Video Games

E3 ’10: Portal 2 Coming To PS3

When a sultry AI voice came over the Sony Press Conference’s speakers, I was immediately excited. I was a bit confused, sure. But man, GLaDOS! Something about that voice makes me smile. Then Gabe Newell came out, looking like he was about to get attacked by a bunch of Sony fanboys.

He then went on to announce that Portal 2 would be coming to the PS3 and would be “”the best version on any console.” Strong words from a man that never seemed to be too into the PS3. It wasn’t only that, he also announced full Steamworks support for Portal 2 on the PS3. Which will be the only console to receive that feature.

E3 ’10: Playstation Plus Announced

It’s been speculated for a while but Sony has finally announced it: a (optional) subscription to PSN, entitled Playstation Plus. If you join Playstation Plus, you’ll get access to a lot of exclusive content plus some games. All this could be yours for 50 bucks a month.

The first month of service will feature Wipeout HD, a trial of inFAMOUS, two PSP mini games and the PlayStation classic Rally Cross. The real catch here is that you only get this stuff while you’re subscribed, you can’t sign up, get it, then leave.

E3 ’10: Twisted Metal!

TWISTED METAL TWISTED METAL TWISTED METAL

Today, at Sony’s E3 Press Conference, David Jaffe (The man that said he wouldn’t be at E3 and definitely wouldn’t be showing a Twisted Metal game) showed a Twisted Metal game. And it looks great. It was reviled with a semi-funny, semi-amazing trailer and then followed up by some very fine looking game play.

With destructible environments, 16-player online, 4-player split-screen, Twisted Metal is definitely something to watch for in 2011.

Donkey Kong Country Returns + Video Footage

You would not be blamed if you came away from the previous couple E3’s feeling a little bored with Nintendo. With titles like Wii Fit, Wii Music and the unveiling of the Vitality Sensor Nintendo did not make themselves any friends with the “hardcore” gaming community.

However, Nintendo seems to be making a strong attempt to change all of that. Today, not only have we seen new installments in the Kid Icarus, Zelda, and Kirby series, but now a return to Donkey Kong Country as well.

Nintendo + Activision = New Goldeneye

Rumors swirled the internet about it, and before even that, everyone wondered what kind of drugs Activision was on for voluntarily losing it’s biggest money-making franchise. Not surprisingly, Activision had an answer for the skeptics. However, what is surprising is that Nintendo unveiled it during their E3 conference. Of course, the “it” I’m talking about is the new Activision developed, Goldeneye for the Wii.

Details on the New Xbox 360

The new Xbox 360, which is being released this week for the masses, is now in the hands of several video game editors and reviewers. Here’s all the hardware specs: Touch sensitive on/off buttons and eject , Built in 802.11n Wi-Fi, Ports for optical audio, A/V, HDMI, Ethernet, Kinect, and 5 USB ports.

ESPN on Xbox 360

Among the multitude of features on Xbox Live are Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm and Netflix. Unsurprisingly, all of these features were announced at previous E3’s. Similarly, Microsoft unveiled another non-gaming feature at E3 this year. Now, Xbox Live Gold Members can watch 3500 ESPN events live and on-demand via Xbox Live.

Interestingly, the service is an exclusive partnership between Microsoft and ESPN. Gamers without an Xbox 360 are out of luck if they want to switch between playing as their favorite team and watching their team, which is a surprisingly quick transition. So far, NBA, MLB, college basketball, college football, soccer, and Sports Center have all been named-dropped as included content. NFL and NHL oddly, have not.

The ESPN service will feature support from Kinect. Using Kinect, one will be able to participate in actions such as voting on game outcomes. Unsurprisingly, stats and live tickers will be displayed. Though, in an interesting twist, ESPN and Microsoft have decided to give this feature for free to users who have a Gold status.

With everyone and their mother knowing who the main gaming demographic is, and with exclusivity rights, this partnership not only lends itself to being immensely successful, but quite surprising as well.