E3 2012: Guardians of Middle Earth debut trailer
Oh look another Lord of the Rings video game. Can't remember the last time I enjoyed a LOTR game, maybe I never did.  The debut trailer tells us nothing about the game - How it looks, gameplay, etc. But it looks epic and Gollum trying to take down Gandalf with a huge rock is just weird. But don't be fooled, this is no ordinary action adventure like past LOTR games.Â
Guardians of Middle Earth is actually a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) and it's for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. MOBA are game such as DOTA, Heroes of Newreth, and League of Legend. So yea, a bit weird if you ask me. It will be a five on five match and players can choose up to 20 iconic characters from the Lord of the Rings world .The game is being developed over at Monolith Productions(F.E.A.R 1 and 2, Gotham City Imposters), and if this indeed plays like games such as DOTA, playing it with a controller will feel really off.
Best part of the trailer? Gollum looking badass thinking he can take Gandalf solo.
E3 2012: Tomb Raider Crossroads trailer
Teased last week, The Full trailer for Tomb Raider is finally here. It shows in-game footage and a bit of the game's story. The game looks amazing and Lara Croft is literally being pushed to her limits. This reboot is definitely what the Tomb Raider franchise needs to keep going. Check out the Crossroads trailer here.
Delayed to 2013 yes, but you have to give Crystal Dynamics props for making such a bold move to delay. They want a more polished game and we don't want it any other way. Tomb Raider is now set for March 5, 2013 for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
E3 2012 press conference schedules
In just a few hours, E3 will begin, and that means tons of game reveals and big announcements coming from the big three companies. Sony will definitely talk a lot about PSN Plus and the PS Vita; Microsoft is a bit of a mystery at this point but will definitely promote more Kinect stuff, and Nintendo will be all about their new console the Wii U. This has been somewhat like a tradition every year now. Every year I do an all-nighter in order to watch each press conference from each company live via streams. it's just one of my things, and this year will be no different. planning to head out now to stock up on some chips, but before that - Here are the schedules of when each big press conferences will take place.
Microsoft Press Conference - June 4 9:30 am - 11:00 am PT ( June 5 12:30 AM - 2:00 AM PH time)
EA Press Conference - June 4 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm PT ( June 5 4:00 AM - 5:oo AM PH time)
Ubisoft Press Conference - June 4 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm PT (June 5 6:oo AM - 7:00 AM PH time)
Sony Press Conference - June 4 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm PT ( June 5 9:00 AM -Â 10:30 AM PH time)
Nintendo Press Conference - June 5Â 9:00 am - 10:00 am PT Â ( June 6 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM PH time)
Live StreamsÂ
- Â Gamespot
-Â G4TV
- Game trailers
What I expect in this year's E3 from the big three
This is going to be an interesting E3. With Nintendo obviously going full force with their new console the Wii U, I wonder what Sony and Microsoft has in store for us. The Wii U is definitely in the spotlight right now, so hopefully they give us a better presentation of the console compared to last time's disaster . Here's what I'm expecting during the press conference of each big companies - Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo.
Microsoft Press Conference - Just like last year, they will try to win the attention of the casual crowd with more Kinect announcements. In games - I bet they will start the show with a gameplay trailer of Halo 4, then followed by some Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Fable: The Journey will show up, and hopefully new Xbox 360 exclusives will be revealed. I also don't expect a new console coming from Microsoft this year. Next year though...
Sony Press Conference - Not expecting much from Sony this year. Might start slow. Get the boring stuff out-of-the-way and start the trailer showing with a Dead Space 3 demo or trailer. Either that, or a trailer for God of War: Ascension. They will talk about the future of PSN Plus and what to expect with the PS Vita since it's actually doing pretty well. Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale will make an appearance and possibly more PS Move games. No PS3 successor will be announced.
Nintendo Press Conference - Most likely they will start off with 3DS news then shift to what we all have been waiting for - The Wii U presentation. Honestly, I think its going to be all Wii U. It's functions, the number of games on day one release, and an actual demonstration of the console's power. Nintendo needs to impress since they plan to release the console during christmas. They also announced way back that a new Super Mario was being developed for the Wii U, so that's definitely going to be showcased.
If you have anything else to share during this event, do hit the comments. I'll be doing quick posts of each big announcement as much as I can during the event.
Weekend, what are you playing?
It's the first week of the June and E3 is literally just days away. All the big reveals are slowly coming out. But for now, what have you been playing this weekend?
Quash: What a surprise, I'm still playing Diablo 3! I'm currently at act 3 on Inferno with my Demon Hunter and it's crazy how life doesn't matter at this point. I've given all hope of  increasing my life and resistance to certain elements since enemies hit me way past my full life. Believe me, I've tried upping my defenses but doing so lowers my damage that leaves me with longer fights against groups. It's seems impossible to hit a fine balance to do enough damage and at least survive one hit from anything. Now I'm gearing up my Demon Hunter on purely damage. Since I get one shot anyway at this point, might as well deal tremendous damage and avoid getting hit at all.
Not all was spent on Diablo 3 this weekend though. A couple of friends came over for some drinks and we decided to play some Street Fighter 4. It felt great playing a fighting game again. I was a bit rusty, but we all were since it's been months.
Migoy: I actually didn't get to play a videogame for Saturday which is ironic since I did buy one that very same day. Sure I popped the disc in to let it install, update and to see if it works but I don't consider that playing the game. I DID get to play stuff on Sunday though.
Started Dragon's Dogma, it's pretty cool so far but since I just started out it's not all that exciting yet but it is very very interesting. Hoping to put in more time in that game.
Next up is The Walking Dead The Game. I found out that episode 1 is only $4.99 and after I got Skullgirls with a $20 PSN card, I had just enough left to get it. I did end up finishing it the same night on my first playthrough but there is incentive to replay it again (different morality choices) which I think justifies the 5 dollar purchase for a 2 hour game.
I livestreamed my whole first playthrough on our TwitchTV channel and uploaded it to my personal youtube channel.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gRXuWdq65E[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPMIEU_JVDo[/youtube]
Recent Buys: Episode 9 - Dragon's Standing Dogma [Update]
Just a week since my previous Recent Buys post and already we have a new episode. This time with an actual videogame.
First things first though. I finally wore my "YO VIDEO GAMES" shirt for the first time and I'm glad to see that I noticed wuite a few people actually took notice of what was printed on it. A small victory but it made me feel proud to wear it. Special thanks to Mac Sorio for the shirt.
On to business. I finally convinced myself to get the Blazepro Professional Vertical Stand (why do companies like putting the word "professional" on everything?) for the PS3 Slim. Not only does it secure your PS3 while keeping it upright but it can also hold up to 6 game cases, has charging bays for a PSMove controller and a Navigation controller, and also store and charge two PlayStation Dual Shock 3 controllers. What sold me on this were the Dual Shock 3 holders/chargers. I originally wanted to get the Nyko Charge Base 3 for PlayStation 3 but other than it being sold out at Datablitz in Greenhills, it also went for 2900php or something along those lines. It was pretty mad expensive for a controller charging base but boy was it fancy, it uses magnets to connect the controller to the base. Another choice was the Energizer PS3 Charge Station. Similar in design with the Nyko one but instead of using magnets, the controllers would simply attach to a mini-USB connector sticking out of the holders. The holders would then light up while charging. That one went for 1900php or so. The Blazepro stand only went for 675php, not a very hard choice to make. Not only were the Nyko and Energizer charging docks more expensive, they would also take up a lot of space which the table I use for storing Ziggy (my PS3) had very little off. I didn't NEED the stand but compared to the other two choices, the stand was the most practical.
The slots for the game cases is a little tight so I might not use those. I don't own a PSMove controller or any games that feature Move support but the space for them is a perfect fit for the small "South Park"-ish Dr. Doom figure I got so Doom be chillin. The stand comes with a USB cable that connects the charged to the USB ports on the front of the PS3 Slim. The cable comes with a USB extension port to make up for the port that the stand it using to charge controllers with so that's pretty cool.
As for the actual videogame that I bought, that would be Dragon's Dogma. Capcom's latest action RPG that feature multiple gameplay elements found in a lot of different games that are out now. Imagine Shadow of the Colossus meets Monster Hunter meets Skyrim. I was not planning to get this game since it goes for a whopping 1750php at Datablitz but the gameplay looks really fun and since you hire pawns online, missing out on such a feature while the game is still new would be such a waste. In other words, I caved. I have not actually tried the game out yet but I'll probably talk about it in this week's Weekend post.
Dragon's Dogma comes with a redeem code for the demo of Resident Evil 6. The demo comes out on 07/03/2012 for Xbox360 users and on 09/04/2012 for PS3 users. I find it cool that the redeem code isn't on a separate sheet of paper but instead on the underside of the game cover. Now this is eco-friendly done right.
Update: I purchased a game the day after making this post. To get Skullgirls I got a $20 PSN card because the game was $14.99. That left me with 5 bucks which was just right for episode 1 of The Walking Dead The Game. It may just be a 2 hour game but playing this episode more than once makes up for it since the choices you make can affect current situations and even events in the next episodes. If you like the comic and/or TV series of The Walking Dead then I definitely recommend purchasing episode 1. Telltale tells a good tale, you can count on that.