E3: The Winners Are Chosen! Also: San Diego Comic-Con

GameSpy Weekly
A Weekly Gaming Update from GameSpy.com -- Week of July 20th, 2008 Rewarded
year, GameSpy picks out the Best in Show from E3. Our annual awards are live on the site and we think there's a lot of upcoming titles to be pretty excited about. Dovetailing off E3 is Comic-Con 2008, the world's biggest geek convention. We have full coverage of the show and we'll be doubling up with all-new QuakeCon 08 coverage starting towards the end of next week. Busy times! - Bryn Downloads of the Week:* More Downloads Dead Space: Downfall - Animated Movie Trailer
Explore the terrifying backstory to the upcoming Dead Space game with this feature film. You can also check out the amazing animated comic series here! Info Frontlines - v1.1.0 to v1.1.1 Patch (US/Euro)
This is the new version 1.1.0 to version 1.1.1 update patch for American and European (excluding Germany & Russia) versions of Frontlines: Fuel of War. More Info Florensia - Open Beta Client
This is the open beta client for Florensia, an upcoming free-to-play Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game from Japanese videogame developer Netts. More Info Subscribers get the Good Stuff:
Have you been watching FilePlanet lately? Our Subscribers have been enjoying some incredible betas for Crysis, Age of Conan, Quake Wars, Battlefield Bad Company, Metal Gear Online, Lord of the Rings Online... And more betas all the time. Want some? Subscribe now!
This Week's Happenings at GameSpy:* GameSpy.com News:
Capcom Announces Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop Capcom's 1942: Joint Strike Now Available Cartoon Network Creates Browser-Based MMOG for Kids Games for Windows - LIVE Goes Free, DX11 Revealed Konami Announces Time Hollow for Nintendo DS Sins 1.1 Beta Has Officially Arrived Reset Generation Sneak Peek on FilePlanet Watchmen Game Announced

Reviews:
Final Fantasy IV (DS) Review Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon (Wii) Review

Previews:
Age of Booty (360/PS3) Preview BioShock (PS3) Preview Dark Void (360/PS3/PC) Preview DC Universe Online (PC/PS3) Preview Flower (PS3) Preview Free Realms (PC/PS3) Preview Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (DS) Preview Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii) Preview Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS) Preview Left 4 Dead (PC/360) Preview Lips (360) Preview Midnight Club: Los Angeles (360/PS3) Preview Mirror's Edge (360/PS3/PC) Preview Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty (PS3) Preview Resistance 2 (PS3) Preview Sims 2, The: Apartment Life (PC) Preview Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (360/PS3/PC) Preview You're in the Movies (360) Preview

GameSpy Commentary:
GameSpy Debriefings #55 - New Wednesday timeslot... Post E3! State of the Station - Post-E3 '08 Hangover

Articles:
Annual E3 Awards: 2008 Comic-Con 2008 Coverage Index Comic-Con: Activision / Stan Lee Panel Live Blog Comic-Con: Halo Wars / Halo Universe Live Blog Comic-Con: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Panel Live Blog Comic-Con: Spore Live Demo Comic-Con: Street Fighter IV Panel Live Blog Comic-Con: Will Wright's Inspirations Comic-Con: Xbox Live Original Content Panel Live Blog Kevin Unangst on Games for Windows - LIVE's New Deal Sneak Peek: GameSpy at Comic-Con 2008 Tom Clancy's HAWX E3 Interview

Comic-Con : Sunday

Ok, I went to Comic-Con on Sunday. I spent most of the day on the exhibition floor looking for freebies. I didn't see any of the shows cuz most of em where sucky that day or had REALLY long lines.

The 1 greatest thing that happened to me was that Jared Padalecki the guy that plays Sam in Supernatural was about 2 FEET away from me! I also saw Jensen, but Jarad was SO CLOSE TO ME!

The worst thing that happened to me was that I went searching for my favorite author Eion Colfer, at AA24 of course I had no idea where that was, since it was my first time. So I looked for him walked around for about half an hour. I was SUPER excited. And I found Autograph Area 24. Except he WASN'T there, instead there was this Professional Wrestler there, I asked around other people were looking for him too. But it was a MIS-WRIGHT, in the On-site Newsletter. He was only there on Thursday but they printed that he'd be there the whole week. I am sad.

Still there was some pretty cool hand-outs there. My loot includes:

• 1 Jumbo Astro-Boy Bag
• 4 decks of Magic trading cards
• 3 maplestory booster packs
• 2 decks of Blue dragon playing cards (and playing mat)
• 1 cool looking tatoo
• 1 really funny sticker
• 1 Mattel blow up sword
• 1 Fox poster tube
• 3 t-shirts
• 2 dogtags
• 1 holographic Soul Caliber lanyard
• 1 glowing Ultimate Alliance necklace.
  
• 1 comic-con souvenir book (of course)
• a whole bunch of ads, magazines, and posters
• 1 intel notebook bag (i won it from a contest!)
  

:)

Halo Wars

Halo three has been out a while now, Halo Wars was known to have started right after the release of the last game in the trilogy.

Here's an overview I grabbed from the Official Halo Wars Website:

If they want war, we'll give 'em war."

The Game

Halo Wars is a real-time action strategy game for the Xbox 360 that allows the player to control large armies and to shrewdly direct them in realistic warfare. Set early in the iconic war between the Covenant and UNSC - made famous by the Halo FPS games - Halo Wars provides a new angle on the war while bringing new heroes to the battle.

In Halo Wars fans will be able to control armies of units that are familiar to them from the FPS games, such as UNSC Marines, Scorpion Tanks, and the iconic Warthog. Our E3 demo video gives a na first look at the game, and you can download it from our movies page.

The Controls

We've spent a great deal of time simply on getting the controls right. Halo Wars was created for the Xbox 360 from the ground up, which meant we didn't have to make compromises or shoe-horn in artifacts from a Windows PC game. We were able to take all the best aspects of RTS games, make them work perfectly on the Xbox 360, and exclude the rest.

The Developer

Halo Wars is currently under development at Ensemble Studios in Dallas, Texas. We are the developers behind the award winning Age of Empires series of real-time strategy games, and we're very excited to be able to work in the universe that our friends at Bungie have created.

A release date has not been announced for the game. Please visit our FAQ page for answers to common questions.

Halo Wars is exclusively for Xbox 360, coming out in Spring 2009. It's going to be an RTS game, warthogs are cool. Scorpions are cool. Controlling lots of Warthogs and Scorpions and sending them into battle is really, really cool. You have the ability to play as the Convenant. "Halo Wars” takes place before the first Halo FPS game, during the UNSC’s initial deadly encounters with the Covenant.

I'm just waiting for it to come out. For anymore info again go to halowars.com they make daily posts on their progress in the development of Halo Wars.

World of Starcraft

Ok, so I talked about the debut of Diablo 3 coming up but I just heard of another Blizard project. World of Starcraft.

Here's a little description of Starcraft via Wikipedia.

Set in the 26^th century, the game revolves around three species—the Terrans, humans exiled from Earth adept at adapting to any situation; the Zerg, a race of insectoids obsessed with assimilating other races in pursuit of genetic perfection; and the Protoss, a humanoid species with advanced technology and psionic abilities attempting to preserve their civilization and strict philosphical way of living from the Zerg—fighting for dominance in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy. The game has been praised for pioneering the use of unique factions in real-time strategy gameplay and for a "compelling" story.

Many of the industry's journalists have praised StarCraft as one of the and most important video games of all time, and for having raised the bar for developing real-time strategy games. StarCraft's multiplayer is particularly popular in South Korea, where professional players and teams participate in matches, earn sponsorships, and compete in televised tournaments.

And now, much like Warcraft, Starcraft is becoming another mukltiplayer world.

The Saga Continues:
StarCraft: Brood War continues the award-winning saga of galactic warfare as the Zerg, Protoss and Terrans struggle for their continued survival. With the shattered Zerg hive torn apart by fierce in-fighting, the Protoss seek to reunite with their Dark Templar brethren and begin the rebuilding of their homeworld, Aiur. Terran Emperor Mengsk I, having achieved his goal of total power over the human colonies, must now turn his attention to both the rising power of the woman he betrayed -- Kerrigan, the infamous Zerg Queen of Blades-- and a conspiracy deep within his own ranks.

This New game Features:
Three all new campaigns continue the epic StarCraft storyline

New worlds to explore, from the Dark Templar twilight homeworld of Shakuras to the blasted and barren deserts of Korhal

Original cinematic scenes and new music tracks

100 new multiplayer maps

Honor, Valor and Glory! Visit the Hall of Heroes!

Get ready for W.O.S. Wow that's weird. :)

New Release: Artemis Fowl

Have you ever heard of the series Artemis Fowl? Well it's a fascinating tale about a genius kid that's mixed up with magic and beings in the secret world below ours. A mix of science and magic wonderful isn't it?

So hey check it out the 6 book in the series is now out Artemis Fowl: Time Paradox.

Diablo 2

I wrote about how there's been talk about how Diablo 3 is coming out so I thought I should talk a little more about Diablo 2. My sister just finished the game again and there was a short video at the end.

So that's how Diablo 2 ended how will Diablo 3 begin?

Click here to see the other post on Diablo 3.

Comic Con: SD

I'm heading to Comic Con on July 27th. I'll report back to you. Mauro's going all week so you'll hear a lot from him.

Stinky Meat

This project performed in 2000 by scientist Mahlon Smith was thought to be over. At least by me, but while browsing the internet I hit a copy cat. And so it seems that there may be others who wish to follow in his example.

So check out the Glorious Return of Stinkymeat.

If you want to see the original go to stinkymeat.net

So beware for there might be a rotting plate of meat near you.

"I'm not really sure what the appeal is," said Smith, "It doesn't get much more immature."

Diablo 3

Long awaited. This game is much like Warcraft but has a totally different Fan Base. People have been playing this game in my family as long as I can remember. Put away Diablo 2(for now) and pick up Diablo 3! NOTE: The release date of Diablo three has yet to be set by Blizzard.

Two decades have passed since the demonic denizens, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, wandered the world of Sanctuary in a vicious rampage to shackle humanity into unholy slavery. Yet for those who battled the Prime Evils directly, the memory fades slowly and the wounds of the soul still burn.

When Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram's Cathedral seeking clues to new stirrings of evil, a comet from the heavens strikes the very ground where Diablo once entered the world. The comet carries a dark omen in its fiery being and it calls the heroes of Sanctuary to defend the mortal world against the rising powers of the Burning Hells – and even the failing luminaries of the High Heavens itself.

GameSpy Weekly

Diablo III Makes its Debut. Plus: Lots More from Blizzard!

A Weekly Gaming Update from GameSpy.com -- Week of June 29th, 2008 Surprise!
, it wasn't much of a surprise at all when Blizzard finally revealed Diablo III at its recent invitational event in Paris, France. Was this possibly the worst-kept secret ever? Maybe, but nevertheless, there are hordes of excitable Diablo fans around the globe who are ecstatic to finally get confirmation about this long-awaited sequel. GameSpy was at Blizzard's event in France, and along with Diablo III, we also checked out World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and StarCraft II. Take a gander and enjoy the fruits of our labor. - Bryn Downloads of the Week:* More Downloads Diablo 3 - Gameplay Trailer
Diablo 3 has been announced, now watch the 15+ minutes of HD game footage! Also grab the Cinematic Trailer and Artwork Trailer trailers. More Info Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - v1.03 Patch
This is the new latest patch for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 that will bring the game to version 1.03. Be sure to read the more details section for patch notes. Half-Life 2 - Bloodstone: The Journey Home
Play a third person RPG total conversion, using the Source engine. In this mod, a common farm boy is plunged into an unknown world of magic. More Info Subscribers get the Good Stuff:
Have you been watching FilePlanet lately? Our Subscribers have been enjoying some incredible betas for Crysis, Age of Conan, Quake Wars, Battlefield Bad Company, Metal Gear Online, Lord of the Rings Online... And more betas all the time. Want some? Subscribe now! [Photo] This Week's Happenings at GameSpy:* GameSpy.com News:
Age of Conan Continues to te Retail Chrono Trigger Returns on DS Court Denies Preliminary Activision/Vivendi Merger Injunction Guitar Hero: On Tour Sets NA Sales Record Halo Board Game Announced Konami Announces Castlevania Judgment For Wii October Release Date for Midnight Club: Los Angeles Rock Band 2 Announced Sony Pulls PS3 2.4 Update Soulcalibur Hitting XBLA Wednesday Team Fortress 2: Heavy Upgrade Coming Next TransGaming to Bring Ubisoft Titles to Mac Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise Date, Details Revealed WoW: Wrath of the Lich King Beta Signups Begin

Reviews:
AGEOD's American Civil War: 1861-1865 (PC) Review BlastWorks: Build, Trade, Destroy (Wii) Review Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (360) Review Hellboy: The Science of Evil (360) Review Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker X Ninja/Saurian (DS) Review Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 (PSP) Review Out of the Park Baseball 9 (PC) Review Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 (DS) Review Unreal Tournament III (360) Review

Previews:
Bionic Commando (360/PS3/PC) Preview Diablo III (PC) Preview N+ (DS/PSP) Preview Quantum of Solace (360/PS3/PC) Preview Spore (PC) Preview StarCraft II (PC) Preview Too Human (360) Preview WoW: Wrath of the Lich King (PC) Preview

GameSpy Commentary:
GameSpy Debriefings #53 - Diablo III chatter... what else? Kanpai - Japanese PlayStation Store gems PlanetFargo: Spore Power To Ya - Creature Creator floods the net State of the Station - Sony Giveth and Taketh Away

Articles:
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational 2008 Index Diablo III (PC): Art and Narrative Design Diablo III (PC): Deep in Hell with Leonard Boyarsky Diablo III (PC): Making Monsters Game of the Month: June 2008 GameSpy: New and Improved! Interview: D&D's New Dungeon Masters Sony's Eric Lempel Talks PS3 Version 2.4