The greatest show on earth: gaming news from E3
Anyone who’s anyone in the gaming world is in Los Angeles for the year’s biggest video games show – E3.
We round up the biggest news from across the pond:
Kinect: the new name for Project Natal
Look mum! No hands! Microsoft revealed its new hardware, which lets gamers play without a controller by using a body motion sensor. Kinect (initially plugged as Project Natal), also lets users sign in to Xbox Live with a wave of the hand.
Giancarlo Varanini at Blogsport said: “I don’t care for the name at all, and the games we’ve seen thus far are mostly derivative of the stuff we’ve already seen on the Wii, but there’s real promise to the technology that I can’t quite put my finger on. I guess you could say that there were genuine flashes of brilliance in each Kinect demo, but … the games did nothing to impress. “
Along with the new hardware, Microsoft is launching a new Xbox 360 with a 250GB hard drive, built-in wireless – and of course it’s compatible with the hands-free interface. We’ll have to wait until July to see it in the UK, though. And if you’re on tenterhooks waiting for the next Xbox 360 games, good news – Gears of War 3, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, Fable III and Halo Reach were all unveiled.
Ubisoft showed attendees its new Michael Jackson: The Game. Compatible with the new Kinect on Xbox 360 and Move on PS3, gamers will be able to dance and sing along to Jackson’s hits including Beat It and Billie Jean. The game is due for release at Christmas.
Sony, meanwhile is offering a Sonic the Hedgehog title for the Kinetic. Sonic Free Riders will allow players to jump, twist and race on bikes and hover boards. The game will be released the same day as Kinetic – November 4 in the US, in the UK shortly afterwards.
While Kinetic is taking up much of the column inches so far at E3, there are some other treats in store for gamers.
In line with developments at the box office over the past year or so, Crytek has confirmed that Crysis 2, published by EA, will boast stereoscopic 3D, thanks to Crytel’s CryENGINE 3.
And if your fingers are itching to get your hands on the new Medal of Honor, which is not due for release until October, you can get a sneak preview – on June 21, the game’s multiplayer beta test for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC will be released. Go to www.medofhonor.com for the beta key.
And the Brits also made an impact at the US show – at least one Brit in particular. Richard Branson has confirmed that Virgin Gaming will head up a competitive gaming service that could see players winning cash rewards of up $1m in the first month. The service works with Xbox 360 and PS3 and monitors players in head-to-head games.
