"Traitor’s Keep" is all about back-story. By way of an assassination attempt, the monarch comes to learn of Ravenscar Keep (the aforementioned prison) and that it has long been used by at least the two previous rulers: the current hero's brother, Logan, and mother. Given Logan’s predisposition towards military might and his hard-line tactics towards the general populous, one can imagine what types of people he incarcerated there ... namely revolutionaries, like the present monarch (though less successful), who’ve been seething ever since their imprisonment. While touring Ravenscar, players learn of a plot betwixt three pathologically fixated inmates, each of which (gasp) constitutes a quest, and one of whom fills in some blanks about how Albion transitioned to its industrial state.

While "Understone" presented little challenge to players who had already leveled-up their character by way of completing the game, "Traitor’s Keep" introduces new enemies as well as a few variants on some favorite beasties that manage to evoke some mildly impressive battles (some of which are more inventive than tough and vice-versa). In addition to the new clockwork creatures (beetles, exploding dogs, and psychotic automatons), there are rainbow-licious hobbes, extra-hollow hollow men, and (my favorite) drunken balverines. There are humans to fight as well, and being in a prison seems to have honed their group-based fighting skills a bit.

If there’s a weakness to "Traitor’s Keep," it’s the obvious moral choices. Kudos are deserved for including them at all, but the few choices that are presented are so heavily weighted that there is absolutely no ambiguity concerning where the hero’s yea or nay would place him or her in an opinion poll...a shame given Hobson’s prominence throughout the earlier portion of the DLC. More decisions affecting the public-at-large would have been terrific, especially if they came to learn of the prison despite attempts at secrecy. That could have at least added a feeling of political pressure.

Most importantly, "Traitor’s Keep" brings the funny. Sight gags and great writing as well as Fable in-jokes found scrawled across myriad notes and letters abound throughout this DLC. Supplement all of the above with four new outfits (three collected and one given) and one robot dog (non-exploding) to call your very own, and the 560 MS points it takes to purchase this quest seems a pittance for the experience.

[Highly Recommended]

This review is based on downlodable content purchased by the reviewer.

How much fun you'll have, truly the value behind any game, depends on your predisposition towards high-speed, high-stakes racing and lording your own victory over the collective failures of your competitors (or the general determination to win despite the looming laughter of finish line-wading winners). Like the automobile racing game GRID, one slip-up can mean the difference between a lengthy lead and a laughable last, promoting great tension during any race. There is also a good sense of humor through the courses, be it from either the announcer's (all too repetitive) comments on whatever you’ve just collected or backgrounds featuring mighty Thor creating waves in Asgard and alien ships dominating what appears to be Willy Wonka’s version of Mars. It should also be mentioned that the graphics are good (particularly the reflections in the water and water itself), but nothing that’ll turn a mariner’s head away from an albatross.

The physics engine lends great variety to the gameplay in terms of in- and out-of-water maneuverability (both of which come in very handy) throughout not only individual levels but level types as well. All in all, there are three game modes: Race, Ring Master, and Gauntlet. Championship courses combine all or some of the former into multi-event ... events. In addition to keeping things interesting, these different modes unlock various in-game goodies, such as new boat skins, new boats, and more tracks. OK, it’s actually mostly the points earned per event that add to your bank, but the more you play on tracks with which you’re not bored, the more prizes you earn, right?

Whenever I play online (King Ink), I host all rubber ducky races, and the squeaking from the "boats" is only barely audible over everyone's laughter. Even if you only work a minimal wage job, isn't two hours worth of pay worth infinite enjoyment and adrenaline of online boat racing? You know it is!

[Recommended]

This review is based on a digital copy of the XBLA game purchased by the reviewer.

Granted, most of the games shown at the conference seemed to simply be clones of Wii games, including a sports pack, a cart racer, and even the Wii Fit-esque Your Shape: Fitness Evolved from Ubisoft. Meanwhile, Microsoft also showed off non-game features (actually, a lot of them) that take advantage of the microphone and camera in Kinect. These include a video chat application (demoed by the MOST AWKWARD engineer and her twin sister), new interfaces for interacting with video and music content, and an ESPN application featuring videos of sporting events. [[EDIT: Among some of the third-party games available for the new peripheral are a new Forza racing game (available in 2011) and an MTV Games-produced, Harmonix-developed dancing game.]]

Oh yeah, there were some games there too. We saw a previously-released trailer for Activision and Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops, coupled with an announcement that Microsoft has signed an "exclusive, multi-year agreement with Activision" that will result in all Call of Duty games, map packs, and expansions releasing first on the Xbox 360 through 2012. [[EDIT: Of course, Halo: Reach was there, with a video of its single-player campaign (now with GIRL Spartans!).]] Cliff Bleszinski, also known as "CliffyB," got up on the stage early on to show off Gears of War 3 (spoiler: it's more Gears of War) and Hideo Kojima showed off one of the highlights of the conference: a new trailer for the Raiden-centric game Metal Gear Solid Rising. Apparently this game is about cutting. Cutting everything from limbs to brick support beams to watermelons.

Last but not least, Microsoft announced their new Xbox 360 model (often called the "Xbox 360 Slim" by consumers and press), which is smaller and features built-in Wi-Fi and a 250GB hard drive for the same price as the current Elite model. And it launches ... today? Just like the Sega Saturn? Well OK, way to follow in the footsteps of one of the industry's greatest success stories. But that just wasn't enough everyone in the audience was also given a free Xbox 360, a move mirroring Oprah Winfrey's now-classic "and you get a car" event that left most of the press conference's audience speechless and somewhat confused.

For more news and commentary out of E3 2010, check back with our E3 2010 label page.

If you were unfortunate enough to not have either an Xbox Live membership or anyone to play with on the same console or via system link, Crimson Skies: HRR campaign mode is where the fun lives (especially today, when the online games are naught but virtual ghost towns, reminders of the fun which was had in years past). Story mode lets players wear Fortune Hunter Nathan Zachary’s flight jacket and take the controls of ten inventively designed planes, loosely based off of WWII-era birds of prey, which can be used throughout the game (or any subsequent run-through). There are five and a half geographical settings (the half being allotted for Chicago's tranformation into fhe final Windy City stage), each of which contain several unique open-areas with a range of standard and optional missions. Four difficulty settings, the last of which can be unlocked after beating Hard, lend to replayability, and Ultra-Hard can give even veterans a run for their money (or force them to use the available cheat codes).

The graphics, both in cut scenes and during gameplay, are fantastic for that generation of console and still hold up today if playing on a Standard Definition TV. The sole exception to the quality is that of the somewhat jerky body movements and out-of-ratio-rendered body parts (hands in particular) in cut scenes. Furthermore, the game was not made for High Definition, but the only quality lacking is seen in the cut scenes, which are humorous and well-written but luckily not the meat of this game. Xbox 360 compatibility is a wonderful thing, but the transition was not flawless. Though far from hindering, slight visual glitches that detract from the perfection of the game’s original incarnation occur occasionally during play. If you’ve got an original Xbox, there are no problems at all.

Crimson Skies: HRR can be found for $2.99 at GameStop or EB Games that have yet to liquidate their used Xbox originals cache, or you can download it via the Xbox Live Marketplace for 1200 MS Points ($15.00). I’ve not known anyone who’s done the latter, so I’m not sure if that fixes any of the aforementioned slight visual glitches. Easy to play and challenging to master, this humorous and fun game earns a permanent spot in any action-lover's collection.

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The single player campaign of Halo Wars is very much like any other RTS campaign; it slowly brings you through the learning curve by showing you how to control units and build bases until you have to fight off wave after wave of unrelenting enemy forces towards the end of your campaign.

The story is a prequel to the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and takes place six years after the fall of the planet Harvest. Many familiar themes come into play; the Prophets stop at nothing to continue the great journey, you go toe-to-toe with Grunts, Elites, Hunters, Jackals, Brutes, and many familiar vehicles, as well as some new ones, and you have to blow up some forerunner technology to save everyone's lives.

The gameplay within the storyline is slightly different from multiplayer or skirmish matches. For one thing, there are some campaign-exclusive units that effectively change battle scenarios throughout the campaign. They usually give you an unfair edge over the enemy and make some missions a cakewalk if you're playing on the "normal" difficulty level. On top of that, in some missions you're given ridiculous amounts of something, like 11 Spartans as opposed to the maximum 3 in multiplayer, 40 Mass Accelerated Cannon rounds, or free drops of fully-upgraded ODSTs.

The hero system within the campaign is different as well, marking Spartans as hero units, as well as your leader. When any of your heroes die, you can revive them as in Age of Empires III by bringing a friendly unit close to them. In the other game modes, heroes just die and they have to be resurrected, and as a balancing issue, UNSC leaders do not actually enter the battle yet act more like the governors in the AOEIII system.

The game's graphics are the best I have ever seen in an RTS. It includes incredibly detailed, slightly different renditions of the characters of Halo to take time difference into account. The sounds within the game are ripped directly from the Halo series, and their quality has been improved to allow for sound cues within battles.

Playing online is incredibly entertaining because each of the six leaders has a different way of playing the game, therefore making an effective six races. Because the game is not as strict as other RTS games such as StarCraft, no two players can play the game the same way. The limitation of how many buildings one can create force a player to specialize in one aspect and utilize it to its full effectiveness.

Ensemble claims that there is a rock-paper-scissors type balancing within the game, but I found that to not be completely true. The game's unique style of play puts strategy over production, and in a battle of ODSTs versus Grizzly tanks (Scorpion tanks with two cannons) a good commander on the ODST side has about as much of a chance of winning as the commander of the Grizzlies.

The largest drawback to playing online isn't caused as much by the game as by player mentality. When I first got Halo Wars, I ran through the tutorial levels, fought some skirmish battles, played online, then played through campaign mode. The average player, however, would play the campaign before they would play online. Because the campaign only covers the UNSC, about two in every three members of the online community play as the UNSC. Regardless, battles still turn out interesting with every player having their own unique strategy, making every battle different.

Overall, Halo Wars is a great game, earning most of that greatness through its uniqueness. Being a veteran of many RTS games, I can comfortably call this one of the simplest – but simultaneously one of the most fun – games I've played. I wouldn't recommend buying it if you don't have access to LIVE, but the skulls and achievements allow for a lot of replay value, as does the ability to create your own scenarios through the skirmish option. Even with LIVE, the $60 price tag seems a little steep, but due to its addictiveness, Halo Wars is definitely too valuable to rent. Chances are, the price won't drop because it is part of the Halo franchise, so do a few odd jobs and the game will pay for itself.

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Surprisingly, Microsoft announced Crackdown 2, the sequel to the Xbox 360 open-world action game that achieved mild critical acclaim, but was widely seen as nothing more than a ticket for the Halo 3 beta. Apparently Microsoft thought it was a strong enough franchise on its own to get a sequel. After that came one of the biggest new game announcement of the conference: Left 4 Dead 2 (which totally should have been called Left 5 Dead). Few details are confirmed just yet, but we do know that it will be an Xbox 360/PC exclusive, and will hit stores (and Steam) on November 17, 2009. The CG teaser trailer shows a new cast of characters, and a new setting – New Orleans. That's quite an interesting choice, especially considering the scenes of devastation and urban unrest that occurred there in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

It's not a Microsoft press conference without Halo, and Bungie was in full swing yet again this year, despite no longer being owned by Microsoft. They presented details (and a trailer) for Halo: ODST, which takes place in New Mombassa, "weeks before the start of Halo 3." Included in ODST will be a multiplayer beta invite for Bungie's other game, Halo: Reach. Presumably the game will follow the plot of one of the Halo novels, which details the "Fall of Reach," but I'm not personally familiar with the story's particulars. The only piece of information that Bungie provided was a teaser trailer (featuring no gameplay footage), with the words "Drops 2010."

The conference also boasted showings from the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII, which will eventually see its release in 2010 and the Chair Entertainment/Epic Games-developed sidescroller Shadow Complex (formerly Empire: Alpha Complex), which is based on the Orson Scott Card novel Empire. Splinter Cell: Conviction was present with a rather impressive demo video boasting some gameplay reminiscent of Assassin's Creed. Of course, there was also a trailer and gameplay footage from Alan Wake (releases in 2010) and the announcement of Forza 3, which ships in October.

Finally, Schappert announced Joy Ride (trailer here), a new free-to-play XBLA kart racing game that uses Avatars as characters – a clear attempt to grab some of the success of Nintendo's Mario Kart Wii.

The biggest announcement of all came from the hardware side though. Sure, Microsoft announced the ability to edit your Netflix queue on your 360 (a feature lacking in previous versions of Netflix on 360) and a partnership with Facebook and Twitter that will make it possible for you to never ever get up from your Xbox in your entire life. But what has everybody talking are two simple words: Project Natal.

According to the videos and demos shown by Microsoft, "Natal" (named after the word for "birth") seems to be, in essence, a motion controller, sans the controller. It is a camera that captures the player's movements and translates them into game actions by (presumably) fitting the person to a virtual ball-and-rod structure. Other features include facial recognition, object scans for things like skateboard designs, voice recognition, and AI interaction. The trailer (shown above) is full of Wii-level silliness, which actually highlights the true reason why Microsoft is trying to implement such a revolutionary change – they are losing to Nintendo, and they are looking to change that. While I'm generally opposed to playing a game without something physical involved (since there's no physical feedback), I'll admit that the idea might be just crazy enough to work. The question is, can it actually cut into the Wii's market?

I'm going to say no, at least for this generation. The Wii has already grabbed mainstream attention by "doing it first," and the name "Wii" has a much better ring to it than "Project Natal." The technology being pioneered here by Microsoft is revolutionary, certainly, and I would love to see it work, but I'm afraid that it will be just as wonky as the Wii. If Microsoft has a product of equal quality but with inferior marketing, they simply cannot hope to win the fight for the casuals.

But let's just get this straight: Natal is similar to things like the Wii and OnLive in that it's crazy and unlikely, but if it works, it will completely and utterly change the landscape upon which video games are played. I applaud Microsoft for taking such a major leap, whether it ends up working out for them or not.

Shadowrun is noticeable for its very interesting twist on the FPS genre. Like other games before it, the game utilizes team-based arena shooter mechanics, complete with a safe time in the beginning for players to buy weapons. However, during this safe period, players can also buy magic spells and technology upgrades. These can give a variety of helpful abilities, such as auto-aim, healing, or magic attacks. Then, you simple equip your weapons and magic, and begin the fight.

The controls are the general FPS button set, and they work just fine, once you get the hang of the use of magic. Even so, there are times where your character will get inexplicably stuck on edges of buildings and other structures, an error that can be crippling in the middle of a fierce online game. When you die, you do not respawn until the end of the round. However, allies can revive your dead body, as long as an enemy has not come by to shoot you until you cannot come back. This interesting revival dynamic is able to create a sense of teamwork among your comrades, even during a hectic battle.

The game looks nice, from what I've seen, with the magic effects showing off the most noticeable graphical feats. Trees of Light will grow right in front of your eyes, and spray beads of healing light, characters will burst into smoke and disappear, and crystals will spring up underneath you to damage you and hinder movement.

Shadowrun is an interesting take on the online first-person shooter, with its magic aspects. It also manages to create a sense of teamwork that many online shooters fail to achieve. Even with its strengths, the lack of a single-player mode is disappointing for a game with so much potential.