Scribblenauts, Uncharted 2 win Best of E3 honors

Scribblenauts, the surprise hit of E3 2009, and Uncharted 2 were the big winners of this year’s Best of E3 2009 Awards. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves won Best of Show, Best Action/Adventure Game and Best console game while the DS game from 5TH Cell won Best Original Game and Best Handheld Game. BioWare and LucasArts’ promising MMO game, Star Wars: The Old Republic, rounded out the platform specific awards, taking home Best PC Game. A full list of winners chosen by the panel of game journalists that made up this year’s Game Critics judging panel, can be found after the break.

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Lost Planet 2 Notes

If you haven’t had a chance to see a high definition demonstration of Lost Planet 2, then you’re missing out. That doesn’t mean i’m giving the game a ringing endorsement, but it looks extra spiffy. According to what i’ve read and heard, the game is using a modified or newer version fo the same engine used for Resident Evil 5.

The game is set 10 years after the events of the first game and the entire planet has unthawed revealing a bunch of new environments. One of those is a lush jungle plagued by giant monsters that will take some serious firepower to take down. Luckily the game supports four player coop, which means that you and your friends can work together to cut the giant bad asses down to size.

One of the things I really liked was that you can actually fight monsters from the inside, though there are other smaller enemies in there you’ll have to wade through to get to those tender and vital organs. You’ll be fighting some humans too,  but details on that have not been released.

One other tidbit before I send you on a search for an HD video - the game features a character customization system that allows you to grow your character. All that you gain and learn from single-player can transfer over to multiplayer. A nice hands-on video from G4 can be found after the jump.

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Rare working on secret Project Natal stuff

Microsoft’s Shane Kim told Kotaku that Rare is working on a myriad of projects besides its established franchises s - specifically relating to Project Natal, Microsoft’s motion sensing technology.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it is probably Avatar and interface related. If you were paying attention to Microsoft’s Project Natal presentation during its E3 press conference there was a bit about how you can manipulate menus and avatars using the tech. Since Rare created those avatars my sense is that some of their work efforts are going towards those features.

R.U.S.E tabletop interface pricing

The first time I saw the trailer for Ubisoft’s real-time strategy game, R.U.S.E., I was pretty impressed. I watched as two armchair generals directed their armies from a tabletop interface that displayed the game and allowed them to manipulate their land, sea and air forces. Pretty impressive stuff, right? But here’s a little surprise for anyone that wants to enjoy that game with that fancy interface: you’d better be independently wealthy.

The device being used in the video is called the Intuiface and it is developed by a company called IntuiLab. Intuiface is a surface computing platform that is mostly used for commercial endeavors like touch screen photo printing centers, banking, traffic surveillance programs, and more. In other words it is very, very expensive.

A little leg work at Ubisoft’s booth revealed just how much this wonderful technology would cost - $20,000. Yes you’ve read that number correctly. So while R.U.S.E. might look fantastic in the video, the interface that made a serious impression on readers is out of the average consumer’s reach.

The company that makes it says that it may someday have a consumer friendly version of the technology that will be compatible with the next iteration of Windows and will offer a smaller price tag, but that doesn’t really soften the blow for players who instantly fell in love with the launch trailer’s magnificent tabletop battle scene.

Activision sues Double Fine over Brutal Legend

Activision is having quitter’s remorse – assuming that you believe it gave up on the negotiation with Double Fine for Brutal Legend. The company filed a lawsuit in California today against Brutal Legend creators Double Fine Productions, claiming that it still holds the rights to the game - which is now being published by Electronic Arts.

Activision claims it still has a valid contract with Double Fine Productions to release the rock themed action game starring Jack Black and has invested roughly $15 million in it. Further, Activision claims that Double Fine missed an important deadline last year and then asked for another year to finish it, along with an additional $7 million. Of course, this lead to stalled negotiations. But Activsion’s claims that Double Fine took its proverbial ball and went home to find another publisher.

But the real kicker is that Activision dumped the game from its roster shortly after the merger was complete, according to some sources. And yet it claims that it never gave up its rights to the game and that it somehow suffered “irreparable harm” from the whole ordeal. Naturally companies never worry about their image when they decide to sue each other. For its part Double Fine says that it owns the rights to the game and therefore had the right to shop it around to other publishers.

We’ll see how this all plays out, but it is a shame that this game, which looks like it could very well be awesome, could be taking a $15 million dollar hit before or after it is released.

Putting LEGO into LEGO Rock Band

We know that LEGO Rock Band is going to allow you to rock out as little people made up of little colorful blocks and that it will feature some licensed songs that some of you will want to jam out to but there are some new details about the game coming out of E3 from Warner Bros. Home Interactive and MTV Games.

First there’s a special function called the LEGO character customizer. This is where you’ll create your band use those LEGO blocks and cute head and accessory pieces. Besides customizing you band, you’ll be able to choose the instruments you play (from what’s available) and your entourage. There’s also a LEGO Rock Den that can be accessorized and decorated to perfectly suit your rock style.

Then there are features like LEGO themed Rock Power challenges. These challenges are the reason you’d want to play a LEGO themed music game: bands will perform amazing feats like destroying a giant robot, summoning a storm or demolishing a skyscraper - all with the power of music.

Finally there’s the power of building fame. Play well enough and you’ll gain fame, which in turn unlocks various things within the game like the ability to build cooler vehicles, progress to new venues and unlock new characters and instruments.

It’ll be interesting to see if Traveler’s Tales really gets how wonderful such a collaboration between LEGO and Rock Band can be. The game is on the right track (assuming they deliver on all the bullet points), but we won’t know for sure until the game ships this holiday season.

image source: gamemag.ru

Guitar Hero 5 complete set list

In addition to showing off Guitar Hero 5 at E3 this week in Los Angeles, Activision has revealed the complete list of songs that players can shred to when the game ships on September 1. Guitar Hero 5 features the a diversified set list made up of songs from some of the hottest bands of today to all-time favorite classic anthems, spanning multiple genres including hard rock, classic rock, indie rock, metal and more.

The complete list of artists and bands to be featured in Guitar Hero 5 can be found after the break. Get ready to scroll.

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