Source: Kotaku

Source: Giant Bomb / Kotaku

Source: Engadget / SGN

Let’s get a few things out of the way. Will OnLive replace traditional PC gaming for hardcore PC gamers? No. If you have the hardware that can handle these games, there are few reasons to spend the monthly subscription fee just to gain access to games you can already run. Is OnLive for people who love having a physical copy of the game? If you absolutely must have the game’s box on your shelf, lined up with all the others, then move along. This is purely cloud-based and anyone leery of owning a game for as long as they subscribe to the service need not apply. For someone like me, an avid gamer, who has often lamented my Mac’s gaming Achilles heel, the service is a no-brainer. My first reaction after installing the application was “Oh my God, it works!”

After a year of naysayers, decrying OnLive to be too far ahead of its time, I was pleasantly surprised to see Borderlands, running on my old Macbook. The specs of my Macbook run down like this:

While it’s more than adequate for running my day-to-day chores, my Macbook has always been a writing laptop first and a gaming laptop a far distant second. Valve’s recent embrace of the Mac lead to some heartbreak as, time and time again, I found my Mac unable to run games like Portal. With OnLive it looks like things are finally about to change. Anyone who knows about computer hardware will see that integrated-graphics processor as a real stumbling block when it comes to gaming. Without something a little beefier, this Macbook isn’t going to get very far.  That’s why it was such a treat to see games like Dirt 2 running and my computer’s fans hadn’t even come on.

Like any relationship, things aren’t always perfect. Currently, OnLive requires a hard-wired connection to the internet which means no wi-fi. At first, I thought I could just log-in, see what games were on offer, and deal with any lag caused by my wireless. That’s a no-go. OnLive won’t even start until you’re tethered directly to your router. As someone who lives wirelessly 99.9% of the time, I know I’ll be less inclined to relocate my whole computer set-up just to play. But I realize I could easily be in a very small minority when it comes to this. For most people, this will be a non-issue. But it’s worth noting in case some users are truly unable to access a hard-wired connection. OnLive asserts its “technology does indeed work well with good quality Wi-Fi connections” but doesn’t plan on releasing that functionality “once OnLive is better established”.

Since it was first announced, people have worried that latency would be an issue. Latency, or lag, is a constancy concern for any online gaming experience. Latency occurs when there is a spans of time between the player’s input such as firing a weapon and the results occurring in the game. In an online match, for example, lag could be the difference between life or death. OnLive has built servers around the country to cut down on the distance between your machine and its servers. The shorter the distance and the stronger your internet connection, the better it gets. In fact, unlike most discussions of PC gaming, OnLive is less about your computer’s hardware strength than it is the strength of your connection to the internet. In my time, I have yet to experience any extreme latency issues. My inputs have been mirrored in the game world faithfully. While playing Borderlands, for example, I have tested the time it’s taken for my to left-click to fire my weapon and the time my gun actually fired bullets. The time was nearly indistinguishable. I say nearly because while OnLive’s servers are doing an incredible job of translating and moving all this data, it’s merely a nanosecond behind what you would expect if playing the game directly from the disc. However, for me it quickly fell into the realm beyond “good enough” and I easily adjusted and forgot all about how the game was getting to me and just played.

The selection in the Marketplace is somewhat limited at the moment but OnLive promises more is on the way. I was annoyed to see Mass Effect 2 is only available to OnLive users connecting through a PC. I’m unsure who was behind this but the beauty of OnLive is that it is hardware agnostic yet even in the remote reaches of the cloud, the school-yard fight between Apple and Microsoft persists. It’s a shame. I’m also hoping the pricing sees some more restructuring. Players can purchase a three-day or five-day rental of some titles for $3.99 or $8.99 respectively. But not all games are available for rental. I wish there was more consistency in the pricing and availability. Full price purchases are often at the standard MSRP of $59.99. Hopefully, OnLive takes a cue from Valve and embraces the wonders of Steam Sales. The advantage of online gaming over brick and mortar retail will always be its ability to drop prices as it does not need to deal with overheads, shelf space, etc.

Other features such as the Arena which allows users to drop in and spectate on other player’s games are a fun distraction and seem more like a crowd-pleaser to show off an “ooh and ahh” factor of the service. OnLive is going to continue rolling out across the United States. The service is, at the moment, only offered in America but Perlman has expressed an interest to expand to other countries. Expect more impressions as my time with OnLive continues.

Nintendo Games

The first-party offerings kept coming and coming. Gone were the Wii Musics and Wii Plays of the world and, in their place, Nintendo strutted out the hardcore titles center stage.

The Legend of Zelda – Skyward Sword
Zelda creator and Videogame Godfather, Shigeru Miyamoto started off the event and demonstrated the next Legend of Zelda. Skyward Sword is the first entry in the series since 2006′s Twilight Princess and the first completely developed specifically for the Wii. Skyward Sword utilizes the Wii Motion Plus add-on, providing a closer 1-to-1 representation of Link’s swordplay. The on-stage demo suffered from a few technical hiccups, but E3 attendees vouched for the game as being free of issues. No specific date was given but Nintendo assured fans to expect the game sometime in 2011.

Mario Sports Mix
Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom cohorts have made their way into all manner of sports titles including basketball, baseball, golf, and tennis. Mario Sports Mix is a collection of other sports titles that might not stand on their own as a full game and have thus been put together in one collection. Ice & beach hockey, volleyball, and more are all given the Nintendo remix treatment incudling power-ups and other arcade gameplay breathe new life into these games. Coming in 2011.

Donkey Kong Country Returns
Since closing the book on its Metroid Prime trilogy, Austin developer Retro Studios has gone silent regarding its next creation. Fans of the Donkey Kong Country series from the Super Nintendo days were, no doubt, elated to see Retro is leaving Samus behind in favor of Nintendo’s trademark ape. There’s plenty of vine-swinging, barrel shooting, and banana hoarding abound in what’s sure to become Retro’s next masterpiece. After the way Retro handled Metroid, it’s exciting to see them take a chance on a platformer. Luckily, we won’t have to wait very long. Donkey Kong Country Returns drops during the Holiday Season of 2010.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn
Elements of LittleBigPlanet’s tape-and-string aesthetic combined with Nintendo’s trademark charm make up the first official Wii outing for Kirby. Masahiro Sakurai, creator of Super Smash Bros, created a new company known as Sora. This is the studio’s first release. Gameplay is a mix of platforming and fabric-based mechanics. Kirby is composed of yarn, the word is made up of felt and other fabrics. The art design is incredibly unique and the gameplay looks to offer some clever twists. Nintendo did an amazing job keeping this under the radar, Kirby’s Epic Yarn launches this holiday season.

Third Party Games

Many have argued that third party games don’t succeed on Nintendo platforms. It’s hard to argue third parties haven’t had a hard time on Wii but there’s certainly an audience. While this E3 didn’t exactly buck this trend, Nintendo did manage to put a few third party games into the spotlight.

Goldeneye
Fond memories of the split-screen multiplayer of days gone by came flooding back as Nintendo and Activision showed off a debut trailer for the Wii-exclusive Goldeneye. The game looks to be a re-imagining of the original Nintendo64 classic with added features such as online multiplayer (along with classic split-screen) and the delightfully British Daniel Craig. Goldeneye ships in the last half of 2010.

Epic Mickey
Bold, bizarre, and above all, brave in its use of the Disney license, Epic Mickey took the stage for a hands-on demo. The producers showed off some of the game’s mechanics including the paint mechanics. Players can choose between painting the world to overcome obstacles, or use paint thinner to eliminate them. The tone of the game is a strange change for Disney. It’s exciting to see them breathing new life into a character who’s more than 80 years old. The demo concluded with a 2-D platforming section. Much of the game is a third-person action/platformer but the producers showed off the Steamboat Willie level, a throwback to Mickey’s first cartoon. The art-style changed to the old black and white to mimic Mickey’s inaugural outing. The creators are set to debut Epic Mickey sometime later this year.

Nintendo 3DS

Hardware is always a show-stopper at E3 and Nintendo knows this. Smoke and fog flooded the Nintendo stage as the Nintendo 3DS, atop a rising pedestal, made its debut. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata unveiled the company’s next portable device. The Nintendo 3DS is the next evolution for the Nintendo DS line. It’s not an upgraded version ala the DSi. Instead, the 3DS is a completely new device with design characteristics similar to its predecessor. The device has two screens, the bottom is touch-sensitive. The top screen, however, is wider and employs a new kind of 3D technology. Without the use of glasses, Nintendo 3DS creates a 3D effect giving added depth and dimension to the next generation of handheld gaming. Unfortunately, Nintendo did not divulge a final release date or price but all will be known before the end of the company’s fiscal year, March 2011.

The device also sported three cameras, one on the inside for self-portraits and two lenses on the outside for 3D photographs. Yes, with the 3DS players can take their own pictures and have them project in 3D.

Other changes to the hardware include an analog stick-like device Nintendo called a “Slide Pad” above the directional pad. While Nintendo was mum on specifics, but the system is also more powerful than the original DS. Also included in the system are an accelerometer and gyroscope to implement some motion-controlled gaming. A slider along the top-screen increased or decreased the severity  of the 3D effect. Lastly, Nintendo gave some cryptic details on the added wifi features which seem to be looking for connections even while the system is closed. The implications of this are, as of now, only theoretical until developers get their hands on the device and find exciting ways to implement this technology into their games.

Games

A new system is nothing without some games to show it off. Nintendo’s big reveal was a love-letter to nostalgic fans as they unveiled Kid Icarus: Uprising. Kid Icarus hasn’t seen a game of his own in over twenty years despite making an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Gameplay is a mix of aerial combat along with third-person action/adventure platforming.

Other games announced included:

• Dj Hero 3D
• Nintendogs + Cats
• 3D Remakes of Star Fox 64 and The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater “The Naked Sample”
• Resident Evil Revelations
• Mario Kart
• Animal Crossing
• Paper Mario
• Pilot Wings Resort
• Super Street Fighter IV

and many many more.

Nintendo listened to fans who felt somewhat unloved by the company’s new-found affinity for the casual gamer. The company proved it’s still capable of delivering a mix of hardcore nostalgia alongside games that cater to any taste. Kirby’s Epic Yarn was quite a surprise. A game that’s infectiously cute yet still looks grounded in tried-and-true mechanics. With all of the games announced combined with the one-two punch of new hardware, Nintendo set the bar incredibly high this year.

Miss the event? Watch it here courtesy of G4.

Source: Kotaku

E3 has officially started and Microsoft is leading the charge by having the first keynote press event of the week. The doors of the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles opened to the gaming press as Microsoft kicked things off. Here are the main highlights from today’s event:

Project Natal becomes Kinect

After showing off its motion-sensing camera at last year’s E3, Microsoft has finally renamed the code-worded Project Natal and given it an official name “Kinect”. Kinect will be shipping this Fall on November 4th 2010. Microsoft did not disclose prices but retailer Gamestop has updated its Kinect page, pricing the peripheral at $149.

Kinect uses a series of cameras to track movement and motion in real-time and space. Essentially, the cameras allow for controller-less gaming and menu navigation. Some of the non-gaming related capabilities showed off include Xbox-Dashboard navigation, voice control (say “Xbox, play Music” and it starts playing) and Video Kinect. Video Kinect is a video-chatting service working in conjunction with MSN Messenger.

Kinect will launch with 15 titles this Fall. Some of those titles include:

Kinectimals – A virtual pet game with tigers, lions, and possible bears (oh my).

Kinect Sports – It is exactly like it sounds. Microsoft isn’t mincing words when going after the casual Wii audience. Kinect Sports includes track & field activities, bowling, soccer, ping pong, boxing, and volleyball.

Kinect Adventures – Another minigame collection which includes some non-athletic events. One game demo included two players on a runaway river raft.

Joyride – A kart-style racer with Kinect controls. Put your hands at 10 and 2, and mime driving. The system can track your movements if you turn your hands- the wheel in the game turns.

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved – Ubisoft is trying to take a slice of the Nintendo-fitness pie. Yoga, strength training, and more are all possible, without the need for a balance board or controller.

Dance Central – One part Dance Dance Revolution combined with elements from Wii’s Let’s Dance. Dance Central, from the makers of Rock Band.

ESPN

ESPN has partnered with Microsoft to join the other services already available such as Netflix, Facebook, and Twitter. ESPN will be bringing over 3500 events per year to XboxLive subscribers. Thankfully, all of this will be coming at no additional cost to XboxLive Gold members.

New Model

An all-new model of the XBOX360 is shipping TODAY and will be in stores by the end of the week! The new model is about 20% smaller and said to be “whisper quiet”. The console also finally ships with built-in wifi and a 250GB hard drive.

Game Demos

Fable III
which ships on October 26th 2010.

Metal Gear Solid: Rising
Hideo Kojima unveiled the first gameplay footage of the next entry in the MGS series. It looks like a crazy mix of hack-and-slash action gameplay combined with Kojima’s trademark sense of humor.

Cliff Bleszinski from Epic showed off Gears of War 3 coming in 2011.

The creators of Forza showed off a Kinect-controlled racing game.

Lucas Art’s debuted a Kinect light-saber Star Wars game.

Video & Wrap-up
Miss the Microsoft event? Watch the video below courtesy of G4.

Overall, not a bad way to kick-off E3 Week! It’s interesting to see Microsoft going so hard after the Nintendo casual crowed with Kinect. Minigames aside, it’s nice to see some “bigger” games supporting it. How those titles will turn out is still up in the air. The branding behind Kinect makes sense; a mix of ‘connect’ with the ‘kinetic’ movement of the camera system itself. It’s surely to be a hit with kids and families. On the flip-side, it’s nice to see ESPN partnering to bring some sports content. It rounds out the console’s experience and provides a greater breadth of entertainment options. Also, it seems Microsoft finally got its act together, made like it was 2005, and dropped some wifi into the console!

Source: Kotaku

Today via his Twitter account, Associate Editor at Game Informer Philip Kollar announced the cover story for the July issue is the reveal of Infamous 2. The sequel to 2009′s open-world superhero sleeper hit, Infamous 2 looks to be bringing back more of the trademark lightning powers, morality mechanics, and sandbox goodness. Game Informer reports developer Sucker Punch “hopes to raise the bar even higher.” Coming with the sequel are “A new look for hero Cole MacGrath… a new city, new powers, and a powerful new foe…” There’s certainly more Infamous 2 news to be had as E3 is mere days away. Like its predecessor, Infamous 2 looks to be a PS3-only affair. Game Informer subscribers can expect to read all about in July’s issue.

Source: Game Informer

The Gnomon Gallery in Hollywood is known for putting on exhibits that highlight video game art and conceptual work having just recently displayed works by the famed talent behind Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 2..

“The Art of God of War” is set to debut Saturday, May 29th.

Source: Kotaku

Additionally, Sony and HBO promise the rollout of shows such as The Sopranos, Sex & The City, The Wire, Rome, Da Ali G Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Flight of the Conchords.

This news comes hot on the heels of the ever-churning E3 rumor mill. Many sources are predicting Sony is set to unveil a premium Playstation Network service known as PSN+ during it’s June keynote. According to rumors, Sony will offer bonus content and perks while retaining the free-to-play online model for all users.

The features being thrown around include early access to demos, exclusive deals on Playstation Network titles, exclusive DLC, discounts on the Playstation Store, and more. Some have even speculated the PSN+ service will finally give players the ability to cross-game chat, a feature for which many have been clamoring.

While there is no known pricing, Joystiq reports a source which speculates the service could cost as much as $9.99 per month. At that rate, Sony is set to more than double the annual cost of an online service compared to Microsoft’s XboxLive Gold which costs $49.99 a year.

Source: cnet / Joystiq

However, once the ten days are up the one-time use code must be entered and, for consumers who have purchased the title used, a $10 fee is added to gain access to the Online Pass. The news has evoked some strong reactions from the gaming community. In an attempt to stifle reservations about the move, head of EA Sports Peter Moore stated, “This is an important inflection point in our business, because it allows us to accelerate our commitment to enhance premium online services to the entire robust EA Sports online community.”

Many have argued that this model is not a slight against gamers and more of an aggressive act against used games sales. Essentially, gamers who buy EA Sports titles new will see no difference. For those who buy it used- be prepared to pony up the extra ten bucks. How this will work for lending a game to a friend is yet to be made clear but the ten-day trial period looks to be an attempt at solving that issue.

For more information on Online Pass, EA has set up a dedicated FAQ page here.

Source: Gamasutra