One more trailer for tonight. Just like the Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility trailer, we’ve already shown you this trailer. So what’s different? HD! Nothing like viewing one of the year’s most anticipated rhythm games with high quality video.

Enjoy the updated version. I’m gonna go recap the day.

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Good! Here’s the latest trailer for Natsume’s Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility. We’ve posted this before, but this is a higher quality version where you can actually see what’s going on. Perfect! Now just imagine yourself swinging that arm to use the water jug, and you’ll be on your way to the game’s August 26th release date.

Oh by the way, the song from this trailer is stuck in my head for the rest of the night. Sweet!

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There’s one thing I do want to reinforce. I could almost put myself into the ‘geeks and otaku’ camp. I grew up playing all those great Nintendo games. And so for me I look at product like “Animal Crossing” and I get tremendously excited. I look at “Wario” and get tremendously excited. I look at “Sluggers” coming out and get tremendously excited. So this mentality that we have somehow lost our soul and [are not] speaking to our fanbase, there is nothing further from the truth. And if you talk to Mr. Miyamoto, you really understand that we really have the interest of our core fanbase right at the top of the list. The recognition is — and I think this is really the point — we’re not going to tease you over 18 months or 24 months. We’re going to show you something that’ll make your jaw drop and make it available shortly thereafter.

That’s more like it. Remember, E3 and all the smaller publisher events surrounding it are only the start of the event season. We’ve got the Penny Arcade Expo, Leipzig Games Convention, Tokyo Game Show, and E for All rounding out the rest of the year, with the Game Developers Conference early next year. We’ve got plenty of time to reveal that amazing new Zelda + Wii MotionPlus game.

MTV Multiplayer

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The whole “Dawn of…” thing is going to get old at this rate. Anywho, I’ve uploaded five HD clips from the localized version of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. Feel free to full-screen these babies. More clips in English can’t hurt while we wait for the game’s fall release, right?

The first clip is above (obviously). The rest are after the break.

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With the show in Los Angeles just wrapping up last week, it didn’t take long for a formal apology from the Nintendo camp to surface. In an interview with Forbes, Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata went on record to try and win back the core gamers that were left with a bad taste in their mouth:

If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it’s a misunderstanding and we really want to get rid of that misunderstanding by any means… We are sorry about [the E3] media briefings, specifically for those who were expecting to see Nintendo show something about Super Mario or Legend of Zelda. However, the fact of the matter is the so-called ‘big titles’ need a long, long development period. … We really didn’t think this year’s E3 media briefing was the time to do so.

I completely agree with not showing a game until it is ready, but even a short clip or a screen shot or a logo would have sufficed. It is reassuring that somewhere, some form of a “hardcore” title is being worked on by Nintendo. Why is the world so cruel?

IGN Wii

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Just tell your blog that I’m really a genuinely smiley, nice person. Because people think I’m fake, smiling up there. I’m just not! It’s just me! I am who I am.

Cammie Dunaway is easily one of my favorites among Nintendo of America’s executive staff. She may lack the authority that Reggie had in his first appearance in 2004, and she may lack the fire that Perrin Kaplan had, but she knows what gamers want – and she’s telling us to look forward to PAX in August. You can read more on Kohler’s talk with Dunaway at the link below.

Wired

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It’s unfortunate that Activision is no longer a part of the ESA – it resulted in us not being able to try out any of their games. It’s a good thing that their press conference did a great job of presenting some of their upcoming titles, including Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. The game looked great from my vantage point, and while it wasn’t as impressive as some of the other titles shown, it looked like a Spider-Man game I could consider buying.

Still… no hands-on coming from me anytime soon.

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Sonic Unleashed looked pretty solid when we got to see the game demonstration on Wednesday. Well, the daytime half of the game did, at least. As for the nighttime half, well, I’m pretty sure I have yet to be sold. I’m being cautiously optimistic for now, and the trailer above will give you an idea of the mood they’re trying to set with this game.

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After four days, eight hours of flights, twelve hours of L.A. traffic, one hundred dollars worth of Wi-Fi fees (stupid hotel), two gigabytes of photos, and ten hours of video footage, I think it’s safe to say that E3 has officially kicked our ass, but we loved almost every second of it. Hey, that sounds a lot like Mega Man 9, which I will be gushing about sometime later this weekend.

E3 might be over, but the best of our coverage has only begun, so stay tuned over the next week as our impressions, opinions, and an unhealthy amount of videos begin to trickle in. Now, excuse me as I continue to capture the remaining six hours of our video footage.

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Elebits was one of those games during the initial period of the Wii that really didn’t catch my attention.  It looked interesting enough to purchase once I looked at some early footage, and to be honest, I spent countless hours destroying the house trying to find these critters to upgrade my gun to destroy the house even more.  With the recent announcement of Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero for the DS, I’ve been patiently waiting to see how this series will translate to the handheld.

When I was able to grab the demo (this title wasn’t available to the general media), I was already placed in what looked like an open grass field with a few trees and rocks surrounding the environment.  The main character can either be controlled with the D pad or the stylus, I prefer the stylus due to extended hours playing Phantom hourglass, and there is a giant white Elebit that follows you as you traverse through out the playing field.  A convenient map is placed on the top screen, and shows your positioning, as well as various landmarks similar to the The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past map screen.

The playing concept is fairly straightforward.  You run around trying to find Elebits to upgrade your gun’s wattage, by tapping rocks and trees with your stylus and waiting for them to jump out.  The way you actually collect these Elebits is a little different.  You have to tap each individual Elebit with your stylus, and then you tap your white Elebit once you have tapped each one, and he zooms around the screen and gets them.  It can get a little tricky if there is a large group of them on the screen, because once you tap one of them, your white Elebit begins to electrify on the screen, and you have a timer bar at the bottom.  If you exceed this time, you will have to start over again.

Puzzles in this game are pretty simple.  The player needs to collect Elebits to increase gun wattage, use new gun wattage to move things to advance in the stage, to get more Elebits.

The last encounter I had before the end of the demo was with another large Elebit that had fire breath.  Once I solved the puzzle to set him free, I was able to control him.  You can switch off between the different sidekick Elebits, depending on their abilities.  With this new fire breathing Elebit, I was able to burn down bushes to further advance my adventure until the end of my demo.

Honestly, if you are looking for something with a unique physics engine and plenty of challenging stages searching for these critters, this title isn’t going to work for you.  Essentially this title is for those that are looking for more of an explorer title with some minor item collecting and pretty trivial puzzle solving.

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At the Nintendo Developer Roundtable, Shigeru Miyamoto himself has officially put Pikmin 3 on the map. Sure, there is still no info regarding where on the map, or even which map it’s on, but it’s nice to know that it is being made. Earlier, when asked about the game, he said:

When it’s time to announce such a title, I’ll announce it.

Soon after that he did, plain and simply:

We’re making Pikmin.

I’m going to hold of on getting excited until some gameplay surfaces. Or at least a fact sheet. Oh who am I kidding, Pikmin FTW!

Kotaku

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It’ll be a battle of the bands this fall when Rock Revolution, Rock Band 2, and Guitar Hero: World Tour all become available. The cautious would be likely to say it’s still to early to tell which one will succeed, but the majority are already calling it an uphill battle for World Tour.

You can decide for yourself with the trailer above, with commentary by Brian Bright, who demonstrated the game and instruments on Tuesday night in a church. Come up with your own early prognosis as to how the game will fare.

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Probably the game that surprised me the most at Activision’s Press Conference was Quantum of Solace, based on the upcoming James Bond film of the same title. I haven’t really been into Bond games for about a decade, and haven’t really enjoyed one in just about as long. Of the titles demonstrated at Activision’s press conference, this was the most impressive by far.

Unfortunately, I don’t have footage of that demonstration, showing off the game’s technical details, integration of creative and new camera systems, and ability to remain true to the James Bond license. The third trailer from that evening is shown above for you to enjoy.

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In a private meeting with Capcom today, we were given the chance to try out Resident Evil 5 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. As everybody knows, the immensely popular Resident Evil 4 was given several “Game of the Year” awards from many prominent gaming critics back when it first came out in 2005. The sequel to RE4 takes the radical changes found in that game and enhances them even further to create a title that looks and plays just beautifully.

The basic controls for Resident Evil 5 are very similar to those found in RE4 in that it is an over-the-shoulder 3rd person survival horror game. While RE4 looked incredible on the GameCube, Resident Evil 5 looks absolutely gorgeous on the 360 and PS3. The environments are incredibly detailed, making them seem that much more terrifying and foreboding. The swarms of enemies that charge after your character are each animated with such care that they seem like unique individuals rather than hollow, nameless masses.

As for the gameplay itself, it is both intense and fast paced, as you are thrown into dangerous situations with very intelligent enemies that greatly outnumber you. While you still are unable to run and shoot, I personally believe this staple mechanic to Resident Evil gameplay makes the game that much more intense.

One thing that has slightly changed from RE4 is impact your health status has on the way your character moves and performs. While Leon’s running speed greatly slowed as he took damage in RE4, Chris Redfield’s vision blurs, and his movement slows to a limp as his health reaches critical levels. This is where your partner, Sheva, comes into play.

Although it may initially look like this new character is RE5‘s version of Ashley, Sheva actually proves to be a vital assistant both in combat and puzzle solving. If you are hurt, she will hurry to your side and use a health item on you to keep you alive. At one point in the game, you are unable to reach a high ledge, so you boost her up in order to help you move forward.

Finally, one other change that players will notice is the inventory screen. While Resident Evil 4 paused the game and took players out of the action when the inventory menu was pulled up, RE5 loads it right over the game itself, requiring you to switch weapons on the fly in the heat of battle. Once again, this only increases the tension and sense of urgency felt by the player.

Overall Resident Evil 5 is one of the most promising games I have played this year at E3. It is going to be an incredible experience once this game is released this March.

For more coverage of RE5, check out our videos above, and check back later this week for impressions from our other staff members.

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Any aspiring veterinarians out there? I’m sure you’re all jumping at the chance to poke a lion or rhino with sharp, pointy things. You’ll be able to do just that as soon as this August, when Majesco’s Zoo Hospital makes its way to the Wii.

How could you not want to practice medicine while taking care of animals? It’s like combining the best aspects of Trauma Center and… um… Petz.

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