06th Jun2012

E3 2012 Coverage: LucasArts Star Wars 1313

by Jeremy

LucasArts Star Wars 1313

More exciting news from E3 2012. Gameplay footage from the next Star Wars game has been made available. Not a lot is known about the new game, titled: Star Wars 1313. What is known is that the game takes place on the city planet of Coruscant (you know, where the Emperor lives) , between the movie trilogies. The game takes place on level 1313; part of the gritty, lawless underbelly of Coruscant’s 5000 levels. We also know you play a bounty hunter, and rumors are ‘Force use’ will not be seen in this game. As the first LucasArts game since Force Unleashed 2, the graphics of the game look incredible, and they should. This game was a collaboration between Industrial Light & Magic and Lucasfilm Animation.

Here’s some gameplay footage from Machinima:

 

If the Force Unleashed games were your chance to play as an Anakin/Luke character, 1313 appears to be your chance at a Han Solo/Boba Fett character. Are you still interested in playing a non-Jedi character in a Star Wars game? I can’t wait for more details.

 

 

05th Jun2012

E3 2012 Coverage: Nintendo Wii U GamePad

by Jeremy

Nintendo Wii U GamePad

[Update 11-22-12:

The Wii U is out just in time for the holidays. It will come in two versions: Nintendo Wii U Console 8GB Basic Set - White for $299.99, and a Nintendo Wii U Console - 32GB Black Deluxe Set version, that comes with the Nintendo Land game for $349.99. They've also announced 50 games that will be ready during the "launch window". I've linked to some of those games below, and added a couple more (not previously mentioned) here: New Super Mario Bros. U, Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth, Assassin's Creed IIISonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed Bonus Edition, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of TwoScribblenauts Unlimited]

 

On the first day of the 2012 E3 convention, Nintendo pushed gaming entertainment to the next level by announcing their new wireless motion-sensor tablet controller: the Wii U GamePad. No pricing details or launch date have been announced yet (but you can bet that they are shooting for availability by the holidays), they did say that it can be used with all the current Wii controllers, and that more than 20 games are already in development.

At the press conference, Nintendo America president Reggie Fils-Aime said when using the new GamePad controller “you are playing the same game, but you are playing it differently” than the other players. Nintendo put together a great “trailer” video that really shows off the features of the new Wii U controller, here it is (courtesy of IGN):

Some other games they’ve mentioned are Nintendo Land, Rayman Legends, ZombiU, Wii Fit U, Pikmin 3 and Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition. Nintendo’s YouTube channel has videos for all these games, and more, being played with the new controller here. The new Wii U GamePad will also be able to stream HD quality videos via Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video and YouTube.

It appears as though Nintendo has made the next step without making their customer purchase a whole new gaming console. Wii users, are you excited for this? Non Wii users, does this make you want to purchase a Wii?

05th Jun2012

E3 2012!

by Jeremy

Logo for 2012 E3

If you want to know what the future holds for gaming, gaming consoles, and any other peripherals related to the gaming industry, E3 is where you will hear about the newest and most anticipated developments from the video game industry. E3 is the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It happens every summer, this year it’s from June 4-7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

From Wikipedia:

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly known as E3, is an annual trade fair for the computer and video game industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It is used by many video game developers to show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware.

E3 is widely considered to be the ultimate expo in the video game industry and major video game critics routinely document the event and sometimes even provide a series of E3 awards. Video game companies generally spend more on their presentations for E3 than any other convention. Major video game critics often have a “best of E3″ award session (similar to end-of-the-year sessions), and only E3 consistently features such awards.

All the big boys are there, Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony; and they are putting out press releases and holding news conferences at a ridiculous rate during this thing. All this week I will be sifting through all the news and updates to bring you, what I believe to be, the most important and ground breaking info.