Microsoft called yesterday the biggest day in the history of entertainment, and after months of hype and anticipation Halo 3 finally has arrived. But what if shooting aliens and playing as an iron-clad warrior isn’t exactly your thing? Let’s face it, playing as the socially awkward Master Chief for 11-20 hours might not be everyone’s idea of the perfect gaming experience. And while Halo 3 is a good enough game there are plenty of alternatives if you get sick of a linear shooter with annoying little aliens. So if saving the world yet again sounds painfully dull, we offer some alternatives for getting the game on.
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It is less than a week until the arrival of Halo 3, the final part of the epic space trilogy and showdown between the Master Chief and the alien Covenant, and Microsoft has announced that more than 10,000 retailers in the United States will be opening their doors at midnight. This past summer at the Electronic Entertainment Expo then Microsoft Game Studio VP Peter Moore called the franchise “this generation’s Star Wars,” while Microsoft has since gone on to call September 25 the biggest day in entertainment history.
And the company is pulling out all the stops for the release of Halo 3, with major events in New York City, Miami, Seattle and Los Angeles, where fans can gather throughout next Monday in anticipation of the release of the game at midnight. But is this just hype for yet another video game launch, or is Halo the real deal?
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With papers to write and hand in, schedules to print out and even the occasional letter home (you can’t count on Grandma to check e-mail regularly), you’re going to need a quality printer. These should be rugged, yet compact and most importantly the toner or ink cartridges shouldn’t cost more than the original printer! Here are a few units we liked to get you printing.
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School is back in session. And whether you’re in junior high or working on that post-graduate degree in “trying to avoid the real world,” you need to dedicate some time to your studies. Sure Halo 3 comes out later this month and that’s going to require some serious attention on your part. But too much gaming and your grades are going to suffer. Instead use games to clear your mind so you can get back to hitting the books — otherwise you might end up as an aging and cynical game reviewer! But seriously, here is a look at a few games that can help compliment your studies.
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With the passing of Labor Day summer is pretty much over, despite the fact that autumn doesn’t “officially” arrive for a couple more weeks. But even if you’re back in class or just on the job, gaming doesn’t have to end. A slew of new handheld titles have shown up, so you can continue to live out those carefree summer days. Here are a few Nintendo DS and Sony PSP games to help pass the time.
(Warning: gaming in class may get you in trouble, while gaming at work could get you fired… play at your own risk)
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It is hard to believe that this coming weekend is Labor Day. Next week kids (who aren’t already unlucky enough to be back in school) head back to the classroom. So it is a happy time for parents around the country. For those of us who never really grew up however, the end of summer is a bittersweet time. The days of fun in the sun are winding down, but this just means more time to load up with the latest games. Fall continues to be the time when the major companies roll out their heavy shooters (and some of the biggest games this season will in fact be first-person shooters). Here is a look at a few of those upcoming games for the fall.
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If you remember the original Doctor Who, or have been catching the new series on the Sci-Fi Channel in America then you probably know that a group of Daleks together is never a good thing. Unless of course it is part of exhibition honoring the long-running British sci-fi series, in which case the more Daleks the better. Yesterday the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester brought together 67 home-made versions of the Doctor’s most troublesome foe. Original Dalek costumer designer Raymond Cusick was on hand to judge the entries.
And despite other posts online that Cusick was the original creator of the Daleks, CrunchGear will set the record straight: the late Terry Nation is the writer who came up with the Daleks, which Cusick brought to life in costume form. Additionally, Daleks are not robots; rather the robotic looking casing is the life-support and combat armor for a race heavily mutated in a nuclear war on a distant planet. Do we know our British sci-fi or what?
The Day of the Daleks [Via Flickr]
Two weeks ago we posted about games we’d like to see based on properties from the BBC, notably Doctor Who. But then we spent some time to think about it, and most games based on TV shows are actually less enjoyable than being stuck with basic cable during a long rainy weekend. TV is in a new golden age with some great shows on premium cable channels including HBO and Showtime, as well as basic cable networks such as Comedy Central, TNT and F/X. Even network TV has delivered some great shows to fill up our DVRs and keep us from serious adult relationships. So why can’t the game developers get it right? Why are most games based on TV shows so bloody awful?
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With fall only a few weeks away (sadly), we’ll start to get towards the holiday rush for video games. There is no major hardware release this year, so it will be all about the games. In the next 16 weeks or so many of the year’s biggest titles will be released, with titles such as Madden NFL 08 and Halo III arriving. We have to take Grand Theft Auto IV off that list since it has been pushed back to spring, but there are still plenty of big titles. But what about the games you may not have heard? There are plenty of great games out there that aren’t being published by Electronic Arts, Take2 or Activision.
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Last week rumors began circulating that the BBC might be in the process of developing a video game based on the long running Doctor Who TV series. While the original series ran from 1963 until 1988, a new version of the sci-fi drama just concluded its third season on the BBC, and is currently running on the Sci-Fi Channel in America. This isn’t the first time the infamous Time Lord’s adventures were made into a game. In addition to a silly board game and a paper and pencil roleplaying game from FASA, there was a little known action platformer in the 1980s featuring the Doctor in his fifth incarnation. However, the idea of the BBC bringing out a Doctor Who game sounds very cool (if they do it right). Plus, being the ultimate Anglophile there are a few other BBC series that this reporter would love to see in game form. Let’s face it, the BBC has some really cool series and hopefully some of these will be developed into games.
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It is hard to believe it is August already. That means summer will soon be turning to fall. Kids go back to school, the weather gets cooler and the leaves change color. But most of that doesn’t matter to a lot of guys, because fall means football season. But in the world of video games you don’t have to wait until September for the kickoff. The games are already here! This week we look at the latest titles to get you ready for another season of college and professional football.
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July is almost a wrap, and it’s been two weeks since E3, and this will be the last post about the show. But we’ve had some time to think about what can be done to improve (dare we say save) the annual video game event. Let’s face it; the electronic entertainment industry needs a trade show. We in the press need to see the games, retail buyers need to see the games and small developers need to find a publisher. Can and should E3 be saved? Yes on both counts. We have a few ideas!
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A stroll along the Thames in London will allow you see scenic sights such as the House of Parliament and the Tower of London, and now you can even check your e-mail and surf the Web for free. A new metropolitan Wi-Fi network has launched in London, and this includes the infrastructure from MeshHopper, which released a fee-based Thames Wi-Fi network last year. Free-hotpost.com has previously set up 1,500 smaller networks in buildings and open spaces around Europe, but this newly launched 13.6-mile stretch of the River Thames is their biggest network to date.
The service is free for users to access if they agree to view an advertisement of 15 to 30 seconds in length every 15 minutes. If the ads aren’t your thing you can pay for a ad-free service that is about $6 per hour or $20 per month.
[Via News.com]
Well, when the news broke that Peter Moore was leaving Microsoft, the official announcement just said he was “returning to Northern California.” Leave it to the rivals at Sony to spill the beans that Moore is heading to Electronic Arts.
Sony issued this official statement from Jack Tretton, President and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America: “We wish Peter the best of luck in his new role at Electronic Arts and look forward to working with him. We have an outstanding relationship with EA and their sports products have been incredibly successful on all our platforms. I am sure this will continue with Peter now at the helm.”
Still no word on whether the Halo 2 tattoo or GTA IV tattoo will be removed. Maybe a nice Madden tattoo across the back would work?
The video game industry executive shake-up continues. Less than a week after E3 Peter Moore has resigned from Microsoft to return to Northern California. The former Sega head honcho has cited personal reasons and has “secured another opportunity in the video games industry.” Could this be a return to Sega, or possibly a move to Nintendo? Both scenarios seem unlikely, but Nintendo reportedly has a few openings of late! Moore will be replaced by Don Mattrick, a former president of Electronic Arts, who will now lead the Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB) at Microsoft and will oversee the Xbox and Games for Windows businesses.
About the only really important questions remaining are whether Mr. Moore will have those tattoos removed. You know the ones he had inked on for the Microsoft press conferences prior to past E3 shows to hype the release dates of upcoming games such as Halo 2.
Well, a week has passed and we’ve had time to consider this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. Some two-dozen companies showed off hundreds of games, new hardware was introduced and most attendees probably spent way too much time on shuttle buses or stuck in traffic. So looking back, what worked, what didn’t work and what the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) should do to create a better show for next year.
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Possibly the most notable difference about this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo is the show floor, or more accurately the LACK OF A SHOWFLOOR. Instead of the massive booths, pounding music and game sound effects in the Los Angeles Convention Center, this year’s “show floor” is a single room in the Barker Hanger at the Santa Monica Airport. It seems smaller than Nintendo’s or Sony’s booth last year, but despite the reduced size there were still a few gems to be found that weren’t being shown anywhere else.
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Traditionally known for the longest press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo Sony Computer Entertainment hasn’t been one to “leave them wanting more.” And despite the scaled back E3 this year the company still managed to have an event that clocked in a tad bit on the long side, but with plenty of great news it was worth every minute… almost! Here is a look at what Sony had to say.
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Today we continue our report from the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and while some of the news of new controllers and upcoming titles has already been reported, we offer a recap of this morning’s press conference from Nintendo. Normally a long winded and self-serving event this year Nintendo was streamlined and to the point.
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It’s that time of year again… well, actually it should have been that time of year two months ago, but at any rate E3 has arrived. The Electronic Entertainment Expo is the Mecca for all things video game related. This year the show has moved from the hustle and bustle of downtown Los Angels for the more serene setting of sea-side Santa Monica.
The show is smaller and more intimate but it also has more security procedures than it takes to get on a commercial airliner. Badges require photos — because god forbid someone not approved (invited says the ESA) should sneak a peak at the games. We’ll be reporting from the
show and giving you the scoop. First up is Microsoft.
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By this time of year the nightmare that is known as the Electronic Entertainment Expo should just be a distant memory, and those of us who made the pilgrimage to the Los Angeles Convention Center to cover the show should be fully recovered. However, the organizers opted for a smaller and more “business focused” event, and thus have moved the fun-filled event from the traditional May timeframe to July, and taken the show from downtown LA to Santa Monica.
So as we prepare to depart for the City of Angeles and head to the beach we’re previewing what we can expect from this year’s E3.
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There is the old saying that those who can’t teach. In the world of sports those who lack the skills and talent become managers. Whether you see yourself as a Jerry Maguire wannabe, or just think you can do a better job of leading your team to Super Bowl glory than say a professional coach, there are a few game titles that will let you show your skills from the front office and behind the scenes. Just remember there is no “I” in team, but there is an “I” in “you’re fired.” And remarkably while the idea of management sounds a lot like Sim Work, these games can be more fun than actually watching the actual sport!
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Someone is certainly making a small fortune in licensing fees from the Halo franchise. After yesterday’s announcement that McFarlane will be producing action figures, we’re hearing that WizKids plans on producing more than 80 miniatures from the Halo universe, including vehicle packs.
The Halo ActionClix CMG (Collectable Miniatures Game) is one of the latest of such tabletop games from WizKids. Content will be unveiled at the San Diego Comic-Con (July 26-29), and at Gen Con Indy (August 16-19), and should arrive in retail in September to coincide with the release of the Xbox 360 version of Halo 3. But it all begs the question, how much money do these companies think Halo 3 fans have to spend?
Halo ActionClix
It’s easy with games to complain that there are few original ideas; everything just seems to be a rehash of the same old titles we’ve been playing for years. But then sometimes an old game re-envisioned for a new platform is more original than anything else out there. And sometimes a retelling of an old classic seems more innovative than everything else we’re seeing. While we can’t explain why, we can say that we’re thrilled to see a few old friends again.
This spring has seen the release of a few long time favorites, including our beloved treasure hunter Lara Croft, plus the premier fighting franchise has made the jump to the Wii. Say what you want about old school games, but these are like old friends finally coming home. Of course not lived up to our fond memories. But isn’t that what reunions are always like?
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A sad yet simple fact of life is that most of us won’t ever own, let alone drive, a Ferrari or Porsche. That doesn’t keep us from feeling the need for speed, and wanting to floor it while behind the wheel of a high performance auto. Racing games are almost better than shooters in pushing the limits of video game design. These racing simulations really show off the fast moving action, feature realistic detailed settings and are just the sort of gameplay that can get your heart pumping. Driving games may also be the kind of games that almost anyone can play – yet only a few seem to know how to master. But despite that even the mediocre titles are still somewhat fun. Fortunately this year has seen the release of several very good games.
Gentleman (and Ladies), start your engines. Here is a look at some of the latest racing games.
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