I feel bad for Nintendo. Their press conference had an abysmal display of the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. They couldn’t get anything to work correctly, and the Internet ate them alive for it.

I took it upon myself to determine whether or not their debacle on stage was legitimate interference, or poor design. I’m happy to report that LoZ: SS isn’t only one of the best looking games on the Wii, but it works perfectly.

Now, my childhood dream of controlling sword and shield independently is coming closer to fruition. Read more… »

When Q Entertainment’s Ninety Nine Nights debuted in 2006, it was met with a decidedly lukewarm reception. A frenetic hack-and-slash that borrowed perhaps a little too liberally from mainstays in the genre like Kingdom Under Fire and Dynasty Warriors, the game suffered from maladies as varied as camera issues, collision detection quirks, and utterly unforgiving gaps between checkpoints.

With Ninety Nine Nights II playable on the E3’10 show floor, it’s understandable that the developers would want to put an enthusiastic and optimistic face on the latest iteration in their franchise. With boasts of deep strategic depth and an increased number of enemies to combat on screen ringing in my ears, I nervously picked up the controller for some play time with the game, wondering if I had what it took to defeat one million troops. Wow.

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Scribblenauts was one of the most anticipated Nintendo DS titles last year after having an impressive showing at E3 2009. The game was then released, and disappointment sunk in. The best adjective to describe it: mediocre.

Mediocrity is not necessarily a bad thing, but it has a much more sour taste in the case of Scribblenauts because of the huge amount of potential that was sitting at the tip of our styluses. Unfortunately, the controls were enough to make gamers put it down and not think twice about it. This time around, Super Scribblenauts not only resolves the control issues, but it also adds a new, intriguing element to the game: adjectives. Read more… »

Portal is probably the single greatest gaming sucker punch of the last 10 years. When it released as part of The Orange Box, it didn’t even factor into the purchasing decisions of gamers who just wanted the Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 content. However, once people started playing the now revered first person puzzle-platformer it quickly grew into one of the most popular bite-sized IPs of this console generation.

How do you take a game that so pleasantly surprised the gaming community at large and make a sequel with the same impact, now that it’s a known quantity? That’s the quandary that Valve’s Erik Johnson shared with us in a hands-off demonstration this week. The answers he gave to that question turned Portal 2 into my personal choice for best game of E3.

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Madden NFL 11 sets out to not only improve gameplay but redefine it as well. The idea of changing a play-calling system that has been almost unchanged for an entire decade is a bold move. Because of this, many Madden enthusiasts have voiced their concern as the impact to gameplay is enormous if not implemented correctly.

After getting a couple of hours with the game, questions have been answered and concerns have been alleviated. In all honesty, it is more than apparent that EA Tiburon has looked at GameFlow from every single angle possible and fine tuned it perfectly. While this isn’t a feature everyone will use, the fact that it is there and can be used whenever you want is exactly how it should have been implemented. This, along with changes to kicking mechanics, Locomotion, and the addition of Team Play may provide more than enough to make this year’s Madden the best one yet. Read more… »

As Gamer Limit’s resident silverback, I am probably one of the only ones of the crew that is old enough to actually have seen the original Tron in the theatre. It captured my imagination as a child, and I’ve been a fanboy of the franchise ever since.

I brought two separate Tron t-shirts with me to wear during my downtime at the show, one of which actually glows in the dark. So, when I say I had high hopes for the upcoming Tron Legacy tie-in game from Disney Interactive, Tron Evolution: The Video Game (thank goodness they tell us it’s a video game in the title), you’ll understand what I mean.

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All Points Bulletin had to work its way onto my radar. I’m not a fan of twitch shooter MMO’s, and APB seemed like another game that would attempt to capitalize on the expanding market. However, my skepticism was abated when I was able to spend some quality time with Realtime World’s new baby.

Yep, a company with only one major release (the studio is filled with talented and experienced individuals) will be releasing a bold MMO in 11 days.   What’s different here is that Realtime Worlds is trying to put creativity in the hands of the player, and from our hands on, they are heading in the right direction. Read more… »

[note: thanks to the background noise of Microsoft's press only area, we were unable to hear the wonderful music of Limbo. highly recommend checking out video feed shot in a quieter setting]

Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade is almost upon us, and an exciting little title called Limbo is creeping its way into the hearts of gamers. The simple 2D platformer utilizes audio and visual minimalism to create an experience remiescent of Darkfate.

Play Dead Games were kind enough to give us a demo of the game (interview coming soon), and I can’t be any happier that it will soon be digital added to my heart drive. Read more… »

My first thought when I picked up Ghost Trick for the DS today was ‘Come on. Not another game where you die and then jump your soul from item to item in the spirit world and then return to the real world and use your soul to manipulate those items to prevent people from being murdered.’

My second thought was ‘Wow, you have been playing way too many games this week.’ In a similar vein to Phoenix Wright, Capcom’s unique DS offering sucked me in with a novel take on puzzle gameplay and a great stylistic presentation.

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It would be a huge understatement to say that I was a fan of Clover Studios’ Japanese watercolor styled opus, Okami. The inventive art style, the adorable characters, the Zelda-esque gameplay with a twist, and the interesting insight into Shinto mythology all endeared the title to me. It’s easily one of my top 3 favorite PS2 games.

It’s been too long coming, but I finally got my hands on the much anticipated sequel, Okamiden. I was nervous; would an IP so near and dear to my heart successfully make the transition from console to handheld without losing the charm and fun that made it so wonderful?

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When we all heard Sonic was trying to make another comeback, we all sighed. As much as we want to see the blue blur return to stardom like Robert Downey Junior’s career, we all felt that the likelihood of it was becoming slimmer with each failed game.

After having the opportunity to play the hands-on demo, I can definitely say that SEGA is taking the right steps to bringing our beloved hero back from the dead.  While it’s tough to say how the public will perceive it, I was surprisingly impressed overall with the demonstration.

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The World Cup is upon us and football is on the minds of millions around the world. While many are still enjoying their time with EA Sports’ latest FIFA, details behind a couple of the changes in the soon to be released FIFA 11 were provided at E3 behind closed doors. Thankfully enough, it was stressed that the complaints of gamers were taken under serious consideration and addressed beautifully.

For many, the “ping pong passing” was the biggest complaint that many felt was extremely unrealistic and, ultimately, unfair. To be able to pass the ball from one player to the next by quickly tapping a button was one game mechanic that has been consistently exploited among FIFA gamers. No more with FIFA 11 – all of that changes with Pro Passing. Read more… »