My Favorite Trailer from E3, Seriously

There were definitely some neat things to see this year at the big three's press conferences. The Metal Gear Solid: Rising trailer shown during Microsoft's conference makes it look like a really cool, fresh entry into the Metal Gear franchise, and looks to be the most promising of the games that will use Kinect. But otherwise I wasn't amazed by the rest of the execution of the device.

Today, during Nintendo's conference, I thought the new Zelda, now named Skyward Sword, was going to be my favorite of the show. But the technical hiccups during Miyamoto's presentation really turned me off, but it's a new Zelda, so I'll end up buying it anyways; plus I really love the Wind Waker-ed Twilight Princess graphic style they're using. Heck, as awesome as it was to see a new Kid Icarus and the 3DS, one game still really stood out for me... Kirby's Epic Yarn. Which, despite the silly name, and even sillier timing by presenting it right after Disney Epic Mickey, is honestly one of the coolest looking games I've seen in a long time.


Like, seriously, LOOK AT THAT! I don't think I've ever seen another franchise get such a drastic visual overhaul and still feel like it should... except maybe Wind Waker. Point being, I really love the way the game looks and moves and I'd say it's a Day 1 purchase for me, based on this trailer alone. Now... if the Wii could output 1080p that'd make this even better, but I'll take this as is.

Sony, a new Last Guardian trailer would've surely won my heart, but ya blew it.

LittleBigPlanet 2

It's not often that we post news anymore, but I got a hold of the trailer and uploaded it to VFHvideo, so... why not, right?



Yes, LittleBigPlanet 2. I would have never thought that a game with so many updates and frequent user-generated and other downloadable content would get a proper sequel, but it looks like it's happening, and it surprisingly looks awesome without looking like more of what I've already payed to play for the last year and a half. And even better, it looks like any of your content, including created levels, will transfer over to the new game, which is a really nice touch.

I'm sure we'll hear and see more of LBP2 at this year's E3.

Media Update: Kaiser Chiefs and Green Day at Madison Square Garden

I know, it's 3:30 AM right now, and I'm tired as hell. While my After Thoughts for Green Day's concert at Madison Square Garden last night may not be up yet, I've already gone and posted some photos on our Flickr and some videos on our YouTube channel, VFHvideo, of both Green Day and opening band, Kaiser Chiefs.

(click to see the whole gallery at Flickr!)


Kaiser Chiefs - "Everyday I Love You Less and Less"
(Also watch "Oh My God" at VFHvideo)


Green Day - "Song of the Century" / "21st Century Breakdown"
(Also watch "Jaded" at VFHvideo)

Not much to go by right now, I know, but I assure you the After Thoughts for the show will be up later today. And yes, if you're curious I did take more photos, but Flickr has a lot of file/bandwidth limits so I had to really pick and choose what would be posted or not; as for videos, what you see is all I took, though I'm sure you'll be able to find more on YouTube sooner or later. Enjoy! And just in case you were curious, the show was awesome!

The New VFHvideo

Well, I was refraining from doing it, but I finally decided to upgrade our YouTube channel, VFHvideo, to YouTube's new profile layout. I was liking the current one, which I put a lot of time into getting just right, specifically the background; but I was reading on YouTube's Blog that on July 15th, all YouTube profiles will be changed over to the new layout, so I figured I might as well do it now.

I wasn't a fan at first, but I have to say the new profile designs are quite nice, but definetly need some getting used to. I definetly like the fact that the full HD video is available right on your channel, and that despite there being a featured video, you can now watch all of a user's upload right on their channel, and comment, without ever leaving.

Now if only something like that could convince me to switch over to MySpace's Profile 2.0....

echochrome Gameplay Footage

Good news echochrome players, as of today you can now download the v1.02 patch for the PS3 version of the game [Full update details at Playstation.Blog]. The coolest feature, in my opinion, is video recording and YouTube upload, a feature previously seen in both PixelJunk Eden and Monsters, and PAIN as well. Here's two levels I recorded:





What's really nice, is that now the uploaded videos are uploaded in HD. Where as in my experience with both PixelJunk titles and PAIN, the quality is usually sub-par. Perhaps this is because HD was not available on YouTube when the previous titles had upload, I don't know, but the high quality is certainly welcome.

I've only uploaded these two (A1 and A2) so far, and I plan to only upload a few per level (B, C, D, etc.). However, if any readers have requests, by all means, leave a comment and I'll see what I can do!

E3 09: Sony Media

As with the Nintendo media yesterday, here's some select video's from Sony's E3 catalog.

I only decided to upload a select batch of videos that I felt needed your viewership, as a few of Sony's "E3" assets were actually old, i.e. their E3 God of War III trailer, is actually the one we posted back in February. And as of posting this, a direct version of the beautifully awesome The Last Guardian trailer is not available from Sony, but when I get a hold of, you know that will show up here right away!

PS3: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Heavy Rain trailers

PSP: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, echochrono (working title), and PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe trailers

If you have any media requests (i.e. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft), please leave a comment and I'll see what I can find for you!

E3 09: Nintendo Media

Hey there readers, hope you enjoyed the E3 conference recaps, but now it's media time. I just received some assets from Nintendo, so I've gone and posted videos for:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Golden Sun DS, Sin and Punishment 2, and Metroid: Other M.

I'm not embedding them here because that would be a slow-down nightmare. Enjoy!

Hopefully I'll be able to get some footage from Sony later, other Microsoft didn't have much video content available on their press site, so I can't help you guys out there.

Update: Got some screenshots and artwork from the press site. Not posting everything, because of bandwidth limits, etc. But I'm posting stuff that caught my interest.

Screenshots of Metroid: Other M


Artwork for New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Golden Sun DS


Artwork for Sin and Punishment 2

Not too much, but the stuff is still cool no less. I'm just waiting for Konami to release artwork for Metal Gear Solid: Rising and MGS: Peace Walker so that I can have a real fanboygasm.

Toy Story 3 teaser trailer

With Disney/Pixar's Up releasing in theaters today, it now means we can already look forward to the studio's next film, Toy Story 3, the sequel to Toy Story 2 and Toy Story (go figure).



As usual for Pixar teasers, the trailer doesn't actually feature any footage from the film, but it still let's you see the old characters back in action. I'm curious as to how this will fair, as it's Pixar second sequel (after Toy Story 2), and then their next project after this is Cars 2 (set for early 2011). Which means there won't be anything "new", in terms of characters and/or franchises, out of the studio until late 2011 when The Bear and the Bow releases; excluding their short films of course.

I was a big fan of WALL-E, and I'm looking forward to seeing Up, but I'm not sure how I feel about another Toy Story (or another Cars at that). There's just something very ... "DreamWorksy" about relying on old franchises, and I'll be honest, that's not a good thing in my opinion, not at all. But maybe it's too early to judge now, we'll see come 2010 I guess.

GDC09: Nintendo news

Not that other companies don't have anything exciting, but this feels like the first "big" new from this years Game Developers Conference.

Nintendo DS, DSi, and DSiWare
- Nintendo DSi purchasers can redeem 1,000 free Nintendo Points by accessing the Nintendo DSi Shop by October 5th, 2009

- First DSiWare titles include Moving Memo, which lets players create digital flipbooks; and WarioWare: Snapped!, which uses Nintendo DSi Camera for mini-games.

- New Zelda game for the Nintendo DS: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. Will be playable on all DS models, i.e. no camera support or anything like that.

Wii, WiiWare, and Virtual Console
- With a firmware update (4.0) available today, Wii owners can now use SD cards, and even High Capacity SD cards (up to 32GB!) to save their Wii Channels, Virtual Console titles, and WiiWare games; all of which can be accessed from the new SD Menu.

- With this new found storage, Nintendo also announced the Virtual Console Arcade, which will bring classic arcade titles to the Wii's Virtual Console. In fact, four games are available right now!

- New WiiWare title announced, and demonstrated: Rock N' Roll Climber, which utilizes the Balance Board and Wiimote/nunchuck to simulate rock climbing. Looked to me like Donkey Kong: King of Swing but with people..

Metal Gear Solid Touch trailer

No longer in the form of cryptic messages, Konami is finally releasing more about Metal Gear Solid Touch. The game, as we know now, is an on-rails shooter retelling the story of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Below is a trailer for the title, but be warned, it contains some spoilers of MGS4 (for those of you who haven't played yet).



Personally, I think it moves very stiffly, but I guess that's to be expected when it's essentially a lengthy port of a flash game.

For more see the MGS Touch Official Website

Super Bowl trailers

With the game over, I guess that makes it a safe time to post the only thing worthwhile about it, the commercials. More specifically, the movie trailers (since the actual commercials were awful). Thanks to Hulu, you can find most of the commercials there. However, because of our contact with Paramount, the Star Trek spot is available at VFHvideo. So, let's take a look at the movie trailers that got us interested:

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (available in HD)

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (our first video in HD)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Disney / Pixar's Up

Year One
What do you think? Do you agree with our picks? If you want to see more videos from Super Bowl XLIII's commercial breaks, be sure to check out Hulu.com

Street Fighter IV Roster Trailer

Still not too keen on the visual style of this game, as I would have more preferred HD sprites more akin to that of the new King of Fighters title, but it's not up to me. None the less, this new trailer released today by Capcom features Street Fighter IV's entire console roster. Enjoy!



Man, some of those English voices are just ... dreadful. And the dubbing on the 3D Ryu? Ew, that's all I can say. Let's hope the sound of the game doesn't ruin the gameplay.

New YouTube feature

Found an interesting new feature on YouTube today. While doing my daily checks on VFHvideo, I saw a little thing on our page, and other channels as well, that reads, "Embed this channel". So being the curious type I decided to see what it did.


It seems to be an embeddable player that features your latest eight videos, and also retains the colors and design of your channel. Neat!

YouTube goes widescreen

Not sure how many of you actually noticed this, but as of today, all YouTube videos play in widescreen. While the embed versions will retain their square frames, on videos viewed on YouTube itself are in a fancy widescreen format. And I have to say, it really helps for things like our recently posted Star Trek trailer, amungst other widescreen content. But don't fret, if any videos were not widescreen to begin with, they'll now have black bars along the top/bottom and/or sides.

Good to know they've tried to make the viewing experience better for everyone instead of letting certain channels get "theater mode".

New Star Trek trailer, website

There's a brand new trailer for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, as well as a new website. This is the trailer that is supposed to play before Quantum of Solace, but didn't for me.

The new website is pretty elaborate, as it gives you a glimpse at the Enterprise's interior. As for the content, most of it was available before, but there are a handful of new wallpapers and such. Oh, there's also that other thing you were looking for: the new trailer!

You can download it in HD at this link

I have to say, this trailer has really raised my expectation of the film. Sure the posters were cool, but finally getting to see it all in motion is just awesome. I just hope this Star Trek isn't the Episode I of Star Wars, because that's the vibe I was getting from kid Kirk and kid Spock. Have you seen Episode I? Yeah, that's my point.

PixelJunk Monsters footage

I finally got the PixelJunk Monsters patch; I ended up having to delete the game and redownload it though, because there was issue downloading the straight patch. And then came the Video Recording, which I couldnt upload to YouTube directly because of my connection, but I was able to save the videos to my system, copy them to a flash drive, and then upload them to YouTube via my laptop. And yes, I did it all for you. There's three parts, but it's continuous footage of levels Easy 1, Easy 2, and the Tutorial level.

Easy 1

Easy 1 continued, Easy 2

Easy 2 continued, Tutorial, Menu

I have to say, I'm enjoying the game much more now with the difficulty changes and little fixes here and there. I can actually enjoy the experience and the art and music without getting my ass kicked. Now I just have to wait for an Eden update that does the same...

Watchmen - Scream Awards trailer

I have no idea what Scream Awards are, all I know is that they debuted a new clip of Watchmen during it, and now that clip is available in HD. You can check the standard version at VFHvideo:


To download the trailer for yourself in either Quicktime and/or Windows Media formats (from Small to 1080p HD) visit the Watchmen Production Blog

I have to say, it's looking pretty good, though a lot of this footage is taken from the debut trailer, it's nice to get something new, and in 1080p quality.

TGS 08: Halo 3 Recon

Originally supposed to be announced at E3, Bungie finally got to announce its first project since separating from Microsoft, a Halo 3 expansion, published by Microsoft... Anyways, what Halo 3: Recon actually is, is a prequel to the events of Halo 3, but starring an new character, who's yet to be named. However, despite being a prequel, and technically a separate game, it's listed as an "expansion", in my mind meaning you'll still need Halo 3 in your 360 to play it.

Meet your new Spartan
I don't own a 360, so chances are I won't be playing this. However, I'm still intrigued, as I've never seen an FPS that (at least looks to be) set in a rainy environment. Sure, Metroid Prime has its instances, but I think Bungie is going for an entire game full of rain. We'll see how it turns out.

FEIST

FEIST is a Mac exclusive indie platformer, created by by Florian Faller and Adrian Stutz. What really turned me on to the project, other than the fact that I have a Macbook Pro, was the style of this title. It's visual style looks like a cross between Patapon and LostWinds, while still retaining it's own unique design.


After playing around with the title for a bit I will say that I'm impressed. But just because I am impressed doesn't mean it's without its flaws. My one concern is that there is no objective, so your dropped right into the world with no real idea of what you should be doing. Also, the visual style, even at 1440 x 900 retains a blurred look to it, and that may bother some people. It makes sense that this in the Beta stage, because there are some things that can be fixed. One notable instance was when I was stuck between a wall and an enemy, the enemy hit me and I managed to go through the wall, and into a never-ending black abyss. But for a indie project, FEIST really does show potential. So if you're a Mac owner, do yourself a favor and try this out. And let's be honest, what other gaming could you be doing on a Mac?

You can download the FEIST Beta at IndieGames.com; Mac OSX is required.

FEIST - Official Website

Spaceballs: The Animated Series; and why G4 is awful

I'm pretty sure this trailer is the embodiment of the crap G4 has become. They barely cover gaming anymore, and most of the schedule is filled with Cheaters! and COPS. And now, now they have to go a ruin Mel Brooks' classic film with this crappy, Flash made, excuse for television that has more breasts than a strip club. Honestly, after watching this, could you tell me if this was more about space, or more about breasts?

Apparently Mel Brooks co-wrote the series, but I don't know, maybe he's just lost it by now ... The series, which lasts for 13 episodes, granted it's not renewed, will begin airing on G4 September 21st. Luckily for me, I don't get G4 where I live so I won't even have the option to watch this crap.