The people at Capcom should be no strangers to establishing a new IP on the market. Since the Japanese company introduced their first multi-part franchise in the mid ’80s with Ghosts ‘n Goblins, they have been known for establishing franchises that run for many years. Along with such legendary titles as Street Fighter and Mega Man, this strategy has enabled them to create and develop things such as, in particular, the survival-horror genre.

However, it was interesting to meet Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi at gamescom and to watch him demonstrate Capcom’s latest offering, Dragon’s Dogma. What was shown on the screen in the tiny booth was neither slugfest nor survival-action title, nor a new approach for an arcade concept either. What Capcom had announced in April, probably more out of sheer habit, as action-adventure was in fact the first open-world RPG in Capcom’s 33-year history.

Indeed, with Dragon’s Dogma Capcom is not abandoning their extensive expertise in action gameplay; however, the presentation at gamescom focused mainly on the most basic aspect of an RPG game: the forming of game groups to enable the player to engage in combat with up to three followers or “Pawns”.

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Here’s the last of our three trailers revealing the crazy weapons in Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.

Today’s trailer is all about doppelgangers, invisibility and turning yourself into a destructive bowling ball.

Next week we’ll have our single player trailer – the one I’m sure many of you Ratchet fans are waiting for!

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I checked out Aliens: Colonial Marines when I popped over to the SEGA gamescom booth to say hi to a friend and, within minutes, it became one my highlights of the show. I’m not as familiar with the Aliens films as many – I remember seeing one of them on TV as a child and not sleeping well for a few days – but judging it purely as a shooter, it is looking very impressive.

The level shown was a beautifully lit labyrinth of corridors on-board a craft sent to investigate LV-426, 11 months after Ripley escaped in Aliens. The most memorable aspect for me was the animation of the Xenomorphs and my skin is crawling as I type just thinking about them. This added to the level design, which always leaves you feeling exposed as creatures pour from every angle and air vent, produces an unnerving shooter that piles on the tension.

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You may recognize Executive Producer Jason DeLong on Need for Speed: The Run from our live E3 show, which we streamed live from our PlayStation booth earlier this year. Interactive cinemas, fast cars and loud tunes propelled The Run at E3, but all along EA Black Box was quietly scheming to reveal more at gamescom.

In my play session, I chased after a pearl white Laborghini Aventador down a treacherous mountain road on Independence Pass in Colorado. Then it happened: I found myself staring at an oncoming avalanche from behind the wheel of my car, plowing and drifting through chaos while I sat comfortably in a dark room at EA‘s show floor. I couldn’t help but smile after my demo session with Need for Speed: The Run, knowing that I finally got to play a true-to-forml Michael-Bay-inspired Hollywood action racer on my PS3.

I got a few minutes with DeLong and picked his brain about a retaining the authenticity and how the high-tech Frostbite rendering engine opens up new storytelling vistas for this action racer.

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I went to Germany once. I visited a castle, ate schnitzel- all things you should do as a guest of that fine country. However, the most fun I had was when my exchange family set up a massive LAN party. For 12 hours, we did nothing but play games- it was awesome! It was then and there I realized that Germany is an amazing place for videogames.

That’s why I’m not surprised to see that Gamescom has grown to become one of the biggest gaming conventions of the year. And wherever the games are – Insomniac will also be. So, a few of us hopped across the pond (we’re very good hoppers) to show off our anticipated fall titles, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One and Resistance 3. And, boy, did we have a lot to show off!

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One showed up with its guns blazing: literally. A new trailer was shown – showcasing the more mischievous side of four-player co-op gameplay along with the banter that radiates from the dysfunctional foursome of Ratchet, Clank, Qwark, and Dr. Nefarious. If moving images are a little too exciting for you, check out these screenshots which tease the epic Rootworm battle in the game. Great, now my earthworm nightmares are going to crop back up again.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One was also on the show floor with a new demo for all the attendees to play and enjoy. From the looks of it, boatloads of people have been itching to get their hands on the co-op adventure. No, I mean literally boatloads of people. Look at this picture.

Awesome game + Awesome boat = Celestial Level Awesome. Captain Slag and Rusty Pete would be so jealous.

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