The Land of ESH

ESH Podcast Episode # 297: I’m In It For the Gadgets — Health Is Just a Bonus

Go Go Gadget Gym membership?! Monday has tuned come full circle and has brought a new morsel of awesomeness with it. That’s right a brand new ESH Podcast. Ninja and Panda are on some the “health wellness” tip these days, talking about incorporating more health related activities into their gaming lives. Panda attempts quasi visits […]

Episode CXLIII: The E3 Texas Hold ‘Em

The King returns from LA…

This week the B3 crew gather around for another edition of “Guess Who Died This Week?” and Chapter 63 of the MBTA “Oh, For Fuck’s Sake!” KBD shares his thoughts and favorites about this year’s E3, Anvil gives his weekly sports report, and another discussion about the movie Goon is raised.

It’s all plugged in here in Episode 143: The E3 Texas Hold ‘Em!

E3 2012 | The Last of Us Leaves Lasting Impression.

Naughty Dog has been known to bring us treasures like: Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter and the Uncharted triology. Their lastest project, Last of Us will join that list shortly. Initially when the world saw its first glimpse of Last of Us, many were quick to write it off as an Uncharted game with a […]

ESH Podcast Episode # 295: No Animals Were Harmed In the Making of This Podcast

We won’t have to worry about the animal rights groups this time! Pandalicious and Ninjasistah survived the red eye flight back home to the Land of ESH. Tired and jet lagged, they still managed to muster up enough voice to start their E3 Wrap Up podcast. In this first part, the sistahs talk about what […]

Disney’s Mascot Looking To Repeat Its "Epic" Gaming Adventure

When we last left the beloved Disney mascot in Epic Mickey, peace was restored in the Wastelands, and Mickey had returned home, leaving the brush behind. Now it seems that destruction has returned, and the Mouse is needed again to save the Wastelands. This time, you will have a little bit more help in the form of a familiar rabbit.

In Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, one or two players can take control of Mickey and Oswald, as they take on the dark world yet again. Like before Mickey can use the magic brush to either create or destroy the worlds around him, while Oswald can use a magic remote to tackle monsters along the way. The players can also use double-team maneuvers, such as throwing each other up into the air to each higher areas and a helicopter maneuver that Oswald can use while Mickey grabs hold of his legs.

In the E3 demo I started things off by jumping through my TV after hearing Gus’s cries of help, landing in Yen Sid’s lair and grabbing the magic brush. I then returned to Mickey’s house, where I discovered a secret room hidden behind Mickey’s living room. I soon found myself jumping through one of the magic screens, leading me to one of the side-scrolling levels.

It is in the side-scrolling level where I am reunited with Oswald (voiced by Frank Welker), where he and I discover our new techniques. After reaching the end of the level, we found ourselves in a boss battle against a cog-filled dragon. In order to defeat it, we first had to suck the paint off its body while defending ourselves against his fiery breath and minions. Soon after we had to take out his buzz-saw-styled tail while avoiding its smash ‘n’ slice maneuvers. Finally, after a set of stairs were revealed, we found ourselves eliminating three pillars to cause the ceiling to topple on top of the dragon.

For my experience I gave Epic Mickey 2 a try on the Xbox 360, which was a bit of a hassle at first seeing as I was used to playing it on the Wii. Here the right stick is used to aim the paint or thinner, with its camera system automatically focusing on the action needed to be seen. It took some getting used to, but once I had the handle of it the gameplay got a lot easier.

As it’s being released on all the consoles, the graphics have been given a massive overhaul. It’s still wonderfully dark, a much needed contrast to the colorful world of Disney. Also new to the game is the addition of voice-acting and CGI cutscenes, a welcoming change compared to the weird Flash animation and adult Peanuts speak from before.

Fans of Disney will be happy when this game drops on all three systems on November 18. Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is so far looking to keep to the true spirit of its predecessor. The magic is still intact from what I’ve seen, so there is plenty of reason to get your Mickey Mouse Club membership renewed.

E3 2012 | Tomb Raider Reboot Keeps Getting Better

Each time I have had a chance to look at gameplay from Square Enix/Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider prequel, the girl child in me does “the dance of joy.” At the Microsoft Media Briefing this morning, I was treated to another demo of game visuals and gameplay mechanics that solidified my pre-order intentions for the game. […]

E3 2012 | Workin’ Out Was Never This Fun!: Zumba, Fitness Core

Party your way to a better you! With the introduction of the Kinect (from Microsoft), Playstation Move (from Sony), and Wii Motion (from Nintendo) there has been a massive surge in the number of games in the fitness genre. Many of these games are designed to appeal to the healthier side of life. Many gamers […]

Microsoft’s E3 ’12 Briefing: The Good, The Bad, And The Wha?

Today Microsoft unveiled many games, projects, apps, and various other paraphernalia at their E3 briefing. While there was much pomp and circumstance to be had for what was next for the Xbox 360, there were some moments in the presentation that just seemed kinda on the “meh” side of things. Here now are just some of the highlights, the lowlights, and the shoulder shrugs of the Microsoft show.

THE GOOD:

Halo 4 – Many a Microsoft fanboy have been waiting patiently for the next adventure of Master Chief, and its trailer (mixing both some impressive live-action footage with in-game moments) had many people salivating. The forest and creatures you will be gunning down — not to mention the scary skeleton-faced robot — all seemed like it was brought to a whole new level of detail not seen on Xbox currently. As soon as the trailer ended, with Master Chief surrounded by these freaks of nature, not a single person in the audience held in their excitement.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist – At first glance I wasn’t sure which game it was, until Sam Fischer’s trademark attacks came full force after bringing in an injured insurgent. The shooting, the climbing, and even the tactics shown off in this demonstration showcased what Ubisoft Toronto is capable of when it comes to bringing something new to this beloved franchise. The voice recognition used via Kinect also looked interesting, and it also brought a bit of a laugh when it came to getting a terrorist’s attention.

Tomb Raider – How reboots should be done. This action-packed demo had Lara Croft shooting fiery arrows at enemies, stabbing them in the throats with knives, unleashing painful traps, rolling through the rapids, and swerving through trees on your parachute. Don’t be surprised if this new Tomb Raider gets slapped with an M-rating, though, as the blood and gore factor has been jacked up for this release.

South Park: The Stick Of Truth – Tears of laughter rolled through the aisles as the video preview showcased how a proper cartoon-based video game should be made. You create your own character, and travel through the Colorado town battling underpants gnomes, Woodland Critters, crab people, and other creatures familiar to the South Park world, all with the show’s trademark and often controversial humor. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone stole the show with their appearance, poking good fun of the briefing itself and expressing how amazed they were by Obsidian’s work on making the game look exactly like the TV show.

THE BAD:

Gears of War: Judgement – For some reason what should’ve been a fireworks display for this popular series instead turned out to be nothing more than one of those dumb little sparklers that you give to kids. The trailer just didn’t seem to do much justice for what Epic Games wanted to show off, especially when it came to Baird’s reveal. Perhaps we can blame this one on the lack of preparation. And seriously, does everyone need to use that A Perfect Circle track?!

Not enough emphasis on games – Throughout the 90-minute presentation, it felt like less than half of it was focused on what people came to E3 for: video games. Sure these apps and devices like Nike+ and SmartGlass seem cool, but to be honest most of us didn’t come here to see how we can watch TV in a different way; we want to see a unique way to play our titles.

Xbox Music – We already have too many music programs, from iTunes and Spotify to Pandora and various radio station apps. We don’t need another one, Microsoft!

Xbox lacks a big newcomer – It’s great seeing many of our favorite game heroes and anti-heroes alike making their return to grace, but there wasn’t a brand-spanking new title that was showcased that had us on our feet clamoring for it. Yes, it was cool seeing Twisted Pixel’s LocoCycle and Matter (a new game from Gore Verbinski), but I was really looking forward to maybe seeing one new title with a new character that would have people turning their heads.

THE WHA?:

Fable: The Journey – We’ve only heard snippets about this Kinect title, but the trailer showed today brought more questions than they did answer. Is it a first-person experience? Can we conjure up different powers depending on class? Do you maneuver through it like in Rise of Nightmares or is it in a rail-shooter style? Here’s hoping the convention itself will bring us everything we need to know about Lionhead Studio’s latest. Hey, at least it looks better than Fable Heroes.

Forza Horizon – Yes, the game looks impressive, but we’ve already got too many racing games out there. And didn’t we just get Forza 4 a few months back? Give us racing fans a bit of breathing room, not to mention a chance for our wallets to get a tad bigger, before dropping another game like this.

Usher’s impromptu concert – I’ll admit this was cool, but are we expected to believe that we are going to be able to dance like Usher in Dance Central 3, flips and all? Great presentation, but it probably won’t convince gamers who have cast dancing games to the side for some real hardcore gaming.

The “acting” on stage by presenters – I was going to put this one under “The Bad,” but I honestly found it funny how some of the people on stage couldn’t fake excitement to save their lives. Their hearts were in it, for sure, but you can obviously tell they were reading from the teleprompter behind the floor audience. Practice makes perfect, Microsoft. Do yourselves a favor and throw in a couple more dress rehearsals for good measure next year.

What about you? Share your thoughts on the presentation below! What made your jaw drop from either excitement or yawning?

Quantic Dream Announces "Beyond: Two Souls"

The team that brought together the breathtaking Heavy Rain is out to do it again with its latest title…

At the Sony E3 Press Conference this evening Quantic Dream’s David Cage unveiled Beyond: Two Souls, a PS3-exclusive game starring Ellen Page (Juno, Inception) as Jodie Holmes, a woman with a connection to what happens after we die. Told over the course of fifteen years, Beyond: Two Souls is looking to add onto the cinematic atmosphere that made Heavy Rain such a hit amongst fans and critics, as your actions and decisions will determine the fate of Ms. Holmes while the game progresses.

While no release date was announced, you can bet that it will probably be sometime in 2013 before you’ll be able to go hands-on with it.

ESH Podcast # 294: E3 or Bust

It’s E3 or Nothing! Another monday is here and so is a new episode of the ESH podcast. E3 has rolled around again and the sistahs are in Los Angeles to cover the event for you. Aren’t they nice! They aren’t their by themselves, KingBabyDuck joins the ESH Podcast this week and the LA visit. […]