E3 Latest: Super Mario Brothers Wii

Topic: E3 News Coverage

Old school and new school gamers rejoice, Mario has returned! Nintendo stepped back into their basics today by announcing Super Mario Brothers for the Wii. This new Mario game won't be a fancy 3D adventure, instead it returns to Mario's roots as a side-scroller. Super Mario Brothers Wii looks a lot like its predecessor, albeit with respectably updated graphics.

What's going to make the new Super Mario Bros special is the multiplayer feature. At any time during the single player game, you can switch over to multiplayer. Need help on a hard level? Call up to three of your buddies. You can switch right back to single-player on the next level too, if you get tired of playing with your friends.

Posted on Tue, 2 Jun 2009 11:45:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

EA Sports Announces EA Sports MMA Game

Topic: E3 News Coverage

EA Sports has announced a new fighting video game for the Xbox and PS3 set to debut in 2010 called EA Sports MMA. The game will follow on the heels of the popular game from THQ that launched recently called UFC 2009 Undisputed, which is fantastic.

EA Sports says that the MMA game will feature the most authentic and intense MMA experience to date and feature some of the best fighters in the world. With the UFC being the big leagues of MMA I wonder how well known the fighters in the game will be. Read more

Posted on Tue, 2 Jun 2009 11:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Project Natal: The Future of...Everything?

Topic: E3 News Coverage

If any company knows how to do spectacle, it's Microsoft. Their huge E3 extravaganza was a star-studded media event of epic proportions. And yet, all of the stars and video games were outshone by one revolutionary new product with a very peculiar name; Project Natal.

Natal is Microsoft's long-awaited motion sensor, their response to the Wii's long-held domination of this generation of consoles. After seeing the demo videos, I can guarantee you that Nintendo is feeling a little less secure in its flagship product. To say Microsoft's demonstration of the Natal's abilities was impressive doesn't come close to describing it. What they have is a product with the potential to revolutionize not only every aspect of gaming, but of your daily life as well.

Posted on Tue, 2 Jun 2009 11:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

EA and Crytek Announce Development of Crysis 2 at E3

Topic: E3 News Coverage

EA and Crytek announced yesterday that they were extending their partnership to allow the development of Crysis 2 for PC, Xbox, and the PS3. Crysis is one of the most popular FPS franchises ever offered on the PC.

The games will be built using the new Crytek CryENGINE 3. Crysis games are known for their lush and realistic graphics. There is no launch date noted for Crysis 2, but the game is sure to be fantastic when it does finally hit the market. Read more

Posted on Tue, 2 Jun 2009 09:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Project Natal unveiled as Microsoft Xbox Motion Controller

Topic: E3 News Coverage

Microsoft unveiled Project Natal at the E3 2009. Project Natal is the rumored Xbox fluid motion controller system. Microsoft Project Natal is actually much more than a Motion Controller, it is complete controller free gaming.
The Project Natal, pronounced 'nuh-tall' sensor is the world's first to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor running proprietary software all in one device.

Unlike 2-D cameras and controllers, Project Natal tracks your full body movement in 3D, while responding to commands, directions and even a shift of emotion in your voice. Read more

Posted on Tue, 2 Jun 2009 00:35:38 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Microsoft E3 Press Conference: Summary

Topic: E3 News Coverage

True to form, Microsoft opened E3 up today with a blockbuster press conference complete with celebrity appearances and lots of shiny new game trailers. Members of the Beatles were on hand to usher in the new Rock Band crafted in their image. Famed skateboarder Tony Hawk also showed up to announce his new game (and the awesome new skateboard peripheral designed for it). After a star-studded opening, the trailers began to roll.

We got a bunch of cool info about Final Fantasy XIII, and our first look of how the game runs on the 360. It looks like characters will have 4 “Time Gauges” that they will need the monitor. The higher each of the gauges is, the more damage you'll do. In the gameplay video we saw a Summoning, and now we know that summoned creatures stand beside their summoner and fight like extra characters.

Posted on Mon, 1 Jun 2009 14:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

THQ Unveils World of Zoo at E3

Topic: E3 News Coverage

THQ has unveiled a new video game called World of Zoo at E3 today. The game will be available on the Wii, DS and on Windows and allows players to create their own zoo and care for the animals who live there.

THQ says that the game is highly customizable and allows players to build relationships with zoo animals. The family friendly game allows players to roam their zoo and take care of over 90 different animals in 11 different families. Read more

Posted on Mon, 1 Jun 2009 13:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

LucasArts E3: New Monkey Island Game Coming

Topic: E3 News Coverage

The mystery of which classic adventure game LucasArts is going to resurrect has just come to an end. One of the first big reveals of E3 was Lucasarts' announcement that they were hard at work creating a brand new Monkey Island game.

This continuation of the classic adventure series will be called “Tales of Monkey Island”, and it will be a 5-part episodic game for both the PC and the Wii. All of your favorite characters are back, including the mysterious Voodoo lady, the evil LeChuck, the bumbling Guybrush Threepwood and his true love Elaine. A lot of the original designers and writers behind the first Monkey Island games are back for this new installment, which will hopefully ensure this is a worthy continuation of the series.

Posted on Mon, 1 Jun 2009 12:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Dead Space: Extraction E3 Trailer, Release Date Out

Topic: E3 News Coverage

We've been excited about the Wii's new horror title, Dead Space: Extraction, for a while. Now, thanks to E3, we've got a shiny new trailer and an official, confirmed release date. On Sept. 29, 2009 Dead Space: Extraction will hit retailers all across the country.

The trailer gives us a good idea of what we can expect. We'll have control of more characters than before (although only one at a time) and we'll get to see a wider range of environments than in the last game. This is the prequel, so a lot of questions about what went on before the Ishimura got infected will be answered. We'll get to play both on the overrun mining colony, and in space around the Ishimura.

Posted on Mon, 1 Jun 2009 10:50:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Jay-Z and Eminem Offer Music for DJ Hero Game

Topic: E3 News Coverage

Music games may be losing a bit of their luster of late, but the genre is still very popular with gamers. Activision is getting ready to launch its next music game on the market called DJ Hero. The game will allow DJ and hip-hop fans to use a turntable style controller to play a rhythm-based game along the lines of Guitar Hero.

Activision has announced that both Jay-Z and Eminem will be offering their music along with the DJ Hero game that brings DJ culture and music genres hip-hop, electronic and R&B to players and the Guitar Hero platform. Read more

Posted on Mon, 1 Jun 2009 11:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Supreme Commander Trailer hits E3.

Topic: E3 News Coverage

RTS fans, prepare to start drooling. Square Enix released an E3-exclusive trailer for the upcoming game Supreme Commander 2. Check the video out (we recommend sitting down first), wipe the drool from your chin, and come back to read the rest of this article.

Done? Okay, let's get some back story down first. The original Supreme Commander was a paradigm-shifting RTS that changed the way we think of 'scale' in strategy games. SC and its expansion pack were (and still are) huge system hogs, and even on high-end machines lag was an issue during larger battles. The most innovative feature of the Supreme Commander series so far has been their unmatched zoom function. Players can zoom out far enough to see the entire map and command massive, continent spanning battles. You can also zoom in close enough to see the individual cockpits of your giant robotic death-machines.

Posted on Mon, 1 Jun 2009 10:20:00 CDT | by Robert Evans