If you live in the United States and simply cannot wait until November to try Kinect, you may be in luck. Select Macy’s (of all places) nationwide will have Kinect available for your body flailing pleasure. Random, out of the blue places will be hosting Kinect as well. What better way to burn off those calories from the Taste of Edmonds-Food Festival than to play Dance Central, amirite?
Check out the list:
East Coast
July 17–18 Manhattan, NY Macy’s
July 20–22 East Falmouth, MA Barnstable County Fair
July 24–25 Manhattan, NY Seaport-Lower Manhattan Entertainment Area
July 28–Aug. 1 Washington, DC Six Flags America
Aug. 4–6 Canton, OH Football Hall of Fame – Rib Burnoff
Aug. 7–8 Canton, OH Football Hall of Fame Festival Weekend
Aug. 11–15 Chicago, IL Air Show/Navy Pier
Aug. 19–21 Detroit, MI Woodward Dream Cruise – Auto Festival
Aug. 26–30 St. Paul, MN Minnesota State Fair
Aug. 30–Oct. 24 Tampa, FL Westfield Citrus Park Shopping Mall
Sept. 3–6 Indianapolis, IN Rib America Festival
Sept. 10–13 Nashville, TN Tennessee State Fair
Sept. 15–16 Atlanta, GA Atlantic Station – Entertainment Plaza
Sept. 18–19 Atlanta, GA Atlanta Arts Festival
Sept. 23–26 Charlotte, NC Festival in the Park
Oct. 1–2 Orlando, FL Disney Wine and Dine Marathon
Oct. 8–10 Valdosta, GA Wild Adventures Theme Park
Oct. 14–17 Dallas, TX Texas State Fair
Oct. 21–24 Shreveport, LA Louisiana State Fair
West Coast
July 15–Aug. 22 Minneapolis, MN Mall of America
July 25–26 San Diego, CA Youth Surf Cup – Soccer
July 28–Aug. 1 Sacramento, CA California State Fair
Aug. 6–8 Portland, OR Bite of Oregon Food Festival
Aug.10–11 Seattle, WA Woodland Park Zoo
Aug. 13–15 Seattle, WA Taste of Edmonds – Food Festival
Aug. 19–22 Vancouver, BC Summerfest
Aug. 27–Sept. 1 Pueblo, CO Colorado State Fair
Sept. 3–6 Denver, CO Elitch Gardens
Sept. 9–12 Albuquerque, NM New Mexico State Fair
Sept. 16–19 Salt Lake City, UT Utah State Fair
Sept. 24–26 Los Angeles, CA Universal City Walk
Oct. 1–3 San Diego, CA Miramar Air Fest
Oct. 7–11 San Francisco, CA Fleet Week – Military Ship and Air Festival
Oct. 15–17 Phoenix, AZ Arizona State Fair
Oct. 20–24 Las Vegas, NV PBR World Finals
If you can go to one of these, and are remotely intrigued by Kienct, I would encourage you to check it out. I went body-on with Joy Ride and Kinect Adventures at E3, and while it was exactly what you would expect, it was quite amusing.
Also, apparently starting July 27th, if you go to www.macys.com/glamorama you can enter to win a free Kinect. But I wouldn’t recommend going there now—you’ve been warned.
I mean, it’s not a BIG DEAL or anything (hyuck) but I stumbled across this little gem while surfing the web. Go ahead, buy one. You can thank me later.
Man, forget about what IS there to say about E3, what ISN’T there to say about E3? I’ve rounded up five things that stood out the most to me and made E3 the experience that it was. Yeah, I know, the actual games aren’t a part of this list. While the games *obviously* are what make up 99.9% of E3, I just went with the one game I enjoyed the most!
The Industry Bigwigs
As soon as I heard I was in the same room as Hideo Kojima, I nearly ate shit HARD as I attempted to climb and stand atop a chair. When Shigeru Miyamoto appeared on stage at the Nokia Theatre wielding a Wii Remote and Nunchuck I squealed. When I saw Keiji Inafune—I think you get it. I mean, here are all of these gaming GODS appearing before your eyes, the same guys and gals you’ve been admiring and reading about in magazines, books and the internet for years, and…here they are! It was like I was in 5th grade at a Backstreet Boys concert all over again.
The Press Conferences
If you’re not physically at E3 and are anything like me, moments before the E3 Press Conferences you’ll find yourself huddled around your computer monitor, anxiously awaiting for the conferences to begin while anticipating juicy revelations, and most importantly, praying for no LAG.
But for me, this year was different. To actually plop my butt in a seat at the Nintendo and Sony Press Conference was an indescribable feeling. Actually being there and witnessing the first gameplay footage of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the revelation of the 3DS, the unveiling of Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby’s Epic Yarn (just to name a few) was incredible. And that’s just from Nintendo. While I was at Sony’s Conference, albeit a tad dull at times, I saw Kevin Butler, Twisted Metal, and GT5 finally got a release date. That’s enough win for me.
The New Twisted Metal
As soon as Sweet Tooth rolled up and David Jaffe took stage near the end of the Sony Press Conference, I knew right then and there that Twisted Metal would be my game of the show. Some of the first PlayStation games I owned were Twisted Metal 1 and 2, and to this day I’ll randomly pop in Twisted Metal 2 to get my automobile destruction fix. I’m extremely thankful that Jaffe is heading this one. Even though I didn’t HATE the direction 989 studios took Twisted Metal 3 and 4, it definitely didn’t feel the same, and unfortunately after Twisted Metal 4 I never returned to the series. But even after the TV on which I was demoing the new Twisted Metal burned out on the show floor, I just told the lovely guys of Eat Sleep Play that it was no biggie; after the first few minutes I knew I was buying the game anyway.
The Hardware
Yep, this is one of the obvious ones. The push of this year’s E3 was motion control and 3D technology. Folks were flailing their bodies about with Microsoft’s Kinect, those in the Sony booth were waving their arms around with Move and eyes were going wide at the Nintendo booth with the 3DS. This is definitely an interesting time for the industry, as more and more developers are arching their brows, rubbing their chin and considering implementing this technology into their products. While some are more adamant than others in their belief that motion control and 3D are the next steps for the industry, others are more cautious and are waiting to see how things pan out and checking the install base before jumping on the bandwagon. Obviously, reading about something and actually going hands on with it are completely different. Having dinked around with the 3DS, Move and Kinect, I still can’t say where exactly I stand with motion control and 3D gaming; however, without a doubt, I have a clearer perspective on what it can deliver. And let’s face it, the fact that I can TELL people I’ve experienced all three is a perk too!
The Atmosphere
Most if not all of my friends don’t contain an iota of knowledge when it comes to the gaming realm (but I still love them dearly). So when Gabe Newell showed up on stage during the Sony Press Conference announcing that Portal 2 was coming to the PlayStation 3, and went so far as to declare that it would be the best platform to experience Portal 2 on, I knew it would only end in fail if I tried explaining it to them. But people at E3 get it. To be contained in a convention center with thousands and thousands of people, as unpleasant as that sounds, whether they be developers, publishers, members of the media, or retail employees—who share equal amounts of passion and excitement for the same industry as you do, is really what makes E3 what it is.
If you remember the game Robot Unicorn Attack that was posted on here awhile ago, then 5 gold stars to you my friend!
The game is a stressful, ultra-fast speed, side-scroller that does all the running for you while you’re smashing your head into star obstacles.
I’ll be honest & just say that I hate this game. I hate this game so much that it forces me to play it over, and over, and over again til I’ve almost caused myself to have a severe panic attack.
*Coming to the iPhone this June!*
But now guess what! Now, not only will you be able to experience a nervous breakdown while sitting on your computer at home, but you can be panic-stricken while walking your dog, while eating dinner with your family, or even while driving!
Yea that’s right, who says being on your phone in your car is illegal?! Oprah?!?!? Pshh.. what does that ol’ bucket know anyways! I can text, sing Justin Bieber & drive drunk all at the same time like nobodies business! (*Please god let them know that was a joke…. I would never listen to Justin Bieber in my car!*)
Robot Unicorn Attack coming to an iPhone near you. This month. For $3.
I got pretty tired of Farmville after reaching a level 40 and realizing that I was spending way too much time harvesting, fertalizing, plowing, planting and decorating. Who the hell wants a merry-go-round and a full band stage on their farm anyways? I thought I was done, completely finished with all app games, that is, until I discovered “We Rule.”
We Rule is a lot like Farmville in the sense that you make money by harvesting crops, however it doesn’t take you 2 hours and you don’t have to use 3 different tractors with an annoyingly limited gas supply!
In We Rule, you get to create & rule your own kingdom, buy and sell stuff from medieval shops, and decorate and build your own village. So it’s a lot more bad ass than having some rinky-dink old MacDonald farm and conveniently enough, it’s all on your iPhone!
The game is free, however, there is “Mojo” which like FVcash, you can purchase with real life $$. I don’t recommend spending any money on Mojo. Patience is a virtue and you will get Mojo each time you level up.
The rumored iPhone 4G has been talked about for months and months, but we’ve never heard much about it …until now!
Some idiot apparently left the unreleased brand-spanking-new iPhone 4G model at a bar in Redwood City, California. If hes not kicking himself in the ass right now, I bet Apple is!
This system has some pretty cool features, some of which I’m really looking forward to trying for myself when it comes out! (*Nudge!*I’ve officially decided to dive into the Smartphone pool and buy an iPhone!)
First things first, MULTITASKING!
Holy Slackersville,finally! (Sadly that’s not a real town.. I checked.) Steve Jobs addressed this addition by saying “Now we weren’t the first to this party, but we’re gonna be the best!” (Steve Jobs obviously is big on parties!)
The multitasking platform will look like this: (Photos via Engaget’s liveblog)
Pretty non informative. I’ll wait to see a video before giving my say on the matter.
Also something huge to look forward to is Game Center! Game Center sounds a lot like Xbox live in the sense that it will have a friend network with achievements, interactive gameplay and leaderboards!
Now, about my decision to purchase an iPhone..
I’ve been an old skool kid. I’ve never had a cellphone with any data plan or had any form of mobile internet ever. Heck, I just got my first iPod last Christmas! I’d say that I’m definitely behind the times and the only thing I like about my Blackberry Pearl 8100 is the R2D2 sticker I put on the back of it.
Now with Game Center and Multitasking finally available to the iPhone, I’m excited to finally be “in” with all the cools kids and their smart phones soon! Now I’ll just need some recommendations on what apps & games I should get!
