We wandered the booths of E for All in Los Angeles over the weekend, taking in what the show had to offer. It all inexplicably began with a rousing tune played by a troupe of bagpipers. What? We weren't sure what the tie-in there was either, unless there's a Bagpipe Hero in the works. You heard it hear first.
Inside, we made our way through the maze of games and past the hordes of schwag-seekers to the interior, where we watched people vie for prizes and sampled some of the local fare. Check out some of our highlights after the break, including the audio of the bagpipery, our encounter with both Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell, and also Wolf from American Gladiators and what we thought about the show in general. Plus, you can also revel in the glory of our E for All gallery.
As an extra treat, check out the audio from the bagpipes that began it all below. Now if you just mail us your $35 money order, you can feel like you were there.
My friends, I appreciate your support, but it is now, after much deliberation and discussion, that this Weekly Webcomic Wrapup pick its running mate. With the Japanese Hardware Sales, I have with me a popular public figure with experience and foreign policy credentials. Should it accept the nomination, together, we will win this election ... for Supreme King and Queen of the Internets.
I've already picked my cabinet. Since I like playing favorites, please vote for the best after the break.
Tucked away in the dark, at the far back of E for All is a fair-sized Gears of War 2 booth with many stations showing off the Horde mode, and handing out COG tags. However, these are fairly normal sized tags, about the size of a dollar coin. So what's up with this image of a giant COG that looks like it could serve as Sauron's ring?
We asked one of the community managers at the GoW2 booth, and he said, "Wait... did you see this image recently? A huge COG tag that's thick and made out of metal? Yeah, there's a big announcement about that coming out. I can't say anything about it really, but keep watching the website all weekend. And no, it's not something you can buy. It's made of metal, is thick, and weighs about two pounds."
Is Epic hiding these in the world somewhere, and there's a contest to find them? Are they items you can win based on your in-game performance like those rings they added to Madden? Is it just a huge paperweight? We'll keep watching the site, which yesterday put up a blurb about COGs. How convenient. What do you think it is?
EGM's rumor-mongering editor amalgamation Quartermann has some info on another Capcom franchise that may get an update. Apparently Strider could be the next classic character to get a Bionic Commando upgrade, with the Q-mann saying that it could take on Devil May Cry-style gameplay.
The other tidbit is that Metal Gear Solid guru Hideo Kojima may be working on a first-person shooter. Allegedly Kojima has been to FPS studios Infinity Ward (Call of Duty 4) and Guerrilla Games (Killzone 2) for reasons unknown. Maybe he's just trying to learn how to make a proper better multiplayer experience?
E for All remains the ghostly and distant third cousin of the previous mammoth version of E3 that's open to the public, and it takes place inside the carcass of that fearsome beast, the Los Angeles Convention Center. While we misjudged the time and arrived two hours early, that gives us plenty of time to peruse the schedule and pick our poison.
So far the highlights include:
A treadmill race across Azeroth
Meet and greet with Billy Mitchell
Samples of Gamer Grub, snacks developed for gamers
Hands-on with Ubisoft's Far Cry 2, Tom Clancy's End War, Shaun White Snowboarding, and Activision's Guitar Hero World Tour
And the... Los Angeles Unified School District? "Participating students will obtain a deeper understanding of video games and how they can be incorporated into their future careers from speakers – including Fatal1ty – who will describe their experience with video games and ways to break into the industry." Run kids, run.
Lionhead Studios' latest developer diary hits a high note covering the audio of Fable 2. Music and sound effects are detailed for most of the piece, but the last section features British actors using those adorable accents of theirs. Prolific actor Stephen Fry, who is also the narrator of LittleBigPlanet, makes an appearance in there, and you may recognize some of the other actors as well. Check it out after the break.
If you can't make it to any of the upcoming Video Games Live performances, we'll bring the show to you. Joystiq is giving away five free copies of the recent Video Games Live: Volume One, delivered right to your door. Just leave a comment below (after you've read our interview with co-creator Tommy Tallarico), telling us what piece of gaming music you'd love to hear at a VGL concert, and we'll randomly select five winners to receive a copy. To enter this giveaway:
Leave a comment telling us your favorite piece of game music that you'd like to hear played live.
You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec).
Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day (comment more than once and we'll force you to play the Atari 2600 version of E.T. forever, Clockwork Orange-style).
This entry period ends at 11:00pm ET on Friday, October 11th. We'll randomly select 5 winners at that time to each receive one copy of the EMI Classics album Video Games Live: Volume One (valued at $15). Please check your e-mail!
Tommy Tallarico has been working in the video game industry since 1991, and has worked on the audio and music for over 250 games, which sounds exhausting enough. He also ocassionally co-hosts Reviews on the Run (formerly Judgement Day on G4), he's a co-founder of the Game Audio Network Guild, serves on the advisory board for the Game Developers Conference, and somewhere amidst that schedule he found time to co-create (with game composer Jack Wall) the live-action game music experience that is Video Games Live.
Video Games Live has been bringing the rocking tunes of games to audiences around the world for three years now. Whereas Jack Wall provides the baton-waving, classy dress portion of the show, Tallarico is the tennis-shoe wearing, Spider-Man guitar-wielding rock element. Check out our full interview with Tommy after the break, and check the VGL schedule to see if there's a show near you -- because everyone should hear the Mario Bros. theme played live at least once. If you can't make it to one, enter our Joyswag Video Games Live giveaway.
With just about a month before the United States picks its next president, GamePolitics has posted a piece on the presidential campaign contributions made by industry big-shots. Would you have guessed that Spore designer Will Wright was a McCain supporter?
Turns out a lot of industry folks listed in the piece are leaning towards Obama, with thousands of dollars in contributions heading to the Democratic nominee. With some major executives contributing only a few thousand dollars to Obama's campaign, it's interesting to note that two of the biggest spenders are Star Wars mogul George Lucas with $33,100, and not far behind him, Harmonix (Rock Band) CEO Alex Rigopulos with $32,900. The ever-updated list can be found at GamePolitics.
Memphis is a beautiful city with no real crime, which is why it's so shocking to hear what a sting operation against local GameStop stores turned up. Eight GameStop employees have plead guilty to buying "stolen" video games from undercover police officers. The video game pawn shop retail chain has agreed to suspend "cash-for-trade" (???) transactions in Shelby and DeSoto County, Mississippi, until February 2009.
The defendants, none of whom have previous criminal convictions, will serve a year of probation, which can result in their record being cleared. Not to say the company's suspension of trade-ins is pure kabuki, but next to eBay, GameStop has always been an awesome place to unload stolen games -- just don't bring 16,000 copies of Brothers in Arms in at one time.
"How dare he abandon us?" you may scream into your monitor (and later into your favorite pillow). Warren Spector, developer of core gamer classics such as Thief and Deus Ex, is working for the mainstream audience. In a Forbes article about casual gaming's increasing influence, Spector said, "I don't believe I'm compromising on my gameplay ideals at all. [But] any artist who doesn't want his or her work in front of the largest audience possible is nuts." Spector's "shift" shouldn't come as a surprise. For starters, we know his company, the Disney-owned Junction Point Studios, is currently working on a Pixar collaboration. He also intimated his desire for more mainstream development at the Games Education Summit in June.
"I'm sure a lot of the hardcore folks are going to be up in arms and I'm really looking forward to getting into that discussion with them," he said, later adding that he feels the hardcore genre is "completely safe" but "less relevant to major publishers" -- Cliff Bleszinki can breathe a sigh of relief. What we're wondering, now more than ever, is what's going on with the untitled fantasy project we haven't heard about since June 2007.
Having recently confirmed his involvement with God of War's assuredly violent journey to the big (albeit considerably less interactive) screen, film director Brett Ratner is all set to combine his particular track record with the games-to-movie stigma and create the internet's greatest bitchfest. Not everyone's predicting a Greek tragedy, however, with God of War's creator, David Jaffe, earnestly informing us (via video, embedded after the break) that while the adaptation "could be shit," he's nevertheless satisfied with the pedigree of the director, as well as the producer (from Batman Begins!) and the writer, who penned the screenplay for Road to Perdition.
Mind you, he also says he liked X-Men 3, so perhaps he's just pulling our leg on the whole thing. That Jaffe is a rascal, we tell you!
Remedy is making Alan Wake; Remedy made Max Payne; Remedy is Finnish. The website Pelaajalehti is – along with being nigh-impossible to pronounce – also Finnish, and reports that a new trailer for the long lost Xbox 360 adventure of Mr. Wake will debut before a special preview screening of the Max Payne feature film in – you guessed it – Finland on October 15.
Last we heard, Remedy was apologizing for Alan Wake's tardiness, no-show status at E3, and general air of vaporware. Now, we can understand wanting to play to your home crowd, but how about a little love for those of us who don't exactly fancy ice swimming and Karjalanpiirakka?
Today, the Capcom Blog decided to reveal the box art and a prototype figurine for Bionic Commando. The thing about the figurine, though, is that the company has no idea when, where, how or if the general consumer will be able to get one.
OK, we have no idea what the point of showing off the six-inch tall prototype is other than to gauge consumer interest. So, fine, we'll bite. It's kinda sexy. What say y'all? Would you pay $20 more if it came in one of those "limited edition" packages these companies are so fond of?
It was a landslide victory for wecomic wrapup newcomer Cross Platform, whose comic A New Creative Outlet took almost 40% of the vote. (Be sure to also check out the previous comic, Not-So-Secret Identities.) The site is still being prettified, so here's hoping we'll get permalink pages for each comic (hint, hint).
Second and third place go to usual suspects Penny Arcade (The Origin of the CD Keys, Part One) and Digital Unrest (No Avoiding It). Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
