Xbox announcement from E3

[Jonkga]

Did you guys see the xbox announcements from E3? Lots of great titles (new Halo, Gears, CoD, Fable, etc.), a new xbox 360, and Kinect - which is what they had been calling project Natal - everything looks pretty sweet.

New xbox this week - redesigned, 250GB hard drive, built in N router, all set for Kinect hookup.

Kinect (their motion and voice capture interface) looks awesome and will be available in November, for the holidays.

Looks like all sorts of fun in store.

[erilar]

I watched the whole MS Xbox presentation. Haven't watched the Cirque/Natal presentation yet - I have my DVR set to record it from MTV this afternoon (but I heard it was mostly hype and not much substance).

Some pretty interesting things happening, but I was a little underwhelmed by Kinect. I'm very impressed by the system itself, but not sure any of those launch games really interest me. While I'm sure they would be fun in a crowd, they are a little gimmicky and folks will probably lose interest quickly a la the Wii motion games. As a control system though, it looks cool. If the Star Wars game is fun, that will be hard to pass up (but it will release later).

All told, I was most impressed by the Halo Reach trailer - this is going to be something special, I think.

The new shiny-black Xbox looks kind of plasticy and cheap, but the case isn't a big deal. More quieter, more better. Keeping the price point the same while adding features (250Gb HD, N wireless) should help swell their user base - good move there. Hopefully the hardware is robust!

[Jonkga]

I was really excited about Kinect. Sure, I agree that the launch games don't look great, but wait until real developers get their hands on the tech and have some time to come up with stuff - the potential seems amazing. And, as an interface - I think it's just awesome.

And, a great deal of the trailers for new games looked great. I am really looking forward to most of the ones they previewed - Gears, Fable, etc.

Halo Reach left me a bit underwhelmed - as its just more Halo. I'm sure it will be good, and the new weapons and load outs looked cool, but its still just more Halo - which I like, but maybe don't love.

I'm also really looking forward to the cirque performance, because even if it isn't a great deal of substance, it'll probably be spectacular.

[erilar]

I think my reaction to Gears is similar to yours re Halo. A fun game, just doesn't get me thoroughly excited. But, cover mechanics so, yay! Fable 3 does look cool too.

Re. Reach, I just think that the story looks built from the ground up for 4-player co-op, which should be a blast.

I think the one I'm most excited about so far wasn't in this presentation - The Force Unleashed 2. Have you seen that trailer yet - holy S?! Ken posted a link to it on Nuketown.

Speaking of 4-player co-op, I was wrong above. The game I'm most excited for is Aliens: Colonial Marines, which is supposed to be debuted at E3. Dunno if it'll be a holiday 2010 title though.

[Jonkga]

I do agree that the 4 player co-op (both in gears and in halo) looks cool - and both new titles look like they'd serve us well for blackrazor-y action!

Yeah, FU2 looks really good. Deb finished, but I still need to finish the first one.

[Hardcorhobbs]

You can keep your new xbox and Kinect. I'll be in line for the 3DS

[erilar]

I'll be in line for the 3DS

Dude, they haven't even shown the thing yet... (Well, sort of - I guess they showed the new Kid Icarus.)

[erilar]

Here are some 3DS pics in from E3. Looks like they added an analog nubbie - something the DS was sorely lacking, IMO. Good move, Nintendo.

http://www.engadget.com/photos/nintendo ... n/#3081818

[Hardcorhobbs]

It's playable on the floor. One of the reviewers who's opinion I generally agree with said the 3D works great and that it has PSP level graphics.

[erilar]

One of the reviewers who's opinion I generally agree with said the 3D works great and that it has PSP level graphics.

Gizmodo article was saying that it takes your eyes a second to adjust and start seeing the 3D. I hope this isn't something that ends up giving you a headache after playing it for a while (or makes you permanently cross-eyed, like in The Jerk).

[Hardcorhobbs]

Gizmodo article was saying that it takes your eyes a second to adjust and start seeing the 3D. I hope this isn't something that ends up giving you a headache after playing it for a while (or makes you permanently cross-eyed, like in The Jerk).

Well I know it has a slider to adjust the screens so I wonder if it's like a microscope in that all eyes are different and you have to adjust the 3D to your eyes?

[erilar]

That would be even scarier!

Troubleshooting
Problem: Blood is dripping from my eyes.
Solution: Move the slider a little to the left.

Seriously though, this sounds like a really cool handheld. Hopefully, they'll make some cool games for this one. [ducks Cory's thrown paperweight]