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E3 2007: New LittleBigPlanet Footage

Posted by Kyle Ulrich Categories: Adventure, E3, PlayStation 3, Sony, Trailers,

Looking better and better every time we see it, LittleBigPlanet continues to exude charm effortlessly. At Sony’s press conference a few days ago a new trailer emerged, this time showing off the depth and ease-of-use of the game’s deep well of customization options. Much can be inferred about how limitless the games options are in the scant few minutes the trailer plays. Watch in awe of the next big thing in gaming.

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.

Click to continue reading E3 2007: Sony’s Press Conference Recap And Impressions

E3 2007: Nintendo’s Press Conference Recap And Impressions

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Adventure, CAPCOM, Casual, Corporate News, Driving, E3, Electronic Arts, First Person Shooters, Internet, Music, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Party Games, Puzzle, Release Dates, Retro, Sports, Trailers, Virtual Console, Wii,

As with the Microsoft conference before it, I was confined to my hotel Wi-Fi to take in Nintendo’s E3 press conference. But, unlike Microsoft’s, I’m walking away thoroughly and utterly disappointed. I’m going to go ahead and spoil part of the full story from after the break: there was no mention of Smash Bros. being online. Me = worried much.

Set your expectations low before you view the rest after the break.

Click to continue reading E3 2007: Nintendo’s Press Conference Recap And Impressions

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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.

Click to continue reading E3 2007: Microsoft’s Press Conference Recap And Impressions

Tomb Raider Anniversary to Hit 360, Twice

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Adventure, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

Lara Croft It’s no secret that I love me some Tomb Raider, so when Eidos announced that the remake of the original game, titled Tomb Raider: Anniversary Edition would only becoming to last-gen (read: PS2) and “new-gen” (read: Wii) consoles, I was a might bit disappointed.

Well, it looks as if Eidos has changed their mind, so color me giddy with anticipation. TR: Anniversary will now be coming to the 360, so you can finally see Lara’s original adventure in all its bump-mapped, pixel-shaded, bloom-lit glory. The really interesting part is exactly HOW the game will be coming to the 360. In its first iteration, TR: Anniversary will be hitting the 360 as downloadable episodic content, starting in September for those that own the excellent TR: Legends. Why? Well, my guess is that they’re meeting MS’s download size requirements by using the in-game engine of Legends, so essentially the Anniversary download will just be new map packs and outfits for Lara. Of course, those of you without the original Legends, or not on Xbox Live will be able to purchase Anniversary as it hits meatspace later in the year in DVD form.

GamerAndy Live! Episode 83: A Sucker for Game Bling

Posted by Edie Sellers Categories: Action, Adventure, Announcements, Corporate News, Electronic Arts, Fighting, Microsoft, PC, PlayStation 3, Portable/Mobile, PSP, Reviews, Sports, Xbox, Xbox 360, GamerAndy,

Finally a return to gaming news! So much for Andy, Hawkes and Edie to talk about, including Sony’s “major announcement,” the 80Gig Europe hate, Blu-Ray price drops, and (gasp!) Andy’s discovery of a great PS3 title! But that’s not all! We’ve got conversation about EA and ID going to the Mac, the PSP “slim, Shadowrun and Forza 2.

But wait! There’s more! Winners of last week’s contest are annouced.

Order now and you’ll recieve GamerAndy’s TV corner, where we discuss the end of the Sopranos and the return of Jherico.

Don’t walk… RUN to the download!

Nearly 14-Year-Old Games Getting Remakes: Myst DS Edition

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Adventure, Nintendo DS,

I have fond memories of first popping Myst into my computer’s CD-ROM drive (oh, how exciting it was at the time!) and exploring its incredible world. While it was only a point-and-click adventure, it still was incredible for its time. It was an experience, to be sure. And for the record, I’ve beaten it more than once - the fair way.

So imagine my surprise when my eyes came upon a press release stating that Myst was getting a remake, DS-style. The game is bound to have a pretty limited appeal, despite the fact that it’s being rebuilt specifically for the DS – a system that is simply the perfect platform for a game of this ilk. Fans will be excited to hear that a new age, known as the RIME Age, will make its way into the game.

While the press release has a sentence that might be a punch to the gut to many gaming fans – “Unlike most adventure games, Myst offers no inventory, no death, and no dialogue.” – it’s something that you really need to play to appreciate.

Virtual Console 6/4: Zelda 2, And 1000 Games Per Hour

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Adventure, Nintendo, SEGA, Virtual Console, Wii,

Zelda 2 title screen Today’s release of Zelda 2 marks the 100th release on the Virtual Console – not too bad of a library, considering it’s only been a little over 6 months in the making. Nintendo announced a few details about the VC, but first, let’s get to what you really want to know: this week’s list of releases.

Four games saw release today: Zelda II - The Adventure of Link (NES, 500 points), Dead Moon (TurboGrafx16, 600 points), Milon’s Secret Castle (NES, 500 points), and Toe Jam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (Sega Genesis, 800 points). Not a bad list, and while you may love or hate Zelda, the other three cater to different audiences very nicely.

According to Nintendo, more than 4.7 million games have been downloaded from the VC, which equates to more than 1,000 games purchased an hour since the Wii’s release. Not too shabby considering these games don’t have demos available for them. (Or maybe that’s why they manage to sell so many?) Super Mario Bros. on the NES is the platform’s best selling game, followed by Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Super Mario World, and The Legend of Zelda.

Click to continue reading Virtual Console 6/4: Zelda 2, And 1000 Games Per Hour

Original Prince of Persia Hitting XBLA

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Adventure, Ubisoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,

Prepare to work hard to get these achievements… the original Prince of Persia, that’s right the 2D side-scroller with play-control of doom will be making its way to the Xbox 360’s Live Arcade. As a bonus, it’ll feature updated graphics (think 2.5D) and from the look of this trailer you can expect a few added surprises. As Joystiq is keen to point out, this game will tie in graphically with the Sands of Time game, featuring the emo-prince character model that we’ve all come to know and love (except in Warrior Within of course - there was nothing loveable about him there).

The original PoP and it’s 2D sequel are some of my fondest old-school gaming memories, so I’m hoping the folks developing this re-telling don’t screw it up. It’s all in the ridiculously hard play control, guys. We’re guessing around $10.00 for pricing (800 MS Points), and it’s slated to be released Q2 this year.

Tomb Raider Anniversary Edition Wii Bound?

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Adventure, Eidos, PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii,

Lara Sittin' Pretty Rumors are floating around these parts about Eidos’ remake, Tomb Raider Anniversary, making its way to the Wii in the near future. As a business move, it would seem to make perfect sense for Eidos. Nintendo’s new console with next-gen controls and last-gen visuals would seem to be a perfect fit for a port, and translating the game will probably be quite easy, meaning more copies sold for very little extra work. Of course, Eidos could ruin this pretty easily by just tacking on waggle-rific controls. Here’s hoping their one of the first 3rd-party companies to get it right and realize that not ALL games have to use the Wiimote. I for one would be perfectly happy to see this game played with the Classic controller.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary Edition is a re-imagining of the original Tomb Raider game featuring updated visuals, an improved Lara model (taken from Legend and enhanced), along with new moves and a few additional surprises. Having had a chance to playtest the game, I can tell you that you that fans of the series won’t want to miss it…

How soon’s it coming out? Well, unless CrystalD has been secretly working on this title for a while, I think it’s safe to guess that the Wii version will trail the PS2 / PSP version (to be released this May).

Update: Looks like it’s official (see here). The game will release “this year” and will feature Wii-specific controls. Dang.

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