Preview: Uncharted: Golden Abyss (NGP)

A leader in E3, Sony will finally ready information about Nathan Drake 's first handheld to reveal adventure. Called it 's Uncharted: Golden Abyss And it 's line of Sony' \ s tentative title Next Generation Portable is being developed by Sony 's Bend Studio.

Set before the events of the PlayStation 3 's Uncharted: Drake 's Fortune is a wholly new adventure, not a port. This is something that Sony Bend emphasized multiple times throughout the demo, stressing that the game also can't be considered a prequel… despite taking place prior to the first title in the series.

Golden Abyss

(Sony's Next Generation Portable)








Resistance: Retribution lives up to the visual hype, and looks great on the NGP's mammoth 5-inch screen.

Uncharted game, which should come as no surprise. The dual sticks on the NGP have let Bend essentially map the controls as they were on a PS3 DualShock. It's immediately familiar, and was easy to play for an

One thing that you 'll probably have to use the touch screen, but some of the game' s riddle. In one sequence, I had my fingers \ use "wipe" a coal-etching on a series of four tablets. Once completed, I put the pieces together with my fingers puzzle style, by a notice that was the game 's history to reveal. This type of puzzle felt right in the game world, not forced or unnecessary, as I have shown some of the other touch-and gesture controls. I hope to see more about Gold Abyss Perhaps some who need a bit more thought than just shuffling around four bits of paper or rubbing the screen.

Say in relation to the game 's history, Bend wouldn' t too much. In one of the two demos (one fight too hard on others heavily on platforming and out-of-context story), Drake was working alongside a new character named Jason Dante. Older than Drake (but younger than Drake 's friend Victor' Sully 'Sullivan), this dark-haired adventurer spoke like a New Yorker, probably from the Bronx or Brooklyn. Conversational context, there 's story of Drake and Dante, with references to earlier adventures. The atmosphere between the two is not very controversial, but there 's certainly a small degree of mistrust between the two, as they fight each other casually and funny.

What if we 'll see familiar faces on the

: Long after writing this piece -- right before it was ready to be published -- Sony sent over a fact sheet that details the plot of

CoD Black Ops Annihilation – our first impressions and your views

• PS3

Weekend Destructainment: Booth babe trivia

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Bitmob's Chloe Dykstra interviewed some booth babes at E3 to test their knowledge on videogames. The results are ... interesting.

Portal 2'sTopic is covered, Halo: Reach get a pinball table, a Contra Henchman gets smart, is not funny iJustine, Minecraft FPS get 'd, Dragon Age is real life and LA Noire Awesomed all gets down.

Portal 2 's "Want You Gone" on electric guitar.

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Halo: Reach get a pinball table.

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A Contra Henchman resigns.

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An analysis of iJustine video. Spotted on Reddit.

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Minecraft as first-to-person shooting. Thank you, Zach!

crossed over with

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E3 2011: Once Upon a Monster interview – part two

The second part of our interview with project manager Nathan Martz, this time look at the challenges of creating physical - and frightening - Games for children

Critically acclaimed developer Double Fine, the eccentric creator of such delicacies as Brutal Legend and stacking, surprised the world when announced that it will work on a Sesame Street game. But studio founder and game industry legend Tim Schafer grew up loving the series - which he saw as a comedy sketch show, but as an educational institution.

Once Upon a monster, a sort of interactive story book that will help the players to get a number of monsters in touch with their feelings is not your average yawn-inducing "edutainment" nightmare, it 'sa fun, visually appealing mini - Game collection, making fine use of Kinect controller.

In part two of our interview with the game 's project manager, Nathan Martz, we address the challenges of introducing children (and parents) come up to physical inspections and tricky problem, as Scary Kids' can be stories.

So, Once Upon a monster is a physical game for very young children. Did you have to think carefully about the amount of physical effort in every task necessary?
We 've been focus testing this game since our early prototypes, and it' s not the kids who are tired, it 's the adults - we have more to worry about the parents! The game is structured as a series of chapters and we 've designed it that closed after 30 minutes of the game you can put it. The chapters themselves are broken up into the activities and between each activity that you turn the page and in the course of the game at the pace you want it. So we 've built in the breaks every 3-5 minutes.

The chapters are divided into different emotions motto, aren 't they?
Emotions are used as major themes. Shyness is a - we have a monster that 's had a great idea, but too shy to carry it out, so that you can help him. We have a chapter about courage and about being themselves - and these two concepts are intertwined. We have a really fun one about music and dance, where we recognize the band as a metaphor for family, that everyone has a different role and appreciate people who are often not appreciated in a family.

In addition to Sesame Street, what were some of the influences on Once Upon a monster in terms of communication stories and characters for children?

know

We 've learned a lot about co-op, especially intergenerational co-op - how to be forgiving and accessible game design, and embraces the whole Kinect idea if you think you are doing the action correctly, you are - that 'sa massive lesson. And there 's the key Kinect maxim: physical fun. Everything you do in Kinect, the more you do it physically, which is stupider, the more fun it is to be done. And the other thing is, it 's just as much fun to watch as it is to play. It 's really nice, people in the game and I feel happy to see me.

And what of the most difficult element has been Kinect?
Two-player co-op mode is hard! With two players on the same screen, there are so many things that you just haven 't that are really hard thought. Every idea has to walk around this crazy obstacle course.

•

E3 2011: Once Upon a Monster interview – part one

But what led Double Fine, such a child-friendly game to make? What is behind the arch surrealist Costume Quest and stacking of Jim Henson 's lovable creatures? Some time ago we had a long talk with project manager Nathan Martz, discussing everything from the history of the title to the challenges of writing games, without patronizing them or boring to teach players. To bring it 'sa fascinating insight into work at Double Fine, and the requirements of Sesame Street to interactive life ...

Why did you create it, a Sesame Street game?
Most of the core design work was actually done before we partnered with the Sesame Workshop. The original idea is almost four years old, but Jim Henson was a huge influence. He was an amazingly creative, expressive guy – The Muppets, Sesame Street, Star Wars – he left a mark on our childhoods. And for me as a craftsmen, I loved his ability to create memorable characters who were at once new and very familiar. That and Where The Wild Things Are, a little bit of Calvin and Hobbes … all this is mixed in there, along with Scott Campbell's own personal art style. He's a master at creating upbeat, fun characters.

So what was the origin of the game if it didn 't start out as a Sesame Street?
The original name of the game was Happy Song. We were just talking about how great it would be to make an uplifting game. I was dating this girl at the time and she asked, 'don't you have a happy song, a song that, when it comes on in the car radio, you just feel great?' At first I was, like, nah I don't have a happy song, but I do of course. Everyone has a happy song. So I thought about a game where some cute monsters help you make your own happy song. It was sort of like a Fisher Price version of the music program Acid. We wanted it to be like LittleBigPlanet – accessible creativity.

What happened to it?
We went back to Brutal Legend, and we had two years left on the game. After that was announced Kinect and Tim and I were already excited about taking Happy Song and moving forward. We just thought, whoah, Kinect - this is a new surface, it 's family-friendly, we're

So partly the game is about relationships?

• Xbox
• Microsoft

Keith Stuart

guardian.co.uk ? Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms and Conditions | More Feeds

The irrefutable, undeniable, official top ten Sonic games

had a slightly different feel and visual style compared to other Sonic games. Nevertheless, it was a fun little diversion, and one that still today can be enjoyed. It 's nothing that the actual Pinball Fans hot ever good, but as Sonic Topics bit silly, it is the job.

9. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

Mean Bean

strictly

was, for its time, a kick up the ass of platform adventures, it has not aged with quite the same level of grace as the rest of Sonic's Genesis outings. The lack of a now obligatory Spin Dash move, sluggish pace, and respectively drab levels don't make for a truly great game, but it's still a decent one when regarded in context.

It was easily outclassed by its direct sequels, but the game has earned respect.

6th Assassin's Creed DS

Sonic Colors on the Wii has been sub-par and the nonsense 's scientific fact

 still remains a controversial game among the Sonic fan community -- many members of which despised it for the most arbitrary and ludicrous of reasons --

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Secret Barrel pressure required to maneuver up and down on the D-Pad - a trick that the player never said.

But ...

was "too slow" because they didn't have a clue what had made Sonic games good. The non-existent problem was "fixed" by Dimps, leading to a pair of inferior

Sonic Generations

is still the best Sonic Game made to date and there with the best platformers have to offer. Never has a Sonic as uniform, with almost every level is intensely playable, even today, and a number of memorable boss fights.

three

Sell and buy used games (gasp) & get entered to win a 3DS

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Dare to Compare! We 're usually cheaper or the same price as the big boys. Plus, if you buy a game on Dtoid you could help, another community member buy their next game. Try listing a game and see.

BONUS: Try it and you 're in a raffle to win a Nintendo 3DS

We 're so confident that you' ll our business so that we give away 're a virtual Los each time you list and sell a game (or) when purchasing a new or used game between now and 30 July. Destructoid earns a small commission for each transaction you can pay us for prices and tacos. Plus, you make more dough for your games than in the strip mall pawnshops. You know what I'm talking 'm.

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New Destructoid Episode: DLC, DNF, WWJD, GTFO

The Destructoid Show Dedicated to all the tough post-E3 news the past few days. That was a joke.

It 'sa demo out for Duke Nukem Forever hopefully the poop and boobs she has. You ought to download and give us feedback. Call of Duty: World at War

E3 2011: Bastion preview

This homage to the classic era of action-RPG has some nice visual and narrative tricks up the sleeves, ornate

"We're just seven guys working out of a living room," says Kasavin. "We all have Triple A backgrounds. Several of us worked at EA LA on the Command and Conquer franchise and another team member worked on Modern Warfare at Infinity Ward. We have a lot of experience, but we decided to break off and do something on our own. So we kind of moved into a house together and started on this…"

Bastion is due out on Xbox Live Arcade this summer

• Indie games

E3: Renegade Ops is a great game with a shit name

When I saw the logo for Renegade Ops at SEGA 's expansive booth, I felt the eyes dry out and shrink, with sharp, unadulterated apathy. The name sounds like a crappy generic military shooter from the likes of City Interactive or other subordinate publisher. I can 't think of a less attractive title.

It was to my great surprise, then, that I found out Renegade Ops Renegade Ops

Just Cause

Before Duke Nukem Was An Asshole, He Was a Simple Man

In the latest Duke Nukem game, the titular star is an offensive asshole, much of his macho charm having given way over the past decade to dick jokes even young boys would struggle to find funny. More ?

Wii U Faster Than 360 Or PS3, No Blu-ray Or DVD Support

jdkramar was one of several readers with news about the Wii hardware underground information that 's already trickling out to write since E3. The new console is a multi-core processor IBM on 45nm architecture (technology that is currently running Watson) is based, and is an AMD R700 GPU chipset in the Radeon 4000 line of graphics cards have been found. Apparently it is in fact run Crysis. Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii is a proprietary U-25GB disc format to use, and won 't support DVD or Blu-ray playback. A spokesperson said, "The reason why we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, so it didn 't be responsible for the costs associated with this functionality in the Wii console build underground because of the patents related to these technologies have \. "

Read more of this story at Slashdot.