The video illustrates and explains classic Disney character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’s role and play mechanics in the cooperative adventure. In Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, a second player can join the game at any time to control Oswald, who will compliment Mickey’s paint and thinner with his remote control, which commands electricity.

Warren Spector and team also express their excitement for developing on multiple platforms, citing the power of the systems as an enhancement to the development process. They fixed the camera, and everyone gets voices!

That’s enough from me; check out the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

According to today’s press release, the multiplayer modes will be centered around the UNSC Infinity, billed by Microsoft as “the largest starship in the UNSC fleet”. This hub will be where players will customize their characters and access multiplayer matchmaking. Halo 4 will feature cooperative multiplayer, known as “Spartan Ops,” and competitive, called “War Games.”

Spartan Ops will continue the story of Halo 4 through weekly episodic content. Parties of up to 4 players will assume the role of a new group of Spartans, known as Majestic Team, as they explore the Forerunner world of Requiem and try to learn more about it. Every week, a new cinematic episode of “Spartan Ops” will play on Xbox Live, and the missions in Halo 4‘s Spartan Ops mode will be based on that week’s video. Microsoft did not expand on the War Games half of multiplayer, instead choosing to reveal more information “at a later time.” E3 2012, anyone?

Microsoft also revealed the Limited Edition of Halo 4 (left). Priced at $99.99, this collector’s box will contain nine multiplayer maps, released as three packs of three; six customization “Specializations” on Day 1 while others have to wait; the UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet, a physical packet on armor schematics and ship blueprints; unique weapons skins and Avatar items; and “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Special Edition,” a extended cut of the live-action digital series set for October. The 90-minute film will set the stage for Halo 4, delivering all the background info players will need to get going.

That’s a lot of Halo 4 information to absorb, but two things stick out: Spartan Ops’ weekly content updates sound very interesting, and the collector’s edition actually sounds worth the $99 tag. Those three map packs alone will probably total $45 on the marketplace, which means springing for the Limited Edition will save players $15 in the long run.

What say you, Spartans? Ready to rejoin Master Chief and the UNSC?

Last year, the studio looked to be driving a strong lineup headlined by two popular franchise names: Jurassic Park and Back to the Future. Unfortunately for Telltale, Jurassic Park: The Game did not meet expectations when it released back in November. Back to the Future, on the other hand, only had one episode remaining when the biggest show in gaming arrived. The rest of the team’s games included adventure titles King’s Quest, which had been delayed into 2012 with little information to follow, Hector: Badge of Courage, and Puzzle Agent 2, another late-June title.

Now, Telltale is coming to E3 with some critical success thanks to its latest licensed product, The Walking Dead. Along with details on its second episode, we’ll also get information regarding the studio’s upcoming series, Fables, based on the popular comic, as well as some “surprises.”

Here is what we know for sure:

The Walking Dead

With the first episode under its belt, The Walking Dead still has four more to go, starting with Episode 2: “Starved for Help.” The game’s overall plot follows Lee, an escaped prisoner with a checkered past, and Clementine, a young girl found all alone by Lee, as the two attempt to survive Robert Kirkman’s zombie-apocalypse. The first episode, “A New Day” was met with praise, and fans are clamoring to get their hands on more. Telltale hasn’t said exactly what we’ll see of the game at E3, but has assured us that it will headline the company’s presentations. Here’s hoping for screenshots, a gameplay demonstration, and a release date announcement for “Starved for Help.”

Fables

In a partnership with Warner Bros. and DC Comics, the award-winning Fables series is getting its own game series courtesy of Telltale. The comic centers on various fairy-tale and folklore characters who have been chased out of their worlds by “The Adversary” and forced to reside in ours, picking New York City and creating a community known as Fabletown. Those who aren’t human or or who are incapable of taking human form reside instead at “The Farm,” located in upstate New York. Several popular characters such as a divorced Snow White, Santa Claus, Cinderella, Boy Blue, a reformed Big Bad Wolf, and many more have appeared in the series. E3 will feature an update on Telltale’s progress with the project. Since next to nothing is known about the adaptation, it’s very likely that basic plot and character information will finally be given, though a view at some actual in-game footage is doubtful.

They’ve already announced the next entry in the Resident Evil franchise. They’re also touting one of the most anticipated Kinect games of the year in Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor. Yet Capcom has yet to announce their full lineup of games to be showcased at this year’s event. That leads to one obvious question:

What are they hiding?

Could they finally be porting Capcom vs SNK 2 to the digital marketplaces? Will they be bringing Professor Layton X Ace Attorney across the ocean? Will they reveal what Street Fighter head Yoshinori Ono is doing with Capcom Vancouver as he’s been Tweeting about? The unknown is what makes Capcom’s E3 presence so intriguing, but the upcoming games we already know about certainly merit some attention on their own. We fully expect to see these five titles (and possibly more) at Capcom’s booth:

Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor

The Kinect-only tank battle game has seen positive previews so far, and with Heavy Armor launching two weeks after E3, there’s no reason why Capcom wouldn’t want to show the game off at the event. Particularly interesting are the online multiplayer capabilities; tank battling online sounds fun on its own, but throwing the Kinect monkey wrench into the mix makes the game that much more intriguing.

Street Fighter X Tekken (Vita)

The portable version of the crossover brawler is adding twelve more characters to the mix, but all twelve of them can also be found on the console version’s disc. The resulting furor of this discovery caused many fans to lose faith in the game as a whole, so Capcom needs to really focus on what makes the Vita version worth playing.

Lost Planet 3

Just announced at Captivate 2012 in April, Lost Planet 3 is the prequel no one knew they wanted, but its launch made us want more. It’s great to see the franchise going back to the frozen tundras of the original game. Lost Planet 2 was a disappointment for many, and anything that can remove any negativity associated with Lost Planet franchise is a good thing. We’d love to see some gameplay for the first time, but would be satisfied with another trailer.

DmC: Devil May Cry

Memories of DmC‘s original reveal are still fresh in gamers’ minds, where the new-look Dante caused such a stir that fans wrote the game off before they saw more. Now that some in-game footage has surfaced, DmC is starting to look more and more like the excellent PS2 games that put Dante on the map in the first place. This is half of Capcom’s big one-two punch for this year’s show, so we can fully expect a blowout of new DmC info. Will we see any other returning characters from previous Devil May Cry games? If Capcom wants to make a splash, that’s the way to do it.

Resident Evil 6

The main event. The pièce de résistance. All eyes will be on Capcom’s booth for one main reason: Resident Evil 6. Since the introduction in January, Capcom has given some scarce details about their upcoming action-horror game. Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, and Adam Wesker, son of Albert, will all be playable. Ada Wong seems to be a villain. Sherry Birkin is returning for the first time since Resident Evil 2. For everything that Capcom has confirmed about the game, fans have double the amount of questions. With the game scheduled to launch on October 2, Capcom is running out of time to provide details. Expect to hear a lot more information on Resident Evil 6 during one of the major press conferences of the show, and of course on the show floor.

The Obsidian-developed South Park title joins BioShock Infinite and Tomb Raider, both of which were recently delayed. The Stick of Truth was originally revealed in the January issue of Game Informer magazine, with a projected Fall 2012 release date. THQ gave no specific reason for the delay.

Even more troubling is the news of Devil’s Third being dropped from THQ’s publishing lineup. The upcoming action title was meant to be the first project from Valhalla Game Studios, led by Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden creator Tomonobu Itagaki. Now the future of the game is in limbo.

Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ, explained the reasoning behind the decision.

“The profitability profile for Devil’s Third no longer met our internal threshold and we are currently in discussions with third parties regarding the future of this title,” he said. “There were a couple of unforeseen events that happened during the development of Devil’s Third. One was the company that Valhalla was using for the engine went out of business, so we had to assist Itagaki and the team with a new engine – it took a fair amount of time and cost a fair amount of money.”

Now the search for a new publisher begins. Given Itagaki’s track record, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see another game company pick up Devil’s Third in the near future.

[THQ]

[Joystiq]

Nintendo announced two brand new 3DS Pokemon apps today, both to be released in conjunction with Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 this fall: Pokedex 3D Pro and Pokemon Dream Radar. Both will utilize the 3DS’s augmented reality capabilities, though in completely different ways.

Pokedex 3D Pro upgrades the Pokedex 3D app Nintendo launched last year, providing players with an encyclopedia Pokemania: each of the over 600 Pokemon will be unlocked from the start, giving players access to a ton of information before starting the new Pokemon games. The app also allows for pictures of Pokemon to be taken in the real world using the 3D camera and augmented reality.

More interesting, however, is Pokemon Dream Radar. This is an augmented reality game that allows players to find Pokemon in the real world, catch them, and add them to their Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 saves. That’s right, players will be catching Pokemon in the real world and transferring them to the new games. My prayers have FINALLY been answered. Nintendo also says that Dream Radar will feature some rare Pokemon to catch, as if players needed more incentive.

While having a full Pokedex of information at the start will help, Dream Radar is a dream come true. Real-life Pokemon catching? My only fear is that I’ll find Pokemon in places where they shouldn’t be, like lighting a bonfire in the backyard and finding a Bulbasaur in it. If the 3DS can somehow match Pokemon types to the surrounding environment, this could be the best thing to happen to Pokemon in a long time. We’ll see in the fall.

Over the last year, the company has felt the impact of poorly performing franchises, which has led to heavy reported losses, game cancellations, studio closures, waves of layoffs, executive pay cuts, stock plunges, and delays of the games slated to be shown in Los Angeles this June. This seems like a make-it-or-break-it E3 for THQ, and the company aims to wow gamers with what they’ll have on offer at the show.

Judging from their short, but strong, lineup, the outlook for this once-prolific publisher is actually looking good. Here’s what we can expect to see:

Company of Heroes 2

Only recently announced to be in development at Relic Entertainment, Company of Heroes 2 aims to continue the tradition of critically acclaimed real-time strategy titles from Relic after the company’s foray into the action genre with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine last year. This will be the first true sequel to the 2006 original, and unlike 2009′s Tales of Valor, will return to a grand WWII campaign, this time on the Eastern front, with a revamped game engine, and what we hope is a phenomenal multiplayer component. We’ll get our first hands-off look at this 2013 release at E3.

Metro: Last Light

The last light we saw out of these metro tunnels came all the way back at E3 2011, and it looked promising. 4A Games says that this sequel to Metro: 2033 will maintain the atmosphere and horror-like elements the first game was praised for, while fixing stealth mechanics that were less favorably received. The total package should put the game in a sweet spot for dedicated FPS gamers and dabblers alike, and will definitely keep us from creeping through any subway tunnels anytime soon.  This E3′s hands-off demo will give us some more insight into the mysteries of the Russian underground.

Darksiders II

Rounding out THQ’s sequels at E3 2012 is what could be the ace up the company’s sleeve. Vigil Games’ Darksiders was an impressive original IP that left players wanting more of its God-of-War-meets-Zelda design, huge world, isolated dungeon areas, and of course, the horse. With the second of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Death, riding onto every platform, including Nintendo’s Wii U as a launch title, Darksiders II‘s mere existence is good news for THQ. We’ll be playing the game in June, and the near-final build will tell us whether or not THQ and Vigil have a blockbuster on their hands.

Net sales during the one-year period totaled 127.89 billion yen ($1.6 billion), resulting in a 2.1 percent year-over-year increase. Taking into account taxes and operating costs, Square Enix’s profit reached 6.06 billion yen ($75.9 million).

Square Enix President Yoichi Wada released a statement regarding the financial reports, citing Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Final Fantasy XIII-2 as key factors in the company’s success.

“During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, the Group’s results were favorable due to increased sales of console games boosted by our major titles, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Final Fantasy XIII-2, as well as continued expansion of content from growth areas such as the web and smartphones,” he explained.

With Square Enix back out of the red, hopefully the prospect of another Deus Ex sequel will seem reasonable.

[PR Newswire]

The head of Crystal Dynamics, Darrell Gallagher, took to the Eidos Interactive Community Forums overnight to announce Tomb Raider‘s delay to the first quarter of 2013. Gallagher said:

A Message to the Tomb Raider Community

When Crystal Dynamics first set out to reboot the Tomb Raider franchise, there were two goals that we were extremely passionate about. The first was to create a modern Tomb Raider game that would surprise and excite gamers. The second was to make this the best game of our careers, something we would be really proud to be a part of. We truly believe that we have something very special on our hands and we can’t wait to share it with you.

Our priority now is to make sure we fully deliver the very highest quality game. In order to do this, we have decided to move the game’s release date by a few months, from Fall 2012 to the first quarter of 2013.

We’re doing things that are completely new to Tomb Raider in this game and the additional development time will allow us to put the finishing touches into the game and polish it to a level that you deserve. We believe this is the right choice and I guarantee it will be worth the wait. The game is looking amazing and we can’t wait to show it to everyone at E3 in a few weeks.

Darrell Gallagher

In order to tide fans over until their E3 appearance, one new screenshot was provided as a hint to what we’ll see in three weeks:

Looks like some intense upside-down-tree-swinging action right there.

Every time there’s a delay of a prominent title, my shock and disappointment tend to take over my better judgment. As such, I raged when I heard this last night. However, after sleeping on it I recalled Shigeru Miyamoto’s famous quote:

A delayed game is eventually good. A bad game is bad forever.

Sure, we’ll be waiting a bit longer for Lara Croft’s new adventure, and this news coming five days after the big delay of BioShock Infinite doesn’t help, but this can only be a good thing. We’ll see what Lara has in store for us in three weeks at E3 2012.

Every weekend, join GamerNode Senior Editor Jason Fanelli (with videographer Matt Boyle behind the camera) as he runs down the top gaming news stories from the previous week. Game announcements, developer quotes, major events: we’ll have it all. This is a one-stop shop of news sure to feed your hunger for what’s happening in gaming.

This week, the city of Columbia floats a bit further away, Dead Space 3 may let you “chill” with a pal, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy may FINALLY be on their way back to consoles. AVENGERS! ASSEMBLE! For Hot Off The Grill!