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E3 07 Predictions

E3 is only days away and I’m here to tell you what’s going to happen with the BIG 3 Consoles.

We already know what games each system will have for its Holiday launch lineup: Halo 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Lair. For all 3 consoles E3 will focus on the lineup for 2008 and beyond.

With the Wii there’s already Mario, Zelda, and Metroid – so what’s next? We’re not going to be seeing sequels to any of these titles, it will be all about the spin-offs. Mario Kart is a must. Since both the Wii and Mario Kart scream,”Party time!” it’s a no-brainer. We could also see Nintendo going to their secondary stars Donkey Kong and Starfox, although a big show stealer could be a new Pilot Wings or Wave Race game. Nintendo could also show off some indie games for its upcoming WiiWare channel. Nintendo themselves could be developing games for this downloading service. Potentially sequels to their low profile games like Luigi’s Mansion and Pikmin. Hopefully they’ll solve the storage issue that the Wii faces in light of this and the Virtual Console services.

Halo 3

On the Xbox 360 front, I predict Microsoft will be stealing the show. Halo 3 is Halo 3. Future titles such as Alan Wake will expand games into the territory of compelling storytelling with satisfying action-adventure gameplay. Not only that, but titles such as Atari’s Alone In The Dark 4 will show that the 360 doesn’t have to rely on shooter games to survive. Microsoft will tout its Xbox Live system and it’s casual games service, as Microsoft aims to broaden the appeal of the Xbox 360 to all types of gamers.

Lair

A lot will be going on in the Sony camp as they try and reposition themselves in the gaming market. They have to show off a new slim PSP model that will compete with Nintendo’s DS Lite. Other than that they need to prove that KillZone 2 looks just as good as the 2005 E3 trailer did. Remember the “Is it pre-rendered or in-game?” fiasco? Well, now is the time for Sony to prove that those were in-game graphics. For Sony it won’t be about showing we have X sequels – well, maybe I’m wishing too much, maybe that’s for E3 08. I hope that Sony realizes that it needs original and exclusive titles in order to compete with Xbox 360 and Wii. I won’t predict anything else for the Playstation because I expect them to talk about many things that have never been seen before.

In the end E3 07 will be about showing off why gamers need to own all 3 consoles. Each manufacturer will sell itself out to prove how their console is different if they want to keep up with the competition for seasons to come.

More info on Spielberg’s console video games revealed

Spielberg meets Miyamoto.

For those not in the know, Steven Spielberg has made a deal with EA to create ~~lots of alphabets~~ three video games. More details have finally come up on them, and they seem to be as interesting as they were before I found out. Right, whatever. Let’s see what Steve has in store for us now.

The first game is being developed for the Nintendo Wii and is codenamed “PQRS” which will “blend the creativity of the building-blocks game Jenga with the charm of a Saturday-morning cartoon.” With a description as wacky as that, you know the game can’t go wrong. The game will supposedly allow you manipulate blocks with your hand. Yes, how cool is that – a puzzle game with hands. Mental exhaustion meets its physical cousin.

Of the game, Spielberg said, “it just seemed like a great thing for the entire family to play together over Christmas. Although you don’t need the excuse of a holiday to enjoy it.”

The second game is for the Xbox 360 and PS3, which is thankfully more interesting. It is codenamed “LMNO” and is described as “a combination of the movies North by Northwest and E.T.” I just hope that by E.T., they meant the movie and not the video game. Of course, the good thing is that the E.T. in this case is going to be female, grown-up and really hot.

Before you pretend to dump Samus, note that you will not play as the girl in the game.

You’re an ex-secret agent, and the bond that you forge while on the run with the computer-controlled woman—good, bad, indifferent—determines the nature of her special abilities and the ways in which she’ll assist you.

And now, from Spielberg’s mouth:

“The challenge is, can the game have an emotional impact on players while they are actively manipulating the world?”

I hate it when anyone uses the term “emotional impact” in gaming these days. Ever since the adventure games stopped, gamers lost their last shred of emotion. But emotion aside, EA is going to go full on to turn on your natural instincts by making our hot E.T. as sexy as possible with “eyes that widen, lips that curl and translucent skin that lights up in different colors to express her quicksilver moods” Rawr. And no, that line wasn’t taken from a Barbie commercial.

The third game (which is most likely to have more mundane letters) has not been revealed yet. EA might be saving it for E3, who knows?

[Via Newsweek]

This is Next-Gen Gameplay

Alone in the Dark 4

THIS IS NEXT-GEN GAMEPLAY

You know what, screw Gears of War – I want Alone in the Dark 4! Yes I’ve said it! I want an Atari game…

Don’t believe – good you shouldn’t cause I lie all the time. ALL THE TIME. but not this time. Watch this video now! A special thanks to the German guys at Computer Spiele. Thankfully they only talk for the first 30 seconds, the rest is pure gaming Godliness.

To End All Wars, World War I shooter coming for Xbox 360 and PS3

I have a feeling the headline has left you befuddled. Allow me to be clearer: UK Video game publisher Ghostlight will be publishing a game developed by Chemistry, based on the First World War titled To End All Wars. As you can see, journalists, bloggers and general pun-makers are going to have a field day everytime this game makes headlines.

This is one of those few games (if not the first) to be based on World War One, which is often described as a more tragic war than World War 2 (that’s where all the Nazis and Call of Duties came up). Chemistry is committed to replicate the horror and pain of World War One, rather than dumb it down to something fun you play on a console one rainy afternoon. Aiding Chemistry in its quest will be the Unreal Engine 3 (my personal favourite) which was previously used in Gears of War and will be used in Unreal Tournament 3.

To End All Wars will be releasing in Summer 2008 for the XBOX 360 and the PS3. No rifle-shooting and trench crawling for your Wiimote, sorry. The game will reportedly feature weapons, equipment and other material as authentic as possible, which could be a tough job considering the number of WWI games out there. Right now, we know that you’ll find yourself on night patrols, trenches and running out in the open like the helpless dog you really are.

Ghostlight is not a very famous publisher, yet, since they’ve only made their start with a PS2 game, a DS game and a PSP game. But Ghostlight’s director Khaled Lababedi says:

“Alongside other products to be announced in the coming months, To End All Wars will propel Ghostlight towards its stated objective of becoming a major global publisher.”

Chemistry is owned by Kuju Entertainment and are known for their titles Buzz! (PS2) and Sensible Soccer (PS2). On a side note, I’ve never heard of either title. Let’s hope End Of All Wars turns out to be good game and show us what the horrors of the First World War were. In a very fun game that you play on a console in a rainy afternoon.

[Via Shacknews]