E3 – it’s all done and dusted for another year. As usual a load of announcements have gone almost unnoticed. That’s where this round up comes in.
They’re pretty chummy these days, so it’s odd that Nintendo haven’t lent Ubisoft the Excitebike name for their online-enabled Nitrobike on Wii. What’s odder is that it’s actually developed by Left Field – the Excitebike 64 people. Go on Nintendo – it won’t do you any harm and Ubisoft will probably give you a big French kiss.
Natsume really know how to milk Harvest Moon – their E3 line-up read as Harvest Moon DS Cute (AKA Harvest Moon DS for Girls), Harvest Moon Wii (full name TBC), Harvest Moon Girl & Boy (PSP), Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (DS) and Puzzle de Harvest Moon. Rune Factory, an RPG set in the Harvest Moon universe, is also on its way to the west, as is River King: Mystic Valley. Meanwhile the PlayStation 2 gets a sequel to the super obscure Metropolismania.
Speaking of sequels, Disney have got Spectrobes II already on the go, and plan to release The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian on just about every format going in May 2008. THQ have not one but two Destroy All Humans games in the pipeline – DAH: Big Willy Unleashed is for PlayStation 2, PSP and Wii, while DAH: Path of Furon is for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Both titles are due late next year.
Sega have released a trailer for Sonic & Mario at the Olympic Games, EA are doing a quiz game (possibly titled Smarty Pants) for Wii with over 20,000 questions, Nintendo hopes Vision Training on DS will go down as well as Brain Training (it improves your eye-to-hand coordination and will tell you your eye age), and Mario Galaxy includes a bee suit for Mario to buzz around in. Bring back the racoon suit too, Nintendo!
There are always a few dud looking games shown at E3 – the type usually hidden at the back of the publisher’s booth. This year’s contenders include Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Zombie Ninja Pro Am, George of the Jungle on PlayStation 2, Wii and DS, and Power Rangers: Super Legends on DS. But you never know – they might all turn out to be ace.
