Full story about this deal, and the potential for growth (or lack thereof) of jobs in the state, after the jump.

In addition to the full Firefight matchmaking support previously announced for Reach – a feature which was very noticeably absent from Halo: ODST – fans of wave defense will now be able to slay human characters en masse, feeding their latent alien blood-lust for hours on end without the necessity of knowing 3 other people ready to do the same at any given time of the night or day. This will be part of a 2-on-2 versus mode where a Covenant invasion force attacks lone Spartans with AI troops. Once all lives are lost by the Spartans, the sides switch. The new Firefight gets its icing with a never-ending Grunt-hunt mode called, Gruntpocalypse.

There was also the announcement of  ‘Forge World’ with a mind-blowing ViDoc  you can see here (link also features an unboxing video of the new hardware). In this total re-imagining of Halo 3′s Forge, the geniuses at Bungie have gone out of their way with to make the Halo map-making interface a far more robust and accessible experience. A slew of  locales will be available to tinker with that are actually all interconnected into one immense environment. The new mode features a staggering number of objects to place and manipulate, as well as many new and improved ways to do so. It was mentioned that when putting down a teleporter, for example, the player will be able to decide exactly how big they want it to be and which objects are allowed to pass through it, etc. The detail I found most compelling was that Halo: Reach will include a number of levels that developers created in the very same Forge World that ships with the retail title – a true indicator that users will have exactly the tools they need to make their Reach experience whatever they can imagine it to be.

Think you can handle it?

For their finale of what was likely one of Halo: Reach’s last big reveals before the game hits shelves on September 14, Bungie pulled back the curtain on the Halo: Reach Xbox 360 Slim Limited Edition. It comes complete with 2 custom controllers, all modeled to look like authentic pieces of hardware from the Halo universe. The demo unit was then given away to one sickeningly lucky audience member at their Comic-Con panel. Be assured that it is sufficiently beautiful. The only drawback is you don’t have nearly enough time to save up for it. Price is TBA, but you’re probably ready to steal your grandmother’s jewelry to get your hands on one regardless.

Behold (headset not included)

Source: G4

The Aston Martin One-77!

Scheduled for a limited run of just 77, Aston Martin’s One-77 exists at the intersection between a limited edition artwork and pure technological innovation. The 77 (no doubt filthy rich) customers who will be lucky enough to purchase one of these cars will be treated to a culmination of Aston Martin’s modern era; V12 power, lightweight construction, modern materials, craft skills, design excellence, raw beauty, and pretty much a guarantee to get laid anytime they drive it.

Considering that you’re more than likely not one of these aforementioned 77 (and if you are, why the hell aren’t you reading Forbes or some shit like that?) you’ll just have to settle for fake driving one in Test Drive Unlimited 2, when it’s released on September 21.

For more on the game, check out www.testdriveunlimited2.com

Here’s what you can expect as far as free goodies, if you decide to buy the game right now.

Gamers who reserve Rock Band 3 for the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 from GameStop, will receive three downloadable songs at launch for free. “Burning Down the House” by the Talking Heads, “My Own Summer” by Deftones, and “Blue Monday” by New Order.

Amazon shoppers who reserve Rock Band 3 for the Ps3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii will get themselves an exclusive in-game guitar. In addition, for a limited time only, Ps3 and 360 owners who pre-order Rock Band 3 via Amazon will receive $10 off a future videogame purchase. Pretty sweet, right?

Last, those who get their games via Walmart.com can pre-order Rock Band 3 for the Wii, Ps3 or Xbox 360, and get themselves a $10 eGift card for a limited time.

Exclusively available in the Fallout: New Vegas collector’s edition, “All Roads” was written by Chris Avellone, the game’s creative director, and created in conjunction with Dark Horse Comics. The game can be pre-ordered now through participating retailers, and will be released on October 19, 2010.

For more information on Fallout: New Vegas, visit www.falloutnewvegas.com

Bad Religion, who recently celebrated their 30th anniversary, and who will be releasing a new album on September 28 called “The Dissent of Man”, will offer up two tracks for download. “New Dark Ages” from their 2007 album, New Maps of Hell, and “No Control” from their 1989 album of the same name.

The Stooges will be coming to the Rock Band Store with “The Stooges Pack 01″, which will include “1969″, “I Wanna Be Your Dog”, and “No Fun”, all from the group’s debut album, “The Stooges”, which was originally released in 1969.

All of these tracks are the original master recordings, and will be available for download tomorrow, July 20.

Take THAT, Navy Seals!

Anyway, in celebration of this game’s release, EA has announced that a limited edition of Medal Of Honor will also be available, and that this version will grant players exclusive access to the MP7, a unique weapon used by Tier 1 Operators in the field. Limited Edition owners will also benefit from day-one access to the TOZ-194 and 870MC2 shotguns, while others must rank up to get these weapons unlocked.

The Limited Edition of Medal of Honor hits stores on October 12, 2010 for the Ps3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC.
You can pre-order now at www.medalofhonor.com at no additional cost.

“We are introducing a whole new generation to the music of a symphony orchestra,” said veteran video game composer and Video Games Live CEO/executive producer and host Tommy Tallarico. “Never before in history have kids been dragging their parents to watch a symphony.”

The Video Games Live CD and DVD/Blu-Ray release will coincide with the nationally televised special and will be available exclusively through PBS until November 1, 2010. The CD features 16 musical performances, and the DVD/Blu-Ray includes more than three hours of bonus material, including extended musical segments, composer and game developer interviews, exclusive game trailers, “making the game” documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage and composer commentary.

The musical lineup for the airing of Video Games Live is a bit of a gamer’s wet dream, as there will be musical performances of the Mario, Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Halo, Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Castlevania, God of War, Civilization, Chrono Cross, StarCraft and Guitar Hero franchises, including a musical journey through classic gaming.

Video Games Live will begin airing on PBS later this month, and throughout August. To check your local listings, click here.

DeathSpank is an action-RPG, which blends epic storytelling, addictive gameplay, a whole lot of humor, and randomly enough, evil chickens. The game was developed under the direction of Ron Gilbert, who’s otherwise known as the guy who created the amazing (and hilarious) The Secret of Monkey Island series, so I’ve got to imagine that it’s on-par with some of those great games.

“While DeathSpank is definitely one of the funnier games out there, it’s more than a one trick pony,” said Vlad Ceraldi, Director of Game Development for Hothead Games. “We’ve built a game with fast-paced, addictive combat set in a world that has a tremendous amount of depth that is filled with dynamic characters, colorful environments and tons of cool weapons and loot. And yes, we still have ponies too– trick ponies!”

DeathSpank is rated “T” for teen, and is available now via the PS Network for $14.99 or on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft points.
For more on DeathSpank, please visit, www.deathspank.com

Well, in an effort to celebrate the game’s 30th anniversary, and to have a whole new generation of gamers actually play it, Atari has remade Haunted House with authentic replication of arcade gameplay, rich 3D environments, interactive objects, dynamic story lines, and new characters.

“The glowing eyes and mysterious urn of Haunted House still resonates with gamers who made the original franchise a blockbuster hit,” says Jim Wilson, President of Atari. “Atari looks forward to introducing a new generation of gamers to the fun and suspense of Graves Mansion and bringing families together with the magic that is Haunted House.”

Haunted House will be available via Xbox Live Arcade, Nintendo Wii, and Windows PC Download, this fall.

Zuma Blitz will join PopCap’s Bejeweled Blitz as their second full-fledged social game on Facebook, and will roll out gradually via Beta launch in approximately three weeks.

“We’re very excited to be offering our fans and players a chance to win some of the hottest technology products out there by just redeeming a closed beta key for Heroes of Three Kingdoms to experience one of history’s greatest battles,” said AJ Potter, Product Manager for Heroes of Three Kingdoms. “The battle of Red Cliff is a story that has endured the ages from the 14th century novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong to the movie, Red Cliff, directed by John Woo. Good luck to all participants and we hope that you’ll enjoy the story of Red Cliff, whether it’s playing Heroes of Three Kingdoms, watching the movie or even reading the digital novel on an e-reader.”

For more information, or to sign up for the closed beta, check out the official site at: hotk.perfectworld.com

3D

Hollywood studios have really embraced 3D technology thank to box-office billions and advancements spurred by the digital revolution in filming techniques leading to HD-stereoscopic frame capture; thus began our most recent obsession with blowing things up like The Terminator himself, but gaming isn’t quite there yet. Nintendo, however, gave us something to be happy about- the 3DS, a continuation of the DS handheld line, will feature 3D visuals without the need for glasses and set to hit shelves the end of March 2011. The big news here has been focused not on the 3DS itself, but on a much awaited and well received reboot of Kid Icarus (Project Sora), and the battle between Sony’s glasses-needed 3D television technology and Nintendo’s glass-free 3DS. The field of 3D vision is limited with the 3DS—if you look just outside of a specific range you will lose the 3D effect, so maybe Sony has the right idea and is just late to the party. The 3DS has a new analog slider, but not the expected wide-top-screen. There is a 3D camera, along with two other cameras, accelerated WiFi specs, and a wicked game lineup including editions to the Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid franchises.

Hands-Free

Another sexy applied science laid on us at E3 was the second-gen “Hands-Free” gaming capabilities. Following fast in Nintendo’s Wii-steps were Microsoft and Sony this year, setting off bombs during their press conferences with the Kinect and Move, respectively. A lot of gamers (including yours truly) are a bit skeptical still about getting up off our asses and wiggling, shaking and making a (bigger) fool (than throwing remotes in heated curse-driven temper-tantrums) out of ourselves or just exerting the energy.

When I walked into the XB/Kinect demo of Dance Central, a Harmonix game (thank the nice people for the RockBand games, dear) I stated, “I was a dancer for 12 years, impress me.” That, boys and girls, they did. A Boston area professional hottie dancer, Frenchie-who worked on a dance team involved with Harmonix for a year of development, went through the Kinect-ed actions and tore up the floorboards, showing us what the real capabilities of the game was to even the most advanced dancer. I, then, took my turn to show how easy it is for precocious little know-nothings like me to pick up the choreography and the Kinect began to grow on me.

The Kinect was made for games like this, and doesn’t the idea of your gaming platform recognizing your existence kinda cool? We’ve all dreamed about the Holodeck. Sony’s Move uses a “wand”. That’s right- I said it, go ahead and giggle. This glowing-microphone-design may attract children, but I’m not so convinced that the elitist gamers out there will embrace playing with a wand. While Kinect’s system is you, your Kinect-cam and your Xbox, Sony’s is a bit more complicated– there’s sub-controllers, the ability to use multiple wands to simulate various weaponry, as well as the ®Eye camera, which may overwhelm a lot of first time hands-free users. Kinect is much simpler, yet packs a much more powerful punch- it is an add-on for the Xbox that contains camera, audio sensors, and motion-sensing technology that tracks 48 points of movement on the human body and has the ability to recognize faces and voices.

Move is on track to be released in September with bundles starting under $100, and Kinect is set for a $149 price point, to be released in November. Each offer a fairly predictable lineup of sports titles, with Move-titles Resident Evil 5 (CAPCOM) and LOTR: Aragon’s Quest (WB) being the two more serious franchises to look forward to. Kinect admittedly needs to release a more thrilling game lineup, with its most exciting offers looking to be Dance Central (Harmonix) and Joy Ride (Microsoft).

Cross-overs

From gamer to rock star, or adventurer, or crab fisherman, or fill-in-the-blank—there was a group of games I’m delegating be called “cross-overs” because the intention with the developer was other than just to entertain, but also to teach. Most of the music themed franchises went with stringed instruments this year, so RockBand and GuitarHero enthusiasts who have tired of pushing buttons, and would rather be pouring 80 hours “sticky-sweet” rocking out into actual application of musical knowledge. No longer can naysayers proclaim gamers and games as a waste of time, especially now that demographics 70% of kids ages 8-18 own a platform. Now games can raise a whole new generation of musicians that are fluent in many generations of music and rock history, but with the practical skills to apply that knowledge.

Within this genre are two games created by CRAVE that are far from musically inclined, and hopefully going to improve past the demo stage presented at E3- Bear Grylls’ (???) Man Vs. Wild, and The Deadliest Catch, both based on Discovery Channel reality docu-dramas. When speaking to both Grylls and Sig Hansen captain of the Northwestern on The Deadliest Catch, there was a connection for them both between being inspired by fan response to extend the lessons of survival, camaraderie and strong work ethic. Can this be done in a game format? Maybe, but the developers have a long way to go before it is as convincing as a steady-cam.

Hopefully this focus of cross-over knowledge can be sustained in the industry; secretly it makes me a little bit proud for the evolution of the art and the technology that real(ish)-world application could start here, and before long remove a lot of the stigma behind the masterpieces that have been created over the years, and the ones in development now that continue to challenge the way people are entertained, educated and enlightened.

EVO featured tournaments include:

Super Street Fighter IV

Tekken 6

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

Marvel vs. Capcom 2

Melty Blood: Actress Again

To follow up, On Tuesday, July 20 X-Play will air ‘X-Play vs. Capcom:  EVO 2010 World Fighting Finals’, which will delve into the legacy of Capcom’s legendary fighting games, and give viewers an all-access look at the history of EVO as it has developed from a fledgling format to a mega-successful fighting institution.

Anyway, while I may not have any interest in playing Final Fantasy XIV (or really ANY MMORPG ever again) because I don’t want it owning my soul, I know that many of you do. Well, Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy XIV will be released around the world on September 30, 2010 for Windows PC.

Now, if you’re really geeked for this game, you’ll be happy to know that there’s also a “Collector’s Edition” that will be released a full 8 days earlier than the standard edition, on September 22. If you pre-order said Collector’s Edition, you’ll be rewarded with codes for exclusive in game items, you’ll get a documentary DVD, a Security Token, a Travel Journal, and a whole mess of other useless junk that will make fanboys and gals cream their jeans.

“This September, players around the world will join together to explore the fascinating and exciting realm of Eorzea,” said Hiromichi Tanaka, Executive Producer of Final Fantasy XIV. “We’re presenting players with a new style of online gameplay that we know will please avid fans of online games, while welcoming more casual gamers with a variety of gameplay and story-driven content.”

The Windows PC Standard Edition will retail for $49.99, and the PC Collector’s Edition will run you $74.99.
The Final Fantasy XIV Playstation 3 version won’t be available until early March of next year, with pricing to be announced at a later time.

For additional information, peep finalfantasyxiv.com

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence Pack will run you $14.99 and will feature five maps. For more information, go to modernwarfare2.com

There seems to be fairly limited details on the new movie, mostly based on the two trailers that have been released. The new Movie is about the Super Villain Megamind who manages to kill his opponent. He then decides he needs a new super hero, so attempts to create a new one. Unfortunately his newly created super hero actually decides he likes being a villain better, and instead of ruling the world just destroys everything. This forces Megamind to take on the role of super hero to stop him. The premise behind this movie and game is interesting, that “villains make the best heroes.”

The game plays as Megamind, and his trusty side-kick Minion, trying to stop Titan and the Doom Syndicate. Megamind’s super power is cliche, his mind. The game generally follows the movie, but since games tend to be longer they had to add more enemies to fight. They didn’t just come up with random characters themselves though, they used some of the extra characters designed for the movie that were removed, because of time constraints. THQ worked with the movie team to make sure these added characters would fit with the story.

THQ also made an interesting decision on how to make the game mult-iplatform. Instead of having a game for each platform that aims at the lowest common denominator, they decided to make three different games focusing on the strengths of each platform. The HD version of the game is a single player with second player assist, similar to Super Mario Galaxy but is only available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. For the Wii, though they went with a 4 player brawler, where you can unlock new characters by beating them. The DS, and the PSP are aimed at fitting their screen, and using their technology but being a different game than the HD version.

While at E3, we were able to try out the HD version. They designed it to be a good family game, approachable by all ages.

The controls are very simple, just basic movement on the D-pad, a button for shoot and another for action. They made nearly everything in the game destructible, figuring that kids like to go around destroying things.

THQ tried to make the puzzles not too simple to bore the adults. This was harder to see from the short demo of the game we saw. The game seemed to play like any 3D platformer. With super power upgrades, and bad guys to beat up along the way. The game did seem fun. We even saw a Tesla gun upgrade that let us chain hit enemies, one after another. Though like a lot of movie based games it will likely rely heavily on the success or failure of the movie.

Megamind the game is scheduled to be released with the movie in November.

The Creedence Pack features 12 of the bands biggest hits, including “Bad Moon Rising”, “Born on the Bayou”, “Down on the Corner”, “Fortunate Son”, “Green River”, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”, “Proud Mary”, “Run Through the Jungle”, “Travelin’ Band”, “Up Around the Bend”, and “Who’ll Stop the Rain”.

These tracks will be available for purchase for download via the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii.

Quick thinking, kid.

“They appear to have crossed the line from virtual reality to reality,” said Police Chief Lou Pacheco, wasting no time in assuming GTA 4 as an absentee co-defendant. Not surprisingly, the Chief had little to say about the fact that these children were given the opportunity by their parents not only to play this very violent and mature game they have no business playing, but also to be driving around at 4am with a head full of bad ideas.

Fortunately, these two are not the most capable of criminals as the boys appear to have made the wicks out of flame-retardant material from a chair cover. They also neglected to realize that a Molotov cocktail only explodes and causes real damage when you break it.

Following the arrest, the boys were arraigned in juvenile court on charges of possession of an explosive device and attempted arson. They were then released to their families, who will probably now sue 2K Games instead of re-evaluating their lives and taking responsibility for what horrible parents they are.

A piece of graffiti from the incident featuring what is presumably one of the kid's real names...

Source: G4/ Enterprise News

I had the chance to demo a few games, and was escorted to “family games” before I got a chance to get my hands on the beef.

Some of the family-oriented games, like Monopoly and Hasbro Family Game Night 3, are right on cue for ages 4-444, with bold graphics and customizable characters based on your Mii or XBLA avatar so any member of the family can own their pwnage. A newer version of the classic Risk was on show as well.

One rising star in the all-ages genre is a new game by EA Bright Lights, the team responsible for the newest title in the Harry Potter series, Spare Parts. Part WALL-E -meets-Spyro, it will be one that kids play and awaken the inner-gamer in mom and dad. (Yes, I do want to play it; no- it has nothing to do with me being a girl. Shut it!) It may become the secret guilty-pleasure for many gamers. Who doesn’t like Robots? EA dubs this a “cooperative action adventure”, trending toward the online co-op capabilities that is becoming the norm these days in the gaming scene.

The Need for Speed franchise made a comeback with a return to it’s roots- a classic cop-chasing-bad guy game, complete with Lamborghini cop cars in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. The cars are typically unrealistically hard to handle, but what do you expect from a memorizable game? In the realm of graphic quality I’ll hand it to them, however. The cars are rockin’, and the hot rod shown at E3 to catch our attention was one hot tamale.

When the boys finally let me come to the yard, I have to admit, I totally got schooled in the Medal of Honor demo. I was just too distracted by how fast and smoothly the game rendered, a sign of a great engine, and well thought out gameplay. I was happy to sit back and watch the diehards go at it, and contribute to the death of an insurgent or two. Electronic Arts los Angeles is handling the single-player action, but DICE stepped it up for the online co-op. You die fast and hard, thanks to what DICE calls “faster bullets.” Remind me to thank them for my lesson in humility.

Crysis 2 is a vast improvement on the original, but I have to shame the developers in picking NYC as it’s location of destruction. As much as I love the idea of NYC as the futuristic dystopian gamer’s paradise, it is, perhaps, too soon to see iconic New York City fall to the ground in a blaze of alien-gutted glory. The gameplay is rich, thrilling and maybe this will be the redeeming title for the still neophitic development team of Crytek who didn’t quite walk the walk with Crysis the first time around. The big news with Crysis 2 is the expectation of 3D capabilities. The gameplay is engaging and frenetic, adding to the overall atmosphere of doom and destruction; AI placement has been done well, and those aforementioned icons of NYC are easily recognizable with a nice depth quality.

All titles will be released between the fall and holiday seasons. Family titles will be available for about $39.99.

Other titles expected for release include sports giants like Madden NFL 2011, FIFA 2011, NCAA Football, and NHL/NHL Slapshot. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Pt 1 — which grew up with the apprentice sorcerer into something close to a third-person shooter — and the Sims3 round out the mid-range, with killer titles like Dead Space 2 and Bulletstorm rounding out the hardcore gamer genre, and are expected to be well received, leaving EA living up to its reputation as a powerhouse publisher.

Famed Fable creator Peter Molyneux recently revealed some brief details for Fable III’s downloadable  option. While the game will still receive a standard retail offering to come out in late 2011, Xbox LIVE users will have a chance to start downloading it in pieces a few weeks after the official release.

According to Peter, “Soon after the retail launch we’re doing episodic. We break it down in chapters. We give away the first chapter entirely free, the first hour. When you reach a certain point in the game it says ‘thank you for playing the pilot of Fable 3, do you want to spend an extra 2-5 or whatever dollars to buy the next episode, or buy the whole lot?’ Press ‘yes’ and you will immediately continue playing.”

This scenario looks like it should be a real win for players, as you’re not forced to drop the full $60 up front. Now you can try before you buy. If you feel like the game is dragging, you can simply stop paying for it and move on to something else. Fable III will likely be a must-buy, however, so…

Source: Kotaku

CDs, movie passes, DVDs and let’s not forget free video games.

The time, it’s several copies of All Points Bulletin, from Electronic Arts.

Available Tuesday from EA and Realtime Worlds, creators of Crackdown, players can battle with 100 players in 100’s of living persistent cities shaped by player actions!

Register as a Blast reader and leave a comment here, and the first eight comments get a free copy. Limit one per household. You must be 18 or older.

Available as of today, the DJ Hero Dance Party Mix Pack delivers a trio of new mixes- Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” mixed with “Girls On Film” by Duran Duran, Pussycat Dolls’ “Buttons” beat juggle and Rihanna’s “S.O.S.” beat juggle- that will have all of you plastic turntablists spinning, scratching and battling throughout the 4th of July weekend.

Ms. Gaga will also be featured in the Pop 1 Track Pack for Guitar Hero (which is also available today) with her club anthem “Just Dance”, as will Maroon 5′s hit “This Love” and arguably the worst song of the last five years, “Fireflies” by that dork who calls himself Owl City.

All of this DLC is available for the XBOX 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii.

The movie is based on a cartoon “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” To avoid confusion with James Cameron’s movie they dropped the Avatar part of the title. In the game, you play the characters of Aang the Air Bender, and Prince Zuko and a disguised Prince Zuko who lacks his supernatural abilities.

This is an action exploration game, where you can use the special abilities of the characters to fight your way through the levels. They also used the motion abilities of the Wii, to help add more special moves. This will include arrows showing up on the screen that you need to move the Wii Mote in the proper direction to execute a special move. If you are either Aang or Prince Zuko when he is not in disguise the special moves include that characters Elemental moves. Prince Zuko has special fighting moves when he’s disguised.

The game used the special moves to get past certain areas. Though it’s labeled as an exploration game, it seemed to be a fairly linear game to play.

The level we got to play at E3 did have spots where the enemies could sound an alarm to call in more reinforcements, if you can kill all the guards before they got to the giant gong, than you had less enemies to fight.

The game mechanics seemed fairly simple though, which I figure was to make it accessible to a younger crowd. Since the cartoon that the movie is based on is aimed at kids ages 6-11, it looks like they tried to make it so that age group would still be able to play the game. The game didn’t strike me as too repetitive to be boring for the older players though. Getting from one room to another did require jumping from ledges, or opening doors. Though the game looks like it relies heavily on the story of the Movie, so I’ll have to wait to see if that is any good when the movie , and the game is released.

In all three games, set for a November 2 release, you will be able to use your Mii characters and change their clothing and appearance. THQ worked with the hosts of the shows and have complete voice overs from Jeff Foxworthy, Pat Sajak, Vanna White, and Charlie O’Donnell and Alex Trebek. Two of the game, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune also have an added feature of using the new Wii Speak. This will allow users to speak their answer or letter into the microphone instead of having to type out your answers.

While playing Jeopardy there will be multiple difficulty levels. If you choose the easiest level you will not need the use of the Wii speak because it uses multiple choice answers. The demonstrator also informed me that you will not say “what is” because the computer already will recognize it, just speak the answer. There will be thousands of questions and categories and the program will use “sophisticated randomization” to make sure you don’t get the same questions and categories, you may see a question or category twice, but it is rare.

Playing with Wheel of Fortune was fun, there are two options, you can speak the letters and speak to solve the puzzle or point and click the letters. Spinning the wheel is great, hold the back button and flick your remote as if you were spinning the wheel. They have added multiple sets classic, Vegas, Hawaii, New York and a few others. The game runs in the same format as the show, with tossup puzzles, regular puzzles and who can forget the bonus round.

Well I know that I am not smarter than a fifth grader after playing with the demo of this fun game. This version is slightly different from the TV show, you play all the questions and each grade level is worth a different amount of money and you are trying to see how much money you can collect by finishing your questions, but you still have the same three options to save, copy and cheat. Added to the game is also a multiplayer level. This is a speed round and a race to the finish line. In this game you can do things to throw off your completion like cover your opponent’s questions and or answers, slow down your opponent by speeding up the allotted amount of time to answer questions or slow down yours. If you miss a question you go down a level while your opponent may go up by getting a question correct. This multiplayer option is a great spin on a single player game. All three of these games are sure to be fun when they come out in November!

The Man vs. Wild game promises staying very true to the show thanks in part to Bear Grylls, the star of the show. He has been very involved in the making of the game. Not only has he been helping in the development to make sure things look as real as possible, but he has also done full voice overs for the game. There are over 80 animals and 50 insects and all of them behave the way they should in the wild. Overall there are going to be five levels in this game, the Rockies, Everglades, Sahara Desert, a South Pacific Jungle Island and the South American Patagonia Mountains. The game is a role playing adventure game where you will survive in the wilderness and maintain the vitals of your character (Bear Grylls). There will be challenges throughout the game and you will do things like build fires, and cook your food. Keep in mind that if you cook your fish you will gain more energy than if you eat it raw. This adventure game is slated to ship in November.

We did have some problems with the game during a hands-off demonstration at E3. The visuals are a bit dated, and there’s a “freefall” scene where you appear to be standing still and not moving at all as you supposedly plummet toward the earth.

Deadliest Catch Sea of Chaos is a “game interpretation of crab fishing.” There are three kinds of activities you must complete in this game, strategy, timing, accuracy. A little disappointing in the fact that you do not actually play as the characters from their show or their boats, but if you know the show you will recognize that the ships are modeled off the Northwestern, the Wizard and the Time Bandit. They are hoping to get a fourth ship into the game but due to the recent tragedy, the death of the Captain Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie, it may not be possible.

Our favorite mini game was the “Head to Head with Sig Hanson,” where you go at it and see if you can catch as many crab as Sig Hanson did (modeled off his massive catch in Season Two). In this game you will hire your crew (all strategy as the better ones are going to want more money, older ones need more rest etc…) set sail, set pots, retrieving pots and sort your crab. You also must work with or against the other captains out in the Bering Sea and deal with the always changing weather.

Tiny Boston developer Double Tap Games is making this one.

John M. Guilfoil and Carly Erin O’Neil of the Blast staff contributed to this report.

These tracks will be available for purchase on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii.

The game is interesting in the connection between the game, your computer and your mobile phone. They claim they are going for a “constantly connected game.” The game will allow the player to make video’s and then upload the videos to their site. Then their friends can watch the video’s and vote on them. They get updates on their phone from the votes. They are claiming that 1 million views on their website really make you a rapper. Konami’s logic leaves out the question of people liking a free video, vs paying for a CD. I’m interested to see whether anyone will become a real rap star after making it big on their site, will be interesting to watch for.

Russel Simmons is promoting the game. He believes that this is an area that has been ignored. He also talked about the benefits of hiph op, even claiming, that one “benefit of hip hop, we have president Obama.”

Their next title was Lucha Libre AAA: Héroes del Ring. They will be releasing a wrestling game based on the Mexican Wresting style known as Lucha.

There will be a new Saw game, called Saw 2 Flesh and Blood, where they will use the same style as the original, having victims, like a doctor in a free clinic stealing the drugs. This game will use not only Togen Bell’s voice, but his likeness for a character also. The main character this time will be the son of Detective Tap, though they added an interesting part that not all freed subjects will greet you with open arms, “unless they stab you in the back.”

Ninety Nine Nights 2 will come out June 29 with an online leader board and the ability to kill even more enemies with one attack than before. They are labeling it as an “extreme hack and slash title.” Though they are enhancing the gameplay so that you can’t simply repeat the same move forever.

A new 2D side scrolling game will be coming to the US. It’s called Otomedius and it’s excellent. This is aimed at both the hard core shoot-em-out genre, or for new players to this space. This game is similar to Gradius, and Parodius.

Later, Konami introduced a slightly different game, Dance Masters for the Microsoft Kinect. Up to two players can be on the screen at once. You can move your body freely. The game instructs the players on how to move by putting silhouettes on the screen for how the player should be standing at the next spot in the music. The game allows the player to save the dance scene and show it off to their friends, or use it to have backup dancers for their next time.

The next titles weren’t discussed just mentioned. From Hudson, a Bey Blade game, coinciding with the re-launching of the TV series. Decca Sports 3, and for the Kinect, Decca Sports Freedom.

There will be a new Silent Hill game, this time the main character is a Criminal on the run, that wondered into Silent Hill.

Kojima Productions introduced one of the new Metal Gear Solid games, called Raijin. This one will all be about swords and cutting. The game allows you to cut in precious ways. They show this off by having the character cut up a watermelon into slices. They also made the game allow the player to take parts, or absorb energy from your enemies. They made this with some strategy by making the player decide on what to take from the enemies. The options to take from the enemies are parts, energy, or information. They also improved the Stealth on the game from the Stealth used by previous heroes. There is no hiding on the ground, it’s a Hunting Stealth. The Story takes place between MGS2, and MGS4, and will describe how Riding got to become person he is together.

They next showed off info on the two new Castlevania games. The first, Harmony of Despair, is interesting and a little different. There is a big screen composed of many individual screens for the action. The game uses the HD TV’s to have 10million dots on the screen. Each individual screen is more like the familiar 2D platforms, but the enemies can follow you from screen to screen. The game allows the player to jump from screen to screen, but the enemies can follow you also. They are working it to add more features if it sells well. Starting with five playable characters, but add more and add more stages if it sells. This is scheduled for release on XBLA this summer.

The last video they showed was for Castlevania Lords of Shadow. That is scheduled for release this fall, on PS3, and Xbox 360. Not much more information was given on this game than the video.

Target was demoing a few games in their Bullseye lounge that were family friendly two of my favorites were Hollywood Squares and Who Wants to Be A Millionaire. Sadly you will not see Whoopi Goldberg in the game, but it was still fun and there are a few celebrities. When I was playing with the game, for example Brad Garrett (from Everybody Loves Raymond) was the center square. The game was in a very early build, but it seems to follow the format of the show and even has actual clips of stars answering questions from the TV show. It looks promising for anyone who loved the TV show!

Ubisoft also is coming out with a multiplayer video game version of the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. In this version each player has the chance to answer the question by using their arrow keys on their Wii remote. The multiple choice answers are displayed so that you can easily distinguish from up, down, right or left arrow. You are just going to have to keep your eyes on your own Wii remote so you don’t see what your friend answers. When playing in multiplayer mode there are also no lifelines, but there should be in the single player version. The game is for up to four players and will have over 3000 questions.

Target was also showing off a few other family friendly games that I didn’t spend time with, Gold’s Gym Dance Workout and Dance on Broadway. Both are aimed at getting families active and dancing. Watching the reactions of other people both games look like they should be pretty fun, one guy was even riding a bull in Gold’s Gym Dance Workout. Dance/active games seem to be on the rise this year all over E3 and the ones Target was sponsoring looked to be fun and family friendly.

Blast's Bradley Ouellette takes it for a spin

LOS ANGELES — Gaming accessories company CTA has just come out with a fun new toy to accompany Mario Kart Wii, Need for Speed, Sonic, and Sega All-Stars Racing, and any of the other Wii racing games.

This inflatable racing cart can support 300 pounds and has a steering wheel that your Wii remote can fit into. This is a great accessory for children but also for adults: it’s pretty comfortable and gets you into the game just a little bit more.

At the CTA booth at E3 they had a child demoing the inflatable cart, and he seemed to love the cart, as did the adults that tried it out. The inflatable cart is also Wii Motion Plus compatible and costs $39.99. These inflatable carts are available at places such as BestBuy, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Toys ‘R Us, and online at Target. CTA also has many other great gaming accessories for the Wii Fit, like the rowing machine, weighted gloves, and adjustable dumbbell weights. You can check out all their products online.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Ubisoft is working on a new Ghost Recon, and gave us a demo of it at E3. The game is set in a slightly futuristic setting. Your team has optical camouflage using nanotechnology. Though the enemy has some tricks to combat the camouflage, they have technology such as thermal glasses. Though in the build they showed off the thermal glasses were not able to see you if you didn’t move. The camouflage also has the limitation of not working if you are running, or attacking.

Where the game really looked interesting was the synchronized shooting. You can lay out your targets, and see where the other people on your team are shooting, and then in single player the computer will count down, or if you are playing multiplayer one of the players can communicate to the others when to shoot so all the enemies go down together. The game is designed for 4 player co-op to effectively use this feature.

Driver San Francisco

Another interesting game that Ubisoft was presenting at E3 is a new game in the Driver franchise, Driver San Francisco. The game is currently running at 50 frames per second, but they are working to get it up to 60 frames per second, for the release. They made it realistic, with the hands moving along the steering wheel as the player turns the car. They also licensed the cars used in the game, so you can smash up cars that you recognize. The interesting part of the game is the shift ability, where you can shift from one car to any other car in the game. This is interesting since you could be chasing after a bad guy, and then shift into another car to help catch them. Such as shifting into a Big truck to block a road ahead of where the guy is heading, or to collide head on with the bad guy.

The shift ability was fairly easy to work when they let us try it out, you just hit a button, and it slows down time, and you can see everything from above. As you progress in the game it allows you to shift over greater distances. They also include the fact that when you shift into a car, it has real people in it, so you can see into their world, seeing a quick video of the passenger of the Car. The game is scheduled for Q4 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC/Mac, with a special version available for the Wii

H.A.W.X. 2

Ubisoft was also showing off a new Tom Clancy game, called H.A.W.X 2. This is designed to be more of a realistic fighter simulation game. The game includes takeoffs, landings and even in air refueling. They added more up-close dog fights than the first one, and 4 player Co-op. The game takes place with a rising insurgency, and the Player will take the role, as Russian, British, and American Pilots throughout the game.

The game has a few other improvements over the first one, with the detail of the ground and aerial targets breaking apart on impact, and an overall improvement in the AI for enemies. They really worked on the realistic with these improvements to details, with people moving on the ship, as they would preparing for the launch of a plane. They increased the details of the terrain since it was a major complaint with the first one, and included animation of ships sinking when they are hit.

One of the features they were pushing when they showed off the game was precision bombing. That they feel the game is the most realistic, depiction of a bombing run. They also tried to make things that in real life would be hard, harder, like landing on an aircraft carrier. They didn’t want it impossible though, so they show horizontal lines for elevation as you land and have red and green lines to depict to high an angle, or too low. They also force the player to control speed and altitude as the plane comes in. This makes for an interesting aspect of realism.

A great surprise at E3 was when Konami had the Powerhouse Choir from John Burroughs High School in Burbank California perform “Somebody to Love.” This choir is one of the top show choirs in the nation and was an inspiration to the creators of glee and they have even performed on the Oprah Winfrey show.

When I had a hands on experience with the game, I fell in love and played through all five beta songs they had, my two favorites “My Endless Love” and “Somebody to Love”. It has some great features that I can see from the beta, when you get things perfect it lets you know by singing an “ohh” sequence (just like the in-between scene “ohh’s” on the show). There were different difficulty levels you could play and while singing there were clips from season one in the background, including the scenes of the characters performing the song you are performing at the same time. I was a little disappointed, and it may just be a part of the demo I played, but what I was singing wasn’t strait melody. I like to sing the harmony parts, but I would like the harmony and the melody to be separated.

When the game is released, either in the fall or winter of this year (the date has not been determined yet, there is still a lot of work to be done on this game) they are planning on having 35 songs from the first season. By the time the game is released you will also be able to sing harmony mode with two players and there will be show clips to unlock from season one.

This time they are working with Jack Epp Jr., the original author of “Top Gun” to make sure the game stays true to the original, Academy Award-winning film.

The developers are heavily skewing the game to the Indian Ocean mission at the end of the movie, and they are using the Top Gun school to get the players acquainted with the game.

The game has two modes, a story mode where you attempt to accomplish missions, following the story, and a “Horde Mode.” In Horde mode, it’s an endless wave of enemies that keep coming. You have to kill as many as possible and get the best score you can.

The game included a few interesting unique features inspired from real life fighter experiences. They animated the wings on the F-14 to move like the real ones do. The wings move in and out depending on the speed of the craft. They also created a tunnel vision similar to what real pilots experience before they black out. This was interesting when playing with the game, because when you pull High G’s, the sides of the screen go black, and you can only see a circle in the center. This creates an interesting counter to going too fast or being too hard on the stick.

They added a special mode Called “CFI” which allows the player to keep constant focus on the selected enemy. This allows the player to pull the maneuvers from the movie. This will move the game into a third person point of view for a short period. The game was fun in an arcade style. The Missiles regenerate so even though it is being limited you aren’t limited to only what the plane can launch with. That would make the horde mode too hard.

The graphics are pretty simple, consistent with other downloadable games. They’ve stuck with the original F-14 Tomcat fighter, which was retired by the Navy a few years ago. It’s good to see the Tomcat live on.

With a dearth of flight simulation games lately, you should definitely give this a go.

Top Gun is a quick one. We got our first look at it at E3 this year, and it’s already releasing in July, exclusively for the PlayStation Network.

There is a full single player campaign, which was shown but not playable at E3 this year. The game takes place in the city of Forli, after the Events of Assassins Creed 2, where Ezio attacked the Pope. The Pope has come after Ezio. He has to now defend the city of Forli. The game uses the Caterina Sforza, who Ezio is currently sleeping with, who was historically in charge of Forli.

The story focuses again on the Apple of Eden, and its ability to control the minds of people. Through this, the game focuses on the battles between the Assassins and the Knights Templar.

The game uses more transportation methods. Horses will now be able to joust, and the player can use Flying Machines.

Ubisoft says there will be some 20,000 Non-Playable Characters, and a Hud Display showing, showing info such as how many people are left alive in the game.

The game was also designed to be more to have a faster attack system, so it’s not so much defensive oriented. Boivin, showed Ezio moving through the city, using ropes to fly up the side of buildings, and shooting the attacking forces with cannons, blowing up siege tools.

We were then able to actually play the multiplayer part of the new game. The game allows each player to select a character to play as, and what special abilities they want to use. The level is populated with many NPC’s for each player that is in the game. So walking around you will see three or four of the same character walking around on the screen. Each player is given a target of another player in the game, if a player is good, they might even have multiple people targeting them. So you have to sneak up on your target, trying not to alert them that you are not a NPC, and at the same time, not alert the person targeting you that you’re a real person.

This situation made it interesting in the game, that often when you kill your target, by killing them you expose yourself, and get killed by the person targeting you. There is also help in the radar that will point in the direction of your target. The radar is represented as a circle, with a highlighted section pointing in the direction of your target. The section highlighted gets bigger as you get closer to your target, until your near the other player, and then it’s a full circle. This means that it will get you close to your target, but not identify the exact person if there is multiple of the same character on the screen at the same time.

If you are seen then, you can run and hide. If you hide long enough the player looking for you will lose their target, and get a new one and a new player will be assigned to get you. The game allows you to hide in haystacks and use doors to slow down your pursuer. Likewise if the person your pursuing runs, you have to catch up with them before you lose the.

The game looks like its multiplayer will be the main selling point with the single player missions as a nice added bonus.

Sega promises that this is the beginning of a new series of games. The game starts with Sonic going off exploring, and Egg-Man comes after him wanting to just kill him now and get him out of the way, so Sonic won’t stop his next plan.

The game levels are built to feel like the original with a slight difference. The bosses will play like the original but with upgrades. The game then has a twist ending that will lead into Episode 2, and continuation of the new series. They are taking great pains with this title, since the last game in the series was in 1994, there is a lot of time in here, and gamers have a lot of expectations from a new sonic game.

This is evident from the fact that they have delayed the game to make it correctly. They were originally scheduled to release at the end of this summer, but are now targeting the end of the year. When I played with the game it looks like the original sonic games, just having a higher resolution. Sonic has a nice upgraded look, without changing too much to character. I was disappointed with Sonic’s acceleration in the demo. When you move Sonic he walks too long before he will start to run.

They said that was one of the issues that they have decided to rework after showing the demo off. I also had an issue that when you press down to go into a roll it would usually not start spinning rolling fast, but goes back to slowly moving. This bothered me as being very unlike the previous sonic games that were always about speed. The people at the booth said that was one of the reasons they have delayed the release of the game, to give them more time to make it more like sonic.

Sega has included the Chaos emeralds in the new Levels. Like the original games, it requires 50 rings to activate get them, though the game allows the player to replay, and jump to a level that they want. This is nice since if you miss a chaos emerald you don’t have to start the game from the beginning like the previous ones.

They included the original power-ups from the original series, plus some additions from the later Sonic Adventure games. One such addition is the ability to jump attack from one enemy to another. The invincibility and fast shoes are back though.

They made some differences between the PlayStation 3, iPhone, Xbox 360, and Wii Versions for the special stages. The PS3 and the Wii can control using the Tilt controllers. The iPhone can control any level with either tilt, or by controls on the screen for directional pad, and action button for jumping. They arranged the level, and the View point on the iPhone so that the controls on the bottom wouldn’t obstruct viewing the level.

Definitely excited to see this one come out.

The new Twisted Metal has aerial combat, snipers, and co-op weapons, which help put a spotlight on team play. It also includes factions for the various lead characters and a great new mode called “Nuke,” in which you are required to drag an enemy team’s leader behind your vehicle to a designated point where, if you can hold him there long enough, you’ll be rewarded with said nuke. You then fire it off and have to protect it from being shot down until it takes out your opponent’s floating, neon, giant pinata-like mascot.

This one will not be as dark as TM: Black, as the team is going for a Teen rating with the new version.

Don’t be surprised if this ends up being tops of E3 for a lot of folks. You can check out Sweet Tooth’s entrance and the live gameplay demo from Sony’s press conference here.

Well, StarCraft II will finally (supposedly?) be released to the public on July 27, 2010, and Razer, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming peripherals, has joined with Blizzard to release official controllers, mice, and keyboards for use with the game upon its release.

“We are all huge StarCraft players here at Razer, so we are really excited to give gamers a first glimpse at the StarCraft II gaming peripherals,” said Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff, president of Razer USA.

Here’s a look at what you’ll have the opportunity to buy:

Razer Spectre StarCraft II Gaming Mouse

Tournament-ready and designed for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the Razer Spectre StarCraft IIGaming Mouse is a lightweight, five-button mouse designed to provide precision and control for RTS gamers. The Razer Spectre features the newly developed APM (Actions-Per-Minute) Lighting System with a multi-color LED that provides real-time performance feedback through changing lighting hues and adjustable mouse button force settings for optimal mouse click speed and control. Equipped with a powerful 5600dpi Razer Precision™ 3.5G laser sensor and a 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ 1 ms response time, the Razer Spectre StarCraft II Gaming Mouse gives gamers exactly what they are looking for in an RTS mouse.

PRICE: US $79.99

FEATURES:

· Gaming-Optimized Design inspired by the StarCraft universe

• Lightweight, Fingertip-Grip 5 Button Mouse
• 5600DPI Razer Precision 3.5G laser sensor
• Backlit Mouse with APM (Actions-Per-Minute) Lighting System
• Mouse Click Button Force Adjustment
• 1000Hz Ultrapolling /1ms response
• Hardware Configuration Utility

Razer Marauder StarCraft II Gaming Keyboard

Designed for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the Razer Marauder StarCraft II Gaming Keyboard is a full-featured, tournament-ready keyboard maximized for compact design. The Razer Marauder features a multi-color backlit keyboard with an APM (Actions-Per-Minute) Lighting System that provides real-time performance feedback through changing color hues to complement the gaming experience. Enhanced with elevated keys for rapid command input and improved gaming performance and a dedicated on-the-fly macro recording system, the Razer Marauder is built with a gaming-optimized design inspired by the StarCraft universe.

PRICE: US $119.99

FEATURES:

· StarCraft-inspired Design

· Optimized Key Travel Distance

· Backlit Keyboard with APM (Actions-Per-Minute) Lighting System

• Optimized Spacing with Laser-etched Keys

· Razer Hyperesponse technology

• 1000Hz Ultrapolling /1ms response

· Hardware Configuration Utility

Razer Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset

Designed for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, with a focus on maximum performance, comfort and sound isolation, the Razer Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset features a newly developed, multi-color APM (Actions-Per-Minute) Lighting System™ that provides real-time feedback on player performance. The Razer Banshee is equipped with a configuration utility for customized adjustments of equalizer, pitch and volume. Other special features include a detachable microphone boom for easy transport and a comfortable circumaural construction, all in a gaming-optimized design inspired by the StarCraft universe.

PRICE: US $119.99

FEATURES:

· Gaming-Optimized Performance

· StarCraft-inspired Design

· Backlit Headset with APM (Actions-Per-Minute) Lighting System

· Circumaural Design with 50mm Driver Units

· Built-in Volume & Mic Control Buttons

· Detachable Microphone Boom

· Hardware Configuration Utility

Razer StarCraft II Zerg Edition Messenger Bag

The Zerg Edition of the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Messenger Bag features artwork from the game and is designed to protect gaming gear in style.

PRICE: US $89.99

FEATURES:

· Tear-resistant, weather-proof heavy duty 1680D ballistic nylon outer shell

· Single shoulder sling design for added mobility

· Easy one-handed release chest clasp enables quick and convenient access

· Built-in compartments for laptops, gaming peripherals and portable gaming device

· Padded inner lining protects electronic devices and provides ample shock absorbency while on the road

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North evolves the action/RPG genre through innovative online, interdependent co-op play for up to three players, who form their own Fellowship and engage in brutal combat. Gamers must play together or perish as they explore previously unexplored lands, story elements, and characters, as well as elements from the films. Players will be able to engage in character customization and development, expansive co-op gameplay options, and upgradeable weapons, skills and special abilities.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North should be released sometime in early 2011. For more info, and to peep the official trailer, check out: www.warinthenorth.com

There was much more that was announced at this press conference, but there were some of the new products that truly stood out to us.

One of the first new games Nintendo is planning on releasing is a new Zelda game titled Skyward Sward. This game has become more new gamer friendly because of the Wii Motion Plus. The Wii remote becomes your sward while the shield is controlled by your nunchuck and the whole thing is controlled more by your actions than by pressing buttons. There are a bunch of new features that were explained during the presentation such as where your items are stored. You can find your items by pressing down the B button which displays your pocket. The game is filled with great graphics and beautiful scenery. They are still in the development process and it will take through the rest of this year, and the game is expected sometime next year.

Fils-Aime then introduced and gave a glimpse at a few new games that Nintendo will be coming out with. The first of which was Mario Sports Mix. This game involves all the old Mario characters and includes sports games like volleyball, hockey, and basketball. This game is expected to come out in 2011.

Next was the game that Fils-Aime called a Bridge game, the games that get people into gaming, he described these as the games like Mario Kart, Wii Play, Wii Fit etc… and now Wii Party. This is going to be a fun multiplayer game with two modes, party game mode and house party mode. It’s filled with over 70 mini games and a handful of party games. One of the games in the presentation looked to be a spin-off on the game spoons.

Just Dance was released last year, and Just Dance 2 is coming in the fall. In this version there will be more dance moves, dancing duets a just sweat mode, and a dance crew face off. The best thing about this version is that the amount of players able to play has doubled and the game can now accommodate up to eight players.

Disney is planning on releasing a new Wii game this holiday season called Epic Mickey. This game is filled with many of the forgotten and or retired characters and locations, such as Smee (Capitan Hook’s “right hand man” from Peter Pan) and places like the Swiss Family Robinson tree house and the Tiki Room. In this game you have to make the choices and what you chose will affect the characters and the locations. You are given paint thinner to erase things and paint to create. As the presenter explained there will be consequences and rewards for the choices you make.

Other announcements introduced a new Kirby game called Kirby’s Epic Yarn, where all the characters are made of yarn and the scenery is all stitched together. It’s a very cute and different art style and is planned to be released this fall. In partnership with Retro Studios, Nintendo is planning on releasing a new Donkey Kong game called Donkey Kong Country Returns. This game is due out this holiday season as well.

As Fils-Aime remarked about the future of gaming he said its “not raising the bar but making the bar extend far into the distance” This was when they announced their latest technological advance the Nintendo 3DS. This is a huge technological advance and is the first to not require the use of 3D glasses. This new device has two screens similar to the DS with a 3.5 inch display on top. There is a 3D depth slider to adjust the graphics and has a slide pad, motion sensor and gyro sensor. This new device has two camera lenses on the outside and will be able to shoot 3D photos! The device will also be compatible with 3D movies.

These 3D affects added to games will allow for a much better experience in height, width and depth, and you will be able to judge distance better. Connections with other DS systems will happen automatically and no matter what game is being played. Nintendo is working with many third party groups and will be releasing things like DJ Hero, Kingdom Hearts, and games from EA Sports. Looking through the demo it looks promising, but may be straining on the eyes at full level. Also from the quick glance you need to look at the game straight on and not otherwise the 3D affects seem to disappear.