E3 2012: Nintendo Direct Pre-E3 Video: Wii U Gamepad Revealed

 

Nintendo is rolling out a redesigned (well, final design, actually) and renamed controller for its upcoming console (which is still called Wii U, by the way), the Wii U Gamepad.The video also reveals a new social network service, Miiverse, which seems to be set up as a cross between a social site, chat service and help center. It should be interesting to see how this operates for those potential Wii U buyers who have no need for the service or don’t want their kids using a network at all. That said, I’m certain Nintendo has security measures in place to keep things as safe as can be.

As their official press conference isn’t until Tuesday, a price point for the console and controller have yet to be announced. No doubt this will be leaked before the event but the gremlins, but expect the internet to collapse upon itself like a dying star system once the new games are rolled out one by one.  Oh, this is going to be quite an interesting week, that’s for sure…

E3 2012: Two From Atlus: Zeno Clash II & The Testament of Sherlock Holmes

Like plenty of publishers these days, Atlus has been diversifying its games lineup for a while now with unique games in assorted genres outside the ones they’re know for in the US. Here are trailers to two titles from their lineup, one a sequel to a PC, PSN and Xbox Live Arcade fighter/action/shooter hybrid (that i REALLY wish would be put on a disc with the first part so MORE can play it) and the latest in the Sherlock Holmes game series ported from PC (which has ZERO to do with that bizarre BBC show everyone seems to like save for Holmes purists). Oh yeah, my Game of Thrones review will be up once all the E3 madness subsides, it’s not as bad as some sites are saying… you just need a great deal of patience and not mind at all that the game takes itself REALLY seriously (for the most part)…

Update: Dragon’s Dogma: The Game That Just Keeps On Giving!

OK, how many times did YOU defeat that Ur-Dragon? Did you find all those hidden in plain sight storerooms and dungeon entrances? Did you get the Salvation Key the first time through and explore those areas you thought you couldn’t access? I’m stopping my second playthrough about 12 hours or so in to do some E3 stuff, but, as noted in my review, this game is MASSIVE. Capcom has a definite keeper here and I sort of wish I hadn’t truncated my review so much (I didn’t want to spoil so much of the wild second chunk of the game that opens up when you get into a certain location). Anyway, if you’re looking for a game that’s going to surprise you as much a hundred hours in as it does the first hour, DD is worth that $60. I’d buy a sequel in a heartbeat, provided a few tweaks are made. Change #1: the button for giving someone a gift should NOT be the same one for a basic attack. The only times my character went to jail were due to accidentally hitting someone I wanted to give a present after closing the dialog too quickly. Yeah, it my fault, but I’ve heard of others doing it, so I’m not the only klutz with a controller out there….