At E3 2007, Guild Wars: Eye of the North was demonstrated for media exclusively, but was not available on the show floor. Now for the first time, gamers will be able to see this exclusive E3 demo in its entirety through the Guild Wars: Eye of the North guided E3 demo video. Gamers will see more of the new regions contained in the Guild Wars expansion, including the Eye of the North, Gunnar’s Hold and Rata Sum. The demo, which is narrated by design lead Ben Miller, also features a detailed look at one of the dungeons, Aracni’s Haunt, the highly anticipated Hall of Monuments, and much more.
Guild Wars: Eye of the North will hit retail stores on August 31, until then visit the
official site for more Guild Wars information and as always check out our GW page for more goodies.
With all the hoopla and fuzzy feelings of E3 2007 slowing fading away, news broke regarding the Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2007 winners just in time to get everyone interested again. Rock Band won three awards, Electronic Arts took home the most awards by coveting six of them, and the Xbox 360 had 11 different winning titles slated to appear on their console.
Here is a breakdown for you:
Best of Show Rock Band
(Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Original Game LittleBigPlanet
(Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for PS3)
Best Console Game Mass Effect
(Bioware/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
Best PC Game Crysis
(Crytek/EAP)
Best Handheld Game The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
(Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
Best Hardware/Peripheral Rock Band Instruments
(Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Action Game Call of Duty 4
(Infinity Ward/Activision for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Action/Adventure Game Bioshock
(Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, Xbox 360)
Best Role Playing Game Mass Effect
(Bioware / Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
Best Racing Game Burnout Paradise
(Criterion Games/Electronic Arts for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Sports Game Madden NFL 08
(Electronic Arts for All Platforms)
Best Fighting Game Virtua Fighter 5
(Sega for Xbox 360)
Best Strategy Game World in Conflict
(Massive Entertainment/Sierra for PC)
Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Rock Band
(Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Online Multiplayer Halo 3
(Bungie/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
Special Commendation for Graphics Killzone 2
(Guerilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for PS3)
For instance, instituting a dress code for attendees of E3. It’s sure to spawn groans from gamers, but that could do wonders for pushing the attitude of the conference to a more serious tone. It doesn’t have to be about dress shoes and a tie, but it shouldn’t be about shorts and sandals. As much as we’d like it to be, E3 isn’t a vacation.
And I couldn’t agree more with the Best in Show being reworked, especially making sure to exclude having the same game being given the award multiple years in a row. That’s not Best in Show, that’s Best in Last Year’s Show.
These ideas aren’t hard to implement and the organizers should pay attention. It’s obvious that the measures taken at this year’s E3 were too drastic, and to everyone’s detriment.
We’ll have to see what evolves in the next six months.
Space Station Tycoon follows the adventures of Shawn and his high-strung monkey sidekick Tam through pirate infested space, meteor fields, supernovas, and bizarre characters as they seek out fame and fortune. Expand your empire with an increasing number of stations and customize each one to attract business. Keep the customers happy and they will gladly spend their money. Throughout the game, players will encounter over 30 kooky characters; but watch out because unruly space pirates, starfish ninjas and mysterious voodoo-practicing chickens can disrupt your stations at anytime, bringing your tycoon empire to the ground. Slated for an August release, Space Station Tycoon is a Wii exclusive.
Features:
• Tons of customization: Continually expand your empire with an increasing number of islands and customize each one to attract business. Add Galactic Taverns and overflowing treasure chests to befriend the unruly Space Pirates. Looking for a livelier crowd? Build luaus and water parks to attract the fun-loving Party Pigs!
• Awesome cast of characters: Play as entrepreneur Shawn, with the help of his monkey sidekick Tam, and keep a crazy cast of quirky characters happy so they will gladly spend their money! Make the right friends and you will run your competition into the ground. But, it’s not so easy when your competition seems to have ties to Space Pirates, Ninjas and mysterious voodoo-practicing Chickens!
• Physics-based object interaction: Create gravity points with your Wii controller and interact with objects in the environment. Catch asteroids to keep them from smashing your space station, bounce rowdy ships, retrieve tips from visitors and even lob cannonballs at those troublesome pirates that keep attacking!
• Goal-based gameplay: Manage stations all over the galaxy and take advantage of the ebb and flow of the economy to maximize your income. Meet the objectives of each level in order to continue to expand your empire and become the ultimate Space Station Tycoon!
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts is the next chapter in the critically acclaimed Company of Heroes series. Players take command of the German Panzer Elite as they struggle against the might of Operation Market Garden, or lead the British 2nd Army in the vicious battle for Caen, France. The standalone title features two unique armies with full length campaigns, new multiplayer modes, Microsoft DirectX 10 support, mission persistence, improved vehicle and soldier AI, enhanced physics, and a dynamic weather system. Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts is fully compatible with Company of Heroes, allowing players to wage war with four unique armies. Slated for a November release, COH: Opposing Fronts was developed by Relic and will be published by THQ.
Time Crisis 4 includes a full FPS game mode, HD quality graphics and a newly designed Guncon to enhance every aspect of the game. Time Crisis 4 brings a fresh new look to launch the series into the next generation.
• Next Generation Guncon – The most advanced Guncon ever, redesigned specifically to enhance next-gen gameplay.
• New dual analog stick design- Change camera angles, switch out weapons and control your character’s movement, including crouching and jumping.
• Full compatibility with all displays- Enjoy the adrenaline pumping action in HD quality graphics whether you have an LCD, plasma or widescreen display. (Also supports Standard Definition displays)
• FPS mode – Exclusive to the console version and entirely new to the Time Crisis universe, roam freely as a new, console exclusive playable character, and experience FPS style gameplay in 5 new stages.
• Multiple modes – Time Crisis 4 delivers intense-action in numerous modes of play including: Full Mission – Play through a combination of original stages and brand new FPS stages, Arcade - Experience arcade action in your very own living room, Crisis Missions - The popular Crisis Missions are back and more exciting than ever, now with new tactical missions! Destroy biological weapons and complete other objectives requiring the utmost in stealth and precision, Mini Games - Test your sharp shooting skills and complete your objective within seconds, or go head-to-head with a friend in a variety of challenging mini games.
• Upgraded Arsenal – In addition to your standard weapons assortment, such as handguns and shotguns, upgrade to grenade launchers and mounted machine guns (FPS mode only) to increase your lethal arsenal. Also features unlockable console exclusive bonus weapons. Select your weapon and be prepared to assault enemies from every direction.
Time Crisis 4, a PS3 exclusive, will be hitting retail shelves this November.
From Namco’s acclaimed weapon-based fighting series comes the fourth chapter in the series. Delivering new gameplay modes, characters and enhanced features with 3D modeling and animation, Soul Calibur IV aims to be a definitive fighting game experience. Developed by Project Soul, Soul Calibur IV re-introduces classic warriors from the series as well as introduces new characters that bring new conflict and intrigue. With online play, new life is being breathed into the series, and gives fighting games a new outlet.
Looking at some of these screens, I am wondering if the female characters have enough protection from the sword play involved. Taki looks like she just painted herself pink instead of dressing, and Ivy…. personally I would get sick and tired of having a constant wedgie. Soul Calibur IV will be released for the PS3 and Xbox-360 sometime in 2008.
Soul Calibur Legends is kind of a side story for the series. A new character, Isuka, is a mysterious young man of imperial blood who is traveling with Siegfried during the 16th century. Legends is different from the normal one-on-one fighting style of the series, and is instead more of a 3rd-person sword-based action platform, with characters facing multiple enemies at once. Enemies consist of classic Soul Calibur fighters as well as some new beasts. Use special attacks acquired throughout the game to crush your enemies and large bosses, earn honored titles such as Knight or Soldier while battling through diverse stages and environments.
The control schemes change depending on which character you are playing (you can switch between two) with new playable characters being unveiled as you progress. These new characters also acquire new skills and weapons along the way. In addition to combat, there are traps and other treacherous obstacles in dungeons. Different game stage layouts contribute to the fight as well, so players will want to use height to their advantage.
Slated for a November 30th release, Soul Calibur Legends is a Wii exclusive from Namco Bandai Games. We have plenty of screens for you to peruse, and the E3 trailer too- enjoy!
Posted by Andrew on Friday, July 20th, 2007 at 8:59 pm under E3 2007, Games Industry
If e3 ends up in Las Vegas, what exactly was the point of trying to change anything with that convention?
Apparently, organizers of the Electronics Entertainment Exhibition are still fiddling with the ingredients of this new experimental formula for the 2008 gathering. Jeff Bell, Microsoft’s VP of Marketing, said recently, “I’m not flying the flag for Las Vegas necessarily, but LA’s not a convention town.”
There was concern this year about the necessary exposure between partners and media, and it’s something that is still being worked on. It will be interesting to see where it will end up next year, hopefully somewhere that makes everyone happy.
San Francisco isn’t a bad town, either. In fact, it seems like the Games Developers Conference has been a success with that city, so why shouldn’t e3 do just as well?
On his deathbed, the famous composer, Chopin, drifts between this life and the next. In his final hours, he experiences a fantastical dream where he encounters a young girl facing a terrible destiny and the boy who will fight to save her. On the border between dreams and reality, Chopin discovers the light that shines in all of us in this enduring tale of good and evil, love and betrayal.
Eternal Sonata will be available for the Xbox-360 in September. The game looks gorgeous, and I hope that the gamplay can compete with the visuals. For more information on the game go here, for the trailer go here, and for the official website click here.
Activsion’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was awarded the “Best Game of E3 2007″ by G4 Television. COD4: Modern Warfare was among several highly anticipated games showcased at E3 in Santa Monica, California on July 11 – 13.
“We are very pleased that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare earned top honors at E3 2007,†said Will Kassoy, senior vice president of global brand management, Activision - “These awards are a testament to the talented team at Infinity Ward and their unique ability to combine creativity with technological innovation to deliver ground breaking entertainment that appeals to gamers worldwide.â€
Grant Collier, president of Infinity Ward (Game Developer) added, “we are extremely thrilled to be bringing home G4’s top honor, among a showing of strong contenders, from this year’s E3. The team at Infinity Ward has been eager to share their excitement in creating Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and E3 provided the perfect forum to showcase the title among our peers, retailers and media.â€
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the new action-thriller from the award-winning team at Infinity Ward, delivers the most intense and cinematic action experience ever. Armed with an arsenal of advanced and powerful modern day firepower, gamers are sent to the most treacherous hot-spots around the globe to take on a rogue enemy group threatening the world. As both a U.S. Marine and British S.A.S. soldier fighting through an unfolding story full of twists and turns, players use sophisticated technology, superior firepower and coordinated land and air strikes on a battlefield where speed, accuracy and communication are essential to victory. The epic title also delivers an added depth of multiplayer action providing online fans an all-new community of persistent, addictive and customizable gameplay.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will be available this fall for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
Slated for an August 28th release for the PS3 and Xbox 360 is Dynasty Warriors: GUNDAM. The latest installment in the Dynasty Warriors franchise pulls gamers into a intergalactic conflict where you must destroy the enemy forces before they annihilate you. Players have an advantage though, a Mobile Suit - the ultimate weapon of destruction.
Providing an opportunity to explore the detailed setting of the Gundam universe, you will assume the role of famous heroes or villains all the while gaining important attributes to enhance you fighting skills. Each character sees the course of the battle unfold from different perspectives, and can each unlock Mobile Suits from different GUNDAM time lines while completing secret missions. This gives the game more replayability, which is a good thing considering how much games cost these days. Different varieties of games include Official, Original, and Versus Modes.
Storyline:
In the future, rebel space colonies launch a brutal war for independence with a series of orbital strikes against the Earth. War is reinvented as advanced ECM renders long range sensors and communications virtually useless. In this chaos, a frightening new weapon, the Mobile Suit, is born. Agile, heavily armed and armored - optimized for short range combat with melee attacks and a wide array of weapons, the Mobile Suit is the ultimate instrument in this new age of warfare. The time has come to pick a side, choose a weapon and prove your supremacy.
Today seems to be the day we get oddball trailers from Russian publisher Akella. This trailer for The Bad, The Ugly, and The Sober has got to be the weirdest one of the bunch though. Part adventure game with some mini-games sprinkled in, you’ll be put in the shoes of Jack, an expert shooter and drunk from the Old West whose farm is burned down by bandits. To ease his money woes, he decides to enter a tournament for bandits to win a bag of cash and a portrait that contains a treasure map. It may just be awkward translation, but the trailer makes the game seem like it could have some unintentional humor. When a game is advertised as having “animated backgrounds” and a “humoristic storyline,” you know you’re in for a *ahem* different experience.
Awhile back, we reported on some new screens and info for the upcoming adventure game, A Stroke of Fate. Now there’s a new trailer up for the game which shows off some of more environments and characters you’ll encounter. The story, set in the 1940’s, will put you in the shoes of a spy trying to plan the assassination of Adolph Hitler by gaining access to his closest advisers. You’ll explore authentic locales from the time and interact with many historical figures, including Hitler himself. So far, it already sounds like an intriguing story that could make for an interesting game.
Here’s a new trailer for the upcoming turn-based strategy game, Jagged Alliance 3. The game will have you leading specially selected squads on different missions in Africa, taking out drug cartels and the like. The last installment in the series, Jagged Alliance 2, was fairly popular when it was released in 1999, and it looks like little has changed in the overall feel of the title. The game should be out early next year.
Ron posted some info regarding the new Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance back in June and THQ was more than happy to provide some screens during the E3 2007 event in Santa Monica. This new stand-alone title will be compatible with the original RTS and will follow the story of the Infinite War. With a new single-player campaign, new features for multiplayer, over 100 new units, and a new faction, fans of the series will be guaranteed an awesome new experience come November. The original Supreme Commander arrived on my doorstep over the weekend from the nice guys at FedEx and needless to say I am LOVING IT! Like Ron said: “If you didn’t play the original Supreme Commander, go buy it now. Right now. Then come back, read this again, and drool. Supreme Commander …………. Can November get here fast enough?” Amen to that!
For the majority of gamers, it seems this “new” E3 is somewhat less exciting than the previous years. It might just be me, but I was looking for Nintendo to prove that the Wii has earned its user base. Mario Galaxy made a brief appearance, but the lack of any real Super Smash Bros. news is just sad. Has Nintendo surrendered to the unknown wills of the “general public”? If their ridiculous game play on the Wii Fit is any indication, it seems Nintendo may have just lost focus on the people who carried them through the Gamecube years. We still believe in you Nintendo, don’t forget where you came from.
Looks like some leftover media from publisher Akella is still filtering in from E3. Here’s a new trailer for the upcoming FPS, Showdown: Scorpion. The game is set in the near future, where Eastern Europe has been broken up into several industrial regions. When a terrorist organization gets its hands on a new nano-virus, a Russian Special Forces agent is sent in to eliminate it. From the looks of thing, the game’s style seems to borrow heavily form F.E.A.R., though without the supernatural story elements. And I don’t know what song that is, but whoever made it stole the beat from Lunatic Calm’s “Leave You Far Behind” (made most famous from The Matrix).
Awhile back, we reported on the first details and a website for the upcoming RPG, Hard to Be a God. Now we have a new trailer, which may look like it’s based in a fantasy world, but it’s really science fiction. The story, based on a novel by Soviet writers Arcady and Boris Stroutgatsky, revolves around an alternate reality where two planets similar to Earth exist. One planet evolves into a technologically advanced society, while the other somehow remains stalled in Medieval times. In the game, you’ll play an agent sent to find out why. You’ll also have access to some futruristic technology to help you out, though you’ll have to try and keep it hidden from the locals. Granted, it looks like a fairly typical RPG, but the very untypical storyline could make this one stand out a bit.
This week at E3, I finally got a chance to see Sony Online Entertainment’s upcoming MMO, The Agency. Slated to release on the PC and PS3, The Agency is a first (or third) person shooter that takes place in a persistent online world.
Players will choose between two factions for their character to join, either UNITE or PARAGON. UNITE is the high-tech, glamorous, James-Bond style spies that you might know from the movies, while PARAGON is a collection of ragtag mercenaries using castoff equipment. The two organizations are not enemies, although they are rivals. In fact, certain objectives that both organizations deem important will result in players of both factions being tasked to work together.
One major difference between The Agency and other MMOs is the complete lack of a traditional class system. In its place, SOE is using a system that they have dubbed, “You are what you wear.” How does that work? It’s actually fairly simple. Based on what equipment you have equipped, you could be a combat, support, or stealth specialist. Regardless of this their equipment, players will improve their skills based on how often they use them.
In addition to the basic gameplay, SOE is also including a feature they’ve dubbed ‘PvP Anytime.’ It will allow players to jump into a combat scenario directly from the menu. However, it’s not solely combat. There are also a number of minigames, including gambling. Gambling in a spy game? Delicious.
The last thing I want to mention is that once a player has gained enough experience, he will be granted Non-Official Cover (NOC) status, and will effectively be starting his own agency. Once this happens, players can recruit NPC operatives of their own, each of whom can be assigned tasks ranging from spy missions to obtaining weapons and gadgets. These operatives will actually communicate with you outside the game as well as in game (this is an option that can be turned off). For instance, an operative assigned to obtain a vehicle might email you when he’s procured it, and an operative captured while spying might text message you asking for the ransom to be paid to release him. It’s just one more way of drawing players into the game.
All in all, The Agency looks fairly good. It’s still a ways from release, but if they are able to maintain the gameplay hook they have now, it could be a very interesting title at release.
Does E3 really have to 
From 
If e3 ends up in Las Vegas, what exactly was the point of trying to change anything with that convention?
Activsion’s 
