There have been several updates on the Kojima teaser site since we mentioned the countdown on our site. Until this point the website has started to rain with lightning and thunder striking every few seconds. Each time lightning strikes a letter is revealed, so far the letters don’t seem to spell anything out. The other major thing revealed however is Naked Snake confirming a new Metal Gear game. Naked Snake seems to be older than he was in Metal Gear Solid 3 and Portable Ops which points to a sequel to these earlier games. Many have suggested the game will take place in Vietnam according to the patch on beret.
There is also another image of a cyborg ninja that resembles Raiden, which is interesting since these two characters are on opposite sides of the timeline. We will keep you up to date on site.
With out a doubt this years’ E3, Electronic Entertainment Expo, at the La Convention Center is going to be huge. Companies fill their booths with glitz and glamour to draw in the audience. If theirs one thing that gets everyone excited about E3 its when the 3 juggernauts go at it and show the world why they’re the best. What better way to show this but with an E3 montage from their respective press conferences. This has certainly been the trend for many years, but is everything we see from E3 true? We mostly understand the games shown are not completed, they’re a beta version of the game to say the least, yet when was it ok to flat out lie about what we’re watching?
Â
In our first segment of this E3 edition, we take a look at the Microsoft E3 montages over the past 4 years; one of which was done in house, and we can see what stayed true and what was just completely off.
Â
Microsoft E3 05 montage
Â
This years E3 was the first look at Micorosofts line-up for their new system the xbox 360 and while many games did hold true to form, games like Frame City Killer was soon canceled, Dead Rising got a bit of a facelift. Others made their first debut like Perfect Dark Zero and Gears of War; which was originally announced as a 4 player co-op game and later turned out to be only two. Other developers such as EA had a different approach, showing pre-rendered footage of Madden and Need For Speed Most Wanted. They probably thought that these targeted videos could be met but we have yet to see games look like this today bummer.  Â
Â
Microsoft E3 06 montage This years games showed us what two years with a new console can do, although we still had some games that showed their targeted footage. In example, Brothers In Arms: Hells Highway, which took two more years to make and actually looked worse then what was shown here. Two Human, was announced with a 4 player co-op which quickly turned out to be only a 2 player co-op; not what people had expected.
‘07 for Microsoft took a different approach with their E3 anouncements, as they would only really want to focus on the games coming up in the fall. Everything stayed true to form except Spiderman Friend or Foes original announcement showed a pre-rendered screen shot footage as actual game play and Splinter Cell Conviction went into a hiatus by that time as well.
Microsoft’s E3 montage 08 (lvlone.com montage)
There weren’t any Microsoft montages of any kind except the new NXE announcement, which debuted that year. Fable II making its presence, however upon release came out with a very different 2 player co-op then anyone thought it would be, “CO-OP” yea… not really. Finally, the announcement of all announcements is a Final Fantasy was coming to the Xbox 360, Final Fantasy XIII to be exact.
 This weeks NEW releases has electricity in the air! Sly Cooper’s creator Sucker Punch has release a brand new title called ‘inFamous’. This shocking title has a release only for the Ps3. Trust us, you will want to play this game. The demo has been out for almost a week now. Get this game, become a superhero and save Empire City. Definitly look for a review on lvlone.com later this week about ‘inFamous’.
inFamous
Â
The player will show in this paragraph
  Another title that I am looking forward to is Cross Edge (or X Edge). This Japanese RPG has already released in Japan last year. The game has received modest reviews, but its rare that North America can get a release like this one. This turn base battle system game was developed by Capcom, Nippon Ichi, Namco Bandi, Gust and Idea Factory.
Cross Edge (X edge)
Â
  Pulling up the rest of the group is the game ‘Damnation’. A early 20th century alternate earth. Electricity has been replaced steam over many decades in their Steampunk culture. There are steam powered vehicles that are able to do acrobatics and climb walls. Rebels fight the industrialist in this civil war game.
Hey lvlone users, our second podcast is up! Here we introduce TheBadman one of the contributors of lvlone, and we also talk about UFC undisputed, Trico, Walmart and their new trade-in system, and much more. As always send us your comments at info@lvlone.com, thanks and enjoy!
If you missed our post on Trico you can check it out here, and we found out the developer of Scratch is a company called 7 studios, a pretty small company so it’ll be interesting to see how they fair against the giant that is Activsion.
   I know you heard that Epic Games are going to release its next segment of DLC for Gears of War 2. Titled ‘Dark Corners’ which is coming out on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Then there is the ‘All Fronts Collection’ which is coming out to a retailer near you. While the desicion is yours to buy the package of your choice, it also depends on if you have purchased the previous 3 dowloadable content map packs.
  Representatives from Epic Games have stated that their forth DLC for Gears of War 2 is going to be released this summer on July 28. With 7 new multiplayer maps for you to chainsaw your way through a different atmosphere. Along with the new maps, there is a deleted campaign episode that can be played called the ‘Road to Ruin’. Marcus and Dom are back, but now they are descending through a locust hollow. This portion can be played in a all new stealth mode (with locust armor) or the standard way, shooting with a fury of lancer bullets!
 Road to Ruin
The 7 new maps are:
1. Allfathers Garden
2. Memorial
3. Sanctuary
4. War Machine (from the first Gears of War)
5. Highway
6. Way StationÂ
7. Nowhere
Cole & Baird on Nowhere
Locust on Nowhere
Â
  The main difference between the two different packages are that ‘Dark Corners’ will only be available over the Xbox Live Marketplace. For 1600 microsoft points you recieve the 7 new maps along with ‘Road to Ruin’. The ‘All Fronts Collection’ will be available at retail stores with what seems to be the better deal. You will obtain the ‘Flashback’ map pack, ‘Combustible’ map pack, ‘Snowblind’ map pack, the 7 new maps and the ‘Road to Ruin’ for 20 dollars!
  Here is the catch, if you were in a rush to get out and see the Gears of War world from a different light, you probably purchased the previous 3 map packs. So you wont have to look for the ‘All Fronts Collection’, but instead you get to look forward to buying 1600 microsoft points for the ‘Dark Corners’ content. What does 1600 points equal?? Your answer is 20 dollars! For those same 20 dollars you can buy the ‘All Fronts Collection’ and have ALL of the recent and new downloadable content for Gears of War 2! I know they are trying to get this content out to everyone, but for those that have purchased all of the previous map packs and have to shell out another 20 dollars for the new content, thats just unfair.
UPDATE: 5/29, Epic Games state that ‘Dark Corners’ will be 1200 points instead of the previous 1600points & ‘All Fronts Collection’ will be available for download over Xbox Live and in stores instead of just retail stores.
Several video game sites today have reported that the next issue of famitsu, a japanese gaming magazine will cover a new Metal Gear game. Now this isn’t a 100% fact but it is coming from a few different sources so it seems reliable especially when considering the big 5 on the website suggesting Metal Gear Solid 5. There are also several people online who apparently now see a snake in the clouds solidify that it’s Metal Gear even more. We will let everyone know what happens to the site when the countdown is done so stay tuned.
As a side note the news that the new kojima title is going to be a Metal Gear game of course comes as a blow to Remdog, one of the admins of lvlone. Sorry dude Zone of the Enders 3 will be made someday….
The team behind the games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus have revealed their new project which seems to be named Trico. The game features a boy and a creature that resembles a mouse with wings. The video shows off some very vague gameplay of the two heros exploring a variety of locations from caves to mountains. No word on any details however, so many are anticipating what the game will be like when it is fully revealed at E3.
For those of you who don’t know the games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus they were both very unique games and were highly rated but suffered from relatively poor sales. However their poor sales were understandable, Ico put you in the role of a boy who needed to rescue and escort a girl out of a castle, there was no story or reason for the game’s events and neither character spoke. Shadow of the Colossus again put you in the role of a nameless boy whose job it was to rescue a girl this time by defeating 16 colossi, again the story and events of the game are barely given to the player. I personally played both games and enjoyed them a lot, they both offer gaming experience that no other game came close to giving. It appears Trico will be just as unique as the these games were and hopefully appeal to a broader audience so Team Ico can get the full recognition it deserves.
The brand NEW video game releases for this week are lead by some familiar titles from the 80’s. Personally, I love nostalgia. I believe that some of these titles will remind you of those good old times. More companies should go through their back catalog and do new remakes. Do not call this a comeback, they have been here for years.
By now, anyone who has heard of the Madden Football franchise has heard of the inevitable “curse” that seems to follow which ever player is selected as the cover athlete. Madden began using cover athletes on their games in 1999, and every one of them has suffered from “the curse.” If you don’t believe me, the stats and injury reports speak for themselves:
1999 – Garrison Hearst – Garrison’s cover was only available on select games, the first year a player graced the cover. In an almost false sense of security, Hearst finished third in rushing yards and had an outstanding season. However, during the divisional round of the playoffs, he suffered a severe break in his ankle against the Falcons. The injury cost Hearst two years of his career.
2000 – Barry Sanders – In one of the more bizarre instances of the curse, Barry abruptly retired before the 1999 season, although he wasn’t really the cover athlete (there is a small picture of him over Madden’s shoulder in blue)Â I guess one way to avoid the curse is to quit all together.
2001 – Eddie George – Eddie’s curse didn’t come in the form of injury, rather in the form of poor play. Eddie failed to reach 1000 yards, compared to the 1500 yards he recorded the year before. Eddie’s sub-par play led the Titans to a 7-9 record and a missed playoff birth.
2002 – Daunte Culpepper – Daunte threw for 14 TDs and 13 INTs in 2001, 19 less TDs than in 2000, and missed the final five games due to a knee injury suffered against the Steelers in December. The Vikings finished the year 5-11, their worst record since 1984.
2003 – Marshall Faulk – Without being plagued by injury, and playing the same amount of games, Marshall rushed for only 953 yards with 8 rushing TDs, Faulk’s worst season since 1996. The Rams finished the year 7-9, failing to make the playoffs after a Super Bowl appearance the year before.
2004 – Michael Vick – In one of the more obvious of the Madden curse strikes, during a pre-season game against the Ravens, Vick suffered a broken leg and missed the first 11 games of the season. With the exception of one game against Carolina later that year when he rushed for 141 yards, his season tossing the ball was sub-standard to his previous years.
2005 – Ray Lewis – Ray Lewis is a beast, plain and simple. It seems that Ray was the only person to play through an entire season while being the cover athlete and not have it drastically affect his performance, although his numbers were slightly down, but some say his curse came a year later, when he was injured for the season during week 6.
2006 – Donovan McNabb – Donovan had a rough year in 2005. He threw for for 16 TDs and 9 INTs. Not a terrible year, but after week nine, a sore thumb and a sports hernia sidelined him for the rest of the season. The Eagles finished in fourth place in the NFC East with a 6-10 record, failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.
2007 – Shaun Alexander – Shaun broke his left foot during week 3 causing him to miss six weeks. Upon his return his numbers were far lower than his previous MVP season, finishing with 896 yards and 7 TDs, his lowest total for each stat since his rookie season back in 2000.
2008 – Vince Young – Vince didn’t have a big season-ending injury like other players, but he did miss about 3 weeks due to a quadricep injury he suffered against the Buccaneers in week 6. Vince finished the season with 9TDs and 17INTs, but with a 10-6 record, the Titans made the playoffs, only to lose to the Chargers in the opening round.
2009 – Brett Favre – In the most unique of Madden cover moments, Brett announced his retirement in March of 2008. Madden decided to have him grace the cover in his trusty green and yellow Green Bay Packers uniform. So what could go wrong? The man retired. Oh that’s right, we’re talking about Brett Favre. Brett came out of retirement and signed with the New York Jets. Speculations were made as to how the curse would eventually pan out, would it effect the Packers because Brett was photographed in a Packers uniform or the Jets because Brett was playing for them now? Eventually Madden released a separate cover featuring Brett donning his green and white Jets jersey. Brett started the season off strong after having a career season the year before, but after injuring his throwing arm, his luck and the team’s record, quickly fell. Brett threw for 22 TDs and 22 INTs leading the Jets to a disappointing 9-7 record, missing the playoffs, even though the Jets started off 8-3.
2010 – Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu – For the first time ever, Madden will be sporting TWO cover athletes in their upcoming release. Larry and Troy were on the representative teams of the Super Bowl so it will be interesting to see if this becomes a common trend in the future. With each athlete playing on separate sides of the ball, it will be interesting to see how each season will be effected knowing the curse will be looming overhead.
Hey lvlone users we would like to thank everyone whose been visiting the site and commenting on our posts. We here at lvlone have been working hard on getting new content on the website and we are proud to announce our first podcast ever. In this podcast Remdog and I talk about a few interesting topics including the
Tell us what you think about our new effort on the website in any of the comment sections or email us at info@lvlone.com, or even send us your topics on what you would like us to discuss. Thanks again everyone and hope you enjoy!
Several video game sites today have reported that the next issue of famitsu, a japanese gaming magazine will cover a new Metal Gear game. Now this isn’t a 100% fact but it is coming from a few different sources so it seems reliable especially when considering the big 5 on the website suggesting Metal Gear Solid 5. There are also several people online who apparently now see a snake in the clouds solidify that it’s Metal Gear even more. We will let everyone know what happens to the site when the countdown is done so stay tuned. 
