This is Teemu from the Virtual Air Guitar Company. I hope you are all having a great summer. For once, it’s burning hot, even in Finland, but nevertheless we are working hard on our new game Kung-Fu LIVE. It’s coming to PlayStation Store later this year, making it possible for all of you with some Bruce Lee spirit to engage in kicking ass in a whole new way.

Kung-Fu LIVE is a unique fighting adventure that uses the PlayStation Eye camera and our patented Freemotion technology to create a totally new playing experience. With accurate tracking and background removal, you are scanned into the game where your actual punches and kicks become part of the gameplay. Super human powers boost your performance so you can jump flips without actually making them, do epic jump kicks, shoot lightning from your hands and so on. You can even slow down time, Matrix style, and kick your opponents’ butts in slow motion. Yet, no pre-acquired martial arts skills are needed, but it IS a fun form of exercise as well.

The style of the game is a mix between realism and cartoons and is inspired by the Kung-Fu comics of the 70’s and 80’s. The story of the game takes you (yes, literally YOU – stay tuned for more on how this is done..) on a journey spanning from the real modern world to an ancient realm and back. You will be fighting against advanced and reactive AI ranging from small to gigantic enemies. Simply flailing about is not a winning strategy in this game.

You can also play single fights with up to five people at a time, where up to four people can control characters with gamepads and fight against the one in the game. It’s something we can’t wait to show off, and while this is still more of a unique hardcore fighter at heart, this is one of the features that really elevate its ‘party-game’ potential.

The player is integrated with the physics of the game world. He can therefore wreak havoc with boxes, rocks, trashcans and other objects by hurling them on top of his enemies. We also have some neat solutions that make it possible to move around inside the game world even though the game is played by staying within the camera’s view. Small movements in front of the camera will move you much further in the game world and you have several assisting powers that can be used for quickly covering longer distances. The game will contain platforming and larger levels as well.

We first announced the game in May with a playable sneak preview in New York. At E3 we demoed it to media and journalists. The reception from both gamers and journalists has been heart-warmingly awesome! You can check some of the highlights here, here, here and here.

So before the end of this year, I invite you to toss away the gamepad for a change and experience what it’s like to be Jackie Chan: punch, kick, jump and pummel your enemies into oblivion using your body as your only weapon.

I can’t wait to show you more of the stuff we are working on. If you are coming to Gamescom in Cologne, be sure to come by and try the game out in Hall 6 – open booth C-033. We’ll be there all day, every day. Costumed gamers are especially welcome! Stay tuned to our Facebook page for more news and updates. And if you like the game, please give us a boost by liking us on Facebook!

Feel free to post questions about the game here. I’ll try to answer them as best I can.

P.S: Freemotion technology can make you extremely fit – just by playing a videogame. Any resulting six packs are unintentional.

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Blamed for the destruction of Empire City and haunted by the ghosts of his past, reluctant hero Cole MacGrath makes a dramatic journey to the historic Southern city of New Marais in an effort to discover his full super-powered potential, and face a civilization-ending confrontation with a dark and terrifying enemy from his own future. Gifted with extraordinary god-like abilities, Cole alone has the power to save humanity, but the question is: will he choose to do so?

Check out the below exclusive game play run-through of inFamous 2 which was premiered behind closed doors at E3 this year. For such an early first run through, I’m sure you’ll agree this is shaping up to be something very special…

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Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is one of the most visually striking games I played at E3. It’s developed by Ninja Theory of Heavenly Sword fame and the story is written by Alex Garland, author of The Beach and the scriptwriter behind 28 Days Later. It also features the acting and directorial talents of Andy Serkis.

It’s one of the games I’m most looking forward to this year so at E3, Jeff Rubenstein was kind enough to stay behind the camera while I spoke to the game’s creative director, Tam Antoniades.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West will be available on PS3 this Autumn.

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Dead Rising 2 is a zombie game with its tongue hanging out of its cheek. You control Chuck Greene, a motorcross champion trapped in a zombie apocalypse in the fictional Fortune City, which is loosely based on Las Vegas. After tearing through a few hundred zombies with a pair of chainsaws attached to a canoe paddle, I lurched over to Capcom’s Mike Schmitt and asked a few questions.

What kind of story is there in Dead Rising 2?

“Chuck is competing in a gameshow called Terror is Reality in order to earn some money and cure his daughter, who has been bitten by a zombie. That’s his main motivation but there’s also a conspiracy against him, with people blaming him for the zombie outbreak at the beginning of the game.”

Given that the story allows for multiple paths and endings, how many unique playthroughs are possible?

“I don’t know the final count but there are multiple endings and we definitely want people to go back and keep playing, because levelling Chuck up opens up new areas and things to do.”

I’ve had some fun here combining weapons; how many combinations are there?

“Again, we haven’t given out an exact number but it’s a lot – dozens and dozens. We want people to search for combo cards and just try putting stuff together at random. Combining weapons is some of the most fun that can be had in the game, as far as we’re concerned, and combination weapons give you double PP, allowing you to level up much quicker.”

What’s your favourite combination?

“My favourite is the Freedom Bear. If you take a jumbo teddy bear and combine it with a machine gun, it turns into a sentry with a Rambo headband that you can place in congested areas, and it will mow down zombies with machine gun fire for what seems like hours.”

Is the co-operative gameplay integrated into the story?

“Your friends can jump into your game at any point and if you want to play co-operatively from start to finish, then you can do that. The host player controls things like saving but whoever jumps in can carry PP and Combo Cards over to their own game. Playing with friends is particularly useful for things like boss fights and it is fun to just mess around.”

Do you also have competitive multiplayer?

“Yes, we have a four player versus mode which plays off the Terror is Reality theme. There are ten different events to play, including one where you’re all riding motorcycles with chainsaws attached to the handlebars and it’s a race to see who can kill the most zombies before the time runs out.”

Finally, what do you want people to feel when they play Dead Rising 2?

“Excitement… the feeling that you want to keep playing because you don’t know what to expect. I really want people to pick up on the humour. A lot of zombie games are so serious but Dead Rising 2 is about the ridiculous predicament Chuck finds himself in and the way that you’re able to humiliate zombies and use anything as a weapon makes it comical.”

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Squirrelled away in the corner of the EA stand at E3 was a small room, and in the corner of that room, amidst screens displaying the latest Madden and NBA games, I got my hands on FIFA 11 for the first time.

David Rutter from the EA Sports development team was on hand to take me through the playable build.

“As always with FIFA we’re looking to build on our success and refine the gameplay according to consumer feedback,” he said. “The two things we’re talking about today are Personality+, which is a holistic umbrella for how we’ve made individual players more realistic, and improved passing.”

He demonstrates Personality+ by taking control of Andrei Arshavin in the Practice Arena. As you would expect, his feet are quick and nimble, and the ball is never far from his feet. Conversely, when he switches to Sol Campbell, the player takes longer strides and has to push the ball further in front when dribbling.

“The three areas in which we’re looking to convey personality are in the way the players look, their movement and their attributes, and we currently have more than 30 attributes in the game engine. We have also trebled the number of body types so we are able to support a wider, more distinct range of players,” he explains as we wait for a match to load.

“What we’ve also done this year,” he adds, “is respond to feedback that it was too easy to ‘ping-pong’ passes up the pitch, so we’ve included a far more believable passing simulation.”

There is now a power bar for passes along the ground with a small marker that tells you how hard you should hit the ball for the perfect pass. Missing it won’t affect the line of the pass, but it might mean at arrives at the feet of your target too slowly and is intercepted, or too fast, making it harder to control. You’re also penalised for trying difficult passes like a full 180 degree turn – your player will spin and make the pass, but he’ll more than likely fall over and lose accuracy.

The presentation over, I jumped on and beat an American journalist 6-0, with him asking me at one point: “which button do I press to score?”

Rutter promised more announcements towards the end of the year; I’m particularly looking forward to creating my own crowd chants, including this Kidderminster classic:

“We’re red, we’re white, we’re [deleted] dynamite, Harriers… Harriers!”

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