The Lilphish Lounge

G4TV without a doubt has the best E3 coverage this year.  The schedule is as follows:

Monday July 14th
1PM ET – Half-hour pre-show followed by the entire Microsoft Press Conference – live and commercial free on-air and online.
6PM ET – EA Press Conference - Live streaming coverage on G4tv.com
7PM ET – Two-hour E3 Preview Show featuring the following DEMOS:

• Fallout 3
• Fable 2
• Halo Wars
• Ghostbusters : The Videogame
• Silent Hill: Homecoming

Tuesday July 15th
12PM ET – Live on-air and online streaming, commercial free coverage of the Nintendo Press conference
2:30PM ET - Live on-air and online streaming, commercial free coverage of the Sony Press conference
5:30PM ET – Ubisoft Press Conference - Live streaming coverage on G4tv.com
6:00PM ET– Live three hour E308 Special featuring the following DEMOS:

• Gears of War 2
• Resistance 2
• Killzone 2
• Rock Band 2
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
• Prince of Persia
• Street Fighter IV
• Lord of the Rings: Conquest
• Dark Void

7:30PM ET – CAPCOM Press Conference - Live streaming coverage on G4tv.com
11:30PM ET – ACTIVISION Press Conference - Streaming coverage on G4tv.com

Wednesday July 16th
5:30PM ET - KONAMI Press Conference - Live streaming coverage on G4tv.com
6PM ET – Live three hour E308 Special featuring the following DEMOS:

• Resident Evil 5
• FarCry 2
• LittleBigPlanet
• Dead Space
• Spore
• InFamous
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
• Left 4 Dead
• Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe
• Crysis: Warhead
• Shaun White Snowboarding
• Deadly Creatures

Thursday, July 17th
6PM ET – Live three hour E308 Special featuring the following DEMOS:

• Mirror’s Edge
• Madden NFL ‘09
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.
• Tom Clancy’s EndWar
• Project Origin
• Banjo Kazooie
• Face Breaker

Friday, July 18th
7PM ET – Attack of the Show E3 Wrap-up Special
8PM ET – X-Play “Best of E3” Special

It’s that time of year again.  More gaming information that you can cram into your brain will be released next week.  As you probably want to know when things are actually happening, Kotaku kindly put together a timing list of all the press conferences in the first three days of next week. After that it’s just the “show” itself, which probably means a heavy drop-off in news, but we’ll just have to see.

All Times Below were converted to EDT: 

Monday, July 14

• 2:30 pm - Microsoft press conference
• 4:30 pm - Square Enix press conference
• 5:00 pm - Shane Kim roundtable
• 7:00 pm - EA press conference
• 11:00 pm - Gears of War 2 reception

Tuesday, July 15

• 1:00 pm - Show floor opens
• 1:00 pm - Nintendo press conference
• 3:00 pm - Sony press conference
• 6:30 pm - Ubisoft press conference
• 8:30 pm - Capcom press conference

Wednesday, July 16

• 1:15 pm - E3 Keynote by Gov. Perry
• 2:00 pm - Sony roundtable
• 2:45 pm - Take-Two press conference
• 5:00 pm - State of the Industry keynote
• 6:30 pm - Konami press conference

Pioneer has developed an optical disc that can hold up to 400G bytes of data easily surpassing previously announced prototypes.
The new disc manages to pack 16 layers, each with a 25G-byte capacity, into a conventional 12-centimeter diameter optical disc.

The new discs are similar to Blu-ray Disc technology and slight changes to the hardware on a Blu-ray drive would allow the new Pioneer discs to be used on one.

The following DVDs are being released this week (major releases):

Sleepwalking

The Tracey Fragments

You are better off renting movies from previous weeks releases, but the pick this week is Sleepwalking. 

MPAA RATING: R for language and a scene of violence

Starring Charlize Theron, Dennis Hopper, Woody Harrelson, Nick Stahl, and AnnaSophia Robb

Forced out of her home after her boyfriend is arrested, Joleen Reedy needs a place to stay with her 11-year-old daughter, Tara. She turns for help to her younger brother, James–a simple and overly trusting man who doesn’t hesitate to welcome them into his modest rental apartment. Almost as soon as she moves in, however, Joleen hits the road with another man. Utterly ill-equipped to be the sole guardian of an adolescent girl, James does his best to make his distraught niece happy. But before long, things spin out of control: He loses his job, and Tara is put into foster care. That’s when James makes a fateful decision that will bring his life full circle and force him to face his demons. He takes off with Tara, and the two assume new identities as father and daughter. What starts out as a ploy to evade authorities takes on a deeper significance as James strives to become the dad Tara never had and for the first time finds a true purpose in life. But when their road trip takes them to the Utah farm where James grew up, old wounds reopen between James and his father, whose emotionally abusive and sometimes violent ways have changed little since James was a boy. (Overture Films)

GENRE(S):
Drama

WRITTEN BY:
Zac Stanford

DIRECTED BY:
Bill Maher

RELEASE DATE:
DVD: July 8, 2008
Theatrical: March 14, 2008

RUNNING TIME:
100 minutes, Color

ORIGIN:
Canada / USA

The following games are being released this week (Current Gen Consoles):

• Beijing Olympics 2008
• Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution

• Beijing Olympics 2008
• Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution

• Final Fantasy Fables:  Chocobo’s Dungeon

Although I’m not a fan of the game, my pick this week goes to Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution.  It has reviewed very well and and is popular with fans of turn based strategy games.  I should also point out that the same Wii release makes the list this week since it was delayed from last week.

Civilization Revolution offers players a chance to experience the epic empire-building world of Civilization in an all new accessible, visually immersive, and action-packed world specifically designed for the console and handheld gamer. Delivering Civilization’s renowned epic single-player campaigns featuring vast re-playability and unmatched addictive gameplay as well as revolutionary features like real-time interaction with leaders and advisors, extensive multiplayer capabilities and integrated video and voice chat, it transports the Civilization series to a level of gameplay that fans have never seen before. Some of the key features that resonate with fans of strategy games and the Civilization franchise include 16 civilizations to master and lead to victory, an array of famous historical leaders to play as or compete against, and accessible maps and streamlined time scale for quicker games, intense combat, and constant action. In online multiplayer mode, players compete for world conquest and glory among their peers as they battle in teams, head-to-head or epic free-for-all matches. In addition, auto-matching, ranked games, leaderboards, achievements, downloadable extra content and integrated video and voice chat make the online play more versatile and fun than any previous version of Civilization and will allow players to see where they stand against the competition. Finally, the position of ruler of the world can be settled online. [2K Games]

PUBLISHER:
2K Games

DEVELOPER:
Firaxis

GENRE(S):
Turn-Based Strategy

PLAYERS:
4

ESRB RATING:
E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)

Not that there was ever any doubt, but Halo 4 has been rumored to be in development, and by very credible sources.  Sarcastic Gamer had the following to report on this today:

“At some point you’ll just have to trust us on some of this stuff. We have to protect our sources to keep them from being fragged by their employers or associates.
A very good and anonymous source tells us that Halo 4 is already in full development over at Bungie. I wish to God She/He/It had more details to share but at this point all She/He/It can confirm for sure is that Halo 4 is an official project being developed by Bungie, at this very moment.
With more than 20 million copies of Halo 3 sold worldwide, I know it’s a no-brainer that the series would continue somehow. It’s nice to get this sort of reassurance from a source who has never been wrong for us before.
If we get more details, we’ll share them. If She/He/It is wrong… They’ll be quietly disposed of…”

Report today from Kotaku:

The rumored Xbox 360 Spring Update might not have hit yet, but we know something big is in the works for the console’s dashboard.
How big? Well besides the gi-normous list of rumored updates we posted about back in May we’re now hearing from a number of sources that the Live dashboard is going to be getting a second interface option, one that will use the yet-to-be announced motion controller to navigate.”

This sounds like it could be interesting.

There is a lot of hype about this and it looks like firmware 2.40 for the PS3 will finally be here on Wednesday, July 2nd.  The main features of this release are as follows (as taken directly from Sony):

System software update 2.40 lets you access the PS3 Home Menu (XMB) while playing games as well as letting you show off your Trophies.

Sony Computer Entertainment has announced new online gaming functionality for PLAYSTATION 3 with system software update 2.40, an automatic update that delivers several of the features most requested by PS3 fans. Combined with PLAYSTATION Network’s unique service of free* online gaming, the enhancement makes PS3 an even more attractive platform of choice for the online gamer.

Firstly, system software 2.40 allows PS3 Home Menu (XMB) access in-game. This means that you can access the PS3 Home Menu (XMB) at any time while playing most games, simply by tapping the PlayStation button on your controller. With 2.40, you can check if any of your friends are online (thanks to their own user profile), read and send messages, change some settings for games, all without having to quit the game you are playing. While you can’t pause an online multiplayer game involving other people, you can rejoin play at any time when you’ve finished browsing.

System software update 2.40 also delivers trophies to recognize players’ achievements in the online arena. Other competitive activities recognize winners with trophies – so why not gaming on PS3? Many online games will have gold, silver and bronze trophies – with platinum available for those who snag all three – all displayed on the PS3 Home Menu (XMB) for everyone to see. Complementing these enhanced communications features, the Friends list capacity will double to 100 Friends so you can stay in touch with even more PS3 owners around the world.

The 2.40 enhancement is just one more reason to join PLAYSTATION Network, the online network for PS3 users that lets you play online for free*. All you need to do to join is connect your PS3 to broadband and register, or go to the connection guide at eu.playstation.com to find out more. Once in, you’ll find online matches and leagues for all of your favorite games absolutely free (although users are responsible for paying their broadband fees) and at any time of the day or night.

You’ll also find PLAYSTATION Store, where you can download entire games as well as extra levels, content for your existing games plus Internet browsing, video chat thanks to PLAYSTATION Eye and much, much more.

There’s never been a better time to join PLAYSTATION Network. Sign up now to make the most of system software update 2.40.

* No subscription required, broadband fees apply.

If you are wondering why there is so much hype over this it is due to the line above.  These are essentially the same features you get on Xbox Live, the difference being that the PS Network is free. 

Once you combine this, the new trophy system, video rentals (coming soon), and Home (coming at some point), Xbox Live is going to have some serious competition. 

There is no hiding it,  Sony’s “trophies” are Microsoft’s “achievements.” Except that there’s no Gamerscore point equivalent. Instead, PS3 owners get a revamped version of their user profile that displays how many trophies they’ve earned, how many of which type – platinum, golf silver or bronze – they have, and what their current “level” is.
Here’s the unfortunate news: you’ll need to earn trophies in games that are patched to include them even if you’ve already completely beaten the game. For example, if GTA IV received a trophy update, you’d need to play through it again – even if you achieved 100% completion – in order to earn its trophies.

I’m guessing that most people like myself will not care enough about these trophies to re-play games.

The following DVDs are being released this week (major releases):

Drillbit Taylor

Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns

Vantage Point

War, Inc.

My pick this week is Vantage Point.

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, some disturbing images and brief strong language

Starring Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, and William Hurt

In Columbia Pictures’ action-packed thriller Vantage Point, eight strangers with eight different points of view try to unlock the truth behind an assassination attempt on the president of the United States. Thomas Barnes and Kent Taylor are two Secret Service agents assigned to protect President Ashton at a landmark summit on the global war on terror. When President Ashton is shot moments after his arrival in Spain, chaos ensues and disparate lives collide in the hunt for the assassin. In the crowd is Howard Lewis, an American tourist who thinks he’s captured the shooter on his camcorder while videotaping the event for his kids back home. Also there, relaying the historic event to millions of TV viewers across the globe, is American TV news producer Rex Brooks. As they and others reveal their stories, the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place…and it will become apparent that shocking motivations lurk just beneath the surface. (Columbia Pictures)

GENRE(S):
Drama  |  Suspense/Thriller

WRITTEN BY:
Barry L. Levy

DIRECTED BY:
Pete Travis

RUNNING TIME:
90 minutes, Color