The Thrifty Gamer

With just a week or so left until E3, the gaming news updates are heating up. But until the time comes to be talking about the big show, there's plenty to mention as far as what's been happening during the past week.

First up is a look at how Microsoft's Project Natal is coming along: Joystiq has picked up an interesting piece involving the antics of the upcoming motion tech of the new Camera-plus-body control method, which correspondent A.J. Jacobs promptly compared to "the invention of the jet engine" compared to "the invention of flight" as referenced concerning Nintendo's Wii tech. Check the link if you want more information about this interesting hands - uh, make that arms-on with Project Natal, along with accompanying video of the actual preview.

In the meantime, Sony PS3 title Infamous 2 has scored a cover-story preview in GameInformer, revealing a ten-page feature that sees the game's superhero figure take on a new city in the anticipated sequel, complete with new powers and -- could it be? -- a surprising asthetic overhaul, based on the look of the magazine cover. Also, Bizarre Creations has managed to one-up Nintendo's Mario Kart franchise with a real-world racing asthetic -- and for the most part, the resulting game of Blur has managed to succeed, albeit with some rather questionable directions in structure and play modes (seriously, do we need a destruction game type?) Simulated "rock shredding" is also going into a new experience thanks to the next Guitar Hero update, currently subtitled Warriors of Rock.

In other news, Konami has revealed Ninety-Nine Nights 2, Chicago has been permanently barred from instituting a boycott on any and all mature-rated games on its bus system, and Hulu experimented with Xbox Live distribution but is waiting on clearance to actually roll out the potential exclusive-in-the-making (sorry, PS3 owners). Also of note: Valve has replaced its planned event regarding Portal 2 with something else, which remains "a surprise" to be revealed only at the time it occurs; EA rebranded its NBA Live franchise under the moniker of NBA Elite; Microsoft Korea has reportedly submitted classification requests involving classic Dreamcast titles; and MadCatz picked up gaming headset company Tritton Technologies. Meanwhile, Sony's PS3 rollout of 3D support is currently stated to begin in Japan while the Disney/Bruckheimer Prince of Persia adaptation racked up just $32.1 million stateside (though an additional $59 million came from overseas, and $37.8 million domestic earnings whewn adjusted for the extra weekend time resulting from the Memorial Day extension thereof).

Written by Jeffrey Davis (5,515 pts ) in Console Gaming Blog
Last Edited on Jun 4 2010, 10:24 PM
Tags: Xbox Live, news of the week, project natal, Xbox 360, game informer

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