E3 Hyperlinks

Many things to report from E3.

Microsoft was first up with the press conferences. It had a solid showing of upcoming games, such as Lost Odyssey and many US/European games, as well as a surprise sneak preview of Resident Evil 5, slated for a 2008 release.

Nintendo had a less stellar conference, mostly repeating their mantra of expanded gaming. It did, however, show off a solid build of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, which showed great promise of its first person controls. Nintendo also showed off a teaser for Mario Kart Wii, with full online multiplayer, and a showed off two new controller peripherals, the Zapper (used for games such as Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles) and the steering wheel shell. Most interesting was the announcement of Wii Fit which should be a huge hit for Nintendo, much like its other non-games.

Sony had a mostly Western-games-focused showing, but did present the PSP redesign, as well as more Home announcements. It was also the scene of the new Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer, still insisting that it is (for now) a PlayStation 3 exclusive.

Overall, it was a solid E3, focused this time 'round on software, since all the systems were now released. Despite the chaos of the new E3, it mostly went smoothly. Check out some of the links below for an in-depth look at new games and announcements.

Super Mario Galaxy Hands-On @ IGN
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Hands-On @ IGN
RE: Umbrella Chronicles Hands-On @ Wired
Zack and Wiki Hands-On @ Wired
Mario and Sonic at the Olympics @ IGN
Wii Fit Announced
PSP Redesign Hands-On

Dragon Quest Creator Discusses DQ Swords

Discussing at length his Wii project, Yuji Horii has written up an entry in Wii.com's "Creator's Voice." Posted a few days ago on the Japanese website, Horii goes through the development cycle of Dragon Quest Swords from its humble beginnings after seeing the Wii's development kits, receiving the support from Nintendo on how to manage the finer points of motion control, to fine tuning the gameplay to enable players of all skill levels to enjoy the game.

Noteworthy snippets of information found within the essay are that segments of town exploration are not on rails like the battlefield. These areas are controlled using the d-pad of the Wii remote. Horii always wanted the freedom of movement during town sequences, and had thoughts on using the analog control of the nunchuk. But seeing as though that may hinder the motion controls of sword swings, he decided on a "Simple Is Best" control scheme of just the Wii remote.

Also, players will find a feature called the "Pointer Lock," in which one can lock-on to an enemy using the A button, and proceed to slash the Wii remote to attack the monster. This was to counteract erroneous motion controls by having the player learn where to lock-on to before attacking the enemy. According to Horii, gamers will find through practice that the motion control will become second nature without the Pointer Lock.

DQ Swords looks like a game that could appeal to a wide range of players, with its engaging play style and Dragon Quest pedigree. Unfortunately, a date has not yet been set for release overseas, but here's hoping for that to change soon.

Go check the site for some new bite-sized gameplay videos, which are linked in blue text throughout the essay.

Website for Mistwalker's ASH opens

Mistwalker's DS debut, ASH - Archaic Sealed Heat, has just opened its official website, hosted by Nintendo of Japan. Currently it is just a teaser site, with a Flash logo, and rousing music by Hitoshi Sakimoto playing in the background.

As usual with Sakimoto's talent, who has previously worked on Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, it has that celtic mixed with medieval sound. Here's hoping for a killer soundtrack.

IGN reported on this news, but missed mentioning that in the subtitle of the game, it states that it is a "Single Player Specific Simulation RPG." This almost means that, as is usual for Sakaguchi's work, it is a single-player focused game, and that it may end up not having any multi-player elements. We'll find out for certain at a later time.

With the website opening up on the eve of E3, here's hoping that it will appear at the event in some form, playable or not. It has been far too long since we heard anything about this title.

Check it out!

-bilingual gamer- begins.

I had so much time on my hands that I was getting more and more depressed and unmotivated. The more time that I spent doing nothing, the more and more uncreative I became. This had to stop. I needed to do something. Something meaningful and helpful. And I had a much-needed voice in the community. I was so sick of sites using machine translations of Japanese articles, always crude attempts at trying to make sense of the content. At first, these translations seemed humorous, a debauchery of language. But after awhile, it just needed to stop. The grass was greener on my side. I was lucky enough to spend about half each of my life in Japan and an English-language country. Both lines of blood coursed through my veins, and both spheres of culture bubbled inside my mind. So I finally made the decision, for once and for all, to begin this project, and that it wouldn't end haphazardly like the others. I have a passion for the industry, and I have a passion for language. I would combine these two, and create something meaningful and helpful to others and myself. It was also timely to begin a site such as this, as E3 is beginning this week, so I would have plenty of material to start on. To everyone who happens upon this page, I welcome you all, and hope you stay.