Chumps-E3 2009

Alienware M17x Exclusive Unboxing Pics - Courtesy of Bruce Pechman, a.k.a. Mr. Bicep!

Digital Chumps — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:05:00 +0000

How do you say no to a man who can straight one-arm lift your product over his head 26 times?

Bruce Pechman, The Muscleman of Technology, Scores First Alienware M17x All Powerful Notebook!
The Alienware M17x “All Powerful” Notebook Unboxing and First Impressions
By guest writer Bruce Pechman, a.k.a. Mr. Bicep - www.mrbicep.com!

For those of us fortunate enough to attend this year’s E3 and partake in the annual ritual of “The Mecca of Gaming” in Los Angeles, where the sights, sounds, and smells of games and related garnishments never cease, there always lies one segment of the show for me that never disappoints—the hardware. Well, maybe that and the Bayonetta chick—I still can’t believe she let me goose her! We’ll talk more about my security confrontation in another article.

There really was only one major computer builder at this year’s show, and I’m pleased to let you know it was Alienware. The main reason for their larger than life presence on the show floor was for the unveiling and debut of their new M17x laptop—not just any 17” gaming laptop, but “The Most Powerful Laptop in the Universe”…per the glossy brochure.

I got abducted into the Alienware booth complete with agents and a security detail, and promptly received my comprehensive briefing of the all new M17x, and folks it is pretty downright impressive…and pretty downright heavy at about 12 pounds (hey, it’s a desktop replacement you girly men). So after the briefing I said to the marketing guy for no apparent reason, “if I can straight one arm this bad boy over my head for 17x times do think you can find your way for a delivery for next weekend?” Next thing I know he unlocks and untethers the unit from the display and says I don’t think you can do it. So after the 26^th side straight-arm rep with the M17x firmly in my grip he says “ship to”…

On Friday, lo and behold the FedEx man drops of the M17x in a really, really big black box weighing in at 32 pounds.

Quite honestly my first impression after unboxing and picking up the M17x with both hands was this is way solid—as in kick-a$$—metal case (anodized aluminum) with an ultra-modern design. Not a single case screw anywhere in sight except for the Alienware Personalized Name Plate affixed to the bottom. I have never seen a laptop with this kind of ample and abundant air-flow. Absolute superb build quality throughout exterior, no creaks, no gaps, no imperfections at seams, just epic quality. Edge to edge glass on the the 1920 x 1200 display with super heavy duty hinges, and slot loading Blu-ray reader/burner. I know you are not going to believe this, but considering this particular configuration contains DUAL Nvidia 1GB GeForce 260M GTX cards in SLI along with an Intel Quad Core Extreme processor—after running multiple Far Cry 2 benchmarks for almost 25 minutes, the machine was still running cool! Anyway, this is all I had time for thus far so enjoy the pics!

Written by Bruce Pechman, a.k.a. Mr. Bicep

The E3 2009 Ultimate Video Montage in HD - Tons of games featured

Steve Schardein — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:22:00 +0000

If you watch just one video this E3, make it this one!

{seyret id="306"}

See how many games you can count. I did leave out a couple of big titles, too... but hey, nobody's perfect. :)

Reflection - Ten new EXCLUSIVE screenshots from the perplexing DSiWare platformer

Steve Schardein — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:14:00 +0000

Just in case you missed our glowing impressions and HD video footage of Konami's upcoming Reflection DSiWare title, the gist of it all is that it's a 3-hour mind-bending romp through some of the most innovating platforming gameplay we've seen on a handheld in some time. The game forces you to watch both the top and bottom DS screens, each of which features a slightly-different version of the same environment and the game's character reflected upon the X- (horizontal) axis between the screens.

The gist of this is that you've got to control both characters and guide them both to safety using mechanics from both screens at the same time: the top, "normal" screen and the bottom upside-down one. This means that often you'll need to infer missing elements from one screen using those shown on the other screen, which is more confusing than it sounds. In the later levels, your character even splits into a "shadow" copy version of herself, which then can be controlled entirely separately from its top-screen counterpart.

Really, it's just better off if you watch the video we linked to above, because it's pretty darn hard to describe in writing.

But for all of you who have been following our coverage of this unique sleeper hit, today, we are able to bring you ten exclusive new screenshots from the latest build of the game. These screens showcase our hero in all-new trippy environments we weren't able to witness in the E3 demo. To view them now, click the image to the right.

Check out the developer's official website here, where you'll find that the game originally began as a student project (don't the best games always?) at the University of Southern California. It was also the only non-iPhone game to win the IGF Mobile's Next Great Mobile Game Award, and is the first ever Nintendo DS game to ever win at IGF.

You can bet we'll have much more on Reflection very soon.

Splosion Man: Exclusive developer-guided single- and multi-player footage

Steve Schardein — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 04:56:00 +0000

CEO of Twisted Pixel Games Mike Wilford was nice enough to let us play the heck out of his E3 demo of their newest platformer, Splosion Man, while he narrated and guided us through the entire experience. And while our impressions speak for themselves, this video ought to be proof that we aren't kidding.

There are two separate videos here; one's the single-player stuff and the other is multiplayer co-op. Both are extremely interesting and should not be missed.

Oh, yes, and before you go off telling me I suck thanks to my repeated deaths during a certain sequence fairly early on in the multiplayer footage, let me redirect your attention to the end of that video, wherein I bested (with the help of Mike) a sequence not unlike the types of things we used to see in games like Battletoads within just a few tries. ;)

{seyret id="266"}

{seyret id="271"}

Watch for more on Splosion Man soon; odds are, we'll have our hands on an early copy before you can say "Sploda in my mouth."

Impressions: Splosion Man

Steve Schardein — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Seriously, downloadable games just plain rock. While they’re obviously still attractive and the production values are often quite high, they’re much more reliant by design on great gameplay and solid concepts. In other words, in order to succeed, they need to be fun.

Splosion Man is a perfect example of the reason I get so excited about new downloadable titles. It’s a game created by an indie developer—Twisted Pixel Games—who clearly knows their stuff. It’s also a very simple concept: you’re a strange being residing in a lab (escaping, really) where hordes of scientists seek to study you. Why, precisely, you might ask? Well, you see, because you’re made entirely of splosion, a volatile compound that results in your exploding and propelling yourself around the environments with associated debris in tow. And seeing as there are myriad scientists and sophisticated high-dollar equipment populating the labs (and Splosion Man is about as carefree and positively insane as volatile experimental living compounds come), that’s a recipe for disaster.

Pressing A makes Splosion Man ‘splode, sending him flying upward (think of it as a jump) and annihilating anything near him in the process. Scientists are instantaneously turned into fragments of T-bone steak and other pieces of cartoonish meat, and inanimate objects are blown to bits, all while the characters in the game spew referential morsels of modern pop culture—it’s hilarious. Meanwhile, the player is more concerned with getting Splosion to the end of each of the fifty single-player stages by propelling him around the levels, leaping off walls and using the mid-air triple-jump mechanics to navigate areas filled with spikes, moving platforms, and a variety of trials and puzzles. One area, for instance, required us to switch off a bunch of snow which prevented us from ‘sploding our way to a platform above.

But where things really get interesting is when you team up with a friend over local or Xbox Live. There’s fifty more levels specific to multiplayer (are you reading this, Nintendo?), and while at first they’re pretty tame, they quickly escalate into challenging teamwork sequences that require you to master the art of exploding off your partner to propel him higher or in opposite directions and all sorts of other evil mechanics. One part in particular (shown in our HD video footage of the E3 demo) takes a page from the Battletoads book, challenging you to fall down a shaft lined with electricity, hitting inconveniently-placed switches as you go to shut off deadly electric within your partner’s shaft, who just so happens to be doing precisely the same thing simultaneously to allow you to continue. So the net result is that if either one of you screws up and hits the electric or misses a switch, both of you fail.

In the demo, Mike and I completed this portion of the level (and thus the demo itself), prompting an animated yet vulgar exclamation of disbelief from both of us. Because at DigitalChumps, that’s how we roll.

Anyway, I hope you’ll roll with my review of the title in a matter of weeks prior to its release this summer sometime. It’s a truly creative gem of a cooperative platformer and it looks to be well worth any Xbox 360 owner’s time.

Stay tuned for more very soon.

Impressions: Trials HD

Steve Schardein — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:22:00 +0000

What would Excitebike be like if it featured explosive barrels and ragdoll physics? That’s the first thing that came to mind when I saw the indie Xbox Live Arcade title Trials HD on the show floor. Originally a downloadable PC title under a different name, Trials puts you in control of a positively bone-headed stunt devil in a variety of downright insane situations. Most of these comprise some combination of ramps, rails, and seemingly-impossible jumps—and your only goal is to try and make it to the goal as quickly as possible and in one piece. The controls are pretty much precisely the same as Excitebike, in fact—right down to the tilting of the bike in mid-air to try and matching your landing angle.

But that’s where the divergence begins. The tracks start off pretty simple, but quickly escalate into some purely wacky designs—loops, explosions, switches that activate preset events… it’s chaos, but in the sweetest sense of the word. Unlike Excitebike, at this point, the game adopts a selection of strategy and platforming elements which make “solving” the tracks as quickly as possible an infectious task. You’ve got to manage your speed to ensure you can make the jumps or branch to the higher, quicker path, but at the same time, you have to remain in control of your character and keep him on his bike until the finish.

Checkpoints are strewn generously throughout each track, so failure isn’t much of a hindrance at all. In fact, thanks to the aforementioned ragdoll physics, it’s actually quite fun to lose and watch your poor, hapless rider getting flung deservedly across the screen into a brick wall. And since the tracks are bite-sized, retrying a challenge is never too much of a bother, either. That’s a good thing, too, because Trials HD is remarkably addictive; before long, you won’t just be playing, but vying for a spot on the leaderboards. Fortunately, whether you’re winning or losing, the game manages to make it all fun.

There are additional modes as well, such as one featuring unique modifications to the formula. The developer showed us a race where he was towing a cart of missiles behind him; to succeed, you have to go quickly enough to secure a respectable time, but simultaneously you have to be certain you don’t jar the cart too much—else some rather unpleasant explosive circumstances may apply. Another one of these put the biker inside one of those giant steel circus balls. If you watch our HD video footage of the title (upcoming, very soon), you’ll notice that we were laughing our asses off the entire time this was going on. That’s because it looks ridiculous, but it’s a great idea and a worthwhile addition to the rest of the package.

Speaking of worthwhile additions, there’s even a track editor. The developer on hand explained to us that this was the same editor the company uses to make the stock tracks. Awesome! We witnessed the quick construction of a simple track with triggered events (you cross a certain spot and something explodes, the track changes, etc.)… it was fast and easy.

Let me say with confidence that, after having laid hands on the game at E3 for around a half and hour, I can’t wait to review this one. It’s easily one of the best downloadable games I saw at the show and it looks to bear the properties of digital crack. Stay tuned to DigitalChumps for more on this unique title, plus tons of HD video coming very soon.

The Beatles: Rock Band Edition

Paul Ross — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:25:00 +0000

Rock band fans, rejoice! Apple Corps, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Harmonix and MTV Games have all worked together to make one of the most exciting releases for Rock Band since Rock Band 2! The Beatles: Rock Band has been announced for multiple platforms, to be released 09/09/09!

If you've ever played a Rock Band title before, you already know what to expect. With it's DDR style interface, and mock instruments, Rock Band gives you the chance to feel like a rock star in your own living room (or garage if you prefer a more realistic experience!). The Beatles: Rock Band steps things up this go around with a few cool additions for this new pack.

New to this version, you now have three part harmonies which the Fab-Four made famous in many of their fantastic hits! What this means is that you can now play with 2 additional players, or try your hand at singing and playing at the same time! When I got to try this game out, I decided not to embarrass myself too thoroughly... so I opted to only do one at a time. However, with the cooperation of many other excited Beatles fans at E3, I was able to get a feel for the new Harmony system. I have to say, it definitely did spice up the Rock Band experience! What was one of the more vanilla feeling elements of the game has now become something requiring a bit more team work, and a bit more exciting. Since there are both melody and harmony parts, the person singing now has the opportunity to spruce up songs that they very well may have been singing for over 40 years!

Another tweak of this game is how you play though. In previous Rock Band titles you had to unlock songs as you progressed through the game. This is great for avid gamers, but this title will appeal to a slightly different audience. Many of the Beatles fans aren't necessarily gamers. Many gamers may be Beatles fans, but might prefer to play songs that are later in the Beatles career. Either way, some gamers might be disappointed that they have to play though the earlier works to get to some of the later songs, especially for casual gamers who might only play this game socially. To counteract this, developers made the whole song list available for play right out of the box. I think this is incredibly smart (read: "Consumer Friendly") move. I am a huge fan of unlockable content, but not in a casual game such as Rock Band. Since you have console achievements and trophies to win through gameplay to reward accomplishments, I think that unlocking all the songs up front doesn't take away from the career mode at all.

There will be a total of 45 songs. Announced with the release we'll see:

I Saw Her Standing There
I Want to Hold Your Hand
I Feel Fine
Taxman
Day Tripper
Back in the USSR
I Am The Walrus
Octopus's Garden
Here Comes the Sun
Get Back

Additional songs will be announced later on, because apparently Beatles fans haven't already suffered enough anticipation anxiety waiting for their favorite songs to be available via DLC online!

It was also announced that "All You Need is Love" will initially be released exclusively for the Xbox 360 as a downloadable song. All, and I mean ALL the proceeds from MTV Games, Microsoft, Apple Corps,

I asked some of the developers about the possibility of more songs being available online, and I got no solid reply. I asked what the possibility was of the entire catalogue eventually being opened up... and the reply I received neither confirmed nor denied the possibility. The feel I got was that there is always a possibility, as long as it is well received and profitable to do so. This being said, if you're a Beatles or a Rock Band fan, I can't encourage you enough to pre-order or buy this title when it comes out!

Another fantastic addition was a set of new instruments that will sell with The Beatles: Rock Band. You'll get a replica Rickenbacker 325 and a Gretsch Duo Jet set of guitars (as played by John Lennon and George Harrison), a Hofner bass (as played by Sir Paul McCartney) and a Ludwig branded, Ringo Starr inspired drum set with a pearl finish and a replica kick drum head featuring the Beatles band logo.

Should you choose to get the game disc without the fancy extras, this title will still be backwards compatible with your old Rock Band hardware... so wipe the sweat from your forehead all you budget conscious gamers! However... when you see how cool these new toys are, you might be tempted to sell your old instruments for an upgrade... they were very cool looking!

My final impression of this game? I loved it! Not just because I am a Beatles fan, nor because I am a Rock Band-a-holic (I think there is a 12-Step Program in the works for us). I loved this game because it is such a high quality release. Blending just the right amount of innovation with a formula that has already been wildly successful, everyone involved has worked hard to make a product that will satisfy the fans. From what I have seen, and what I eagerly await to see, this title satisfies. I can't wait until September!

Impressions: Persona

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:40:00 +0000

I was kind of late to the party with Atlus’ MegaTen games. I read a few reviews for Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, decided to pick it up, and was instantly hooked by the quirky RPG. My addiction continued with both Digital Devil Sagas, as well as Persona 3 and Persona 4. I threw over a hundred hours in both of the Persona games, and, unlike most other JRPG’s, absolutely indulged in every minute of it. Still, I never planned on going back home and playing the first two entries on the original Playstation. But hey, that’s what remakes are for, and that’s exactly what Atlus is doing with the original Persona.

Right off the bat, the first thing I noticed was that the dungeons are in a first person point of view. Movement was a bit twitchy, and more akin to a corridor shooter (minus the shooting) than a plodding RPGs. Entering rooms brought me back out to a stationary, isometric point of view, which was also consistent with the original Persona. Battles reminded me more of those in Nocturne, with negotiation being a large part of the turn based battle system. Physical attacks and magic were still available options, but the added negotiation, which could yield (or take away) items and money, among other things.

By far the most celebratory aspect of the remake is a brand new localization. Far from the convoluted, slightly racist translation of the original, the new remake offers both humor and competent nuance. Joining it was a brand new intro movie, true widescreen presentation, the restoration of the Snow Queen sidequest, an easier difficulty, and new save points. 2009 is once again the year of Persona, as the PSP remake is slated to drop sometime this fall.

Impressions: Wipeout HD Fury

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Wipeout HD Fury was quite the unexpected find. Word of mouth was nonexistent, it didn’t show at Sony’s press conference, and it could only be found at one lonely kiosk on the show floor. Furthermore, I had to go through four Sony reps before I could locate someone who could tell me anything about the game. But I got some details, eventually.

Of particular interest are a couple new modes. The first was Detonator, which functioned, essentially, as Zone mode with a few minor changes. Bombs were placed all over the track, and your ship was granted machine guns to deal with the newly placed hazards. I also found a few other pickups, which seemed to boost my score and project me through a zone level faster than usual.

The other new mode, pulled from Pulse (I was told), was Eliminator. More of a battle mode than a race mode, I spent most of my time doing 180’s and firing an arsenal of weapons at my opponents. Zone Battle, where you can sacrifice your zone score/advancement to restore energy to your ship.

I got all the way to the last campaign block before I gave up in Wipeout HD, and the portions of fury I got to sample Fury definitely matched the original HD in intensity. I’m still not entirely sure that it’s possible for normal, non-cyborg humans to win at the highest speed class in that game, but it’s still fun trying anyway.

On the fact sheet side of things, Fury, rather than a standalone game, is a mission pack for Wipeout HD. When downloaded, the initial title screen splits into two, and you’re free to select Fury as an almost entirely separate game. Aside from the previously mentioned game modes, other new features include a new set of campaigns, eight new tracks, and thirteen new teams (including multiple variants of each ship). And it probably goes without saying, but the game is still one of the most beautiful games to grace the PS3. Sony wasn’t talking pricing, but I’d be shocked if Fury was more than $10.

Impressions: Trine

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:31:00 +0000

Typically, before E3, I’ll watch a trailer and read some impressions of a game and, as a result always overhype my expectations so that I’m either (a) unsatisfied with what I’ve seen or, (b)puzzled that it didn’t blow me away. Trine, a game for which I hadn’t seen a trailer since early winter, managed to defy my expectations by default; I had no idea it was even going to be there. As it turns out, Atlus picked up the publishing rights (for 360 only) and plans on distributing the game over Live Arcade in the fall.

And it’s unfortunate that we’re going to have to wait that long, because Trine was one of the best games I played at the show. A 2.5D aesthetic border s an action/platformer hybrid with a distinct twist; three classes are at your disposal, and you’re free to switch between them anytime. The Wizard has no direct attack, but can “draw” cube with his cursor, which can be dropped on enemies or use for additional platformers. Additionally, he can also interact with his environment, which typically meant holding platformers in place, or pulling things out of the way. The thief had a grappling hook that made for easy platforming swinging, as well as arrows for distance attacks. The knight was the combat focused character, with a sword for offense and a shield for defense (for the demo the classes only had a few basic powers, but we were assured more would be on the way as you gained experience and leveled up).

The tools out characters were given were relatively simple, but the tasks we were given required full use of our powers (and brains). As a wizard, I had to hold a windmill in place so the thief could climb up, and then she would balance the see-saw plank out until I made my way up. Or there would be fireballs coming out of both sides of the screen, and the knight would have the use the shield while the wizard made a box to block off the other fireball. Enemies spawned on occasion, but combat wasn’t the focus of our level. Finding ways to get from point A to point B, and the ridiculous lengths that we had to go through in between, was Trine’s draw.

You could play Trine alone and switch between classes yourself, or you could play with two friends and stick to a specific class. The later is actually the hardest mode to play, since you can’t do minor-cheats (such as switch between classes at convenient moments), but it has the added benefit of humanity and, yeah, the whole other brain to help solving problems advantage. Regardless, we were assured that, even if you were playing by yourself, every puzzle would be passable with any arrangement of characters. Given that we often spent a copious amount of time trying to figure out one puzzle with three characters that should be quite an achievement. The Lost Viking’s comparisons were accurate; Trine is definitely one to watch out for this fall.

Impressions: TMNT: Smash Up

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:29:00 +0000

I’m not entirely sure what expected from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up. It certainly seemed promising at Ubisoft’s press conference. I’ve always been a sucker for Ninja Turtle games (The TMNT cartoon and videogames were large parts of my childhood), and the 2.5D, four player, party styled fighting seemed highly reminiscent of another obvious influence, the Smash Brothers series. I got even more excited when the development team was announced, Game Arts, the guys behind Smash Bros Brawl, along with members of the recently restructured Team Ninja. I figured Nintendo probably didn’t want a Smash sequel quite so soon, but Game Arts had a few worthwhile ideas for a potential sequel. The TMNT license seemed like a perfect fit, so I couldn’t wait to get a hold of it and see how Smash-like it was – or wasn’t.

After about fifteen minutes with the game, it was clear that it wasn’t going to be the former; TMNT: Smash Up isn’t Brawl 2, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Two face buttons exist for basic attacks, one for guard, and another Ninja Magic rounded out the control scheme. I couldn’t tell if pressing the buttons in sequence (smash attacks, if you will) caused any variation in the move set, but the lack of precision seemed to almost be intentional. Despite the rampant fan base, Brawl wasn’t meant to be a serious fighter. Smash Up seems to function along the same fun over function lines.

Selectable characters included all four turtles, as well as Splinter, April O’Neil, and the Shredder. The levels didn’t appear to take inspiration from anything familiar, but they did feature considerable amount of interactivity (including a huge alligator that came out of nowhere and ate me. Twice.). Pickups were abound, including health and ninja magic. Game format was timed with a set number of lives, but, rather than an increasing percentage like Brawl, energy was tied to a decreasing bar. Look for TMNT: Smash Up to drop before the end of the year.

Impressions: Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:27:00 +0000

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time had quite a lengthy offering for E3 this year. Three distinctly separate missions were available and, because I have a particular affinity for the Insomniac’s beloved Lombax, I made sure to play through each one.

Reacquainting myself with Ratchet’s world, I noticed a few changes from Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty. The new guns were an obvious difference; the Sonic Erupter was a living, breathing pig thing which, if you were patient enough to let the reticule sync, distributed a robust sonic blast at an enemy. Another was the Cryo Glove, which threw a bomb that froze an enemy not unlike the T-1000 and liquid nitrogen. Once frozen, the enemy could be further annihilated by shattering it with a rifle. As always, the weapons took style and finesse over absolute function.

Of particular interest were Ratchet’s new hover boots. Not unlike Jak’s wakeboard, the hover boots could be activated at any time, and, with the assistance of a boost, used to increase Ratchet’s land speed. Ramps, eager to fling Ratchet through the air, were also in place for both fun and function. One would have to conclude that, with Clank’s absence for a majority if the game, Ratchet is going to be receiving a couple new Gadgetron items to help him on his way.

The level structure was also a bit different. Having always offered multiple, often intersecting paths to reach your goals, Ratchet was never as closed off as something like Crash Bandicoot or the original Sly Cooper. Still, the way to achieve a goal was typically a linear path from which deviation was not recommended. It’s not clear on whether or not the full game will mirror the levels from the demo, but two of the three missions featured sprawling, more open landscapes. There was still a significant amount of direction and your goals were always clear, but the order in which you chose to complete them was up to you. For example, in one mission I had to take down four considerably large creatures that were spread throughout the map and it in another I had to follow track boss enemy around the same map. It wasn’t the pinnacle of nonlinearity, but the horizontal space in which I had to operate seemed larger than ever before.

Another level featured more traditional Ratchet gameplay. Ratchet had to get through a series of caves, but was often impeded by flesh eating mites. The mites also happened to be afraid of water, so I had to use suction to device to suck up some water, and then eject it away from my path to distract the mites. Basic stuff, but a welcomed change of paced from the increasingly combat heavy series.

It should probably be understood at this point, but Ratchet is still sporting some of best looking visuals on PS3. The Insomniac rep taking us through the demo was quick to point out the revisions to Ratchet’s fur, but I always noticed increased attention to shadows and (subjectively) better looking textures than in Tools of Destruction. In either case, the visuals are still quite a spectacle.

A Crack in Time will presumably obey it’s title and feature some sort of time travel mechanics, but nothing was clear in that area from our demo. Insomniac was also being tight lipped about the inclusion of multiplayer this time around but, given how awesome it was in Up Your Arsenal and how unfortunate it’s absence was in Tools of Destruction, I’d be shocked to see it missing again.

Impressions: Motorstorm: Arctic Edge

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:23:00 +0000

Motorstorm has always been a criminally underrated series on PS3. Most of my friends picked up the console when Motorstorm was a pack-in, and none of them played it for more than ten minutes. They passed it off as a generic arcade racer, never giving it a second thought. It’s quite a shame; the first game was admittedly rushed to market (look at all of the DLC), but the second game, Pacific Rift, was a genuinely competent racing game. The chaos of so many divergent paths, hazards, and vehicles created a rush unlike any other, and the variety of it all gave the entire package of momentous legs. Motorstorm was become synonymous with quality, and I could only hope the recently announced PSP version, Arctic Edge, stayed consistent with the series’ value.

And, despite the visual downgrade, Motorstorm was still Motorstorm. All three courses in the E3 build, including Chasm, Mad Bowl, and Eagle Falls, all featured either a plethora of snow blanketing the ground, or ice mounds across a dirt ridges. The racing was fast and fun with the stock dune buggy, but I noticed the frenzied crashes were drastically reduced on the small screen (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). Boost seemed to result in a greater lack of control than usual, but it was still highly a highly effective at creating a risk/reward balance. Cooling down your boost is now down by driving through snow, which, in my experience, usually resulted in moderately reduced speed.

The vehicles were a mix of old and new. The aforementioned dune buggy was joined by the familiar “tank thing,” but new crafts, such as Jet Ski (like a personal watercraft with skis on the front), also made an appearance. The Jet Ski, in particular, summoned memories of Jet Moto, and the floaty controls did little to distance their feel from Singletrac’s late PS1 classic. Arctic Edge still has a long way to go; it’s penciled in for a release later this year,

Impressions: Mass Effect 2

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:22:00 +0000

Man did I ever love Mass Effect. My first foray into Western RPGs, I played through it twice, once as a firm, well to do Shepard, and the other as a tepid, slightly perverse asshole. I dumped over a hundred hours in the game, and was fascinated by nearly every aspect. Long elevator rides and a lack of side mission’s diversity notwithstanding, Mass Effect was probably my game of the year in 2007.

Which is why it was imperative for me to see Mass Effect 2 before I left the E3 show floor. While the closed door demo was entirely hands off, it was still quite exciting. The whole “Shepherd is dead” rumor purported by the first trailer is, predictably, false – but Shepherd’s alleged death does play a role in the narrative; at one point an Asari said to Shepherd, “I thought you were dead,” and Shepherd replied, “Yeah, I got better.” That was the tag-line from Crank: High Voltage, sure, but also represented a slightly wittier Shepherd this time around; he was spouting several cheeky, action hero one liners (that all drew laughter) throughout the entire demo.

Anyway, Shepard’s motivations were closely guarded by Bioware, but we were given a general outline of the narrative. Humans are disappearing throughout the galaxy, and Shepherd, in an effort to figure out why, needs to shuffle around the galaxy and assemble a collection of badasses for his new squad. This mission we saw involved Shepherd trying to track and recruit an Assassin named Bane. Shepherd had to track him to the office of an Asari, and Bane dropped in an assassinated everyone in the room, sans Shepherd. A brief bit of dialogue was exchanged using the now-classic dialogue wheel from the original Mass Effect, and that portion of the demo closed with Bane joining Shepard.

Combat looked similar to the first game, albeit with a few new perks. Five new weapon classes have been added on the solider side of things, and they’re joined by the occasional heavy (pickup) weapon, which, in the demo, was a rocket launcher.

The dialogue scenes also appeared to be significantly reworked. In the first Mass Effect, I remembered static dialogue scenes featuring nothing but Shepard and whoever else simply looking at each other in a slightly uncomfortable and paused manner. The conversations I saw in Mass Effect 2, rather, presented multiple camera angles that changed with each line of dialogue, easily adding some much needed diversity to the somewhat inactive conversations.

We were also shown two other areas of the game. The first was a nameless planet in the galaxy, a beautiful, sweeping savannah/jungle that looked far better than the pallet swapped textures of the side quest planets of the original Mass Effect. We were told this was to demonstrate that every planet in Mass Effect 2, be it plot related or otherwise, would feature a widely distinctive aesthetic. Bioware heard the cries of sameness loud and clear, and they look to not repeat the monotony of their first effort.

Another sequence was laced with spoilers, so I won’t go into details, but it was shown to demonstrate the sheer brutality of Mass Effect 2; Shepard can die this time around. They were also quick to point out that if Shepard doesn’t meet his unfortunate doom, Mass Effect 2 will be fully playable after the completion of the narrative. Without a doubt, Mass Effect 2 is going to be a game of consequence. Let’s just hope the incredible quality of the demo stays consistent throughout the narrative.

Impressions: LittleBigPlanet PSP and PSP Go!

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:20:00 +0000

It wasn’t until that last hour of the show that I figured out there was PSP Go on the floor. I burned all my time on PS3 games during my Sony appointment, and I totally overlooked the handheld lounge beneath Sony’s balcony showing. Inside I located a handful of PSP Go's, and one running the E3 build of the recently announced LittleBigPlanet PSP installment.

The PSP Go, if nothing else, felt remarkably lighter than any of its predecessors. Much to my surprise, the reduced statute didn’t make it hard to grip (I have considerably large hands), but I would imagine that, if you’re Shaq, it might be a problem. The smaller size also affected the view, with a screen that (I would guess), is at least 15% smaller and, by default, a little more crisp with the output. By far the biggest difference, however, was in the size of the analog nub. Though reduced to a mere pin alongside the original, I failed to detect any difference in functionality or ease of use. If anything, the smaller surface on top of a larger “area” provided more freedom.

LittleBigPlanet also appeared to fit quite comfortably on a PSP. The demo contained just one fully developed level, an Australian themed escapade, called Gift of the Grab, which was more basic and demonstrative than adventurous. It reminded me of one of the earlier levels in the retail PS3 game, with not much challenge (for veterans) outside of a tricky windmill sequence at the end.

If nothing else, it was a fine proof of concept. Though absent of the high res gloss, the game still looked aesthetically please and as charming as ever. The geometry was a little simpler and I’m not sure what they’re going to do about Sackboy’s emotive hand gestures, but the endearing and inviting qualities of LBP remained wonderfully intact.

Impressions: Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:17:00 +0000

While I played through each entry in the holy trinity of Playstation 2 platformers, the Jak series was the one I started with. All three entries were explored to completion before I ever laid a finger on Ratchet or Sly, and I thought the Jak games were among the finest titles available in the early 00’s (yes, even II). Still, the last proper Jak game was nearly five years ago. Sly’s resurrection is penciled in for Sucker Punch, Ratchet is to his third next gen entry, and Naughty Dog is busy with Uncharted, which begs the question, whatever happened to Jak?

Nothing, actually. Rather than make the trip to the current generation, Jak is taking one last (?) tour on the considerable ancient PS2 (and PSP) hardware this fall. How’s he doing? Well…

The demo consisted of two separate levels. One was dogfight that involves a fairly cool looking plane, piloted by Jak, trying to take down a flying fortress (of sorts). Standard guns and lock on missiles were complimented by a turbo boost and other standard mechanics of air combat. The draw distance was superb and the world was technically impressive, but the entirety of the experience reeked of been there, done that material.

The standard level faired a bit better. On the combat side, Jak retained his shotgun, but was granted a new weapon, the gun staff. which, honestly wasn’t too different from the standard rifle in Jak’s past. A few new eco powers were present, one that allowed Jak to jump really high and glide/hover down, and another, “eco construct” that allowed him to raise eco out of the ether and, essentially, construct platformers to cross previously uncrossable paths.

From the menu I learned that there are quite a bit of secrets and unlocks in the game, and the PR rep floating around told me that, narrative-wise, Kira was on an eco quest, and the different color eco she found would be given to Jak in order to grant him new powers. High Impact, as their previous work with PSP Ratchet’s have proven, knows what they’re doing with the PSP hardware. I had little doubt they will make something special of Jak and, hopefully, live up to his lineage, but the demo has me a bit worried; derivative isn’t bad and the game was never incompetent, but Lost Frontier wasn’t the Jak I expected.

Impressions: Brutal Legend

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:14:00 +0000

If nothing else, Brutal Legend proves that celebrity voice talent is absolutely rubbish without inspired writing. As of late, Marquee names have been headlines mainstream games – often to fruitless results. The name sells, sure, but if you’re going to feed the voice hackneyed lines between ho-hum bits of bland dialogue, then you might as well get random voice actor, not a big name.

Fortunately, Brutal Legend is overflowing with a wealth of exceptional writing. It’s one thing to be gross or to reference pop culture, but to pay homage to material as niche as death metal and filter it through the lens of humor is a wildly imaginative concept. Tim Schafer, the man behind such classics as Grim Fandango and Psychonauts, has risen to the challenge and cultivated wonderfully fresh material from an abundantly ridiculous concept; metal, hell, demons, and everything in between.

Anyway, my demo started off by pulling two guitars out of the ground. One axe was used to for melee combat, a basic combo and a charge movie uppercut, while the other was used for range (magic, basically) attacks, including lightning strikes and fireballs. Combining the two buttons was a basic ground pound, which, as always, was good for clearing a room.

Combat was competent, but enemies didn’t arrive in seemingly endless waves, rather, there were only occasional pockets. At first look I thought Brutal Legend was going to be a God of War type game, but soon I learned that Brutal Legend’s backbone wasn’t its combat engine, but its focus on keeping the gameplay fresh through a variety of play styles.

I then met another character (her name escapes me, an obvious babe archetype), whom I could use as a combo attack (basically, I picked her up and threw her at people). From there I assembled a car by playing a brief note matching minigame, and then drove the car through a canyon and, in the process, mowed down hoards of bad guys. After that was a boss, which I had to fight with a car (which worked quite well), and, soon after, escape through another canyon with my car.

Again, the game was hilarious. From Jack Black screaming to hold your hands up when the car hit a death defying ramp, to commenting on how stupid the boss was for falling for the same trick twice, or his deliberate knee slide power chord in front of a dying enemy – Brutal Legend has it’s finger on the pulse of humor, which should really come as no surprise to anyone who played any of Schafer’s work in the past.

Impressions: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Eric Layman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:12:00 +0000

There have been 21 Batman videogames! 21! Can you remember playing any of them? I spent a considerable amount of time with Batman: The Movie on NES, but, with the exception of last year’s Lego entry, most have been mildly inspired and entirely forgettable. And it’s quite a shame, because Batman isn’t one of those superheroes with gimmicky weaknesses. Hell, he doesn’t even have any actual powers; he’s just really pissed off all the time. Similarly, his mortality lends itself to a variety of challenges, and it’s a shame that his potential has yet to be realized as a videogame.

Anyway, Arkham Asylum opts out of a movie license and has taken the path of an original, but highly informed, tale. Batman has captured the Joker, almost too easily, and the two are in route to Arkham. The Joker allows himself to become incarcerated then predictably (come on, satisfyingly!) breaks out and frees all the residents of Arkham. Chaos ensues, and Joker and Harley Quinn create a serious of ridiculous circumstances en route to taking the place over.

A loony bin full of insane convicts is fantastic framework for a Batman game. If nothing else, it gives the dark knight an overabundance of ass to beat. Standard issue henchmen were the regular fodder to demo the combat. The combat in the demo was restricted to a brutal series of punches that, on occasion, ended with a slow motion, stylized finishing move. Stealth takedowns, only available when you are behind an enemy, where an option, as were ground based, polishing-off moves. Batterangs were also available as a distance attack.

Anyway eventually I reached a room where a madman (excuse my generic villain term, I cannot remember his name) had taken someone hostage. I had to click L2 and go into detective mode, which put a blue filter on the screen allowed Batman to see and notice clues with an orange filter. From there I was able to grappling hook to some set points around the top perimeter of the room, then, when prompted, do a bat-glide down to take out the opposition.

Arkham Asylum has all the makings for a good Batman game. It looks fantastic, the atmosphere of the comic book is widely apparent, and the CSI-like detective mode serves as a wonderful excuse to stop the combat and take some time to explore. Variation in gameplay is an appreciated facet of pacing that few developers take time to consider, and I was please that Rocksteady Studios has such a careful attention to detail. Originally scheduled to ship in June, Arkham Asylum should hopefully be coming out in late August.

Impressions: Logitech Flight System G940

Patrick Calkins — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:03:00 +0000

Logitech Flight System G940

I had the honor of checking out Logitech’s G940 this year. Logitech has went out of their way to check out actual cockpits of a wide variety of air planes and helicopters to help give gamers the best available experience. The first thing you’ll notice about the G940 is the sturdy design. Steel encasing for the joystick, throttle control and steel rudder pedals. The bottom of the rudder pedals includes a Velcro like pads to prevent the rudders from sliding around on a carpeted floor when you’re performing those all to important defensive maneuvers. They bottom of the pedals even include rubber feet if the flooring is wood or concrete to prevent the aforementioned sliding. The rudders, joystick and throttle can also be secured with screws to a desk. Gamers who have logged tons of hours in Warbirds, Flight Simulator X and quite possibly the Battlefield gamers will find this excellent for dog fights.

Impressions

To be quite honest, I’ve been out of the flight/combat sim scene for quite some time. I was surprised I was able to get the plane up in the air without too much trouble. I’m not used to actual rudders, so I was steering that thing left and right across the tarmac like I was some kind of drunken fool. But when I was up in the air, I started performing some daring maneuvers to test the force feedback which was more than just a “shake” like on most joy sticks, but provides resistance when you hit turbulence or when you tried to pull a daring move. The joystick has two dials to allow for sensitivity adjustment on the fly. It was interesting to watch Nathan attempt to fly a MIG. A man who’s only experience with air craft is sleeping in coach. Nathan managed to get the jet up in the air on his fourth attempt and shot down one bogie before mans greatest enemy – the ocean got the best of him.

Features

The major features include force feed back so it feels like you’re piloting the actual thing. You will even feel resistance if you’re turning to hard to right or left, or feel the joy stick vibrate if you’re engines are starting to stall out.

The dual throttle control allows for controlling left and right engines on the fly. If the aircraft only has one engine, simply just flip a switch on the throttle and the dual throttles become one. The throttle control even has a slight “stick” before you throw your jet into overdrive – just like the real thing.

The G940 kit comes with a wide variety of programmable buttons via the software. The software also has profiles and will auto-detect most games and will allow you customize each game on an individual level. There are eight buttons on the throttle that illuminate red, green, amber and off to indicate if you are having problems with your aircraft or if everything is… in the green.

The G940 is slated for release this September and will retail for about $299.99

Interview with Capcom's Seth Killian (HD)

Steve Schardein — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:30:00 +0000

We had a chance to catch up with everyone's favorite Capcom employee. Check out our full HD interview below!

{seyret id="247"}