Watch Cliffy B Talk Gears of War 3 on Jimmy Fallon!

Here’s a clip of Epic Games’ Cliff Bleszinski showing off Gears of War 3 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I’m so, so, so jazzed by this clip for several reasons. As some of you know, Cliff and I used to be tight back in the day and I’m so proud of his success. Secondly, my friend Gavin is a producer for Late Night. He’s one of the original G4 peeps and a super-nice guy. I’m proud of his success too.

Anyway, awesome gentlemen aside, the game rocks! Check out Fallon’s reactions as he plays Gears of War 3.

T-Mobile Shows Off the HTC Sensation 4G at E3 2011

T-Mobile USA senior product manager Desmond Smith showed me his HTC Sensation at E3 2011. This excellent Google Android phone is available today and packs some impressive features. Smith was nice enough to give me an overview of the phone (he saw me mark out after he told me it was in his bag). In the b-roll he shows off the HTC Watch (streaming movies) and HTC Trace (Swype-like keyboard) features.

Check it out and let me know what you think (please)!

Coffee Talk #364: Quick Time Events and You

I don’t know that gamers are clamoring for more quick time events, but developers are implementing them into more and more games. One explanation I heard is that developers…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Intelligentsia’s Honduras La Tortuga, Heat bashing taking away from Dallas’ victory, or Jeter’s interrupted march to 3,000 hits, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I was talking about the proliferation of quick time events with some industry friends. The trend is curious. I don’t know that gamers are clamoring for more quick time events, but developers are implementing them into more and more games. One explanation I heard is that developers like quick time events because they keep players engaged. During cinematic sequences, gamers interact with the scene instead of just watching it.

This doesn’t work for me for two reasons. Firstly, I’ve been conditioned to enjoy cutscenes as a reward. Cinematic sequences are a nice treat for finishing a level or a chunk of a game. Secondly, during quick time events I get so focused on the area of the screen with the button commands that I block out the rest of the graphics. For me it’s more enjoyable to sit back and watch a beautiful scene instead of pressing simple button commands to interact with it…

…but that’s just me. What about you? How do you feel about quick time events? Do you love ’em? Do you hate ’em? Or are they just kind of…there? What do you think of them being implemented into more games and more genres?

Ned Stark / Boromir (Sean Bean) Stabbed in a Bar Fight

Master thespian Sean Bean (Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, Boromir in The Lord of the Rings) was recently stabbed in a bar fight protecting the honor of his lady. According to Perez Hilton, Bean was out with Playboy bunny April Summers (hot photo below!) when a drunken patron insulted her. The ensuing scuffle led to Bean being stabbed in the arm with a shard of broken glass. Now here’s the completely cool part:

However, he ultimately REFUSED medical attention, and merely borrowed the bar’s first aid kit, and then ORDERED ANOTHER DRINK!

Ned Stark is my hero…for the reasons above and below.

Source

Unlocked iPhone 4 Available Through Apple USA

Imagine The Rock saying, “Finally…the iPhone 4 is available unlocked…in America!!!” It’s true! American consumers that want an iPhone 4 but don’t want to be shackled with a two-year contract can pick up an officially unlocked iPhone 4 from The Apple Store. The 16GB model costs $649, while the 32GB model costs $749.

Apple Stores in most countries have been offering unlocked iPhones since launch, but America is an unusual market where the carriers have too much stroke. Buying the phone unlocked in America comes at a premium and there’s only one major carrier that supports the unlocked model’s 3G bands (AT&T). However, it’s still a godsend for customers that want an iPhone that can be used in other countries without jailbreaking.

That said, $649 for a phone with year-old tech is a questionable value. Sure, the iPhone 4 still enjoys the best software ecosystem in the world and the screen is absolutely gorgeous, but the screen size is small and the processor is old. For a little bit less money, consumers can purchase an unlocked Android phone with a bigger screen and a dual-core processor. Plus, a new iPhone model is expected in autumn.

Will people pay top dollar for an unlocked iPhone 4? Will future iPhone models launch with an unlocked version? We shall see. For now, kindly put on your analyst hat and let me know what you think this development means.

Coffee Talk #363: E3 2011 Takeaways

E3 2011 is over! Today I wanted to talk about general trends, random observations, and closing thoughts on E3 2011. Naturally, I want to hear about your thoughts on this year’s show as well. Let’s get to it!

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, seven-foot Germans crying tears of joy, taking your talents to South Beach and beating the home team, or LeBron being more Scottie Pippen than Michael Jordan, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

E3 2011 is over! It was a glorious show (as always) and my head is still overflowing with awesome games I saw last week. Tomorrow we’ll talk about the top games of the show. Today I wanted to talk about general trends, random observations, and closing thoughts on E3 2011. Naturally, I want to hear about your thoughts on this year’s show as well. Let’s get to it!

– A lot of games at E3 2011 featured quick time events. I was surprised by how many games — spanning all sorts of genres — implemented QTEs. I’ve never heard gamers crying out for more QTEs. I suppose this helps games reach more people since QTEs add a cinematic feel and simple controls.

– Microsoft and Nintendo are trading places. Microsoft emphasized the casual market with Kinect. Disneyland Adventures and Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster are not for enthusiast gamers, but I expect both to do monster numbers. Nintendo is going in a different direction with the Wii U. The company’s success with the original Wii was all about simplicity and accessibility. The Wii U controller is far more complex and geared towards a different type of customer.

– Developers have longer memories than PR people. I was able to sneak into several demos and cut quite a few lines thanks to people I’ve met before. A middling amount of PR people assisted me with this. The majority of help came from developers. It’s curious that a higher percentage of developers were more interested in me seeing their new game than PR reps. I realize that I’m one guy from a very small site and that my name isn’t as valuable as it used to be, but I still found it all…amusing. I do appreciate everyone that helped me check out games I wasn’t scheduled to see at E3 2011.

– Surprises are a thing of the past. Thanks to the aggressive nature of blogging and a tightly controlled PR cycle, there weren’t any huge game surprises at E3 2011. There were certainly a lot of great and good games, but all of them have been reported on before. For me, the only major surprise was the price of the PlayStation Vita. I only found out about that the day before it was announced, thanks to a developer friend from Japan. I expect this trend to continue in future shows. I expect that there will only be a handful of big surprises at the next few E3 events.

– Indie developers are getting more stroke. It was cool seeing Queasy Games get so much attention with Sound Shapes for Vita. The same goes for Supergiant Games with Bastion for Xbox Live Arcade. It’s brilliant that new platforms and delivery methods are making it easier for independent game developers to get some attention.

What trends did you notice from the outside looking in? I’m sure you have a cool and unique perspective on what happened at E3 2011. Please share your thoughts!

What Will You Remember About the 2011 NBA Finals?

There were so many great storylines in the 2011 NBA Finals — LeBron James’ The Decision leading to Miami Thrice, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry trying to kill the ghosts of 2006, Jason Kidd trying to get his first championship ring at 37, the ridiculous hotness of JJ Barea’s girlfriend, and more. What will you remember from this year’s finals?

For me, it was refreshing seeing a true team win the championship. So much attention has been paid to the Miami Heat’s 2.5 superstars. The New York Knicks have been getting a ton of press for pairing Amar’e Stoudemire with Carmelo Anthony. A lot of fans were thinking that it’s a two-star minimum to be successful in the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks proved that theory to be incorrect. The team rode one superstar, played fantastic team defense, and used excellent ball movement to win it all.

Also, it was funny watching Dirk dash to the lockers to cry instead of immediately celebrating with his teammates. Ha!

BioShock Infinite E3 2011 Preview

Out of all the games I saw at E3 2011, one was a cut above the rest: BioShock Infinite. There’s a lot of change happening in the industry, with games becoming more social, quick time events permeating every genre, and games getting more casual. From what I saw at the show, BioShock Infinite is the ultimate realization of what enthusiast gamers currently consider a videogame to be.

BioShock Infinite takes place on the floating island of Columbia in 1912 — a stark contrast to the underwater world of the original game. Columbia is like a traveling World’s Fair, but armed to the bone. It flies around the world terrorizing other nations. Within Columbia there are two factions vying for power: the Founders and the Vox Populi. You play the role of Booker DeWitt, a disgraced Pinkerton detective that has been tasked with the job of rescuing a young woman named Elizabeth.

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During the demo I noticed a lot more characterization than in the previous BioShock games. Booker and Elizabeth talk a lot. Some of it is idle chatter that helps you learn more about the characters, the world, and more. Some of the talk gives you combat cues. Elizabeth has mysterious powers that can be used for combat combinations.

One portion of the game had Elizabeth using her powers to heal a horse. Instead she ripped space and time, causing the game to fast forward to 1983. A movie theater playing Revenge of the Jedi was in the background. I’m going to guess that time travel, choices between the Founders and Vox Populi, and your treatment of Elizabeth are just some of variables that will help determine which ending you get.

The action was very fast, with a great sense of speed and scale. In addition to shooting, Booker can use telekinesis, electricity, and other powers. There’s a substantial role-playing element behind the action, as you’d expect from an Irrational title. What was different and surprising was the skyline system. Booker can use this above-ground rail system to zip around environments and reach optimal positions for combat. Swinging on the skyline via grappling hook is super fast and gives you an exhilarating feeling. You really get a sense of each level’s size and the art style does a great job of conveying a “sky” feeling that’s a sharp contrast to the “water” feeling of the previous games.

BioShock Infinite looks like it will deliver outstanding quality on several levels. The graphics, powered by a modified version of Unreal Engine 3, are stylish and technically impressive. The gameplay looks thrilling and deep. Although only a few details of the game’s story and setting have been revealed, it’s already more compelling than standard videogame narratives. Like I said earlier, it’s shaping up to be the ultimate realization of what gamers currently consider a videogame to be.

I’m a big fan of Irrational Games and Ken Levine. With that in mind, I was surprised that my expectations were exceeded by BioShock Infinite. It was so good that I caught the demo twice — I didn’t do that for any other game at E3 2011. Even though I only caught a small portion of the game, I’m confident that BioShock Infinite will be great. Hell, there’s a good chance that it will end up being one of the best games this console generation. I can’t wait to see more!