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Jun 20

E3 2010: Best Upcoming Game Releases

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, recently took place on June 14th through the 17th. E3 is an event for the computer and video game industry in which developers present their upcoming games and game-related hardware. There were quite a few exciting game announcements this year along with new hardware from both Microsoft and Nintendo. Here are some of the best games that were featured at E3 2010.

Halo: Reach

The latest, and potentially the last, Halo release from Bungie is Halo: Reach. This game’s storyline is a prequel to all of the previous Halo games. The UNSC is waging war against the Covenant, and almost all of humanity’s colonies have fallen except Reach. Players will control Noble 6, a member of a team of Spartans, during the battle for Reach.

We’ve already seen the multiplayer from the beta preview this spring, which was already very polished and exciting. New features include single use equipment being replaced by reusable and persistent armor abilities such as active camo, a jetpack, sprinting, and armor lock. From the E3 trailer it was shown that there will be at least some spaceship battles during the campaign, which is a surprising change from Bungie.

As seen in ODST, Reach will feature the latest Firefight version, which has been announced to have matchmaking support. There will be more customization of what types of enemies and waves can be seen, and a new weapon called the target locator, which allows airstrikes to be called in by the UNSC. Halo: Reach is set to debut on September 14th, 2010.

Rock Band 3

The latest Rock Band game may be the most advanced music game created thus far. Harmonix is trying to bridge the gap between video games and real music instruments by creating a new playable keyboard and also a stringed guitar to mimic real instruments and teach players real music skills. Rock Band 3 will feature a new “Pro” mode, which players will use when playing with the realistic instruments. The Squier Stratocaster six string guitar will be the featured Rock Band 3 controller. Players can connect the new controller to PCs and create music on their own, and also it will come with audio outputs that allow users to connect the guitar up to an amplifier and play music.

As for the other details, there will be 83 songs released with Rock Band 3, and all previous content from the first two games and DLC will still be playable. Somewhat as expected, there are updated graphics and players have more customization over their characters and the game. As of now exact dates are not set, but look for this game to come out sometime this winter.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Since the release of Modern Warfare, any following Call of Duty game has and will be receiving a lot of press. The new installment is being developed by Treyarch, which is the less successful of the two CoD development teams (the other is Infinity Ward). Black Ops is a sequel to World at War which is set during the Cold War. Players will be involved with missions behind enemy lines in locations such as Vietnam.

Black Ops will feature some new equipment, such as a scoped cross bow weapon similar to the Gears of War torque bow. The soldiers will also be able to fight with choppers and other types of aircraft. Treyarch has announced that along with the usual game modes, there will be a four player online co-op mode available. Black Ops releases November 9th, 2010.

Gears of War 3

The third installment of Gears of War picks up eighteen months after the previous game. One of the main new features will be a 4 player story based co-op mode. There will also be new playable female gears. Anya Stroud, who was the team’s control officer in the first two games, is now joining the battle along with Jace Stratton. The picture on the right is concept art of Anya. It’s an awesome picture so you should click it to view full size. Combat will feature mutating enemies and new equipment such as a double-barreled shotgun, Lancer with a bayonet instead of a chainsaw, and incendiary grenades.

There will be a new mode called Beast, which is the opposite of Horde Mode from Gears 2. Players are now the fighting on the Locust side, combating the COG. Killing enemies earns you tokens, which can be used to upgrade your class. Gears 3 isn’t set to release until April 5th, 2011.

Honorable Mentions

The list of games featured at E3 is way too many than I can discuss in this post. Here are some other games that were featured and will probably be worth playing once they are released:

Portal 2
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Goldeneye 007
Fable III
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Feb 14

Have a ‘Lost’ Valentine’s Day

In celebration of Valentine’s Day this year, I’d like to share with everyone some special cards based on the TV show “Lost”. If you know any die-hard fans of the show out there, these would fit the occasion well for you. If somehow you aren’t aware of the show, or the fact that it is completely insane and the fans are even more insane…here’s a quick intro. “Lost” is an adventure/drama/science fiction/everything else type of show on ABC that is now in its sixth and final season. The concepts and plot-line to the show are very convoluted and it is almost impossible to start watching anywhere but season one. However, if you have the patience to start from the pilot, and the mental capacity to remember everything that is happening, it’s a really interesting show. Onto the cards…

This first one is of Jack, the main character, in his drunken state once he has left the island and is trying to go back. Spoiler?…too bad.

This second card is of Sayid, who is the tech expert on the island and helps discover Rousseau’s distress call in season one.

As for sources of these pictures, the link is in both of the pictures, so it should be pretty self-explanatory. Also to note, you can click on the pictures for a larger version. This is the case for most pictures that I will post.

Jul 29

Comic-Con 2009: Top 10 Costumes

Now that Comic-Con 2009 from San Diego is over, the pictures that everyone took while there are starting to hit the web. This event has evolved into more of a large costume display party rather than somewhere to go to get information about comics, games, upcoming movies, or anything else you can find there. However, this isn’t always a bad thing, since it provides some great pictures with people in them ranging from those who spent way too many hours designing their costume, to the ones who will look sexy impersonating any superhero or character out there.

Instead of displaying hundreds of pictures I’ve gone through many sources and have filtered out what I believe to be the top 10 costumes from this summer’s Comic-Con. I’ve tried to get a decent variety and (mostly) avoid the common costumes such as stormtroopers, trekkies, princess leia, etc.

#10 – Killzone Guys