Here are parts 6 and 7 of the Portal 2 E3 demo

For those that have been following over the last few days, Valve has been providing demo videos for the Portal 2 that was shown to selected groups at E3. Well, here is the last two parts and on a good note, it ends with Glados, I think I love that crazy broad. Well, enjoy and we will keep you posted to anything else released Portal related.

Last and certainly not least from E3 is Southpeak Games

Texas based Southpeak Games allowed us over to see them at E3 to show off a little of what they have to bring to the table in the new future and it was fun! Three words, I got nail’d! I will explain shortly, but what they did give us was time with their upcoming off road racer, Nail’d and their upcoming sequel to the massively huge RPG, Two Worlds II. Aside from their patience of having to deal with me after three NOS energy drinks and being in awe from just entering E3 for the first time in ten years, they handed me the controller and let me loose.

As stated above, the first game I got to play was Nail’d, and from having a past with years of ATV riding and my love of racers, I was ready and didn’t need much of an explanation. This title is not your realistic racer with lots of stunts, but more of an extreme over the top racer, focusing on landing huge jumps and avoiding environmental obstacles to gain boost to work your way to the front of the pack. Yes, the developer gave me an ample looking racer which I blame most of my crashes on, but the real fun was hitting massive jumps and the new feature to me, which was the ability to steer in mid air. Along with the fast gameplay, large tracks, and larger jumps, I was ready for more, but they took away my controller and sat me in front of Two Worlds II.

Now I never played the original Two Worlds title, so I had one of the developer’s actually play it for me switching between classes, skills, and environments while explaining changes made between the original and the sequel. We starting in a dungeon to show off how detailed the environments can be and the improvement of collision detection from walking through puddles, rattling hanging chains, and attacking encountered enemies, and it was pretty damn smooth. After the environments and graphics, comes the character development and here is where I am happy I didn’t get to try my hand at this because the number of options are limitless between the three classes as you have the option to customize your abilities, weapons, and armor at any point during gameplay. Here is where I fell in love, with the game of course, you can reassign you ability points towards different attributes at any time to change your character’s strong suits to help take down the harder to defeat fiends.

Sega keeps it short and very sweet at E3

Though it was the first booth I went to and regretfully the last post regarding my time at E3, Sega's booth was one of the first booth's was saw as we entered E3, and with the bright colors and of course Sonic it definitely caught my attention. Though we did not have time to check out a lot of what Sega had brought to the show, mainly because I had been distracted by a couple other games, what I did get my hands on were a lot of fun.

Tournament of Legends is a new fighting game slated to come out in the next couple weeks, and it was a very well polished fighting game for the Wii. The only other fighter I have played for the Wii was Capcom vs Tatsunoku, and thought it was not as fast paced, it was a lot prettier and technical. Also the fighters in this title are legendary creatures and warriors, so it is less cutesy and more of a grown up fighter. Though it was not the controls I was used to, I do want to put in the time to learn and master Bravehoof the Minotaur.

Sonic Free Riders did not get any hands on time from me but it did have me standing outside the playable booth drooling on the window. Free Riders is a racer that uses the Kinect peripheral and you control a variety of characters from the Sonic titles with yourself as the controller. The person playing the game was able to jump, reach out and grab power ups, and then throw the power ups at the other racers.

Valkyria Chronicles 2 was probably my personal favorite, even though it is for the PSP and that is the only portable device I do not have, luckily my cowriter will not know his is missing when I take it. Like the first title, this is an action RPG and takes place two years after the original. I was placed back in to the war and immediately into battle as new recruits still in military school. As most of you may know or will soon find out, I love tactical strategic RPG titles and this is one. I had not played the original but after 15 minutes with Valkyria Chronicles II, I bought the original in preparation for the sequel.

Tecmo Koei felt safe enough to let MashButtons play their games

I promise I am finally coming to the end of the E3 coverage, but don't quote me on that. One of the larger booth with a great and more organized setup and most if not all game there playable, was Tecmo Koei, though being strapped for time, I was only able to get my hands on two of their titles on display. These two titles being Quantum Theory and Warriors: Legend of Troy, below is a brief hands on summary of my first impressions.

The first game I picked up was the third person shooter Quantum Theory. I got the play completely through the demo level, only embarrassingly dying a couple times. But the control this far was a fast and fluid style that reminded me of the Gears of War games. However, that is the only thing the two titles seem to have in common as this contains more a fantasy aspect where you play as Syd and it is your goal to destroy an evil tower. The tower level I played through had a dark fantasy look and was introduced to a unique element of controlling a partner through gameplay which appeared to be a woman I could throw at enemies to help distract or take them down.

The other title I got my grimy hands on was Warriors: Legend of Troy, which was an action hack and slash game that felt like Dynasty Warriors, however seemed visually more entertaining as you play due to the story or setting taking place is the poem about Troy. Yes,kind of like the movie if you want to be technical about it, but without Brad Pitt and with better action sequences, more along the lines of 300. Though, I have never gotten into the Dynasty Warrior games, this game was entertaining and full of action and violence.

Driver San Francisco goes in the way of the supernatural

Yes, there is still E3 coverage being published because I was the only person from our site that could go and well, there is a lot of news still coming out, so deal with it. Okay, I am only playing but one title Ubisoft had shown off that took me back to memories playing the original Driver on the first PlayStation and even destroying a couple controllers in frustration.

It seems as though a lot has happened in between the original and San Francisco, but the most important is bringing back the old driving style. The weirdest and most interesting new feature to the franchise is "shifting" and this ability allows the player in pursuit to stop time and have a sort of out of body or shall I say car experience and enter a different car in the area to either get closer to the said car in pursuit or use it as a tool to finish your pursuit. Sound confusing? I suggest watching the video walkthrough.

Compuexpert shows off their new cans and the newest in joystick protection

As a fan of all things loud, so loud it rattles windows and wakes babies, that sort of thing does not really fly when you have a wife and daughter that go to bed at 8 PM and then it is time to game...quietly. So of course I see a pair of headphones and my instant thought is just how loud can it be. On my way between meetings, I came across the Compuexpert booth and see the Sharkoon Xtatic digital headphones and remember reading the specs in a previous press release so I give it a go. The headset goes on and the volume goes up, the Split/Second race begins, and I get a grin from ear to ear. These black beauties send 5.1 sound to your ear holes, rather well I might add from the three laps I raced before having them pried away. My only issue was bass, but I am used to two 12 inch woofers in a hatchback so what do I know? The other thing that caught my eye was that these were compatible across multiple platforms, supporting Xbox, PlayStation, DVD, PC, and other devices.

Before I end this memory of headphone bliss, I was leaving the booth and was handed what looked like joystick condoms, which I guess are just that. The Grip-It product wraps around the top of the joystick and does exactly what it says, grips. I would not think it would make much of a difference with the joysticks being rubberized in the first place, but it does reduce sweat, and I did find myself using less pressure to accomplish the same actions, so I am hoping they last a while, as they wont be removed from my 360 controller anytime soon.

Become a made man thanks to Mafia II E3 trailer

One trailer seen at E3 that won't have you waiting until 2011 to get your hands on is Mafia II. This titles is scheduled for release on August 24th and the below trailer shows the conflict in choosing the family you are born into and the family you will be loyal to. After fifteen minutes of time playing this title in a 50's era room, it was a lot of fun, while relying on the cover system for gun combat and the soundtrack and vehicle handling give an authentic feeling to the era the title is based off of.

Yes, I got to meet Method Man, along with other celebrity appearances at E3

Yes, those that know me, know that I am a fan of hip hop. Not the new hip hop of autotune and covering classic music behind the lyrics, so when I found out that I was going to miss the Redman and Method Man concert, I was bummed until I ran into him on my way to the Bethesda booth and shot a picture with him.

Along with Method Man and Redman, there were a number of other celebrities, such as Captain Sig, Russell Simmons, Verne Troyer, Levar Burton, Suicide Girls and more.

The WB brings you Lord of the Rings, we promise no Wayans brother

Instead of the Wayans, the big dub brings The Lord of the Rings: War in the North trailer, which I have posted below. The War in the North brings the fellowship together again in an action/RPG allowing the player to focus on character development and coop gameplay. You can expect this title to be released sometime in 2011.

Well here it is, the teaser for Portal 2

The folks from Valve have sent me the teaser for the sequel to the critically acclaimed title, Portal, after a sit down to see a 15 minute video explaining the new features behind the anticipated sequel. Below is the teaser if you have yet to see it yet. Without giving too much away...the wait WILL be worth it.

TRON, need I say more?

In the case that I do, it won't be much but to say I got to see a life size light cycle, the game in action, and the helmets. That and to say here is the E3 trailer for TRON: Evolution which connects the storyline of the game and the movie.

More on the upcoming Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Assassin's Creed fans can rejoice with this footage from E3 showing off video walkthroughs for both the single player and multiplayer aspects of the Brotherhood

New features to Brotherhood consist of over fifteen hours of single player gameplay, recruiting and leading young assassins to help your cause, and use earned money to rebuild the city and get the population to rally behind you and unlock new missions.



In the multiplayer walkthrough, players are able to choose from multiple classes, authentic to the era, with moves and weapons specific to each class.

3DS gets list of launch titles from 3rd parties

So after seeing the Nintendo 3DS, and drooling perhaps too much over the Kid Icarus trailer being see in 3D, without glasses, Ubisoft and Hudson both sent over a list of titles to be launched for the portable.

Hudson, is planning on releasing a Bomberman title, in hopes to add to the 10 million already sold over the franchise's history. Along with Bomberman, will come DECA SPORTS and Kororinpa.

Ubisoft has announced six launch titles, all of which are mentioned below.

-Hollywood 61
-Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike
-Driver Renegade
-Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
-Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
-Assassin's Creed Lost Legacy

Atlus full of news at E3 this year

Flooding our inbox while at E3, was Atlus showing off their massive lineup across numerous platforms, so let me try and sum it all up for you so you don't miss anything. Below is a quick run down of what was announced and along with console and schedule for release.

Rock of Ages - A castle destruction game slated for digital release in Spring 2011

Trine 2 - The sequel to the critically acclaimed physics based platformer will feature 3 player online coop, also in in Spring of 2011 via digital release.

Etrian Odyssey III - The exploration RPG series gets it's third entry this Fall on the Nintendo DS. New to the series is 10 new classes and 30 possible member slots.

Knights in the Nightmare - The bullet hell RPG will soon be available on the PSP this October. As a fan of the DS release PSP owners will enjoy the unique RPG experience.

Kalypso's E3 trailer for The First Templar

After releasing Tropico and with the upcoming Dark Star One, what is next for Kalypso Media. Well, at E3 we find out just that and it looks like it will be The First Templar, which appears to be an fantasy action title slated for debut early 2011. Check out the trailer below.

Codemasters reveals new FPS Bodycount

Codemasters has revealed the pre alpha gameplay trailer of the new FPS title Bodycount being developed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Check out the trailer and looking to get some hand on with this title tomorrow. Expect this title to be released Spring of 2010.

E3, I am here and hope your ready for me!

So after 6 hours of driving and over 30 dollars in parking, I am in Los Angeles and ready to see what the show has to offer. The sun is shining and it is significantly cooler than Phoenix. So here is the first of many pics to come, and lots of news.

Summer of Arcade 2010 is coming | E3 2010

You may recall a gaming window in August of 2009 that saw back-to-back/week-to-week XBLA releases that to this day still haven't been topped...that is, until now.  Microsoft announced a sequel to their incredibly successful Summer of Arcade, this time with some excellent titles in the pipe.  We'll touch on the titles here, but will post some more details in upcoming posts.

• Castlevania Harmony of Despair
• Hydro Thunder Hurricane
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
• Limbo
• Monday Night Combat

This (third) annual Summer of Arcade kicks off in July.  But that's not all - there are a few other titles coming that aren't on the official SOA list, some that deserve to be high on the radars of all of us, with Comic Jumper, Hydrophobia, Sonic 4, and Super Meat Boy.  We'll be posting on all of these titles with screenshots and news as it becomes available.  In the meantime, check out the trailer above.

Xbox announces exclusive Partnership with ESPN

Xbox has made an incredible amount of announcements today, and we're just getting caught up on all the news.  One of the biggest announcements, especially for all you sports fans out there, is the exclusive partnership with ESPN.  An on-demand network of over 3,500 sporting events, including content from the NBA, MLB, NCAA College Football, and Basketball...interesting no mention of the NHL, or NFL.

Gaining access to this content is merely a gold subscription away.  That's right, if you have an Xbox Live Gold membership, you will get this content.  There are some integrated features with Kinect, fan voting and what not, but this is pretty big news, and another feather in Microsoft's cap of features no other console can match, at least currently.

I'm not a huge sports fan, but I can easily see the attraction of such an announcement.  Keep coming back for more info as it unfolds.

More slim Xbox 360 images (and info) to view with your eyes | E3 2010

As announced earlier today, Microsoft unveiled their new Xbox 360 console.  Available now (shipping today) in shiny black, we thought we'd show off a few more images direct from the gang at Microsoft.  We expect to post some images from the show floor, but in the meantime, check out all the angles here and let us know what you think.

Additional info on what's inside this smaller footprint has also been announced.  This isn't just your same ol' Xbox 360 in a smaller (candy) shell; but you're getting some pretty hefty upgrades here.  250gb built-in (but removable) hard drive?  Check.  You want built-in wifi?  You got it, and you're getting 802.11n here people! Oh, and apparently, this thing is whisper quiet, but we've not yet experienced it for ourselveves, but that would make alot of people very happy!  So c'mon, let us know what you think.  Are you going to upgrade your 360 for $299?  I'm heavily considering it.