Previews

I had a chance this weekend to test out a preview of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for the PS3, which is itself a preview of the full version of Gran Turismo 5 (which will come out eventually, I guess).

Anyway, I enjoyed the preview, but didn't get to test the online features in GT5 Prologue, so fingers crossed that online racing will be seamless and painless.

One note about the preview that I didn't have room to include in my article in the paper: the lighting effects in Prologue are fantastic, especially when you speed out of a dark tunnel and are momentarily blinded by bright sunlight before your driver's eyes adjust. Very impressive.

I do think that Prologue buyers will also want to invest in the upcoming DualShock 3 controller, which contains the vibration technology that Sony foolishly dropped from the SIXAXIS.

While I quite enjoyed the preview version of GT5 Prologue and am looking forward to the full game, a lot of gamers probably have their attention focused on another racing title that also ships in April: Mario Kart for the Wii.

Simulation or arcade: take your pick.

And it's nice to see top-flight games coming out sometime other than the Christmas season so gamers don't have to horde all their cash for the last two months of the year.

Doug's post about Clive Barker's Jericho reminded me that I shot some footage of a Q&A Barker did with the crowd at the recent GameStop conference I attended.

The footage didn't make it into the official video I shot and edited, so I just pulled a short clip together for you Punchbutton fans. The audio's a little fuzzy, but you should be able to make it out.

Barker is an eccentric guy, but obviously cares a lot about his work.

So apparently the developers at Crytek woke up this morning and realized that Halo 3 is coming out next week.

Because the Crysis singleplayer demo -- originally scheduled to go live on Tuesday, the same freaking day as the Halo 3 launch -- has been delayed until Oct. 26.

Of course, no one at Crytek or EA is mentioning Halo in the official release (peep it after the jump), but c'mon, guys.

Let's just all admit that you guys swallowed your pride and admitted to each other that Crysis was going to be crushed like Bambi at a nuclear bomb test site.

Continue reading "Surprise! Crysis demo delayed!" »

LucasArts announced today the news that we've all been waiting for:

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Sept. 18, 2007 – LucasArts today revealed that Star Wars™: The Force Unleashed™ will come to the Wii™ home videogame system from Nintendo next spring, offering owners the unique chance to live out their Jedi fantasies by wielding the Wii Remote™ as a lightsaber while using the Nunchuk™ controller to torment foes with their Force™ powers.

The Force Unleashed casts players as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice” and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The game’s expansive story is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist the iconic villain in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi – and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.

The Wii version, in development by Krome Studios, will also add an exclusive duel mode in which players can compete head-to-head with their friends to determine the ultimate Jedi Master.

“The Wii is a great platform for The Force Unleashed, because the console’s motion-oriented controllers really bring the game to life,” said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts. “We’ve worked hard to make the Wii version of the game unique in order to truly let you unleash the Force.”

I apologize in advance for the audio sync problems. Final Cut Pro and Windows Media were apparently never meant to co-exist.

Still, I think you nerds will enjoy the action.

I also have a story running in the Business section tomorrow (Saturday) about GameStop's embrace of casual gamers (UPDATE: Here's the article.), and will have a preview running next week in the paper of several of the games that I played at the event.

While Halo 3 was missing in action, Microsoft will be sending me an early review copy of the game next weekend so my review can run in the paper and online on the actual release date (Sept. 25).

Enjoy the video!

Video: GameStop managers try out the latest titles

UPDATE: Check out some additional photos that I shot of the event after the jump.

Continue reading "Video of the GameStop manager's conference." »

LAS VEGAS -- I know thousands of gamers have been crawling all over the multiplayer beta of CoD4 in the last few weeks, but I had a chance this afternoon to rummage around in two of the single-player levels.

I was duly impressed.

The demo level on a cargo ship on a dark and stormy sea made great use of torrential rainfall and crashing waves. The best part is after the ship starts to sink, and you have to scramble out from below decks to, in the immortal words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, "GET TO DA CHOPPA!" (Seriously, go rent Predator. Second-best action movie ever made, after Aliens.)

Anyway, the boat is sloshing all over the place, and the hallways are rotating around you as you run, and pipes are bursting and spewing steam. Good, tense action.

The second level, set in some Middle Eastern shantytown, is a white-knuckle advance through a maze of enemy machine gun fire, RPGs, hand grenades and exploding vehicles. Less distinctive than the boat level, but definitely thrilling.

I did find that, in tight spaces, your AI comrades tend to get in your way, particularly when you're breaching a door and entering a room or hallway. It may not be sound tactics, but I want to go through the door first, rather than hanging back while my squadmates hog all the glory.

Still, I can't wait to play the full game when it ships November 5.

Here's an article I wrote for today's paper looking at the big trends and games for the holiday season.

Biggest piece of bad news: the Wii isn't going to be any easier to find this Christmas than it was last Christmas.

Some of the folks over at ScoreHero.com were flown out to the NeverSoft studios to test out the new Guitar Hero III. They reveal some of the new tracks, characters, and gamestyle changes on their website. The new hammer-on, pull-off scheme sounds pretty challenging, as they won't give you the option of strumming the notes.

I've played a whole-lotta GH II, and have yet to beat "Jordan" (tried well over a 100 times) and "Six" on expert level...but looking at the new song list, I might be even more frustrated at the Dragonforce song (youtube video). GAH!!!

Game publisher,Eidos, stopped by our studios to give us a sneak peek of the new and improved version of the original Tomb Raider. Lara never looked so good!

Doug note: 'Anniversary' really looks amazing in person; and BOY does it bring back memories. Graphically, it's on par with 'God of War'; AND for only $30, it's a definite must buy for the PS2! I can't believe I'm excited about a PS2 game... it's that good.

A look at some of the new gear coming to Crackdown.

There's a mammoth chunk of downloadable content coming for Crackdown in the next few days.

Check out all the deets at Major Nelson's blog, but my faves:

*God mode -- give yourself unlimited ammo, super abilities, drop in vehicles and items wherever you want (100 explosive barrels on top of the gas station, for example).

*Nail gun -- Pin bad guys to walls, cars, dumpsters, whatever. Apparently, there are actually achievement points for nailing enemies to moving cars.

*Invisiblity -- Think of the Predator's shimmering camoflauge, good for sneaking and infiltrating.

The first batch of bug fixes will be free, as will some of the additional content, while the best stuff will cost 800 points.

Sign me up for another tour.