SAU E3 2005 Thread (Possible 56k warning)

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Square Enix hasn't revealed much of Romancing SaGa since the game was announced in Tokyo back in September. Romancing Saga marks a return to the universe established by the popular SNES game way back in 1992, and this new game is reportedly a remake of the original.

The game deals with the return of Saruin, an imprisoned entity who was trapped a thousand years earlier. However, the bonds on Saruin's prison are weakening, and as a result, the shadow is returning to the world of Mardias again. It's up to you to defeat Saruin.

At the heart of the game is the minstrel, a Gandalf-like figure that sometimes guides the party and at other times protects it. The game itself features a free-roaming scenario system that lets you go where you want when you want. You have the choice of up to eight characters, and there are a large number of plots that can be developed depending on your character choices and actions.

The game will use what's called "sketch motion" technology, which means still images morph dramatically into cutscenes and minimovies. As expected of a Square Enix game, there is a very strong anime look to the 3D graphics, but one interesting aspect is that the characters almost have a bobblehead appearance to them. Square Enix hasn't released many details yet, but we'll keep you up to date with the latest developments. Romancing SaGa is aimed for release this fall.

By Jason Ocampo, GameSpot

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PS3: I-8 Insomniac Shooter E3 2005 Preshow Impressions

Before Insomniac Games became famous for its excellent, kid-friendly Spyro the Dragon and Ratchet & Clank titles, the company created a first-person shooter for the PlayStation called Disruptor. It seems Insomniac will soon be getting back to its roots, judging by one of the brand-new titles revealed at the impressive E3 2005 Sony press conference. Featuring World War II-style infantry combat along with an equal helping of horrific creatures--from zombies to scary spiderlike behemoths--this yet-unnamed first-person shooter's hook appears to be its great-looking, atmospheric visuals.

The minute-long demo consisted entirely of what looked like basic gameplay. You can tell that the game is far from being complete, since the character is armed with the same one automatic rifle throughout all the numerous gameplay sequences shown, and the action itself seems quite basic--this is straight-up run-and-gun combat. Still, a smooth frame rate and some impressive visual effects make this video quite suggestive of the power of Sony's next console. It certainly looks much, much better than anything of the sort on the PlayStation 2, and sooner resembles the latest crop of cutting-edge PC shooters than what you'd expect to see on a console.

Nothing about the plot or premise of the game is revealed, which maybe isn't a surprise considering we don't even know the game's title. Still, look at the volume of troops in the video, how the broken-down cars get rocked side to side from explosions, and some of those creatures, and you'll see that this looks like it has a lot of bite to it. Insomniac's built a reputation for making games with a lot of charm and personality, so you'd never really expect the company to come out with something like this. But, who knows, maybe being clever for so long has caused the company to want to bust out with something a little more mature-themed and unbridled. Check out the video and see for yourself, and stay tuned to GameSpot for more information.

By Greg Kasavin, GameSpot

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PS3: Fifth Phantom Saga (UPDATE)

Click above link for movies.

Publisher: Sega

Platform: PlayStation 3

Genre: Action

Origin: Japan, US

Release: 2006

Fifth Phantom Saga, from the formidable Sonic Team of Sega, is a PS3 title that appears to be a kind of supernatural FPS. It's difficult to really get a bead on the game from the short clip that was shown, which features a first-person viewpoint, but also had a multi-colored demon-thing-creature in each section of the clip, which implies that Sonic Team will either be pushing coop-play for the game, or that the player somehow controls his own character while also commanding the demon to do his or her bidding in the game world. Or perhaps both interpretations are correct, in that it offers up a single player mode where the demon is controlled with AI, but also supports coop play for two players?

Whatever the specifics are, Fifth Phantom Saga looks like it has a pretty unique twist on the standard FPS conventions. For now, there's not much more to say about the game, except that it's from Sega and Sonic Team, the same combo that has brought us games like Phantasy Star Online and Feel The Magic XX/XY. The teaser site even has the genre listed as "To Be Revealed," so keep an eye on GameSpot for more details on Fifth Phantom Saga as they become available.

By Matthew Rorie, GameSpot

Here are some images of Sega's first PlayStation 3 title Fifth Phantom Saga, produced by Yuji Naka (Phantasy Star series).

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Bandai announced Gundam World for PlayStation 3 , a new robot action game in which you control gigantic Gundams to battle against the enemies one after another in major cities.

Epic Games announced they have developed a PlayStation 3 version of the Unreal Engine 3, which can run in 720p on high-definition screen. It can also handle 200 times more complex lighting, shadowing and shading effects than current generation consoles.

- Rockstar Games announced Red Dead Revolver 2 for PlayStation 3, the sequel to last year's popular western shooting adventure game.

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Killzone 2

Publisher: SCEE

Developer: Guerrilla

Platform: PlayStation 3

Genre: First Person Shooter

Origin: US

Release: 2006

Sony announced KillZone 2 for PS3, the sequel to Guerrilla's popular first person shooter. The game is scheduled to release in 2006

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Tekken 6

Publisher: Namco

Platform: PlayStation 3

Genre: Fighting

Origin: Japan, US

Release: TBA

Namco announced Tekken 6 for PS3 at the Sony press conference, the game features Jin Kazama as the main character, the in-game model has the very close details as the CG models found in Tekken 5.

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Nintendo REVOLUTION

Heres the write up and the REAL pics.

Nintendo is the last of the "Big Three" to reveal its next-gen plans. Microsoft took the lid off its future console, the Xbox 360, last week, and Sony unveiled the PlayStation 3 yesterday at its pre-E3 conference.

The Revolution design didn't follow suit with its curvaceous competitors, the concave Xbox 360 and convex PlayStation 3. In fact, its simple rectangular design can be easily mistaken for a modem at first glance. However, like its competitors, the unit can stand vertically or lay supine. The black console can fit snugly in a grey stand, where it is pitched upward at a slight angle for vertical positioning, or be removed and laid flat (and look eerily similar to Apple's Powerbook batteries).

Revolution's enigmatic controllers were not revealed, but they will be wireless. Rumors have been awash that the controllers will be unlike any before, possibly losing buttons in favor of touch screens or incorporating some sort of gyroscopic functions.

By Nintendo's own admission, according to USA Today, the system is two to three times as powerful as its current-generation console, the GameCube. Sony's PlayStation 3, announced yesterday, is reportedly dozens of times powerful than its predecessor, the PlayStation 2.

However, Nintendo told the newspaper "It's not all about having 'turbo power', It's about what you do with it." What Nintendo plans to do with it is still under wraps--the publisher has not yet announced any games for the system.

Eschewing its previous business ideas, Revolution will be online-friendly, and support a broadband gaming service similar to that of Microsoft's Xbox Live. Its most significant contribution to online gaming will be the ability to download games, and not just simple puzzlers or platformers from the NES days. GameCube titles will be downloadable, though it's not clear whether the games will be saved to a storage devices or memory cards.

For those who would rather just pop in their hard copy of Mario Sunshine, Nintendo offers a simple solution: backward compatibility. Like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Revolution will be able to play all the games from the current generation, as well as DVDs.

Be sure to check back for more information on Revolution. GameSpot News will be updating this story throughout the day.

By Tim Surette -- GameSpot

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Unreal Tournament 2007 (PS3) Videos

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Capcom announced Devil Kings at its E3 press conference today. Billed as a fast-paced action game for the PlayStation 2, Devil Kings will let you battle hordes of enemies and unleash awesome critical moves on them. Your goal: to unify various warring states under your rule. Sound a little familiar? That might be because the game looks a whole lot like something from Koei's Dynasty Warriors franchise, and not just in a cursory kind of way either. Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? We went hands-on with the game at Capcom's conference to find out.

In Devil Kings, you'll get to choose from a roster of six unique characters, including ninjas, gunslingers, and spear throwers. The main character in the game is the titular Devil King, a crimson-clad warrior armed with a sword in one hand and a shotgun in the other. The game takes place in a fantasy-themed version of ancient Japan, and as the story goes, the main character is a powerful king who has sold his soul to the devil for his special powers, all for the single-minded dream of unifying the world's warring factions into one utopian society (ruled by him, of course.) Each character has unique critical moves and abilities. For example, one character can bring down a storm of flaming meteors while another can wield six swords at a single time, becoming the equivalent of a human Cuisinart. Each character can also gain experience and level up, enhancing existing attributes.

If you've ever played any of the entries in Koei's Dynasty Warriors franchise, you should find the hack-and-slash mechanics of Devil Kings immediately comfortable. The game relies on two main attack buttons, each of which can be modified by holding down the R1 button to create special attacks. Each attack revolves around a character's specific weapons, so in the case of the Devil King himself, one button does sword attacks, whereas the other fires his shotgun blasts. You'll find yourself fighting quite a number of enemies of varying strengths when on the battlefield, and you'll even be flanked by a few grunt soldiers that are on your side. Enemies also hold specific ranks on the battlefield, so taking down an enemy commander will help your side's standing (though the game stops short of including a morale system). You'll also find rival warriors, which are essentially your counterparts, and periodically you'll have to square off against them.

There are more than 80 special items that you can unlock in Devil Kings. When combined with a character's special abilities, these items give you the potential to literally plow through waves of enemies. Over the course of the game, you can build up your character, collect items, and carve your own path to world domination.

Devil Kings, despite featuring quite a number of characters onscreen at once, runs at an altogether smooth clip. We didn't notice any frame rate problems, even through all the different enemies and colorful visual effects that emanated from our special attacks. The character designs are aesthetically pretty cool. The Devil King is this burly looking samurai with bloodred armor and a cape, and he moves in a deft but brutal fashion.

The game is in the early stages of development, and it isn't due out until next year. We'll have more details on the game as they become available.

By Alex Navarro, Jason Ocampo

Gamespot

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XBOX 360: Dead or Alive 4 Trailer

Dead or Alive 4 E3 2005 Preshow Report

One of the most impressive pieces of footage from the Microsoft E3 2005 press conference was of Team Ninja's Dead or Alive 4, the latest installment in the bone-crunching brawler from Team Ninja. Given Team Ninja's enthusiastic reception of the Xbox, where it released such titles as Dead or Alive Ultimate, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, and the critically acclaimed Ninja Gaiden, it's not entirely surprising to see Dead or Alive 4 on the Xbox360, and we suppose the pure visual quality of the title isn't all that surprising either, especially considering that Ninja Gaiden is still one of the best-looking games available for any current console. (Note that if you wish to stream the video instead of download it, you can find it at the 13:45 mark of the Microsoft press conference video.)

Yes, oh ye of little faith, DOA4 looks good. The five minute long video shows a number of fighters, including some new faces to the series, as well as some old favorites, and also showcases the trademark multi-level fighting arenas of the series. The first image is of the self-proclaimed "ultimate Ninja in the universe," Ryu Hayabusa, who seems content to stand around looking ominous atop some anonymous high-rise building in an urban landscape. The camera doesn't stay on him very long, though, as it quickly flips to a Japanese setting, featuring a bridge surrounded by cherry blossoms, on which a new character is performing a slow-moving kata. Soon enough, Kasumi comes in to attempt to deliver a beatdown, showing off some of the new multi-tier level features.

One of the noticeable things throughout the level, and throughout most of the levels featured in the video, is that many of the barriers separating high portions of a level from the lower portions aren't actually destructible; rather than a cliched explosion of wood or glass, many of the barriers in DOA4 are solidly constructed, forcing the character thrown into it to bounce up and over it before falling back down to the lower level of the arena, and indeed that's true in this level, as Kasumi is quickly stunned and knocked into the wooden handrails on the bridge, bounces high up into the air, then falls into the water underneath the bridge. The unnamed new character, a Japanese female bedecked in traditional dress, save for her practical sneakers, quickly jumps the railing to follow the action down into the ankle-deep water, where the fight continues. Kasumi turns the tables, though, performing some of her classic maneuvers to beat the new character down, and finishing the bout with the oft-imitated wall-jump dash maneuver.

That's just one fight, though; three or four others are shown in the video, each showcasing a new character or a new arena. We won't spoil the entire video for you, but some of the noticeable features include a long set of steps which act as a barrier between the upper and lower levels of an arena. Rather than being simply kicked off the top of the stairs, though, one of the new characters is grabbed by the neck and gets dragged face-first down the entire flight of steps. In another level, featuring a Las Vegas streets motif, one of the combatants actually gets run down by a police car, which seems to be a randomly-appearing mobile obstacle that players will have to avoid as they fight, or shove their opponents into.

Two of the constant elements of Team Ninja games are random wackiness and well-endowed females, and indeed DOA4 seems to be continuing this tradition, sometimes even in the same character. For example, one of the new characters is a busty female wrestler, who appears in full wrestling regalia, including a mask. Zack's trademark alternate costume, in which he appears to be a fully-grown version of Tinkle from The Wind Waker, is also apparently going to make a comeback, as he's shown in it while fighting a skeleton king, of all things.

All in all, DOA4 seems like it'll be a faithful continuation of the previous titles in the series, featuring loads of intense hand-to-hand combat, multi-tiered arenas, and interesting new characters. We'll be posting more details on the title as we learn more about it, so stay tuned to GameSpot. And don't forget to kick high.

By Matthew Rorie, GameSpot

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PS3:Motor Storm

Sony Computer Entertainment showed off a number of teaser trailers for previously unannounced PlayStation 3 games at its pre-E3 conference in Los Angeles this afternoon. The last trailer shown, which weighed in at around a minute and 15 seconds, was for an off-road racing game titled Motor Storm. Currently in development at UK-based Evolution Studios, previously responsible for the World Rally Championship (WRC) series of of-road racers, Motor Storm ditches traditional rally driving in favor of what appears to be a fiercely competitive free-for-all being contested by multiple vehicle types.

In addition to the tricked out rally cars that you'd expect, today's trailer features buggies, trucks, ATVs, off-road bikes, and what looks to be a Hummer racing across a desert and kicking up masses of sand and dirt as they do so. One of the most stunning shots in the trailer is undoubtedly "eye in the sky" view from a helicopter looking down on the action, but it's only when you get closer to the action that you can appreciate just how impressive the vehicles, and the mess that they're making of the desert and each other, really are.

Accurate vehicle models are nothing new, of course, but these rides really need to be seen to be believed. If today's trailer is any indication whatsoever of what Evolution is shooting for in the finished game, we can assume that each of the vehicles in Motor Storm will feature realistically modeled interiors, and that during the course of a typical race they'll get caked in super-realistic dirt, and leave super-super-realistic debris all over the course. The first time Evolution Studios ever showed a WRC demo behind closed doors in London, we were told that the game would be so detailed that leaves on the track would behave according to accurately simulated wind currents caused by passing cars. That never really happened on the PlayStation 2, maybe it will on the PlayStation 3.

The drivers and riders of all of the vehicles in Motor Storm also look to be very believable, not only when they're in their seats, but also when they're trying to get back to their vehicles after particularly nasty accidents. Our only complaint at this point is that the video isn't just a few seconds longer, watch it for yourself if you want to know why.

No release date has been announced for Motor Storm at this time, but we'll bring you more information on the game as soon as it becomes available.

By Justin Calvert, GameSpot

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PS3: Gundam World

Click title for movies.

What kind of next-gen demo reel would it be without giant robots? Not much of one, in our opinion. In this regard, Sony's PlayStation 3 game reel didn't disappoint, as Bandai's Gundam World was debuted to the world during the conference. So, what did the video show? Why, gigantic robots laying waste to one another and a major city, of course!

The video opens of a shot within a burnt out building. Through the glassless, damaged windows, you can see a trio of massive gundams wandering through the streets of a devastated city, seemingly on the hunt for something. Suddenly, another gundam appears, with what appears to be a semiautomatic rifle, and pumps the other robots full of lead. Cut to another gundam moving through the streets, this one traveling on a giant tank tread, shows up and starts blasting away at another gundam, whose arm is promptly severed, sending him falling to the ground with a tremendous thud. The video then cuts to, you guessed it, yet another gundam, this one with a massive gatling gun, which fires off a few shots at another opposing robot. Finally, the video cuts to another through-a-burnt-out-building shot of a gundams legs. You see the gundam go from the kneeling position to standing up, and then we quickly zoom in and freezeframe on a white gundam with a big, honking bazooka in its right hand. Judging by this cinematography, one would assume that this is a recognizable gundam from one of the anime series. Admittedly, our gundam is a little bit rusty, so we'll just call him bazooka gundam.

So, is any of this footage in-game? Is it all just one big, pretty CG cutscene? We're afraid that we just don't know. One way or another, it's a hell of an entertaining sequence, and we're incredibly curious to see more. We'll bring you more on Gundam World as it becomes available.

By Alex Navarro, GameSpot

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XBOX 360: Test Drive Unlimited

/Click 4 movies/

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Atari to look over its latest entry in the long-standing Test Drive series. Test Drive: Unlimited is a typical free-form racing title that's intended to be available at launch for the Xbox 360. But it's not just any racing game. The developers actually describe it as something of a racing MMO, thanks to its unique utilization of the next-gen Xbox's online capabilities. We were shown a number of these unique features in our demonstration, and we were also able to sit down and take the game for, well, a bit of a test drive.

You'll be able to customize the appearance of your driver as well as that of your cars.

During the demonstration, we were shown plenty of the unique features that are intended to make Test Drive stand out from the crowd. One of the most improbable yet inexplicably cool features is your ability to customize your cars as well as the appearance of your driver. When you first start up a game, you're going to be asked to design an avatar using a character-generation system that will allow you to modify your clothes and facial features, ensuring that each player online will have a different appearance. The clothing will apparently be licensed from real designers, including Marc Ecko, and we're told that you'll even be able to download new threads from these designers as they release new lineups from season to season.

New characters will also be given a house with a small garage. The living room of the house will act as your base of operations. In the game's main menu, you'll be able to check your in-game e-mail or voicemail from other players, check news bulletins (which will tell you when a new car is available to purchase or a new race is open to enter), or download new cars (as with clothing, Atari plans to make some new cars available for download as their licensed manufacturers release them in the real world). In addition, there's an eBay-esque option for putting your cars up for auction online.

When you're ready to hit the streets, you'll have to head to the garage. As you win more cash by winning races or betting other players, you'll be able to purchase more expensive houses, which will in turn come with bigger garages that will allow you to store more cars at a time.

Test Drive Unlimited will ship with a roster of around 150 licensed vehicles.

Speaking of cars, Atari seems to be taking the job of simulating the 150 or so cars and motorcycles in the game much more seriously than you might expect, given that the game itself is definitely more of an arcade racer than a pure simulation. We're told that each car will be realistically modeled, and we were shown a Mercedes SLR in the demonstration player's garage as a proof of concept. The garage here is much more than just a storage area for your cars; you're going to be able to walk around your vehicles, examine them bow to stern, open the doors, open the windows, flip on the radio, and so on. The character in the demonstration was actually able to enter the car while still in the garage, which served as a showpiece for the detailed modeling of the car's interior, with a complete dash, air conditioning vents, a working radio, and so on. We're also told that you'll be able to customize the seats and dash with a variety of leather and wood-paneling options.

Of course, detailed cars and clothing don't mean much without well-designed courses, and it's here that Atari is relying on Mother Nature for an assist. There aren't discrete race courses in Test Drive: Unlimited, as you might expect. Instead, the entire Hawaiian island of Oahu was converted from real-world satellite and topography data into a fully realized gaming landscape. Oahu was chosen due to its inherent natural beauty, as well as its various racing environments, such as beaches, mountain, and city courses. The game island should have more than 1,000 miles of track to it, and while you're outside, you'll be able to seamlessly zoom in and out to adjust from a satellite's-eye view of the entire island all the way down to a street-level view. We're also told that real-world landmarks, such as Pearl Harbor, should be fully recognizable as you drive past (or through) them.

The entire Hawaiian island of Oahu will be your race circuit.

If that sounds big, then get this: we're told that, thanks to the online capabilities of the next-gen Xbox, "thousands" of players should be able to race around the same island at the same time. Our demonstration version of the game obviously didn't have this feature enabled, but Atari laid out some of its plans for the game and showed us a bit of how it works. Players will be able to challenge other players to races as everyone zooms around the island and meets up with each other. You can bet cash on the outcome, or bet pink slips if you're particularly daring.

What's more, players will be able to generate races on the fly with the in-game challenge-generation system. This is essentially a make-your-own-race feature, where players can select a starting location, lay down checkpoints, and then choose a finish line location. The game will automatically connect these features to give you a customized race that can be as long or as short as you like. We were given a short walk-through of this feature that enabled the player to create a race, with a couple of nearby checkpoints, which started in one of the cities on the island. The player then zoomed the view out as far as it could go, zoomed back in on the other side of the island and placed a marker there, which was instantly connected back to the previous checkpoints, resulting in a race that would've lasted for about three hours. Obviously, most races will be smaller in scope for manageability.

Of course, there will be more than just straight-up racing in Test Drive Unlimited. We're told that a number of customizable game types will be included in the final version of the game, many with individually modifiable parameters. We didn't get a complete list of these features, but we did spot some fan-favorite modes such as speed trap and cat and mouse on the list. Players will also have to be careful not to impact traffic that they encounter on the road, and there will also be police in the game to avoid or evade.

The ambient traffic and police on the roads should keep things interesting.

We only had the opportunity to test out the game's actual racing for a short period of time, but everything seems responsive and fun. We also saw the Test Drive series' arcade-racing history. Engine sounds are appropriately punchy, you're able to drive off-road if you wish (although most of the vehicles in the game are high-end sports cars, thus often making this something of a bad idea), and the view distances are obviously much greater than those that you'll have experienced in this generation of racing titles.

Currently, Test Drive Unlimited is slated to be a launch title for the next-generation Xbox. If Atari can implement the features it's promising, it could shape up to be one of the must-have titles at launch for racing game aficionados. We'll have more coverage of the title during E3, so stay tuned.

By Matthew Rorie, GameSpot

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XBOX: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

One of last year's biggest PlayStation 2 games is barreling toward the Xbox--Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will hit Microsoft's big black box in early June. We got a hands-on look at an early version of the Xbox port recently, and while the game hasn't changed in a fundamental way since the original, this looks like the version to get if you haven't experienced Rockstar's sprawling crime story yet.

CJ's back for another round on the mean streets of San Andreas in Rockstar's upcoming Xbox port.

To be frank, San Andreas on the Xbox is the same as San Andreas on the PS2, in terms of content. You've still got the lengthy storyline that casts you as rising thug Carl "CJ" Johnson through the fictional cities of Los Santos, San Fiero, and Las Venturas. You've still got the all-star cast featuring the likes of Samuel Jackson, James Woods and Peter Fonda. You've got the character customization aspects, which are new to the series and let you influence CJ's weight and muscle mass, taste in clothing, and more. And yep, you've got that infamous, seminal sandbox-style gameplay that lets you steal every car in sight, murder the innocent, and build your criminal empire from the ground up. It's definitely San Andreas through and through.

So what's special about the Xbox version? Naturally, it looks better. We saw a significantly greater draw distance in the demo we played, which means the horizon is farther away than in the PS2 version, so you can see a lot more of your surroundings at once. The textures are also noticeably higher resolution; the signage, graffiti, and other such elements of the backgrounds are more legible now. Thanks to the Xbox's superior hardware, the game loads much faster than on the PS2. Even in that version, you only saw a loading screen when you entered a building, and on the Xbox that load will only take a second or two, which nicely speeds up the gameplay.

There are some compelling new features, like a real custom radio station and an instant replay feature.

There are a couple of other new features in San Andreas for the Xbox that ought to tickle fans of the series. Vice City allowed you to make your own custom radio station with songs ripped from your own CDs, but Rockstar has done that feature one better by actually allowing you to set up your track list like a radio station, mixing in the game's DJ chatter, station identification messages, and commercials between your songs to help seal the deal. The developers have also added a nifty replay feature that will let you pause the game at any time and rewatch the last 30 or so seconds with full camera controls so you can check out that rad stunt you just pulled off, or whatever. Rockstar is toying with the idea of letting you save multiple replays for later consumption, but that feature wasn't implemented in the build we tried out and may or may not make the final cut.

San Andreas is currently slated to hit the Xbox on June 6th, and if you haven't played it yet, this will be the time to do it. If you need more information on the game (c'mon, where have you been?), check out our ludicrous previous coverage of the PS2 version, as well as the full review.

By Brad Shoemaker, GameSpot

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PS3: Killing Day

/Movies/

Many of the trailers shown at Sony's pre-E3 press conference in Los Angeles today beg the question as to whether or not they are in any way representative of what we can expect to see in-game. One of the exceptions to that rule, in our opinion at least, is the trailer for Ubisoft's Killing Day, because it looks like 30 seconds of unedited gameplay rather than a sequence of cleverly cut highlights.

Your character in the game is a rough-looking sort, with scars and Band-Aids on his face, an open shirt revealing questionable taste in jewelry, and, more importantly, a pair of pistols that he uses to great effect throughout the trailer. One of the first things to really impress us in the Killing Day trailer is undoubtedly the way that the statue the player briefly takes refuge behind gets torn apart by enemy fire. The damage gets a little more pronounced as every bullet (leaving a great-looking smoke trail en route, incidentally) hits its target, and eventually the player is forced to seek cover elsewhere.

At this point, the player comes under fire from two enemies positioned on a bridge above. The player's attempts at sending his bullets to meet the bad guys via route one are unsuccessful, so in what is either a decent set piece or (hopefully) an indication that Killing Day's environments are totally destructible, he shoots out the glass floor from under them and then squeezes a few rounds into them as they fall to the ground for good measure.

No release date (or even a developer) has been announced for Killing Day at the time of writing, but we'll bring you more information on the game as soon as it becomes available.

By Justin Calvert, GameSpot

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XBOX360: Ninety-Nine Nights

It's been known for a while now that Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment studio was working on a new action adventure game for Microsoft's upcoming console, the Xbox 360. At tonight's pre-E3 press conference, Microsoft included the game as part of its demo reel, and announced the official title: Ninety-Nine Nights. The clip itself was roughly 10 seconds long; odd, considering that a full video of the game has been out since the day after the official unveiling of the system on MTV.

The video from the Microsoft conference basically shows a whole army of people basically getting blown all the hell up, and flying around all crazy. We love that, but that's actually only the middle of the original video. The video that appeared on the internet featured lots more--though mostly what appeared to be cutscene footage. The video opens with a ground shot of an armored knight stand up amid a chaotic sky, filled with some sort of bright, unidentifiable debris flying all over the place. The next shot is of a young, purple-haired woman walking through a field, with tons of rose petals falling over the place. The news anchor narrating the video talks about how the system can render more impressive facial animations and expressions, and, unsurprisingly, the scene closes in on the girl's face, showing off some highly realistic expressions and animations.

Cut to a battlefield, with a gargantuan army standing around, moments before they are blown into the air; this is the piece of the video shown from the Microsoft conference. But wait, there's more! The video then cuts to a sequence of these same soldiers on the same field, training in unison. Cut to what looks like a fight sequence between some kind of trollish looking creature and an unseen opponent. A sword swings at the troll's face; an attack which he deftly dodges. After that, it's a lot of quick cuts between a crystalline looking city, a pair of young looking troll people running through a field, and a big crystal snapping in half. What does any of it mean? Who knows! But we'll be damned if it all didn't look impressive.

It's completely unclear at this point whether or not any of this footage is in-game, or if it's all a lot of CG cutscenes, but even if it is all a bunch of cutscenes, we're still impressed with what we've seen of Nintety-Nine Nights, and can't wait to learn more. We'll bring you more details on this promising looking game as they become available.

By Alex Navarro, GameSpot

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/Movies/ U gotta watch this games gonna be awesome, pity its not on the next gen consoles though

We've known about The Movies for a long time now, but it's still looking like one of Activision's most promising games at this year's E3. This ambitious strategy title from Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios will let you build and manage your own motion-picture studio, not to mention actually shoot, cut, and edit together your own films. Featuring fully 3D environments and what looks like a lot of clever humor, The Movies may initially resemble a typical tycoon game, but there appears to be a lot more to it than that.

We got to see a lengthy demonstration of The Movies running off a PC, though the game is reportedly headed to consoles as well--possibly next-generation consoles, too. The game will feature all eras of filmmaking, from silent black-and-white movies on through the early days of color, all the way up to current-day blockbusters, and beyond. However, The Movies won't be structured around a campaign game or any kind of story mode--it'll be a pure sandbox for you to play in, allowing you to focus on whichever aspects of the game most appeal to you, whether they be the economic management of the studio and its growth over the years, or the down-and-dirty cutting and editing and even promoting of individual movies, or even keeping track of all the personnel. The scope of the game is obviously ambitious, though Lionhead reps assured us that the game would be designed to be very user-friendly--so you won't need to worry about your actors going on strike if all you want to do is make crazy movies, like Zombie: The Musical, an evocatively titled little film that we were shown as a demonstration.

Zombie: The Musical is pretty much just what you'd imagine it to be. The one thing about this movie that we didn't like was the lack of lip-syncing by all the different characters; as if they'd just read our minds, the Lionhead reps immediately noted that lip-synching should be in effect in the game by E3. The game sounds like it'll feature tons of content, including 45 unique sets, covering all the movie clichés you can possibly think of. A clear (literally!) interface will never take you out of the game's action, meanwhile. To assign a person to a job, you just pick him up with your godlike hand and drop him or her into whichever facility requires attention. Using this method, you can keep your writers churning out good scripts, your actors detoxed and looking good, and so on.

Lionhead's postrelease support for The Movies sounds like it'll be pretty exciting. The company will keep releasing tons of content (which is being worked on now) but will also create an environment in which the community can post its own movies, which the community itself can then review. The cream will rise to the top--and since The Movies will feature such a robust movie-making system (allowing you to add your own audio and subtitles, and make however long or short of a movie you like), the possibilities ought to be pretty limitless. Just think of Zombie: The Musical.

Movies will be structured around what's called "the hero's journey," so they'll involve a protagonist, an antagonist, and a love interest--there will be some degree of focus and structure, but only to make the interface easier to work with. Alternatively, those who don't want to mess with the movie-making stuff too carefully needn't do so and will be treated to some amusing automatically generated stuff based on the elements that are thrown into play.

At this point, we just want to get our hands on The Movies and see how it all plays out, start to finish. Lionhead is known for its ambitious concepts, but the proof's going to be in the pudding. The Movies is scheduled for release this fall for the PC, and what we saw of the game did look like it was coming together into a cohesive experience. We can't wait to see how this one finally turns out, but we'll keep bringing you more updates every step of the way until that time.

By Greg Kasavin, GameSpot

[ABuSD]

MULTI: 187 Ride or Die

/// U GOTTA WATCH THESE 2 FLIX ///

Looks likt Grand Theft Auto but possibly better!!!

Ubisoft has its upcoming car combat game Notorious: Die to Drive on hand at E3 2004. The game will let you play as an up-and-coming West Coast gangster who starts off with only two friends, a single car, and a baseball bat. However, by defeating your rivals in a series of races on one of 20 different courses, you'll eventually build up a full-on gang of supporters and a stable of up to 20 cars. You'll also use up to 30 different weapons, including shotguns, assault rifles, and rocket launchers. Playing skillfully in races, whether you successfully kill off your rivals with a weapon or place first in a race, will earn you cash that will let you build up your humble apartment into a tricked-out villa with plenty of what Ubisoft press materials describe as "bling."

The actual races seem to control rather easily, at least on the PS2. We played a pre-alpha version of the game and were able to pick up the basics of the game rather quickly. The PS2's R1 trigger button is used to accelerate, while the R2 trigger gives your car a speed boost. The L1 trigger is a handbrake, which lets you "powerslide" through corners by briefly slowing you down while you accelerate into turns, and the L2 trigger changes the camera to a rear view to let you shoot at enemies behind you. The PS2 controller's triangle button lets you drop a weapon, which is useful if you're running low on ammo. The square button lets you use your character's "special" attack. You build up a "special" meter by skillfully driving and shooting, and each of the game's 30 characters has a different special attack, which includes being able to instantly kill an enemy driver with a headshot from a sniper rifle or blanketing the racetrack with continuous fire from a Gatling gun. The X button lets you fire your weapon forward, though you can also use the right analog stick to fire your weapon in any direction, and your left analog stick steers. It may sound complex, but it certainly doesn't seem to be in practice, and although what we played was an extremely early pre-alpha version with somewhat simple-looking environments and textures, it ran at an extremely brisk frame rate that didn't hitch up once.

Notorious apparently isn't intended to have any kind of epic story, but it seems like it could make for a good, fast-paced game, especially in the game's four-player multiplayer modes. Both the PS2 version and the Xbox version of the game will allow for four-player split-screen play on the same television set, and the Xbox version will also support up to eight players over Xbox Live. Notorious: Die to Drive is scheduled for release next year on the Xbox and the PS2.

By Andrew Park, GameSpot

[ABuSD]

Yeah im bored.......

[inark]

this is the most impressive thing ive seen at E3 so far

i never pay much attention to things that arent released until they are... i dont like dissapointment. most games they show at E3 never make it to production they way theyre seen and normally only show FMV... Doom3 looked a lot better than it ended up being as with HL2.