Thinking With... What Is THAT?

If the thought of flying through the air and carefully aiming portals mid flight reminds you why you had to ragequit Portal, then you should probably stay well away from Portal 2. A series of gameplay videos released from E3 reveal some new elements and one thing is for sure, you will be spending much less time on solid ground. Excursion Funnels and Faith Plates will have you thinking on the move and will likely send you plummeting to your death on more than one occasion.

Scoot Gets Naughty

My review of Naughty Bear.

Foresight: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Link is back to remind people why the Wii is for more than just party games.

Rising From Your Grave A Little Later Then Planned

Dead Rising 2 was aiming for a release around the start of September but unfortunately has been pushed back... by exactly 28 days. Apart from being the most ridiculous joke (and tempting set-up for an overly cheesy headline) it means that the game will now hit shelves in North America on September 28th and Europe on October 1st. No definite date for Aussies, but you can expect it to be closer to the October 1st date.

Foresight: X-Com

X-com was a series of PC games released throughout the nineties... Now it's coming back for a FPS reboot.

Foresight: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

I've already made quite a few posts about Brotherhood, but there is quite a lot of new info since E3, including details on the whole assassin clan deal, how you'll be able to use it to your advantage and how multiplayer will work.

Foresight

E3 has well and truly passed and there are now an immense number of new games coming our way, so i'm going to start writing some posts highlighting upcoming games that look to be amazing to give everyone the lowdown on what's coming and why it looks awesome.

/Rant - Preorders

These days every shop that sells games will have displays and advertisements up telling you to 'PREORDER NOW!'. So, why are we encouraged to pre-order, what's in it for us and what problems does the process create?

Beta or Worse?

There is a new MSN Windows Live Messenger beta and i decided to give it a shot. I'll include some screenshots below but the long story short, compact view is a slightly flashier looking version of what you already have and full view more than doubles the window size to allow full sized news stories to be displayed. One new thing however is the ability to connect to Facebook and Myspace right from messenger. Compact view allows you to see Facebook Friends and quickly jump to their photo's, profile and a list of their status updates, while full view can show a full stylised view of your Facebook/Myspace home page. You can also now post updates to Facebook/Myspace directly from the messenger window and have it set so any update made on Facebook/Myspace automatically becomes your personal message on Messenger. My impressions... Some Facebook and Myspace regulars will love it, but for everyone else, it's just more crap and polish you didn't need. Anyone wanting to download the beta (designed for Windows Vista and Windows 7) can download it here.

Random Question: Old vs. New

So i spent the night gaming with a couple of friends. We played a few matches on Halo 3, then switched over to Perfect Dark (the Arcade remake of the original). Something i noticed with the switch was that two things increased with the switch to Perfect Dark... Team Kills and Enjoyment. While i'm going to attribute the increase in team kills to my decision to include the Farsight in the custom weapons list, i did start wondering. Why is it that a game originally made for the Nintendo 64 can be as enjoyable, if not MORE enjoyable, than one of todays top multiplayer games. I've got a few theories, but i'd like to hear what other people have to say, so leave a comment on this post. Do you prefer old or new? Any reasons why? and most importantly, Why doesn't the Farsight identify friend or foe?

Final Fantasy XIV Not Coming To An Xbox Near You

After much discussion it seems Square Enix and Microsoft have been able to come to terms over Final Fantasy XIV because the game will NOT be released on 360. Final Fantasy XIV will be an MMO and be looking at a 2011 release on PC and PS3. Square Enix states that the reason for not making an Xbox version is that Xbox LIVE is too much of a closed environment for what they want. My only question is how is Xbox LIVE different today than when Final Fantasy XI was released?

Marvel's Fall Of Reach

This September while we all take to the surface of Reach to fight a losing battle in Halo: Reach, we will also be able to learn about the origin of Master Chief and the importance of Reach thanks to Marvel Comics. Marvel will be undertaking the massive task of adapting Eric Nylund's novel Halo: The Fall of Reach into a comic series, to be written by Brian Reed and illustrated by Felix Ruiz. Research tells me Reed was developer and co-writer on the Ultimate Spider-Man game (which i loved) and cinematic director on Mercenaries 2 (lets not go there). Reed is also an accomplished comic book writer and i'm hoping he manages to create something special with this because i know me and many others really enjoyed the Fall of Reach novel.

Prepare For Kombat

A leaked picture showing the character select screen for the new Mortal Kombat reboot reveals we'll have a choice of 26 fighters to keep us busy, plus more to be added in DLC. From the looks of things, 8 characters will be available to start with, while 18 more need to be unlocked. Available right off the bat are MK's iconic ninjas - Scorpion and Sub-Zero, the man with more lives than a cat - Johnny Cage, the original shaolin monk - Kung Lao, mini godzilla - Reptile, the princess clone - Mileena, the native American nightmare - Nightwolf and finally the Lin Kuei cyborg - Sektor. I suspect MK mainstays Raiden, Sonya, Jax, Kano and possibly Lui Kang to help fill out the roster. Mortal Kombat will be out in 2011.

Time Flies

Celebrations are in order, for today Sonic the Hedgehog turns 19. Naturally i'm too cheap to actually throw a party, but Microsoft has decided to help everyone celebrate. From tomorrow  you can pick up the original Sonic games (Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, 3 and Sonic & Knuckles) for 240 points each off the marketplace. Down from the usual 400. So strap on your sneakers and get back into the originals before Sonic 4 hits the arcade.

[EDIT] originally thought this was week long, but it turns out it's for TOMORROW ONLY.

/Rant - Motion Controllers

Since before E3 i've been hearing endless comments about 'oh, Kinect is just a copy of the Eyetoy' or 'Move is just a Wiimote'... For the most part, this is wrong, so i'm gonna lay out the basics and key differences between the new motion controllers and their older comparisons.

Youngbloods - The Amity Affliction

Prepare for another outing of screaming and bizarre song titles as The Amity Affliction returns.

Youngbloods is the new album from Brisbane hardcore band The Amity Affliction and it shows that Severed Ties was no fluke. The contrasting screaming and clean vocals are better than ever and every song on the album sounds like an improvement over Severed Ties. Recorded in New Jersey, the album sounds much more together than previous works, but i don't think it's just the production causing this. The overall sound hints at a much closer and more experienced band, no doubt thanks to the extensive touring the band has been through over the past two years. Youngbloods is everything you love about The Amity Affliction but taken a step further. If you're already a fan of The Amity Affliction then head out and grab Youngbloods ASAP (and check out their upcoming tour while you're at it). If you haven't heard the band before, head over to their Myspace page and have a listen. Finally, head over to their website and share the news for a free download of the first track from Youngbloods, I Hate Hartley.

Like Sands In The Hourglass

I've spent quite a bit of time on Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands recently and decided to review it.

What's What @ E3 Pt. II

A much shorter summary this time, but click 'Read More' for the details

Bringing Pro Gaming To Your Lounge

If you were Richard Branson, what would you do to get noticed at E3? Turn up in an armored truck with a million dollars in cash? I wouldn't, which probably explains why i'm NOT Richard Branson. Branson turned up at E3 with a million in cash to promote Virgin Gaming, which we'd heard would specialise in online games... What wasn't expected is that Virgin Games isn't actually making games. They're matchmaking. You can register now on their website to play your favourite Xbox and Playstation games online for REAL cash. Virgin Gaming will be organising tournaments and matches online, some may be free to enter, some will have an entry fee, with winners taking home cash and prizes from the planet's richest competitive gaming experience. Just remember though, this will be dealing in REAL MONEY (which also means it's only open to players 18+).

Exclusively Sony

The Sony press conference has now wrapped up and all in all i felt it was a bit underwhelming.

The show kicked off with Move and a few demo's but i felt it failed to really show anything innovative with it. One of the thing's that annoyed me most about the Sony show was that it felt like just that, a show. Too much time was spent taking cracks at competitors and trying to verbally establish themselves as the best. They claimed to be about the games, and while there was plenty of games on show, there wasn't a whole lot of each game. The show was jam packed with trailers, half of which had little to no gameplay footage.

Sony announced a new push for PSP, promising 70 new titles by December. Which was promptly followed by even more trailers.

The expected titles were on display with trailers and release dates dropped for Killzone 3, Gran Turismo 5 and Infamous 2, as well as some very unexpected games. In true show style, Gabe Newell is introduced by Glados to drop Portal 2 and Sweet Tooth pulls onto the stage in his ice cream truck to announce Twisted Metal.

Sony have also been working on their exclusivity, signing a partnership with Coca-Cola and revealing exclusive PS3 version of Medal of Honor (will include a HD remastered version of MoH: Frontlines), Dead Space 2 (will include a Move enabled version of Dead Space: Extraction), plus extra content for Mafia 2 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (including a multiplayer beta later this year) and a promise that the PS3 version of Portal 2 will be the best version on any console.

In closing, the conference had its ups and downs but ultimately felt a bit lacking. the first hour and a half felt like part 2 of the EA conference, which was promptly followed by a few surprise announcements and closed with the games everyone expected. There was plenty of games to show, but most only got a quick teaser in a show full of trailers. Sony pointed out much time and effort they put into their presentation to make it more than just a bunch of numbers, but i'd rather see a bunch of informative numbers than a few flashes of CG footage.

Nintendo Takes Centre Stage

The Nintendo press conference has just finished and my quick overview... Large line-up of fairly average games and the reveal of 3DS, which doesn't feel like much of an upgrade.

A bunch of new titles were revealed including new Zelda, Kirby, Metroid and Donkey Kong Country games. Clearly Nintendo is trying to make 2011 the year of the mascot. Some issues during the Zelda demo due to, what i presume was, interference with the motion plus. A few games to look out for, but most don't really scream 'innovation'.

The show ended with the reveal of Nintendo 3DS (yes, that is now officially the name). The 3DS will have a 3D screen on top, but not on the bottom. Improved graphics, enhanced controls and a tilt sensor will add to gameplay, while two camera lenses allow you to take 3D photos. The 3DS will launch with a heap of software support including a new Kid Icarus game (in 3D, of course).

More info on the games above and any more news that pops up later in the Day 2 summary.

What's What @ E3

This is going to be a massive post so click 'Read More' for all the details. Between Microsoft announcing the new console and Kinect to a mass of confirmed release dates, day 1 of E3 has not disappointed.

Xbox Pressing Issues

The Xbox press conference has just finished and what a conference it was. A handful of game trailers and demos for the likes of Gears 3, Fable 3 and Halo: Reach. Exclusive deals with Activision for CoD content, ESPN for sporting coverage and Crytek for an unknown game. Surprisingly, Kinect really stole the show, with about an hour dedicated to it's game line-up and features it actually looks REALLY amazing. To top it all off, a new console was revealed (the one from the leaked advertisement). Featuring a 250 gig hardrive, built in Wi-Fi-N adapter and a whole new design, The new Xbox 360 will be on sale for the same price and ships out to retailers TODAY. So can't say exactly WHEN Australia will get it, but hopefully not too far off. Microsoft were also generous enough to give a free console to every person in the audience at the conference. Kinect will hit american shelves on November 4th, but no word on exact release date for Australia. Click 'Read More' to check out the official pics of the new console.

A New Way To Kinect

I read about this earlier this morning but wanted to wait for more confirmation first. Seems that we will no longer be calling Microsoft's motion controller Project Natal. We can now say for sure that Microsoft have chosen to go with, Kinect. A leaked advertisement also hints at an updated xbox console coming our way as well. The updated console has a distinct new look and will ship with a 250GB HDD and built in wifi. Still not sure if it's actually any smaller than the current consoles (check out the pic below). As for Kinect, you can likely expect it to be heading our way around xmas and there are already a few games under development...

• Joy Ride was confirmed at last year's E3 but just recently announced as a Kinect title. The player will hold a non existent steering wheel and use body movements to accelerate, decelerate, perform tricks and boosts in this racer for you and your avatar.
• Kinectimals is just like Nintendogs only with a full motion sensitive camera recording your actions. Allowing you to choose and care for one of 20 cats, including big cats such as cheetahs, tigers and lions.
• Kinect Sports seems to be the point where Microsoft give up even trying to pretend they aren't trying to cash in on the Wii. Sports will let you take part in a number of sports including boxing, bowling, table tennis, soccer, track & field and volleyball.
• Kinect Adventures seems to be the more adventurous version of Kinect Sports. You can use your body to go white water rafting or move your way across an obstacle course.
• Dance Central is said to be in works by MTV Games and will... well, allow you to dance. Not much more to say
• Disney and Lucasarts are also said to be working on projects where characters from their respective franchises will be playable

That's all for now, but check out the leaked pic of the new console below, and check back in a few hours when Microsoft starts its press conference.

General Info and E3-ness

There is less than 24 hours till Microsoft kicks off E3 with their conference / Natal reveal. If you have Foxtel you can watch it live on FOX8 at 3:30 Tuesday morning (or the repeat at 3:30 Tuesday afternoon). Sadly i do not but i intend to follow Major Nelson's live feed (which you can check out here if you want). Anyone on a good connection can also catch live streaming and highlight on youtube's E3 channel (powered by IGN). Once E3 gets into full swing you can expect news blasts from my twitter account (there should be a feed in the sidebar to the right by the time you read this) although i may be having some connection difficulties on Tuesday, still working that out. Also expect larger news posts at the end of each day and possibly smaller posts on more important stuff. Apart from E3, my gamerscore has sadly ticked up to 91,500+ and i am going to officially start my quest for 100K. If you want to play with me and / or join me on my quest for achievements, add me on Xbox LIVE (gamertag: scoot338).

Sony Finally Bringing Us Another Tour

Ahead of E3, Sony have dropped a trailer for Gran Turismo 5 and assured everyone that it will be present at E3. Forgotten about the Gran Turismo franchise? You're not the only one considering it's been about 2 years since Gran Turismo 5: Prologue became available. Sony must have felt the same way because the new trailer doesn't just look at GT5, but at the entire Gran Turismo franchise. Check it out below...

/Rant - Australian Broadcasting

A short and quick rant today on an unusual topic... Australian TV and broadcasting

How To Be Naughty

A new video has been released for Naughty Bear. The video explains the core gameplay mechanics and how to be the naughtiest bear you can. From weapons and property damage to traps and suicides, Naughty Bear looks to be pushing the boundaries of exactly what we expect to see from an island full of teddy bears. Check out the video below and keep an eye out here and at the West Gamers blog for my review around the 25th.

Unveiling The Devil

The new game from Valhalla Studios (the one that was supposed to be debuting at E3) has leaked early thanks to Gametrailers.com. Devil's Third, the latest work of Tomonobu Itagaki, looks to an epic journey of violence and gore... Just ask the trailer. While it doesn't really reveal what the game is about (instead spending half the time boasting about Itagaki himself) what we do see is guns, swords and enough blood to make a vampire sick. Check out the trailer below...

Mission Statement

Stone Sour are back and have released the first song, Mission Statement, from their upcoming album, Audio Secrecy. The best part, it's practically free. Just head over to the website here and sign up for the mail listing to receive a free download of the new single.

Square Enix Goes Faustian

Not happy to rest on their well known franchises (well, not COMPLETELY happy) Square Enix have got 2 new Xbox LIVE Arcade games to show everyone at E3.

The first, Space Invaders Infinity Gene, will be the next game in the iconic Space Invaders franchise and will be fairly straightforward. Each game will start out like the original, then slowly transform during the game to include updated features, new stages and a "3D twist".

The second is much harder to explain. Necromachina is Square Enix's spin on the old German legend of Faust. In the 22nd century the world is dying and machines devour the helpless. Only a boy named Faust can put a stop to the end of days by using the power of Mephistopheles to breath life back into the planet. It won't be an easy task though as the Moondivers, a squad of ninja assassins, attempt to stop him under orders from their shogun.

So we've got space invaders and a cross between the matrix and something with ninjas. Both sound a little weird at the moment, but i'm interested to see how they look at E3.

Arcade Sale

This is going to be a long post so click 'Read More' to see all the details, but basically, Major Nelson has given us all the upcoming marketplace content (and Deal of the Week) details early because with everyone busy at E3 it's likely to slip minds.

Dreamcast Revival

Sega's Dreamcast may have been short lived, but that doesn't mean it had bad games. There are a few games that popped up on the Dreamcast that i wish more people would have played, and now that just might happen. Sega are beginning a campaign to bring favourite Dreamcast titles back to life via digital downloads. Sadly by 'favourite' i mean, the games Sega thinks people loved, because at E3 they'll be showing the first two games to see release... Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi. Dreamcast re-releases won't just be direct ports however, each game will receive a graphics and sound upgrade, as well as online capabilities (mostly leaderboards) and achievements / trophies. I'm interested to see where they take this and hope that some lesser known games also see release. We'll find out soon enough though with Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi making their debut at E3 and a planned release for Sonic Adventure before the  year is through.

New Mortal Kombat... For Real This Time

While the world is still abuzz with the Mortal Kombat film pitch which turned up, Warner Bros. have been kind enough to drop the REAL trailer for the next Mortal Kombat game. While said to be the most brutal and violent game in the series yet, the new game (simply titled Mortal Kombat) seems to be taking things back to basic as a 2D fighter. It look like all your favourite fighters are back (unless your favourite is Johnny Cage, in which case you should just accept he's probably already dead) and while the gameplay returns to it's 2D roots, you can now look forward to 4 player tag-team action. The game is being handled by NetherRealm Studios, with Ed Boon still in charge, and will hit shelves some time next year. Check out the trailer below, and if that doesn't sell you, just check out the badass updated logo below that.

EA @ E3

EA today announced the line-up of games they'll be showing at E3 next week and what a line-up it is. With 21 games on show it doesn't look like EA is playing anything close to their chest so don't expect many unannounced surprises from them. Their line-up is:

• Bulletstorm
• Crysis 2
• Dead Space 2
• EA Sports Active 2 (PS3, Wii)
• EA Sports MMA
• FIFA 11
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
• Hasbro Family Game Night 3
• Madden NFL 11
• Medal of Honor
• Monopoly Streets
• MySims SkyHeroes
• NBA Elite 11
• NBA Jam (Wii)
• NHL 11
• NHL Slapshot (Wii)
• Risk: Factions (Xbox Live Arcade)
• The Sims 3
• The Sims 3 Ambitions (PC)
• Spare Parts (Xbox Live Arcade)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11

So expect a massive show coming out of the E3 corner next week, but unfortunately there's not much there we didn't already know about.

Did Rock Band Deal An Early Blow To Power Gig?

If you missed my post about Power Gig: Rise of the SixString, check it out here. More details came out about Rock Band 3 today however. Apart from the new keyboard peripheral, Rock Band is also looking into bringing out a new guitar control that is more realistic, can be used outside of the game and within the games 'Pro Mode' to learn how to play an actual guitar. With all DLC from Rock Band 1 and 2 being forward compatible to Rock Band 3, does this mean Power Gig will go the way of Rock Revolution? Apart from the guitar, the usual line-up of instruments will be back including bass, drums and vocals (with up to 3 part harmonies). The keyboard will also be able to connect to your computer via MIDI cable to work as a real keyboard. Apart from all the DLC being compatible, Rock Band 3 will also ship with 83 new tracks on the disc. Click 'Read More' for a list of the first confirmed songs.

World Cup LIVE

Starting tomorrow Xbox LIVE will be home to the 'Summer of Football', a scheme to bring soccer related entertainment directly to your console. Microsoft (in conjunction with Adidas and Konami) will be bringing new avatar hats, caps, banners, balls and shirts to the Marketoplace in all your favourite countries colours (in case you have more than one). Shirts will set you back 240 points each while other items will cost 320 points. Charity '1Goal' will also be giving out a free avatar item for those wanting to show support for their cause (education for all). Apart from all the avatar items, you can pick up a few games at half price, including FIFA 10 Ultimate Team, Football Genius and Sensible Soccer. You can also look forward to a 'tournament predictor' tool and 'penalty shoot-out' application which can be played competitively with your friends. No need to worry about a lack of friends either as Microsoft brings the Xbox world together by offering free gold privileges to all Xbox LIVE users for the weekend (11th - 13th). Finally, you'll be able to get all the latest news, videos and info from the World Cup right on your dashboard, officially making your Xbox the place to be for this years World Cup (well, apart from being at the World Cup itself, obviously)

Falls War

A couple of days ago i posted about a short live action clip for Alan Wake that had turned up. Well now we know what it's all about, and it's not what you were thinking. The clip actually comes from a  music video. Yep, Poets of the Fall, the band behind several songs on the Wake soundtrack, put togther an Alan Wake inspired music video for their single 'War'. Check out the clip below and once you've watched that, check out their song 'The Poet and The Muse' or as i like to call it, the unofficial Alan Wake theme song.

Triple Double XP

Rod Ferguson, executive producer behind the Gears of War series, has announced that to celebrate the reveal of Gears 3 at E3, from June 14th till June 21st you can get bonus XP on Gears 2. Not satisfied with just running double XP though, every game during E3 week will net you SIX TIMES the standard experience. If you haven't played Gears of War 2 in a while, then next week might be the time to get back into it.

2K @ E3

2K have announced the list of games they'll be showing at E3 next week. While the company will only have a couple of games on show, their booth will no doubt be the centre of attention as they use their recent deal with Playboy to bring 2008 Cyber Girl of the Year to their booth for pictures and autographs. Once the media has finished ogling however, they can shift their focus to:

• Mafia 2
• Spec Ops
• Xcom
• NBA 2K11
• NHL 2K11
• New Carnival Games
• Nickelodeon Fit
• Sid Meier's Civilization V

Thinking Without Portals

For all those people who were excited about the fast approaching release of Portal 2, Aperture Science, uhh, i mean Valve have some disappointing news. Portal 2 has officially been pushed back and will no longer release this year. Valve sent out an email letting people know the game would be moving its release date back to 2011 for the usual reasons (quality, bug resolving, etc.). Valve still have a surprise planned for E3, so you can look forward to that, but you'll have to live without your portals for a little while longer.

Unleash The Forehead

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 will be hitting our shelves around October and Lucasarts has thrown together a Collector's Edition. The collector's edition will feature:

• Premium steelbook case
• Three exclusive challenge mode levels
• Exclusive character skins
• Exclusive lightsaber crystal
• 2GB Starkiller shaped flash drive designed by Mimobot and pre-loaded with a digital artbook

All in all the collectors edition mostly leans towards the extra DLC side of things, except for the flash drive which, unfortunately, looks pretty bizarre.

E3 No Shows

While much of the gaming world will be at E3 to show us what they're working on, a few companies will be giving it a miss, most notably Rockstar Games and (despite some news sites reporting otherwise) Respawn Entertainment. Media outlets picked up a Facebook page supposedly belonging to the West and Zampella led company and ran with it. The page said to expect a big announcement at E3. However the page was a fake, and EA spoke to IGN today saying that Respawn is still in the stages of building it's new team and most definitely will not be at E3.

Fighting Reborn

Watch the clip above... Done? Good, now you know as much as i do. The above video was posted to Youtube by a user named MortalKombatRebirth and is clearly the precursor to a new Mortal Kombat game and / or movie. At this point there is no more info (expect all to be revealed at E3) but with Midway studios closing down and Mortal Kombat being picked up by Warner, it's good to see the franchise isn't going to be losing any of it's violence.

[UPDATE 10/06/10] Jeri Ryan (who portrays Sonya Blade in the clip) has let everyone know whats up via Twitter. Apparently the clip was made by a director to pitch to Warner Bros for a new movie. Based on the fact the video got over a million hits in one day, i think Warner Bros will have to agree... Mortal Kombat is a winner.

Six Strings Are Better Than One

Are you one of those people who spend ages telling Guitar Hero players that they fail at life and that playing a guitar in real life is far harder. Well firstly, you're a tool, get out... Secondly, now you can prove it. Power Gig: Rise of the SixString may be horribly titled, but it's idea is simple... Guitar Hero with 6 strings. Already drawing celebrity names to it (such as Eric Clapton, Kid Rock and Dave Matthews Band) will this new contender be able to upset current rhythm kings Guitar Hero and Rock Band? My guess is not likely. The game features two modes, a simple mode where any string can be held down,just like current guitar games, and an advanced mode which specifies a colour and string to hold. My problem really comes in the form of the drums though. Laid out like Rock Band's drum kit, the major difference here is that Power Gig's drums, don't actually exist. The drum controller sits on the floor and detects motion above set areas, essentially meaning you have to air drum. Apparently any guitar controller will be compatible with Power Gig and the Power Gig control will work with Guitar Hero and Rock Band, however, you can also plug the Power Gig control into an amp and use it as a real electric guitar. Seems like a good idea, unless you're not a fan of replacing broken strings and /or what will surely be a much higher price tag. Click 'Read More' to see the instruments and gameplay footage.

Something Something Ninja

Tomonobu Itagaki can be outspoken at times but as the creator of Dead or Alive, the 3D Ninja Gaiden games and former head of Tecmo's Team Ninja you can't say he hasn't made any good games. In 2008 Itagaki left Team Ninja and Tecmo after working there for 16 years (filing a law suit claiming he hadn't been paid bonus's for previous works in the process, yep, he totally beat Infinity Ward to the punch). Since leaving Team Ninja Itagaki started his own company, with several other former Team Ninja workers, called Valhalla Game Studios. Haven't heard of them before? That's because they've been as silent as ninjas... until now. Tomonobu Itagaki has confirmed Valhalla Game Studios will be present at E3 to show the world what they've been working on. No idea exactly what it is or what platform it's aimed at but i'm going to go ahead and presume it includes ninjas and /or breasts.

Itch To Scratch

It's now official, DJ Hero 2 will be heading our way in October. I'm not really a fan of techno / dance music, but i played DJ Hero and it was a fun experience. DJ Hero 2 will feature over 70 mash-ups from more than 90 artists including Dr. Dre, The Chemical Brothers, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Metallica and Deadmau5 (who will also be a playable character). DJ Hero 2 will feature the ability to use 2 turntables and a microphone simultaneously allowing for more party gameplay. To celebrate the announcement, Activision have released a free song to download for DJ Hero 1. 'Free DJ Hero Mix 2!' ("Just Dance" - Lady Gaga vs "Ghosts'n'Stuff" - Deadmau5) is available for the next week on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and Playstation Store.

E3 Preparations

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is just 7 days away and all the big names in gaming will be showing off everything they've got, trying to convince you to start saving for their games now. E3 officially runs from June 15th - June 17th, however some companies do have press conferences prepared for the 13th and 14th. What all this means is that for those days there will be an immense amount of new information and media coming out for upcoming games and i don't want to be flooding The Arkhive with 20 posts a day. What i intend to do is add my twitter feed to the sidebar and use that for random updates and then write up one big news post at the end of each day. You can find my twitter account in the sidebar now (under my name in the 'Contact The Chroniclers' section) if you want to follow me, but otherwise you can rest assured any news will still be available here. Plus i don't know if Mike or Steve plan to post about anything from E3, so there's every chance we'll end up with extra posts on here anyway.

Coming Soon From Capcom

Capcom have released a list of all the games they will be showing at E3 next week. The list doesn't really reveal anything new and consists of:

• Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
• Okamiden (Nintendo DS)
• Bionic Commando ReArmed 2
• Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes (Playstation 3)
• Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Nintendo DS)
• Dead Rising 2
• Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (LIVE Arcade)
• MotoGP 09/10

Despite the somewhat expected line-up, Capcom have also promised they will have a few surprises. Check back here during E3 to see if we can't tell you what they had up their sleeve.

The Wheelman Is Back

Ubisoft (as well as most other gaming publishers and developers) are gearing up for E3 next week and have put up a teaser for their reboot of the Driver franchise with a countdown clock to the E3 reveal. The trailer shows what is now confirmed to be Tanner, recreating the intro to the original Driver by jumping into a Ford Mustang in an empty parking garage. He hits a stopwatch and starts driving but quickly shifts from 1999 to 2010 (as well as a car change to a Dodge Challenger). The teaser is actually really cool and definitely a flashback for anyone who played the original. You can find the trailer / countdown here.

Gears Gets Cooler... Or Colder

So with new characters coming to Gears of War 3, perhaps we'll get some quality voice actors... right? I guess that would depend on your definition of quality as actor / rapper Ice-T has dropped  a claim he's going to be voicing a character in Gears 3. Currently no official confirmation on this, but i don't want to be the one who says he's lying.

Heading Out West

As of now i (Scoot338) can also be found contributing to WestGamers. WestGamers is a blog (hopefully soon to be site) dedicated to bringing you reviews and feature articles on gaming, specifically for Australian gamers. This will have no effect on my input here at The Arkhive and will likely increase the amount of stuff i put up here (will be writing more reviews, etc.).

/Rant V3.0 Downloadable Content

Downloadable Content (or DLC for short) is any extra items or information that can be added to a game via the internet. This can be in the form of anything from new maps to armour for your horse.

Make A Wish

For any aussie players of Pokemon, you can now head into selected Big W stores and get Jirachi. Just take your DS and Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Heart Gold or Soul Silver in, access Mystery Gift from the main menu and select to receive via wireless and watch as Jirachi makes its way to your game. Once you've transferred your Jirachi just make sure you've got a free spot in your party, head to any pokemart and speak to the delivery man. Transferring Jirachi to Heart Gold or Soul Silver will also unlock an extra Pokewalker course (Night Sky's Edge) so get in there now because Jirachi will only be available til June 13th.

Alan Is Back?

As much as i loved Alan Wake and look forward to it's upcoming DLC, i'm glad i can move onto the many other games i need to play... Sorry... What's that Remedy? I can't move on yet? Why not?



Yep, seems like Mr. Wake won't be leaving us any time soon as this live action teaser becomes available. Teaser for what you ask? Honestly, i don't know. No info on what it is or what it's for yet, but keep an eye out around the middle of next week when more details become available.

P.S. Sidenote for anyone who has finished the game... When he wakes up, he has the clicker in his right hand.

The Revolution

Sadly i'm not too familiar with the Deus Ex games, but i have spotted that Square Enix, in conjunction with Eidos Montreal have released a trailer for the third installment (actually a prequel) titled Deus Ex: Human Revolution and it looks amazing. Development of the game has been left to Eidos but Square Enix have handled all the cinematic cutscenes and will be publishing the game. Deus Ex: Human Revolution won't be available until early 2011, however we've been promised more details at E3. Check out the trailer and official site here.

Unleash The Warriors

Everyone knows i'm a sucker for a good rhythm game, so it's not usually a big deal when i get excited over a new Guitar Hero game. This time, i'd like to believe otherwise though. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock will hit shelves in September (just in time to compete wth Rock Band 3, i believe) and feature 90 songs from the biggest name's in rock and metal. With the ability to literally unleash your rockers inner monster you'll also be able to work through 'Quest Mode' which will run your rocker through an epic quest to help the 'Demigod of Rock' (voiced by Gene Simmons) defeat 'The Beast'. Warrior forms of characters will each feature a unique ability that changes the game (such as larger multipliers) and after the copyright issues Activision had with real musicians in Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero, you can be sure all the characters in Warriors of Rock will be fictional. All previous DLC from Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero will be compatible with Warriors of Rock and the development team has mentioned the possibility of Natal compatibility. Click 'Read More' to see the reveal trailer and list of confirmed songs.

Let The Movement Begin

Game in the UK will be taking pre-order's on Microsoft's Project Natal from June 13th. What good is that to Australian's i hear you ask? (Yes, i have super hearing, deal with it). Absolutely none... but it DOES tell us that we can likely expect Microsoft to be dropping an official release date and rough price for it during it's presentation at E3. The presentation will be televised and feature a performance by Cirque Du Soleil, so you can already guess they're going all out for this. Expect more info when it becomes available June 13/14

Shattered

The Spider-Man movie franchise may have seen better days, but for quite some time now the games have been really good. While the quality may have been slipping over the last few, Beenox are now at the helm and it looks like they intend to bring Spider-man swinging back to the forefront of gaming. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is due for release at the end of the year and while its story may be hard for some to understand (a mysterious artifact causes disruptions in reality causing Spider-Man to travel between alternate dimensions) the concept behind the game is simple... Bring several of the varied Spider-Man universes together into a single game. Shattered Dimensions will feature no less than four versions of everyones favourite arachnid loving superhero and with so many choices its hard to predict exactly which version will appear. Beenox publicly announced the first two dimensions as the Amazing Spider-Man (the familiar red and blue suited Spider-man we all know and love) and Spider-Man Noir (think Rorschach from Watchmen but with the abilities of a spider). While they've attempted to remain tight lipped about the remaining two the third dimension has leaked and turns out to be Spider-Man 2099 (what could be the strangest looking Spider-Man ever). Each different dimension will have its own look, feel and general style with Amazing Spider-man taking the cartoon look and feel and Spider-Man Noir looking more like Batman: Arkham Asylum. Below is the trailer for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, which should hit shelves in September.

Blur

Blur is the latest racing game from Bizarre Creations and is available on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.
Click 'Read More' for the review.

Night Begins Again

Konami have released a heap of videos for upcoming hack n slash game, Ninety Nine Nights II (Confusingly abbreviated to N3 II). I still own Ninety Nine Nights and absolutely loved it, so it saddens me to see that people are immediately calling N3 II a rip off of God of War and Dante's Inferno. Really, Ninety Nine Nights is more in the vein of Dynasty Warriors but with a more fantasy feel to it. The original game was surprisingly fun and had some really good characters in it but was let down by the poor storytelling and lack of support for it. Hopefully Konami will try to actually get this game into more people's consoles as one of the added features is a multiplayer mode (which the original sadly lacked). If N3 II is half as fun as the original and Konami actually decides to support the game rather than just ship it then forget about it, then i'm sure N3 II can really bring the Dynasty Warriors style hack n slash game back to popularity (or at least as popular as it once was). Below is one of the Ninety Nine Nights II trailer, but you can also hit up youtube to find videos on the story/characters, improvements over the original and a video on the new multiplayer modes...

Ninety Nine Nights II will be available exclusively on Xbox 360 from June 29th.

Complete Ruse

Ubisoft have dropped a few release dates. For anyone who was thinking about buying Assassins Creed 2, wait for a couple weeks and pick up Assassins Creed 2: Complete Edition which contains the original game plus The Battle of Forli and Bonfire of the Vanities DLC. The Complete Edition should be on shelves within the next two weeks, which is more than can be said for Ubisoft's upcoming RTS game RUSE. Due for release at the end of the month, RUSE has unfortunately been pushed back to September. The delay is to allow the game to be shined up a little more and to make sure its going to be bug free and ready to go.

PWD Trailer

Ok, 2 things. 1 - I do post about Parkway Drive too much. And 2 - Yes it's not an extremely well thought out title to this blog.

But anyway, the news of the day is that Parkway Drive have released a trailer for an upcoming video clip. The song is Sleepwalker, off their new album Deep Blue. Check out the video below, it looks absolutely amazing. The effects are astoundingly good for what is only a music video. Love it.

Game Room and Fake Achievements

Two quick things to point out... Firstly, 5 new games have become available for the Xbox LIVE Game Room. Frog Bog, Missile Command, Mr. Kabuki, Skiing and Video Pinball are now available. I randomly burst out laughing when i saw this list because i suddenly remembered a scene from Grandma's Boy where they're playing Frog Bog and then an episode of Chuck which was focused on Missile Command.

Secondly, the guys over at readyuplive.com decided to pool their creative abilities and create a fake achievement list highlighting some of things you can look forward to in Halo: Reach. You can find the list here complete with achievement tiles (pictures) and descriptions.

The Press Conference Is A Lie

Looks like the press conference Valve was going to hold for Portal 2 at E3 has been cancelled and will be replaced with... Well, i can't tell you. Not because i don't want to but because i don't know. The below picture came up on Twitter today and has left people asking questions... (click to see the picture full size)

What is the surprise? Half-Life 2: Episode 3? Left 4 Dead 3? Personally, i think everyone who goes will get free cake.

Deathly Accurate

The first trailer has been released for the game of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 and it looks like we'll be moving away from the free roam exploration and into third person... uhh, spellcaster? The trailer actually looks alright and i loved the previous games so i'm interested to see how this turns out. My only concern is that it seems to be running on the same engine as the Terminator: Salvation game which was not so great. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 should be out in November to coincide with the movie release, but if you're more into the free roam aspect then you can always check out Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 which will be out later this month.

Rare's New Look

Rare have announced a new logo and branding for their future games. The new logo is a more simplified look but personally, reminds me too much of Game. I can live with it though, as long as they keep putting out good games.

Ask The Brotherhood

E3 is just two weeks away and it's already common knowledge that Ubisoft will be showing the first real footage of Assassins Creed: Brotherhood there. What will be shown? What will be revealed? As it turns out, that may very well depend on the fans. Ubisoft are accepting submitted questions that they will answer at E3. You can ask them a question at their Facebook or Twitter pages, or in the comments of the Youtube video below. Seems like a bit of a strange deal to me, but if it gives the fans what they want then i'm not gonna complain.

Because Noise Was Getting Old Anyway

Epitaph Records have come up with a great way to get their names and their artists names out there more. June 15th will see the release of New Noise Volume 1, a 16 song compilation album featuring all of Epitaphs top artists. Whats the big deal you ask? While i cant confirm Australian availability or price yet, Americans can download the entire album off iTunes or their favourite online store for $2.99... If this does come our way, You'll be able to pick up 16 songs from some of the best punk, metal and hardcore artists for about three bucks. More info when i can but click 'read more' for the full track listing.

Effect, On A Mass Scale?

Qualified to make multiplayer games? Like sci-fi? Just wanna say that you worked on Mass Effect? Well, now you can (probably only if you answered yes to the first question though). EA Jobs have put up a job position for an available position at Bioware Montreal to "...work with both the front and back ends to take existing single player user experiences and make them multiplayer safe". The post mentions they are working on the top Bioware franchise and the post had previously been more Mass Effect specific but was quickly changed. Nothing official yet, but it looks like we can look forward to some multiplayer Mass Effect action.