Kotaku

Tretton Talks About Kaz's Influence on the Playstation Universe [E308]

Brian Crecente — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:00:00 MDT

Speaking with a group of game writers earlier this week SCEA head Jack Tretton talked briefly about how Sony Computer Entertainment has benefited under the shift from Ken Kutaragi to Kaz Hirai.

Specifically, he talked about the promise that Sony's regions would be a bit more antonymous under Hirai.

"There is no question that Kutaragi-san ruled with an iron fist, but it was his vision," Tretton said. "In terms of how we went to market in region, that was antonymous."

But Tretton said that Hirai has a better understanding of the company's day-to-day operations and the challenges they face both in Japan and abroad.

"He's been in the regions. He's been in the trenches. He's been outside the towers in Tokyo," Tretton said. "I think there is a better understanding."

Tretton also touched on how SCEA and other regions had to struggle a bit with the perception of PS3 as a super computer created by Kutaragi and the reality that the console had to be a gaming platform first to sell.

"Kutaragi-san built the PS3 as a super computer for the home," he said. "We thought there was a risk of losing the game identity of the Playstaiton 3, so we tried to distance ourselves from that and we understand that credibility would be built with games."

See our other Tretton stories from E3:
Tretton Says No 360 Final Fantasy XIII Coming to Japan
Tretton Explains the Long Road to Home
Tretton: Sony Considering PSP with Harddrive

Wii Sports Resort Deeper Than Wave Race 64, Says Producer [E308]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:40:45 MDT

Nintendo fans may still be mentally recovering from the company's softcore E3 media briefing that focused on fare like Shaun White Snowboarding and Wii Music, but fans of Wave Race may find the following lifts their spirits. Wii Sports Resort's "power cruising" mode may be a more hardcore appealing experience than it would appear at first blush.

"I'm confident it will surpass Wave Race 64 in depth," said the game's producer, Katsuya Eguchi. We'll give him the benefit of the doubt, considering he's credited with director duties on the Nintendo 64 classic.

Even if it's not as fully featured or "deep" as the original watercraft racer, it's going to have to suffice for now. Eguchi opted not to comment on plans for a sequel, something we shan't hold our breath for.

The Miracle Of Science: Checking Out Monster Lab [Wii]

Leigh Alexander — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:20:00 MDT

I was drawn to take a quick peek at Eidos' Monster Lab because of the clever character design art mural all around the play area. The game has you enlisting the aid of three mad scientists, each with a different specialty, to try and take down one ultimate scientist who's mastered all three abilities — alchemy, biology, and one that seems more mechanically-oriented. It's on Wii and DS, but I saw the Wii version.

Monster Lab has the player building creatures and exploring a cartoonishly eerie supernatural land to collect parts to build and strengthen monsters to fight other monsters. As players progress through the narrative, they'll be able to enlist the help of each mad scientist to build new items and reach new areas.

So it's a bit collection and construction, a bit combat, and a bit story-based exploration — a pretty clever core idea with a cool aesthetic.

The Eidos rep had built a patchwork Frankenstein of a creature with tree roots for legs and a big mechanical arm, and he walked this creature through a spooky town back to the monster lab to combine some parts he'd found into a new chain saw arm for his creature. Different parts' attributes combine for different results — though you never know what you'll get when you mix things together, once you've successfully created something, it's added to your recipe list.

Creating an item successfully requires completing a mini-game; this one saw the rep using the Wii remote like a soldering iron, filling a scrolling, twisty maze with molten metal while it quickly scrolled past. The quality of the item you produce and the boost it provides to your monster's attributes depends on how well you perform at the mini-games.

Once you've created a part, you can assemble a fighting creature and head out on the town. You'll be able to walk up to roaming enemies to engage in turn-based combat with them, and the enemy monsters are juiced up with custom parts just as much as you are. That's why it's a good idea to pick your target on the enemy's body — knock off their weaponry and you'll have an easier time of things.

The combat was pretty kooky — once the rep had knocked off both of the enemy's attacking arms, it was able to rather desperately go on fighting with kicks from its two legs, or by head-butting or biting.

This game is aimed a bit at the younger folk, but the diversity of things to do, marriage of multiple elements, and the cool aesthetic seems to indicate older players looking for a creative third-party Wii title might enjoy checking it out.

DC Universe Online - Opening The Door [E308]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:00:00 MDT

"This universe already exists - we just have to open a door." So said DC Universe Online creative director Chris Cao, presenting the game at E3 this week. His team at SOE isn't creating their vision of the DC Universe. They're letting players create their own hero or villain and letting them come inside the DCU as envisioned by Jim Lee, one of the most successful comics artists of all time. You'll see Batman patrolling the streets of Gotham at night, and Superman flying through the skies of Metropolis, and if you're lucky you'll be able to fight with or against these iconic characters as you add your own chapter to the comic book world.

They've got decades of history, beloved characters, infamous villains and settings that some fans no so well they practically live there, but what sets DC Universe Online apart from other superhero MMO games?

The main difference between DCUO and a game like City of Heroes is that you don't slowly earn your powers. If your character has super speed, they are super fast, period. You don't have to level up to gain your speed boost...the Flash didn't have to ding in order to go from 60 to 70 MPH. You have the power you choose, and it's up to you to learn to use it. An example Chris presented was a character with super speed being able to run up a wall, taking them out of range of enemy attacks. You can do this right from the start, as long as you have the skills to pull it off.

Leveling with help you tweak your powers a bit. You see the mechanic in comic books every day...a hero learns some new way to use their powers. The Flash figures out how to create a tornado by running in a circle at supersonic speeds, Superman hones his heat vision to laser accuracy, etc. Other than those tweaks, DCU is a skill-based action game more than your traditional RPG. You want to fly? Boom, you can fly. You want to fly well? That's where skill kicks in.

One thing that really struck me is the use of physics in the game. In a game like World of Warcraft, you freeze someone in place and they are locked in one spot as a particle effect appears at their feet. You freeze someone in DCUO and they don't just get surrounded by a ice block-shaped effect. They become an ice block, which can then be picked up and thrown, The game is dynamically creating objects using powers instead of simply throwing lighting effects around.

Unfortunately DCU Online was not playable at E3, but fans will be getting their hands on the title soon enough. In fact, Next week's San Diego Comic Con will play host to the first playable demo of the game, allowing comic book fans the first shot at becoming a DCU hero themselves.

SOE is opening the door to the DC Universe. Hopefully what we wind up seeing on the other side will be enough to entice us through it.

What Are You Playing This Weekend? [Lazy Sundays]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:40:34 MDT

Being surrounded by the latest and greatest future releases the video game industry has to offer might lead one to think that my thirst for gaming has been quenched. Not so. Despite having access to E3's massive library of games, I experienced but a fraction of what was playable at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Fortunately, I have a hard drive full of Xbox Live Arcade games to fill the void, including some stuff that, well, I'm not sure I'm allowed to mention. Suffice it to say, I'll be playing something fun this weekend.

On top of that, we'll be prepping for Comic Con. Anyone going?

I'll also be heading out to the Street Fighter Fight Club event in LA tonight, spending a bit more time with Street Fighter IV (and whatever else is on hand). Your gaming plans for this weekend are...?

Fun With Trivia: Passing Around Buzz! Master Quiz [Sony]

Leigh Alexander — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:20:00 MDT

Remember being a kid and playing those talking electronic trivia games that you were supposed to pass back and forth among your friends? Sony and Relentless Software's Buzz! Master Quiz put me in mind of those sort of games, only this time, hosted by a big-headed Muppet of a blond guy and featuring several different types of trivia games.

The neat part about this is the different types of game modes there are. You can play just by your lonesome with your PSP, you can use game sharing among your friends, or use the "Pass Around" mode, in which up to six of you can play the same game by passing around one PSP. It was the latter mode I checked out with the Sony reps, and I was surprised at how neat turning one PSP into a pass-around trivia game can be.

Buzz! Master Quiz features innumerable modes, guessing and trivia games, but in my demo, we tried a picture-guessing game. One person holds the PSP and selects a picture, and then picks only one section of it to show the other player. Once that's done, the PSP is passed to the other player, who must answer a quiz question about the picture after seeing only the one section.

I got mine wrong, and, of course, failed to stump the Sony rep when it was my turn.

The interface is fairly slick, and all you really need to do is push the buttons on the PSP that correspond to the answer you want to pick. Pass-Around players can plug in their names and choose a funny character to represent them — helps, of course, to keep track of who is who. In another one of the multiplayer games, the person holding the PSP is presented with a trivia question and is asked to predict which player will get it right and who will get it wrong.

I was also told about a "virus challenge" mode where taking time to answer questions saps player's scores, so as you pass the PSP around, ultimately the player who answered his or her trivia the quickest will have the most points.

It seems like it'd be a lot of fun for pairs or groups of friends — another plus is the reps and I were able to pass and play while still carrying on a conversation, so it's a way to entertain everyone without necessarily requiring all their attention. I'm the sort to eyeroll a bit at trivia games, but I could see myself playing the hero and pulling out my PSP with this game next time I'm in a restaurant or on a long subway trip with pals and an awkward silence descends.

Bionic Commando Has Control Issues [E308]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:00:00 MDT

"Wow I suck," I thought to myself as I sweated through a demo of GRIN and Capcom's upcoming sequel to the beloved Bionic Commando. The nice gentleman from GRIN guiding me through the level was being extremely patient with me, but I sensed he was a bit frustrated as his simple instructions - run, jump, press A to shoot out your arm and then release when the blue hourglass shape appears on the HUD to signify the optimal angle - were consistently met by me falling into a pit, or off the side of a bridge, or any number of places that you could fall.

"The controls are skill-based," he explained with a smile, taking the controller and easily navigating the part I was having issues with. He made it look so simple, but then I suppose he's logged a few more hours on the game. He tells me that once you master the controls you'll be able to do amazing things. Unfortunately fifteen minutes isn't long enough.

It's a pity, really. Despite the sometimes confusing graphical design that makes enemies hard to see, I can sense the potential for fun in the game. When I can do the things he can do I am sure I will have a blast, but how long do I have to wait?

Later on during E3 I talked to some other members of the press and found that I wasn't alone. Bionic Commando isn't a game you can really get a feel for just by playing for a quarter of an hour. Unfortunately that's all of the time most writers have to spend, and instead of walking away feeling fulfilled they wind up either unsure of themselves or unsure of the game.

It used to be that a steep learning curve was the norm for video games. You had to first master the controls and then master the game. Now we've come to expect a certain degree of intuitiveness with our video games, and that intuitiveness isn't there for Bionic Commando. Is this a good thing? A bad thing? I suppose if a demo gets released before the game comes out that helps players perfect the system for free it could be fine, but I don't know if I am ready to lay down $60 on a game I'm not sure I'll be able to play.

What do you folks think? Is it better to be able to pick up a game and play immediately, or is the challenge of mastering the skills needed to control your character essential to the gaming experience?

Damnation - One To Watch [E308]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:30:00 MDT

The best thing about going to E3 are the little surprises - games you either didn't know about or hadn't paid attention to that simply knock you off your feet. Blue Omega Games' Damnation is just that sort of game. Due to be published by Codemasters for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, Damnation combines third-person shooting with acrobatics in a unique steampunk setting to create a game that has amazing potential, both online and off.

Damnation takes place in an alternate early 20th century U.S. where the Civil War has been raging for decades. Now a wealthy industrialist is hatching a plan to wipe out both sides of the conflict, and it's up to your character and his teammates to stop the bastard from recreating the country in his own twisted image.

I actually got to play through a bit of a level of the game with Blue Omega's Jacob Minkoff and Richard Gilbert guiding me through. The level starts with the main character and a couple of AI teammates (one of which can be played by a friend for co-op action) tasked with destroying a far off bridge before the enemy forces can cross, decimating a small, strategically located town. The only problem? The bridge spans the middle of a large chasm, which you just happen to be standing on the side of.

Luckily, Damnation's gameplay is all about verticality and finding your own path. Mine involves an elevator that takes us down to some ruins, which we have to cross in order to make it to the bridge. Enemy-filled ruins. Yum. It starts off as a standard shooting affair, firing my pistols at the bad guys and trying to stay under cover, but if you take things a bit differently...

For instance, how many times have you played a shoot where they place an enemy atop a turret or something and you are forced to shoot him from far off? What if you could run to the turret, grab a ledge, flip yourself up and then take his gun to get into some of the sniping fun yourself? Once again, Damnation is about vertical movement. Sure, you can just approach combat as if it were a standard 3rd person shooter, but why limit yourself when you can jump off walls, climb up ledges, and scurry up ladders?

Fighting my way across the ruins, I stopped and took a look behind me, seeing several other paths I could have taken, already planning out my route for my next play through. Blue Omega claims that if you were to explore all the different options you could take to navigate the levels you could squeeze out upwards of three hours gameplay from each one.

I know we've seen games that combine platforming and shooting in the past, but Damnation just feels good. Maybe it's the gritty steampunk setting, or the cool way your character grabs a ledge, kicks off the wall and flips himself up to where he's standing on it. Maybe it's just the feeling I get that instead of just making the title a combination of two gameplay types, Blue Omega is creating a title in which either element could stand on its own but together brings things to a whole new level. Players will be creating their own play style as they progress through the game, which should make for very interesting and unpredictable online multiplayer down the line.

Blue Omega have got the hook in my mouth with Damnation, but can they get me into the boat, skin me alive, fillet me and serve me with white wine at a dinner party? Am I far too tired to be allowed to dabble in analogies right now? Damn straight I am. Just keep an eye on the game, okay?

The Who Sticks It To the (Rock Band) Man [E308]

Brian Crecente — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:00:00 MDT

I mentioned in my short write-up of Harmonix' The Who concert that the band spent a bit of time poking fun at Harmonix and Viacom and Rock Band. Now, thanks to Games Radar, we have video proof of their jibes.

Portal Still Alive Will Include New Puzzles, But No New Plot [E308]

Brian Crecente — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:41:19 MDT

Speaking with Valve's Doug Lombardi earlier this week at E3, we got onto the topic of the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade version of Portal. I wanted to know what gamers could expect from the game and why Valve decided to tweak it for the XBLA release.

"It's about giving gamers more choices, more points of entry to get to the party, open more gates to the theme park as it were," he said. "It makes a lot of sense for us.

"The main idea is that this is Portal available as a download, and there is additional content as advanced challenges that will be available to you after you finish the critical path of the game."

But will we be seeing more of GlaDOS this time around, or perhaps an extended storyline?

"No," he said, breaking hearts everywhere. "That's for a game to be named later perhaps."

To check out our full interview with Lombardi and hear him pontificate on everything from Left 4 Dead Machinima to Steam as an archive for games hit up the link below.

Left 4 Dead May Get Machinima Maker Post Launch [Kotaku]

Another Mario Sonic Collaboration in the Works? [E308]

Brian Crecente — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:00:00 MDT

Speaking with SEGA of America president Simon Jeffery earlier this week, he was pretty excited about how well Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has been selling.

Worldwide SEGA has sold about 10 million copies and, as Jeffery pointed out, the upcoming Olympics will likely provide a boost to sales of the game when they kick off.

Will there be another Mario and Sonic collaboration? Jeffery was being coy about the details, but he's certainly all for it.

"We would be delighted to do another game with Mario and Sonic," he said.

MadWorld - Black, White, And Red All Over [E308]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:40:00 MDT

After wowing the assembled press during the demo of Devil May Cry challenger Bayonetta, the folks at PlatinumGames pulled out a demo of another of their upcoming titles, MadWorld. MadWorld places you in the role of Jack, a brutal killer with a chainsaw for an arm. Varrigan city has been taken over by a mysterious organization known as "The Organizers", who are pitting the city's citizens against a series of mysterious foes in a deadly TV show called Death Watch. Jack must tear his way through hordes of enemies, killing them in creative and humorous ways, earning points to unlock powerups and mini-games as he progresses. Designer Shigenori Nishikawa's plan is to make the violence so over the top that it's humorous, and from what I saw he seems to be succeeding, to a point.

Over the top brutality is key in MadWorld, with the splashes of blood as you impale your foes on signs, slam them into spiked walls, or toss them against the side of a speeding subway car is the only real color in the game. Other fatalities included using two knives to lift an enemy over your head, tearing him in two, and tossing a guy into a dumpster which slams shut, cutting him in half.

All of this brutality took place over the course of 10 minutes as a pair of television commentators provided a humorous play by play of the action, judging your violence and arguing over when exactly one of your victims died. I'm thinking that most of the humor of the game will spring from the two disembodied voices, as without them the demo I saw would have been simple senseless killing.

Once Jack killed enough people an elevator opened up, leading to the level boss. As our hero moved forward to engage a giant creature with a spiked ball, the demo ended. Poo.

MadWorld worries me a bit. While the stylized black and white graphics looked spectacular and make for some excellent screenshots, I'm not sure how well it will hold up over the long run. I really liked the movie Sin City the first time I saw it, but it just didn't hold up over subsequent viewings. On top of the graphical issue, the killings were pretty repetitive, even in the short demo we saw. Three guys slammed into a spiked wall, two guys with street signs through their skulls...amazing the first time you see it, sure, but the shock quickly faded, leaving "okay, what else?" sort of feeling.

Is MadWorld going to be a revolution in over-the-top violence, or a case of more style, not enough substance? What am I, Dr. FutureMan?

It's Official - Achievements Coming To World Of Warcraft [Wrath Of The Lich King]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:20:00 MDT

While most companies were driving themselves crazy at E3 this week, Blizzard quietly confirmed rumors from early last month, officially announcing achievements for World of Warcraft, coming with the next expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Achievements are broken up into several categories - PVP, Dungeon and Raid, Quests, Professions, Events, World Exploration, Reputations, and the more whimsical General category, which includes an achievement for getting a shave and a haircut using WotLK's new barbershop feature.

Some achievements will carry rewards such as tabards, pets, and other prizes, and Blizzard promises more with each new content update. Players will be able to compare their achievements with others both in-game and via the Armory.

My girlfriend just got her first character to 70 this week, and asked me what she could do now. If she can be patient it looks like Blizzard has an answer forthcoming.

Wrath of the Lich King Achievements [World of Warcraft]

Playing to Perfection in Mirror's Edge [E308]

Brian Crecente — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:00:00 MDT

As with Ashcraft, watching Mirror's Edge has great potential to make me motion sick. In fact I was so worried about it I told the design team that I thought playing it would spur an instant need to run to a bathroom. But they insisted I wouldn't feel any queasiness when actually playing, and they were right.

What first struck me about the game was just how pretty it is. Mirror's Edge using the Unreal Engine but it does so to create something so unfamiliar, a first-person perspective in a bright, crisp world. Matching the simple aesthetic, the games controls are very straight forward. Granted I only had a chance to run and interact with the environment, so I'm not sure how combat will hold up.

The thing about this game is that it creates the sort of environment that makes you strive for perfection. You can run through section of the city pretty much anyway you want. I could, for instance, while tearing across one roof section, run between the slanted solar panels, and around the raised roof in the center of the building. In fact, there was no incentive for me to do anything else. I suppose it was a little slower to take the mundane route, but there was no score involved, no bad guys chasing me.

Despite that I ended up circling back three times to do it the parkour way, to leap from roof to roof, scale a fence, roll on my landing and use the momentum to quicken my run up a solar panel and leap to the raised building. It was the sort of feeling, I bet, that skateboarders or skiiers get. You want to do a trick and you want to do it just right.

If the brief snippet of the game is any indication of the rest of the title, than I can see myself playing and replaying levels until I land my runs, my leaps, my rolls just right. And I'll do it for the sheer joy of pulling it off. That's what all games should deliver.

Silent Hill: Homecoming Gets Pyramid Head, PC Version [E308]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:30:00 MDT

Earlier this week I watched a Konami rep play through a bit of Silent Hill: Homecoming while we were awaiting the coming of Castlevania creator Koji Igarashi. The quick play through showed off the opening moments of the game, with protagonist Alex Shepherd waking up in Silent Hill and setting off on the search for his little brother. The game looked rather nice in motion, and creepiness immediately ensued as Sheperd's little bro seems to have a penchant for scampering in and out of shadows, a staple of the horror genre since Uggok the caveman drew the first horror cave painting. Note to Alex: your brother might be more receptive to being found if you don't slowly walk towards him with an axe in your hands.

While the demo was cut short by Iga's entrance, two bits of news to come to light. Pyramid Head will indeed be playing a part in the game, and now the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game is coming to PC, as did Silent Hill 2, 3, and 4 before it. What will Pyramid Head do in the game? Not sure, but I'm ruling out the hokey pokey.

Miyamoto Caught on Film Checking Out Killzone 2 [E308]

Brian Crecente — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:00:00 MDT

As with previous E3s, Nintendo tastemaker Shigeru Miyamoto swung by a few booths to check out the action. In this vid we get a glimpse of Miyamoto getting a glimpse of hardcore shooter Killzone 2. What I don't get is why he keeps looking at these big-name shooters. He's been pretty clear in the past about how he feels about them.

[Thanks Runandgun]

How Power Outages and WTO Protests Influenced inFamous [E308]

Brian Crecente — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:40:00 MDT

Sucker Punch Productions' anti-hero action game inFamous looks to deliver the sort of everyman superhero found in Hancock, just without all that alcohol and attitude.

The game, due out next year on the Playstation 3, starts off with an explosion tearing through Empire City, killing everyone in a six square block, everyone but Cole. As he recovers from the blast the city starts to fall apart with people rioting, then a plague strike and finally all of Empire City is quarantined from the mainland. A television broadcast links Cole to the scene of the bomb blast and he becomes a wanted man, but he also recovers to find himself with super electrical abilities.

inFamous has players battling through the now crime-infested city working to solve the mystery behind the blast while also learning Cole's new super powers.

Sucker Punch's Brian Flemming told us that before the blast Cole was an urban explorer, a guy who liked to climb around and explore the city. So there's a taste of parkour.

"This is a modern super hero story," Flemming said. "It's different from traditional super hero games. We wanted to create a character from the ground up.

"Initially you go through this psychological side, 'Am I going crazy? Can I really control electricity?'"

While all of Cole's powers are meant to be based on the control of electricity, the developers got pretty creative with them. You can lock someone to the ground with bands of electricity around their ankles and wrists. You can heal people. You can kill people.

A huge element of inFamous is Cole making moral decisions about whether he wants to be famous as a super hero or infamous as a super villain. They declined to tell us how those decision would play out in the story, but one would assume it would change things. The did tell us that your powers grow as you make those moral choices.

The team pushed heavily on making the game feel more organic, specifically in the way people react to you and your choices. In other words, they want you to feel the love or hate of those trapped in the city with you.

The Sucker Punch folks told us that some of their inspirations for the game came from some real world events that happened in Seattle in the past years. One was the six days the city was without power and how that changed the way people had to live their lives for the week. The other was one of the developer's experiences participating in the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle that ended in pepper spray and riots.

"In the absence of law," Flemming said he discovered, "there is a new morality."

Alpha Protocol - Mass Effect For The Solo Spy Set [E308]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:20:00 MDT

Up until my visit to Sega at E3 this week, all I had seen of Obsidian Entertainment's spy thriller action RPG Alpha Protocol was a few screenshots. Yesterday I got a chance to see a demo of the game in action, and I can safely say that fans of BioWare's space epic Mass Effect should be extremely pleased. In fact, had the Obsidian folks at the demo not denied it, one could easily assume the two games were using the exact same engine, with a few tweaks in place to freshen things up a bit.

Rookie CIA agent Michael Thornton finds himself betrayed by his superiors and hunted by the U.S. government after a mission goes awry. In order to get to the bottom of a conspiracy, Michael initiates the Alpha Protocol, going undercover to clear his name and besmirch a few others in the process.

So the story is different, but not too much else. Throughout the game Michael will be given dialog choices that effect the way the game plays out, increasing his faction with certain NPCs and decreasing them with others. The main difference here is that Michael has a limited amount of time to make his choices, and they generally fall into three categories - professional, suave, and aggressive.

Leveling up and combat also play out very similar to Mass Effect, albeit with only one character instead of three. You gain skill points which are spread across ten different skill sets, unlocking new powers as you progress. One particular nifty power was shown that involved Michael pausing the action, selecting three different targets, and then shooting them each in quick succession. Don't know if there are any Firefly fans reading, but it was very reminiscent of that one episode where River peeks out from behind cover and then delivers three shots, taking out each of the bad guys that had her pinned down.

Throughout the game you gain new weapons which you can upgrade, collect a variety of suits - from a classic spy tux to high-tech armors - some of which NPCs will react to differently. You can even modify your Michael with accessories, change his facial hair, and basically customize him to your liking.

Furthering the Mass Effect parallels, not only do the graphics look extremely similar, the game even uses a nearly identical font for its text.

All of these similarities are simply coincidence though, as the folks at Obsidian - who have worked closely with BioWare in the past - assured me that they had started work on Alpha Protocol before Mass Effect was being developed. Whatever the case may be, AP looks like it is shaping up nicely, and being compared to one of the best action RPGs ever created isn't exactly a bad thing, now is it?

E3 Roundup Day 4 [E308]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:00:00 MDT

And so it ends. Goodbye, E3 2008! You were fun in parts, confusing in others and disappointing in many. Actually, disappointing in most . Few important announcements, almost zero new game announcements and a pair of very missable keynote addresses will see this go down as one of the "worst" E3s in memory. Maybe it needs to move, maybe it needs to go altogether, who knows. It needs to do something. But enough navel-gazing! For all the doom and gloom plenty of stuff still happened on the last day of the show, stuff you can catch up on by hitting up the links below.

Things I Learned About LittleBigPlanet
SCE Exec: PSP and PSN Are Jump Off Points for Inexperienced Developers
Killzone 2 Online Multiplayer: 'Fast Action! Lots of Explosions!'
Join Us For a Look at The Who's Private Rock Band Concert
Wii Sports Resort Will Sell Like Hotcakes, Hands-on Impressions
Resident Evil 5: Killing Zombies WIth My Best Girl
Yep! Next KOTOR Is MMO
Jizz Mopping Through The Dildo Wonderland
Sonic Unleashed: Half Classic, Half Stretchy Werewolf

Join Us For a Look at The Who's Private Rock Band Concert
Fist Pumping Through Major Minor's Majestic March

Britain, Your PS3s Will Stream TV As Of September 10 (Everyone Else, Little Later) [Playtv]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:00:00 MDT

Europe's PlayTV service for the PS3 is looking very nice. We already knew SCEE were looking at a release window of around September, but yesterday Sony's David Reeves started handing out actual dates and actual info. The UK will be the first country to get PlayTV, with it due to start up on September 10, with a staggered roll-out across Europe in the weeks after. As a bonus treat, he also confirmed that you'll be able to record TV onto your HDD at the same time you're playing a game, with the necessary code having been quietly slipped into the 2.41 update. Oh, and before anyone not up to speed on PlayTV asks, no, there are no plans to bring it to the US.

PlayTV dated, will record TV while gaming [Eurogamer]

Two Castlevania Games, Two Castlevania Trailers [Castlevania]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:00:00 MDT

Above, the clip for Castlevania Judgement, on the Wii. Iga can say whatever the hell he wants, but that right there, that's a fighting game. And not a very good-looking one at that. Series purists may find more solace after the jump, with a trailer for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on the DS.

Job Cuts Coming After ActiBlizzard Merger [Activision]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:00:00 MDT

You can't smoosh multiple companies together (don't forget Sierra!) and expect everyone to keep their jobs. Not going to happen. There's always areas - whether it be the mailroom, the tea room or the boardroom - where you'll only need one person where previously there were two or three. And it's no different with the Activision/Blizzard merger, with ActiBlizz CFO Thomas Tippl telling MCV "with every merger, there is overlap and redundancy, and so the same will be true here. Of course we’re going to go to our customers with one face. We don’t need two sales forces". Those facing the axe shouldn't get too down on themselves. Tippl promises they'll be treated "respectfully", then reminds them that at the rate this industry is growing, they may well find themselves needed, and back on the payroll, in no time.

Activision Blizzard to suffer job cuts [MCV]

Would You Play A Halo MMO? [Halo]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:00:00 MDT

RPS' Jim Rossignol, having picked up the scent of one of the internet's more far-fetched rumours, has done a little digging and come up with a few possible (stress: POSSIBLE) clues, all pointing towards the possible possiblity that Microsoft are working on a Halo MMO. And not a loot-dropping MMO, an FPS MMO. Before you go getting your speculative knickers in a twist, whether such a project ever comes to light or not is irrelevant, nor is it the point. It's simply interesting taking a look at Microsoft's first, fumbling steps in examining the genre again, one left poisoned and barren since the failure of Planetside.

Halo MMO: The Clues [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Conduit Devs: Wii Worth Better Games Than It's Getting [Wii]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:00:00 MDT

High Voltage's Conduit is already looking like it'll be one of, if not the, best-looking Wii game around. And it's a standard FPS to boot! No party games, no plastic add-ons, nothing but shooting in the first-person. Seems an awfully "core" game to be releasing exclusively on the Wii, so why'd they bother? Creative director Matt Corso has the answer:

The Wii is a really cool game system. It's worth better games than it's getting right now. There are some great games out there for the system, but it just seems like there's such an opportunity to do so much more with it. Considering it's such a popular system right now, it just doesn't make sense to not focus on making really quality games.

Matt, be a dear and fwd that onto Ubisoft and THQ, would you? A Conduit dev walkthrough's after the jump if you're at all interested.

High Voltage's Corso: Wii Deserves Better Games Than It's Getting [Gamasutra]

Yup, You're Getting Eternal Sonata On The PS3 [Eternal Sonata]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:00:00 MDT

In June, Namco Bandai said of the PS3 version of JRPG Eternal Sonata - currently due for release in Japan - "We have no plans to release the game on the PS3 in the US at this moment". No plans in June, maybe, but this is July, buddy, and Namco Bandai have plans. They've announced that the game will indeed be getting a US release, in the Fall, and just like the Japanese version, will feature extra characters, extra cutscenes and (*squeal*) extra outfits. Presser's only a click away.

Santa Clara, Calif – Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., today announced Eternal Sonata™ for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. An award-winning role-playing game inspired by the life of legendary composer Frederic Chopin, Eternal Sonata is set to arrive on the PLAYSTATION 3 system this fall with new quests, new playable characters, new music and more.

A unique role-playing experience, Eternal Sonata lets gamers travel with 19th century composer Frederic Chopin as he explores a magical dream world during his final hours among the living. Utilizing a breathtaking cel-shaded graphics engine that gives form to the ethereal beauty of Chopin’s music, the game transports players to a vivid world inhabited by brave heroes, fearsome monsters and stunning environments. The game’s fast-paced battle system features an innovative“light and dark” mechanic which allows players to execute different special attacks depending on whether they stand in light or shadow, and transforms enemies into new and fearsome forms. Combining turn-based and real-time elements, this system allows for creative strategy and engaging action in each encounter, breaking new ground in the role-playing genre.

Critically acclaimed upon its original 2007 release, Eternal Sonata was selected as“Best Role-Playing Game” by GameTrailers.com and received“Best Artistic Design honors from IGN.com at E3 2007. The game was also chosen as a runner-up in the role-playing game category at the Spike TV 2007 Video Game Awards.

Eternal Sonata will launch for the PLAYSTATION 3 this fall and is currently available in stores for the Xbox 360. For more information, please visit eternalsonata.namcobandaigames.com.

PSP Can't Stop, Won't Stop Sellin' In Japan [Simple 2000: The Japanese Hardware Chart]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:30:17 MDT

There is no cure for PSP fever in Japan, what with all those massive marquee releases happening overseas. Like... um God of War: Chains of Olympus maybe? Is this just Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G after shocks or are folks just falling in love all over again with the Sony handheld? Regardless of the reason, the PSP comes out on top on this week's Media Create sales chart. Nintendo DS and Wii hold strong, but certainly aren't selling as well as they are in the States.

Even the 360 is holding on to a larger slice of the pie than normal. It's all so confusing!

PSP - 56,998
Nintendo DS - 48,540
Wii - 41,768
PlayStation 3 - 12,458
PlayStation 2 - 10,405
Xbox 360 - 3,807

inFamous Trailer, Screens Will Shock You [Infamous]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:00:00 MDT

inFamous (no, spell checker, it's not my fault), for the PS3, looks to be Crackdown tied together with better graphics and a healthy dose of Deus Ex Machina. And while the game's tone and colour palette could probably do with a little lightening up, the nuts and bolts - you know, the parts where you electrify a car before throwing it off a train track at somebody - seem to be doing a good job of getting folks excited.

WipEout HD Has "A Specific Technical Problem" [Wipeout Hd]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

One of the best PS3 games we've laid our hands on over the past 12 months has been the PSN version of classic PlayStation racer WipEout. It was playable all the way back at TGS, and has been playable at various events since, and yet at E3 this year, it was nowhere. No mention of it, no mention of a release date. So what gives? Looks as if while most of the game simply sings, some of it doesn't, with the game plagued by a "really, really tricky technical problem" that nobody at Sony has been able to fix. As a result, they're hoping the game will be out by Christmas, but just can't guarantee it. Bummer.

WipEout HD delayed due to technical issue [Eurogamer]

Here's The Gears Of War 2: More Expensive Edition [Gears Of War 2]

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:00:00 MDT

As listed on GameStop's site. For $70, you'll get the game, a "Collectible SteelBook DVD case", a small art/character book with foreword by Dude Huge, a making-of DVD, a cheesy photo of Dom and his missus and an in-game item. Which is a "gold-plated" Lancer, that you'll be able to use in MP matches. In these crazy days of $100+ collector's editions, that's surprisingly reasonable.

Persona 4 Takes Japanese Software Competitors To School [Simple 2000: The Japanese Software Chart]

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:30:54 MDT

Everything old is new again, as PlayStation 2 release Persona 4 rockets to the top of the Japanese sales charts, with the Wii remake of Resident Evil 0 seeing a rather unimpressive, but still top ten debut. Probably a good call on Capcom USA's part not to release the title stateside. RE4 Wii Edition this is not.

A handful of new, notable releases chart, including a new Stafi DS adventure, as well as two Western born releases, God of War: Chains of Olympus and Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. Those two appear after the jump.

01. Persona 4 (PS2) - 193,000 / NEW
02. Wii Fit (Wii) - 30,000 / 2,353,000
03. Densetsu no Stafi: Taiketsu! Dire Kaizokudan (DS) - 29,000 / NEW
04. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 25,000 / 1,560,000
05. Daigasso Band Brothers DX (DS) - 23,000 / 190,000
06. Resident Evil 0 (Wii) - 21,000 / NEW
07. Derby Stallion DS (DS) - 20,000 / 206,000
08. Hanayori Dango: Koi Seyo Onago (DS) - 20,000 / NEW
09. Gegege no Kitarou: Youkai Daigekisen (DS) - 16,000 / NEW
10. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP) - 16,000 / 2,277,000

11. God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)
12. DS Bimoji Training (DS)
13. Mario Super Sluggers (Wii)
14. Initial D Extream Stage (PS3)
15. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
16. Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk (Wii)
17. Nanashi no Game (DS)
18. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (PSP)
19. Custom Beat Battle: Draglade 2 (DS)
20. Wii Sports (Wii)
21. Naruto Shippuuden: Saikyou Ninja Daikesshuu - Gekitou! Naruto vs. Sasuke (DS)
22. Hisshou Pachinko * Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS Vol. 12: CR Neon Genesis Evangelion - Shito, Futatabi (PS2)
23. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PS3)
24. Meccha! Taiko Drum Master DS: 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken (DS)
25. Wii Play (Wii)
26. Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono (PSP)
27. Super Robot Taisen A Portable (PSP)
28. Mario Kart DS (DS)
29. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
30. Higurashi no Nakukoru ni Kizuna: Dai-Ichi-Kan - Tatari (DS)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]