e3 2010
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Preview: God of War: Ghost of Sparta
"Every end has a beginning," the trailer for God of War: Ghost of Sparta tells us. Yet, considering how savaged Greek mythology is by the end of God of War 3, Ghost of Sparta seems a bit out of place. A new God of War prequel from Chains of Olympus developer Ready at Dawn should be cause for celebration, but perhaps it's too soon after God of War 3 -- my excitement was definitely abated when I picked up the PSP system and started playing. It felt too safe, too familiar. That's not to say that Ghost of Sparta is bad. In fact, it's very good -- Ready at Dawn's handheld wizardry has managed to improve even more, with visuals that seem impossible on Sony's aging portable. And it's not just a pretty face: there are some new gameplay features as well, including a few refinements carried over from the PS3 game. Chains of Olympus stands as the most critically acclaimed PSP game to date, and it seems Ghost of Sparta has a chance of besting such a lofty goal. The core mechanics will be instantly familiar to anyone who has played a God of War game. At this point, Kratos' repertoire of dual-chain attacks should be part of muscle memory. There are a few additions that make the combat feel new and fun. The "Hyperion Charge," for example, allows you to run at enemies and tackle them. Additional button presses let you bash at the enemy, MMA style, or throw it as a meatbag projectile. %Gallery-95857%
Fett's threads: The progression of SWTOR's bounty hunter armor
Star Wars: The Old Republic did not exactly keep a low profile at E3 this year. Between another slam-bang cinematic trailer and the revelation of player ships and war zones, the razzle dazzle of news kept us all hopping. However, BioWare did drop a few smaller bits of TOR goodness for us to snatch up, including a nifty video showing armor progression for the bounty hunter. As with most MMOs, the look, bulk and "cool" factor of armor increases as one levels up and gets his or her hands on the latest and greatest gear. In this video, a bounty hunter is taken through the paces fighting enemies as he goes through five iterations of armor, each more threatening than the last. A sharp-eyed viewer can even spot a couple unfortunate souls frozen in carbonite in the background. Check out the video after the jump!
Preview: Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
Camelot knows how to make entertaining RPGs. It's something of a travesty that the studio has been whiling away the last several years on various Nintendo sports games instead of pumping out a sequel to Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Now, after seven years (seven), Camelot is finally back on the scene with Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for the DS. Based on my E3 demo, I'd say fans have cause to be excited. Playing Dark Dawn is a joy, like visiting an old friend. %Gallery-95769%
El Shaddai trailer is full of angels, arches and apocrypha
Ignition's upcoming adaptation of the non-canonical Book of Enoch wasn't playable at E3 last week, so the game's debut trailer (posted after the jump) is one of the few sources of info we have on El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron thus far. Of course, that info is pretty bizarre: You're a priest who's tasked with finding seven fallen angels -- a task made more difficult by said angels' hordes of followers. There are also a number of perilous platforming segments, which we doubt were taken directly from the original religious text.
Homefront trailer shows the softer side of insurrection
THQ wasn't just promoting its upcoming shooter Homefront with a fake North Korean platoon at E3, you know. The company also released the title's first gameplay trailer, which you'll find posted after the jump. It's actually a troubling minute-long vignette of our dudes getting wrecked by their dudes, but hey -- at least the music is pretty.
The Best of Big Download: June 14-20
This roundup of last week's highlights is a little late but we have a good excuse: We've been really busy producing all of our E3 2010 coverage. We'll have some more E3 stuff to go over this week, but in the meantime here's what we did in the past seven days. (Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to take a quick nap!) Exclusive Content E3 2010 Coverage: Not only did we venture to L.A. to check out some cool upcoming games, we went over the top with tons of interviews last week, including covering many games that were not shown at E3 this year: Interviews:Dogfighter, Entertainment Consumer Association, Alien Breed: Impact, Elemental: War of Magic, StarCraft II, Dino D-Day, Singularity, Bounty Arms, Postal 3, Skulls of the Shogun, Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, City of Heroes: Going Rogue, Red Orchestra Heroes of Stalingrad, Breach, The First Templar, Sword of the Stars 2, PC Gaming Alliance, End of Nations, Trine 2, Primal Carnage, The Grinder, The Witcher 2, Guardians of Graxia, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Previews: XCOM, Bulletstorm, Shogun 2: Total War, Spec Ops: The Line, Civilization V, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Crysis 2, and Homefront. We even have some post E3 hands-on impressions of the OnLive service. Video Blogs: Check out Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3 and Episode 4 of our exclusive and extensive video coverage of E3 2010 featuring tons of game footage and interviews straight from the E3 2010 show floor with the developers of, among other games, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Medal of Honor, DC Universe Online, Rage, Brink and many, many more. Booth Babes: You know you like to look so check out Big Download's gallery of booth babe images from Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 of E3 2010.
FIFA 11 to add custom audio feature
During E3, FIFA 11 producer David Rutter briefly demonstrated the game's new "Personality+" framework, which aims to better recreate each player's real-life abilities and personality in the game. Using an early build of the game, Rutter showed how Arsenal defender Sol Cambell has been reduced to a lumbering dribbler -- at least compared to teammate Andrey Arshavin, a nimble-footed midfielder. By contrast, Cambell's tackle zone had been made far more expansive than Arshavin's. Aside from these obvious skill tweaks, it remains to be seen how much individual "personality" will factor into the gameplay. Actually, FIFA 11 will allow players to add a bit of their own personal touch to the overall presentation. Rutter confirmed that the game will support custom audio settings, allowing players to upload sound clips -- chants, music tracks, 90,000 resounding vuvuzelas -- into the game and set them to play in accordance with various events in the match. [Image credit: Axel Bührmann]
Preview: Pac-Man Battle Royale
Pac-Man Battle Royale is a delight and a danger. The Joystiq staff's encounter with the four-player arcade game, encapsulated in a classy cocktail cabinet standing at a comfortable height, threatened to derail our E3 coverage with its addictive mixture of nostalgia, playful rivalry and recognizable mechanics. We suspect that Namco Bandai's insistence on making this an arcade system stems from the fact that you can impulsively handcuff yourself to the machine. The shared, upward-facing screen in the table also makes it a very social experience. Surrounded by four joysticks (and, in our case, four Joystiqs), Pac-Man's maze becomes a playground for several differently colored and apparently cannibalistic Pac-people. Eating all the dots and food in a section of the maze will cause a new sequence to appear, and once this happens there's a mad rush for the new power pellets. It makes pathfinding and avoiding ghosts in the maze feel especially pressing. Once you've gobbled up a pellet (and you're rarely the only one to do so in any given moment) your Pac-protagonist grows to enormous size. You're able to eat ghosts as usual, but you can also devour any of your fellow players. The mega Pac-Man is slightly faster than the regular one, making your victim an easy snack if he can't quickly lose you in the maze. Giants can't eat each other, however, and bounce away when they come into contact. That sounds harmless, but there's a risk of getting bumped back into a ghost just as your invincible size wears off. Much like Pac-Man Championship Edition and Pac-Man Vs., Battle Royale is another clever, colorful twist on one of gaming's most comforting icons. It's going to be great fun in bars -- and if Namco Bandai doesn't release a home version on XBLA or PSN, people will start to think of us as hardcore alcoholics. Just one more round, please.
Latest Crysis 2 shots show NYC at night
New York City is a bustling metropolis and tourist destination, but in EA's Crysis 2 it's the front line of an alien assault. These new screens depict the otherworldly attack on the city that never sleeps -- with enemies that don't either. They wreak havoc day and (in this case) night. %Gallery-95955%
Puzzle Agent trailer is Fargo-esque enough for us
Telltale's debut trailer for Puzzle Agent (posted after the jump) features all the components we expected the game to have: a quirky sense of humor, a healthy number of brainteasers, and a general sense of ominous mystery. Now we just wish they'd do something about that framerate. Yowza.
Preview: Rage
If you doubted that Rage could look decent on the Xbox 360, rest assured it is a beautiful game. During the 30-minute presentation I attended at the Bethesda booth at E3, the "hand-crafted" environments backed up the boasting of the id Software producer guiding attendees through two different campaign segments. First of all, know that the premise isn't the only thing similar to that of the other big post-apocalyptic FPS, Fallout 3. The story is, like, very similar to that of Fallout 3. In Rage, a meteor strike has decimated the planet and the Authority -- the governing body of the world before the apocalypse -- apparently saw fit to bury these arks deep below ground, to house the remnants of humanity who could one day return to the surface after the effects of the meteor strike dissipated. The player's vault ark apparently has a malfunction (water chip malfunction?) and, as the last survivor, you must make your way to the surface for reasons unknown and join the rest of humanity and the mutated, crazed individuals who were once human. %Gallery-92198%
Visual overload: Sony's E3 PlayStation Move lineup
PlayStation Move is essentially a brand new platform for Sony. While many of the motion-sensing launch games for the new PS3 controller are "Wii HD" titles, there are a few noteworthy additions, including echochrome 2, Heroes on the Move and a Move edition of Heavy Rain. Check out trailers for all of Sony's first-party Move titles after the break.
Preview: The Sly Collection
With an HD compilation of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus sadly nowhere to be found at E3, we could still find solace in the fact that three of the PS2's best action-platformers -- the Sly Cooper trilogy -- are being "remastered" for release on PS3 as The Sly Collection. Sanzaru Games, which last worked with Sony on the PS2 port of High Impact's Secret Agent Clank, is on the case, providing the thieving raccoon in HD, 3D and even the realm of PlayStation Move. Sanzaru started out its work on the trilogy with Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, a game that was originally designed to be in 3D, but ultimately only shipped with select levels playable while wearing retro red-and-blue glasses. For the E3 demo, one of the game's boss fights was chosen, and had me squaring off against my foe in a bamboo forest. It was a good choice -- the green stalks really helped drive home the sense of depth, and the colorful, crisp HD visuals made it one of the better 3D experiences I've had with Sony's console. %Gallery-95931%
Interview: David Jaffe on Twisted Metal, E3 and ... lying to us
Just before E3 2010, we asked Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe to confirm that he wasn't working on a new entry in the long-dormant car combat franchise, per a series of messages he released via Twitter. And confirm that he did. Unfortunately for us -- though perhaps not for gamers -- it turns out that his words to us were actually part of a larger plan of "misdirection," as he told us in an interview one day after last week's big reveal. Aside from our initial harassment about what he told us in the past, we spoke with him about what he wants out of E3, what he's most excited about in his forthcoming game, the current trend of series reboots in the game industry, and what else is going on at Eat Sleep Play (the studio he co-heads with Scott Campbell) -- among many other things. And though we were initially hurt by his "misdirection," the fact that he was a perfect gentleman during the interview helped to mend those wounds. Continue after the break for our conversation. %Gallery-95377%
E3 2010 Sony Bingo results
Sooooo close -- so very close to winning the Sony E3 Bingo card! If it hadn't been for cross-game chat being not quite announced (so, still unconfirmed), we'd have won at least one Bingo this E3. Check out the final Sony results after the break.
Nintendo 3DS will launch 'in all major markets' by March 2011, design still being tweaked
When Nintendo of Japan first announced the 3DS (think: way back in March), it promised a release of the portable by the fiscal year ending March 2011. Given the DS and DSi's six-month global rollout window, however, we weren't sure if that applied to the world or just the company's backyard -- sure, we've heard rumors of a UK release in October, but nothing's been confirmed. Cue Nintendo of America's president Reggie Fils-Aime to give a definitive answer: "The one thing, for sure, is that we will launch in all of our major markets by March 31, 2011." Well, that about settles it in our mind. Fils-Aime also clarifies that what we saw on the floor is not the final design -- something that was mentioned during the press conference -- but we wouldn't expect anything more than slightly altered button placement (for its part, the official site lists "look," battery, pre-installed software, and supported languages as TBA). But hey, if you want to believe a third screen is possible, don't let us stop you from dreaming.
Preview: Portal 2 (co-op)
.portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Chris Grant: So, lucky us, after the first full day of E3, you and I were the only pair to play Portal 2 together, cooperatively, without Valve. Valve writer Erik Wolpaw has been giving the the demo while playing as the second player, but he said he thought we looked like we could handle it on our own. Richard Mitchell: It was surprising to me how quickly we fell into step, actually. If you've played Portal before, it's kind of amazing how soon you start thinking cooperatively -- figuring out how you need two people to solve a given puzzle. It's a different experience, but it's still Portal.
E3 2010 Nintendo Bingo results
We didn't even come close to winning the Nintendo E3 Bingo card this year. Let's discuss our feelings about this over Wii Speak. Check out the final Nintendo results after the break.
Hyperspace Beacon: Fires of Hope from E3 2010
The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game Star Wars: The Old Republic. No matter where you were this week, if you are a Star Wars fan, you saw the new SWTOR trailer: Hope. I'm sure you also read the Daily Grind asking, "Do cinematics make you want to play?" It's an honest question. Lots of times these over-the-top trailers mask some of the things producers aren't telling you about the game you are interested in playing. In fact, it may give you greater expectations than the game has to offer. There have been quite a few comments about Star Wars Galaxies' trailers which have caused some players of the seven-year-old MMO to ask rhetorically, "I want to play that game. Where is that game?" So let me tell you up front, Star Wars: The Old Republic does not look like either of the cinematic trailers, but that does not mean it is not a great game. I believe as a fan of this game and as a reporter for this website that I would be doing you, the reader, an injustice by totally giving into the (albeit mostly fan-created) hype that surrounds this game. So this week I want to take things back a notch and hopefully give you a realistic outlook on a couple of announced aspects of the game.
E3 2010 Microsoft Bingo results
We thought that by opening up our annual massively multiplayer E3 Bingo game beyond the press conference that we could all finally finagle a win ... it was not to be with Microsoft. Check out the final Microsoft results after the break.
