E3 2007: Sony’s Press Conference Recap And Impressions
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Activision, Adventure, CAPCOM, Corporate News, Driving, E3, Electronic Arts, First Person Shooters, Hardware, Internet, LucasArts, MMORPG, Mods/Hacks, Music, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Release Dates, Role Playing Games, SEGA, Sony, Special Editions, Sports, Trailers, Ubisoft,
I’m going to come right out and say it: I’m coming away from Sony’s presentation more impressed than I was either Nintendo’s or Microsoft’s. They were very straightforward and showed exactly what we all wanted to see: the games.
In fact, this was one of the more impressive E3 press conferences in recent memory – check inside to find out why.
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E3 2007: Golden Axe, Sonic The Hedgehog On Live, Marathon 2 And More On The Way
Posted by Kyle Ulrich Categories: Action, Bungie, E3, First Person Shooters, Release Dates, Retro, SEGA, Xbox Live Arcade,
Announced during Microsoft’s press conference not long ago, Genesis classics Sonic The Hedgehog and Golden Axe are now available for Live Arcade. Sweetening the surprise is the pricing; they’ll only cost you five bucks (400 Microsoft Points) each, exactly three dollars less than their $8 Wii Virtual Console counterparts. Sega’s giving 360 owners a discount.
Also announced via the same Live Arcade footage reel was Marathon: Durandal. Development is being outsourced to Freeverse, a smaller Mac-focused outfit who’ve decided to remove the “2” in the games title. This is no mere re-branding: what was shown reveals a major visual overhaul. All of the games sprites and textures have been re-painted, resulting in a more polished version of what staunch Mac addicts got down on twelve years ago. No price or release details, but it’ll have a good home when it arrives: a Bungie classic reborn should sit well with the audience.
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E3 2007: Microsoft’s Press Conference Recap And Impressions
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Accessories, Action, Activision, Adventure, Bungie, CAPCOM, Casual, Corporate News, Driving, E3, Electronic Arts, First Person Shooters, Hardware, Microsoft, Party Games, PC, Puzzle, Release Dates, Retro, Role Playing Games, SEGA, Simulation, Special Editions, Sports, Strategy, Survival Horror, Take2, Third Person Shooters, Trailers, Ubisoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend E3 this year – instead, I’m on vacation in Cape Cod, using awful hotel Wi-Fi to watch streamed press conferences. Not the most glamorous way to take it all in, but exciting announcements, great games and new details are welcome no matter how you hear about them.
Here’s my personal transcription (in very brief form) of all the announcements and showings, along with some reflection on what Microsoft had to show.
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Xbox Live Arcade 7/4: Missile Command
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade,
The classic Missile Command is now available on Xbox Live Arcade. While it isn’t a particularly exciting game by today’s standards, at 400 Microsoft Points ($5) with update graphics and multiplayer over Xbox Live, it’ll be hard to say no for anyone who played it as a kid.
Maybe this week’s theme was to coincide with the Fourth? “Bombs bursting in air,” you’re blowing up missiles in this game… it makes sense. In my head, at least.
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WiiWare – Nintendo’s New Downloadable Game Service
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Nintendo, Virtual Console, Wii,
Sure, the Wii already has the Virtual Console, but all we get there are straight ports of classic games. Great for those of us who may have missed games or want to play them again for nostalgia’s sake, and Nintendo & co. can make a ridiculous profit. Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation Network, to an extent, on the other hand, are home to original titles and encourage independent developers to create titles for the platforms.
WiiWare is Nintendo’s answer. We don’t have many details yet, but we know the first content for the platform should be appearing in early 2008. Pricing has not yet been announced.
Read More | Red Herring via Gear Live
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Xbox Live Arcade 6/27: Carcassonne
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Strategy, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade,
The European board game you’ve probably never heard of has made its way to the Xbox Live Arcade. For 800 Microsoft Points ($10) you can download the virtual version of the strategic board game. Catan was very well received (especially by those GamerAndy folks), so hopefully Carcassonne catches on as well and we’ll see more board games in the future.
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Carcassonne Hits XBLA This Wednesday
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Release Dates, Strategy, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade,
Unless you’re from Europe, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of the board game Carcassonne before. I sure haven’t, but after giving it a look – and keeping in mind the success of Catan – it looks like we’re getting another solid XBLA release this week. And finally we get another game that makes use of the Vision camera. It still doesn’t quite feel like it was worth $40, though.
The official word on Carcassonne:
Using strategic tactics and a little luck, one to five players take turns selecting from 72 tiles displaying various features of a city including roads, the walls of a castle or fields. The medieval countryside thrives as players and their opponents place tiles and complete towns, roads, and farms while competing to accumulate the most points.
Game Features
- Special AI settings to challenge any skill level
- Challenge your friends – Up to five players can play over Xbox LIVE or up to four players can play on the same Xbox 360
- Interact with new and old friends alike over Xbox LIVE while you play “Carcassonne” with the Xbox LIVE Vision camera
- Helpful step-by-step tutorial to teach you the game in minutes
- Skill-based matchmaking for ranked games
- The complete “Carcassonne” includes 72 tiles and all rule sets
- “Carcassonne” includes the “Rivers II” expansion set - 12 additional tiles
- Earn up to 200 Gamerscore and 12 Achievements
The game goes live this Wednesday, June 27, for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).
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Xbox Live Arcade 6/13: Prince of Persia Classic
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Retro, Ubisoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,
For those of you who think Prince of Persia is a series that began last gen, you’re dead wrong. Prince of Persia was originally a PC title, developed back in 1989. Now the game is resurfacing as Prince of Persia Classic on the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The interesting catch to the game is that you’re required to save a princess… but in under 60 minutes.
The features list is exactly what you would expect from an XBLA game: improved graphics; new traps, puzzles, and enemies; 12 achievements; and leaderboards in three flavors – Normal Mode (complete the game as fast as possible, saving after each level), Time Attach Mode (start from the beginning if that princess isn’t saved in 60 minutes), and Survival Mode (complete the game in under 60 minutes without dying – good luck).
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Soltrio Solitaire Xbox Live Arcade Review
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Casual, Microsoft, Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade,
Typically when I download an Xbox Live Arcade game, I know right away whether or not it’s something that I’ll play for three minutes and delete, or if it’s something that’ll sit on my hard drive awaiting me to plunk down however many Microsoft Points it costs to own it. Soltrio Solitaire is one of those games I expected to delete right away. I mean, it’s just solitaire. Albeit, 18 different kinds of solitaire, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is something I’ve played enough of as I waste time on my computer. So I played a game of regular old Solitaire (which is apparently called Klondike – who knew?) and enjoyed it, and decided to try another type. Then I noticed that I was playing over and over and over. I quickly snatched up the full version so that I could attempt to climb the leaderboards and try out some of the game’s other features.
After a ridiculous number of games played (including time spent willingly playing this over the Halo 3 beta), I can safely say that if you’re a fan of card games, you should pick up Soltrio. Casual fans with short attention spans or graphic whores need look elsewhere – this is clearly aimed and successfully works as the type of game that sucks in anyone that can appreciate the depth of a card game.
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PlayStation Network 6/7: Nothing But Trailers
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: PlayStation 3, Trailers,
Each Monday, Wii owners get a few games added to the Virtual Console. Sure, they’re not always the greatest games, but occasionally you’ll find a gem in there and maybe something that holds some nostalgic value. Each Wednesday, Xbox 360 owners typically get at least one Live Arcade game – which, as of late, have been pretty damn good. But PlayStation 3 owners aren’t quite as lucky; this week they don’t even get a demo. Instead, all they have to look forward to when connecting to the PSN are four trailers.
- Heavenly Sword “Gamer’s Day 2007” Trailer (free): Emotionally charged, stunningly beautiful, and delivering unprecedented dramatic character performance, Heavenly Sword showcases the PS3 system’s power. Check out the new trailer for this much anticipated title, straight from Sony Computer Entertainment America’s recent Gamer’s Day media event.
- MLB 07 The Show (PS3) Video (free): The best-selling baseball franchise is now available for PS3! This season we’re proud to introduce a slew of new features including: Road To The Show, Adaptive Pitching Intelligence, Online League Play, Pitch Command System and unique Umpire Personalities. This week, take a look at a tutorial video of the game’s online feature set.
- Stranglehold Trailer (free): Continue the story of John Woo’s influential action film, Hard Boiled, starring Chow Yun-Fat. Engage your enemies in intense cinematic gun battles and cause extensive environmental damage using a full arsenal of deadly weapons. Hard Boiled will also be included in its entirety on the Blu-ray disc.
- Movie Trailers (free): Download new trailers for the upcoming blockbuster film, Transformers, and the upcoming Blu-ray release, Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band: Live in Dublin.
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