Join Entertainium’s founder and editor Doug Buffone as he live blogs Sony’s E3 2010 Press Conference. Ask some questions!

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Hello, and welcome to Entertainium.org’s coverage of E3 2010! We are starting soon, so please stay tuned for a live blog from Microsoft’s E3 2010 Press Conference!

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10: 32: Treyarch head Mark Lamia comes out to the stage to show off Call of Duty: Black Ops demo.

10: 34: Running around in the jungles of Laos, a firefight commences. The smoke effects from a grenade explosion look particularly impressive.

10:37: Getting into a helicopter. It isn’t clear if you are flying the helicopter or if it is on rails. Nevertheless, blowing up stuff along the river is looking very nice.

10:38: The fighting starts up again, the water and smoke effects are really fantastic, it looks like a serious improvement over previous Call of Duty games.

10:39: Don Mattrick come to the stage. He announces a Microsoft-Activision deal, all Call of Duty map packs and add-ons will be exclusively released on the Xbox 360. Then he says that this is only a timed release (PS3 will get the content eventually)

10:42: Hideo Kojima takes the stage, he says that Metal Gear Rising footage will be shown off for the first time. He then introduces his protégé, Shigenobu Matsuyama, the next leader of the franchise.

10:44:The trailer starts for the new game, showing off Raiden and a really powerful sword. The big idea is “cutting”, using the sword, doesn’t look like a stealth game, but perhaps a hack-and-slash.

10:48: Cliff Blezinski takes the stage, he is going to show off Gears of War 3. He calls up some other people from Epic Games who are going to be playing 4-player co-op with Cliff

10:49: Players can hand each other weapons. Good thing they can do this because here come mutant locust! They have long tentacles and are really bringing the pain

10:51: The fighting is showing off some of the new lighting effects. The light coming through the tree canopy above is nice.

10:54: Peter Molyneux, the creative director of Lionhead Studios,  comes out to the stage and reintroduces the Xbox 360 exclusive, Fable 3.  He announces that Fable 3 will be coming out on October 26.

10:55: The trailer for Fable 3 makes it seem as though the five decade gap between Fable 2 and Fable 3 meant some major technological improvements.

10:56: Phil Spencer returns to the stage, announces the new Crytek game, Codename Kingdoms, which appears to be a gladiator game—it doesn’t showoff much, just an announcement trailer.

10:58: Bungie creative director, Marcus Lehto come to the stage and talks about the success of the Halo Reach beta. He proceeds to show off the first look at the campaign and announces that Halo Reach will be shipping this September.

11:01: The battle against the Covenant starts again and this time there are Lady Spartans thrown into battle alongside the men.  The game looks much grittier, has a Gears of War look to it.

11:03: The Spartans are getting into a rocketship and are launching into space.  This spaceship is not just part of the cinematic, players get to fly it and engage in space combat.  The demo ends with the release date of September 9

11:05: Now we are onto the explanation of Project Natal…err…Kinect. Ron Forbes, an engineer on the Kinect team, is showing off screen navigation using motion controls. Kinect recognizes the person playing and allows them to navigate the menus using their hands. There is also voice controls, allowing the user to say “Zune” to start the Zune app. The interface looks very similar to the Wii’s home screen, but you don’t have a controller with this one!

11:08: Showing off a movie, the user can say “Xbox Pause” or “Xbox Play” to start and stop the video hands free. They also mention that there will be 15 games at launch.

11:10: Xbox Live is coming to Windows 7 phones…no one is clapping. They are busy typing on their iPhones or Android devices apparently.

11:11: Video Kinect is announced, another engineer from the team takes the stage, Laura. She says that you can talk to friends over Xbox Live and MSN messenger. She begins talking to her twin sister—wait, twins?!

11:13: You can watch movies and other things with the person you are chatting with, seems to be a facelift of some of the old Xbox features. The demo is really showing off more voice controls and more interconnectivity with Microsoft services.

11:15: ESPN 3 is coming to Xbox Live.  This service will allow users to watch certain live broadcasts of ESPN programming and “over 3,500 live events” exclusively over Xbox Live.

11:17: Trey Wingo and Josh Elliot, two Sportscenter anchors, take the stage to show off the new ESPN feature on Xbox 360. They show off some interactive features using voice controls—you can vote for which team you want to win, watch replays, and do other basic control functions using Kinect.  “Kinect will make taunting even easier”

11:21: The ESPN feature will be available for no additional cost to Xbox Live users.

11:22: Kudo Tsunoda, the creative director for Kinect, takes the stage to explain some more about Kinect.  He says that there are going to be 6 new games going to be shown off today for Kinect, obviously, all exclusives to Xbox 360.

11: 24: A young girl comes out to play with Skittles…the TIGER?! This seems dangerous. She uses the voice controls to tell the tiger to do tricks and uses the “touch” controls to pet Skittles.  There is a jump rope and you can make the tiger jump over it. It goes into Matrix style slow motion.

11:26: Tsunoda says that “Kinectimals” will feature 40 different animals with 30 unique activities. He introduces Shin from Rare Studios who is playing Kinect Sports.  You can play soccer and run the hurdles.  Here comes a video showing off the sports available: Soccer, Bowling, Track and Field, Ping-Pong, Boxing, and Volleyball.

11:30: Here is “Joyride” the new kart racing game that will “completely reinvent the kart racing genre”. The woman demoing the game is able to do tricks midair, but it doesn’t look like there is combat elements a la Mario Kart.

11:32: “Kinect Adventures!” is shown off, you are on rails, and you have to dodge obstacles and collect items. Its like a theme park ride, it even has the random photo part of the ride.

11:34: They are showing off another part of “Adventures!”, two women doing some type of rafting. One woman screams, “Look at the water!” and another follows with “We can go anywhere!”. The press conferences are completely overacted.

11:36: The photos taken from Kinect games can be uploaded to Facebook and other social networking sites. I don’t think I will do this—I don’t need to have photos of me being a nerd to confirm my nerdiness.

11:37: Tsunodo says that there are many developers making titles for the Kinect launch. Ubisoft is coming out with a Kinect game,  “Your Shape: Fitness Evolved”. Apparently, all these games are only this one.

11:38: Felicia, from Ubisoft, is playing the game. She says that “Your Shape: Fitness Evolved” will redefine living room fitness. The game is able to detect the person’s height, muscles size, and other measurements.

11:40: Trainer to the celebrities, Michael George, comes out on the stage saying that he collaborated on the project with Ubisoft. He says that there is yoga, personal training, and other fitness activities in the game. This is totally feeling like a Nintendo press conference!

11:44: Here come the other game introductions, this time one from Harmonix, called “Dance Central”. BBD’s Poison begins to play and the woman on stage dances, extraordinarily well.

11:45: Alex Rigopolus takes the stage, officially announcing the game. He says that dancing shouldn’t be done with controllers or mats because it doesn’t capture the essence of dance. He says that the game will include music from across genres and highlights, Lady Gaga, No Doubt, and Beastie Boys. There will also be downloadable content.

11:47: Rigopolus says that Harmonix work with choreographers to get unique dance routines—600 moves and 90 different routines. Kasson Crooker, a nerdy engineer comes out and tells us that he couldn’t dance before “Dance Central”, I believe him. He begins to dance to No Doubt’s “Hella Good”, this game won’t teach you to dance, but it will allow you to move to music.

11:50: Phil Spencer comes back out on the stage and annunces that Kinect will launch on November 4 in North America with 15 launch titles. It will also be compatible with all 40 million Xboxes that have been sold.

11:51: LucasArts is making a Kinect game, a Star Wars game, which was already shown off last night at Microsoft’s other event.  Gameplay is being shown, but no one is actually playing.

11:52: Bill Giese and Dan Greenwalt from Turn 10 Studios come to the stage and show off Kinect features in the Forza franchise. Players can walk around the car and look at the various parts, even get into the vehicle and play around with the various instruments.  It is the “future of racing” and is coming in 2011.

11:56: Don Mattrick is back on the stage. He shows off the new Xbox 360—built in Wifi, 250 GB harddrive. He says it is “sleeker, smaller, and more quiet [sic]”, it is shipping to retailers today. He finishes up by saying that everyone in attendance is getting a free console on the way out.

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Thanks for joining us! Check back all week for more live blogs and information from E3 2010!

Join us on Monday June 14, 210 at 2:00 PM as we live blog EA’s E3 2010 Press Conference!

Its 1911, the lawless Wild West is beginning to become civilized as the modern world begins to take shape. In this changing world there remain injustices. Playing as a former perpetrator of the violence and cruelty symbolized by the unsettled west, James Marston is a man trying to change his livelihood in the rapidly changing world. However, Marston’s past makes him a prime candidate to help destroy the remnants of the powerful gangs which have ruled the old west for decades. The government separates Marston from his wife and son, coercing him into cleaning up New Austin by killing his old partners in crime.

THE GOOD:

Red Dead Redemption succeeds in creating an environment that looks and feels like a classic Hollywood western. Throughout the three main areas (southwest United States, Indian territory, and revolutionary Mexico), astute movie fans will recognize situations that are parodies or have been inspired from great Westerns. I found certain areas reminiscent of John Ford’s classic The Searchers while Marston looks and sounds like Clint Eastwood. Video games are all about the immersion factor and simply put, Red Dead Redemption creates a convincing old West environment.

Although there is not as much to do in New Austin as there is to do in Vice City, San Andreas, or Liberty City, there are plenty of side missions and activities to keep you entertained beyond the main story line. You can capture of kill the worst offenders, take a job as a ranch hand, or play various mini-games to try to increase your fortune. These activities were certainly good time wasters and provide a challenge to those who want to complete the game 100%. Yet the most fun I had outside of the main missions was when I saddled up on my horse and rode off into the wilderness, tracking, killing and skinning wild game. Growing up in a highly urbanized world, experiencing the idealized simply life of a cowboy is among the most attractive elements of the game.

Something that I have come to expect from Rockstar games is superb voice acting. Most characters are voiced well, injecting joy, anger, fear, and humor into thousands of lines of dialogue. Conversations between characters are not as politically charged as previous Rockstar games, but there are certainly allusions to present day American issues, particularly over Mexican immigration. Although there are some great performances by those actors playing supporting characters, I was a bit disappointed with the the acting of Rob Wiethoff who voiced James Marston. The tone of his speech changed so dramatically at certain points, coming across as forced, which disrupted the fluidity of the cinematics.

I didn’t expect Red Dead Redemption to have a strong multiplayer mode. Although Grand Theft Auto IV had some interesting multiplayer ideas, it wasn’t polished enough to warrant playing it on a regular basis. The multiplayer is one of the most compelling aspects of Red Dead Redemption. Exploring New Austin in it’s entirety with friends improves the fun, as no one wants to be the lone ranger for the whole 30 hour journey. The traditional multiplayer variants are also fun, while the intermission “Mexican standoff” (where everyone has their gun drawn and aims at each other in a circle) games were the source of laughs and unpredicted outcomes.

THE BAD:
While it was definitely enjoyable to move around the rich and detailed environments, the actual act of traveling was sometimes tedious. While in the GTA games, I could listen to great music and funny social commentary on the radio, in Red Dead Redemption, you can’t because, well, you are riding a horse. One of the weaker elements of the game was the soundtrack, particularly the random contemporary vocals. The music was often a distraction from an otherwise immersive game world.

Although there are some funny personalities in the game, besides Marston, none of them are particularly memorable. The is largely a result of the fact that the game introduces many different supporting characters but does not utilize them enough. In regular Rockstar fashion there are funny, disgusting, and interesting characters that Marston will come into contact with. However, unlike previous games from the developer, you probably won’t remember specifics about the supporting characters in Red Dead Redemption or their lines of dialogue.

THE UGLY:
If there is one particular weakness about Red Dead Redemption it is the bugs. There were several that I encountered during my play through, some humorous, but most distracting and frustrating. On more than one occasion, a mission had to be reloaded as a NPC wouldn’t move correctly or the objective wouldn’t show up. Video games are an imperfect medium, but I got the distinct feeling that Red Dead Redemption could have used a couple more weeks of beta testing.

The open world gameplay was perfected last decade by the Grand Theft Auto franchise last decade. Red Dead Redemption takes this successful formula and applies it in a times period much different from the ones explored in the various GTA games. The world is an engaging and realistic one, where you will certainly find many sources of enjoyment.

James Marston’s story has won a lot of acclaim from reviewers around the tubes but I wasn’t as impressed. Although there was certainly room for potential, the plot developments throughout the game were not always convincing outcomes. Marston seems like a very smart, brash man, yet he is consistently fooled by others. As the open world genre would suggest, the player has the ability to make choices during the course of the playthrough which can act accordingly or contrary to Marston’s personality. I attempted to play the good guy and be consistent with the way that Rockstar portrayed Marston. However, even after trying so hard to play as a law abiding citizen, Marston didn’t seem to act “correctly” during cinematics.

Despite some of the technical problems and shortcomings in the storyline, Red Dead Redemption proved to be a thrilling and impressive game. You feel like a cowboy when playing as James Marston. This includes the more mundane tasks of herding cattle and doing other chores around the farm. But for every realistic  and seemingly monotonous event, there areHollywood Western moments, such as chasing down bandits or jumping onto a moving train, which make the entire experience worthwhile for all players.

Video game movies are not good.  However, from its initial announcement, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, seemed to have a great chance of reversing this trend. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of the Pirates of Caribbean trilogy, and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Ackerton, and Ben Kingsley, the film had strong Hollywood support. Its received mixed reviews from the critics and I went into the film with lowered expectations. Emerging from the theater, I came to an entirely different conclusion that most reviewers came to. Although it wasn’t an Iron Man, strong rapport between actors combined with phantasmagorical special effects made Prince of Persia: Sands of Times and enjoyable action-adventure film to start the summer blockbuster season.

The story centers around Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) an orphan from the slums who is adopted by the king of Persia after he witnesses the young boy’s act of kindness and bravery. Although not of the royal bloodline, Dastan is an integral member of the royal family. He accompanies his older brothers (the elder is the heir to the throne) and the powerful Persian army to the mythical city of Alamut. The king’s brother, Nizam (Ben Kingsley), who is serving as a mentor of sorts to the future kings, lobbys the young princes to invade the city because they were aiding Persia’s enemies.

During the siege of the city, Dastan shows remarkable skill infiltrating the city the biggest reason for Persia’s victory. The ruler of Alamut, Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), attempts to hide the mystical secret weapon of their civilization, the Dagger of Time. However, during the hectic final moments of the battle for the city, Dastan comes into possession of the weapon, yet doesn’t realize it’s full power.

Tamina is presented as the husband of the future king, a role she is willing to take only after she realizes that it will bring her closer to the dagger. During the festivities following the victory, Dastan is fooled into presenting a poisoned gift to his father, King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup). Believed to be the assassin, Dastan is forced to flee the city along with Tamina. When Tamina attempts to steal the Dagger of Time back, the weapon she swore an oath to protect, Dastan stumbles upon its ancient power. The holder has the ability to reverse time for up to a minute. After a series of argument, Dastan and Tamina agree to work together to clear the name of the innocent prince and to protect the dagger. On their journey, they encounter enemies and make new friends.Of particular significance is Sheik Amar (Alfred Molina), a gambling boss who has a fetish for his ostriches. Amar serves as some comic relief, similar to Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow in Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He certainly isn’t as funny or as important as Jack Sparrow, yet he lightens the tone of the film and allows for some good laughs.

The journey across the vast Persian Empire is perfect for showing off some incredible visuals. Filmed largely in Morocco, the desserts and vast canyons are breathtaking, and reminded me of John Ford’s classic western The Searchers. Increasing the eye candy, the film is filled with spectacular special effects that create imaginative cities and exciting fight scenes. There are a few homages to the video games, particularly the camera’s movement during fight scenes. The scenes are enjoyable, but at the same time, they don’t revolutionize sword fighting (which, I am fully aware, would be a difficult order to fulfill).

One of the bigger criticisms of the movie by some leading critics (such as Roger Ebert) was that the acting by the leading actors seemed contrived.  Although there are certain lines that seem a little awkward, I found the rapport between Gyllenhaal and Arterton genuine. The beautiful Arterton oozes sensuality and serves as a confident, strong heroine, while Gyllenhaal plays a Peter Parker type of hero (unbelievably strong, yet very self-conscious). While I was pleased with certain elements of the acting, I was surprised with the lack of screen time for Kingsley’s character. Although Nizam is an integral part of the plot, none of his scenes were especially memorable.

When I walked out of the theater, I was expecting to come to some more detracting points from the more obvious ones connected to the storyline. This was a video game movie right? It couldn’t possibly be a good film. However, the more I thought about it, I realized that although Prince of Persia: Sands of Time wasn’t going to join the pantheon of great superhero films that have been released in the last decade, it was an enjoyable ride. Although it doesn’t destroy the notion that video game movies are terrible, it certainly points the genre in the right direction. Simply put, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is the best movie based off of a video game and an entertaining summer blockbuster.

Ubisoft Montreal’s Assassin’s Creed divided the gaming community. You either thought that the game was a stroke of genius or that it was a good idea gone awry. Originally marketed as an assassination game set in the Holy Land during the Crusades, it turned out to take place in modern times where an ancient feud between the Knights Templar and the Assassins continues. The player took control of Desmond Miles who has been kidnapped by Abstergo Industries who simulates the world according to his ancestor’s memories. The plot was not the only big surprise in the game however.

Although Assassin’s Creed was an enjoyable game, it had a number of flaws. Most irritating of all was the repetitive nature of the combat and the lack of variation in the mission design. The foundation for a franchise was certainly strong and all indications from the developer made one conclude that the sequel would be a vast improvement over the first.

The most obvious change is that Assassin’s Creed II takes place in Renaissance Italy and the player can explore 15th century Venice, Florence and Tuscany. The cities are more diverse than their counterparts in the first game, in both landscape, architecture and city life.  Great care has been giving to make more bustling, vibrant cities and greater interaction possibilities within them. The player can visit shops to to buy weapons, armor, maps and even famous works of art from the time period.  The large villa in the city of Monterrigionni is where these collected items are displayed and where the player can choose to build improvements to the cities various shops and services. Investing in the city is nothing but beneficial as it increases the amount of money the player receives from the businesses as well as item discounts.

The realism of the world is also improved by the enhancement of the artificial intelligence. The AI in Assassin’s Creed made most tasks monotonous, as both the combat and sneaking elements were elementary. Fights would be entirely one sided whereas if desperate situations did arise, the “blend” move would make the player disappear no matter what crimes were committed. Luckily, the AI in Assassin’s Creed II is greatly enhanced. Although it makes the game more difficult, it also makes it more enjoyable. No longer can players simply run through large crowds, kill a target and fade into anonymity. Instead, assassinations take some planning, both in the process of killing and the escape route, as guards are much more diligent in the chase compared to the previous game. Fortunately, moving around the environment has been completely reconstructed. The character controls are much tighter, largely due to a free-run button which allows the player to move more fluidly while climbing on walls or running on rooftops.

Despite improvements to the AI, the combat in Assassin’s Creed II is still easy. Besides a few exceptions, enemies’ attacks can be parried or countered without too much effort.  The inclusion of new weapons and devices freshens up conflict, but the player’s variety of killing techniques is not mirrored by the enemies and therefore these inclusions do not increase the difficulty. There are certainly enemies of differing strengths, but there will never be a situation in which the player is repeatedly being killed.  Even the final boss of the game can be taken down relatively easily.

The surprise premise that awaited gamers in Assassin’s Creed made the story was one of the more memorable elements of the game. Ironically, the story in Assassin’s Creed II was overshadowed by the improvements to the gameplay experience. Many people marveled at the conclusion of the game, yet I found it largely incoherent and superfluous. The interactivity in the world was so engaging that modern day sections interrupted the game world immersion. Interacting within large cities in another era while seeking advice from Leonardo DaVinci and other historical figures was always more entertaining than Desmond Miles’ underground fight.

Thankfully, the vast majority of the game will be played in the Italian Renaissance era. Whereas, in Assassin’s Creed the recurrent combat and missions were made the game feel overstretched, Assassin’s Creed II’s refurbished mechanics and re-imagined cities will have you wishing for more.

Nashville based stars are enjoying great commercial success as of late. Lady Antebellum’s self-titled debut album was a monster hit when it was released in 2008. Band members Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott’s sultry harmonies provided for a memorizing listen and propelled the album to platinum status.

Thus, their follow up album Need You Now was expected to include the same musical precision while increasing the lyrical complexity, in both syntax and theme. Unfortunately, the latter expectation is unfulfilled. Although most songs are pleasant to listen to, the majority do not venture beyond simple lyrics, some consisting of remarkably similar words. The most satisfying exception is the title song “Need You Now” which includes delicate chord progressions over beautiful harmonies. Telling the story of an obsessive lover,  the song’s melody and guitar sections is reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac.

Despite the strength of the one song, Lady Antebellum’s second album leaves much to be desired.

Album Gems:

“Need You Now”

Ricky Gervais’ new show is all about his comedy podcast that enjoyed an enormous following. Sitting down with his good friend and colleague Stephen Merchant and the absent-minded Karl Pilkington, they basically talk about nothing. The show has a unorganized format because Gervais and Merchant react to the idiotic ramblings of Pilkington. His ideas are random and absurd, but provide perfect opportunities for the quick witted Gervais and Merchant to make hilarious, if sometimes mean, comments.

In the first episode of HBO’s new show, Pilkington begins to talk about how humans should reproduce. He believes that when a woman turns 78 she should die, but that a small baby should be born from her body when she dies, so that it would be a “good-bad situation”. Immediately, Gervais cracks up at the idiotic premise. The worst part about it is that Pilkington believes that this system will be the next stage of evolution. Gervais and Merchant try to convince him of the ridiculousness of the idea, but it does little to persuade him.

The other funny segment was “Monkey News” in which the men discuss a story having to do with monkeys. Pilkington begins to speak about how angry he would be if he was a monkey because humans get all the credit–particularly for space travel. He eloquently points out that a monkey went into space before man. Although it is a somewhat legitimate point, it devolves into babble after he says that the monkeys were taught to fly the spaceships using buttons and a banana dispenser.

With such ridiculous segments, Gervais and Merchant, among comedies brightest talents, are in a great setting. The show itself is done in an animated style reminiscent of the Flintstones (which, oddly enough, they reference in the show) and show their animated persons sitting at a table discussing with occasional cutaways describing certain elements of the story.

The problem is that I can’t really figure out why this needs to be a television show. Yes, the segments become more ludicrous when you actually see what Pilkington is describing, but it isn’t a constant which warrants watching the screen the entire time. The animated style is not impressive and much of the time is just showing the animated men sitting in a studio. Thus, I kept getting the feeling that this show, although funny, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is better than the podcast. It has the feeling of a simple video podcast, but one that you don’t need to be watching constantly in order to enjoy.

Nevertheless, both Gervais and Merchant are funny enough to make the show deserving of a large audience. Although it is very likely that you will find yourself doing other activities while watching it.