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Joystiq impressions: Metroid Prime 3 (Wii)
Nintendo fans, rejoice. Metroid Prime 3 is going to be the best Metroid Prime game yet. It's been burdened with the enormous task of fulfilling Nintendo's promise of providing unsurpassed FPS controls through the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Surprisingly, Metroid Prime 3 has more than delivered in this near-final E3 build. Not only do the controls work exactly as we'd like them to, Retro Studios has surprised us by fleshing out the Metroid experience with its most ambitious story yet.Long-time Metroid fans will appreciate the game's opening moments. We're taken inside Samus' trademark space ship. Have we ever been here before? Interfacing with the ship through the Wii Remote certainly felt exciting, allowing players to control Samus' ship -- something we can't remember ever doing in the series' history. Players will touch various panels within the ship, and pull a lever, providing a simple facsimile of piloting a real space ship.As you dock your ship in a battleship, you'll meet a small army of NPCs. Imagine our surprise when they referred to Samus' previous exploits, fully voiced. In the game's opening moments, Samus will be able to interact with characters that feature full voice acting, seemingly a rarity in modern Nintendo-published efforts. We appreciate the series attempting to connect Corruption to the previous Prime games, but we have to admit that the heavy-handed nature of the story caught us a little off-guard. Watching the Galactic Federation talk about the conquest of the Space Pirates made us think we were watching Halo 2, not a Metroid Prime game. However, Metroid purists need not worry: Samus still goes on as a mute.%Gallery-3353%
Sony: Enough 60GBs for "several months" in U.S. [Update 4]
Dave Karraker of Sony Computer Entertainment of America has contacted Joystiq to give us clarification on the story that would have made us believe Sony had truly lost its mind once and for all. The fun never ends, does it?Karraker says the quotes from David Reeves are not accurate. He explains that if they had lowered the price in Europe, that territory would have run out of their current inventory by the end of July. He says in a statement, "As announced this week, SCEA's product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August at $599 and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We have will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of our consumers for the foreseeable future."Update 1: There are some serious conflicting reports going on at the moment. We're working on answers while still trying to cover E3 the best we can. Update 2: As you may have seen in this clip about 1:45 in, Kaz Hirai says "The $499 price adjustment that we did for the 60 GB version for the American market, we're no longer in production for that product. So once that product is gone from the retailers shelves, then we're back to the $599 SKU only, so it's not like we have a two price strategy here in the U.S. market, which we found early on consumers react most to just having one SKU as opposed to two." So, we're attempting to get some clarification. You'll know when we do.Update 3: According to Karraker, "The 60GB PS3 will be available in North America for $499 until supplies of that unit are depleted. We have ample inventory to meet the immediate needs of consumers in this territory for several months to come. We won't be making any further announcements regarding our hardware offerings in the North America at this time." In our opinion, it's a touch disingenuous for Sony to just now be bringing this information to light, even though Karraker goes on to insist that this is not a bait-and-switch. If that's the truth, why make it seem like the company was returning to a two-SKU strategy when that was clearly just temporary?Update 4: We got this clarified statement from Karraker, who said "The 60GB PS3 will be available in North America for $499 until supplies of that unit are depleted. We have ample inventory to meet the immediate needs of consumers in this territory for several months to come. We won't be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated."
Reminder: Joystiq Reader Meetup today in Santa Monica
If you're in town for E3 (or just happen to live in the area), please join us for the first ever Joystiq Reader Meetup today. We'll have free food, drink, and some Joystiq t-shirts for the first folks on the scene, plus we'll be giving away all the schwag that we've managed to acquire at this year's E3 (we don't keep that stuff!). So, come along, play a game or two on our projector -- Wii Tennis anyone? -- and talk to the writers behind your favorite video game blog. Thanks to our friends at Mahalo for hosting!If you do plan to come, be sure to let us know in the comments section of our previous announcement. See you tonight!When: 6PM-9PM on Friday 13thWhere: Mahalo HQ, 902 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica 90401 (Google Maps link)And yes, this event is all ages!
PSP firmware 3.60 reveals hidden USB Charge feature
We got our hands on a fully functional redesigned PSP, and we immediately grabbed pictures of the firmware that was installed on the system. Currently unreleased, version 3.60 was installed on the system. All of the features that are available in 3.60 will not work on the old PSP system, and it's unclear whether or not an older PSP system will even display the features found in this update.Check after the cut to see the screens.
Joystiq hands-on with the new PSP
We spent some alone time with the newly announced PSP redesign. At first glance, the system appears to be identical to the original system, but getting our hands on the system revealed that this is, in fact, a significant upgrade to the original. The most immediate thing we noticed was how light the system is: the original was in no ways heavy, but the new handheld is certainly much lighter, without making it too feathery.The glossy new finish of the redesigned PSP is very attractive, although we're afraid that it might attract fingerprints much more easily than the already susceptible original. Regardless, the shiny new sheen makes the system makes the original look dull in comparison.
Joystiq Reader Meetup in Santa Monica this Friday, July 13th
That's right, we're holding the first ever Joystiq Reader Meetup in Santa Monica this Friday! If you're in town for E3 (or just happen to live in the area), please join us for the first ever (ever ever) Joystiq Reader Meetup this Friday, July 13th. We'll have free food, drink, and some Joystiq t-shirts to the first folks on the scene, plus we'll be giving away any schwag that we've managed to acquire at this year's E3 (we don't keep that stuff!). So, come along, play a game or two on our projector -- Wii Tennis anyone? -- and talk to the writers behind your favorite video game blog this Friday.Also, we'd like to give a shout-out to the guys over at Mahalo.com for hosting the event. Y'know, they're there to help. If you're planning on coming, be sure to let us know in the comments so we know how many to expect!When: 6PM-9PM on Friday 13thWhere: Mahalo HQ, 902 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica 90401 (Google Maps link)And yes, this event is all ages!
Konami announces Silent Hill V for 360, PS3
Konami puzzled us earlier today by sending out a cryptic poem hinting that a major unexpected announcement would be coming from its press conference. Knowing that Pac-Man CE had already been announced, we were perplexed as to what Konami's announcement could possibly be. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're sitting at said press conferencce right now, and the announcement is ... Silent Hill V (at least that's what we think it is). The game features a soldier home from a war who is searching for his missing son. As often seems to be the case, this missing person decides to the best place to run to is Silent Hill. Akira Yamaoka will return to provide a brand new mind-bending soundtrack. Konami promises more news to come.
Ubisoft: no demo for Assassin's Creed
During our recent hands-on session with Assassin's Creed, which we found to be very impressive overall, we were also greeted with some unfortunate news. We hope you don't have your heart set on trying out Altair's acrobatic antics via an Xbox Live Marketplace or Playstation Network demo, because our Ubisoft rep informed us that the company has "no plans" of releasing a demo for the game. Disappointing news to be sure, but then again, you probably already knew whether or not you were going to buy it anyway.
Rock Band picks up Metallica, entire album DLC
Rock Band served as the tail end of EA's E3 press conference, and they made sure to save a few announcements for last. CEO of Harmonix, Alex Rigopulos announced that Rock Band will receive downloadable content every single week after its initial release. Even better, he announced that players not only be able to download single songs and multi-song packs, but entire albums. The first album that will be available for download is The Who's Who's Next. Finally, Rigopulos announced that Rock Band musicians will at last be jamming to Metallica. It was revealed that Metallica's "Enter Sandman" will ship with the retail version of Rock Band with many more career-spanning tracks coming as downloadable content.Guitar Hero III may have Slash, but Metallica is certainly a jagged metal feather in Rock Band's increasing ostentatious cap.
Joystiq hands-on: Assassin's Creed
Fueled solely by caffeine and pure grit, we managed to get some hands-on time with Ubisoft's much anticipated action game, Assassin's Creed at E3. Our session with Ubisoft began with a representative walking us through a sample mission (which, incidentally, is the same one Jade Raymond walked us through last night at the MS press conference) to show us the ropes. Of course, like any good company rep, he also made sure to lay down some readily quotable stats. First of all, the city featured in the demo, Jerusalem, is fifteen times larger than the city featured during last year's E3. Pulling the camera back, we could see that the city was indeed pretty damned big. What's more, our rep informs us that all of it is interactive. You can climb it, throw enemies into it, use it to hide, whatever. Every surface that extends more than 2" from a wall is scalable, and Altair -- AC's protagonist -- will make his hand-holds realistically. In other words, there is no canned climbing animation. Finally, the city is populated with lots of NPCs, some of which can be hostile (guards and mad vagrants), others can be helpful, and the rest are neutral. And of course, they all have dynamic AI and other quotable features. But how does it play?
Engadget & Joystiq live from Sony's E3 2007 keynote
We're running off from Nintendo's E3 2007 press conference to Sony's. Check back here shortly for our live coverage of the event. The conference is set to begin 11:30 PDT.11:30AM PDT - Ok, we're seated, and things are getting started. Swirling images on four massive displays, like the flowing background on the PS3.11:32AM PDT - Opening promo movie coming up, kaleidoscopes of PS3 and PSP, but no gameplay. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Jack Tretton."
WiiFit gonna make you sweat
Nintendo wrapped up their E3 press conference with WiiFit, a game that will not only give players activities to get fit, but also a way to monitor their improving health. The game will ship with with the cleverly named Wii Balance Board, which gives a new method of input that can measure both weight and balance.Seen in the video are activities like push ups, step aerobics, goalie defense and dance. Though the system had a couple of hiccups in the demo, Shigeru Miyamoto says he's more excited about this game than any other, and that should frankly be good enough for you. There are more pics after the break.
Engadget & Joystiq live from Nintendo's E3 2007 keynote
8:33AM PDT - It looks like we got here pretty early. After getting our tickets, grabbing some coffee, and mingling with industry buddies (like Joystiq columnist Dennis McCauley) we find ourselves waiting just outide the entrance to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium's main, uh ... auditorium feverishly checking the time. Thirty minutes to go. 8:42AM PDT - Entering the auditorium, we're greeted (assaulted?) by the family-friendly sounds of The Monkees' "I'm a Believer."8:49AM PDT - Giant screens flanking the main stage share a dozen plus shots of various demographics all enjoying the pick up and play experience offered by the Wii and DS ... or something. No one up there looks like us ... they're all well groomed and a significant percentage of them enjoy senior citizen mass transit discounts.
Nintendo reveals Wii Zapper
Described by Reggie as the "first offspring of the Wiimote and the Nunchuk", Nintendo took the wraps off of their Wii Blaster at today's E3 press conference. In addition to the controller hybrid, Reggie revealed some third-party titles in development for the Zapper like Ghost Squad, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and Medal of Honor. The Zapper will be packaged this year (along with the software they're eagerly pounding away at in a secret Nintendo HQ) for a price of $19.99.
Killzone 2 at E3, revisited
Clouds dash by as a flying vehicle zooms ahead. Armored soldiers are yelling frantically, as the chaotic sounds of a war zone fill the jam-packed auditorium. Sound familiar? It's meant to be. The opening seconds of the new Killzone presentation bring to life the infamous E3 trailer from 2005 -- only this time, it's in real-time.Certainly, the question on everyone's mind is: does it look as good as the notorious it's-not-CG-we-swear trailer from 2005? In many ways, the visual fidelity of the updated presentation matches the highly polished look of the debut trailer. Beautiful volumetric smoke filled the screen, and the characters were alive with animation. Motion blur was used to great effect, adding a subtle hint of realism (unlike the over-the-top blur of Crysis.) However, unlike the deceptive E3 presentation of yore, this one had an aura of believability. A critical eye could note a few rough jagged edges, and textures that are a far cry away from Hollywood renders. In particular, the floor textures were no short of terrible. The facial animation system could certainly use a bit more work as well. Were we a little disappointed to notice such identifiable indicators of visual flaws so quickly? Certainly. However, in spite of all the shortcomings within the game, there's no denying that Killzone 2 provides a visual feast that effectively demonstrates the technical prowess of the PlayStation 3.%Gallery-4719%
First gameplay footage of Halo Wars
Hot from the smoldering work stations at GameVideos, 30 seconds of gameplay from Ensemble Studio's highly anticipated RTS, Halo Wars. It's only a tiny morsel of what's in store for us down here in Santa Monica, but it sure is a tasty one. Halo's signature vehicle, the Warthog, flying majestically through the air as though it were a Pelican. Gorgeous, close-up shots of units that make us weep -- knowing that we'll be spending the game zoomed out for tactical reasons. All in all it looks to be very Halo, all the way down to the selection reticule. We'll be sure to hunt it down this week and let you know how it's shaping up. If you don't feel like squinting, visit GameVideos and download the high resolution version.
Blue Dragon demo out on Xbox Live
One secret that Microsoft left out of the press conference: a demo for Mistwalker's Blue Dragon is now available on Xbox Live. The enthusiastic description for the 1.1GB download reads as follows: "The Blue Dragon Demo is available! Play the grand adventure in two dungeons filled with Mecha Robos and Ancient Monsters!" Enjoy.
Engadget & Joystiq live from Microsoft's E3 2007 keynote
Ok, we're live from Microsoft's E3 2007 keynote! The event officially kicks off at 8:30PM PDT, but we'll be doing our usual pre-game coverage here. 8:06PM PDT - Ok, so the event is being held at -- get this -- a high school? It's a damned fancy one if you ask us, full coliseum style seating.
