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The Lindsey Chronicles 08: #1: The first day of E3...

*Welcome to The Lindsey Chronicles 08! Last E3, I kept a running journal of the events of each day on GamerNode. People seemed to enjoy it, so I'm taking the time to do it again. I could be relaxing right now, eating dinner, or even watching a movie--but no. I'm writing this so you people there can see what we people here are up to.*

The sun is setting on the first day of E3, allowing many of the attendees to come out from beneath their rocks and move free from fear of the harmful UV rays' effects on their pasty white skin. So far, it's been a day of wins and failures, but to be fair most of it has been pretty failtacular when all things are considered.

I began my journey (like usual) driving to PDX to fly down to LA for E3. No traffic; sweet. Got to my flight on time, it wasn't delayed, ...

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E3: MS boasts PlayStation games have a new home

With the blockbuster announcement that Final Fantasy XIII will be appearing on the Xbox 360 as well as the PS3, Microsoft took a few minutes to crow about their newfound conquered territory...namely PlayStation games.

At the packed LA Convention Center this morning, Don Mattrick, head of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business division, said: "[Final Fantasy XIII] is another astonishing addition to our array of RPG titles. "It shows that a long list of former PlayStation franchises are now finding a new home on 360. It's happened with Guitar Hero, it's happened with Madden and now it's happening with Resident Evil and Final Fantasy. "Xbox 360 is now feeding the experience of fierce gaming loyalists whilst walking everyone into interactive entertainment. What do today's announcemen...

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E3: Full Rock Band 2 list released

Microsoft has just announced that Rock Band 2 will be released as a timed exclusive this September for the Xbox 360. Among the artists adorning this new iteration of Rock Band will be the likes of axel rose, ACDC and rock legend, Bob Dylan.

The full list of 84 tracks for Rock Band 2 are:

1.AC/DC "Let There Be Rock" 1970s, 2. AFI "Girl's Gone Grey" 2000's, 3. Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know" 1990's, 4. Alice in Chains "Man in the Box" 1990's, 5. Allman Brothers "Ramblin' Man" 1970's, 6. Avenged Sevenfold "Almost Easy" 2000's, 7. Bad Company "Shooting Star" 1970's,  8. Beastie Boys "So Whatcha Want" 1990's, 9. Beck "E-Pro" 2000's, 10. Bikini Kill "Rebel Girl" 1990's, 11. Billy Idol "White Wedding Pt. I" 1980's, 12. Blondie "One Way or Another" 1970's, 13. Bob Dylan "Tangled Up ...

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E3: XBLA continues to outpace competitors

Microsoft marched out more than a couple of their major blockbusters onto the stage today, but it wasn't just the big names that were catching eyes. Xbox Live Arcade also held it's own with an impressive showing.

The first change was the new implementation of avatars into the Live environment. These will, in practice, be exactly like a mish-mashing of all the best ideas from Sony's Home avatars and Nintendo's Miis.

Apparently, the new avatars will be playable in upcoming games like a Mii, but players will also be able to customize them and buy it clothes and whatnot, like a Home avatar.

Also on the announcement list was the first true sequel to Galaga in twenty years, coming to Xbox Live soon. Geometry Wars 2: Retro Evolved will also be coming to Xbox Live Arcade soon, and was revealed to be ...

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E3: Natsume shows off lineup of games

Natsume announced its E3 lineup of games and by the looks of it there are lots of RPG titles coming our way in addition to casual gaming and educational titles.

Hiro Maekawa, president and CEO at Natsume said:

"From all-new games that expand on the Harvest Moon series to an original-IP, Princess Debut, a dance and adventure game for girls, we will have plenty of family-friendly interactive entertainment for everyone in the household."

Natsume's list shows the following titles:

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness - RPG (DS)

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility - RPG (Wii)

Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon - RPG (DS)

Princess Debut - Dancing game (DS)

Hamtaro - Kid's educational game (DS)

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E3: Fallout 3 gameplay details

Besides the fact that Fallout 3 still looks as amazing as ever, we were treated with a video that shows its unique gameplay mechanics. It looks as if you can switch between first and third person view, the latter being the default.

The physics and lighting look amazing as our character shoots off an enemy's arm in a shower of blood and gore.

We saw the PIP BOY 3000, and its skills, stats and perks that are associated with it. Also the player had the bloody mess perk activated, which makes people explode in gobs of blood. He turned on the radio in the PipBoy to listen while walking.

The game will feature over 100 hours of gameplay and the ability to go and explore almost every building you cross. The VAT system is a mechanic where you are allowed to pause the game and choose which body part ...

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The Conduit gameplay looking good

GamerNode reported on The Conduit in the past as a sci-fi shooter with better-than-usual graphics for the Nintendo Wii.

Developed by High Voltage Software, this first-person shooter kind of looks like a blend between Prey, Half-Life, and Area 51. Is this the beginning of what could be the norm for Nintendo Wii graphics?

If the game runs smoothly and the controls work with fluidity, I don't see any reason why this game won't be able to whet the appetites for those who have been waiting for a good FPS on the Wii.

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E3: FF XIII announced for Xbox 360! M$ wins

Besides a short trailer of something fantasy-like playing on the big screen of Microsoft's presser, people really didn't know what to expect. A new Panzer Dragoon, or a new RPG in general?

Then the bombshell, Final Fantasy XIII was announced for the Xbox 360. The crowd goes absolutely wild and Microsoft finishes their presser in a bang.

Final Fantasy XIII was one of the few remaining reasons gamers had held on to hope for the PS3's continued success, but with such a surprising announcement, Sony has lost big time. What could Sony possibly have that could top this? Stay tuned for more information regarding FFXIII on the Xbox 360 and Sony's presser.

The release date is still unknown but the Xbox 360 version will be released on the same day and date with the PS3 version for North America and Eu...

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E3: Portal: Still Alive announced, stays announced...

We reported earlier today that a video leak accidentally announced a new version of Portal coming to Xbox Live.

Called Portal: Still Alive, we had hardly any information regarding the new game at the time. However Microsoft has announced the game officially at their press conference, and we now know a lot more.

The game will not be a full sequel to the original, but it will have new levels, and an expanded single player campaign. The game will also be exclusive to Xbox Live Arcade, and will debut this fall.

I sure hope this doesn't become an ongoing pattern. This is pretty similar to what happened with Microsoft and "N". When they turned it into N+ they just slapped a couple new levels on it and billed you $10 bucks for what you really already had.

I guess what is most distressing about this i...

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E3: Fable gets October release

Amidst the onslaught of news coming from Microsoft's press conference Peter Molyneaux  had a chance to play a brief demo of Fable 2. While the demo didn't really show off all that much that is new (though I still think the dog mechanic is pure genius) we did get a solid release date.

It looks like the game will be starting off the holiday season with a bang and releasing in October (though when exactly in October still remains a mystery.)

It's nice that we actually have a somewhat close game being talked about at the show this year. One of the most depressing things about E3 is that all show long you hear about tons and tons of amazing things; technologies and games that you wont be able to play for years.

RE5 is a prime example of this. It has been announced for March 2009, but it will proba...

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E3: GoW 2 details and release date

We were treated with gameplay delivered by none other that Cliffy B, as he controlled reappearing hero Marcus Fenix through a large battle against a horde of locust. Showing off some gameplay mechanics, he was quickly able to grab a wounded enemy and use him as a meat shield as he fought off against more oncoming enemies. When the job was done, Marcus twisted the Locust's head and killed it instantly.

All of the gameplay shown was done during co-op mode. Besides the expected co-op and multiplayer, there will be Horde mode, which is a five player co-op mode where players take on wave after wave of locust. The game looks and feels great, with a much more epic style of battle (pun intended).

Expect Gears of War 2 in stores worldwide on November 7.

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E3: Duke Nukem goes handheld

Apogee Software is making a reappearance in game publishing by not only re-releasing its legacy game catalog of 30+ games and working on new projects, but it will be bringing Duke Nukem to handheld consoles.

The re-release will be called Duke Nukem Trilogy and will add three new missions. DNT will feature the episodes: Critical Mass, Chain Reaction, and Proving Grounds.

Terry Nagy, co-founder of Apogee said, "This marks a new beginning for a famous publisher with a history of market-making innovation. I can't think of a better character than Duke or a better franchise than the Trilogy to usher in a new era for Apogee."

Scott Miller, the other member responsible for founding Apogee stated, "It's funny how what's old is new again in this industry Many of the things Apogee pioneered are back in ...

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E3: RE5 Releases 3/13/09, Gets Online Co-op

At Microsoft's press conference this morning some distinguished Japanese guests were brought on to talk about the latest news regarding Resident Evil 5. This game is easily in the top 5 most anticipated of all of the GamerNode elite staff members so we waited with bated breath for what they had to say.

The most interesting announcement to a college bloke like myself who has his friends scattered across the nation was that RE5 will support online co-op. And no it wont be like the craptacular Resident Evil Outbreak.

The other news is that RE5 will be launching worldwide on March 12-13th 2009. It's a treat to finally get a little transparency on the development of RE5. We've been in the dark so long that even a release date of eight and a half months from now seems like fantastic news.

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E3: Portal: Still Alive announced, quickly unannou...

Buried at the end of a Microsoft press conference prep video was a sly, and vague little announcement. Microsoft Community Manager Chris Paladino tells us that among a ton of other blockbuster games, Microsoft will also be unveiling "Portal: Still Alive."

He says that it will not only continue the "great single player experience" of the original but will also be introducing a new "Challenge Mode." The funny thing about this "announcement" is that the video disappeared as fast as it was put up.

The video looked back on E3 talking about how Cliff Bleszinski talked about Gears of War 2 and such. Clearly someone made a mistake and put up the wrong video. (Much to the enjoyment of GamerNode for picking this story up before they had the chance to greedily take it away from us again.)

The subtitle "...

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Too Human Demo Released

The moment is finally here. Some will see this event as relatively insignificant, however I think it will prove to be rather interesting. For literally years now we've been hearing all about how Too Human is awful. Game previewers have notoriously been far less than kind when dealing with Too Human.

However, now it is going to be up to the public. Dennis Dyack's stock defense whenever a bad preview would come out is that the gamers will decide, or that the game isn't finished and the previews themselves are flawed.

Now Too Human and by extension Dennis Dyack are all out of places to hide. The gamers will be able to decide, and unless internet history is of zero consequence, then the internet mob will have made up its mind in less than a day or so. The intarwebz are notoriously swift in dolin...

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H2H: E3 Summit vs. Penny-Arcade Expo

Two combatants enter; only one leaves: this is the credo of Head 2 Head.

GamerNode aims to bring the best match-ups and bitter rivalries in the videogame industry to our readers, who will be tasked with crowning a definitive champion of each contest. We may ask which of two games or companies is superior, or we may ask which of two industry figues would win in a knock-down, drag-out rumble, but whatever the stipulations, the winner is up to you. Comments will be tallied and listed in the next edition of Head 2 Head.

Round 1: Fight!

Last H2H winner (Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat): Street Fighter

E3 week is officially here, so GamerNode is pitting two of the biggest U.S. gaming conventions against each other in gladiatorial combat. In one corner, we have the E3 Media & Business Summit, and i...

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E3: Nintendo unveils Wii MotionPlus

For a while, Wii gamers have been clamoring for a 1:1 motion control experience. However, the tech in the Wii Remote has rendered that hope an impossibility. Until now that is.

Earlier this morning, Nintendo announced Wii MotionPlus, a small pack that plugs into the bottom of the Wii Remote and allows for 1:1 motion tracking. That is, games that are compatible with the accessory will track your arm movements in real time.

Nintendo says "every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play." Further details will be revealed at their press conference tomorrow.

In the meantime, feel free to speculate. Will the MotionPlus come bundled with a game (Wii Sports 2)? What games will utilize the ...

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E3: Dragon Age: Origins details

What seems to be the spiritual successor of one of the most successful RPG games, Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age: Origins is Bioware's new work of fantasy. It delivers a fusion of the best elements of existing fantasy works with stunning visuals, emotionally-driven narrative, heart-pounding combat, powerful magic abilities, and credible digital actors. The spirit of classic RPGs comes of age, as Dragon Age: Origins features a dark, mature story and gameplay.

"We're thrilled to be returning to BioWare's fantasy roots, with Dragon Age: Origins representing the culmination of over a decade of experience," said Ray Muzyka, co-General Manager and CEO, BioWare and Vice President, Electronic Arts. "Dragon Age: Origins is a dark heroic fantasy that doesn't pull any punches. Our fans are in for the most...

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July 14th WiiWare/Virtual Console releases

Another Monday, another round of WiiWare and Virtual Console updates.

Whether Nintendo adds one game, ten games, or none at all, GamerNode will be here every Monday with the official details - titles, platforms, ratings, pricing, and even a taste of some corny marketing copy - keeping you up to date with everything from the online Wii scene.

Without further ado, the games:

WiiWare

Major League Eating: The Game (Mastiff, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older-Crude Humor, 1,000 Wii Points): The ultimate chomp-off is about to begin. Grab your Wii Remote controller and dig into 12 different foods as you compete against the greatest major-league eaters in the world. This isn't just a race to stuff your face-you'll need strategy to master a smorgasbord of digestive attacks, defenses...

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OWR: Oregon Trail

Welcome to One Word Review, GamerNode's unique take on videogame critique. Every Sunday, we will present a single game, reviewed with but a single word from each of a handful of reviewers.

You may not always find our words in your standard dictionary, but we have faith that you will catch our meaning, nonetheless. Videogames are so often rated, reviewed, and discussed to exhaustion, so while some may call OWR a creative way to be lazy, we call it succinct, sincere...and fun. We love reader input at GN, so be sure to throw your own OWRs in the comments section, too.

Oregon Trail is a game that will seemingly live on forever, at least in the hearts and minds of those who played it. It was a common sight in many-an-elementary school computer class, and fording the river, buying oxen, and catch...

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