This Week In Xbox - 6/5

Insert Beatles Lyric Here

Following the surprising (and completely awesome) appearance of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Microsoft’s E3 press conference, we’re getting all sorts of news related to The Beatles Rock Band. First, ten songs have been confirmed to be remastered for the title, including Here Comes the Sun, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Get Back, and I Feel Fine. Also, “Abbey Road” will be available for download as a full album. Next, the rumors flying around that the game will include the capability to form three-part harmonized vocals through three separate mics. And finally, and probably most importantly, The Beatles’ facial hair will remain intact. According to John Drake (who talked to Joystiq), community manager at Harmonix, "We're really proud of all the mustache content we have in our game. However, there will be no mustache DLC in the game. Confirmed. You heard it right here."

VERDICT: Phew. My mustache worries are settled. Glad we got that out of the way. Also, that is without a doubt the best quote from the conference. Hands down.

Escape from New Orleans

Under a year after the first game reached shelves, Valve has announced the sequel to the zombie-blasting hit Left 4 Dead. The numerically heavy Left 4 Dead 2 already has a release date – November 17 – and will take place in the South, on the trail from Savannah to New Orleans. Four new characters will be fighting their way across the southland, including a good ol’ boy mechanic, a highschool football coach, a TV news reporter, and a conman. There will be a whole new set of Special zombies, but only two have been announced: The Charger, with a huge mutated arm that he uses to, well, charge the Survivors; and the Wandering Witch, which is exactly what it sounds like, a version of the old Witch that walks around. Also making an appearance in the sequel will be the inclusion of the axe, frying pan, baseball bat, and chainsaw (!) as melee weapons. The AI Director has also received an upgrade, and now has the ability to control the “weather effects, world objects, and pathways”. You can read a more in-depth explanation of the game right here at Rock Paper Shotgun.

VERDICT: It's like they looked into my dreams and delivered them to me. Valve should make every game.

Hey Konami, Would Ya Do Me a Solid?

After being denied the experience of Metal Gear Solid 4, Xbox 360 owners are finally getting some love from Hideo Kojima and the team at Konami with their upcoming title Metal Gear Solid: Rising. However, the new game won’t be starring the main series protagonist Solid Snake, opting to switch the focus to Raiden, who had previously starred in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The new title will almost certainly be multi-platform, and while there isn’t a solid release date as of yet, you can check out the very brief trailer right over here at Kotaku.

VERDICT: But...but...what about MGS4 for my 360? Some of us don't have a PS3!

Shepard of the Flock

Well, it seems that BioWare can’t quite make up its mind about whether or not Commander Shepard will die in Mass Effect 2, and would prefer that we made that decision for ourselves. Lead designer Casey Hudson told Kotaku that Mass Effect 2 “is a darker game. Your actions can have brutal consequences... important characters can die.” Apparently, “important characters” include Shepard himself, as he has been sent on what is being referred to as a “suicide mission” to find out what is happening to several missing humans around the galaxy. Also revealed were the new gameplay mechanics, including the ability to target specific body parts and blast off limbs, as well as the ability to interrupt people mid-conversation. Also mentioned were the possibility of a crew mutiny and the mid-cutscene dialog exchanges. You can read the full Kotaku report right here, but beware of spoilers!

VERDICT: Seriously BioWare, we appreciate all the info, but can we please not have everything about the game spoiled? Thanks.

So is this like that Movie with the Kid from The Sixth Sense?

Perhaps the most interesting and potentially game-changing announcement to come out of E3 was the revealing of Project Natal, Microsoft’s new peripheral motion-capture camera combined with some really cool voice-recognition technology. According to the trailer shown (which you can watch at Joystiq right now), it will capture not only your body movements and cause the on-screen character or Avatar to mimic them, it will also recognize your face and allow you to sift through the Dashboard by waving your hands around. Also shown with the announcement of the camera was Peter Molyneux’s newest creation – Milo. Players (parents?) use the Project Natal camera to interact and care for the young boy. Milo responds to voice commands, player movements, and even things that the player writes to him, but apparently doesn’t have the ability to live more than a dozen days. No release date as of yet for the peripheral, but we don’t anticipate seeing it on store shelves any time soon.

VERDICT: Can I combine Project Natal with Left 4 Dead and take out Milo? That kid seriously creeps me out.