SubscribeE3 2009
E3 ’09: Assassin’s Creed II impressions
I’ve made no secret of the fact that Assassin’s Creed is my favorite game of all time. So naturally, getting my eyes on Assassin’s Creed II was my top priority at E3 2009. I’m happy to report that I succeeded, but I’m afraid there’s not much new I can tell you about the game that hasn’t already been reported elsewhere.
Instead, just feast your eyes on these incredible screenshots and that awesome pre-rendered trailer. They tell you pretty much everything you… More »
E3 ’09: Mass Effect 2 impressions
If you thought the story of Mass Effect was over, think again. In the wake of the events of the first game, humans have begun disappearing all over the galaxy, and Shepherd and his crew have signed on with a black ops agency known as Cerberus to find out what’s happening — and discover the new evil power behind it. BioWare calls Mass Effect 2 a “brutal descent into the darkest parts of the Mass Effect Universe,” and from what… More »
E3 ’09: Batman Arkham Asylum impressions
I got to play through the opening level of Batman: Arkham Asylum at E3 2009, and I can report that it really does play out every bit as much fun as it looks!
What I was most struck by was the developers’ attention to getting the game right. Since, unlike so many past Batman games, Arkham Asylum is not a movie tie-in, it’s not beholden to any set narrative or production design, so the developers were free to create their own… More »
E3 ’09: Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest
Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest is a game built for kids, using the conceit that an older Samwise Gamgee (voiced by the movies’ Sean Astin) is telling the story of Aragorn to a group of young Hobbits in the form of a fairytale. As such, the design is more cartoonish, the story a bit tamed-down, and the gameplay simplistic enough to be done with basic button mashing and swinging the Wii Remote.
The level I played through found Aragorn leading… More »
E3 ’09: Borderlands impressions
Gearbox Software has been working for years on Borderlands, its next big thing. Borderlands is a massive, open world RPG, set on a remote planet that doesn’t take itself entirely seriously. It’s been described as Mad Max meets Fallout 3, and the description isn’t far off.
Much has been said about the game’s controversial switch to cel-shaded graphics, but the only question that really matters is, Is it any fun?
Gearbox describes Borderlands as an “RPS” — a combination of RPG (role-playing… More »
E3 ’09: Wet
Eliza Dushku lends her vocal talents to Wet, a stylish new shooter from Bethesda Softworks, the people who brought you Fallout 3.
Images: Copyright 2009 ©Bethesda Softworks…. More »
E3 ’09: Dante’s Inferno impressions
If you can’t get enough of the dark, gory, intense platforming action of the God of War series, then EA Games has just the thing: Dante’s Inferno. Based on the first part of the poet Dante’s classic tale, The Divine Comedy, Dante’s Inferno recasts Dante himself as a warrior hardened by the Crusades on a quest into Hell to find his love, who was abducted by Satan himself.
Ultimately, it’s hard to say whether or not the story will really matter,… More »
E3 ’09: Uncharted 2
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves picks up where the first game left off, only this time, the focus is on developing the main character by piling as many intense situations onto him as possible. This makes for an edge-of-your-seat roller coaster ride of a game, full of thrills and spills, and cinematic-quality storytelling.
If all of that was too much hyperbole, let me boil it down for you: I don’t own a PS3, but after seeing Uncharted 2 in action, I’ve never… More »
E3 ’09: Red Steel II
The original hack-and-shoot on the Wii game is back. Red Steel II features a new protagonist, a new story, a new art style, and the Wii Motion Plus for greater accuracy. Check it:
Image: Copyright 2009 ©Ubisoft…. More »
E3 ’09: Mafia II impressions
Seven years after the the original game, Mafia II aims to bring back everything about the original that fans loved, while taking advantage of modern technologies. The new game isn’t part of the original’s story, but it’s set in the same universe.
The story of Mafia II is set in fictional city Empire Bay, which is to New York what the original game’s setting was to Chicago. Empire Bay is over ten square miles in size, with twenty distinct neighborhoods. It’s… More »
E3 ’09: Singularity impressions
In 1950 Russia, a fringe science experiment went horrifically wrong. The discovery of a new substance called “Element 99″ promised the ability to manipulate the time state of any object, aka age or de-age anything or anyone. An explosion of E99 caused the island facility where the experiments were happening causes the entire island to start flashing through time between 1950 and 2010.
That’s the setup for Singularity, a radically innovative new game from Activision that looks set to deliver on… More »
E3 ’09: BioShock 2
2k Games was rather cagey with new information about BioShock 2 at E3, even though the game was demoed behind closed doors. But nothing new was shown of the single-player game or its storyline. Instead, the demo displayed some of BioShock 2′s controversial multiplayer gameplay in action. Here are some screenshots from the multiplayer mode along with a few shots of the singleplayer game.
Single-Player Screens
Images: Copyright 2009 ©2k Games…. More »
E3 ’09: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Mario is back with another round of outer space adventures in Super Mario Galaxy 2, just announced at E3 2009. Check out the trailer and screenshots!
Images: Copyright 2009 ©Nintendo…. More »
E3 ’09: Brink impressions
Bethesda Softworks has been very quiet concerning its new IP Brink, showing off only a not-all-that-revealing teaser trailer (below) just weeks ago. At E3, Bethesda and developer Splash Damage finally took the wraps off this ambitious game, and showed it to journalists behind closed doors for the first time.
Brink is a futuristic FPS set in a place called the Ark, an immense floating city on the sea. The year is 2035, and the Ark has been described as “the last… More »
E3 ’09: LEGO Rock Band
Since it was first announced not long ago, LEGO Rock Band has been called one of the most unnecessary games of all time. A marriage of LEGO and Rock Band? Really?
Yet all it is is an attempt to create a family-friendly Rock Band experience that the whole family can enjoy. I have to admit that it’s more than a little odd to see LEGO Minifigs with moving lips. That’s a first. But hey, see — and judge — for yourself,… More »
