E3 2012: Bellator MMA Onslaught - Preview

For the last few years, the eight hundred pound gorilla for MMA fighting games has been THQ's UFC Undisputed series.  With an almost obsessive amount of detail and a lot of sweat poured into making every fighter currently or formerly in the UFC look as life-like as possible, the Undisputed series has earned a reputation for being a hardcore fighting simulation. But with THQ's financial situation, and the future of the Undisputed series in doubt for many, it's to be expected that there will be some contenders for the top spot.  One of those early contenders appears to be Bellator MMA Onslaught.

E3 2012: Hawken - First Impressions (PC)

It's been a long time since I got a mech game that I could really sink my teeth into.  I was a long time fan of the Mechwarrior series.  I flirted with Heavy Gear.  I laughed while running around the city in Shogo.  The price point of Steel Battalion was too steep for what I was going to get out of it.  Games like Front Mission helped cut down on the cravings, but being in the cockpit and looking through the sights themselves was the best way to experience the sort of visceral thrill that comes with watching a giant robot blow up in front of you.

E3 2012: Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two PS3 Hands-On

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is a sequel to 2009's (mostly) critically acclaimed game. In the Power of Two, Mickey returns to the Wasteland with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to save the land. The game can be played cooperatively offline with a friend. You can have a friend drop in and drop out of the game at anytime. In addition to that, co-op is handled through split screen play, so you don't have to worry about your buddy falling behind. Both Mickey and Oswald have their own unique abilities. Mickey can use paint or thinner to draw in pathways and walls or defeat enemies. Oswald can use electricity against enemies.

E3 2012: Sly Cooper Thieves in Time Hands-On (PS3)

Sly Cooper received the full HD treatment last year with the release of the Sly Collection on Playstation 3, which featured all of the original Playstation 2 titles in one package. Sly Cooper Thieves in Time is the first original title in the series for the PS3. I was a big fan of the series on the PS2 and was eager to get my hands on the demo at E3.

E3 2012: NBA Ballers Beats Xbox 360 Kinect Hands-On

NBA Ballers Beats is the first basketball game for the Kinect. Using your body and a real basketball, the game requires players to dribble and do different moves to the beat of music. The game will ship with an official NBA basketball (no price point was mentioned at E3). There are more than 30 licensed tracks in the game spanning genres from hip hop to classic rock. Each of the games songs can be played on multiple difficulties.

E3 2012: Need for Speed Most Wanted PC Hands-On

Criterion Games developed Need for Speed Hot Pursuit back in 2010 and had previously been at the helm of the Burnout Franchise. This time around they are behind the wheel of the next iteration in the Need for Speed series, Most Wanted.

Most Wanted will give players a true open world racing experience, similar in some respects to Burnout Paradise (City). At E3 I got to try out some of the multiplayer modes in the upcoming game.

E3 2012: Rock Band Blitz XBLA Hands-On

I've always been a fan of the Rock Band series. Even to this day, I still download weekly DLC released by Harmonix to keep the experience fresh. Rock Band Blitz is the newest addition to the franchise and ditches all the plastic instruments that have cluttered our living rooms the past several years.

E3 2012: Medal of Honor Warfighter PC Hands-On

I was one of the few people who found some enjoyment in Medal of Honor 2010. Even though my enjoyment was limited to the single player campaign, I was still excited to see what the latest installment of Medal of Honor had in store for multiplayer.

I played a 30 minute multiplayer demo of the game, which took place in the war torn streets of Mogadishu, Somalia. The mode we played was similar to Domination in Call of Duty. There were three control points throughout the map and the objective of this mode was to own all control points on the map for the longest time possible.

E3 2012: Brave Xbox 360 Hands-On

As with every major Disney movie that comes out, it's only natural that we have a video game tie in. In a few weeks Pixar's new movie titled Brave will be released in theatres and to accompany the release will be a video game tie in. The video game loosely follows the story of the movie. Like Epic Mickey 2, Brave can be played with cooperatively with another player. The main character of the film is the Princess Merida of Scotland who is a badass archer. When playing cooperatively, player 2 will control Will O' the Wisp who looks like a dark blue cloud.

E3 2012: Bandfuse Xbox 360 Hands-On

Last year, Rocksmith taught players how to play real guitar. Rocksmith was a great starting point for people new to the instrument, but there were several shortcomings, most notably, the lag, the long loading items, endless tuning of your guitar, the inability to create your own music and lack of bass support. Bandfuse seems to improve upon the Rocksmith experience by featuring guitar and bass support, real music tabulature, an open ended career and the ability to record your own music. Bandfuse is hoping to offer the most authentic experience to date. 

The Weekly Checkpoint 11

It's the end of the week, and time for Mr. Nash to sound off on all of the things that have happened in the game industry over the last seven days.  With this year's E3 in the bag there's a lot to talk about, not the least of which being how disappointing this year's show was.