News | June 15, 2010 11:53 am

By Hektic Juggalo

Well now, with my elation at finally completing Mass Effect 2 insanity, and running from the darkness in Alan Wake, E3 almost snuck by me. Fret not, however, as Hektic is here to bring you all the info you need to know from the show. I will try to keep this post updated with the latest updates and info as soon as it is available, so check back often to check out what's going on. I will try to keep it as organized as possible, and make a note whenever an update is made.



Well now, perhaps one of the largest announcements gamers have been waiting for this year is more info on Project Natal, Microsoft's new motion sensing technology. As you may or may not know, the name Project Natal has officially been dropped; the device is now known as the Kinect. An improvement? I'll let you be the judge.

So, now that we have an official name, do we have a release date? Yes! Kinect is slated to launch worldwide just in time for, you guessed it, the holiday season. The launch date of November 4th was announced, along with the announcement of at least fifteen titles available at launch, including Kinectimals, Your Shape, and The Biggest Loser. More on those in a minute, but it seems Microsoft took yet another page from Nintendo's playbook and capitalized on the lazy gamers love to at least feel like they are working out.

Along with that was also an announcement that a Star Wars games will be released next year, as well. LucasArts has strated full Kinect support, stating that the player will be able to handle a light saber to deflect shots from oncoming enemies, among other things. Sounds awesome, but please don't ruin Force Unleashed II by tacking this on, unperfected.

So, the Kinect is going to help me loose weight? Yea, that's cool, but I've seen it before. What else you got? Well, a live demonstration of the device highlighted the controller-free environment that Microsoft is striving for. Apparently, I'll have force-like control over my 360, and be able to have it sign into my gamer profile with nothing more than a wave of my hand. Along with that are voice commands that seemed to be easily recognized; for example, saying the word "Zune" will take you to the Zune Marketplace. These commands also work while watching a movie; phrases such as "Xbox Pause" and "Xbox Play" will stop and start your movie on command. With all these time alone in your room grunting from working out and talking to your Xbox, you will have family members concerned for your mental well-being in no time!

At this point, you may find yourself saying "Well, that's neat, but I don't use my Xbox for watching movies as the thing is a ticking time bomb waiting to Red Ring...what else you got?" Well you, my friend, are in for a treat; Video Kinect was revealed! This handy little feature allows video chatting with people through either Xbox Live or Windows Live Messenger. Along with video chatting, you will also be able to watch videos with your friends, including sports, tv, movies and music (again, more on this below). The camera also tracks your body as you move, tilting and following you around during a chat and, I assume, during games as well. Lets see your sensor bar do THAT Nintendo!

Want to know when you can get your hands on this modern marvel? The Kinect will, of course, be available for the 2010 holiday season; releasing on November 4th, to be exact. Mums the word on pricing as of right now, but rumors abound. Info as it becomes available.



Alright, so now that you have been Kinected, you may be asking what the coming year holds in terms of dashboard and/or hardware updates. Well, Microsoft put a long floating rumor to rest and announced that a new hardware revision of the xbox 360 will be available!

Pictured below, this new SKU will feature a 250GB hard drive as well as built-in WiFi. I am not sure exactly how much slimmer it will be than the current model, but I do know that it looks sexy as hell! When can you get your mitts on this new updated version of your beloved console? Later this week! That's right, in a real surprise, Microsoft stated that the new SKU would be shipping out to retailers yesterday, and should be available at retail stores near you by the end of the week.

The new model is priced to please at the current Elite price of $299, with older revisions set to receive a $50 price drop, making the Arcade and Elite $150 and $250 respectively. It may take a week or so to actually see these drops as stores receive their new stock. For those of you really anticipating this, its good to be an Xbox American, as the slimmer console won't be shipping to Europe until mid-July.



New hardware not your cup of tea? Don't want to shell out for a rebranded version of what you already own? Fair enough. So what does Microsoft have for you? How about sports? Microsoft announced a massive deal with television channel ESPN to bring over 3,500 sporting events direct to your xbox 360 console.

That's right, catch college basketball, football, NBA, MLB and more with nothing other than your Xbox 360. Not enough? How about all of that content brought to you in HD, along with Kinect control compatibility! Not only that, but how about the ability to call out replays on demand using the gadget's voice-recognition features! Want to see Rondo make that dunk again (take THAT Cavs fans!), or double check to make sure that really wasn't a touch down? Now you can, and you don't need a DVR to do it!

Along with all of that also comes access to highlights on the fly, trivia, news, live score tracking and info while you watch your current event. How much is this all going to cost you? The hefty price tag of FREE! That's right, all of this content will be brought to Gold members at no extra cost. Now that is a homerun!



Want release dates? E3 has them, and so will you. This section will feature nothing but release dates for upcoming titles and hardware, and I will try my best to keep it as neat as possible.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood: November 16th
Bulletstorm: February 22nd, 2011
Darksiders 2: Summer 2012
Dead Space 2: January 25th, 2011
EA Sports MMA: October 19th
Fable III: October 26th
Gears of War 3: April 2011
Kinect: November 4th
Medal of Honor: October 16th
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit: November 16th
Otomedius Excellent: Winter 2010



The first of many updates pertains to Treyarch's upcoming Call of Duty title, Black Ops: It seems Micrsoft has begun a deal with Activision which will make all Call of Duty add-ons Xbox 360 timed exclusives. That's right multiplatformers, 360 will be your console of choice when it comes to Call of Duty as all the new maps, game modes and other tidbits will only be had on the 360 first. This deal is set to go on through at least 2012.

Now, its no secret that I am a huge Metal Gear fan, so any info on the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Rising is great news to me. Metal Gear franchise creator Hideo Kojima and Konami debuted a gameplay trailer that showcased a new gameplay mechanic, referred to as cutting and taking. Not much else was mentioned, but it appeared that this new mechanic would play a large part in the title as Raiden sliced through enemies, objects, and even buildings! Nothing other than that info right now, but any news is good news when it comes to MGS!

Gears 3 also got some play time as Epic had a large presentation showcasing the game's 4-player co-op mode, along with an announcement by Cliffy B that a new game mode, known as "Beast" would be revealed soon. Nothing else as of the time of this posting, but I'm sure just that small taste will have Gears fans wondering just what this new game mode could entail.

Beast Mode Update: IGN has reported that Beast mode, the touted new game mode for Gears 3, will build upon Gears 2's Horde mode. Not just build upon, but pretty much emulate the game mode, except for one small detail: This time, you will be on the Locust side, killing COG troops. Players will be able to control every type of Locust, be it Wretches or Berserkers. Multiple lives will be featured, and earning kills can net you extra lives and the ability to respawn as different types of Locusts. Leveling up will gain you the ability to play as tougher classes, which will keep you coming back again and again. Sounds intense!

Bungie.net rumors confirmed as Bungie makes an official announcement stating that Firefight, the highly successful co-op mode from Halo 3: ODST will return in Halo: Reach. Detailing "Firefight 2.0" features, Reach's version will have full matchmaking integration, as well as complete control over character customization between the sets, rounds, and waves. Check out the latest news and the Firefight 2.0 trailer at bungie.net.

Game Announcements

Following up the surprising success of the video game adaptation of Saw, Saw II: Flesh & Blood was announced. The sequel will feature all-new puzzles as well as a completely revamped combat system. As always, it also promises to be ultra gory. Lets see if they make as many video games as they do movies!

During their E3 keynote, Konami also announced "NeverDead"; a rediculous-looking hack and slash/shooter title. Modeling games such as Devil May Cry, the game features a contorting protagonist, who can literly pop off his limbs and then put himself back together. What makes this game so special? How about the fact that you are immortal, and thus are NeverDead! Look forward to more info on this quirky shooter soon.

Lets make Konami 3 for 3: On top of the previously mentioned, they also released a few detail regarding a new Silent Hill game (I'm excited!). Simply called "Silent Hill 8" right now, the new survival horror sequel features a prisoner who escapted from Sing-Sing and decided to take refuge in, you guessed it, Silent Hill! I think I'd rather be in jail :-/

If that is not enough Konami goodness for you, they have also announced a localised version of their insane shoot 'em up franchise, Otomedius. Named Otomedius Excellent, it is ready to launch exclusively on the Xbox 360 in North America in Winter 2010. Sounds like it could be fun...

THQ confirmed the sequel to the surprisingly fun hack and slash Darksiders; said sequel is currently in the works and slated for a summer 2012 release. It appears Darksiders did very well for THQ, doing "about twice as much as Red Faction", if Danny Bilson, VP of core games for THQ, can be believed. Sounds interesting, and I have been meaning to check out Darksiders some time soon.

UPDATE 1: A slew of new updates abound; new details in bold. Also, XbA's Scarface1 has been kind enough to give us an in-depth review of his hands-on experience with Kinect: Read that review and comment on it here.

Keywords: E3