e3 2010
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Preview: Tron Evolution: The Video Game
A new Tron movie signals the arrival of a new Tron video game. Unfortunately, this one could fall into the trap of licensed games -- substandard gameplay leaning heavily on an anticipated license. And the team at Propaganda Games has a big hurdle to overcome, as they're not only expecting to get this prequel out the door by the time the movie releases, but before. That said, even though the game borrows a lot of ideas from action/platforming games like Prince of Persia, what's there is nicely polished and makes good use of both the license's history and the new movie's aesthetic. If nothing else, Tron Evolution: The Video Game might end up being a fun way for fans of the Tron setting to further explore the mythos.
Interview: Yuji Naka on Ivy the Kiwi and life after Sonic
Yuji Naka grew to fame within the game industry as one of the founders of Sega's Sonic Team, the core group of designers and programmers that created the Sonic the Hedgehog series. In his tenure at Sega, Naka produced titles like Phantasy Star Online, Chu Chu Rocket, and Samba de Amigo. He has since left Sega and formed his own company, Prope, who immediately began developing games to be published by ... Sega. Now, with Ivy the Kiwi?, Naka has emerged from the grasp of the great blue hedgehog, with a game published in Japan by Namco Bandai and in America by XSEED. We spoke to Naka about the design of the game, side-scrollers, and the unique circumstances behind seeing your own game on display in someone else's booth.
E3 2010: Your complete Massively coverage roundup
The 2010 edition of the gaming nirvana known as E3 has come and gone, and Massively was there to bring you three days of exclusives, firsts, and hands-on impressions for all your favorite MMORPG titles, studios, and developers. This year's Expo saw plenty of news and announcements regarding highly anticipated games, as well as plenty of information on assorted titles large and small. We thought it best to collate our coverage into a complete and concise roundup post for your viewing pleasure, so read along after the cut to make sure you didn't miss anything. You can also check out all of our E3 galleries along the way.
Video: Gears of War 3 campaign demonstration
If you were absent, either online or otherwise, from the Microsoft press conference last week at E3, you probably missed out on Cliff Bleszinski's brief demonstration of Gears of War 3's single-player campaign. No worries -- through the power of internet magic, we've captured this moment in time and embedded it in a video posted after the jump. Now you can witness all the profanity, bloodshed and bayoneting from the safety and comfort of your own home.
Iwata: 3DS likely won't sell below production cost
When we were ripped from the E3 3DS demo units by heartless Nintendo reps, our minds raced to calculate precisely how much we'd be willing to pay to take one home with us. The answer was ... unnerving, to say the least. While we still don't have an official price, we've got a slightly better idea courtesy of a recent VentureBeat interview with Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata. He says that the handheld will, unsurprisingly, cost more to produce than a DS does today and that it won't be sold below production cost. We don't know the current DS Lite production price, so determining a minimum price from that quote is tricky. But here's a little perspective: The original DS cost $150 at launch, the DS Lite cost $130, a price point it's still doing crazy numbers at four years later. Our gut's saying at least $200 for the 3DS, but we'd be thrilled to be proven wrong ... provided we're overestimating. Also of interest in the VentureBeat piece: Iwata says that the 3D tech in the system has been prototyped on the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance. Just imagine! There's an alternate reality where the Wii has six dimensions duct-taped together.
Preview: Yakuza 4
As I played through the combat-only demo of Yakuza 4, I noticed a small group of onlookers gather around demo station. It's not that I was fighting exceptionally well, but the fighting in Yakuza games is something of a rare spectacle, with a single tough guy weaving through a crowd of gangsters, deftly punching, kicking, dodging, stepping on faces, and bashing them with weapons ranging from swords and stun guns to traffic cones, advertising signs, and beer bottles. Whatever's handy, really. %Gallery-94713%
Visual overload: Sony's core E3 PS3 lineup
For some, Sony's E3 press conference wasn't filled with too many surprises. However, its lineup at E3 was still rather impressive, featuring some high-profile sequels like LittleBigPlanet 2, Killzone 3, inFamous 2, and the return of Twisted Metal for PS3. Check out trailers for all of Sony's first-party traditional (non-Move) PS3 games at E3 2010 after the break.
Interview: Keiji Inafune on Dead Rising 2, character design and difficulty
Capcom's Global Head of Production, Keiji Inafune, who started with the company over 20 years ago as an illustrator, oversees production of the publisher's major franchises, including Resident Evil, Lost Planet, Street Fighter and Dead Rising. We talked to Inafune at E3 about the design decisions and criticisms of the Dead Rising series, as well as Capcom's ongoing attempt to balance east and west game design philosophies. (Don't forget to check out our preview on Dead Rising 2 for more.) %Gallery-44178%
Telltale's Jurassic Park games to be 'cinematically much more serious'
Ever since Telltale announced an agreement with NBC Universal to develop an episodic series of games based on Jurassic Park, we've been kept awake at night, wondering just how one goes about defeating a Tyrannosaurus Rex using nothing but an umbrella handle, a lightbulb and a unicycle. There are at least seven ways to do it -- trust us -- but Telltale design director Dave Grossman informed us at E3 that Jurassic Park won't quite fit the company's traditional adventure structure. "... in the case of Jurassic Park, we've wanted to kind of step out and do something that's cinematically much more serious than the kind of.... you know, we feel like we're getting pigeonholed a little bit as a company that makes funny cartoon games about talking animals, whereas really what we think of ourselves as is a company that makes games about cinema," Grossman said. "And so we want to explore some different territory. How is the gameplay supporting the tension of the scene, and what kind of tension is it? How is the game paced? And so you're going to find all of that stuff in the Jurassic Park series." While Jurassic Park will feature adventure mechanics deemed "appropriate," it seems its focus won't necessarily be on laid-back lateral thinking. "I don't want to have it be a game about hanging around and solving thinky puzzles at your own pace," Grossman explained. "It just doesn't seem like the right thing to do for that." And while that might seem to suggest an action-oriented approach, Grossman wasn't willing to characterize it to such a simple degree. "You can definitely expect tension elements, let's say. Whether they're action or, well, there are a lot of ways to do that. I think there'll be a liberal mix of stuff in that game." Let's hope we learn more before Telltale's Jurassic Park begins its monthly excursions from Isla Sorna Nublar this winter.
Preview: Fat Princess 1.06 & Fat Roles DLC
It's been a long time coming, but Fat Princess is finally getting the long overdue pirates and ninjas DLC. In addition to the premium "Fat Roles" content, the online-only PSN game will be patched to version 1.06, which adds a rather significant new feature: four-player same-screen co-op. Being able to bring three local friends into an online match does a lot to enhance the overall experience. There's the obvious benefit of being able to chat and coordinate strategy in person, but there's also the added bonus of enhanced spawns: so long as one member of the party remains alive, any fallen teammates can revive quickly at a captured tower. (No need to go all the way back to base!) While the 1.06 patch is free, the Fat Roles DLC is a premium add-on. All players will be able to see the new hat which activates the three new classes (pirates, ninjas and giants), however only those that have purchased the DLC will be able to pick up and wear the hats. Obviously, each of the classes have their own unique abilities: pirates have a gun, which can be charged for a more lethal attack; ninjas can throw shurikens; and giants can instantly kill other players (but cannot regenerate health). In addition to these base powers, the Fat Roles offer additional special powers.
Preview: Sniper: Ghost Warrior
Sniper: Ghost Warrior is the first Xbox 360 game to be published by City Interactive. It's a first-person military shooter being released on a platform absolutely inundated with similar games. At first glance, it would be easy to discount the title and assume it's nothing more than an attempt to capitalize on a very popular genre. Thankfully, the game does a few things to set it apart from the Modern Warfares and the Battlefields, namely an emphasis on stealth and sniping finesse. %Gallery-87697%
Preview: PixelJunk Shooter 2
Who knew the inside of a giant subterranean monster would provide such a great setting for a shooter? The first PixelJunk Shooter was abruptly ended by the awakening of a giant beast, one in which you happen to be trapped in the first numbered sequel in the PixelJunk franchise. Acid, light and darkness -- in addition to lava, water and gas -- are just some of the elements you'll get to play with in this PSN exclusive for PS3. The short demo I played gave me a chance to play with some of the new elements. Acid works almost exactly as you would expect: it raises the temperature of your ship considerably. However, unlike other fluids, the acid will cling to your ship, continuing to damage it until you rinse yourself in water. It's definitely one of the simpler elements (for now, at least), but the levels do force you to swim through the substance, meaning you'll have to play even more cautiously than in the first. Far more interesting than acid is the play on light and dark. As in the first Gears of War (or Pitch Black), staying in darkness for too long will summon a swarm of creatures that instantly destroy the ship. To rescue any marooned scientists, you'll have to figure out ways of getting light into darkened passages: whether it's by flipping switches, destroying rocks, or playing with the other elements. The mechanic lends itself really well in crafting complex puzzles; fans of the first game should be ecstatic.%Gallery-95871%
Preview: Vindictus
2010 marked Nexon's first appearance ever at an E3, and that says quite a bit about both the company and the free-to-play business model it's adapted for MMO action titles. The South Korean company was showing off three different games at the show: the recently released 2D action MMO Dungeon Fighter Online, an upcoming 3D fantasy MMORPG with a casual bent called Dragon Nest, and this one, Vindictus, an action RPG using a heavily modified version of the Source engine to provide a little physics-based hacking and slashing fun. While the look of these games is very different, they all have the same origin (free-to-play titles with lots of microtransactions, originating in South Korea and translated over to North America for Western audiences), and the same problems. They all have excellent premises and even some good design ideas, but they just don't have the polish, especially when compared to popular Western games, to make the experience shine. %Gallery-95822%
Take a spin through a scenic Gran Turismo 5 gallery
1000 cars, 20 tracks, head-tracking (via PlayStation Eye), NASCAR, World Rally Championship, Super GT, two player split-screen, 3D, YouTube uploads, custom soundtracks and PSP connectivity. To say that Gran Turismo 5 is packed would be an understatement. This new batch of E3 media certainly looks pretty, but the real question is: will it be worth the wait? We'll all find out in November.
Preview: Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Despite starring the same character, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and last year's Batman: Arkham Asylum are worlds apart. Rocksteady's game used Unreal technology to realistically render a Grim & Gritty(tm) Gotham in which Batman has to rely on his detective skills and the element of surprise to survive every encounter. The Brave and the Bold, however, is brightly colored and brimming with cartoon flourishes, and stars a Batman who punches thugs with abandon in broad daylight. Sure, you can't silently take a henchman down from a dark corner in The Brave and the Bold, but conversely, I don't recall Arkham Asylum allowing you to team up with Green Lantern Guy Gardner to drop hard-light anvils on the Weather Wizard. %Gallery-95864%
Sonic Adventure on PSN and XBLA won't venture outside of 4:3 aspect ratio
The Xbox Live Arcade versions of both Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure were playable at Sega's booth, and both still look great, even ten-plus years after their release. However, each game has one issue that keeps the XBLA (and PSN) version from absolute perfection. In Crazy Taxi's case, it's the lack of licensed music and locations, meaning that destinations like Pizza Hut have been replaced by generic stores, and the Offspring and Bad Religion soundtrack has been swapped out for sorta/kinda soundalikes. Actually, given how many times we've heard the Crazy Taxi soundtrack in our lives (too many!), that might be a plus. For Sonic Adventure, the limitation of the XBLA version is immediately apparent even to those who haven't played it before: it displays only in 4:3, with vertical bars (featuring a blue patterned background) on the sides of a widescreen display. A Sega rep told Joystiq that the code for Sonic Adventure couldn't be altered to support widescreen as easily as Crazy Taxi's.%Gallery-94873%%Gallery-94872%
Video: Joystiq says goodbye to E3 2010
That's it folks. E3 2010 is done and done. The Joystiq staff is now enjoying some much needed sleep and putting together what remains of our E3 coverage. You'll likely see a few more previews over the next few days, so be sure to keep checking back as we wrap everything up. After the break, watch our E3 goodbye, a montage of all the things we saw at this year's expo. We'll see you next year, E3!
Preview: Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned
This week at E3, Disney was showing off its latest Pirates of the Caribbean game, with nary a movie in sight. Armada of the Damned is being developed by Propaganda Games, creators of the most recent Turok titles, and it's ambitious: An open-world action-RPG with a morality system, based on the popular license but not on any specific movie. And it's shaping up pretty well -- the short demo took us through one of the game's quests, with main character Captain Sterling fighting through cursed tribesmen up a live volcano to their (literally) crabby leader. %Gallery-95741%
Here's every 3DS screenshot released so far
They may not be visible in 3D -- or even represent every game announced for Nintendo's newest handheld -- but the screenshots of 3DS titles released during E3 week are plenty, and we've hunted down every last one so you don't have to. You'll find everything from Animal Crossing to Zelda: Ocarina of Time in the galleries after the break. If you think they look good now, wait until you see them in glasses-free, coming-out-of-the-screen action. We know -- it's going to be a tough wait.
Preview: Ivy the Kiwi?
For some reason, I thought of Prope's Ivy the Kiwi? as a mellow title, a generally relaxing and lightweight game -- at least that's what I thought before actually playing the game. To my surprise, I was presented with a challenging, often chaotic arcade game instead of a frothy, low-impact diversion. It's just the kind of game I seek out, actually -- a game whose challenge comes from mastering a single, unique gameplay mechanic. %Gallery-95742%
