This magical week of E3 goodness is drawing to a close (which is sad…), but that doesn't mean I have nothing left to show you before normal life resumes its relentless attempts to crush your very soul.
For example, here's Tecmo's new PSP title, Undead Knights. One common refrain over the years from gamers has been "hey, why can't we play games as the bad guy?" No one ever gives a satisfactory answer for why this is (and to be fair, there have been some recent games where you can play as the villain), and now gamers who want to explore their dark side will have another opportunity to do it when this game eventually hits shelves.
Bioshock still stands as one of my favorite games of this generation. Its creepy atmosphere coupled with some excellent writing and narrative design make it stand out as one of those games that should be mentioned whenever the tired discussion of "games as art" pops up. To say I'm excited about the sequel is an understatement.
Here's a look at a new trailer for the game. This year's E3 has seemed to focus on great looking games that aren’t coming out until 2010, but Bioshock 2 remains on course for a November 3rd 2009 release on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
I'll be brutally honest—I didn't expect much from a videogame tie-in to the Saw movies. You know the drill…movie tie-ins suck, blah blah blah. Even news of the project winding up in the capable hands of Konami (who seem to have a pretty keen understanding of horror games) wasn't enough to sell me on the idea that navigating an avatar through a maze of Jigsaw traps would actually be fun.
I'm not sure what it is (maybe the lowered expectations, or maybe that game actually looks decent), but I'm warming up to the idea of a Saw game after viewing this demo footage of the title in action at E3. One of the game's associate producers took GameTrailers on a guided tour and things seem to be shaping up nicely.
Oh Konami, when will you learn? How many times have you guys tried to take Castlevania from its classic 2D origins and bring it into the 3D realm now? I've seriously lost count. It never works. That doesn't stop them from trying, though.
Yesterday, at the company's press conference, they unveiled the latest attempt: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows. I get the feeling this is probably Konami's most serious attempt to finally branch out beyond the successful Nintendo DS "Metroid-Vania" styled games. They've lined up an impressive voice cast (Patrick Stewart, Robert Carlyle, Natasha McElhone) and the real kicker is that the project is being overseen by Konami's golden boy Hideo Kojima (and it should be noted that he's overseeing—Kojima Productions is not producing the actual game).
I've still never gotten around to playing Renegade Kid's survival horror/first-person shooter Dementium: The Ward. I’ve meant to for ages—it features some pretty amazing graphics for a Nintendo DS game and was reportedly extremely creepy. I'm not sure how the game did at retail, but it critical reception was largely positive.
Apparently the game (which found the main character waking up in an abandoned hospital where hideous monsters still stalk the halls) sold well enough to garner a sequel. Here's a first look at the trailer for the follow up from E3.
Unfortunately, there's no real gameplay footage or anything of that nature on display—leading me to wonder just how far along in the development cycle the project is. No word on a release date, either, but I'll keep you posted.
It's good to see that movies aren't the only art form where the whole remake/reboot phenomenon is running wild. Game companies have been on the bandwagon for quite awhile now, too. The difference is that game remakes are generally more interesting because technological advances make them at least appear to be new experiences. Take, for instance, Konami's re-imagining of the original Silent Hill.
In the video demo below, Tom Hulett (an associate producer at Konami) is quick to assert that Silent Hill: Shattered Memories isn't a reboot or remake of Silent Hill. Whether you agree with that sentiment or find it more an issue of semantics is mostly irrelevant. Sure, the game brings back the characters and story from the original game, but it becomes clear early on in this demo that Shattered Memories isn't the same Silent Hill we played back in the PlayStation era.
Ready to guide Claire and Leon on another sojourn through zombie-infested Raccoon City? Then Capcom's got just the game for you—provided you own a Nintendo Wii.
The company showed off footage of its new Wii-exclusive, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles—an on-rails shooter sequel to Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. The game promises to take players back to some of Raccoon City's classic locales and allow them to shoot an endless parade of rotting zombies and other assorted beasties while doing it.
Lots of cool looking horror/thriller stuff coming out of this year's E3.
Heavy Rain, a PlayStation 3 exclusive from developers Quantic Dream, looks like something of a spiritual successor to their earlier hit, Indigo Prophecy. Details about the game have been fairly scarce, but we do know that the title will be a dark noir thriller without any supernatural overtones. The game is said to revolve around four main characters (and someone known as "The Origami Killer") and apparently focuses on the blurred line between what is good and what is evil.
Expect to learn more about Heavy Rain as E3 rages on. In the meantime, take a look at the trailer.
E3 2009 madness continues, now with a new look at Electronic Arts' highly anticipated horror game, Dante’s Inferno.
The new trailer for the game (which is being developed by EA's Visceral Studios—which is the new name for EA's Redwood Shores Studios) will do little to dispel the whole "God of War in Hell" vibe that's come to surround the title, but gamers who feel that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery should still find much to like in this roughly two-and-a-half minute preview.
Seems like we've been hearing about Alan Wake for years now…oh, it's because we have. Doesn't matter to me, though—when games look this good, you almost don't mind the wait if it means they're getting it right.
The title (developed by Remedy Entertainment—the guys who gave us the Max Payne games) made an appearance at E3 yesterday, and it looks incredible. Alan Wake is being billed as more of a "psychological thriller" than a survival horror title, but it looks to feature enough creepy visuals to keep even the most discerning genre fans looking over their shoulder as they clutch their 360 controllers with sweaty fists.
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