- were there any games that eluded your radar before, but caught your attention at E3? If so, what games were they? And, what exactly was it that caused you to take notice (screens, videos, impressions, something else)?
E308: Wii Fanboy's E3 Endgame Evaluation
In the second year of the newly revamped show, Nintendo released a few much-desired games, as well as a pair of incredible peripherals, and yet, there seemed to be something missing. Much of the show's excitement came from third parties (on my Nintendo Wii?), and some found Nintendo's announcements disappointing. Whatever your reaction, we're sure we can all agree on one thing: there was a ton of news and a flood of media. Luckily, you can revisit it all right here (even the week's most outrageous story, which wasn't even from E3).We've listed a few of the show's highlights below, but for the full index of all our 2008 E3 coverage, hit the break. We still have a few items rolling in, and we'll be updating the index as that happens. Check back with us over the next few days by clicking the E3 sidebar graphic. A new Pikmin sprouts! Animal Crossing: City Folk confirmed The Conduit will use WiiSpeak Wii Sports Resort announced (and Wii MotionPlus!) Mega Man 9 feels more like a 10 Wii Fanboy bats-on with Mario Super Sluggers Animal Crossing to support keyboards, save fruit-picking time Wii Fanboy hands-on with Wii Sports Resort
E308: DS Fanboy's E3 Endgame Evaluation
In its second year as a diminished behemoth, E3 still manages to be packed full with news, media, and more. While there wasn't much from Nintendo themselves for the DS this year, third parties are still incredibly strong and we're faced with more games than we can possibly handle. We're also pretty sure we saw almost all of them at E3 this year. Relive the entire experience right from the convenience of this post! Check out our choices for show highlights right here, or hit the break for the full rundown of our E3 coverage. Of course, we're still adding things, and will be over the next few days; keep up by clicking the E3 graphic in the sidebar. GTA: Chinatown Wars shooting up the DS in winter! Transfer data from Animal Crossing: Wild World to new Wii game Highlights from Nintendo's keynote Rhythm Heaven bumped by Cammie Dunaway's wrist Konami booth tour DS Fanboy reacts to the Nintendo keynote Three DS news items you may have missed Chrono Trigger's controls explained (and hands-on) DS Fanboy enters the Retro Game Challenge Rhythm Heaven is the best musical microgame collection at the show
Joystiq E3 hands-on: PixelJunk Eden
PixelJunk Eden is a simple concept boosted by its visuals, sound and co-op gameplay. Much like PixelJunk Monsters, Eden's simplicity in design hides a surprising amount of depth and Q-Games' PixelJunk brand now adds one more feather to its cap, presenting another piece of stand-out quality on the PlayStation Network. We actually played Eden with the game's producer, Deb Mars, who, despite having shown off the game for the umpteenth million time, either has the patience of Solomon Job, or actually, genuinely, enjoys introducing people to Eden. As she went through the basic gameplay, it was easy to understand and gave a good sense that, much like PixelJunk Monsters, Eden really shines when it's played with a friend.%Gallery-26872%
Rumor: Nintendo exec hints at MotionPlus-infused Wiimotes
Though little is known about the Wii's recently unveiled peripheral, the MotionPlus attachment, other than the fact that it will allow you to throw virtual frisbees to virtual puppies with unparalleled accuracy, Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development director Katsuya Eguchi alluded to a new Wiimote model that would include the MotionPlus technology during an E3 developer roundtable.In Eguchi's own words, Nintendo is "looking at whether or not it will be an attachment or built in," so a MotionPlus Wiimote is far from confirmed. Still, we certainly hope Nintendo never ceases production of the attachment altogether -- forcing a populous that scrambled to acquire the Wii's elusive controller last year to chase after a new Wiimote SKU could lead to an unforeseen, if not slightly ironic, revolution against the prosperous company.
Fill the void with The Conduit developer interview
Let's face it -- most of the gamers who read this (or any) gaming blog aren't the audience Nintendo was targeting during their E3 2008 press conference. Many long-time members of the Wii camp felt betrayed by Ninty's "major" announcements -- that's why we thought we'd try to buck-up your spirits with a GameTrailers developer interview for a title that's been gathering quite a bit of attention from fans of the pint-sized home console: High Voltage Games' The Conduit.Voltage's Chief Creative Officer, Eric Nofsinger, doesn't exactly dish any new dirt about the title in the above video, though the gameplay shown looks solid, and fairly attractive by the standards of its designated console. Whether or not it's worthy of the hype surrounding it, we'll have to wait until the first quarter of next year to find out. In the mean time, you'll just have to feign excitement over the Wii's thoroughly unexciting Noise Creation Engine.
Tomb Raider: Underworld E3 trailer blows our minds in reverse
Based off of our explorations of the Croft manor in previous Tomb Raider installments, we can say with absolute certainty that Lara Croft has a pretty sweet pad. Or, rather, had a sweet pad -- in the latest E3 trailer for Eidos and Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Underworld, the titular adventurer, now sans hot pants, apparently lays waste to her extravagant dwelling. The two-minute, gameplay-less trailer is visually impressive, though our minds are racing with questions surrounding the top-heavy historian's act of residential sabotage. Is she trying to collect on her homeowner's insurance? Is she attempting to quash a rather formidable termite infestation? Perhaps she's trying to earn a visit from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? We'll be finding out when Underworld explodes onto store shelves November 18.
Major Minor's Ultimate Raving High School All-star Samba de Dance Dance party @ E3 2008
The first thing we noticed when we stepped into the Showcase Pavillion at this year's E3: This is really quite small. The second thing we noticed: Everyone seems to be dancing! Everywhere we looked, there seemed to be someone (usually with a Wii Remote/Nunchuk in hand) waggling about to some vary hard-to-hear music. But don't just take our word or it. Check out our video montage of just some of the dancing fools on this year's show floor. See if you can guess which dancers are random attendees and which ones are PR people who've been assigned to pretend to be interested in dancing these same steps ALL DAMN DAY. Fun!
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Wii Sports Resort
What Wii Sports did for the Wiimote, Wii Sports Resort does for the Wii MotionPlus. The added precision of the Wii MotionPlus gets to show off in the title and, from the three minigames we experienced, it gives an idea of how other games could benefit from the accessory.We had a chance to try out Disc Dog, Power Cruising and, our favorite, Sword Play. Nintendo says the Wii MotionPlus gives 1:1 control, but that's stretching the truth just a little. The controls certainly feel more precise than the Wiimote in its current state, but we're not exactly sure just yet if it'll fulfill gamer fantasies of precise lightsaber duels.%Gallery-27741%
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Wii Music
How does an adult -- a gamer -- explain Nintendo's strongly touted Wii Music without conveying an overwhelming feeling of dread? It's like the Fisher-Price version of music games and in some dark nightmare it could become a major hit. The skill required to play Wii Music is comparable to putting a three-year-old in front of a toy piano and just letting them bang away, but no matter what key the child hits it continues to play the correct note to create a song. Wii Music is not a game, it's a toy; another glorified tech demo to keep Wii Sports and Wii Play company.If music snobs dismiss the skill required to play games like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, which do require talent to play and succeed, then those folks are going to have a full-blown aneurysm if Wii Music becomes a best seller. Our experience with the game was interesting, but we can't imagine spending more time with it beyond testing out the features or using it to entertain a child toddler when company comes over and the adults want to talk.%Gallery-27739%
E308: An overview of Free Realms
At E3 we had a chance to sit down with Laralyn McWilliams, Lead Designer for SOE's upcoming Free Realms game, who gave us a demo of the game and talked about how it's changed since we saw it earlier this year at CES. For those of you who don't know what we're talking about (and since SOE doesn't yet have a web page for Free Realms, the game isn't exactly shouting itself from the rooftops), it's SOE's answer to the success of casual, free-to-play games targeted at kids, like Club Penguin, RuneScape, Webkinz. The result of their efforts? A game that provides players with endless possibilities: allowing them to level up without ever killing a monster (if that's what they want to do!), allows them to switch classes at any time with the click of a button, and provides players with an unprescidented amount of web integration, including mini-games that can be played in the game world or on the web.Of the MMOs we've seen at E3 this year, Free Realms is the closest to launch, with a beta scheduled for September and a launch scheduled for early 2009. (For those of you wanting in on the beta, attending Fan Faire this year will be a sure way to get in to closed beta.) Curious yet? Let's take a look at the world of Free Realms.%Gallery-27758%%Gallery-27753%
