New Game World

Who Is Number One?
 
By Lee Danuff:
 
Los Angeles, California: This video game industry is serious business. With nearly $50 billion in total sales of hardware and software this year alone, it’s already beaten the box office, movies and DVDs, according to industry experts. It’s no wonder then why thousands of people converged in Los Angeles for the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).  As expected, the show gave us an exciting and sometimes scary looks into next years video games, complete with new and innovative ways to blow up your enemies, discover new worlds, and defeat and destroy devilish looking creepies. While violent games weren’t the only thing introduced, they definitely got the largest response from the jam-packed press events.
 
Microsoft had the first press conference of the show, and introduced their next wave of blockbuster games for the Xbox.  They claimed the new games were designed to introduce everyone into the game, but if you aren’t into blood, guts and decapitation, your expectations may fall short.  Titles being released at the end of the year include Fallout 3, which takes place in post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. Players leave their secure underground vaults to investigate who or what is left above ground and then kill or destroy it/them. Resident Evil 5, set in Africa makes its debut this year on Xbox.  Play with a friend in co-op mode to see if you can murder enemies together. Gears of War 2 will also be released and be exclusive to the Xbox and can be played in a 5 player co-op mode.  Save the world from the Locust Horde and shed their blood all over the screen.  Fable II gives you a choice of whether or not you want to be violent.  As you play, your onscreen character (which starts out as a young child), morphs into an adult based on your actions, good or bad.  On the non-violent front, makers of Guitar Hero promise their latest version of the game will include 85 more songs to jam with, ranging from the Eagles to REM to Metallica.  They have also included a drum set to compete with Rock Band.
 
Sony, which claims to have the biggest exclusives in the industry, also introduced new titles for their Play Station 2/Play Station 3 consoles.  Resistance 2 will now have an 8-player co-op mode to battle the evil Chimera across United States.  Screen shots from the long anticipated Little Big Planet were also shown (lead character Sackboy, later gave a run down on the state of the video game industry to anticipated press and analysts).  Available sometime in October, the game enables to players create their own worlds and develop unique environments, which can be shared with other people to play or compete in.  Ratchet & Clank are back in Quest for Booty to save the world from evil.  And the Pain series has now moved to the amusement park.  Put your characters into vicarious situations by having them ride the “Tilt a Hurl” and see what happens.  The more pain and chaos you wreak, the more points you get in the game. DC Universe Online is also an interesting game that lets play or fight alongside your favorite heroes and villains in Gotham city.
 
Nintendo’s big game introduction came in the form of Olympic medalist Shawn White.  His Snowboarding game designed exclusively for the Wii, incorporates the Wii Balance Board to let your players move exactly as you do in real life.  Another game sure to please is the latest version of Animal Crossing.  This version comes with Wii Speak, a microphone that lets you talk to other players around the world casually from your living room.   Other previews included Rayman Raving Rabbits TV Party.  The game which is sure to please lets you practice dance moves with friends or use the Wii balance board and your, er, derrière, to ski down a mountain on a crazy wildebeest.  It might not be violent, but it’s definitely fun.