It's puzzling to think that Silicon Knights has been plugging away at Too Human for well over a decade now. Sure, it's been planned as epic stuff from the get go, back when it was a PlayStation title and boasted of a scope that would require four game discs over 80 hours of gameplay. It later became a GameCube title, a transition that obviously required much of its previous iteration to be scrapped.

But as I hacked my way through the Xbox 360 game's first six hours of the single player campaign — putting me at about half-way through, according to the game's own Stats ticker — I began to mostly puzzled by what it was the team was doing with its time. Too Human seems surprisingly unpolished for a game that's been in some form of development for a decade, delayed multiple times, one due to be released in less than two months. Granted, the letter that accompanied our preview copy of Too Human did warn that our pre-release build was not "final retail code" and may have gameplay bugs that "will be addressed in the final retail game."

That was certainly taken into consideration as I completed Too Human's first two chapters, but some of the core issues I had with the game aren't the kinds of things that will likely be ironed out in the final thrust of development.

Okay, so I like Harry Potter. I checked out the Wii version of EA's upcoming Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, slated to drop alongside the film, mainly because I was interested in seeing what kind of magic wand a Wii remote made.

I had it demoed for me by executive producer Jonathan Bunney and producer Justin Manning, and it came down to a fight.

This artwork by Shawnimals toy line creator Shawn Smith adorned one full wall at the PR office where I went to check out Southpeak's upcoming Ninjatown strategy title for DS. The game's based off of Smith's cute little ninja characters and quirky designs, and it's slated for an October release.

I got a chance to give it a try, and I had a hard time putting it down.

Russian Gaijins Go Anime-Style With X-Blades

I saw a couple of Southpeak's upcoming titles today, including one that I didn't even know existed, to be perfectly honest. A development team of Russian Japanophiles - get this, their name is Gaijin - set out to create the most anime-styled action title they could, and came up with X-Blades, headed for PC and next-gen consoles in the Fall.

Like anime style? Like cel-shaded 3D cutscenes? Like crazy outfits? This one could be for you, maybe.

If there was one word that made grade-school Leigh suddenly fake appendicitis on the floor in gym class, it was Dodgeball. So it was with great apprehension and a little resistance that I decided to have a look at Gamecock's Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, developed by Blazing Lizard for a July release over Xbox Live Arcade.

Up to four players can compete together locally or co-op, and online multiplayer is for up to eight. You can also compete against three AIs all by your lonesome, so there are a lot of options - You get the idea.

So did I get creamed on the video game the same way I used to as a little geek?

Gamecock's upcoming Velvet Assassin, in development by Replay Studios, has an intriguing premise - the protagonist, Violette Summer, is based on the actual life of British secret agent Violette Szabo during World War II. In the game, Violette is a secret agent on her own behind enemy lines. It's slated for a Fall release on Xbox 360 and PC.

A war story influenced by real-world events that prioritizes stealth action? Sounds like a certain other title that I can't take my eyes and hands off of lately, so I was eager to get a look at Velvet Assassin today.

Early Impressions: Crash - Mind Over Mutant On Wii

While I was at Sierra's preview event today, I got to see the latest Bandicoot title, Crash: Mind Over Mutant for Wii - it's also hitting Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, DS and PSP in the fall.

In this title, seminal antagonists Dr. Neo Cortex and N. Brio have invented some kind of technological device that has turned everyone into zombie-like obsessives, and Crash is the only one unaffected. To stop the evil scientists, Crash will have to liberate the area's mutants - not unselfishly, of course. The core mechanic relies on using the unique abilities of the beasties you save to fight other monsters, navigate areas and solve puzzles.

I watched the rep use Crash to knock some sense into a big, knuckle-dragging brute, and then ride on his back - once jacked onto one of the creatures, the player can use that creature's special ability - in this case, the player slowed down time enough to get through a fast-chomping skull obstacle safely (think God of War 2's Amulet of the Fates).

I actually haven't played a Crash Bandicoot game since the first PlayStation, so it was interesting to see what's changed - and what hasn't.

Early Impressions: Ghostbusters

At Sierra's preview event, I got a chance to take a look at an early build of the upcoming Ghostbusters game, in development by Terminal Reality and slated for a Fall release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, DS and PC. One of the big things I learned was how involved Dan Aykroyd, who played Peter Venkman in the films, was in the game production.

Apparently it was Aykroyd who got all of the other cast members on board to do the voice-overs, and he was so enthusiastic about the game that he helped name and create specs for many of the game's weapons, to make sure they sounded and played like something that would have really been part of the franchise. In fact, Aykroyd is co-writing the entire script with fellow Ghostbusters writer Harold Ramis, so it's a game adaptation with what look to be strong ties to the original material.

The city of New York plays a major role here, too, and from what I saw and was told, the developers are aiming for a true-to-life NYC that echoes the environment in the films, from indoors to out - the city as a "character," as the reps said.

They told me they're aiming for a "seamless" transition between the game's indoor and outdoor environments. I also learned why you won't get to play as any of the four Ghostbusters.

Turnin' Around: Highlights From THQ's Press Event

Yesterday I visited THQ here in New York City, to check out their upcoming lineup of games for this year's Fall and holiday seasons. Given how heavily the publisher weighs its kid-friendly, casual and Nickelodeon-license titles, I set my expectations low, but after getting a chance to check out a few items of interest, I feel a bit more optimistic.

"In fairness to them, you don't turn around an oil tanker in a day," said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter.

A few titles stood out to me - I'm intrigued to see how Deadly Creatures turns out, as I like the creepy-crawly concept, and I thought Lock's Quest was an unexpected surprise, looking like more of a hardcore title aimed at fans of Japanese-style RTS games. And De Blob put me just enough in mind of Katamari Damacy to pique my interest.

In case you missed it yesterday, check out my posts from the press event:
Hands On With De Blob
Impressions: Lock's Quest
Impressions: Viva Pinata - Pocket Paradise
Impressions: Drawn To Life - SpongeBob Edition
Impressions: Wall-E
Impressions: Deadly Creatures

What do you think, guys? See anything you like?

I didn't know very much about THQ's Wii-exclusive Deadly Creatures until now, but after seeing a fairly early build of the game at the publisher's Fall and holiday preview event today, I'm looking forward to learning more - and tickled gleefully squeamish, too.

THQ's Rainbow Studios, known for the Cars game and the MX vs. ATV series, developed Deadly Creatures as a "labor of love," according to the rep, since the studio's based in Arizona, where its team was inspired by the desert crawlies native to the warm region.

As such, in Deadly Creatures, you can play the action-adventure game either as a venomous scorpion or fabulously gross tarantula, and the different strengths and weaknesses of each animal mean that navigating the game's areas and defeating its bosses, which include a rattlesnake, a gila monster and a horned lizard, among others.

After watching the rep demo it for me, here's what stood out:

Cutest. Robot. Ever. That was the biggest takeaway I got from glimpsing the Wall-E Wii game at THQ's Fall and holiday season preview event today, and as the game is set to launch simultaneously with the movie, I have a feeling that that googly-eyed little guy, whose function is to pick up and compact garbage, will sell zillions of copies of this title whether it's good or not, especially as it's launching on Wii, PS2 and Xbox 360.

Unlike most of the games I saw today, Wall-E's coming out this month, so we'll know for ourselves soon enough, but I still thought I'd share my impressions of the title, along with some screens of the Wii version.

I confess to not having played the original Drawn to Life back when it came out, but I've a pal who's a SpongeBob Squarepants fan, so when I was at THQ's Fall/holiday season preview event in New York City, I had to take a peek.

A rep demoed the DS title for me, and explained the gameplay is similar to the original Drawn to Life - this time, obviously, with a big SpongeBob cartoon theme. It's actually based, she said, on an episode of the TV series where Spongebob accidentally scribbles himself an enemy, "DoodleBob," a drawing come to life.

Like I said, I never played Drawn to Life, but I heard at length from lots of friends and readers that the platforming was nothing to get excited about, so I asked whether they'd taken that feedback and cleaned it up this time.

By now you know Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise is coming to DS, and I couldn't wait to have an early look at it during THQ's Fall/holiday preview event today.

Judging by what I saw, THQ's aiming to take what fans of the original Viva Pinata liked best and put it front-and-center, while also making it portable and by tying it in to the TV series in the hopes of opening frilly neon pinata guts and raining candy down on a whole new audience of fans.

So how's it look?

My Kotaku Tower compatriots have taken THQ's upcoming Wii exclusive De Blob for a paint-spattered spin in the past, but after giving it a try today during the publisher's Fall 08 and holiday preview event, I thought I'd add my own impressions of the single-player mode to the mix.

As we've told you in the past, you play as a pretty cute blob. Squishy blobs are in right now - just think of Independent Games Festival buzz-generators World of Goo and Goo!, to name just a couple. In fact, as Crecente reported last year, De Blob is actually the result of a student project from the 2006 Independent Games Festival.

As such, it retains both the simplicity and attractively colorful, offbeat vibe we often associate with promising indies. What are you a blob of? Color, it looks like, a heroic little splat plunked down in Chroma City, an adorable world that's had all of the hues sapped out of it by the evil I.N.K.T. Corporation.

It's super cute and quirky, but how does it play? Details and screens after the jump.

Impressions: Lock's Quest Mixes Old-School With Innovative Ideas

THQ was here in New York City this week to preview its Fall 2008 and holiday season titles, and to me, one of the most promising titles was Lock's Quest, a DS genre mashup that's a little bit real-time strategy, and a little bit action, due for release sometime this fall.

The first thing that caught my eye when it was shown to me was its old-school vibe: traditional-looking 2D sprites and animation plus anime aesthetic, a little bit of a surprise from a publisher who seems to have hitched its star on family-friendly titles with broader appeal.

So what's cool about Lock's Quest? Hit the jump for impressions and screenshots.

A press event earlier these week has resulted in a veritable flood of new information regarding the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Most of the news floating about is regarding the Death Knight hero class, fleshing out the details of the eagerly awaited addition, as well as some information on the raids players will encounter in the frozen lands of Northrend.

Every player with a character over level 55 will be able to create one Death Knight per realm. The new character will start at level 55 with a full compliment of abilities at their disposal, the reasoning here being that anyone who has leveled that far will be able to get the hang of the new abilities quickly. Anyone who has ever played with a recently eBayed character can tell you this is a complete falsehood, but it'll be amusing to watch at least.

Speaking of amusing, Death Knights will also gain the ability to raise fallen enemies and comrades as ghouls to continue the fight. If you raise an ally in this fashion they will get a choice of whether or not to take control of their violated corpse. Good times!

The combination of EA, Steven Spielberg and casual Wii gaming targeted at children and retirees may not instill much in the way of hardcore gaming fervor, but there is something unquantifiable about Boom Blox that makes it so appealing. On display on just one monitor at last week's Nintendo Media Summit, the Spielberg production—not unlike a virtual game of Jenga played with a cannon—had a consistent crowd of press and PR surrounding it, some of whom were repeat Boom Blox-ers regularly returning for another taste.

Boom Blox's main gameplay draw lies in the ability to knock down towers of inconsistently shaped blocks with the toss of baseballs, bowling balls, whatever, all of which adhere to an accurate physics model. Simply line up your shot, after a careful panning and scanning of the camera, then whip the Wii-remote at the screen to start knocking blocks off. Special blocks and multipliers pile on the tactics, but gamers of any skill level can compete from the get-go.