The E3 Media & Business Summit, the video-game industry’s biggest North American
event, is two months away. While a few companies – including Vivendi and
Activision – have bailed out of this year’s show, most game publishers are
planning their parties and getting their booths ready.
And some of the biggest companies have taken the time to give reporters previews
of what they have in store.
The major Xbox 360 titles for the 2008 holiday season:
- Fable 2
- Gears of War 2
- Ninja Gaiden II
- Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
The highlight of Microsoft’s Gamer’s Day 2008 was the long-awaited third
instalment of a series that began 10 years ago on the Nintendo 64.
Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts marks the return of one of gaming’s more
amusing animal combos: Banjo is a big, dopey bear that can fly
(or at least glide) with help from Kazooie, a high-strung bird.
The 360 has been starved for more lighthearted fun, and Microsoft is couting on
Rare, which it acquired in 2002, to recapture the charm of its earlier
B-K games.
The major Sony titles for the 2008 holiday season:
- Resistance 2
- Killzone 2
A second MotorStorm racer coming to the Playstation 3.
PS3 editions of SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals and Buzz! Quiz TV.
The lineup of downloadable games from Sony’s Playstation Network:
Elefunk, a Lemmings-like puzzle game in which you have to
build structures that are strong enough to survive marching pachyderms.
PixelJunk Eden is an adventure through an oversized, psychedelic garden.
Siren: Blood Curse is PSN’s first attempt at an episodic adventure,
scheduled to be delivered in 12 instalments.
The major Sega titles for the 2008 holiday season:
Sonic Unleashed takes the spiny speedster back to his roots, emphasising
pure velocity, while BioWare’s intriguing Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
puts him at the centre of a role-playing game.
The house of Sonic has made a bigger splash by forming a partnership with one of
Japan’s hottest studios.
The developers at Platinum Games have some pretty
impressive credits, including:
- Okami
- Resident Evil
- Devil May Cry
- Viewtiful Joe
- Madworld: a witches-versus-angels actionfest called Bayonetta;
- Infinite Line:an outer space RPG
Livin’ on the edge
Electronic Arts has a bunch of gun games in its arsenal, including:
- Battlefield
- Bad Company
- Battlefield Heroes
- Left 4 Dead
But the most intriguing title:
in its future has to be Mirror’s Edge, from Battlefield creators DICE. Sort of a
first-person shooter without the shooting, it’s inspired by parkour, the urban
running-and-climbing sport popularized in France. (Think the opening scene of
the 2006 movie Casino Royale.)
EA is also bringing skateboarding to the Wii with Skate It, which can be
controlled with the Wii remote or with Nintendo’s new Wii Fit balance board. And
it’s hoping to capitalize on the social gaming trend with Hasbro Family Game
Night, which features classic and enhanced versions of Battleship, Yahtzee,
Connect Four, Sorry! and Boggle.
Konami has one of the year’s biggest games, Metal Gear Solid 4, coming in June,
so its E3 lineup will focus on new chapters of its other big franchises:
- Dance Dance Revolution
- Silent Hill
- Castlevania.
Konami specialized in music long before Guitar Hero, it can’t really be accused
of bandwagon-jumping with its newest rhythm game, Rock Revolution.
This one is built around the most realistic drum peripheral available,
according to the company, although guitar and bass can play along, too.
This information is taken from The London Free Press – Thursday, June 5, 2008
game file
Downloads of fun
LOU KESTEN
Associated Press
