Earlier today, Wednesday, September 23, 2009, St. Paul College in St. Paul, Minnesota was put into a lockdown mode due to a report by a witness who thought that she had seen a man with a gun inside of the building. (Story: WCCO) I heard of the news today because one of my [... Read more here]]]>

Earlier today, Wednesday, September 23, 2009, St. Paul College in St. Paul, Minnesota was put into a lockdown mode due to a report by a witness who thought that she had seen a man with a gun inside of the building. (Story: WCCO) I heard of the news today because one of my friends who happens to go to St. Paul College texted me while I was at work telling me that their school had gone into lockdown. Most definitely a scary thought, especially when you learn that your friend is still inside the school because they’ve locked themselves in. In the end, it’s still unclear as to if there was actually a person with a gun in the building, if the person left without doing anything or any other number of scenarios involved. But during that hour where no one knew if there really was a armed intruder, the suspense and thought that there could be someone around the hallway corner carrying a firearm is a scary thought indeed.

fear -noun 1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. (source)

Everyone in life is afraid of something, as no one is perfect. This is where the whole idea of “phobias” comes into the picture, although some of them can be quite ridiculous and over the top. None the less, there are some very real, very understandable fears in the world. A few of the more popular would be a fear of spiders, a fear of heights, and probably one of the more common ones: the fear of death. I will openly admit that I have a slight fear of death. It may also sound a bit crazy of me, but the idea of dying has me intrigued, and I’ve always said to myself that if it were to happen, that I would welcome it. The idea of finding out what’s on the “other side” as they say is interesting. I am a non-religious person; that is not to say that I do not believe in a higher power, but rather, I do not believe that it is one specific person that is popularized in religious texts. When we die, are we reborn into another life? Are we sent to heaven or hell based on life’s moral decisions? Or is it just the end?

St. Paul College at 12:45 PM (Credit: Becky - St. Paul College student)

Obviously, those are very morbid thoughts, but dying would certainly sadden friends and family as it usually does when someone leaves this world. I have been plagued by death in the family as well, and lost all four of my grandparents within the course of four years. Being very close to them made it very painful to see them go, but as always, it’s the idea that they’ve moved on to a bigger and better place that has kept my mind from staying in the continuous sad cycle that we go into during the time of a death. But when one dies, should we mourn their passing in a rite of sadness, or should we celebrate the life that they have had? I’ve always been one to want to try and think positive about death, obviously knowing that it is a sad event. But for my grandparents, they died of natural causes and lived a long life, so for them, it was a very successful and happy life, and should deserve being celebrated for the wonderful people that they were.

But the lingering fear which always makes me apprehensive is the law of probability. A random event occurring is an improbable event, but the law of probability states that a random factor can appear at any time to change the current situation. Case in point, I use the example of September 11, 2001. On September 11, 2001, two commercial airliners were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center buildings in New York City. The chances of the people who happened to be in that building on the day, at that time, on that floor, and having a plane fly into them are close to none. Using that point, I bring up the examples of school shootings. While in many cases the people who commit these shootings have a reason, a motive, and a target, more often than not there is collateral damage involved where innocent bystanders will be caught in the event. The fear of being killed by a random event such as this is one that scares me.

Really, it’s possible that at any time, anyone can pull out a gun, and if you happen to be in the area when he starts shooting, you will just become an unfortunate victim. Using that same logic though, one could die of any random unfortunate event at any time due to an unfortunate circumstance. Earlier this year, I was involved in a car crash which sent me into a head on collision with a utility pole, then skidded down into a ravine which left my vehicle on an almost sideways slope. During this crash, the airbag did not deploy. I was lucky; the only “injury” that I had sustained was whiplash, which goes away after time. But there was the haunting possibility that if I had hit harder, or if my vehicle had really fell onto it’s side, that I could have been much more injured than I really was.

The thought and fear that today could be my last day, or any of our last days, is a morbid idea to consider, but with the way that the world works, is a logical possibility. Unfortunately, people are not given the chance to live like today was their last day, and the world thinks in an optimistic sense that we will live to be the golden age of 100. People live to think ahead in life, to plan for comfortable living for when they get old. And with the way that our world works, especially for those of us working in part time, we live two weeks in the future at all times. None the less, I will stand by the fact that everyone should live their lives as happily as possible, without regrets, and never forget the ones you love in the their times of need.

The Saboteur Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Pandemic Studios Release Date: Holiday 2009 Platforms: PS3, 360, PC

Ever since I first saw this game, I had a sort of love for it. It might be the fact that this game reminds me of other games that I love, such as Assassin’s Creed and Prince of [... Read more here]]]>

The Saboteur
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Pandemic Studios
Release Date: Holiday 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360, PC

Ever since I first saw this game, I had a sort of love for it. It might be the fact that this game reminds me of other games that I love, such as Assassin’s Creed and Prince of Persia. The Saboteur is a little bit different though. Taking place in Paris, you play as a race car driver turned saboteur for the sake of revenge. The entire city is a completely open world sandbox environment, and is very beautiful to boot. The first thing you will notice is the color scheme. In the areas that are a safe haven for you, or an area in which you’ve finished a major mission task, the world around you will be more in color, signifying that the peoples’ morale is higher. Due to this, resistance members will come out and help you. But when the area is still fully occupied by the Nazis, the world will be a unique black and white color, with only important details, such as a propaganda speaker being in color, a-la the movie Sin City. This game is a third-person shooter game, contains a lot of weapons that are from the time period, and while this game is inspired by the time period, it is not limited to it, as you will find some weapons that the developer has made up to make the game a little more interesting. I think it’s the unique idea behind it, the time period, and the fact that it reminds me of Assassin’s Creed in some ways that makes me interested in this game, and chances are I’ll be picking it up at the end of this year.

DJ Hero
Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Developer: FreeStyleGames
Release Date: Fall 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360, WII, PS2

Seeing this game in action is an amazing experience, because this game is very unique in the way that it works, to a certain extent of course. Working off of the whole “Hero” franchise name, it uses the “highway” approach as the notes come around this now curved record-shaped highway at you. In case you haven’t seen the new wireless turntable controller, the main side of it contains a 360 degree spinning record which has three buttons on it, blue, red and green. The other side of the controller contains a shifter for which record it’s fading to, and some extra buttons that represent “Star Power” and a “Whammy Bar”. DJ Hero will contain over 100 tracks, specially mixed specifically for this game. And, if you’re interested in playing DJ Hero with a friend, you can hook up a guitar controller and play a guitar vs. DJ mode. Have a third friend who wants to join in? Then hook up a microphone controller as well, and they can MC for you while you all play! As someone who loves the trance and dance music genre, this game interests me to a big extent, although, once again, consumers will have to pay for another unique controller, chances are jacking the price of this game over the USD$100 mark once again. But, if the audience is big enough, and people are curious enough to try something different, this game will be a big seller.

Army of Two: The 40th Day Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: EA Montreal Release Date: TBA Platforms: PS3, 360, PSP

If you liked the first Army of Two, or thought that it had an interesting concept to it but needed a little bit of improvement, I think that Army of Two: The 40th [... Read more here]]]>

Army of Two: The 40th Day
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Montreal
Release Date: TBA
Platforms: PS3, 360, PSP

If you liked the first Army of Two, or thought that it had an interesting concept to it but needed a little bit of improvement, I think that Army of Two: The 40th Day might be for you. The main aspect that was even a slight issue from the first one was the AI when you are playing by yourself, although, you shouldn’t be since you can play online co-op. The AI is very much improved, and will be able to recognize what you are doing in order to help you during the co-op moves that you are given. One of the new co-op techniques at your disposal is the ability to mock surrender, which will make the enemies think that you are giving up, and prevent them from call for reinforcements, opening up a chance for your partner to aid in taking them out. The cover system is very fluid, as you can move up to any piece of cover and you will meld into it, although if you are running, instead of instantly sticking to the cover, you will continue through it as you should. I still haven’t had a chance to play through the first one yet, but I found the concept of it to be entertaining, although I felt that it needed a second human player to work best, similar to Resident Evil 5. I’m interested to see how many people get this game, though, as that will probably change my opinion on if I should buy it or not.

Need For Speed: Shift
Publisher: EA Games
Developer: Slightly Mad
Release Date: September 22, 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360, PSP, PC

As a Need For Speed fanatic, watching the Need For Speed series evolve throughout the years has been one heck of an experience, especially as the games have not exactly gotten better over the years. Taking the Need For Speed series in a completely new direction, Shift puts you inside the car, as you now play locked in the car as the driver. Slightly Mad has said that this game will now fall into the simulation genre instead of it’s classic arcade genre, and as of now, there is no announcements that this game will contain cops in any way, and this slightly disappoints me. None the less, with beautiful graphics, actual damage being done to cars, a dynamic moving camera as you are driving, a H.U.D. that, while it is on screen, moves as the rest of the screen and car moves; this game looks like it might still be okay. The single player mode will put you in the shoes of an up-and-coming driver to the racing nation as you work your way up the ranks. Depending on how you act while on the track, either by making clean passes or knocking people out of the way with your aluminum horn, you will earn points towards being that type of driver, which is an interesting system. I’ll admit, this game does not interest me as much as it could have, but I still want to see how good of reviews it gets in the end, because, being a racing game fan, this still gives me some sort of hope.

Tony Hawk Ride Publisher: Activision Developer: Robomodo Release Date: October 2009 Platforms: PS3, 360, WII

Tony Hawk Ride is the newest Tony Hawk game featuring a brand new skateboard-shaped controller. This game can only be played with this new skateboard controller, so expect to shell out a good USD$100+ if you’re interested in playing [... Read more here]]]>

Tony Hawk Ride
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Robomodo
Release Date: October 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360, WII

Tony Hawk Ride is the newest Tony Hawk game featuring a brand new skateboard-shaped controller. This game can only be played with this new skateboard controller, so expect to shell out a good USD$100+ if you’re interested in playing this game. The first thing you notice is that the graphics are okay. They’re more of a rough cartoon style, but really are nothing spectacular for being on the next generation consoles. The second thing you notice is the response of the board. For being just a board that you stand on and tilt from side to side, up or down, it translates quite well in-game, and there are sensors on the sides of the board, so if you grab one of them, you will do a grab in-game as well. You can play in one of a few different modes, including a speed-trial, trick level or challenge mode. Unfortunately, as with a lot of these games, the advertisements in this game are obvious and plentiful, but, they don’t necessarily hinder your gameplay any. This will have both local and online multiplayer as well, with support for up to four players. I find that this game will continue to only be popular among people who are either current skateboards, or people who want to be skateboarders in the future, but for me, this game does not interest me in any way at all.

Singularity
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Raven Software
Release Date: 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360, PC

Using time as a gameplay mechanic is a very touchy thing, and can either be really cool, or really not, but after seeing a running demo of Singularity, it looks like they did a great job of it. You play as a soldier who finds themselves on an island which is in the middle of a time warp, and parts of the island keep shifting from 1950 to 2010, and vice-versa. You get control of a device called the Time Manipulate Device, or TMD. This device is used not only for puzzles, but also for combat. When I see this device, I kind of think of the gravity gun from Half-Life, as you’re able to grab objects with it, but one of the interesting things is, you can actually grab items from different time periods, which are littered throughout the island, using this device, in order to help you solve a puzzle in the area. In battle, the TMD can be used against enemies to kill them or against environments to age them and make them come down on your enemies. To limit the use of the TMD, there is a slight cooldown timer, which is longer if you use it on humans instead of to solve a puzzle. The single player will be around 8-10 hours long, and there will also be a multiplayer component as well, with yet unannounced details. This game looks beautiful as well, and the time mechanic is slightly different from what’s been seen before, so I’m curious to see more details from this game before it’s released later this year.

Red Steel 2 Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Paris Release Date: TBA Platforms: WII

Red Steel 2 takes what could have been a good game in it’s first version, and improves upon it ten-fold. Taking place in a new location with a new, faceless hero, you play as a cowboy-type character who is bent on [... Read more here]]]>

Red Steel 2
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Paris
Release Date: TBA
Platforms: WII

Red Steel 2 takes what could have been a good game in it’s first version, and improves upon it ten-fold. Taking place in a new location with a new, faceless hero, you play as a cowboy-type character who is bent on revenge. As with the first game, they wanted to keep the gameplay of sword and gun, and the succeeded in keeping it in there. This time around though, you will need to have the Wii Motion Plus on your Wiimote if you want to play, because the game doesn’t work without it. In the live demos that they showed, the game looks very responsive to your every move, being able to turn your katana around 360 degrees and see each detail of each side of it.  Your character will have some special abilities, such as a quick dodge that can help you move around the field of battle quickly. When you dispatch enemies, you will be given cash, which can be used to upgrade your weapons and abilities at the safe havens that you will find throughout the game. As what was assumed before, this game will not contain blood, as it will continue to have the Teen rating that the first one did. Honestly, this game looks fun, and while I didn’t pick up the first one due to it’s unsavory internet ratings, this iteration of the game may prove to be worth our time now. I hope to see more in the future, as a release date has not been announced yet either.

Modern Warfare 2
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward
Release Date: November 10, 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360, WII

Chances are, 90% of you who are shooter fans love the Call of Duty series, and while this technically doesn’t have the Call of Duty name in front of it, it is most definitely the sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. While I already touched on this before, some new details emerged that I thought I would share with you. Obviously, this game is beautiful. The demo that they showed at E3 was a very white and snow-filled environment, and you could tell that it was cold based on the ice caking itself onto the side of your weapon, as well as the other characters, and especially the lack of visibility due to the heavy blowing snow. At the beginning of the demo, it starts you off with what seems to almost be an interactive cutscene, where you have to use ice picks to climb up the side of a mountain in order to get to the enemy base. Also, it was apparent that there will be much less H.U.D. involved in this game, as there was nothing showing off any information about you or your surroundings, except for a new weapon add-on called a heartbeat sensor, which was virtually a radar built right into your weapon. Everything around you is pretty much usable to the best of your ability, as the player actually shot at the tire of a vehicle in order to immobilize it for the enemy to use. While they weren’t announcing anything having to do with the multiplayer at this time, based off of the previous game, it can only be imagined what is in store for this next game’s multiplayer component. While I am not a huge fan of the Call of Duty series in general, this game looks beautiful, without a doubt, and I guarantee that this game will be another successful sell.

Assassin’s Creed 2 Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Release Date: November 17, 2009 Platforms: PS3, 360, PC

One of the greatest things about Assassin’s Creed 2 at E3 is that the mission that was shown in the live demo was actually specifically created for E3, which means that it did not give away any [... Read more here]]]>

Assassin’s Creed 2
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Release Date: November 17, 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360, PC

One of the greatest things about Assassin’s Creed 2 at E3 is that the mission that was shown in the live demo was actually specifically created for E3, which means that it did not give away any of the storyline for the actual game when it comes out later this year. I found out a lot of new information since the last update, so I thought I’d add this back in here. In the previous game, you were alone, but now, you will be able to hire allies who are able to help give you information about your target, or pay off people to stop talking about you if they recognize you when you enter the city. This brings into effect the new notoriety level, in which if you are recognized, people will talk about you which will put the guards more on edge if they hear you are nearby. Unlike the previous cities, you will be able to once again travel the entire city, split into five different districts. In response to the last game, there will now be fifteen different mission types, a much more cinematic gameplay style, 100 missions and 100 more side missions, for a total of about 25 hours of game. After watching a lot of demo, this game is much more deadly than before, given the fact that you can use much more than a sword and hidden short swords to kill people now, including counter and disarm tactics. Finally, there will now even be an economy in this game, which means you will be able to steal money from places and use it to buy upgrades for your weapons, and even get new accessories! This game has be thrilled because, while the first one was repetitive, this game is still revolutionary, and outstanding looking. I gladly await seeing all of the upgrades that their fans have asked for be put into the game.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Game Arts
Release Date: September 2009
Platforms: WII

Unlike the quick cinematic trailer that I had seen before, I finally got to see some actual gameplay footage of TMNT: Smash-Up this time. As I expected it would, it disappointed. Now, if you are a fan of Super Smash Bros., and you are a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, you will like this game. If you are a fan of only Super Smash Bros. and you are looking for something new, but in the same genre, you will like this game. If not, this is just another button mashing fighting game, ironically made with help by the creators of Super Smash Bros. This game is being made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the turtles, which is coming up by the end of this year. One thing that stood out, though, was the level select screen. Unlike with most games like this, each player actually gets to vote on which stage they to fight in, and the one that is voted the most times will be used, instead of just having the first player choose the level for everyone. In battle, each player gets a life bar, and when they get hit enough to the point where their life bar diminishes, they lose a live, which is represented with hearts. It’s been said, though, that you can choose different types of ways to win in battle, so this is just one of the different multiplayer modes. There will also be a single player arcade mode which isn’t being shown at E3 yet. I can’t say I’m still terribly excited for this game, as I’d rather play Super Smash Bros., but if you’re a fan of the Turtles, chances are you will like this game.

Lost Planet 2 Publisher/Developer: Capcom Release Date: Winter 2009 Platforms: PS3, 360

Using a more advanced graphics engine than Resident Evil 5, this game looks gorgeous. Having not yet broken the seal on the first one, I can’t say much comparatively from it, but this game looks good. One of the biggest new [... Read more here]]]>

Lost Planet 2
Publisher/Developer: Capcom
Release Date: Winter 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360

Using a more advanced graphics engine than Resident Evil 5, this game looks gorgeous. Having not yet broken the seal on the first one, I can’t say much comparatively from it, but this game looks good. One of the biggest new features that Capcom is touting is the ability to play four-player co-op online. This can be extremely helpful when you’re fighting one of the massive bosses which they showed off, who towers five stories above the size of your character. They even showed how you can get inside the boss, and I mean that literally, in order to hurt them from inside of them. Another thing I noticed during the quick demo that they showed was the wonderful shots of the water. The game’s water effects looked beautiful, especially when a giant four-legged salamander was walking through it. This game will also continue to support 16-player multiplayer so that you will be able to kill your friends online. So far there hasn’t been an announcement for a PC version, but they haven’t denied it happening. This game looks good, and I’m on the fence if I really want to get this game or not, as it just looks like another sci-fi third-person shooter still.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Cavia Inc.
Release Date: Q4 2009
Platforms: WII

I’ll admit, when it comes to rail shooters, I’m sometimes a fan. I’ve always been a fan of the Time Crisis series for the PlayStation platforms, so when someone tells me that they’re making one for Resident Evil, I’m skeptical yet hopeful. The demo that I saw made the game look quite good actually. For a Wii game, the graphics are on par with a lot of games that can be found on other systems, or at least that’s how it looked. This game takes scenes from Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica, and remakes them into a rail shooter format. Unlike the Umbrella Chronicles, the camera is not static in front of you, and continuously moves around as if you were actually the person behind the gun. This game can be a two-player co-op, in which one player plays as Leon, and the other as Claire. This game definitely looks like it could have the scare factor that a Resident Evil can give you, and I’m interested in seeing how this game turns out at the end of this year.

The Beatles: Rock Band Publisher: MTV Games Developer: Harmonix Music Release Date: September 9, 2009 Platforms: PS3, 360, WII

I took a closer look at more behind the game for the newest Rock Band game, and I must admit that I was quite impressed. I said it before, but I’ll say it again; the [... Read more here]]]>

The Beatles: Rock Band
Publisher: MTV Games
Developer: Harmonix Music
Release Date: September 9, 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360, WII

I took a closer look at more behind the game for the newest Rock Band game, and I must admit that I was quite impressed. I said it before, but I’ll say it again; the change that they made to the graphics to make it look more authentic to the time period is brilliance. They’ve changed the color scheme an the overall theme of the game when you are playing to look more like the time period, with more classic browns and such. Though this hasn’t changed gameplay; it’s still Rock Band at heart, and that will not change. One of the most unique new features though is the ability to play with up to six players in the band now; a guitar, a bass, a drummer and three vocalists. Other than the unfortunate fact of having to purchase two more microphones, this is a really cool new feature for those who enjoy big Rock Band parties.

Brutal Legend
Publisher: EA Games
Developer: Double Fine Prod.
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360

It’s safe to say that with the amount of fans out there who love Jack Black also playing video games, this game is going to be a hit no matter what. The one problem that I can see with this game is the fact that, really, it looks like another God of War or Devil May Cry when you’re playing it; there’s a lot of hack-and-slash going on, with some special moves that you’re able to pull off, and it’s a violent game. One of the differences it has though is that the gameplay is a little more varied, with some scenes taking place in a car that the main character has built for you, changing it up a little bit. And with the stellar cast and abundance of comedic moments, that is what’s going to keep this game afloat. I still can’t see this being my type of game, but I have a good feeling it will be a big seller.

Left 4 Dead 2
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Valve Software
Release Date: November 17, 2009
Platforms: 360, PC

After hearing more about this game, I found out a little more information than I had had before. Left 4 Dead 2 will take place in New Orleans, slightly after the events of the original game. Basically, it was thought that virus had been contained to the north, but they find that it is appearing in other parts of the country, and now the government is also stepping in, and just trying to destroy it at this point. You play as one of four new characters, now armed with twenty new weapons, including new melee weapons such as a frying pan, and what I expect should be a crowbar. You will also get access to incendiary ammo, or what we would like to call “flaming bullets”. From what the trailer showed, it looked as if this game will be taking place more in the day time, although all that they were showing so far was a small cinematic trailer, so it’s unknown when it will take place. I figure this game will be equally, if not more popular than the original, without a doubt.

MAG
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Zipper Interactive
Release Date: Q4 2009
Platforms: PS3

Every time I see footage for this game, especially when the footage is live gameplay with 256 real, actual humans, it gets me more and more excited for it. I saw another demo for it played, and it continues to surprise me how deep this game is going to be. You will be able to play for one of three factions when you start the game, each with a different weapon set, and slightly different special abilities. When you start out, you are a soldier in a squad. Each squad contains eight members, four squads are in each platoon, and four platoons are in each company, equaling a total of 128 players for your side. As you play further, you will earn experience for earning kills, destroying or repairing certain objectives and other important tasks. The higher level you are, the more chance you have to be a higher rank on the battlefield. Squads will only get to communicate with their fellow squad members, while squad leaders will get to communicate with other squad leaders and platoon leaders, so on and so forth. This game has a very deep sense of team-play to it, and this is my kind of game. I will be all over this game when we hear more about it in the coming months.

Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Quantic Dream
Release Date: 2010
Platforms: PS3

I actually got to see a playable demo for this game, and I am quite intrigued by what this game has in store for people. This game, while being a game, can be described more as an interactive movie, in which you play as the main character, and what happens to him and really up to you. The graphics of this game are gorgeous, showing a level of detail that we really haven’t seen concentrated on before. Instructions on how to control your character are subtly shown to you on screen in the form of some sort of  shape with the symbol of the button to press inside of it. Depending on the situation, and what you are given to do, when you press, or miss the button, the reaction to your action is shown on screen instantly and fluidly, with no loading what the next task in line is. Nearly everything in the entire game is interactive. You get to play as four different characters throughout the game, and depending on your actions decides if they live or die. If one of your characters dies while you are playing as them, there is no game over screen, and you don’t get to start over; rather, the game continues on without that character involved. I’m extremely interested to see more of this game, and if there is going to be multiple endings depending on how you succeed or fail in playing the game. This game has potential to be something big if people are willing to grasp a new genre of game, and I will be right behind it.

Guitar Hero 5
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Neversoft Ent.
Release Date: September 1, 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360, WII, PS2

There isn’t really much of anything that I want to say about this game, because, let’s be frank: it’s Guitar Hero. But, one new point I wanted to stop on is the fact that they announced they are releasing ANOTHER new guitar, supposedly different and better to play. After all of these different instruments that I’ve had to buy in the past, this does not bode well in my eyes. Really, are YOU going to buy another new guitar?

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Closing up the Press Conference festivities yearly is Sony. Going last usually means that they need to raise the bar a little, as there has already been a lot of great stuff shown. Last year, we saw announcements for Resistance 2, a popular PlayStation 3 exclusive alternative-WWII era shooter; LittleBigPlanet, another massive PlayStation [... Read more here]]]>

Closing up the Press Conference festivities yearly is Sony. Going last usually means that they need to raise the bar a little, as there has already been a lot of great stuff shown. Last year, we saw announcements for Resistance 2, a popular PlayStation 3 exclusive alternative-WWII era shooter; LittleBigPlanet, another massive PlayStation 3 exclusive puzzle game; PlayStation Home, a unique virtual world for PlayStation 3 owners; MAG: Massive Action Game, a still upcoming 256 multiplayer war shooter; and many hardware and software announcements, including the PlayStation Video Store. Sony has some work to do this year, so the following is what was announced at the 2009 Sony E3 Press Conference on Tuesday, June 2, 2009.

- Editor’s Note -

Before I begin, I do want to stop and explain something to my viewers. Personally, I only own a PlayStation 3 and a PC. I do have a Nintendo Wii as well, but I rarely play it, and I do not own an Xbox 360. I do not like to call myself a “fanboy” for Sony, as I like to keep an open mind and a level head for all other games, but I will admit, there may be some bias towards the games that were shown at Sony’s Press Conference compared to others over the course of the past few days. Again, I would like to think that I am a neutral party at this moment, as video games have their own unique properties no matter what system they are being played on, but some of these games may seem to have a bit of bias towards them due to my exclusive ownership of a PlayStation 3. I would like to apologize ahead of time for this, and thank you for your understanding.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Naughty Dog
Release Date: Q4 2009

After the rampant success of the first Uncharted game, Naughty Dog comes back for a second iteration of the game, and brings it home once again. The beautiful environments from the first game continue to show in the gameplay demo, although in this case, the demo took place within a city, instead of in the jungle as with the first game. It continues to have a very Prince of Persia feel to it, with having to jump from platforms and climb around buildings to get from place to place. The one noticeable different was that the AI looked to be smarter. Rather than just sitting behind something and shooting, one enemy actually tipped over a table and used that for cover instead. I expect that Uncharted 2 will continue to show itself off when it releases later this year.

MAG
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Zipper Interactive
Release Date: 2009

In a completely unprecedented event, Zipper Interactive brought together 256 people to play an actual working demo of MAG live on stage for this year’s conference. For those who haven’t heard about MAG, it stands for Massive Action Game, and each match contains 256 real live people, playing in squads of 8 with the highest rank player being the squad leader. They showed that squad leaders can use command abilities, and make orders for their squad to follow through with to help win the match at hand. Every move that is done earns the player EXP, and the higher the EXP, the higher rank you are, and the more likely you are to become a squad leader in a match. They have yet to give a date for it’s release, but expect it before the end of this year still. I am thrilled to see what this game has in store closer to it’s launch date, as I have been excited for this game since last year’s E3.

PlayStation Portable Go
Price: $249.99
Release Date: October 1, 2009

While the PlayStation Portable Go was actually leaked early, Sony joked around about the leak and took it very lightly while on stage, and officially announced the PSP Go. The PSP Go will not replace the current PSP-3000, but will sell along side it. This new piece of hardware will remove the need to use UMDs, and instead have 16GB memory inside of it, as games for this will be downloadable. All new PSP titles will be released both on UMD and digitally so that both PSPs will be able to play every game that comes out. The PSP Go will have built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a slide open design which reveals the controls, and have the ability to connect to the PlayStation Store to download games, and have access to the PlayStation Video Store to download TV shows and movies. In addition to that, Sony announced that they will be changing the old Media Manager into a program called Media Go, which streamlines that way that you can transfer files from your PC to your PSP. This all comes out at the beginning of October this year. This still hasn’t sold me on the portable systems though, but is a step in the right direction.

Gran Turismo PSP
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Polyphony Digital
Release Date: October 1, 2009

Gran Turismo PSP will release simultaneously with the launch of the PlayStation Portable Go on October 1, 2009. On the PSP, it will run at 60 frames per second and use the fullest extent of the hardware built-in to the PSP. It will contain 800 cars, 35 tracks and 60 layout variations of those tracks, keeping it on par with console versions of Gran Turismo. It will also allow connection to your friend’s PSPs so that you will be able to trade cars in order to further your collection. They showed a quick trailer for it, and it looks just like a Gran Turismo game.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Kojima Productions
Release Date: 2010

I must admit, I was kind of surprised and disappointed when I found out that the final announcement that the teaser site was supposed to make was for another PlayStation Portable version of the Metal Gear franchise. The teaser site showed Big Boss because this takes place ten years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 3, in Latin America. Really, there are no words for what was shown; it was a Kojima-brand trailer, and is worth watching without a doubt. Hideo Kojima announced that he was writing and producing the game himself, with the help of the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots team, so I expect to see good things from this game, although I personally won’t be playing it.

Assassin’s Creed 2
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Release Date: November 17, 2009

After an impressive brand new trailer was shown last night at the Ubisoft Press Conference, Ubisoft continues to impress by showing off actual gameplay footage for Assassin’s Creed at Sony’s Conference. This game takes place right after the first one, but this time you play as Ezio during the Italian Renaissance period. During the demo, they explained that you will encounter people such as Leonardo Di Vinci, who will give you more enhanced weapons and utilities to use throughout the game. Some of these utilities that were shown off during the demo were a flying machine, which allows you to glide around the city in the air, and a smoke bomb, which allows you to make an easier getaway when you are surrounded. This game continues to have wonderful visuals, but this time in an Italian setting. As they promised, there will be more assassination techniques and ways of combat that the first game was lacking. After the first game, I was happy, yet disappointed with how repetitive the game was, and this game should prove to be everything that the first one should have been, and more.

Final Fantasy XIII
Publisher/Developer: Square Enix
Release Date: 2010

Once again, Square Enix impressed the crowd by showing yet another new trailer for Final Fantasy XIII, this time a longer one, and once again with English voice acting and localized menus during the battle scene. While there still isn’t much to say, other than I feel that most of the voices that they chose for the English actors were a good fit, there still wasn’t much to explain about the game itself from this. The trailer was, once again, stunningly beautiful, and worthy of carrying the Final Fantasy name.

Final Fantasy XIV
Publisher/Developer: Square Enix
Release Date: TBA

Yes, you read that right, FINAL FANTASY XIV was announced, exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Even though Final Fantasy XIII isn’t even on the shelves yet, Square Enix has already begun working on Final Fantasy XIV, as they showed off a brand new trailer for it. While this does not mean that production may have even begun on the game yet, they have at least begun the planning stages, and came up with a cinematic trailer to show off what they have so far. Oh, and there’s one more thing to note: it’s ONLINE. This has put me extremely on the edge about this game, as Final Fantasy XI was, in many cases, a flop, and only appealed to a very specific audience. The trailer that they showed was beautiful, no less, but I still wonder if they can pull off coming up with a great game based off of what we’ve seen so far.

PlayStation Motion Controller

The 2009 E3 Buzzword is: “interface”. Not to be outdone by neither Microsoft nor Nintendo, Sony also showed off a new way to play this year. Unlike Microsoft, which used the camera and just your body to be able to track your movements, and Nintendo, which came out with an add-on accessory for their current controller, Sony use a new type of controller, one that was shaped like a small stick with a ball on the end which lit up. Using this and the PlayStation Eye, they were able to demonstrate how the program could actually track your movements clearly and fluidly. They also showed off how you could hold various objects in your hand and use them in the room, such as a gun, sword, whip, flashlight and more. Unlike the other demonstrations, there was sound included with each action made, and the tracking time worked very quickly and efficiently. They also showed off one of the features that I think would be best used, as they had a tabletop with tanks on it, and the demonstrator circled a group of them and moved the wand to tell them where to move to, and then told them to attack. After seeing the trailer for Ruse yesterday, this actually seems much more possible using a controller such as this. I was thoroughly impressed, although I’m still not sure if a new interface is really what we need to play with right now. They announced that this will be available in Spring 2010.

ModNation Racers
Information Unavailable

This game was thought up of after the catch phrase “Play, Create, Share” was coined by LittleBigPlanet. Taking that into account, ModNation Racers was born, which allows you to create everything, from the racer themselves, to the cars that you drive in, down to the tracks that you ride on. It runs on a very casual pace, and has a very Mario Kart look and feel to it, so that anyone can pick it up and play it. The graphics, while cartoon-like, are actually very good for what it’s made for. The environment around you is also very interactive, so everything that you drive by can be either used or used against you. On stage, the demonstrator created a track in no more than five minutes, and while it wasn’t massive, it had enough detail around it to show how easy it was to make something. I actually found this to be quite entertaining, and I’m waiting to hear more information on when it’s going to be released.

The Last Guardian
Publisher: SCEI
Developer: Japan Studio
Release Date: TBA

Unfortunately, there isn’t much to say about this game at this moment, as they only showed a cinematic trailer, but it’s created by the developer who made games such as Shadow of the Colossus. The trailer that it showed had a very similar graphic style to Shadow of the Colossus actually, which was a very beautiful game from the very beginning as well. Unfortunately, all that I can tell from the trailer is that you possibly play as a boy who has a chimera as a guardian, but other than that, the other objectives or story from the game is unknown at the moment. This game looks to be very beautiful, so I’m still interested to see what happens in the future, but with so little information about it, there isn’t much to think about yet.

Gran Turismo 5
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Polyphony Digital
Release Date: 2009

They continued to show just some simple cinematic trailers with Gran Turismo 5 as well, but if you’ve ever seen anything from Gran Turismo, you know how beautiful the game is. Unfortunately there isn’t any numbers of cars, tracks or even a release date, although it’s still assumed that the game is coming out before the end of 2009. For types of cars though, they showed off rally cars, tuners, exotics and a brand new group of cars, NASCAR. Gran Turismo games have had a few NASCAR tracks available for racing on with their own collection of cars, but never before have they actually had a full 43-car field of actual stock cars racing on the track. I’m very interested to see how well the physics are for this, as it could give the current NASCAR games a run for their money, although I highly doubt that there will be any real season mode included.

God of War III
Publisher/Developer: SCEA
Release Date: March 2010

If you’ve played the previous God of War games, you know to expect something big, and in terms of scale, God of War III continues to follow through with that. Huge environments were present during the live demo that was played during the Conference today. The graphics continue to be beautiful on the PlayStation 3′s first taste of God of War, and that extends to the enemies and player character models as well. New battle mechanics, weapons, and even puzzles that use the enemies themselves to be able to solve litter the game. One thing to remember though, this game is rated M, and with good reason, because the signature finishes that the God of War franchise is used to are bloodier than ever before. I’ll admit, this game isn’t necessarily my type of game, but overall, the game still looks gorgeous in it’s own right.

- Overall Impressions -

Sony succeeded in finishing off the rounds of Press Conferences with a very strong performance earlier today. Out of all of the publishers, I felt that it was Sony that showed off the most games in the more prevalent ways to game players. I also felt that out of all of the new “interfaces” that were announced throughout the past two days, Sony’s seemed to work the best, and seemed to have the most amount of uses compared to any of the others. There are a lot of games that have been announced or shown off in the past two days, and it’s amazing to think how many great games that are coming out in the next twelve months. As a PlayStation 3 owner, I am happy to say that I will be kept very happy over the next year with a varied collection of games that will keep me very busy.

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