At Tokyo Game Show, all of the current-gen consoles are present, showing their wares in an attempt to leave gamers with the impression that their machine, and only theirs, will be the only thing to get them through a year of strife, suffering, and pretending to decimate polygonal foes. The Xbox 360, however, is the only console at the show not developed on the show's home turf, meaning that Microsoft often brings out piles of trailers and demos engineered to convince the Japanese market of their gaming prowess. Did their showing at this year's Tokyo Game Show leave an impact or explode into a wad of green goo that not even Halo could compete with? Read on to find out!
-Microsoft hosted a panel on Project Natal, their new motion controller, which was packed with the creators of everything from Metal Gear Solid to Super Monkey Ball praising the wonders of the controller. Floor reports say it works quite well, and although Microsoft is saying it'll be too difficult to modify older games to work with Project Natal, one of their major showpieces for it was 2007's Beautiful Katamari.
– Though Dante's Inferno, the hottest upcoming game based on Italian poetry, is also coming out for PS3, it cannot be ignored that in the playable demo, one must fight monsters that a giant Cleopatra spews from her boobs. It is destined to be the game most likely to lead to teenaged disappointment after reading the works of Dante Alighieri.
– Ninety Nine Nights was not the most popular game on Xbox 360, but the sequel, creatively titled Ninety Nine Nights 2, seeks to increase its profile by featuring hack and slash game play very similar to the last installment, only this time with really big bosses.
– The answer to the prayers of hundreds of gamers has come in the form of Microsoft's new XBLA game, Snoopy: WWI Flying Ace. Now we no longer have to be content with the last-gen Snoopy vs. The Red Baron, as aerial combat featuring beloved comic strip characters has returned to our living rooms. (All sarcasm aside, the thought of Snoopy hopping in an airplane and shooting down enemy pilots amazes me to no end.)
– It was announced the Forza Motorsport 3 is going to include the Fujimi Kaida track and several previously unannounced Japanese cars. See? That Snoopy news looks plenty exciting now, doesn't it?
– Though the impact of the series is questionable, content from three Halo properties on display, with gameplay for Halo 3: ODST and videos for Halo Legends and Halo Reach. I'm sure no one is going to look those up on Youtube.
– The oft delayed Alan Wake was previewed with dark and atmospheric graphics featuring a man in the woods with a flashlight.
– The Xbox 360’s 2009 Christmas Season game lineup can be accurately labeled the “Second Coming of the 2007 Christmas Season”, with Crackdown 2, Lost Planet 2, Assassin's Creed 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 previewed alongside the aforementioned Ninety-Nine Nights 2. Splinter Cell: Conviction continues the series' predilection towards stealth by leaving a number off of the title of what is indeed another sequel.
– Sega's and Tri-Ace's Resonance of Fate mixes things up not with its vague and wordy title but by giving the heroes of the post-apocalyptic RPG firearms and fairly conservative clothing. Obviously, the whole lot of them have lost their minds.
– SNK/Playmore's new 3D fighter, Samurai Shodown: Sen (Edge of Destiny in America) was on display at Tokyo Game Show '09. Interpret this news being proof of my blisteringly obsessive gaming preferences or as a swipe at the existence of a new 3D Samurai Shodown. Either way, you'll be right.
Be sure to check out our Nintendo and Sony Articles for even more TGS coverage.
