Advanced FreeFlow Combat – Batman faces highly coordinated, simultaneous attacks from every direction as Arkham’s gangs bring heavy weapons and all-new AI to the fight, but Batman steps it up with twice the number of combat animations and double the range of attacks, counters and takedowns.

New Gadgets – Batman has access to new gadgets such as the Cryptographic Sequencer V2 and Smoke Pellets, as well as new functionality for existing gadgets that expand the range of Batman’s abilities without adding extra weight to his Utility Belt.

New Story – Five-time Emmy-Award-winner Paul Dini returns to pen a brand-new story for Batman: Arkham City, taking gamers deep inside the diseased heart of Gotham.

Arkham Has Moved – Following the closure of Arkham Asylum and Blackgate prison, Gotham’s new mayor, Quincy Sharp ordered the relocation of all inmates to Arkham City – a sprawling new super-prison five times bigger than Arkham Island, enclosing a wide variety of industrial districts, iconic locations and Gotham landmarks.

Huge Cast of Characters – Players encounter numerous characters from the Batman universe, including Catwoman, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, Hugo Strange, Victor Zsasz, Calendar Man, The Joker, The Riddler and other iconic characters yet to be revealed.

Featured VO Talent – Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy reprise their roles as The Joker and Batman respectively.

Batman: Arkham City is set to be released in Fall 2011.

Technorati Tags: Batman Arkham City, Xbox, Microsoft, Fall 2011, Warner Bros, Game, E3, Superhero, Comics, Dark Knight, Screenshots

That’s because we’ve tapped into the need for people to have fun and share their video game experience together with friends. The game is exuberant and people just love playing together at home or with friends.

Q. What are the new features?
A. The multimillion selling game now comes to Kinect and PlayStation Move so everyone can join the party! I can’t say much yet about all the features we are going to have but this year Just Dance will raise the stakes by adding 4 players choreographies on Wii, giving a chance to every Just Dancer to get their moment of fame through unique moves. We also improved our level design by bringing Dynamic Environments where players will experience background transformation through the songs for more interactive gameplay.

On Kinect, the Shout Out! Feature will let you and the crowd belt out your favorite verse for more points and total party fun.

Q. What are the differences between the platforms? Will the difficulty be similar?
A. The team was thrilled to take advantage of the uniqueness of each platform and maintaining one common tracklist and most of the features. Kinect allows us to take full advantage of the camera and all the online features offered by the Xbox Live. On PlayStation 3, we wanted players to be able to experience a new way of playing by adding a sing along feature to the game.

There will be a slight difference in terms of difficulty thanks to the full body capture tracking provided by the Kinect camera.
Just Dance 3 has a wide range of difficulty level depending on the song and its choreography. The main difference comes from the fact that the Kinect camera now allows us to track the full body so we are going to take that into account in our scoring. This is not about creating a hardcore version of Just Dance on the X360 but allowing players to have a more accurate scoring and being able to challenge each other.

Q. What is the tracklist? Will it be the same for all platforms?
A. The tracklist will be shared between platforms but you might find some exclusive tracks here and there. I can’t reveal anything on the track list yet, but expect variety, massive hits and surprises. For E3 we can already announce:

Taio Cruz – “Dynamite”
LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock – “Party Rock Anthem”
Black Eyed Peas – “Pump It”
2 Unlimited – “No Limit”
Duck Sauce – “Barbra Streisand”
Gwen Stefani – “What You Waiting For”
Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”
Laura Bell Bundy – “Giddy On Up (Giddy On Out)”
MIKA – “Lollipop”
Groove Century – “Boogie Wonderland”

More to come around Gamescom!

Q. There is a huge number and variety of songs included in the Just Dance games. How were these selected?
A. There are lot of ingredients and criteria to build a strong playlist and also lot of complications to get it done. Our objective is that at the end our players feel as they always knew these songs somewhere or somehow.

When the tracklist was created, the creative director really wanted to give players a wide variety of music: choose hits from every music genres; add a big share of fun; make sure rhythm is dynamic; find the right balance between energy and melody, between songs with “must have” iconic moves and songs that just make you want to jump all around; pick hits from today’s top of the charts but never forget to add some good old classics… All these ingredients mixed together gave something for everyone…

Music was created to dance to!

Q. How do you freshen up a 30 years old song to make it feel actual and modern?
A. Choreography and visuals are the key in making any song feel modern. What makes Just Dance unique in this regard is that every single map is an artistic creation. The art direction, Music Choice, and Choreography work together to bring a fresh new look and feel for all of our songs. Each map is design to sublimate the artist’s universe, the era of the song, the lyrics or any iconic element related to the track. Just Dance is a tribute to Pop culture in its broadest sense.

Q. Where was the game developed and how many people worked on the title? Is it the same team that worked on JD2 and JD3?
A. The core Just Dance team from Ubisoft Paris is at the heart of Just Dance 3, and they federated over 100 persons with creative teams from Ubisoft’s Montréal and Bucharest studios for the new Kinect and Move versions of the game.

Q. How did the idea for the Just Dance games come about?
A. We originally developed a dancing/rhythm game for the Raving Rabbids series using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. It was great for mini games and for specific songs, but we always felt we could go further by concentrating on a format that just let’s people dance. We created a small prototyping team to start testing different ways of getting people to shake it all about… Most “dancing games” don’t actually get you to dance–with mats or controllers you are essentially pushing buttons in time with the screen, our concept was to get people to let loose and really pull off new dance moves.

Q. How are the choreographies in the game developed? Who creates these for the game?
A. We are working with a number of talented choreographs who creates each unique choreography for the game. Those dancing routine are based on the song, its lyrics and universe with accessibility and fun in mind.

Q. What can you tell us about the DLC?
A. Ubisoft is very committed to supporting its titles way after their release date. Like with Just Dance 2, we plan to release new songs and choreographies on a regular basis so players can always get more fun and the latest billboard hits.

Q. Do you plan on releasing a Just Dance title focusing on a specific type of music? Or on a specific artist?
A. Just Dance has always been about the variety of the playlist and its appeal to a wide audience, so we don’t have any plan like this.

Q. When you talk about dynamic environment, are these scripted events or does it depend on the player performance (individual or group)?
A. Dynamic environment are a very cool addition to the way we envisioned the different maps. We are raising the visual quality and the depth of the environments we create around the song by having changes occurring to the level along the music. Those changes are not only scripted, some of them occur also depending on the players’ performance. The more they grove the more the level reacts to their moves.

Q. What is the release date? Is it the same for all platforms?
A. The game is slated for a worldwide launch on October for all platforms.

Technorati Tags: Just Dance 3, Dance, PS3, Motion Gaming, Game, Dancing, Pop Music, Ubisoft, E3

Technorati Tags: E3, Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Tom Clancy, Game, Games, Multiplatform, Screenshots, Holiday 2011

9:06 AM: The Nintendo Conference begins a little late with a tribute to Link and the Legend of Zelda, with singers and a live orchestra! The tribute shows the progression of Link from his days on the original NES until today, with the new Skyward Sword.

I do not to tell anyone I am a huge Zelda fan, so this is VERY exciting!

It is the 25th Anniversary of Legend of Zelda!

9:10 AM: The creator of Zelda talks about the game’s anniversary. The gameplay and the music have evolved with each game. The song performed by the orchestra is the theme to the new Zelda game. Music is an indispensable piece of the game. The orchestra is going to play the songs in the game…live!

The chime for solving a puzzle is exciting. Opening a treasure chest is epic. The melody from a fairy sounds very familiar but much more robust.

The Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening with be available as a download on Gameboy Color.

There will be a Zelda game for each of their systems.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D will launch for 3DS around the world. The graphics are updated and it includes help videos, boss challenge mode, and more.

In September, on Nintendo DSi, Four Player Co-Op Legend of Zelda: Four Swords will be a free download.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii out Holiday 2011. The Wiimote is being used for swinging swords and using bow. A special gold Wiimote is being created. The game is packed full of content.

There will be a Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Orchestra Concerts, in all regions. There are also two Legend of Zelda CDs coming out. More announcements celebrating the anniversary are being prepared for later this year.

9:22 AM: There is an announcement of the new generation console. The system is supposed to offer deeper game experience and wider appeal to the majority of gamers.

9:27 AM: Reggie is out. He knows we want the buzz of the new, but the feel of the old.

Coming to 3DS:

Mario Kart – tricked out version – with some really cool features! Races into stores Holiday 2011.

Star Fox – Allows you to turn the 3DS and turn the action. It will be in stores in September 2011.

Mario is Back! Mario 3DS will be out before 2011 ends! It’s the latest Mario adventure and looks awesome!

Kid Icarus Uprising – More details are here! Battling both Land and in the air! 3 on 3 multiplayer action is available and uses augmented reality cards. It will be available later this year.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 – It is in 3D with several new mansions!

There are some great third party games available for Nintendo 3DS. Game Demos can be downloaded later this year and a virtual console system will be available on 3DS. The games from the old systems are being ported over into 3DS. They are giving a free copy of Excitebite to show it off.

9:42 AM: Pokemon will spring to life in 3DS and in real life. The Pokedex is being enhanced and will be available to players of 3DS. There is an enhanced Pokedex that you have to fill yourself!!! A Pokemon can be super-imposed on real world backdrops. You can also load it on your computer.

Pokedex 3DS is not being sold in stores. It is going to be available as a complimentary gift for the new system upgrade.

9:44 AM: The new system is being announced. It is being called Wii U. it is backward compatible. The controller has a touch screen, microphone, rumble feature, and more. You can play with friends, enjoying video chat on the controller or playing together on the big screen.

The Wii U controller can be taken with you so you can have games on TV and games on the go without missing a beat.

Smash Bros will be developed for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

New Super Mario Mii is being conceptualized (you play as your Mii alongside Mario).

The Wii remote can be used some of the games.

One title available for Wii U – The Lego City Stories is coming exclusively to Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Yawn.

Some of the games going to be made available to Wii U.

Dirt – Codemasters
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online – Ubisoft
Metro Last Light – THQ
Tekken – Namco
Ninja Gaiden – Tecmo

10:10 AM: EA is joining up with Nintendo. The EA brand is excited about the new system and controller.

The new system will have online connectivity along the vein of Xbox Live and PSN. The system will also connect with social networks.

He did not name any new games, but did give hints at Madden and Battlefield coming to Wii U.

Technorati Tags: Nintendo, E3, Live Coverage, Press Conference, Wii Successor, New Generation Console, Announcements, Video Game, Wii U, Legend of Zelda, Super Mario 3DS, Pokemon, Pokedex, Kid Icarus Uprising, Luigi’s Mansion 2

Who is developing the game?
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 is being developed by a talented group of people at Ubisoft Montreal. Those same people worked on Your Shape: Fitness Evolved as well as Michael Jackson: the Experience.

What can we expect from Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012?
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, launched in November 2010, is the #1 fitness game on Kinect. With consumer feedback in mind, the franchise will be back in 2012 with a revamped game structure that will make the game user-friendly and bring more of what players want to see. It will also allow them to better see their progression and find motivation in their accomplishments. As one of the most extensive fitness offerings on the market, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 will have something for everyone with more than 90 hours of activities. With everything from targeted workouts to dance classes, zen sessions, boot camp, martial arts, warm up, cool downs, jump rope, running or games, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 provides users with a very broad variety of workout opportunities. The tracking has also been pushed to the next level with brand new floor movements as well as a better feedback system where, on top of telling you what you are doing wrong, your coach will also tell you how to do it right.

How is Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 different from Your Shape: Fitness Evolved?
The new Your Shape game will feature a brand new structure allowing consumers to quickly and easily access the activities that better answer their needs. There will also be more content showcasing a wide array of workouts, classes, activities and games. With Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012, the goal is really to have the most diverse offer on the market to appeal to everyone and anyone. We’re all different and we all have varying fitness goals. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 has the answer to those many objectives with targeted workouts, dance classes, zen sessions, boot camp or martial arts, warm up, cool downs, jump rope, games and a new feature we like to call Run the World. The latter is a brand new activity that will give players the chance to do interval running in a 3D rendition of New York, Paris or London. They’ll also be able to see their friends’ progression and leverage that as a source of motivation to go further or even brag. Overall, the artistic direction will also allow for Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 to transport users from their living room into a magical and motivational location with changing backgrounds and evolving environments.

Have the tracking capabilities evolved from last year?
Your Shape will still feature its best-in class tracking. With improved synch zones, base tracking has been improved and floor exercises have been added to the list, which makes Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 the first fitness game to bring floor tracking to players. The latter will now be able to add pushups and sit ups to their favorite workouts. From a visual standpoint, tracking information will be easier to understand and won’t only provide you with details on what you’re doing wrong, but also tell you how you can improve. The advanced feedback system will also include labels showcasing the key areas on the silhouette and what players need to do.

How will the multiplayer mode work?
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 will feature an offline multiplayer mode. The mini games offering will handle the multiplayer aspect of the turn-based game play. The games will recognize up to four players and track their scores. They can choose to create their own Xbox 360 profiles if they want to, but the game can handle four players from the same profile. If signed into Xbox LIVE, you’ll be able to keep an eye on your friends’ best scores as you are playing. There’s nothing better than a little friendly competition!

Is connectivity still a key aspect of the Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 offering?
The Your Shape Center remains a central part of the Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 fitness experience. Users will be able to log onto their profiles to monitor their progress, challenge their friends and see how they rank against players from around the world using the global leaderboards. Local and global events are also available, allowing players to compete against each other or together. They can also share their achievements on Facebook or keep in shape using tools available via various mobile applications. Also, when logged on to Xbox LIVE, players will also be able to receive in-game notifications and see their friends’ progress as it happens. The Your Shape Center will continue to evolve as new content will be made available for users.

How active is the community on Your Shape Center?
Approximately a half million of Your Shape users are online and have played over 11 million routines for a total of 29 million minutes. To date, over 300 million calories have been burned worldwide, putting the community on track to reaching one billion calories burned in 2012.

How is Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 different from all the other fitness solutions on the market?
Time is a rare resource these days and fitness is usually the first thing to take the back seat when prioritizing one’s schedule. However, fitness doesn’t have to be a tedious or lengthy affair. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012’s ambition is to be a personal fitness solution that fits consumers’ very personal needs. Steering clear of glorified DVDs, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012’s improved player projection puts the player into the game allowing for an interactive and instructive experience. The feedback is tailored to you, making it that much more beneficial and accurate. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 allows for individuality and for fitness to become an integral part of one’s daily life. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 is a painless and wide-ranging fitness solution where all you need, is you and a Kinect.

Who is Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 for?
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 is a game that understands that not everyone is the same and that we all have different fitness objectives and goals. Yes, it’s for people who want to work out and consider fitness to be an important part of their lives. These people want to exercise, but between family and job, might not have a lot of time for it. They like the idea of working out at home, but no solutions have really satisfied their needs. Workout DVDs, with their lack of feedback, get boring really fast. The gym might be too far, too time-consuming or too expensive. As for the games available, they aren’t compelling or efficient enough.
However, the game is also for those who don’t work out and would like to potentially ease into it. Or even for people who simply want to have some active fun and unwind after a long week with a zen session or a dance class.

Technorati Tags: Your Shape, Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012, Q&A, Screenshots, Ubisoft, Kinect, Fitness, Workout, Game, Motion Gaming

From Ubisoft:

With Far Cry 3, players step into the shoes of Jason Brody, a man alone at the edge of the world, stranded on a mysterious tropical island. In this savage paradise where lawlessness and violence are the only sure thing, players dictate how the story unfolds, from the battles they choose to fight to the allies or enemies they make along the way. As Jason Brody, players will slash, sneak, detonate and shoot their way across the island in a world that has lost all sense of right and wrong.

“Far Cry 3 brings something new and unexpected, while still building upon the foundations of excellence that are inherent to the Far Cry brand,” said Dan Hay, producer at Ubisoft Montréal. “Whether you’re already a fan of the Far Cry series or jumping into the franchise for the very first time, you’re going to be blown away by the gritty story and epic adventure we’re going to deliver.”

Technorati Tags: Far Cry 3, E3, Screenshots, 2012 Release, Video Game, Franchise, Gaming, Xbox, PS3, Ubisoft

In Prototype 2, players take on the new role of a protagonist, Sergeant James Hellar, who is out to get revenge on the protagonist of the first game, Alex Mercer. This makes things pretty interesting. I cannot wait to check this game out!

You can find out more and become a fan of Prototype 2 at: http://www.facebook.com/Prototype.

Prototype 2 is being released some time in 2012.

Technorati Tags: Prototype 2, Video Game, Trailer, Activision, Alex Mercer, E3 Conference, Video, Reveal, Press Conference

WHAT IS THE STORY OF BIA FURIOUS 4™?
Set in 1944, the Nazis are doing all they can to turn the battle in their favor. BIA follows a team of fierce, fearless soldiers that are chasing Hitler before he is able to claim victory by ultimately fulfilling his master plan. You play as one of the Furious 4. Players have the chance to use special weapons along with being able to perform special combat abilities. This allows players to fight the experimental war machines that are being used by the Nazis in order to defeat you and win the war.

WHY BREAKING UP WITH THE REALISM OF THE BIA SERIES?
The Brothers in Arms franchise has always been known for the strong, gritty direction that has placed players right into the heart of WWII action. This new installment to the franchise takes a new approach to WWII by building a more action-oriented, intense player experience for fans and shooter-lovers.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN FEATURES OF BIA FURIOUS 4™?
Players have the ability to choose between four very distinct characters, all of which offer different fighting styles and weapon options. From there, the player will be thrown into a brutal war experience that contains a growing number of experimental Nazi war machines. Once a fighting style is selected, players will have the ability to grow their strengths and abilities as new challenges are completed and new ranks have been achieved. The game is able to be used in co-op mode with up to four players. Additional information regarding co-op and multiplayer mode will be released as it has been made available.

WHO ARE THE CHARACTERS?
One of the main differences in Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 has to do with the character base. Instead of working with a crew of soldiers, Furious 4 is built of a special group of select soldiers that has been given the mission to kill Hitler and end the war. This means that you can expect the soldiers to be more outrageous than ever before. The trailer reminded me a lot of Inglorious Basterds for this reason. These soldiers are proud to do what they do and they always make sure to have fun doing it.

The crew includes:
Chok: A Native American solider that is out for blood and can’t seem to get enough of it.
Montana: The fierce and fearless giant American warrior.
Stitch: The Irish medic that is occasionally mistaken for a pure psychopath.
Crockett: A true shoot-em-up, fierce Texan fighting machine.

With each character you can expect a distinct method of combat, various unexpected melee weapons and some shocking and devastating special skills.

Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 will be released in Xbox 360, Playstation3, and PC versions the first part of the calendar year, 2012.

Technorati Tags: Brothers in Arms Furious 4, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC, Q&A, WWII, Action, Game, Gaming, Ubisoft, First Person Shooter

As Ezio you will head into Constantinople in order to play out your game. You can expect new key players and an equally as strong multiplayer experience when Revelations is revealed on the shelf. Check out the following screenshots and let us know what you think.

More information will be added on Gamerrazzi as it becomes available.

Technorati Tags: Assassins Creed Revelations, Ubisoft, Multiplatform, Xbox, PS3, Ezio, Assassin, Shooter, Screenshots, E3, Constantinople

Rebirth of a Platforming Legend: It’s been 15 years since the first launch of Rayman. Rayman Origins brings back many of the classic characters, revived in their original 2D form, as well as a whole new world of characters and environments. Discover the roots of Rayman by collecting pieces of the Glade’s history, and assemble them to reveal the truth behind Rayman’s origins.

4-Player, Jump-In/Jump-Out, Co-op Gameplay: Play as Rayman in the solo campaign, or have up to three friends jump in at any time to play as Globox or as one of the two Teensies. Players can leave at any time without affecting the others’ progression.

Unique Approach to 2D Art: A rich world with over 100 characters and 12 unique environments created by some of the VG’s most reputed artists and animators. This creative approach to 2D design will recapture the hearts of platformer fans and introduce a new generation to one of the industry’s best-loved characters in his original 2D form.

A Vast Playground: Rayman Origins includes over 60 levels of 2D platforming gameplay designed for all ages and playing styles. Unlock new abilities progressively and return to previous levels to discover new paths and secrets.

Variety of Gameplay: Rayman Origins is a platformer at its core, but it has elements of many game genres. Rayman, Globox and the Teensies gain unique abilities as they progress through the adventure, including swimming, diving and the sensational “HairlyCopter.” The game also features many elements of action, adventure and beat-’em-up gameplay.

Epic Boss Fights: A giant pink monster with hundreds of eyes… A possessed, mountainous golem… An evil daisy-cum-carnivorous plant… Rayman Origins will put players to the test with these and many more challenging boss battles!

A Handful of Highly Talented Artists and Engineers: Rayman Origins was developed by the UBIart team in Montpellier and is built on an open-source game engine—the UBIart Framework—designed by Michel Ancel to allow much smaller teams of artists and developers to produce incredibly high-quality graphics and gameplay quickly and efficiently. This garage-game approach has led to great strides in creativity and innovation.

Technorati Tags: Rayman Origins, E3, Gaming, Game, Ubisoft, Franchise, Screenshots, Key Features, 4-Player Co-Op