Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare didn't receive anywhere near as much hype leading up to its release as its sequel has. That's a given considering it was the first in the Modern Warfare franchise and the first Call of Duty game to move onto the modern battlefield. We all knew it was going to be great, taking the series to all new heights with more advanced weapons and a great online experience. But it blew up. It went crazy. Halo 2 may have defined online gaming for consoles, helping make XBOX Live the great online service it is today, but COD4 seemed to redefined it. It was able to attract an all-new market of gamers to not only the genre, but also to online multiplayer gaming.
That's why to this day COD4 is still one of the most played games online, two years after its release. That's pretty amazing considering it's had to go up against the likes of Killzone 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Gears of War 2, Resistance 2 and Halo 3: ODST in that time-frame, all of which have strong online communities.
What's even more amazing is that even after the release of the next Call of Duty sequel (prequel?) in World at War, COD4 still stayed in the top few games with online activity. As great as WaW has been online, it always seemed to be that little step behind COD4, no matter how much content Activision threw its way.
That's not without saying that WaW has its following, and, especially on XBOX Live, you'll find that many COD4 fanatics often switch between the two because they each offer an outstanding online experience.
But why will Modern Warfare 2 stand out? Why is it so special? If COD4 was so great, why didn't WaW receive as much hype? The obvious answer is because WaW took a "step back" to World War 2, an act many gamers and COD faithful deemed to be an actual step back in quality for the franchise.
It definitely didn't lose any quality and the final product was great, but it's the brilliance of COD4 that ultimately shifts the attention to its direct sequel. Modern Warfare 2's predecessor seemed to bring gamers of all walks together, creating one unified market that has grown substantially over the past two years. The closest thing we've seen to MW2 hype this generation was Grand Theft Auto IV hype, and even that title didn't seem to generate a united front from every specific type of gaming culture.
Reports are coming in that Modern Warfare 2 is breaking pre-order records all around the world. It might be some genius PR spin, something the unified gaming heavyweights in EB Games and GameStop have conjured up to increase product awareness. But that's doubtful. If that's not obvious from the attention this game has gotten on gaming forums around the world, then it's from the fact that pretty much every person you know that owns either a XBOX 360 or Playstation probably has a pre-order for the game somewhere. If you don't believe it, go and ask. Now. We'll wait.
So now the question is put forth to you: Have you pre-ordered Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2? Why? And is this game your most anticipated game ever? Why/Why not?
05/11/2009
So in light of the latest discussions and comparisons, we thought we'd bring you what we think is needed to make a good Indiana Jones game, seeing as though we've never really gotten one. You'd think a game based in amazing landscapes with brilliant stories and memorable characters would be a given, but it just hasn't happened.
And now, in light of Uncharted 2, we see how badly we need a kick ass Indiana Jones adventure.
While we wait, get yourself a copy of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. It's one of the best games this generation.
Make the opening suspenseful
All four Indiana Jones movies had pretty awesome opening sequences. All of them had you on the edge of your seat, introducing you to the character and sometimes the villain. There was a level of suspense that let you know you were in for a wild ride, and even though these sequences often didn't have much to do with the overall plot, it was a fantastic way to start off the adventure. Any Indiana Jones game should be no different, giving you the chance to explore and escape through a mini-adventure before the real adventure finally begins.
Include a love interest
Indiana Jones has a way with the ladies, so take advantage of it. The character is naturally charismatic and seductive, so give him something to feed off. Furthermore, it has to be someone he has to save. It can't be someone with the same love of adventure, but rather someone who initially gets on his nerves before he finally falls for them.
Make the adventure interesting and memorable
Indiana Jones has to be fighting for something special. Something we'll care about and ultimately want him to achieve. Even if it's aliens again, we don't care. Just don't make the focus his whip or fighting moves. That's not what Indiana Jones is about. It's about the adventure as a whole, something we want to take alongside him. The action is all fine and dandy, but if there's no strong reason behind it, then it's hard to even care.
Don't make it ALL about the combat
As mentioned above, action is great, especially in a game, but it's not the be-all and end-all. Exploration is Indiana's best trait, so the level design and direction is absolutely crucial. Indiana doesn't just move from area to area fighting off bad guys. He climbs through dirty passage ways, jumps into forbidden lairs and searches through dark mansions. Then, whenever a bad guy comes his way, he takes them down with his whip. A good Indiana Jones game should be about the exploration, puzzles and adventure, not the combat and his whip.
Make it funny
Indiana hates fighting bad guys, so when he does, make it funny. Make us laugh with his dialogue, and make him seem like an old man that is sick of doing what he's doing. That's what Indiana Jones is about. He hates loving what he does. If that means getting someone besides Harrison Ford to voice Indiana, then so be it. Indiana Jones is rarely serious, or violent for that matter, so make the game like the films: witty, fun and adventurous.
Set it somewhere unique to the Indiana Jones universe
How many times can Indiana end up in underground caves of a mystical city? Set the game somewhere unique, somewhere totally and utterly alien for the Indiana Jones universe. We want a different story. Maybe Prague, with its Bohemian architecture, or Hungary, with its gothic feel. Make the adventure familiar to Indiana, but completely new. Make it memorable and different, with all of the things we love about Indiana.
Have a filthy, dirty villain
It's pretty hard to beat out Nazi Germany as a villain, but any good Indiana Jones adventure comes coupled with an evil and sinister villain. But you've also got to balance out the connection to Indiana. His main objective is the artifact and getting it into the right hands, not necessarily destroying the villain. That's secondary for him. He's an adventurer and a man on a mission, not a man seeking revenge. He has to be in a race against a seemingly unbeatable foe. Furthermore, we don't want the villain to be too sinister, ala Resident Evil villains.
What do you all want in an Indiana Jones game?
16/10/2009
It's been a rather slow week in the gaming world, giving you all a chance to catch up on those games you haven't finished before the end of year season is upon us.
Many of you have already finished this title, but Batman: Arkham Asylum has kept me rather busy the past week. I've really enjoyed my time on Arkham, and this is a surprise hit title for me! Still sitting on the fence after playing the demo? Why not read our feature review? Batman: Arkham Asylum.
I was one of the many lucky folks who snagged a Uncharted 2 beta code last week from EB Games Twitter give-away so I'll be waiting to get into that this Tuesday! Those who pre-order the game from EB also get access to the beta so if you can't wait to get online with this game, head down to your local EB today.
This weekend I got the chance to go through the paces of the DLC pack for F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin. Reborn runs a story parallel to that of the main game, and while it doesn't do anything to expand the story or the universe, it's a decent addition to the already great game. If you already own F.E.A.R 2 and want to extend it another 2-4 hours, then check out our review here.
So now I'm just counting down the days till Scribblenauts, Uncharted 2 and Modern Warfare 2!
What are you guys and girls looking forward to playing?
14/09/2009
To be in the running, all you have to do is visit the official Sacred 2: Fallen Angel website and answer the questions on My360 and MyPS3. You can answer as many of the four questions as you like.
Don't forget to check out our review either.
The character customization is a real treat, and with 500 quests, plenty of great boss battles and a cool and nicely executed story, Scared 2: Fallen Angel is a great action-RPG. The hack-and-slash gameplay might get repetitive, but if you're a diehard fan of the genre, you're probably used to that. It's essentially what makes an action-RPG an actual action-RPG.
We have three copies on XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 to give-away. You have till 5pm on Monday, August 31st to enter.
So what are you waiting for? Head on over to My360 and MyPS3 now to enter!
20/08/2009
We visited a special Halo 3: ODST event on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour yesterday, where we got to check out a real-life Halo Warthog, as well as check out the highly anticipated Halo 3: ODST.
The Halo warthog was made by the guys over at WETA Workshop, who worked on the upcoming District 9 movie and were planning to help make sets for the Halo movie before it fell through.
We've got a preview of Halo 3: ODST, as well as a video of one of the main men from WETA Workshop talking about the Halo Warthog.
Be sure to head on over to My360 to check it out.
07/08/2009
We have three copies of Wolfenstein to give away on XBOX 360 and Playstation 3.
All you have to do is visit the official Wolfenstein page and then answer the questions on the competition pages. You can answer as many questions as you like (maximum of four per member).
Competition ends at 5pm on Friday, August 21st. Winners will be announced at 5pm on Monday, 24th of August.
Every member that enters will also get a Wolfenstein medal for their profile!
03/08/2009
Written By Stephen Heller
While the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP have been enjoying their supremacy in the handheld market this generation, Apple’s iPhone is really stepping it up. With graphics that are better than the Nintendo DS, and an easy to access App Store, one has to wonder what is next for the multi function device.
The recently released Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition from Lucasarts has found it’s way onto the App Store, and with all the features intact from it’s Xbox 360 and PC counterparts. Weighing in at a mere 350mb and a measly $9.99 you can purchase a fully fledged game that will last 5-10 hours, for less than a quarter of the price of a new release Nintendo DS game.
Other developers are really backing the platform, EA releasing hand held versions of The Sims 3 and Spore, classic games such as Uno and new unique titles such as the ever popular Tap Tap Revenge. Even classics such as Wolfenstein 3D are making an appearance on the app store.
Will the iPhone replace the Nintendo DS or the Sony PSP? While the iPhone does rival such devices, it doesn’t make a sale purely as a gaming device. The fact that Nintendo and Sony tailor their experience purely as a gaming device will suit games better. What the iPhone does manage to do is open up the door to quality games for casual gamers.
What are your thoughts on the iPhone becoming a formidable force in the world of handheld gaming?
26/07/2009
Everybody loves Toy Story. Its just part of life that everybody loves Toy Story. It is exactly 1 year until Toy Story 3 gets released and MyBluRay is starting the countdown!
We have created a medal thread just for Toy Story 3 and all you have to do is join in the discussion!
Firstly - Sign up... www.mybluray.com.au
Second - Go to this thread... www.mybluray.com.au/
And lastly - Post away! and also join in all of our other awesome threads.
We hope you enjoy the site.
24/06/2009
Best of E3
Gaetano
I don’t think anyone could argue that this years E3 conference in LA was better than last years. Even better than 2007’s. E3 lost some of its pizzazz and glamour for a few years before finally getting back to its roots this year. We’ve seen quite a few attending publications make note of how different it was compared to previous years. There has been more on show and more people meaning that companies were putting more effort in.
The three major players had been fairly quiet at E3 before this year, opting to save big announcements for their own conferences at separate times of the year. Nintendo was noticeably shallow at last years E3 and Microsoft and Sony each gave less-than-memorable keynotes. Thankfully, all three showed off the big guns during E3 2009’s keynote presentations as E3 stepped up a gear.
There have been so many great announcements and moments that it’s hard to pick the best of it all. The announcement trailer during Microsoft’s press conference was pretty cool, showing off Crackdown 2 and Left 4 Dead 2. 
Natal was an impressive presentation and Milo blew my socks off! I loved hearing about Gran Turismo PSP and seeing God of War III in action, but the one moment that made my jaw hit the ground was when Uncharted 2 came on screen. I’m amazed at how gorgeous that game looks. It’s tattooed on my mind more so than Milo or Natal, which both impressed me. I’m a big fan of the PSP GO and I really can’t wait to get my hands on it, so that was another memorable part of the conference for me.
Ben (ICC)
E3 this year has trumped 2008 hands down. While it’s not in the same league as past years when new consoles have been announced, every gamer should be happy with the software line-up on show for their particular system. The best thing about E3 this year was that we got big name titles for the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, DS and PSP that we didn’t previously know about. There’s nothing worse than when E3 just rehashes what we already knew. Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M are both great, and unexpected, announcements for Nintendo fans of old. Halo Reach & Left 4 Dead 2 will more than satisfy Xbox 360 fans. Meanwhile, PS3 owners should be over the moon with the announcement of Agent. OMG an exclusive Rockstar game, permission to run around screaming hysterically!
On the handheld front the entire PSP announcement library was impressive. To be honest the PSP has been lagging behind other platforms for a while now, but the likes of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and Resident Evil look set to change that. While it was a quiet year for the DS we did get one major revelation; Golden Sun DS. If you ever played one of the GBA games you’ll know what I regard it so highly.
Worst of E3
Gaetano
Again, it’s hard to really pick one specific moment. I think a lot of people expected Nintendo to blow us away with something new. I hate getting on Nintendo’s back all the time, but they disappointed me once again. The Vitality Sensor does absolutely nothing for me, and going by the posts in the official conference thread on MyWii as it was announced, it didn’t do much for most people. Of the conferences, Nintendo’s was easily the less impressive. Microsoft made a note of “showing” rather than telling and Jack Tretton at Sony gave a really impressive demonstration. But Satoru Iwata of Nintendo almost put me to sleep. Literally. He took forever to get to his point and I actually wanted to nibble at my ankle in anticipation of his point. When he finally announced the Vitality Sensor, I didn’t know what to think. I was overwhelmed by a lack of interest. I didn’t think that was possible, but I was.
While they had plenty of great announcements, like Galaxy 2, a new Metroid title and some nice DS titles, Nintendo only reiterated the direction I think they’re going in – to ditch the core gamer for a non-gaming and overly casual crowd, with titles like Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort. 
I asked XBOX Australia’s product marketing manager Adam Pollington if Microsoft were ditching the Halo and Call of Duty gaming audience for a more casual audience with the Natal like the Wii has, and he literally baulked at the suggestion. Nintendo continue to tell us what we want, instead of assuming and/or giving us what we want. Sony has been the best at giving gamers what they want, with Microsoft close behind. Nintendo continue to make statements like, “gamers want this” and “this will be fun” instead of “we want to do this” and “we expect this to happen”, which is the direction the other two players go in. Perhaps I think too much, but the more I see of Nintendo, the more I dislike them. And this is coming from someone who backed the Gamecube and N64 more than any other console during those generations.
As much as I don’t mind Microsoft and Sony going in the direction with motion controlling, I didn’t like Sony’s motion-controller presentation. Dr. Richard Marx was overly nervous and struggled to get his words out and the presentation itself was dull and boring. I just wanted to see more PS3 games and thankfully that’s what we ended up getting at the end.
Ben
I don’t have that much to complain about this year, besides a few titles that I had really hoped for, but deep down inside I knew weren’t going to see the light of day this year. I predominately covered Nintendo’s showing at the event this year. Therefore, I’m leaning towards praising and bagging them with a majority of my answers here as I know their announcements inside and out. Fortunately I don’t have to move past them to find the worst thing at E3 this year.
The presentation from Nintendo of Japan President, Satoru Iwata, was terrible. He took to the stage and gave an extremely long, seemingly unnecessary speech, about Nintendo attempting to increase its audience. After this went nowhere, he finally got to a point (I have no idea what ‘the point’ was) by announcing the Wii Vitality Sensor. After speaking for so long about nothing important, or even related to anything, this was the anticlimax of the show. The Wii Vitality Sensor itself looks relatively useless. This man is in charge of Nintendo; that explains a lot.
Best Keynote
Gaetano
I’d go with Microsoft, but only by a nose-hair. If someone asked me to choose one of the two to watch again, I’d probably flip a coin. While there wasn’t a single moment during Microsoft’s press conference that bored me, Sony had some great announcements with Rockstar’s Agent, a great presentation of Uncharted 2 and some amazing gameplay footage of God of War III. They also showed off the PSP GO and finally set a release date for Gran Turismo PSP. Resident Evil on PSP is also a great announcement.
Microsoft win it with me through announcements of another Halo title in Halo: Reach, the revealing of Metal Gear Solid: Rising, the announcement trailer that showed off Crackdown 2 (which looks AMAZING…or maybe I’m just a Crackdown fanboy), and the movie streaming service on XBOX Live. We got confirmation through Adam Pollington that it will be coming to Australia before Christmas, which means we can be streaming Full HD movies through our 360 in a matter of months. Natal was impressive and previews from the show say it’s just as good as the trailer shown during the keynote, and the Milo video gave me goose bumps. Gameplay footage of Alan Wake also blew me away, as this was the one game I wanted to see during the conference.
I really loved both keynote speeches and one barely outdoes the other, but for me personally, Microsoft takes the cake with an overall better presentation that I thought flowed better and showed off a few more surprises through Crackdown 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Alan Wake.
Ben
It’ll be interesting to see the direction that gaming goes in the next few years. With Sony announcing the PS3 motion controller, Nintendo further pushing Wii MotionPlus and Microsoft announcing Project Natal I hope this isn’t the end of console gaming as we know it. 
It will either produce an array of great games in a way we’ve never seen before, or Sony & Microsoft will go down the path of Nintendo, and sell out in favour of the casual market.
Microsoft takes it home for me. Project Natal looks really interesting and I’m definitely more interested in what no controller can do, rather than another remote, so long as it’s not just a jazzed up version of Eye Toy. Sony’s controller didn’t really interest me; the demo was cool, but it seemed like a cheap attempt to cash in on Nintendo’s success. While I do think it looks more accurate than Nintendo’s Wii Remote, I think that’s all it is, and the wrong direction for Sony. Big name games were on show during all three Keynotes but Microsoft lead the way here again (maybe only just). With games such as Halo Reach, Left 4 Dead 2, Crackdown 2 and Forza 3 now is a great time to be a 360 owner. While there wasn’t anything completely unexpected it was almost all quality, and an even better software line-up than we could have hoped for.
Best Announcement
Gaetano
There are so many! PSP GO, Natal, Milo, Agent, Left 4 Dead 2, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, Super Mario Galaxy 2. For me, it’s easily Crackdown 2. The first game has such a cult following and seems to get more fans by the day. The original developer is working on APB for PC (which looks friggin’ unreal!) and whenever a rumour popped up about a sequel they always seemed to be quickly squashed. But when that announcement trailer began and I could hear the voice-over and see the Crackdown logo, a smile went right across my face.
I understand some of you, especially the PS3 diehards out there, might find it difficult to understand how that can be the best announcement for me, but Crackdown was one of my first games of this generation. While it didn’t get outstanding reviews upon launch, it seems to get better with age, which is normally impossible for a title. It’s gotten more popular as time goes by. It’s without a doubt the Fight Club of this generation – a title that gets decent reviews but then eventually ends up being one of the best of its kind (in reference to the film, not the terrible Fight Club game). Ask any 360 owner what 10 games are a must-have and I think you’ll find that most will include Crackdown in that list. The gameplay is so addictive it’s not even funny and I can’t wait to cause havoc once again.
Ben
The PSP Go looks really cool. I never owned a PSP but I’ll definitely be entering Sony’s handheld market when this bad boy hits shelves. Alright, so technically we already knew about this prior to E3, but it was ‘officially’ announced at Sony’s Keynote so I pretended we didn’t. It was also great news for existing owners to hear that the new iteration of the handheld wouldn't make the PSP-3000 or UMD obsolete and that Sony intends to continue to support both in the future, even after the PSP GO is released.
I think it’s worth giving an honourable mention to Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 as the biggest sequels this E3. Nobody saw it coming after Nintendo opened their Keynote by revealing New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the first true sequel to a 3D Mario title, and the first time two 3D Mario adventures will appear on the same console. To clue in non-Nintendo fans this is massive news. The original title was awarded game of the year by many publications in 2007 (including MyMedia in our Choice Awards as voted by members). It was up against titles such as Call of Duty 4, and yet despite Nintendo 'selling out' we know a masterpiece when we see one. Galaxy 2 heads my list of sequels I’m most interesting in, just above Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2. The latter is the second announcement in the ‘I think I peed a little’ category. Left 4 Dead was one of the biggest games of the year and seemingly came out of know where (or maybe I just wasn’t following it). Either way it was a pleasant surprise and I can’t wait to see more of it!
Announcement no one cares about
Gaetano
Nintendo had a whole bunch of them. There was the Women’s Murder Club on DS, Wii Fit Plus and then the Vitality Sensor, which Iwata seemed to have taken a decade to finally reveal. I can’t imagine anyone who stayed up that late to watch the keynote would have shown much interest in Wii Fit Plus, as the people it’s actually aimed at (people like my mum) probably wouldn’t have been up watching it. I really want to care about the Vitality Sensor, but I just can’t. With Natal and even Sony’s motion-controller being revealed, this debacle by Nintendo just didn’t grab my attention at all. I was expecting something big from Iwata after he spoke for 300 minutes, but then when he brought that out, I felt like stabbing the screen.
Ben
I already said Wii Vitality Sensor, can I say that again? No wait, at least it’s something new, I’m going to go with Wii Fit Plus. Maybe I’m picking on Nintendo a little, but Cammie killed the atmosphere by following up the awesome New Super Mario Bros. Wii with Wii Fit Plus. Noooooo! We don’t care, nobody who’s watching the entire press conference live cares. Wii Fit was a great direction for Nintendo financially; they must have made a bucket load off of the game that’s good for you. It was inevitable that a sequel would come, but frankly it received was it deserved, nothing more than a ‘meh’. We’re sure Wii Fit is doing wonders for fat kids out there, but we don’t care.
Biggest Shock
Gaetano
I think the biggest shock for the crowd in attendance was Final Fantasy XIV Online. When Tretton announced that, you could actually hear people say “what!?”. It was pretty left field. I loved how he said it so calmly as well, with no emotion on his face. He wanted to smile, but he wanted to make out like it wasn’t that big.
For me, it’s the announcement of Resident Evil on PSP. I think of the possibilities of PSP GO, with the 16gb internal memory, and I hope we see something along the lines of RE4. Maybe not quite as advanced, but something along the lines. I’m curious to see how it works without a thumb pad, but Resident Evil is one of my favourite franchises and along with Viewtiful Joe is something I’ve been dying to see on PSP (Red Hot Rumble doesn’t count!)
Crackdown 2 was also a shock, but a small part of me kind of expected it.
Ben
We got two massive bombshells in the software department this E3. Sony announced that Final Fantasy XIV Online will be coming exclusively to PS3 and PC in 2010, and Nintendo concluded their show with Metroid: Other M. I believe Microsoft had the best overall line-up; however, these two were huge, but unexpected, announcements. A trailer was shown for both; the audience didn’t know how to react after watching either and sat in ore of what they had just witnessed. Microsoft may have had the best conference overall, but it was Nintendo and Sony who delivered the biggest shocks. To avoid sitting on the fence yet again I’ll go with Metroid: Other M as the biggest shock, just because the Metroid titles on the GameCube introduced me to the last generation of gaming.
Who you think won E3
Gaetano
It’s been a massive conference. So much on show, so much announced. I could say the gamers won, as Ben has below, but that would be a bit too cliché. If we want to be official, I’d say Sony and Microsoft in a tie, with Nintendo a distant third. If I want to be a fanboy, I’d say Microsoft because of Crackdown 2. But really, we have an amazing year still to come for games. 2009 is going to end incredibly strong and now with Forza 3, MGS: Rising, Crackdown 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Galaxy 2 and Alan Wake on the horizon, the gaming public really did win E3. Kudos to Microsoft and Sony for helping to bring us amazing and conference – one of the best in recent memory!
Ben
You, the gamers! Is that too cliché? Who cares it’s true. Microsoft had the best showing overall. Halo Reach, Project Natal, Left 4 Dead 2, Crackdown 2, Metal Gear Solid Rising, Forza 3, and Splinter Cell: Conviction and the list goes on. Sony fans better start saving some coin as well with the PSP Go, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, Final Fantasy XIV Online, Agent and God of War III looking to blow socks off. Nintendo had a weaker showing, but I’m not complaining and neither should you. It was a bazillion times better than last year (yes that’s my very professionally summed up conclusion). Two new Mario titles and Metroid: Other M are more than enough to keep loyal Nintendo fans around for at least another year. Golden Sun DS wins the award for ‘biggest under the radar announcement’. Golden Sun was one of the best RPG’s on the GBA and it’s fantastic to see it back. Whether you’re a fan of Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo or a combination of, something big came out of E3. At the end of the day conference that’s what really matters.
06/06/2009
Microsoft have been the timid performer at E3 over the past few years. They haven't exceeded expectations, nor have they disappointed. Last years expo had a few surprises - some good (like Final Fantasy XIII coming to 360) and some bad (like the You're In The Movies fiasco).
But as the current console "war" begins to heat up and hit boiling point, one can't help but have high expectations for this years expo. Everyone expects Nintendo to come out guns blazing after an embarrassing conference last year and Sony has teased and promised plenty of things. Then again, teasing and promising is just what Sony does.
Over the course of the week we’ll be looking at what Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have in store for us this year. What we expect to see, what has been teased, predicted and what we’d like to see surprise us this year.
What’s Expected
Microsoft have been steady ever since the 360 launched. It was never going to fly off shelves in Japan, but it's been a steady seller in Europe, the US and Australia. Microsoft have announced quite a few bundles over the past few weeks, including games like Halo 3, Forza and even both Gears of War titles bundled together with an XBOX 360 Pro console. Sales have never dropped or risen significantly since launch, but even if Microsoft is eventually over-taken by the PS3 in sales numbers, Microsoft really shouldn't worry. Software sales, especially in 2007, have been spectacular, and XBOX Live is the most used online gaming service in the world. In the mean time, what do they have planned for the near future?
Alan Wake
Everyone needs to see Alan WakeIt's been far too long between drinks. The highly anticipated XBOX 360 exclusive needs to be shown. If it doesn't, expect plenty of backlash. We expect it to be shown purely because it hasn't been in so long. There are murmurs that new consoles won't be announced for a few years and that this E3 will be the biggest and best as well, so what better time for Microsoft to show off their supposed "system seller".
Improved Avatar system
More of a focus on Avatar's?Not that the current system really needs improving, but Microsoft really pushed the Avatar's at last years E3. We've seen the implementation of Mii's into party games on the Wii, so we expect to see some Microsoft-developed titles that use the Avatar's shown at this years E3. Microsoft have really pushed the family aspect of the 360 over the past 12 months, releasing family-centric console bundles and increasing support for XBLA.
New RARE title
We don't know why, but buzz has increased around RARE over the past few weeks as E3 approaches. RARE have failed to impress on the 360 as they did on the N64 when owned by Nintendo, and while their titles have been consistently good, but not great, we expect something big to be announced during Microsoft's conference. Maybe a new Perfect Dark?
Forza 3 trailer
Forza 2 is without a doubt one of the best racers so far this generation. Rumours have been spreading about the development of a third and there's strong reason to believe a new trailer will be shown as well. We expect Microsoft to show off the racer during their press conference to counter any GT5 footage Sony might show.
New Lionhead project
We expect an all-new Lionhead project to be announced, although it's doubtful it will be another Fable. It's been quoted that the developer doesn't want to be known purely for one franchise and it's heavily favoured that a new game will be shown during the conference.
What's been Teased
Health and fitness games
With the (expected) showing of the motion controller, there have been murmur's about possible fitness titles also come to the 360, similar to the craze currently owning the Wii.
Motion-controller
Microsoft have teased it for almost a year now and we expect to finally see it at this years E3. Whether or not it's announced alongside some motion-sensoring compatible games is yet to be seen.
The things we won't see
XBOX 720
It won't happen. At least not this year. There's no way any of the three major players will announce a new console yet, with so many great titles still to come out. It's far too early and too many analysts have come out saying that the current generation still has plenty of years.
Metal Gear Solid 4 on 360
Let's be honest - it has just as much chance of happening as GTA has of appearing on Wii. Then again, it's not like MGS has never appeared on a XBOX console before.
Halo 4
We can't imagine a new Halo sequel coming out anytime soon with the recent release of Halo Wars and a Halo 3 spin-off coming soon.
XBOX 360 console redesign
Microsoft didn't redesign the original XBOX and while we've seen upgrades/redesigns of other Microsoft hardware, we don't expect the 360 to change in appearance anytime soon.
26/05/2009