E3
Even though Scratch: The Ultimate DJ might not have an exact release date yet, it seems as though the competition between it and similarly turntable themed DJ Hero is really heating up. While there are pro's and con's to both titles, one of the key differences that gets me a little more excited about Scratch would be its Numark branded controller. On the surface it might look exactly like one of those Beatmania controllers you've seen around arcades, but these controllers make some more casual-friendly design choices and at least approved/designed by one of the biggest names in DJ equipment. Not to mention it just looks a lot better than DJ Hero's meh looking controller.
The video above comes from engadget's E3 demo time and shows off the hardware and how it's used in game. Seeing the game in action may not dispel accusations of ripping off Beatmania/Guitar Freaks/Guitar Hero/Rock Band/ [Your favorite music game here], but it does show that it has the potential to be just as addictive.
[Scratch: The Ultimate DJ hands-on] Engadget
I had many golden moments at E3, but none so golden as running in to Peter Molyneux in the Valve meeting room. He enthusiastically greeted me by name and invited me to come up and check out Milo, Lionhead's application developed for Microsoft's Project Natal controller. As you doubtless know by now, Project Natal is Microsoft's entry into the motion controller scene. The catch being that there actually is no physical controller and through the use of cameras, the player himself/herself becomes the controller.
Milo is an ingenious use of Project Natal, utilizing the voice and face recognition features of the device as well as the motion control. Upon entering the room, Molyneux talked a little bit about the project and then allowed me to give it a try. I stood in front of the screen and saw a serene Fable like environment with a young boy (Milo) swinging on a swing. As I moved towards the screen, the scene in turn moved closer. As I backed up, the scene moved further away leaning forward and to the side, I was able to look at the peripheral views of the scene. Kneeling down afforded me a look up in to the tree. Pretty impressive so far.
The next thing I knew, Milo realized I was there and hopped off his swing to come and greet me. He recognized that I was wearing black and nodded with empathy when I described how my day was. I could see the word recognition coming in to play: when I said the words good or happy, Milo would smile and nod. Eventually he tossed me a pair of goggles which I "put on." This basically consisted of me circling my eyes with my fingers to simulate goggles. Once they were on, I was able to jump in the nearby water and do a little splashing around. The water was very responsive to my movements and was definitely an amazing display.
At this point, another journalist insisted that he get an on camera interview with Peter, thus ending my time with Milo. However, I left with the feeling that I had just witnessed something miraculous. I am well aware that there were some "tricks" and scripted moments employed in the demo I saw, but for software this early on in the process it's understandable. It did give me an idea what the years ahead will hold for video games and I will admit that it was in turns fascinating and just a little creepy, If Molyneux and Microsoft can pull this off, we will all be looking at the future of gaming. A future where we will no longer be tethered to a controller and our in game companions will be as real as our family and friends.
You can check out a video of the Milo demo video from the MS press conference after the jump.
Capcom's Lost Planet is back for round two. It's ten years later, the ice has melted and we are treated to an all new game with all new terrain. I was able to get a nice one on one with the game and it's developer's and was able to check out the multiplayer co-op mode.
One of the things the developers wanted to address right away were some of the complaints players had about the original. Chief among these was the speed of the player characters. Trudging through snow is necessarily slow so the removal of the icy confines allowed the characters to move at a much faster pace. A sprint button has been added as well to speed things up even more. Desert and jungle terrains will be explored as well as some others that the developers were not quite ready to talk about.
The level demoed for me was a boss battle with a gargantuan salamander like creature. while it was large, the developers assured me that this one was smaller than most. Player one started off by getting into a mech suit which player two was able to jump on to and ride while the two of them took some initial shots at the boss. These mech suits will be a significant part of the game and will hold one player driving and two additional players riding on the sides. There is a team battle gauge that acts like a health meter and once the gauge hits zero, it's game over. Getting hit by enemies loses you 500 points but if you are in the mech suit you lose 1000. Conversely, points can be gained by gaining control of the various Data Posts which now also act as respawn points.
The rest of the boss battle was fantastic with the players first taking out the boss's legs. The main target however was a large spike sticking out of the boss' back. As the spike was fired upon it slowly started shrinking into the creature's body. But if the spike is un-shootable, how are you going to take out that boss? The answer: go inside and find where the spike went. Once the legs were taken out, the body flopped to the ground and one of the players was able to enter the beast's mouth and shoot the spike from inside where it had retreated. In order to protect itself, the spike goes upwards again only to be shot at by the player remaining outside. Things went on in this manner until player two was forcefully ejected from the body of the monster and it eventually died.
Lost Planet 2 will support a single player campaign and 4 player co-op and versus online. The developers are looking into adding multi-player onto single consoles as well although this is not set in stone. The changes made to this new version are great and will likely win the franchise some new converts when it eventually hits store shelves.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Kratos must be feeling mighty flattered right now and Dante's Inferno is handing out the flattery left and right. I had heard a bit about the game and had even heard it was very similar to God of War, but I must say I was a bit surprised by how close they actually ended up being.
The thought of turning ancient poetry into a game is certainly intriguing. It also seems a rather daunting task. The player becomes Dante who is in search of his murdered fiancee, Beatrice. Her soul has been kidnapped by Lucifer and taken to Hell. Dante must move through the 9 circles of Hell (limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery) to try and save her. He is armed for his quest with Death's Scythe and a Holy Cross given to him by his lost love.
My first exposure to Dante's Inferno came in the form of a 20 minute demo at E3. There wasn't really any time for questions as they were shuffling people in and out as fast as they could. I will say that the game looked great. The depictions of the circles of hell and the character design for the demons were appropriate and worked well. I wasn't a huge fan of the Dante character design, but that is just my personal opinion.
My real problem with the gam, and the thing I couldn't quite get past, was that it was practically identical in gameplay and look and feel of God of War. The placement of the graphics in the UI, the moves and the gameplay: it all just screamed "I've played this before... and better." The game isn't slated to come out until an unannounced time in 2010 so there's still plenty of time to hopefully fix this error. The game will be much better served by separating it as much as possible from Sony's hot property. If not then, like me, all people will be able to talk about is how much Dante's Inferno is like God of War rather than judging the game on its own merits which are many.
Disclaimer: The opinions in this article are solely those of PixelPoet and do not in anyway express the viewpoints or feelings of the site GayGamer.net or any of its writers. For the record, PixelPoet just likes to complain about things and would be completely at peace living in a nursing home complaining about 'kids today' with the other geriatrics if he could just stand the smell.
Ahh, I love a good ranting, just ask Fruit Brute or Tiny Dancer and they'll readily agree that when it comes to complaining, I'm the bee's knees (incidentially, who even uses the phrase "bee's knees" anymore?). Now don't get me wrong, I loved going to E3, I think it's great that the event exists and lets everyone have their moment in the spotlight all at one central location. Keeps us writers from having to run around with our heads cutoff to all the different studios around the globe to see each game.
Even at the finest of events, I take it upon myself to find a few things to complain about; I mean there's always room for improvement. So if you are wanting something more upbeat to read about like the impressions of a "newbie", or the E3 event compared to a game idea in which one reporter is said to have willowy hips, Wootini and Tiny Dancer already have you covered; however, if you are looking for a nice juicy slice of bitch pie, step on up to the pie eating contest I've got setup after the jump.
Capcom's newest IP is called Dark Void and it turns the shooting game on it's ear... literally. Dark Void is being billed as a "vertical shooter" since much of the action happens whilst scaling the sides of cliffs and walls with the help of a jet pack.
You play the role of Will, a cargo pilot who becomes lost in the Bermuda Triangle. He is transported to an alternate world where aliens known as the Watchers have enslaved the human race. Along the way he runs into his ex-girlfriend and the brilliant Nicola Tesla who sets him up with, among other things, the aforementioned jet pack.
The employs a "vertical cover system" meaning that Will has the ability to scale walls and cliffs, using the outcroppings of rocks to hide behind. From there you can use your weapons to take out the enemy or if you are feeling bold, climb up on to the ledge and remove them with a will placed melee attack. Downed enemies are a great source of weapons. Nothing like taking out those aliens with their own guns.
In my short time with the game, I was able to test out the cliff climbing and melee attacks. The cover provided by the vertical climbing was considerable and I found it easy to take out enemies from underneath. Like most games at E3 I wish I had had more time to really get into it. I suppose I shall get my chance when Dark Void launches later this Fall for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
When Fruit Brute asked me to be part of the Gay Gamer posse at E3 this year, I leapt at the opportunity before suddenly realizing that I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. I'd seen coverage of the event on various TV shows and Websites, but nothing ever really got across the feeling of what it felt like to actually be there.
So after the jump, you'll find my attempt to put the whirlwind of activity into words as well as a gallery of some photos I took of the chaos that surrounded me!
While I considered myself lucky to have gotten some hands on time with Heavy Rain, I felt especially priveleged to be walked through the demo level by Guillaume de Fondaumiére, co-CEO of QuanticDream and executive producer of the game. "Heavy Rain is an evolving psychological thriller that combines exploration, dialogue and highly-cinematic action sequences," he explained. "All of which are in real-time 3D. Which means that you're always totally in control of what's going on.
"I think what's rather unique about this game is that it's highly story-driven," de Fondaumiére continued. "The core of the experience is the story. And we wanted really to create an experience where the player had the possibility to control the story through his actions. So your actions have consequences on the story. Those consequences can be minimal, but they can also have dramatic consequences on how the story unfolds. Now, since the story is the core of the experience, we don't want to reveal too much up until the release and spoil it, but what I can tell you at this point is we have four playable characters in the game which you're going to be able to play in turn. So you're going to have four different perspectives on the story."
Based on Lisi Harrison's bestselling young adult books, The Clique: Diss and Make Up follows the player as he (or, let's be honest, she) takes on the role of The New Girl and must climb her way up the social ladder to join the top dogs bitches, the Pretty Committee. It's estrogen's answer to Bully, I figure.
The Octavian Country Day School does indeed prove to be nearly as harsh and unforgiving as Bullworth Academy, but in a much girlier way: you'll use gossip, fashion, wit, classwork and extracurricular "jobbies" to join cliques, earn cash, and up your cool factor.
While it won't be the saucy deliciousness that was Dangerous High School Girls In Trouble, which every single one of you should go buy on Steam for its ridiculously cheap price, The Clique aims to be a bit more educational in its tween exploits - but with customizable characters and countless new clothes and accessories available for purchase (if you earn enough cash from your jobbie), there should be some fun in it for the gays, as well. Not that we couldn't stand to learn a few lessons of our own about cliques and conformity...
Look for The Clique: Diss and Make Up this fall on the Nintendo DS.
Wii Sports took the world by storm turning non-gamers into gamers and giving long time gamers some much needed physical activities. As simple as it was, Wii Sports changed the what gaming was about and brought it to people who would never even think of picking up a controller. Nintendo knows a good thing when they see it and to capitalize on the popularity of the original, they are releasing Wii Sports Resort (aka Wii Sports 2).
Players take a trip to Wuhu Island where twelve sports await them: Archery, Frisbee, Basketball, Cycling, Canoeing, Power Cruising, Table Tennis, Air Sports, Bowling, Swordplay, Golf and Wakeboarding. As with the original Wii Sports, each sport will make use of the Wii Remote (and sometimes nunchuk) in different ways to simulate the sport being played. The addition of Wii Motion Plus makes the action even more precise that the first game.
I tried out the archery and basketball games and as in life, I was terrible at basketball. The control for it was pretty dead on however. Where I really seemed to shine was on the archery. You use the nunchuck and Wii Remote like a bow, pressing the Z button and drawing the nunchuk towards you to simulate the string. A focus circle appears and once you are done aiming simply let go of the Z button and the arrow goes flying. The shots were surprisingly accurate and as the levels progress, you get further away from the target and must adjust your aim for distance and wind.
Wii Sports Resort is certain to be another big hit for Nintendo when it launches next month on July 26th. It comes bundled with the Wii Motion Plus for $49.99.
To the outside world, Astro Boy may not be the beloved national hero that Osamu Tezuka's genre-defining boy robot has been to the Japanese for almost half a century. But with a CGI 3D bearing down on theaters, it's only natural that Astro Boy: The Video Game is in development and on time to release concurrently with the film this fall.
The Wii, PS2, and PSP versions are being developed by High Voltage Software (there will also be a DS version), and published by D3, who has lately become the guardian of all the hottest cartoon-to-game properties (new Ben 10 and Secret Saturdays games are also on their plate).
Ignition was pretty upfront about the inspiration behind the game: the plot and gameplay of Astro Boy are more or less a direct homage to Mega Man: in his quest to save Metro City from the evil President Stone and his robot army, Astro Boy will use his iconic powers - arm cannons, finger lasers, dual machine guns and of course butt rockets and in-sole jet boost to fly, shoot, and bring his targets down. Along the way you'll gain power-ups that raise Astro Boy from a simple Pinocchio-esque robot warrior boy to a simple Pinocchio-esque robot killing machine. Fun!
The 2D platforming against a moving 3D background sets up fun and enjoyable action, and two player drop-in co-op on the Wii and PS2 make for more iconic fun with your Astro Boy-loving pals. Anime/Manga/Japanese culture nuts may not find the gold mine of their dreams, but you'll have a familiar good time nevertheless.
If you are a fan of Marvel vs. Capcom and are well versed in your Japanese cartoon anime characters, then chances are you are going to really enjoy Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate Allstars. Designed specifically for the Wii, it is a virtual love letter to both Capcom and Tatsunoko, containing over twenty characters from both franchises. Here's a quick rundown of the currently announced character list with more to come.
Capcom: Ryu, Chun-Li (Street Fighter), Batsu (Rival Schools), Alex (Street Fighter III), Morrigan (Darkstalkers), Soki (Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams), Mega Man Volnutt (Mega Man Legends), Roll (Mega Man), Saki (Quiz Nanairo Dreams), Viewtiful Joe and PTX-40A (Lost Planet).
Tatsunoko: Ken the Eagle, Jun the Swan (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman aka G-Force), Yatterman, Doronjo (Yatterman), Casshan, Tekkaman, Polymar, Karas, Ippatsuman and Gold Lightan
Like Street Fighter IV, Tatsunoko vs Capcom employs 3D rendered character models fighting in 2D style. The four button fighting style will come easy to Capcom fighting vets and the game can be controlled with almost any Wii controller including: Wii Remote and Nunchuk, Classic Controller, GameCube Controller and various third-party joysticks.
I played a few rounds as Ken the Eagle and was excited to see that Batsu from Rival Schools as a playable character. I asked Capcom rep Seth Killian about the possibility of a Rival Schools remake given that it is possibly my favorite fighting game ever. While he couldn't confirm that it was happening, he did say it is high (if not next) on their list of older game remakes.
Look for Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate Allstars to punch, kick and Aerial Rave its way to your Wii this winter.
And girls who like girls who like rumble packs!
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