OneButtonController.com

Top screen 3.5″ and capable of displaying 3D Graphics.

3D Depth Slider adjusts how much 3D is involved. You can go to max or to none at all.

Bottom Screen is still a touch screen.

Analog Stick above the D-Pad on the left side. They are calling it the Slide Control. I wonder if it is like the PSP Analog stick….

Improved Graphics capabilities

1 Camera on the front and 2 on the back. Allows you to take a picture and view it in 3D.

DS supports 3D movies but it does not say exactly how the content will get on the device.

3D Glasses are not needed as everyone knew.

Kid Icarus: Uprising will be coming to the Nintendo 3DS. (Why does the music on the trailer sound like it is from the Love Boat?) Looks pretty good and fun.

Communication between multiple 3DS automatic communication no matter what game is being played. They also can connect via Wi-Fi.

New version of Nintendog coming….now with CATS!

Square Enix (Kingdom Hearts), Level5, EA, Capcom, WB Games, Ubisoft, and Konami (Metal Gear Solid) providing games to the 3DS.

During the trailer I saw a Star Fox fighter fly out. Do a barrel roll! That and Reggie was attacked by Bowser. Nice…

WTF Nintendo. They have a bunch of chicks with a 3DS’s attached to their belts and they are walking around to people in the theater at E3 so they can try them. Booth babes are one thing but this is just odd.

I am not a fan of Kirby games in general but it has the look and art style of Little Big Planet.

Pretty cool looking game. I am almost surprised that it is a Wii game because it looks that good!

Here is a screenshot courtesy of Kotaku.

http://kotaku.com/5564120/kirby-gets-his-first-game-on-the-wii

Nintendo just announced that GoldenEye will be coming to the Wii.

Good News:
Looks like the original N64 Goldeneye.
Split-Screen Play
Classic Bond Villians
Paintball Mode
Nostalgia Value is high

Bad News:
It looks exactly like the original Goldeneye.

FPS games have come a long way since the original. Will this game hold on to it’s nostalgia value or actually embrace innovation?

I am excited about shooting a guy sitting on the toilet from the vents with a silenced PPK just to see his hat fly off. (Don’t judge me!)

Here is a couple pics from Kotaku.

http://kotaku.com/5564109/goldeneyes-return-to-wii-confirmed

First let me say that I have been EXTREMELY busy these last couple months and have not had time to update this blog. Hopefully things will slow down a bit and I will be able to spend more time posting.

With that said, I have had some time to play some games and also received an iPad. Since everybody and their brother has already done a iPad review, I figured I would switch it up a bit.

As someone with a family with young kids, I am amazed how quickly kids take to technology. The breaking point for me to get an iPad was when my 18 month old grabbed my wife’s iPhone, turned it on, unlocked it, scrolled to find the game she wanted to play and then selected the correct icon. Steve Jobs and the people at Apple should get an award for this level of usability. Maybe they can steal the tag line from Geico, “So easy an 18 month old could use it!”.

Before we got it I was a huge skeptic. I believed the iPad was just a big iPhone. Which is some ways is true but the different form factor changes how the device is used. After playing with it with my kids and wife, I have come away pretty impressed.

Here are the PRO’s:

1) For young kids, this is a great system. We have loaded it up with apps for the kids and they love it. Due to the intuitive controls, the kids have no problem booting it up and playing. I give Apple HIGH marks for this.

2) Battery is awesome. I am amazed how long it can go between charges with heavy use.

3) iBooks rocks. I spent the last two nights reading Sun Tzu: Art of War. I plan on spending much more time with it.

4) Plants vs. Zombies. I played this game on the PC but I feel the iPad is the perfect place for this game. Not only have I been enjoying it, but my wife has become addicted to the game.

CONS

1) I have not been able to find a way to tether it to a cell phone for Internet access. I am not a fan of paying for ANOTHER data plan just for a device that I might use on trips. I should be able to use my G1 or our iPhone so my wife can surf the web on long trips on a bigger screen.

2) The App store is a bit tough to navigate. You should be able to search through categories and maybe even allow tagging of apps. It is nice that they have a kids section but the selection is limited and it is not uncommon to find “kids” apps located under other sections.

3) DEMOS….they should almost be required. Spending $14 on an app that you can not see other than screenshots is disappointing. I know some apps have “lite” versions but it is hard to tell if it is worth upgrading to the full version.

Overall I think the iPad is a wonderful device with a couple shortcomings for the average user. I could get into the walled garden know as the app store, lack of multi-tasking (OS4 hello!) and lack of Flash support. But for the average family it does exactly what you expect and in this day and age, that is surprisingly impressive.

http://www.civilization5.com/

And there goes 100 hours of my life!

EA is giving away free copies of C&C: Tiberian Sun w/Firestorm, C&C: Tiberian Dawn and C&C: Red Alert.

Download here!

http://www.commandandconquer.com/classic

http://www.mortalonline.com/content/open-beta

I have been trying to get in but it looks like the patcher is down. Game looks like the spiritual successor to Ultima Online. Hopefully I will get a chance to play some this week.

Update: After DAYS of downloading and re-downloading the client and patches, I have given up. I finally got it to patch to the correct version and what do I get….Invalid version, please re-install game client. I GIVE UP! I have played plenty of buggy game beta’s but this might be the worst.

If you have the time and energy, it looks like there is an interesting game once you get past the patcher but for me I am done!

I am getting ready to purchase my 2010 Gencon badges and I was wondering if anyone else is coming.

If not, I plan on bringing a camera and HD video camera. What would you like me to focus on the first couple days? (I plan on taking pics and lurking the first couple days and then getting some gaming on the last couple days. )

Suggestions?

I have been gaming since the early 80’s and I could not tell you what half of these consoles are.

http://consollection.de/

See if you can do any better!

I started playing Bayonetta a couple days ago and I don’t know what words I can use to explain it other than…..WOW!

Anyone familiar with Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden games will feel right at home here. The combat system is tight but forgiving and the moves are insane. For anyone that has not heard about this game, you play a Witch who carries two guns (Normally) in her hands and two attached to her feet. As a character she is completely over the top but in a good way.

You are fighting “Angels” to appease the underworld so they don’t drag you to “Inferno”. Unlike most action games, the story actually seems interesting. That probably has more to do with the insane cut scenes and crazy supporting cast.

But the star of the show so far are the fights. Every fight seems epic in scope and I don’t have that feeling that I am fighting huge waves of low level enemies. Every enemy I have faced could kill you quickly if you go down the normal button mashing path.

The only issue I have had was in one area where there was a wall that you had to knock down by beating on on. Once you reached a certain level it would blow-up and then return. You would get a cryptic message stating that you need to use your “Temporal Witch” powers to get past. After about 10 minutes of messing around, I finally figured it out. (This was in the second level of the game)

1) Near the entrance to that area there are 2 statues. These 2 statues allow you to “lift” then and a 10 second timer starts.

2) Run as quickly as possible to the wall that you need to knock down.

3) Hit the button to “activate” the timer (X on the 360)

4) Then a lightning bolt from the sky begins to charge. You need to dodge this at the last minute to put you into Witch Time. (aka Bullet Time)

5) Now you have about 20 seconds to knock down the wall

6) Once you knock the wall down, you need to run through it before it solidifies back.

If you are slightly off on any of these steps, you will have to start all over again. I could understand a puzzle like this later in the game but I barely was through the tutorial at this point and was unaware of the terminology being used.

Other than some minor annoyances, this game is FUN! Expect a full review shortly.