The game is releasing on August 19 in North America, but the once four-player co-op has been trimmed to two because, after play-testing it for awhile, he realized that there was too much going on with that many players.

Later, Dyack told me that the engine still supports four player co-op, but that things were getting too confusing on screen once you factored in the four players, their special attacks and spider-bots plus the army of creatures that would spawn to deal with them.

None of the game's maps are randomized, he told me, but the creatures that spawn in them are. The game will take a player about 15 hours to get to level 30 and 50 to 60 hours to get to level 50.

"I don't know how long it would take to see everything, I don't even know if that's possible," he said. "Too Human may look like an action game, but don't be fooled—it's actually a very, very deep role-playing title."

I did enjoy my time with the game, but still feel like I'm not quite getting it. G4's Adam Sessler and I worked through a chunk of co-op, playing through levels side-by-side and I could see how having two more players would make things unnecessarily convoluted.

What I couldn't see, in my short time with the game, was it's depth. There were hints that deep play was present, especially in the weapons upgrades and spells, but 20 minutes or so in a co-op match isn't the best way to explore that.

The action element of the game seemed to handle fine, though I never really got a sense of my character's power. Slapping the stick left to right to clear out robotic trolls and goblins was pretty slick, but it felt at times that the action on the screen was disconnected with my movement. I guess I didn't always feel like I was actually in control, it was almost as if the game was, at times, on auto pilot.

The sound, which was impossible to hear in yesterday's setting, could certainly help with some of that, but I think that either I need a better understanding of the nuance of the controls or that, perhaps, there is no nuance to the controls.

Too Human is certainly an interesting looking game, and the art design is slowly winning me over, but this is just going to have to be one of those titles I have to really sit down and play for quite awhile before I can figure out how into it I will be.

Since the game wasn't getting official demos, I decided to take our 30 minute break between games to sit down with the Penny Arcade game and take it for a test drive.

The game starts off by letting you customize your character's look and clothing. The selection isn't as robust as I would have liked to see (no luxuriously long hair guys? I'm hurt) but there's still more than enough to make the character feel like one of your own.

The game itself unwinds slowly through an amalgam of comic panel and full motion cut scenes that are both narrated by a... um... narrator. This voice is actually the only one you'll ever hear in the game. I'm told that this is because fans of the web comic have their own and wildly varied ideas of how the characters should sound. For example, my Gabe and Tycho sound like Asterix and Obelix.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed playing what I did of the game. It felt very much like a blending of some of the best bits of different types of games. It has, for instance, a distinct role-playing flavor to it, but there's also a point-and-click adventure and action element to the game.

I don't want to give away any of the plot, because as fun as the gameplay is, it's the plot that will most certainly attract most to this game.

I can say that my first brush with combat involved a clutch of mini-Fruit Fuckers who, during the turn-based combat sequence, never stopped hip-thrusting—a disturbing sight to say the least. Combat itself was interesting. I had to use a button to select my attack, (swiping with a rake initially) and also watch out for FF attacks so I could do a timed defense. This combination of turn-based and real-time actions was kinda neat.

There is also, of course, plenty of humor. For instance, later on I found an orange and was able to "distract" the fruit fuckers with it. Watching the Fruit Fuckers delight in their new found plaything made me wonder what the meeting with the ESRB was like when the game was getting its Mature rating. I mean, who had to go explain this to the panel?

Penny Arcade Adventures also includes quite a bit of dialog trees and meandering. I only spent about 20 minutes with the game, so it's hard to offer a truly informed opinion, but I can say I was gratified with the experience. I suspect it's going to be a game I enjoy making my way through, if for no other reason that to feed oranges to the Fruit Fuckers.

"It looked like a kids game, but was quite difficult to play," said a Rare developer walking us through the game. "We kept the basic principal, you're in a garden and trying to attract animals to it."

But the team's done a lot to simplify the game and make it more accessible to a wider audience. Chief among the changes is a co-op mode that lets you play in the garden with friend. They've also added a fun mode which gives gamers the ability to buy just about anything in the game, removes the bad guys and turns the garden into an instant gratification sandbox.

Other tweaks include adding snow and sand and the sorts of pinatas that would like that sort of terrain. You can also now take pictures in the game and have them sent to a website which will recognize which animals are on display and categorize them automatically for easy searching. There's also an easy to use in-game animal finder which makes tracking down your pet pinatas much less of a chore.

The short demo wrapped up with a look at the Pinata Vision system. Using the Xbox 360 camera, gamers can hold up a specially created Viva Pinata image and instantly import it into the game.

"It doesn't have to be a card, it can be an image on your Zune or iPod that you would just hold up to the camera"

While the tweaks look like they could streamline gameplay a bit, Trouble in Paradise is still very much a Viva Pinata game for better or worse and I'm not so sure it's been simplified enough to attract the potential audience that the cartoon has created for the game.

"We're going to be talking about Fable 2 today of course, next time I meet you we will be talking about our next new project, but today it's about Fable 2," he said. "It's going to be full of bugs and you're going to write some pretty horrible things about it, but it's about time that I show you what the game will feel like from the beginning."

In the Beginning
The game of Fable 2 has an elegant beginning, a cut-scene that follows a bird from a forest to a town, where it lands on a ledge and takes a poop.

"We take a dramatic camera angel and follow that poop until it lands on your head, and that's how it starts," Molyneux said. "It's a lovely starting."

The game begins with you as a little kid in a slum, totally powerless, learning both the city and your controls. Molyneux calls it a half hour of charm.

"My dream is to tell a story you fucking remember," he said. "I want you to remember it, i want it to stay in your mind. How do i do that? I steal a bunch of stuff from my favorite things."

The screen is relatively HUD free, instead most of what you need to know is shown contextually. There is a breadcrumb trail, for instance, that appears on the ground to show you where you need to go next to complete your current missions.

"It's like an in-car navigation system without a voice."

Free Roaming
Almost all cut-scenes are interactive in the game, in fact there is less than five minutes worth of non-interactive cut-scenes in the entire game. During the rest of them you can react, by using your D-pad to perform expressions, laugh, frown, even fart when someone is talking. You can evil kill a person in the middle of a cut-scene, cutting it short and drastically changing the missions, Molyneux said.

These choices are what help shape the world, changing it from something created by developers to something very personal. And such choices have drastic repercussions as the years pass, changing not just your character and his or her appearance, but the look of the town, even the region.

"The cool thing about Fable 2 is that it's a role-playing game set in a simulated world," Molyneux said.

The entire world is free roaming too and everywhere in the world can be owned by the player.

Molyneux showed how this world lives even when the main character isn't around. He slipped through the hills and trees of one region until he discovered a gypsy camp. In it the women were dancing, the kids playing, heedless of not having an audience to react to.

"These kids will play out the whole of the fable one story, it's just what they do," he said, following around a pack of children with the camera. "They will be mock fighting, it's a little play they will play. They will go out and kill Jack of Blades. If you get famous enough they'll start acting out what you've done in Fable 2."

Moral choices make a return in Fable 2, but this time around, Molyneux said, they will actually work the way he said they would.

"We made a rubbish job of that in Fable one, there were a couple of moral choices in Fable one but it wasn't what we said it would be," he said. "There are an enormous number of moral choices this time around. To be a good guy we are going to ask you to sacrifice a lot."

Fight
The fighting system in the game will be as customizable as the world and your character, Molyneux said.

"You can add flourishes with button holds, you can add contextual buttons, your whole combat system is unique to you," he said.

Each of the buttons will have 15 things you can tie to it. There are eight spells in the game, each with five levels. While that doesn't sound like a lot, Molyneux said that the combination of these different things can make for quite a few different iterations.

"It's truly a dynamic combat system," he said.

There is also the dog, who will help you fight and stay by your side, but as Molyneux has said before, that's really not the point of your pet.

"He is just your dog, he's there for you to enjoy."

Molyneux told us about a play test the team did with a biker, a man who at one point was "absolutely in tears" because of a scene involving his dog.

"That's why he is there."

Molyneux wrapped up the demo by quickly showing how easy it is to drop into a cooperative game with a friend and teasing a yet to be announced secret about co-op play.

"There is another big surprise, a very big surprise about co-oping," he said, before adding that Fable 2 is a "Hell of a game."

It has been ten years and two console generations since the team of Banjo and Kazooie stormed the Nintendo 64 to rave reviews and not much has changed, at least not much for platformers, or so say Rare.

"We felt the platform genre hasn't really evolved much," said one of the developers showing off Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts to the press yesterday. "Up until recently things really haven't evolved much."

The team decided they wanted to tweak the formula, adding "fun physics" to the franchise and making it more about vehicles than traditional platforming. The change seems to be turning the franchise into what appears to be a sort of platformer on wheels that is centered more around challenges than a linear storyline.

I say appears to be because we were only shown a small part of one level of one of the game's five worlds. In it Banjo and Kazooie have to complete a short challenge for one of the game's characters. The challenge can be completed on foot, but it's not really meant to be. To complete it quickly you have to use a vehicle. It's the customization of these vehicles that seem to be the heart of the game.

Customizing a vehicle is a relatively quick. You can either build or customize vehicles in the garage, by selecting components and slapping them onto one another.

After the relatively short demo of the single player game, we were walked over to a group of 360s to try our hand at a Sumo match of multiplayer. In this particular mode the object is to keep your vehicle on a raised platform longer than everyone else.

My first try at the mode was done in a pre-fab vehicle that I added a few things to, like an egg machine gun, steel-gloved ram and bigger engines.

After quickly losing the match, I tried my hand at creating a vehicle from scratch. First I grabbed a bunch of body parts, essentially hunks of variously shaped steel and slapped them down next to one another to form a rectangle. Next I selected four Monster Truck wheels and quickly attached them to the body. Then I picked two jet engines which I placed on the top of the rectangle and then filled the gap between the metal squares with gas tanks, to hold plenty of fuel. To wrap the thing up I added bumpers to the front, which spring things away when they make contact with a wall or vehicle.

After creating this vehicle, which took less than five minutes, I took it for a quick test drive to see how well it worked. Which it didn't, but that's not the point. The point is that creating these vehicles, with the myriad of options was a lot of fun. You can add weapons, bat-like wings that pop-out of the sides of a vehicle at the touch of a button, gadgets, just about anything you want.

While vehicle creation is a ton of fun, it was hard to tell, without really seeing multiplayer and not knowing how single player is going to play out, if this game will be a hit with gamers, let alone Banjo Kazooie fans. Early impressions leave a lot to be desired and more than one person who saw the game asked the developers on hand if these single player challenges and vehicle creation was all there was to the game.

The reply: "Creating vehicles to complete the challenges is the crux of the game."

Today at Microsoft's Spring Event Cliff Bleszinski walked members of the press through the entire second level of Gears of War 2. Actually he played through the level, live, as we watched in rapt attention.

Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the first Gears ends, he said. It is fall and the last stand for humanity as the Locust Horde work to collapse the last major city on Sera. To fight back Marcus Fenix and his squad are asked to deliver a "grind lift" to a nearby lost city and ride it into the Locust underground home cities.

Level two starts off with Fenix and company boarding a giant combat truck and riding it as it makes it way to a nearby city. Dizzy, a conscript driver, maneuvers the vehicle as Fenix and the other members of Delta squad work to defend it. The platform the squad stands on is large enough to still make good use of the game's trademark cover system.

The level also showed off some of the other large vehicles found in the game, like helicopters and tanks.

Early in the mission, Fenix and his crew have to blast mortar fire from the air as it plummets toward the lumbering vehicles. After making it through that gauntlet, the vehicles are attacked by reavers until the derrick they are riding is damaged and the squad has to get out to defend Dizzy as he repairs the vehicle.

On the ground, the combat continues to be pretty intense, as Locust swarm up from emergence holes. It's here that we get our first glimpse of the destructible environment and the ability to grab locust and use them for cover.

After a bit more intense combat it's back to the derrick where the ride to the city continues and we get a chance to check out some new Locust tactics, including their use of grappling hooks to swarm a large vehicle.

The level wrapped up with some pretty intense fights with even larger creatures including a corpser and a creature with a gun for a head.

"And that's level two, thanks guys," Bleszinski said. "It's a good sign that my hands still get sweaty when I play the game still to this day."

Judging from such an early level in the game, it looks like Gears of War 2 will indeed be, as Bleszinski says "bigger, better, more badass."

Bleszinski also promises that the game will be one built on a much broader scale, with a deeper darker story line, one that includes Dom's search for his wife and an exploration of who Dizzy is.

The developer said that the game will be running at over 30 frames per a second when it ships and that it will come with more new multiplayer maps than before. He added that they haven't decided how they will introduce new DLC maps to the game, but both the concept of early adopter tax and sponsored maps are being explored.

While game's second level has some pretty intense pacing, it's not like that throughout the game, Bleszinski said.

"There are scenes where we take our time," he said. "This is a scene that is at 11 but if it were like that all the time no one would notice it anymore. The game is very much a roller coaster ride."

Bleszinski was also quick to point out that while Gears sort of got a name for itself through it's many underground levels, the sequel will only spend about 30 percent of the game underground.

"A lot of people's memories from Gears one was grey pillars and we wanted to get rid of that this time around," he said. "We wanted more vistas this time around."

So there will be snow levels and underground levels and levels on mountains.

"From the deepest depths of the underground to see how the locust live, to the highest peaks of Serra and everything in between, we are going to include it all."

"Personally I think we were able to create the definitive 3D game in this series so I'm not planing on making any other games in the series," Itagaki said through a translator. "So I hope fans treat this as a swan song for the franchise.

"I think we were able to achieve everything we wanted with this game so anything else would be extraneous."

When asked if he plans on making a "swan song" Ninja Gaiden title for the PlayStation 3, Itagaki replied " that would be ridiculous."

Instead, the creator of the beloved franchise said he wants to make something that is "totally new, completely unrelated to anything I've done before. Not any part of any existing franchises."

Itagaki said what he'd like to do is work on another action title or perhaps a war themed game, perhaps something set in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

"I think the Pacific theater of World War II is a interesting topic," he said. "I think it would be cool to work with an American developer and do a game based on the Pacific Theater."

"I think it would be cool to do something like what Clint Eastwood is doing for that time period," he added, referencing Flags Of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima which shows both sides of the war.

When asked how long he had been thinking about doing such a title, Itagaki said it was something he came up with during our short interview.

"That's what it's like to create something; you start from nothing and you have to clear your mind and come up with new ideas," he said. "I'm interested in that period of time, for my generation, that was an event that influenced us more than anything else. I think that would be an interesting topic to explore."

If it turned out that a Japanese developed game about World War II was "too politically charged," Itagaki said he might want to explore the same issues in a game set in space.

Update: Apparently, this is what they call B-roll footage, not an officially sanctioned trailer for the game and not intended to be shown in its entirety. We think it's just a spectacular selection of gameplay, but please note this is "raw" unedited video.

I don't actually ever, y'know, go into nature or anything like that, but I'm imagining this is exactly what it looks like.

Update: Apparently, this is what they call B-roll footage, not an officially sanctioned trailer for the game and not intended to be shown in its entirety. We think it's just a spectacular selection of gameplay, but please note this is "raw" unedited video.

Update: Apparently, this is what they call B-roll footage, not an officially sanctioned trailer for the game. We think it's just a spectacular selection of gameplay, but please note this is "raw" unedited video.

In the late 90s Rare established themselves as a top-tier studio, producing such classics as GoldenEye and Donkey Kong Country for Nintendo. But in 2002, Microsoft bought up the company and prepared to have the studio start work on some of the marquee titles for their upcoming Xbox 360.

I told Kim that back before the Xbox 360 launched I had heard that Rare's Perfect Dark Zero was meant to be the platform's launch title, the reason gamers would take notice of the 360 and decide to buy into the new platform.

When the game finally hit, with the launch of the 360 and Rare's other title Kameo, it was met with a mixed reception, certainly not the sort that Microsoft had bet on.

Is Rare, I asked Kim, a developer that better suited to the audience and platforms of Nintendo gaming?

The short answer, Kim said, is no. But he did acknowledge that Rare hasn't yet met it's full potential on the Xbox 360. Neither Perfect Dark Zero or Kameo were the massive hits that Microsoft expects and Viva Pinata, he said, was a game that attracted a casual audience but was much deeper than that sort of gamer expected or was interested in playing.

But Rare's upcoming titles could turn that around. Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, for instance, hopes to fix that disconnect between the audience it attracted and its accessibility by adding online and local co-op and tweaking gameplay.

And while Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts isn't a true sequel to the franchise, its concept, a vehicle platformer, was entirely the idea of Rare and its developers.

Hopefully today will give me a chance to see if Rare has been able to turn it around and get back to making games like Goldeneye rather than Grabbed By The Ghoulies.

While the multiplayer aspect may be more limited—at least for this entry in the planned trilogy—that doesn't mean looting droid corpses for an Angelic Skull Splitter Staff of Rising Bellow will be any less fun. Besides, this game has giant bear spirits. Who could complain when you can harness the power of ethereal bears?! New co-op trailer above, new screen shots after the jump. Absorb!

Tsunoda, who was unfortunate enough to be sitting right next to me, spent much of the evening trying not to answer questions about Gears of War 2 and his new role as the game's general manager. He said he felt fortunate to be working at Microsoft Game Studio and in particular to be working with Cliff Bleszinski and the folks at Epic Games.

MTV's Stephen Totilo and I tried to pin Tsunoda down on how the game would fit into the Gears universe. Was it, Totilo asked, part of a trilogy. We haven't decided yet, Tsunoda responded and then tried to change the topic, saying that the game has plenty of things to do in the way of improving on the original title.

Multiplayer, for instance, has a lot of potential, though he can't talk about it quite yet. Cover will be destructible this time around, he added. And by cover he doesn't just mean the rock walls and building remnants, he's also talking about grabbing bad guys and hiding behind them, something Tsunoda referred to as "meat shields". And yes, it seems that these meat shields will be "destructible" too.

What are they doing for the ladies this time around, Totilo wanted to know. Are they going to make it more accessible or interesting to women somehow.

Tsunoda sort of ducked the answer, but when I asked him if they were considering perhaps adding a romantic interest to the plot, he said yes, there would be a love interest this time around.

Given the tone of the dinner, it was hard to tell if he was serious or joking, but either way it raises an interesting point: Should the Gears of War sequel have more interpersonal relationships, should there be a love interest in the game?

I think that one of the things that hurt the original title was its story, in particular its ending , so building in a relationship, one that could be used to make the game more emotion certainly couldn't hurt. At least that's my take. What's yours?

Check out Totilo's take on the dinner as well.

[Pic from MTV Multiplayer]

A handy fact sheet, courtesy of Microsoft, explains how the Lord of Games has crafted a ridiculous excuse to pit Banjo and Gruntilda against eachother in a battle that can only be settled by vehicle creation and customization. Seriously! You'll find it after the jump!

Famed game developer Rare Ltd. is reviving one of its most beloved and successful franchises exclusively on Xbox 360 with the third installment of the “Banjo-Kazooie” series. “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” embraces new and old fans alike, as the famous bear and bird duo return in stunning high definition for a unique adventure of epic proportions. The Lord of the Games (aka LOG) is tired of the petty squabbling between Banjo and the evil witch Gruntilda (aka Grunty) over the years, and has arranged a showdown to decide the rightful owner of Spiral Mountain. Claiming to have created every video game ever made, LOG has built the game worlds in which the contest’s challenges take place. Banjo must complete LOG’s challenges to win, while Grunty tries to stop him using every method her devious mind can muster.

Throughout their adventure, players create their own abilities by building vehicles for Banjo to pilot over land, water and air. Vehicle parts, which range from simple devices such as engines and wheels to more unusual equipment such as springs and egg guns, are earned and collected throughout the game. Players use their imagination to combine parts in any order to create whatever vehicle they choose. LOG’s challenges have one goal, but players’ choice of vehicle and tactics will determine how they get there. By exploring worlds and solving puzzles, players both young and old will be rewarded with more advanced and diverse vehicle parts in their quest to defeat Grunty once and for all.

With the power of Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE, “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” brings an entirely new experience to the console and takes the franchise to a whole new level of enjoyment. High-definition graphics, user-created content and online gameplay are just three of the many advances people of all ages and skill levels will discover as they embark on their adventure.

Features: Top features include the following:
An adventure that starts with your imagination. If you can imagine it, you can build it in the Mumbo’s Motors easy-to-use workshop. Then put your creation to the test as you take on Grunty in your quest for Spiral Mountain. Unlike other games, where the player progressively picks up new skills or abilities at points pre-determined by the game’s creator, “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” puts the power of improving Banjo’s abilities into the hands of the players as they build vehicles that allow Banjo to progress through the game. Vehicle parts include a wide variety of body panels, engines, wheels, wings, propellers, fuel and weapons, plus many more weird and wonderful gadgets such as floaters, Mumbo Bombos and the versatile sticky ball, from which players can design and create anything from a simple object-carrying truck to a space-age flying saucer. Once you’ve designed your creation, give it the finishing touch by painting it and choosing a suitable name before Banjo jumps in and pilots it into action.
Customizable experience. With more than 100 contraption parts and unlimited combinations possible, no two players will have the same experience in “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.” By exploring the vast game worlds, discovering hidden secrets and solving puzzles to win rewards, players continually find more and more ways to customize and improve their contraptions, creating an unprecedented level of user-generated content for a 3-D platform adventure game.
Fun right out of the box. Don’t worry if you aren’t the world’s greatest inventor or want to skip the workshop and get straight to the action, because “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” comes with a fully loaded experience right out of the box. Pre-built vehicles are included so players can jump right in and get started, with many more contraptions available for purchase throughout the adventure using the in-game currency system of musical notes.
Engaging storyline and entertaining characters. Two of Rare’s most beloved characters have returned from retirement, making their debut on Xbox 360. To win the deed to their homeland and prevent the evil witch Gruntilda from developing it into tower blocks and malls, Banjo and his best friend Kazooie battle over land, sea and air against their longtime rival. Familiar faces such as Mumbo Jumbo, Bottles, Captain Blubber and the Jinjos are also back to lend a hand, along with an equally colorful cast of new friends and foes. Look out for Trophy Thomas, Piddles, Lord of the Games and Grunty’s mechanically menacing army of Gruntbots.
Enjoy alone or with friends. “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts” offers complete single-player and multiplayer experiences. You can play through the adventure alone in the single-player campaign, or play with friends in competitive or cooperative challenges on your own or in teams.
Fun for everyone. Xbox 360 is the home to the best entertainment experiences for everyone. With “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts,” Xbox 360 continues to build its impressive lineup of content that appeals to people of all ages and types.

As you recall, there's no PlayStation Network version because PSN doesn't support Torque, with which the game is built. Full fact sheet follows the jump.

GAME FACT SHEET

Summary

Format: Xbox LIVE® Arcade
Download for Windows, Macintosh, Linux
Publisher: Hothead Games
Developer: Hothead Games
Release Date: May 21, 2008
Category: RPG-Adventure
ESRB Rating: M for Mature
Website: www.rainslick.com

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is an RPG-Adventure game set in the comic-book-meets-pulp-horror-meets-H.P. Lovecraft deranged 1920s universe of New Arcadia, delivering mature and compelling entertainment to gamers via accessible episodic delivery. The creative collaboration between Penny Arcade creators Mike 'Gabe' Krahulik and Jerry 'Tycho' Holkins, legendary game designer Ron Gilbert and veteran producers Hothead Games results in a 100% authentic Penny Arcade experience that pushes bizarre characters, outrageous combat, and adult humor to the precipices of darkness.

Players join Gabe and Tycho, the crime-solving team of the Startling Developments Detective Agency, to combat savage enemies and solve mysteries hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia. The ominous 1920s landscape features distinct artwork and characters designed exclusively by Krahulik and brought to life by the Hothead team.

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness © 2008 Hothead Games, Inc. Penny Arcade, the Penny Arcade logo, and the Penny Arcade Adventures logo are trademarks of Penny Arcade, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Hothead, the Hothead Games logo, and the On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness logo are trademarks of Hothead Games, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners.
Episodic Game Play

Each episode of On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness brings the Startling Developments detective team closer to discovering the sinister and bizarre mystery of New Arcadia, and truly takes advantage of the episodic genre by integrating features like

• The ability to carry over character, stats, abilities, inventory and look across all episodes
• A complete experience available in 5-10 hours of game play per episode
• A price point of $19.95 (or 1600 Microsoft points), offering tremendous value that fits into the modern gamer's busy schedule
• Pick-up-and-play capabilities from any episode, allowing players enjoyment without the need to play previous installments

Key Game Features

• Create-a-Player System lets you design and develop your own character, seeing it come to life in 3D and in the comic-style 2D cut scenes
• Dynamic turn-based combat system, over-the-top animations, and team-up moves during enemy battles
• Classic adventure game play combines with RPG elements to unravel the game's mysteries and puzzles
• Authentic Penny Arcade story and dialogue written exclusively by Jerry Holkins
• Includes Gabe, Tycho, Annarchy, the Fruit F*cker and many other favorite Penny Arcade characters, plus new characters designed by Mike Krahulik

What are they showing? Ninja Gaiden II, Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Too Human, and several games without 2 or Too in them, including Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, and Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One.

Crecente will be there all day for the event, so you can expect all sorts of fun stuff from him later in the day. While we busy ourselves setting up galleries and processing videos for your enjoyment, feel free to read through the official press release, after the jump.

Microsoft Game Studios Unveils Gears of War 2 Gameplay

"Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise" Set to Burst Onto Store Shelves This Fall
LONDON - 13th May 2008 - Today Microsoft Game Studios (MGS) and industry luminaries from the world's top development studios will be on hand to show off the latest features of the year's most in-demand titles; present will be Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski, Lionhead's Peter Molyneux, TECMO/Team NINJA's Tomonobu Itagaki and Silicon Knights' Denis Dyack. This year, the visage of Marcus Fenix joins the likes of Ryu Hayabusa, Banjo, vivacious piñatas, cybernetic gods and a hero with a loyal dog sidekick in the all-star 2008 MGS line-up that promises to make Xbox 360 the console of choice for players everywhere.

Attendees of the MGS San Francisco showcase event will witness the first extended taste of "Gears of War 2," the sequel to the blockbuster third-person tactical action game that sold nearly 5 million units. Epic Games Design Director, Cliff Bleszinski, will demonstrate dramatic new gameplay elements and stunning visual effects in a campaign sequence from early in the game - where Marcus Fenix and COG forces engage in pulse-pounding firefights between two Derrick transports, fend off vicious Reaver fly-by attacks and rabid Brumaks - all in the same rollercoaster ride of a level. As the most anticipated Xbox 360 exclusive title of the 2008 holiday season, "Gears of War 2" offers an unforgettable gameplay experience that blends a gripping story with visceral combat on a grand scale.

MGS will also crack open "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise," set to appear on store shelves this September. Developed by the creative masterminds at Rare, this sequel to the colourful, sleeper hit builds upon the gameplay of the original and adds innovative twists to the mix. In an effort to help Piñata Central rebuild their computer database of piñatas, players will send piñatas at full candiosity to parties all around the world while using their creativity and imagination to attract, capture, protect, train and manage more than 100 newly discovered and existing piñata species. An exciting, new "Just for Fun" setting makes getting into the game fast and easy. For the first time, players will be able to collaborate together on a garden through a rich co-op experience, connect and play with others online via Xbox LIVE as well as instantly introduce new piñata species to their garden through an innovative new feature utilizing the Xbox LIVE Vision Camera.

MGS will also pull back the curtain on another beloved franchise with the triumphant return of Banjo, one of Rare's most successful characters, in "Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts." Defying the laws of nature, a bear, a bird and a backpack team up to embark on another incredible adventure this November. MGS is breaking the rules of traditional platformer games by putting the power to invent new abilities for Banjo directly into the players' hands. By using their ingenuity to build imaginative vehicles that can be combined with infinite variations, gamers help Banjo successfully complete missions through multiple terrains. Through exploration, discovering hidden secrets and solving puzzles to win rewards, players will continually find increasing ways to customize and improve their contraptions, creating an unprecedented level of user-generated content and emergent play for a 3-D adventure game.

These instantly recognizable franchises join the enviable company of "Fable 2," "Too Human" and "Ninja Gaiden II" from Team NINJA/TECMO, making Xbox 360 the home of the best blockbuster game experiences this year.

Other news and features of 2008 Xbox 360 blockbusters:

• "Fable 2": The wait is almost over for the sequel to THE biggest action role-playing game in Xbox history. Swords, guns and now the newly unveiled magical power round out the combat in this action RPG from acclaimed developer Peter Molyneux and Lionhead Studios. Players will have even more choices to continuously shape who their characters become in a world 10 times the size of the iconic Xbox game. "Fable 2" introduces a host of exciting new features for gamers, including a first-of-its-kind Xbox LIVE Arcade experience, and a genre-stretching multiplayer experience, allowing gamers easily play "Fable 2" with friends and family side-by-side from the comfort of a living room couch. Players can immerse themselves in this vibrant world that only Lionhead and Molyneux could create, beginning this holiday.

• "Too Human": Today, MGS and Silicon Knights will confirm that the wait is almost over - "Too Human" will be available on August 19 in North America and August 29 in Europe. "Too Human" is an epic, highly anticipated action game with integrated RPG elements and features a rich storyline with deep character development, both hallmarks of Silicon Knights' legendary tradition of video game development. Additionally, Silicon Knights is showcasing for the first time, the title's online cooperative play via Xbox LIVE; allowing gamers to experience "Too Human" with friends in a multiplayer setting.

• "Ninja Gaiden II": Team NINJA/TEMCO will reveal today that gamers can get a head start on expanding and customizing their "Ninja Gaiden II" experience with the release of Gamerpics and Themes, available as PDLC on Xbox LIVE beginning today. The Gamerpics packs include five new images each, at 100 points per pack; and the Themes, which focus on heroes and bosses, are 150 points per pack. Soon gamers everywhere will follow Ryu Hayabusa's entire blood-drenched mission - through cities like Venice, New York and Tokyo - to avenge his clan and prevent the destruction of the human race. "Ninja Gaiden II" slashes its way onto store shelves on June 3 in North America and June 6 in Europe. Additional "Ninja Gaiden II" PDLC will be available for download on May 20, with subsequent releases throughout the summer.

• "Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One" on Xbox LIVE Arcade provides a first-of-its-kind RPG-Adventure experience based on the popular Web comic. The creative collaboration between Penny Arcade creators Mike 'Gabe' Krahulik and Jerry 'Tycho' Holkins, legendary game designer Ron Gilbert and producers at Hothead Games results in a 100-percent authentic Penny Arcade experience that pushes bizarre characters, outrageous combat and adult humor to the precipice of darkness. "Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One" will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade May 21, 2008.

Microsoft Game Studios is the home to many of the industry's biggest franchises and continues to set the bar for top-quality entertainment experiences for players of all types. Characters from the game universes of "Gears of War," "Fable," "Banjo-Kazooie," and "Viva Piñata" have enthralled gamers young and old all over the world. In 2007, MGS made history with some of the biggest video game launches ever, including Halo 3," "PGR4" and "Mass Effect."

With games often among the highest rated in their class by critics, Microsoft Game Studios delivers the best and most complete game experiences exclusively on Xbox 360, fuelled by the passion of 10 million gamers worldwide playing on Xbox LIVE.

This is just the beginning of what promises to be another landmark year for games on Xbox 360. Stay tuned for more announcements in the coming months.

Another interesting item? A "Piñata Vision" feature that lets players use Xbox Live's vision camera and printed cards to put extra content into the game.

In Trouble in Paradise, evil Professor Pester and his ruffians have deleted Piñata Central's computer records, threatening piñata parties and tasking the player with rebuilding everything by sending piñatas around the world. This is the part where I refuse to admit that I watch the TV show religiously and know exactly what this means.

Oops. Fact sheet after the jump.

"Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise" Fact Sheet May 2008 Title: "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise"

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Rare Ltd.

Format: DVD for the Xbox 360 video game system

ESRB Rating: Rating pending (all ages)

Availability: September 2008

Product
Overview: The original Rare Ltd. team behind "Viva Piñata" has reunited to bring gamers "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise," the newest piñata adventure that invites gamers to return to magical Piñata Island. Unfortunately, not all is well on the island, as Professor Pester along with his gang of Ruffians have wiped out Piñata Central's computer records, which poses a threat to parties everywhere. To help Piñata Central, players must gradually rebuild the computer database by sending piñatas at full candiosity to parties all around the world. While thwarting Professor Pester's evil plot, players still build and maintain piñata gardens — using their creativity and imagination to attract, trap, protect, train and manage more than 100 different piñata species.

Available exclusively on Xbox 360, "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise" reinvigorates a colorful and engaging gaming experience on the Xbox 360 platform. Now with full cooperative and online gameplay modes, the "Viva Piñata" franchise opens its doors even wider with a new game that provides hours of fun for gamers of all ages, fans of the animated series and animal lovers alike.

Features: Top game features include the following:
• Social. The world of Piñata Island is an inviting and rewarding place to be. Family members and friend now can share in the joy of creating a garden by simply plugging in an extra controller. The second player has access to all tools, actions and activities, but he or she also can collect magic by helping. Player two can spend magic by tinkering items, healing a sick piñata or filling a piñata candiosity meter. It's a new way to play.
• Customizable. "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise" allows players' imaginations to run wild by providing them with expansive freedom and choice.
o Your garden. "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise" also offers a vast level of customization within your main garden. Now, along with planting grass, trees and flowers, and digging ponds and lakes, players can place sand and snow in their garden to make exotic species of piñata feel more at home. Players also can choose to enhance their garden with themed object packs — make your garden into a space center, a pirate cove or a haunted graveyard. Buy objects to change the weather, or new toys for your piñata to play with. You have total freedom to create any kind of paradise you want!
o Your piñatas. Thirty-two new species of piñata can run, crawl, fly and swim into your garden in "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise." Large, small, fierce and cute, the new piñatas will join all your favorites for thriving activity throughout your garden. Among these new species are sour piñatas that will infiltrate and wreak havoc in the garden. In "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise," players can choose to either tame sours, or feed them candy to keep them sweet.
o Piñata Vision. A never-before-seen feature called Piñata Vision allows players to plug in an Xbox LIVE Vision camera and interact with the game through the use of printed cards that feature a unique barcode. With Piñata Vision, gamers can simply flash a piñata card up to the Vision camera, and the content will drop directly into the game.*
• Accessible. "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise" reinvigorates the franchise with additional game modes and features that make it even more accessible to players of all ages and skill levels.
o Just for Fun Mode. Designed for beginner players, kids and those just looking to explore Piñata Island, this mode allows players to jump into the garden and interact with the unique piñata world. In this mode the difficulty has been turned down and the fun has been turned up. Sour piñatas stay away, resident piñatas remain healthy, weeds don't plague your garden and you have an infinite chocolate coin bank account, allowing you to turn your garden into a veritable utopia of colorful creatures.
o Standard Mode. Presenting a challenge for experienced piñata gardeners and dedicated gamers, the Standard gameplay mode provides a more tricky option, where players must keep a watchful eye on their garden. Sour piñatas, feuding species, weeds, illness and limited money call for you to exercise problem solving and creativity to build and maintain an environment where piñatas can flourish and grow.
o Player Guide System. Replacing the traditional tutorial, the optional Player Guide System directs players through a series of loose goals to help them master the fundamental aspects of "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise."
o Show Off. Using the new photo mode in "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise," you can snap, print and upload pictures of your unique garden or customized piñatas showing them off to your friends. You also can photograph your piñata and turn it into a piñata card, share it with your friends so they scan it and put it into their own garden using the Xbox LIVE Vision camera.
o Piñata and character interaction. All your residents are now capable of performing dazzling tricks, which you can teach them using the new trick stick tool. Watch as piñatas play together, perch on each other and interact in new ways to make them more appealing.
• Spontaneous. "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise" is a constantly changing world where anything can and does happen. Rivalries, injuries, illness and fights — if you turn your back, who knows what your piñatas will do?
o It's happening outside. Pester knows where your garden is, and he's got a few nasty tricks up his sleeve to make piñata life difficult. Foil his plans by sending your piñata around the world to save parties everywhere. Also, you must deal with new, untamed sour piñatas with bad attitudes and more troublesome Ruffians who will try to spoil your creation.
o It's happening inside. Pester will try to block piñatas from ever reaching your garden, but you can break the blockades and teach him who is in charge on Piñata Island. However, don't underestimate Pester — he's likely to make some personal appearances to attempt to put you in your place.

Developer
Information: Founded in 1985 and based in the United Kingdom, Rare Ltd. is one of the world's leading video game developers and has masterminded some of the most popular video games in history, including multi-million-dollar sellers "GoldenEye", "Perfect Dark", "Banjo-Kazooie" and the "Donkey Kong Country" Series. From 2005 to 2006, Rare released "Perfect Dark Zero", "Kameo: Elements of Power" and "Viva Piñata" for Xbox 360. Rare continues to entertain the world with the release of "Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts" and "Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise" later this year. For further information visit www.rare.co.uk."