E3 2012

LucasArts is finally giving fans a first look at the next step for the Star Wars series in video games with the formal announcement of the bounty hunter-focused Star Wars 1313. The third-person action game will follow an as-yet-unnamed bounty hunter on the planet Coruscant as he tracks wanted individuals while unraveling a larger conspiracy.

The setting is Level 1313 in Coruscant's seedy underworld, deep below the surface of the city-planet. It seems as though Star Wars 1313 falls somewhere around the Original Trilogy or later in the Star Wars timeline, as the above promo art features TIE Fighters, a spacecraft that doesn't appear in the fiction until Emperor Palpatine's reign.

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X-Play's Blair Herter runs down the 5 most shocking things in E3 history.  From the PS3 original sticker price, and Peter Moore's bicep, to a booth babe banning, see what else made the list of E3's most shocking moments.

X-Play is looking at the heavy hitters of E3 2012. In part 2, we're taking a look at Dishonored, Far Cry 3, The Elder Scrolls Online, and Resident Evil 6.

So far, everything we've seen about Dishonored has made it look pretty awesome, so it's perfectly understandable to hope for more at E3. I mean, come on, it's Bioshock meets steampunk by Bethesda. How can that NOT be awesome?

Speaking of Bethesda, we can only hope to see more of Elder Scrolls Online next week. Perhaps a look at the story? Maybe some screenshots? Or heck, just a release date would be fine.

We've already seen quite a bit of Far Cry 3, but we're greedy bastards and are always looking to get our hands on as much as we can get. Here's hoping we can see even more at E3 2012.

And finally, Resident Evil 6 has already got the fanboys whipped up into a frenzy. The latest installment of the classic zombie franchise already looks like it will be a good one, but we hope to see plenty more of it in the coming days.

Check out part one of our heavy hitters preview here.

Morgan Webb and Blair Herter reveal their top 5 most anticipated sequels at E3 2012, including, Grand Theft Auto 5, Halo 4, and Borderlands 2 to name a few. Check out Morgan and Blair's excitement as they anxiously wait for more details on the upcoming Halo 4, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Borderlands 2.

The God of War: Ascension official gameplay video preview features brutal multiplayer action, promising God of War fans more bloody combat for the franchise, with devasting specials, magical perks, and unlockable weapon and armor types specific to players' allegiance to either Zeus, Aries, Poseidon, or Hades.

God of War: Ascension includes large-scale combat characteristic of the franchise, including a fight with a giant cyclops. 

Although Sony says God of War: Ascension will encourage competition among teams, lead combat designer Jason McDonald says single-player mode has not suffered: "We didn't want to sacrifice single-player for multiplayer, neither did we want to tack [the latter] on," he said. "We're definitely going full force with both."

Injustice: Gods Among Us, a fighting game in the DC Universe, has been announced. The game, to be published by  Warner Brothers, was developed by NetherRealm Studios and is set for release in 2013.

Injustice: Gods Among Us is planned as a "bold new fighting game franchise" that features a "deep, original story" starring such DC heroes as  Batman, Harley Quinn, Solomon Grundy, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman and many others. Set in a world where the lines between good and evil are blurred, players will experience heroes and villains engaging in "epic battles on a massive scale." 

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Natsume have announced Project Happiness, a new IP being developed by Yasuhiro Wada, the Father of Harvest Moon, and his studio, Toybox Inc. Project Happiness is the working title of the IP, but other than announcing the game's existence, Natsume didn't  share much else about the game, opting to wait until E3 to do so.

The publisher did mention that Project Happiness is, "Filled with adventure, discovery, and wonder," and that it will, "warm the hearts of gamers both young and old! It's an experience that will fill you with motivation and magical memories!"

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There's a new Gears of War game coming from Epic Games, people. While we don't have any details about the next game in the Gears series, we know when we'll know more about it. Microsoft's E3 press conference on Monday morning should reveal all (or at least some) of the details. We're hoping to check out some live gameplay from the next Gears of War as well.

• NEWS: Gears of War: Exile Cancelation Confirmed

The press conference is set to go off live, and we'll be streaming it here at G4tv.com, so check out our E3 2012 site on Monday for everything Microsoft, as well as tons of E3 2012 trailers, news, interviews and more.

The only other piece of information about the game comes by way of the cover of the next magazine Game Informer. Click the "Read More" tag to check it out.

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A Lord of the Rings multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game titled Guardians of Middle-earth has been announced by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The battle will be coming to Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network in fall 2012 and will feature tie-ins to the upcoming Hobbit movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

“The MOBA genre is wildly popular with PC players and we are excited to bring it to consoles through the lore of Middle-earth,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development at WBIE. “The heroes and villains of Middle-earth are crafted in a way that perfectly intersects with MOBA game features, allowing the development team to create guardians with deep skills and abilities for gamers to master.”

In Guardians of Middle-earth, players will be able to choose from more than 20 guardians including Gandalf, Sauron, Gollum, Thráin and many more to help them battle for Middle-earth. WBIE hasn't detailed the maps or game's modes yet, but we're assuming one team will be trying to destroy the other's base. The game will also include in-game chat and a comprehensive online leader board system.

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Cyberpunk, a futuristic RPG, was just announced by CD Projekt Red at a pre-E3 2012 press conference. Based on the 1988 pen-and-paper game of the same name, Cyberpunk is a role-playing game for mature audiences, and will feature realistic, brutal violence and be set in a rich, futuristic world.

Although it uses the same engine, this isn't The Witcher 2 with a future skin; Red would like to set a new standard in the futuristic RPG genre with an exceptional gaming experience featuring a varied selection of different classes, customizable characters, a full arsenal of weapons, upgrades, implants, and cool high-tech toys.

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Oops! Somebody's going to get chewed out at Sony today, following an accidental posting on the European PlayStation Blog that outed a June 4, 2012 launch for EA's previously rumored Battlefield Premium subscription service (via Joystiq). The post also confirms that Battlefield 3's 'Close Quarters' DLC will arrive on the same day.

There's pricing too, though not for North America. The European/Australian pricing for Battlefield Premium comes out to £39.99/€49.99/AU$79.99 and the DLC is priced at £11.99/€14.99/AU$23.95. The offending post has since been removed, but nothing ever fully disappears once it's made public on the Internet. June 4 also happens to be the day of EA's E3 2012 press conference. Coincidence? I think not.

Dead Space 3 has yet to be officially confirmed, but a new trailer from EA for a Dead Space graphic novel offers up story points that fall in line with what previous rumors have suggested about the series' third game. The DeadSpace.com trailer is set on the frozen world of Uxor, with Earthgov Sergeant John Carver watching in horror as a colony there is decimated and Necromorphs rise up around a newly exposed Marker.

This doesn't match up perfectly with what we've previously heard about Dead Space 3, but it's not so far off either. Both of the reports that emerged in fall 2011 pointed to an ice planet as the main setting for the next game, though the rumor pegged the planet's name as Tau Volantis and not Uxor. Isaac Clarke is said to be back as the protagonist in the third Dead Space, sent to the ice planet on a mission to rescue a missing woman and return her to Mars.

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Far Cry 3 now has a E3 teaser trailer! The video shows glimpses, both visual and audio, of Ubisoft's open-world shooter. The full trailer will be revealed next Monday, June 4th, during Ubisoft's E3 2012 press conference. Following in the great tradition that is teaser trailers, this trailer doesn't really reveal anything.

• NEWS: Far Cry 3 Multiplayer Beta Details -- Coming This Summer

Far Cry 3 will be released on September 4, 2012.

A newly released E3 2012 teaser image from Square Enix for Hitman: Absolution strongly suggests that some sort of multiplayer reveal is part of the plan for the yearly trade show. The image features a lineup of shapely she-assassins decked out with all manner of gear. Will Hitman: Absolution feature ladies-only multiplayer shenanigans?

That's certainly the suggestion in the above image. The all-silhouettes lineup is filled out entirely by women in skintight bodysuits and stiletto heels. Most of them appear to be wearing hoods and each one is carrying some sort of potentially lethal weapon. 

IO Interactive hasn't revealed any details about online play in Hitman: Absolution, though lead producer Hakan Abrak is on record as saying that the team is doing something "very, very interesting... on the online side" in a 2011 interview with Eurogamer. Given the focus in the Hitman series on stealthy play and careful maneuvering, any crack at multiplayer would pretty much have to be something more than "shoot everyone who's not on your team" to be taken seriously.

David Cage, the founder of Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream, will be unveiling his studio's next game at Sony's E3 2012 press conference next Monday, June 4, a "trusted senior development source" tells CVG. The same source also revealed that the Paris-based game maker is working on two projects for Sony, though one or both may be aimed at a platform other than the PlayStation 3.

There's no word on what shape the mysterious E3 reveal game might take, but between QD's Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy, some sort of deeply interactive story-driven experience seems likely. Cage showcased the results of his more recent efforts in GDC 2012's "Kara" demo, prompting many to speculate that a new game reveal was imminent. This rumor certainly supports that. We'll find out soon enough, with less than a week to go before Sony trots out its upcoming lineup for E3-goers.