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E308: Castlevania (aka Shanoa the vampire slayer)
Those of you who want to get to know Shanoa a little better should check out the vid up top, which features her kicking some undead butt. She might not bring too many new things to the Castlevania-verse, but she still looks like a pretty badass character. Besides, she "shall become the sword that clears away evil" -- what more do you want? Order of Ecclesia is currently one of our most anticipated DS games, though, so do we really need another reason to convince you to watch this trailer? Just look at the footage.
Almost everything you want to know about the New Xbox Experience
Looking for simple answers to your Xbox 360 dashboard redesign questions? Here are a few points to take away from the new Xbox experience: "There's nothing to announce" right now regarding a keyword search for the Marketplace. We hope for some kind of searching option or a better layout for content Playing games from the hard drive will work fine for multi-disc games; in fact, you can pick which discs you want to rip (but a disc swap for the correct disc in the drive is required) As an example, Joystiq was told that Devil May Cry 4 is approximately a 4 or 5GB installation and takes about 10 minutes to copy onto a harddive: PS3 installation is roughly 18-25 mins You'll need to keep the disc in the drive the entire time. This is about speeding up load times and to check if you own the title -- the disc will not spin so no more jet noises Xbox 360 notifications look the same but are actually very cleaned up and look sharper -- the sounds are all the same Yes, you can still use your gamertag pics and your themes (they look cleaner and more crisp now, an example of what it could look like is above) -- example of a gamerpic in action is in the top right corner of the image above Gallery: New Xbox Experience
The Last Remnant roundtable discussion: still no PS3 release date
Don't let the subject line fool you -- while there's still no firm release date set for The Last Remnant on the PS3, it's coming and it's about time we learned a little more about the game. A bunch of press members sat down with the game's producer, Nobuyuki Ueda, then tried to get some information about the game's battle system and storyline. We'll summarize the important bits and let you decide if you want to read the whole thing.The game is supposed to appease both Western and Japanese gamers. English development is ahead of Japanese, so the English dub is proceeding along smoothly, Ueda says. The battles are as large-scale or as small-scale as you'd like. You have control over five "unions" with five members in each union, but it seems like you directly control either one at a time or the leader of each union during battles. Once battle starts, a timer is in place that'll signify when more enemy units will join in the brawl. The greater the number of enemies you choose to encounter, the greater the reward. Think of the DS title The World Ends With You to get an idea what they're going for. The morale meter does not indicate rewards; it helps you see how well other units will pay attention to your orders. While the game sounds like it keeps many traditional RPG elements, it also sounds like it may be more hands-off than expected. We don't know for sure, so we'll not make any judgments until we play it for ourselves.
E308: The Joystiq / X3F reader meetup recap-o-pix
Last night, we went out of E3 in style and on our own partying terms by hosting a Joystiq and X3F Reader Meetup event in Santa Monica, California. The turnout was great (something close to 300 readers attended), we ate some pizza, chit-chatted some, gave out a couple hundred pounds of swag and the highlight of the meetup was Rock Band 2. You read correctly, the guys from Harmonix showed up with Rock Band 2 (which is freakin' amazing btw) and new instruments in hand to let everyone try out the new setup. All in all it was a great way to close out the E3 week and for those who attended, we send a gigantic "thank you!" your way. Without your support we'd be nothing but a few sad and lonely fanboys.Check out the photographic reader meetup recap below and for more meetup coverage, jump on over to Joystiq and browse their photos too.%Gallery-28049% Gallery: Joystiq Post-E3 2008 Party
E308: Time to leave, time to go home
We just wanted to update you on our (Richard and Dustin) current status as it pertains to E3 2008. Simply stated, the expo is now over and we're jetting out of Los Angeles in the next few hours. This in turn means a few things. The first, most obvious conclusion being that WE SURVIVED E3! The long hours we put in all week, experienced by not only those in LA but team X3F back at Fanboy Towers were grueling. But our brains haven't exploded under the stress so we can't complain too much. As a result of our leaving of E3 we probably will not be updating as much as we should be today. We'll do our best, but no promises. Finally, you should be seeing some E3 wrap-up coverage heading into the weekend and carrying over into early next week. We have a backlog of E3 hands on impressions and general news that (due to there only being 24 hours in a day) we just couldn't get to.Again, thanks to everyone for sharing a memorable E3 2008 with all of us at X3F. It was exciting, it was stressful, but overall we'll be walking away from this week with a grin on our face and dreams of special Xbox 360 releases that will be coming later this year. Tata.
E308: E3 no longer ideal for core games -- Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto has weighed in on the grand debate that has raged over Nintendo's E3 press conference, addressing fan complaints that not enough "core" titles were shown. According to Shiggy, the shortage of more traditional games could be attributed to one thing: E3.Whereas once E3 was perceived as an event for those who treated gaming as serious business, Miyamoto argues that the industry's red-letter day is now better suited to showing off "new concepts and new types of play that we intend to bring to the broader audience, particularly because of the media that gathers at E3 now."Nevertheless, Miyamoto did reassure diehard fans that classic franchises were being worked on, with the Zelda, Mario, and Pikmin teams all concentrating on new games. "... We're still working on many of those titles," Miyamoto told MSNBC, "But [E3 is] just not the type of event where we'll be showcasing that anymore."It's interesting to note the different perspectives on this issue taken by Miyamoto and Reggie Fils-Aime. Whereas Reggie refuted the suggestion that Nintendo could have offered more "core" games, Miyamoto seems to admit that yes, there was a lack of such titles at E3, but that E3 itself was the reason behind this.[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
E308: South Park XBLA to launch in 2009
Remember that epic trailer showcasing the new South Park game for Xbox Live Arcade? All 2.4 seconds of it. No details were dropped regarding what type of game it would be but the South Park Studios official site is already trying to fuel the hype train. A posting moments after it was unveiled at the conference reads: "A brand new South Park game is coming to Xbox Live in 2009. That's all we've got for now, but stay tuned for more details over the next few months. Let the speculations begin!" We don't have any guesses on what it will be but we hope it has nothing to do with that awful first-person shooter or the terrible kart racing game or that laughable mini-game collection or ... wait, are we supposed to speculate on whether or not it's going to suck? Who do we send our guesses to?
E308: Crash Bandicoot crashes the party
We're not sure if this Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant trailer embodies the spirit of the Crash we used to know and love, but we'll probably be giving this platformer some looks anyway. What we've heard so far sounds good, and as Wii owners, we like being catered to. Do you still have room in your heart to give Crash another chance? Or is this series long dead and buried in your mind? Gallery: Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant
E308: Welcome to the Tecmo Bowl
The whip-yielding soul suckers at Joystiq told us about some of Tecmo Bowl Kickoff's DS enhancements when they got their hands on the game, but this video reveals a few more things (and straight from producer Ryan Gilbo's mouth). We like how Tecmo really thought this remake through, and didn't just create a shabby port for the handheld. Not only does on-the-go Tecmo Bowl warm our arcade-loving hearts, but the customization options and super moves available only add a dash of excellence to the idea. We're definitely going to take a look at Tecmo Bowl Kickoff this fall, but the question is -- which version? From all the nice perks we've been hearing about the DS title, that's probably the one we'll be behind.
Valve's Lombardi talks Portal XBLA, achievements and other platforms
Valve's Doug Lombardi (seen muzzled by an X3F sticker at E3 2008) recently cleared up some confusion regarding the content of Portal: Still Alive for the Xbox Live Arcade in an interview with OXM. "It's just a series of new challenges," Lombardi told the magazine. "[Portal: Still Alive is] another way for people to experience Portal, without having to buy the full Orange Box."We can't say we're surprised. With such a focus on story we didn't expect Valve to do anything exclusively for the Xbox that would factor into actual canon of the series.Lombardi later detailed that Valve has new projects in the works for the Xbox 360 but remain firm on its disinterest for PS3 and Wii development. It was also confirmed that Team Fortess 2 that the achievements and content added to the PC version of the game will come to the Xbox 360 at some point, when Valve has worked out how it wants to package and release that content.
Riccitiello: 'I hate E3 like this'
Another day, another E3 complaint. Yesterday, Alain Corre of Ubisoft commented on the size and location of this year's E3, wanting it bigger and better. Today, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello joined the party, outright stating "I hate E3 like this." Hate is such an ugly word. Dislike?Ubisoft's Laurent Detoc also jumped into the fray. Instead of taking a subtle approach, he laid it out straight and said "E3 this year is terrible. The world used to come to E3. Now it's like a pipe-fitters show in the basement." There is a debate on whether E3 should be a show for the world or an exclusive media-only event, and the difference between the two is massive. This year, only 5,000 media representatives attended, where in the past 60,000 eager gamers would cover the show floor.With EA (and Ubisoft) having the resources to put on a bigger display than pretty much anyone in the world, it's no wonder they want as much room and as big an audience as physically possible. Again, what are your thoughts on this? Are you happy to be bombarded with booth babes explosive gaming news and excitement in May every year, or do you enjoy the lower-key, need-to-know approach of this year's event?[Via Gamesindustry.biz]
E308: Rhythm Heaven is the best musical microgame collection at the show
Nintendo's E3 offerings included a three-minigame demo of the stealthily-announced U.S. version of Rhythm Tengoku Gold. The games featured are the ones seen in the trailer: Assembly Line, in which two metal squares roll toward the middle of the screen in rhythm as scales play, and you flick upward on the screen to launch a rod through them when the holes in the middle of the squares meet Robot Gallery, in which a newly-assembled robot moves from right to left on a conveyer belt and you have to hold the stylus down at just the right moment to drop the fuel pump and fuel the robot, then release before you overfill it. Chorus involves holding the stylus down until you want the player-controlled singer to join in the chorus with two other singers. You release the stylus to fit with the pattern of the two singers before. Frequently, the chorus leader will instruct everyone to sing out in unison, which I missed every time! These three games were (as far as I know) new to the DS version. Though two out of the three could just as easily have been controlled by buttons, the stylus worked great. Also, even though the game offered a tutorial for the "flicking" motion, it was easy to jump in. I consider the tutorial, then, a freeform minigame about knocking trucks over. %Gallery-26615%
E308: Sony 'disappointed' by FFXIII for 360
Sony Computer Entertainment America boss Jack Tretton discussed Sony's take on the recent announcement that Final Fantasy XIII will release simultaneously on the Xbox 360 with the PS3 with a round-table of journalists, including our own team at Joystiq. "Am I disappointed by it? Yes," Tretton told the group, adding: "Am I surprised by it? No." He was quick to stress that the game remains a PS3 exclusive in Japan, but that "seeing as there isn't that big of a [PS3] installed base in [there], I don't know how big of a coup that is for us."Speaking on the subject of paying off publishers for exclusivity, Tretton told Joystiq "[Sony] invested so much money in the [PS3] hardware" that it simply "can't write checks for exclusive software."While popular theory is that Microsoft paid Square Enix off for its recent handfull of upcoming releases, word around the industry campfire points at a decision made by Square Enix months ago to focus on multiplatform development that saw Final Fantasy XIII land on the Xbox 360. With a high install base and solid attach rate for the Xbox 360 in North America and Europe many developers are forgoing exclusivity in order to lessen the blow of "next-gen" game development. Capcom has been a prime example of this point with Devil May Cry 4; which saw better sales on the Xbox 360.Regardless of the situation, Square Enix is happy to bring the experience to as many people as possible and as gamers we all should be too.%Gallery-28020%
E308: X3F Wish Makers
Before we left to go to E3 2008 we each outlined our Top Three Interests for the big show. Nearly every one of our interests were available for us to poke and prod at but what about your interests? Asking you to list your E3 anticipations, we molded our content to suit your needs. Why? Because you're the X3F Army!Jump in for a list of the games you asked about with links to all the news and content we could find, steal and bribe our way to get! We couldn't get them all and there is a ton more not listed but check it out and let us know what you thought of our coverage.Oh and by the way, we are SO not even done covering E3 2008. Prepare yo' self!
E308: WiiSpeak with Mario
Nintendo's WiiSpeak demo was one of the freakiest things that happened during E3. Basically, Nintendo had an Animal Crossing demo running in their conference room, with a WiiSpeak mic connected. In an undisclosed location somewhere else in the convention center, Charles Martinet was also playing City Folk, with a Mario-style avatar, and riffing in the Mario voice with whoever happened to wander by.Mostly, this entailed yelling at other players for messing with his flowers, and complaining about the lack of bugs nearby. I tried to interact with Mr. Martinet, but the WiiSpeak couldn't pick up my normal speaking voice (which is admittedly mousy and whisper-quiet). As I was walking away, Mario started smacking the other players with his axe.%Gallery-27704%
E308: DS Fanboy hands-on with Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
What can I say about Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia? You've played this game plenty of times before. Sure, there are some slight changes here and there, but, ultimately, this is pretty much the same as every other DS Castlevania title released. Don't take that as a bad thing, though.%Gallery-22992%
E308: Neopets Puzzle Adventure flips Othello over
So I didn't exactly play Neopets Puzzle Adventure on the DS. But I did play Neopets Puzzle Adventure, and Neopets Puzzle Adventure will eventually end up on the DS. It's not as if the Othello-based gameplay will face significant challenges in the transition from PC to DS.And Othello it is, at least at first. You place a piece on the board to flank the opposing player's pieces, flipping them to your color. But there are layers and layers of new weirdness that change the board game entirely. For one, the board is different shapes, not just the standard square. Some spaces on the board award points, and others are marked with icons of a certain color. Points and gem collecting are the real point of the game, rather than controlling territory. You get points for covering spaces, but you can't just win by controlling more of the board.Gaining control of a space with an icon on it enables you to use Petpet abilities, which are like spells. Each Petpet requires a varying amount of icons to activate. Clicking on a Petpet activates a spell that does something like flipping a bunch of pieces or awarding you points or otherwise altering the game -- you know, basic spell stuff. What this means is that it's no longer obvious how to succeed at Othello. Random and non-board elements can change the status of the game instantly. In addition, when you flip a bunch of pieces, you trigger a combo effect that flips even more pieces.
Wii Warm Up: E3
Because we've also asked DS fans, we thought we'd pose the same question here: how would you rate the Wii's E3?Despite the angry tidal wave of criticism over what many (but not all) saw as a disappointing Nintendo keynote, the more recent announcement of a third Pikmin game seems to have tempered the outcry a little. Not that there was a shortage of announcements in the first place -- WiiSpeak, Wii Sports Resort, Animal Crossing: City Folk, MotionPlus, Wii Music, and online, WiiSpeak-enabled multiplayer in The Conduit were all entirely new to us.Fill us in on the bits of E3 you liked, the bits you hated, the surprises, and the no-shows.
DS Daily: E3
As the sun sets on another E3, we thought today's DS Daily would be the ideal spot to round up all of your thoughts on the DS-related happenings of the last three days.The biggest news -- insofar that it will probably interest the most people, anyway -- is the announcement of a Grand Theft Auto game for the handheld, a genuine bolt from the blue. Another Guitar Hero is relatively big (if totally predictable) news also, and we were personally delighted by the announcement of Wii-to-DS connectivity for Animal Crossing: Wild World, and the localization of Rhythm Tengoku.What about you? Highlights? Lowlights? Favorite moments? Most shocking omissions? We like numbers, so give the DS's E3 a mark out of ten if you like!
E308: Wii Fanboy on day four
While there will be news spilling over for a day or so yet, E3 has wrapped and things are winding down. Later on, we'll have the full event rundown for you, but for now, here's the haps on day four. News Ubisoft: E3 timing 'not appropriate' Glorious Mega Man 9 boxart Animal Crossing to support keyboards, save fruit-picking time Marvelous pulls Little King Story from the show floor Hands-On Making Iwata cry in Animal Crossing: City Folk Dog-suited hands-on with Wii Music Wii Fanboy takes the whip to Castlevania Judgment Wii Fanboy hands-on with Wario Land: Shake It! Wii Fanboy hands-on with Wii Sports Resort Screens Check out screens from Lightsaber Duels Video NHL 2K9 demo gets us pumped for hockey This trailer tells the Little King's Story A respectable little pile of Castlevania Judgment videos Naruto believes in this new trailer
