Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket?

With the emergence and criticality of arcades in the far east (Japan/China) you would think that arcades would be a prominent force within the video game realm back here in the "States." That's not the case however, in fact here in America the downfall of the arcade has already hit and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Or is there?

Back in the early 80's a fast and furious trend was taking place in America. The uprising of arcades was rolling through malls and shopping centers all over North America and seemed to have no end in sight. The sky was the limit for developers like Bandai and Capcom; the arcade industry was booming. Hundreds of millions of dollars spent on a weekly basis at arcades like Aladdin's Castle and Fun Spot. Games like Spy Hunter, Pac-Man and Galaga where primarily the "poster boys" for the arcade industry and they were making a "killing." You could almost say that this new fad or trend was bullet proof. The blue print was: You wanted to play video games? You needed to go to an arcade. That mentality could only last so long.

Enter: The home console. The home console is said to be the catalyst that brought about the inevitable downfall of the arcade. They were easy to buy, easy to set up and you could basically get the same playability out of the home versions of each arcade game. Slowly but surely the arcade industry was brought to its proverbial knees and surrendered it's video game crown to the newly introduced "home video game console."

Ok, Ok...enough with the history lesson. Lets get to the nitty gritty here folks. Why do arcades flourish in Japan and not in th U.S.? No one really knows, it's the society I guess. They love the social aspect of it and it isn't looked down upon or 'socially wrong.' There needs to be a conduit that passes the passion of arcade gaming from the far east to the far west...

Enter: Street Fighter IV and the "teeny tiny" resurgence of the giant known as "The Arcade." Street Fighter is a powerful name when it comes to video games. Its reputation is among the biggest out there and each game released is a sure fire way for Capcom (developers) to make billions of dollars. Yes, there hasn't been an arcade cabinet made for mass production for a Street Fighter game in nearly twenty years (except for Japan), but there have been console versions left and right. There has been murmurs...tiny rumblings...minuet nods and inclinations that maybe, just maybe a special resurgence of Street Fighter IV cabinets will be made specifically for American SF fanatics looking to spend 4 grand. You need to place a special "consumer" order within the Capcom web pages and pay up front; no ifs ands or buts! The cab. is then sent to you (oh yeah, you pay for shipping) via air lift and dropped off at your front door step in three to four weeks.

Though this really isn't the resurgence the arcade era needs it is good to know that there are still arcade enthusiast like us here at Warp 9 that still love to play the occasional arcade game with a good old joystick and six button set (I'm looking at you Mortal Kombat). Arcades are a part of video game history no matter how you look at it. Without that era perhaps we wouldn't have home consoles to date...perhaps we would still be playing the Atari 2600! Oh, the horror.

Until the next Arcade resurgence....

-GAME HARD-

This Week "In The Box" [7.28-8.1.08]

This week XBox has a pretty good lineup for its user base. Four titles ranging from excellent to...well, not so excellent. The diversity of the four games is what makes the 360 a great platform and conduit for new gamers to get involved and try new things out. Thats why this weeks release pattern is a solid showcasing of just why NOW is fantastic time to be a "gamer." So, without further adieu...heres this weeks releases!

Lets just get the turd pile out of the way first. Remember playing Track & Field on the NES way back in the day? Remember how fun it was? Well, thats not the case for Sumer Athletics, our first of four releases this week. GS: "Compete in over 25 summer sporting events, including sprinting, cycling, archery, javelin, hammer throw, swimming, and more." Poor presentation, lackluster graphics and one of the most generic "Olympic like" games out there. Come on...who wants to run a quarter mile in a video game? Or poll volt over a horizontal stick? Ok, maybe some people do...and to each their own. It just sucks they only have this flaming bag to do it in.
Price Tag: $59.99

Onto the good stuff! Ah yes, fighting games! A solid 'niche' genre that is being revitalized by new incarnations of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tekken! One other series franchise that needs recognition: Soul Caliber and (as of this Tuesday) the newly released Soul Caliber IV; which is our second of four titles coming out for the 360 this week. Soul Caliber is one of those titles which eluded many people for some reason or another through out the years and its always been kind of heart breaking. The game mechanics are excellent and the fighting is really fun, not to mention the graphics are gorgeous. This time around the developers (Project Soul) have really turned the heat up aesthetically and mechanically. The fighting system stays true to the original games, however they have been improved upon to make combos and heavy attacks easily accessible to new comers alike. The console versions also boast a strong roster of fighters ranging from Yoda and Darth Vader (yes you heard that correctly) to fan favorites like Nightmare. So far, aggregated video game sites have been given this game a lot of praise as well as high scores (accumulated score thus far: 9.5). If your into fighting games (and we here at Warp 9 are!) then you owe it to yourself to try Soul Caliber IV out. Price Tag: $59.99

Next up: Spectral Force III (Developers: Idea Factory)
Spectral Force 3 is a strategy RPG set in a land where ten kingdoms battle for world dominance and supremacy. Strategy RPG's are a very "hard-core" genre in many people's eyes. Grid based tactics take time, planning, strategy and a crap-ton of patience. Those characteristics however make these types of games so good. It's a complete diversion from the usual "normality" of games out there and even sets itself apart from regular western/eastern RPG's for that matter. Even though the graphics may look a bit dated to the average gamer this game packs a punch somewhere else: game play value. Spectral Force comes in at a whopping 60+ hours of game play and thats not even going through all the side quests and level grinding your character. That...sounds...awesome! Expect a full review sometime in the next week from yours truly: OverlordStrider! Price Tag: $59.99

Last but certainly (emphasis on certainly) not least: Geometry Wars II (XBLA)
Can you believe its been almost four years since the first Geometry Wars? Can you even fathom that the game started as a 'mini-game' within another game (Grand Turismo)? How about this one: its the most downloaded game on Xbox's Live Service. Rejoice, hardcore 'Geo' fans! For the second acclamation of the Geometry wars franchise is upon us...FINALLY! GS: "Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, the sequel to the smash hit, takes you on an all new ride through six different action-packed gameplay modes." From modes like King of Hill and Speed Run this sequel packs more of a punch then its predecessor boasting a whopping main coarse of frantic run and gun action just waiting to look ohhhh so good on your high def set. Three words for avid gamers: Buy This Game! Full Review in progress. Price Tag: 800 Microsfot Points

See Ya Next Tuesday!

-GAME HARD-

Bungie Proclaims "Three Distinct Projects" Coming

Not one...not two...but "three distinct projects" in the works for the venerable and highly acclaimed video game studio known to millions as Bungie (the guys behind the Halo series). This may or may not come to a surprise to many, but after the abrupt "no show of Halo News" at this past years E3 expo, many are clamoring for some kind of huge announcement come either this years PAX (Penny Arcade Expo held in Seattle...Bungie's back yard) or the upcoming Liepzig Convention held over seas in Germany.

There truly was a little bit of disappointment in the air at E3 this year pertaining mostly to Bungie's "no show" as reported by aggregated web sites like Gamespot and Joystiq. The big hub-hub pretty much had to do with their decision to pull out at the very last minute in regards to show casing their brand new Halo I.P./Game...or any game for that matter. The only real Halo-esque game announcement or news was a solid release date given for Halo Wars, which isn't even a Bungie project.

There is some bright news, however, to come out of recent talks with Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard. "For the record, we have no plans to make any big announcements or huge reveals at PAX this year." While we will have some Halo 3 multiplayer stuff for you to check out, this is not going to be the 'big announcement' many of our fans are clamoring for. Rest assured that when the time is right, we will be making announcements and talking about the stuff we're currently working on."

He wasn't really specific or privy to answer questions in regards to what "big announcement" Bungie has in the works but he did reveal to the public, "Bungie is currently at work on three distinct projects, some familiar, some not...some on a closer horizon, some quite far off." Most likely one of the projects he was speaking of is the newly rumored Master Chief-free tactical squad based Halo spin off which is said to be "a cross between Ghost Recon and Gears of War." It will also be "less cartoony, more bloody, violent, and grim in aesthetics." Something that gets us here at Warp 9 all giddy-like.

We all know that Bungie has one of the most prolific histories within the gaming world. To this day the Halo series continues to garner not only buckets of money but boasts a rabid fan/user base that would go the depths of hades and back in order to maintain and keep the Halo name in tact. Just look at the online community...'Nuff said. So, in the near future keep an eye out for not only the "newly" rumored Halo project but two other distinct and note worthy game titles coming to consoles and PC around the world...lets just hope it doesn't take eight years to get them out!

Until the next "BIG BUNGIE" announcement...

-GAME HARD-

This Week In 'The Box' [7.21-7.25]

Well, to be perfectly honest with you there really isn't anything out this week worth your time except for two arcade titles up for download. So, to keep things in check and on point; this weeks "In The Box" will be shunned to a whopping three short paragraphs. Yes, you heard correctly...the venerable 'ITB' will be short and sweet! You can thank me later.

First up this week we have the turd pile that is: Go! Go! Break Steady. With that kind of name you truly can attest that this game will wind up in "virtual" bargain bins all across America come next month. The game is a rhythm and puzzle game featuring break dancing...thats it. You do/push different button combos in order to get you "break-dancer" to "tear it up" while in the background is a 'shmorgishboard' of fancy glowing lights flickering at super high paces to the beat...a hippies dream come true...an epileptics worst nightmare. Price: $10.00

These next two titles are going to be worked in together. 1942 Joint Strike and Puzzle Quest's very first expansion pack entitled: Revenge of the Plague Lord. I used to play a lot of 1942 in the Arcades and on my NES. The game was fun however extremely hard; in fact I don't think I was ever able to beat it. This "re-boot " of the classic top down shooter has been upgraded with all new HD graphics, new levels, new ships, guns and power-ups. The game looks pretty and the mechanics look fluid, however, it only has five short levels (with no continues) and still retains the stigma of being "extremely hard." Price: $10.00

On the other end of the spectrum we have the new expansion pack for the fan favorite Puzzle Quest. This game has been around for two years now and has made one hell of an impact on the portable gaming market. It was almost impossible to find a copy of this game anywhere for the first year or so. So, when it came out on XBox Live's Arcade shop I immediately bought it. The premise is pretty simple...its a scrolling puzzle game with RPG elements infused in it. Think Tetris meets Dr. Mario but in ancient times. You can choose to be a knights, barbarian, Mage etc...your typical choices for a feudal era story. The cool thing about this game is that it's extremely long, has multiple side quests and spans a story-line that is actually really intriguing and though out. I'm going to be purchasing this expansion tonight and will hopefully put some time into it. The expansion claims to land you at least 20+ more hours of Puzzle Quest goodness. If you've never played the first installment check this game out; it's fun and addictive plus Puzzle Quest 2: Galatrix comes out in a few months as well! Price: $10.00

-Game Hard-

OverlordStrider's Top 5 Of E3

With every E3 comes an abrupt and impromptu end. It starts, gets you hooked, makes you happy and sometimes even giddy...yet with everything said an done only a few monumental announcements/games stick around in that old thing you call a cranium. I'm talking about the creme de la creme, the triple A's, the games that made an impact on not only spectators but other publishers as well. For me (yes, this is an opinion based posts...so I can say things like "I" and "Me") there was a distinct number of games that I found to be impressive enough to make some sort of E3 post wrap up special. However, this past convention I can honestly say that I can narrow my "games of the shows" list to a distinct number: Five. So, without further adieu [and arranged in descending order from excitement level]....LETS BEGIN!

THE NUMBER 5 SPOT GOES TO:
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3/360/DS/PSP/PS2/PC)
Ok, now I know this game has been shown at previous E3's and for that matter comes out next month. However, the build that "in house' developers Lucas-Arts showed off was simply amazing aesthetically and visually. Having watched every stage demo that the team gave I came away more excited for this game than I have in recent months. I'm a big Star Wars junky and for a game set in the SW universe to look and play this good; alls I have to say is, "Where do I sign up?" Here's some footage:



THE NUMBER 4 SPOT GOES TO:
Dead Space (360/PC)
Do you like survival horror games? Do you like gratuitous alien violence? How about guns that can rip a strip of metal clean in half? If you checked yes to any of these impromptu questions than you need to do yourself a favor and check out this surprise hit of E3.

Wiki: Dead Space is a third-person action video game, being developed by EA Redwood Shores for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and the PC. It is currently scheduled for release in October 2008. The player takes on the role of an engineer named Isaac Clarke, who battles a polymorphic alien species called the 'Necromorphs' on board a stricken interstellar mining ship.

Without giving too much of the story away I will say that this game definitely surprised the hell out of me (no pun). Graphically, the game looks great. However it isn't the graphics that impressed me the most. It was the ambiance of each demoed level. The visceral atmosphere to the polyphonic sound is brilliantly handled and conveyed through the story. You will be scared when playing this game and you will need to play with a night lite on. Here's some footage:

Coming in at the #3 Spot is a title you may of heard of before due to its PC predecessor:
Red Faction: Guerrilla (ps3/pc/xbox360)
As you may or may not already know, Red Faction has been around for a few years. The franchise originally started in the early 2000's and was a solid Playstation title in which skewed many expansions. Back then the game was riddled with 'porting' problems hampering the developers ability to develop for other consoles leaving many XBox and PC owners displeased. Fast forward to March of this year; Volition (developers) announced that a brand new, console friendly Red Faction game would be coming out in Q1 of 2009. And at this years E3, Volition showed us just how awesome their soon to be released product truly is. Wiki: Red Faction: Guerrilla takes place 50 years after the events of the first Red Faction. The Earth Defense Force, of EDF, has changed. It has become an organization that kidnaps people and puts them in forced work camps for their own profit. The EDF is the main antagonist of RF: Guerrilla. The protagonist and player character, an unnamed, unshaven man wearing a green army jacket and cargo pants, is a man of unknown background but has somehow gotten caught into the war against the EDF. Rick White revealed that most of the game will take place on the “terra-formed” surface of Mars, with some parts in other places such as the Ultor labs to pay homage to the first Red Faction. Not much else is known of the game’s plot.

Lets sum it up: Completely destructible environments, over 40 different weapon types, fast paced in game and multi-player game play and a beautiful graphic engine...We cant go wrong in giving this game a shot! Here's some footage:



Ripping into the #2 Spot is an announcement and not even footage/GP from a game.
This announcement I am speaking of was actually said to the biggest news that came out of E3 this year. I'm talking about non other than Final Fantasy XIII coming to the XBox 360! The series, which has been exclusive to the Sony Playstation since the beginning of time can now finally be played on other platforms. This comes to a huge blow to Sonny seeing as though it's the number two highest selling franchise (behind GTA) for the behemoth corporation. Reasons like "expanding to their Japanese market" and "profit margins expanding" is surely what Microsoft is hopping for with this acquisition. My thoughts? Microsoft is currently sticking their tongues out at Sony like a play ground love quarrel. Here's the live announcement:



Finally we have our coveted #1 spot. Call me a fan boy. Call me a creature of habit for that matter, but after watching the stage floor demo and level play through of this gem I couldn't help but be extremely happy with the progress of this game. I'm speaking of non other than:

FAR CRY 2 (ps3/360/pc)
Many of you may remember that Far Cry 2 is on my "most anticipated games of 2008" list. I have been playing this series religiously since 2001 on the PC and consoles and have never looked back! I can remember hosting LAN parties in my college dorm room with five other guys playing until 4:00am on a Monday night! Thats when you know a game is absolutely amazing. Wiki: Far Cry 2 is an upcoming first person shooter published by Ubisoft and is the sequel to Far Cry. Crytek, developers of the original game, are not involved in the development of Far Cry 2. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were announced on January 3, 2008, and will ship simultaneously with the PC version.

The stage floor demos given at E3 for this game were spot on! The dev's knew exactly what to show...and thats non stop action! I could go into detail about weapon specifications, weather dampening, real time environments and even A.I. detection but I wont...I'll let the footage speak for itself!



And there you have it, my picks for games/announcements of this years E3! Some said the show rocked...some said it needed a little pick me up. I say it was off the hook and provided me with some compelling and straight up awesome games to look forward to! Until Next E3...

-GAME HARD-

Sony and Microsoft Promise "Strong Presence in 2008"

E3 has come and gone, people. Every year the juggernaut trade show arrives and vanishes in the blink of an eye without hesitation nor mercy. News moves fast, stage demos come and go and press conferences either make or break big-top companies...Well, that was the old E3 at least. Ever since the downgrading of E3 (which started last year) the trade show just doesn't feel right. It's as if the pressure for these enormous companies has been alleviated a bit allowing for more leeway in regards to "show presence." However, this was not the case this year as all three market share holders (Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony) arrived on time and did their best to give the public what they truly desired: GAMES!

Speculation and "play ground chatter" ran ramped on the show floor near the end of the conventions life span. It was stated that Microsoft and Sony had stolen the show with their game lineup announcements as well as stage floor presence (giving demonstrations of their upcoming games lineup) and special announcements. The Wii? Not so much. After watching each press conference in full, Warp 9 Gaming can conclusively state that the winner of this years E3 brawl is...A Tie! Sony and Microsoft both showed that they will dominate the market this coming year and perhaps into the foreseeable future.

Seeing as though we are a Microsoft and PC eccentric web site, I'm gonna start with XBox (Microsoft Corp). Wiki: Microsoft released demos for Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Fable II, and Resident Evil 5, among other games. Though not all demos are for download on Xbox Marketplace, new trailers for them have been added. Also, an Xbox 360 dashboard update scheduled for fall 2008, with a new user interface and avatar system, was previewed. Additional television and movie content from NBC Universal and other providers was announced for Xbox Live, including support for Netflix instant-watch titles. A television-style gaming feature known as Prime-time was shown with a game based on the game show 1 vs. 100 shown as an example, there were also hints at a "Big Brother" type game and also a "Deal or no Deal" one.

New dashboard? I don't know if I'm down with the whole revamp system about to take place in the fall but I'll go into it with an open mind. I cant help but notice that the avatars, in which will be replacing our gamer pics, look a whole lot like "Me's;" Nintendo's very own avatar system. You can create your own avatar to either look like you or anything of your choice quite frankly. They also stated that you would be able to keep all your downloaded themes and gamer pics if you choose to. However, they urged everyone to try the new 'dash' out and give it time. I'll give it a whirl but I sure do love my Sagat (Street Fighter 2) Icon I just recently purchased! Time will tell.

360's New Avatar & Dash Look

Now, if you didn't think already that the demo release line up was excellent, listen to the big announcement saved until the very end of Microsoft's press conference. As of July of 2008, the Final Fantasy Series would no longer be exclusive to Sony. WHAT!? Rejoice, fan-boys all around the world! Final Fantasy XIII will be shipping day in day with Sony's release of the game. That announcement alone made the crowd erupt and if you don't believe me go on over to youtube.com and watch the press conference and watch Microsoft make the announcement. The crowd's volume level was so crazy it was shaking the conference cameras. For this series NOT to be exclusive to Sony is a huge blow to their fiscal year ahead. What does this mean for other Sony exclusives? Can anyone say: God of War III? Perhaps Metal Gear Solid?

On the other end of the spectrum, Sony held their press conference and did their very best to "whoa" the already amped crowd. What better way to open things up? With a first hand look stage demo of the highly anticipated FPS: Resistance 2. The game looks phenomenal and with the promise of 64-man death matches things can only get better. Wiki: Details about an updated PlayStation Network were also released. These included Life With PlayStation and a new video download service which allows users to buy or rent movies from a large selection of movie publishers including Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Warner Bros, Fox Home Entertainment, Disney, and MGM. Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty was trailed, the sequel to Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and a downloadable title from PSN. Brief trailers of God of War III and other games were shown for the system. Sony announced the restart of the "Greatest Hits" list of games, releasing titles with high sales performances such as Assassin's Creed, Fight Night, Resistance: Fall of Man and more for $30 U.S. Other new titles were revealed including Resistance: Retribution for the PSP and Massive Action Game for the PS3. Sony also revealed they will be releasing a PSP bundle pack that will include an Ice Silver PSP Slim and Lite, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, National Treasure 2 on UMD, a voucher for Echochrome, and a 1GB Memory Stick Duo. Sony also announced an 80GB version of the PlayStation 3 is to be released for PAL and NTSC regions in August 2008, for the same price as the current 40GB model.

All an all, both Sony and Microsoft held excellent press conferences detailing exactly what they have coming in 2008 and into 2009. Some may say Sony pulled it off...some may say Microsoft squeaked out a narrow victory. Yet, it was the gamers that came out the winners! Games galore from both parties cluttered the already increasing stock pile coming this year and we here at Warp 9 Gaming couldn't be happier!

[UPDATE: Wii Press Conference Details Coming Tomorrow]

Until Next E3...

-GAME HARD-

Exclusivity Shattered...

Remember a little old series named Final Fantasy? Remember how great playing this epic RPG franchise was back in the day on your Nintendo, Gameboy Color/Advance, Playstation 1 & 2? And remember how the series stuck a fork in porting their beloved series to multiple platforms a few years back (exclusively developing their games for Sony)? Well, REJOICE faithful 'FF' players; no longer can Sony put the Ki-Bosch on the series coming to other platforms.

As of this past E3 Square Enix (developers of the series) announced that the epic series known all around the world would be coming out on the XBox 360. The news came as a shock to many developers seeing as though Square Enix has been such a stapled stall wort fr Sony for so many years. No solid news of a release date has been announced, however Square did mention that the XBox 360 release will coincide with the PS3 launch date.

The seres has been around since the late 1980's and has pilled up an impressive resume of awards. Hell, FFVII is regarded as the best RPG of all time by many of the industries top talent. "What a huge coup for Microsoft, and what a great piece of news for Xbox 360 owners who also happen to be great console RPG lovers" Mike Shwam of Joystiq.com explained to the press this past Tuesday when the news broke. What does this mean for Sony's relationship with the colossus RPG developer? Only time will tell...

Until Next Time....

-GAME HARD-

Sir, Yes Sir!!! Tom Clancy's End War

End War? Hmm what does that mean? War is over? This will be the war to end it all? It seems like the world is always in conflict somewhere and somehow. Fortunately people are making games like this so that we can all practice for WWIII when that time comes. I for one would like to drive tanks, what about you?

Let's face it, Tom Clancy writes good books and helps inspire awesome games in my opinion and this one looks to revolutionize the console RTS. Oh crap, another console RTS, damn! Lets do a little math. RTS + keyboard + mouse = awesome. RTS + controller = awkward. Now we all know that those two equations are not equal and that has been the problem, in my opinion, with RTS on the console. The controller just does not equal the mouse and keyboard combo.

This Fall we will see what will hopefully be a step in the right direction although it seems a little hard to believe. And the winner is....voice recognition technology. That's right! You will be commanding your ground forces and air strikes through your headset. You'll be barking out orders just like you were a four star general. Still I would rather drive tanks but this will be worth a shot. Hmmm, I wonder is this will not allow trash talk during multiplayer, that would be nice for once? Devs are even touting a 95% recognition rate, so don't mumble and you'll be all set.

Now some quick background on the game. In 2020 Russia (who else really?) becomes the worlds largest supplier of oil. A missile defense system is constructed to protect the US but really just escalates matters into full blown WWIII. Maybe this should be called Begin War. Playing online in the Theatre of War you pick your customizable battalion and go to war, earning bonuses and upgrades through gameplay that can then be applied at your barracks to make you even more kick ass for ass kicking. Beware, you can completely max out a unit and if you lose it in battle, you start all over again with a new unit of inexperienced privates. Offline the single player campaign will be a bit more straightforward and guided. Multiplayer will offer 4 modes. Conquest will be a battle for uplink stations that protect from nukes. Raid is an attack and defend of the uplink stations. Siege is and attack and defend of one particular point and Assault is your basic deathmatch game. Obviously there is much more to it in the finer details of gameplay but that is the gist of it so get ready to wage war this fall on the PS3 and 360.

The Return of Addiction and Curse Words

I was glad to hear during E3 that a successor to one of my favorite XBLA games will be released on August 6th...which is right around the corner. That game is none other than Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2. GWRE is still to this day one of the most addictive, challenging, and intense games to bless the XBLA. This game makes my palms sweat like no other. It is one of those games that I will play after browsing through my game library and coming up with nothing. Basically an old stand by. GWRE2 has even more in store for this new release, and thank god an updated soundtrack that will make you want to go dance really hard.

First off there will be the ability to play with up to 4 players on one console. If you think you are better than your friends try playing every man for himself and see who gets the top score and bragging rights. Otherwise team up and play two on two. Or...one person can drive while the other shoots. The good? Well everyone gets to play now instead of watch and patiently take turns. The bad? Just don't forget to bring your controllers or your slumber party plans may fall through. It would have been nice if the option to meet up over Live was available but at this point it looks like local co op only.

The game will come with 6 game modes. One new mode will be Pacifism. Remember that achievement from the original where you had to survive for a minute without shooting your guns or dropping a bomb. Well it has made it to the spotlight this time in its own game mode. Waves is a new mode in which that walls will periodically turn into waves of enemies. So the old strategy of hugging the walls may not work so well here. Other modes include: King, Deadline, Sequence, and the original Evolved.

Go check out the official website for an awesome trailer and more updates on the new modes as the release date nears.

The Beast That Is...E3

Since its inception in 1995, E3 or newly titled: E3 Media and Business Summit has been the "mecca convention" of video game news, unveiling's, announcements and demos. This huge extravaganza is held every year in California and usually lasts about a week, but during that time developers all around the world come to show case their games and/or product. Whether its news about a new game pad that Sony is announcing or a first party RPG developed solely for the Wii, the E3 summit is where it all goes down!

In the past E3 has been criticized for its' flashy bravado. In short, it became too huge for its own clothes...if you know what I mean. Over its first few years the convention was known solely for its popularity with the open public (i.e. Bloggers & on-line/print journalists). It was where developers could come and show off what they had brewing in their proverbial "pot." It was a hot bed for companies to come and basically "sell" their product to the journalist/bloggers and in return get some free publicity. It was ideal for big companies yet also played an intricate for role for small "indy" developers to get some well deserved recognition. All and all, E3 had become a huge success out of the gates and would stay that way for the first ten years. After the first decade of uncanny success...not so much.

In 2005 concerns had began to fly around from developers and high end companies. Prices for booth spots had increased gradually over the years and new "In House" laws had accumulated (i.e. maximum size of space lotted etc.). This was the start of E3's downward spiral and things had officially gotten out of control come 2006's E3 Expo. The sheer amount of people allowed into the convention center (roughly 60,000 over a 4 day span) had been hemorrhaging for the past three years and wasn't getting any better. Regular citizens had been sneaking in and passes were handed to anyone with a blog or web site dealing with video games or electronics. Another huge complaint was the ferocity of the show floor. "Booth Babes" had become way to over played, the sound decimal had gone up 100 fold (developers trying to "out do" competitors sound...kind of like trying to talk over one another but with music). The convention had now become too big for its' britches...way too big.

With all the complaints filed after 2006, the heads that brought you E3 every year had to do something and do something fast. Developers were threatening to leave and never come back and this was unacceptable. So, after a meeting or two E3 was now invitation-only in 2007, reducing the number of attendees from 60,000 at E3 2006 to the 3,000-5,000 of E3 2007. A separate conference called Entertainment for All Expo has been created to accommodate the public demand for a major, annual video game event. But thats a whole other story in its own rite.

Ok, enough of the history lesson and on to...THE GAMES! Every year since E3's birth there has always been big announcements. From Zelda: The Twilight Princess to Gears of War; games has always been the centerfold and core of this electronic convention and this year will be no different! The sheer amount of announcements that usually come out of this convention range upwards towards twenty with each company trying to out do one another. There's also demo's of games that have already been announced, trailers for upcoming titles...everything a gamer could possibly ask for all rolled up into one week of pure madness.

Expect Warp 9 Gaming to be all over the news, events, press conferences and game unveiling's all the way through! If you want full video coverage of E3, I suggest you check out Giant Bomb. They have been "twittering" since Sunday and the coverage thus far has been great. Check back here on a daily basis for the days latest news and even a few "opinionated" posts in regards to some of our favorite announcements and games!

GAMES WE HERE AT WARP 9 ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING SOME NEWS ABOUT
---------------------
1. Street Fighter 4 2. Gears of War 2 3. Far Cry 2
4. Prototype 5. New Halo Project
6. MK VS DC 7. Castle Crashers 8. Resistance 2
9. Disgaea 3 (OH HELLS YES!) 10. Quantum of Solace
11. Mass Effect 2 12. Tales of Vespera

Until Then....

-GAME HARD-

When Worlds Collide And Don't Get Mangled

It has been quite some time since I have searched for news on the upcoming installment to the legendary fighting series that is none other than Mortal Kombat. Frankly, after the announcement of the upcoming game I was left feeling rather empty and unenthusiastic with the rest of the original hardcore MK fan community. The rumor mill was in full swing and forums were littered with disheartening comments and falsities. A recent interview with MK King Ed Boon squashed some of those rumors and provided some hope for this not so standard entry into the series.

My biggest concern was that going for a T for Teen rating was going to leave out the fatalities that we have all come to know and love. It turns out that all of the characters will have finishing moves. The MK characters will have fatalities along with some of the DC characters, but the DC guys that don't kill in the comics will have more of a brutality finishing move. Phew, that was a big scare. Now since there will be a T rating on the game, the fatalities will most likely be toned down a bit. That is fine with me. As long as I still get the chance to pull off the right button combo with perfect timing I will be happy. Man is that a good feeling when that happens.

The devs are now working with the ever popular Unreal Engine and this is the first installment that will use the raw power of current gen systems and you can begin to see the fruits of their labor in this new trailer posted on Gamespot Yesterday. Obviously steaming video will not do it too much justice but you'll get the point. The worlds are beautifully intricate and the characters are just stunning. Remember, this is a work in progress and is not a polished final copy. For some amazingly detailed character shots head over to the Official Website and check out the artwork section.

Do yourself a favor and watch the gameplay footage. It turned me back into a believer again. Hopefully more information will be released during the E3 event so another more comprehensive post will come at a later date. Until then...

-Game Hard!-

Video Gaming Gems Volume: 11

Society has always had an affliction for the horror genre. Whether it be movies, amusement park rides, books, graphic novels or video games they all have one thing in common: Gore. Thats the one intrigal part of this genre that every facet of this niche avenue needs to have. As stated above, video games are no different. It's hard to come by a great horror video game. One series of course always comes to mind when speaking of this subject; The Resident Evil Series. It's a great game and just about every R.E. iteration has recieved solid reviews, yet to me, it just didn't do the trick. Yeah there was gore, monsters and a few "Holy Sh*t" moments but it just didnt really...well, scare me. Enter: F.E.A.R.

The second game I ever got for my XBox 360 was a little known game entitled: F.E.A.R. It was a first person shooter set in the horror genre. I got a pretty good feel for what I was about to get into after speaking to my good pal and fellow Warp 9 writer SS SoulStealer, he had played the game before on the PC and console. He gave me a really good run down of what the game was all about. Scary, bloody, disturbing...these were just a few of the descriptive words he used to yak about it. I figured he was just overreacting, I mean come on! I had been watching horror movies since I was little and played through every R.E. game out there, what could possibly be worse? Once again...enter: F.E.A.R.

So, after picking the game up I of course waited until that night to pop it in and play. I wanted it to be dark...I wanted to set the mood for this supposedly "Scary as all hell" game. Around 9:00pm or so I told my wife I was going into the game room to check out this new horror first person shooter I had bought. I was holding my head high like I was some expert in the field of narrative horror escapades, little did I know what I was about to get into. I'm going to make this as short and blunt as possible, thirty minutes into this game I realized I couldn't play it at night. It had single handedly moved up the ranks as the scariest game I had every played in a matter of thirty freaking minutes, no lie. The sheer intenseness of moving around each level searching every dark nook and cranny that lay before me was almost surreal...and I loved every minute of it (even if I had to play with the night-light on).

You may be asking yourself, "Wait, I thought this article was about some game called Project: Origin?" Relax, it is. Project Origin is the actual sequel to the original F.E.A.R. Vivendi and Monolith (The developers behind the first game) had kind of a "snafu" and split. After a long court battle Vivendi ended up with the rights to the actual name F.E.A.R. and Monolith ended up with the story rights. Scratching your head yet? Me too. However, alls we need to know is that the dudes that originally brought you F.E.A.R. (and not the guys that did the 'so-so' expansion pack FEAR:FILES) have almost completed the actual successor to the epic story line simply entitled: Project Origin.

Project Origin thrusts you back into the dark and gruesome world which was once known as F.E.A.R. -Wiki- The sequel to F.E.A.R. continues the supernatural suspense story of a powerful psychic child named Alma, whose rage against those who wronged her caused her to begin an escalating paranormal crisis that threatens to devour and replace reality with her own.^[7] Instead of playing as the Point Man, the game's protagonist is Michael Becket, a Delta Force operative^[6] whose squad is sent in to arrest Genevieve Aristide approximately thirty minutes before the ending of F.E.A.R. At some point in the game, the player character, via surgery, will receive reflex powers exhibiting the same slow-motion ability like the Point Man. In the beginning level of the game, you wake up in a hospital bed. You get up and pick up the pistol on the table and then walk out. After walking a ways down a few hallways you find yourself in your first firefight. After killing all those soldiers you continue through the hospital until you fight an Abomination. Some kind of black hole is created by Alma and you are sucked in.

All and all Origin looks extremely promising. From the clips and articles we here at Warp 9 have seen all have been nothing short of amazing. New features, weapons, bullet time and story line? Come on, how can you go wrong? If the first one scared the "bajesus" out of me I cant wait to see what the real sequel holds!





Until the Release...

-GAME HARD-

This Week "In The Box" [7.7.08]

I'm Back! Last week saw an absence of "This Week In The Box" and for that I apologize. But as many of you know, journalistic integrity needs a few days off every so often. So, with that said lets hop right into this weeks 'TWITB.'

Every so often we XBox entrepreneur's get treated to a small bevy of releases and this week just so happens to be...well, full of 'bevyness.' From shooters to world expansion RTS's this week shows us that variety is the key essential to just why XBox is the leading platform for this generation.

First Up: Unreal Tournament 3
This Sci-Fi first person shooter is one of the most beloved franchises ever to come out of Epic's (developers) underbelly of games. Its been around since the late 90's and has been a staple in the ever growing popularity of professional gaming. For newcomers to the series it might be a bit daunting to just now be getting involved with UT. However, Epic Games has released a statement explaining that "noobs" to the Unreal scene will be able to "Pick up and play without a hitch." Hard to believe seeing as though the series is known for its' cannibalistic hardcore fan base it's garnered over the past decade. For me...a sure fire rent.
Cost Point: $59.99

Second on the plate: Beijing 2008 (The Official Video Game of the Olympics) Listen, we all know how these types of games turn out. So I'm not going to force anyone to sit and read a paragraph on why these games are usually (emphasis on 'usually') suck. This could be a gem in the rough, however... track record shows (see what I did there?) that these Olympic cash-ins tend to usually make you gag...seriously.
Cost Point: $59.99

Thirdly is a trio of XBLA games from Lion Head Studios, the people responsible for Fable and Fable 2; Wizards Tower, Keystone (not the beer) and Mage Dice [no box art available]. These three titles are getting a lot of attention because they are directly intertwined with the upcoming release of Fable 2. Stay focused and follow me here, people: From the makers of Uno, this Xbox Live Arcade game lets players earn money that they can transfer to their characters in the Xbox 360 RPG Fable 2. So, in a nut shell you can earn some "dollar dollar bills ya'll" (a little Wu-Tang Clan reference never hurt anybody) and then spend that hard earned cash on in-game weapons, healing herbs, music, outfits, etc. It's a nice little perk that the fellas over at Lions Head took the time to create.
Cost Point for Both: 800 Microsoft Points

Last up we have Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution. My pick oft he week! Ever since Sid developed Civilization way back in the mid 90's strictly for the PC, it has been one of the most beloved franchises ever created with one of the most dedicated user bases in video gaming history. With this installation he has completely torn the doors off the original and created a whole new I.P. for consoles and hand-helds alike.

-Wiki- Civilization Revolution is similar to the PC titles in the Civilization series. It is a turn based strategy game in which the player can take 16 different civilizations, each with special abilities, from prehistory to modern times. For the console version, the game play has been streamlined and simplified to make the game easier to play for newcomers to the series.[citation needed] A victory can be achieved in four ways: Domination, Technological, Cultural, or Economic. All of these have different requirements, such as a player controlling all of his or her respective opponents' capital cities or building the world bank.

Civ. has been on my radar since this years NY Comic Book Convention were I got to go hands on with the final version. I was hooked five minutes into the demo and actually had to be told that it was "time to move on, Sir" by one of the kiosk drones working the booth. So, in short: If you like RTS's, excellent graphics, great music and a compelling storyline than by all means pick this gem up...if you don't...well, whatever.

Until Next Week...

-GAME HARD-

More Gears of War 2 Multiplayer Details Released!

It has been a little while now since any substantial news has been released about about Gears of War 2. It almost felt like playing a multiplayer match of Warzone in the Bullet Marsh with a noob hiding in the shadows and the match timer winding down resulting in an unnecessary draw. Fans rejoice! More news has trickled out from gearsofwar.com that points to an article on 1up.com and video on GameVideos.com that is over 16 minutes long and full of details. I could go on and on about all the new features, moves, weapons, maps, etc. etc. etc. but that would take up too much time and words cannot accurately describe the new game footage! Trust me, it is worth 16 minutes of your spare time so go watch the video. Plus, Cliffy B always has the best shirts on for interviews.

Good Company And An Explosive Battlefield

After Ryu Hyabusa fully sliced up my 360 inside and out a few weeks ago I am finally back to gaming on a brand new system. I picked up Battlefield: Bad Company on a whim based on some reviews that I had seen on other gaming sites. Plus, there is not much of a selection in here in Alaska so I took what I could get in other words.

My first impressions were that this was a game hyped up by a good ad campaign. If people asked, I would tell them to rent rather than buy. I went to bed that first night thinking that I just shelled out way too much cash for a game that was sub-par. As I played through the single player mode the next day I began to realize that my initial thoughts were wrong. I was fully enjoying the game and it was hard to put down the controller after a 4 hour stint. Why had the tides turned you may ask? Well, you can blast the turds out of everything in the game. It is as simple as that.

Likes:

-A good duration single player game that has lots of objectives and long missions

-A wide array of weapons at your disposal including guided missiles and mortar drops

-Several different vehicles to drive and destroy everything with

-Just the right amount of comedic relief from Haggard, Redford, and Sweetwater

-A large open environment and a map that makes navigation easy

-Easy to use and quick healing system

Dislikes:

-It's hard to see enemies until you are getting shot

-Most of the buildings/houses are the same and that same walls blowup

-Searching for gold gets old a lot faster than searching for unlockable weapons (you can't buy anything with it)

-Respawn sometimes far away from battle in a few instances

-Start new missions with your standard equipment only

All in all, this is a pretty fun game. Blowing things up, plowing down whole forests with tanks, and generally laying waste to everything in your path. I have not played the multiplayer so I cannot comment on that aspect of the game. This is a definite rent for sure, but does have some good replay value if you want a challenge on hard mode, so if you have money burning a hold in your pocket go out and snatch this one up.

7.5 out of 10