Best of E3 2007 - Part II

We’ve already taken a look at what came out of E3 2007 on the PC and the Xbox 360 front so now it’s time to turn our attention to the PS3 and the Wii.

Ever since Sony launched the PlayStation 3 last year it's not been an easy journey for them. Low sales, lack of faith in the product and a highly disappointing library of games are some of the problems Sony’s next generation console has been facing since launch day but at E3 this year they were adamant on turning the tides in their favor and with a bunch of major announcements up their sleeve and you know what, I think they may just have.

First of all Sony fanboys can heave a sigh of relief as their beloved Metal Gear Solid 4 will remain a PS3 exclusive and will NOT come to the Xbox 360. Developer Hideo Kojima showed off a killer video of Raiden fighting some dude called Vamp and even though actual gameplay wasn't shown it was still a very impressive cinematic moment and managed to send the crowd into a tizzy. And now for the bad news; according to Hideo Kojima this will be his last Metal Gear Solid game and it will only see the light of day sometime in 2008.

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Sony hasn’t exactly had a lot of luck as far as exclusive titles are concerned and over the past few months PS3 exclusives like Devil May Cry 4 moved on to the Xbox 360 while Fatal Inertia, another PS3 exclusive went on to become an Xbox 360 exclusive, but at E3 this year Sony finally struck back. First up we got news that Epic’s much awaited Unreal Tournament 3 would release in November 2007 on the PS3 (along with the PC version) while the Xbox 360 version will be released sometime next year. Next up is developer Free Radical’s futuristic first person shooter Haze, that’s all set to be a PS3 exclusive... momentarily; what this means is that PS3 owners will have their shot at the game much before PC or Xbox 360 owners.

As far as other first party exclusives go, Sony pretty much managed to impress the crowds with videos of titles like Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Folklore, Heavenly Sword, NBA 08, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and LittleBigPlanet. Sucker Punch, the makers of Sly Racoon games announced Infamous, a brand new action game exclusive to the PS3 set in a dark and gritty world unlike the light hearted setting we’re used to in their Sly Cooper games. Not much is known about the game at the moment but we’ll keep you updated as and when we come across anything ourselves.

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To combat Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade line-up, Sony announced a bunch of new titles for the PlayStation Network (PSN) like Echochrome (some sort of puzzle game), Wipeout HD, Warhawk, SOCOM: Confrontation and my personal favorite, PAIN that has you throwing your character all across an urban environment in highly painful yet amusing ways mimicking shows like Jackass and Viva La Bam.

Even though Gran Turismo 5 is nearly a year away, gamers will be able to sample a taste of the action in the form of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, a playable demo of the game that’s set to hit the PSN this October; the only catch here is that this announcement is only for Japanese territories.

And finally the game every PS3 owner has been waiting for was finally shown in action and it f*****g rocked everyone’s world. In case you haven't guessed by now I am talking about Killzone 2 and if the E3 demo was indicative of the final product we have a system seller/Halo 3 killer right here. Not only did the demo shown at E3 silence all critics but it managed to renew people’s faith in the PS3 and if you haven’t seen the video till now I suggest you check out the HD version right now at GameTrailers.com.

While we're on the subject of the PS3 I’d like to take a minute to talk about another major announcement made by Sony in the handheld department and that was the long awaited introduction of a revamped, lighter and slimmer PSP that should hit stands by September 2007. And here’s what the new model has to offer:

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Nintendo’s Wii has been selling well, no doubt about that and its appeal is universal but what exactly are they doing to push their console to the hardcore gamer? Well nothing much per say but they have an interesting line up nevertheless; let’s take a look.

Ubisoft announced a Wii exclusive Dirt Bike racer called Nitrobike that’s being touted as the first motocross game for the Wii. The game will be developed by Left Field Productions, the same studio behind Excitebike 64 and will have players control a bunch of rocket propelled motorbikes using the Wii’s controller to steer their bikes.

Nintendo announced yet another fitness game for the Wii called Wii Fit and unlike games like Wii sports that have you using the nunchuck controller in different ways, Wii Fit will require the Wii Balance Board (that'll be bundled with the game) to enable players to indulge in all sorts of physical activities like push ups, hoola hooping, dancing yoga and more. Not that this interests me in the least bit but if this is your kind of thing then you should definitely check the launch video out.

On the accessory front Nintendo announced the Wii Zapper and the Wii Wheel besides the above mentioned Wii Mat. The Wii Zapper (temp name) is a unique gun shaped accessory that’ll combine the Wii controller and Nunchuk to facilitate better targeting in first person shooters like Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, SEGA's Ghost Squad and Medal of Honor. The Wii Zapper will be bundled with certain games but it will also be sold separately for $19.99. The Wii Wheel as the name suggests is a wheel attachment for the Wii controller and will be bundled with Mario Kart Racing, which by the way hits stands in 2008.

Developer Retro Studios demoed Metroid Prime 3 corruption at E3 2007 and people who had a chance to play the game came away impressed proclaiming it to be the Wii’s system seller. For those who have no clue what the game’s all about, here’s a slight heads up:

The Galactic Federation's Base Sector Zero is under attack by Space Pirates. Samus must boot up the generator to restore the defense systems. But at the end of her path, someone awful is waiting for her. The war initiated by Dark Samus and the Space Pirates rages across many planets as they attempt to corrupt each with Phazon seeds. Players use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to explore alien landscapes, hunt for weapons and information, and destroy the seeds. Saving the planets from Corruption isn't enough, though. Eventually, players must take down Samus' mortal enemy, Dark Samus. Besides using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers to pull off amazing feats like aiming and blasting in midair or at a full run, players also will have an array of different weapons at their disposal.

And finally we have concrete release dates for some of the upcoming Wii games:

Super Mario Galaxy – November 2007

Smash Bros. Brawl – December 2007

Metroid Prime 3 Corruption – August 2007