Mario Sports Mix
Keeping in the Mario Sports tradition that started in 1991 with NES Open Tournament Golf then continued with Mario's Tennis and Super Mario Kart, comes a collection of mini-games featuring the Mario gang competing in all sorts of athletic madness, Mario-style.
So far four games in the collection have been announced.
- Hockey
- Dodgeball
- Basketball
- Volleyball
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
- Publisher/Developer: Capcom
- Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
- Release Date: Spring 2011
Capcom continues to mine it’s awesome retro fighting roots with this third sequel to the 1998 arcade game-turned rarest console collectible title ever (until the XBLA and PSN rerelease of Dreamcast classic Marvel vs. Capcom 2). Using classic Capcom characters fighting it out with Marvel’s greatest heroes and villains in arena battles, for the first time in the MvC series, Part 3 will mix 3D graphics on a 2D background giving it both a modern and retro feel.
Characters announced so far include:
Capcom:
- Chris Rendfield (Resident Evil)
- Dante (Devil May Cry)
- Felicia (Darkstalkers)
- Morrigan Aensland (Darkstalkers)
- Ken Masters (Street Fighter)
Marvel:
- Captain America
- Deadpool
- Spider-Man
- Iron Man
- Wolverine
Metal Gear Solid: Rising
- Publisher: Konami
- Developer: Kojima Productions
- Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
- Release Date: TBA
Announced at the 2009 E3 Expo, this latest sequel in the stealth series that started in 1989 Nintendo Entertainment System game Metal Gear, has been busily in development. Fans are hoping that at this year’s E3 they will finally announce a release date as well as a look at the gameplay.
Instead of starring series favorite Solid Snake, Rising will feature the solider turned cyborg, Raiden, who was originally introduced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Son’s of Liberty.
Metroid: Other M
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Developer: Team Ninja
- Platforms: Wii
- Release Date: 8/31/2010
Announced at the 2009 E3 Expo, with more news slated for unveiling at E3 2010; Metroid: Other M is the 10th game in the franchise that started in 1986 as Metroid for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The storyline fills in the gaps between the 1994 Super Nintendo game Super Metroid and the 2002 Game Boy Advance title Metroid Fusion.
Rumors have been buzzing that the gameplay switches between Metroid’s classic 2D side-scrolling style and the modern 3rd person 3D games in the series.
Mortal Kombat
- Publisher: Warner Bros. interactive Entertainment
- Developer: NeaterRealm Studios (formerly WB Games South, formerly Midway South)
- Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
- Release Date: TBA
Tragic as it is, it’s time we get use to the idea that, Midway is dead, but not it’s gaming legacy. Luckily the hand of Warner Bros. has swooped in to save (some) of Midway’s franchises from death by bankruptcy.
The big concern fans have is that it was WB who teamed up with Midway to make the watered down Teen rated Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. However based on early teasers it looks like WB is doing the same return to the formula that made people actually like the franchise. Kind of like what they did with Batman Begins after the horrid Batman and Robin cinematic disaster.
The latest Mortal Kombat promises to resurrect it’s bloody, gory, roots with fatalities maiming and mutilating opponents, but they’re not going back so far as to bring back the 2D live-action sprites of the 1992 original arcade classic.
Rayman Origins
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Developer: TBA
- Platforms: Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, WiiWare
- Release Date: TBA
Rayman returns to his 2D side-scrolling roots in this E3 teased episodic game that reveals how Rayman came to be. Not much else is known aside from some spectacular cell shaded graphics with hand crafted characters, enemies and backgrounds.
Sonic Colors
- Publisher: SEGA
- Developer: Sonic Team / Dimps Corporation
- Platforms: Wii and Nintendo DS
- Release Date: Q4 2010
Not much of a gameplay peak was seen from the teaser trailer to this Nintendo exclusive Sonic outing. Honestly the teaser could have been for just about any Sonic game, showing only scripted animation. They must be saving it all for a sneak peak demo at the E3 Expo. All we know so far is that it will switch between 2D to 3D graphics and allows players to use colors to traverse an alien world.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1
- Publisher: SEGA
- Developer: Sonic Team / Dimps Corporation
- Platforms: Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, WiiWare
- Release Date: Q4 2010
While SEGA has released numerous Sonic the Hedgehog games since the blue speedster debuted on the SEGA Genesis in 1991, this is the official 4th sequel mixing both the old and the new.
Sonic 4 is a return to the 2D side-scrolling gameplay of the original Genesis series, but it is being released as a episodic game. That means that, like a dramatic TV series, the overall narrative of the game is split into several game “Episodes”, with events taking place right after events of the Genesis classic Sonic and Knuckles.
Splatterhouse (remake)
- Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
- Developer: BottleRocket and Namco Bandai Games
- Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
- Release Date: Fall 2010
The Next-Gen remake of the gory 1989 Arcade and TurboGrafx-16 action chop-em-up game has suffered from troubled development, but is finally ready to roll into demoing at the 2010 E3 Expo.
As the title suggests, the hocky masked hero of the game Rick, splatters his way though horrific monsters using makeshift weapons and his bare, bloody hands.
