Final Fantasy, Mario, Gran Turismo, Metroid and other exclusives from day two of E3

Posted by Al Warmington on Wed 3 Jun 2009

E3 has been packed to bursting with incredible new exclusives, but who's got the best line-up?

Microsoft shared its long list of console exclusives in its press event on Monday, with Halo: Reach, Left 4 Dead 2, Crackdown 2 and Forza 3 putting Xbox 360 off to a fine start. Yesterday, however, it was time for Nintendo and Sony to reveal their hands.

We were bowled over with the sheer number of top notch games coming exclusively to each platform, and we reckon you will be too. Read on for a breakdown of some of the most exciting new projects each system has in store:

Sony PS3

Final Fantasy XIV – Sony was still smarting from last year’s shock announcement that Final Fantasy XIII would be coming to Xbox 360 as well as PS3. So this year, Sony got its own back, revealing that Final Fantasy XIV would be a PS3 exclusive. Well, in a console sense – FF XIV is an MMO, so it’s wisely going to be released on Windows PC at the same time. It’s hoping to launch in 2010.

Rockstar’s Agent – Rockstar has been known to be planning some kind of PlayStation exclusive for some time. It was thought to be the mysterious LA Noire, but instead Rockstar used the E3 presser to announce Agent, a 1970s espionage action thriller set at the height of the Cold War. Development is being handled by Rockstar’s Edinburgh office.

The Last Guardian – Speaking of mystery projects, Fumito Ueda, creator of the sublime Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, has been working away on a PS3 game to complete his trilogy. That was revealed to be The Last Guardian and from the first trailer it’s looking very special indeed. Expect a haunting, cinematic puzzler with stealth and action elements to come to the PS3 soon.

God of War 3 – We’ve long known that Kratos’ latest effort to rid mythology of all its Greek deities would be coming to PS3, and Sony has at last shared some genuine gameplay footage. We’re happy to report that it looks more gruesome than a chainsaw in a bucket of frogs and twice as fun. Our gripe is that it won’t be out until March 2010. Bah.

ModNation Racers – Inspired by the idea and ultimate success of LittleBigPlanet, Sony’s bringing you ModNation Racers as part of its Play, Create, Share genre. What you’ll play is a manic kart racing game akin to Mario Kart; what you’ll create is everything – tracks, racers and cars, all using the game’s built-in tools; and you’ll share it all over PSN.

Nintendo Wii

Super Mario Galaxy 2 – The game that Ninty fans have been clamouring for: Mario galaxy 2 hopes to recreate the superb quality of its predecessor. It promises to add a ton of new content that didn’t make it to the original, but that the team had already planned. It’s still 90% new though, with a range of different environments and challenges, and, best of all, Yoshi.

Metroid: Other M – Ninty fans, the whinging lot that they are, say they haven’t got enough grit on their kiddie consoles. And they’re right, or they were until Metroid: Other M took the stage, promising bolder cinematics, more character and a side scrolling style. Team Ninja is at the development helm, so expect some good old fashioned violence in there too.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii – What’s better than a new Mario game? Two new Mario games. NSMB Wii goes back to its old school 2D roots, in a side scrolling affair that strongly resembles the DS game of the same name. The difference this time is that it’s being designed from the ground up for four player to play together at the same time. It’s sort of like co-op but with competitive elements. It should be out by Xmas too.

Wii Sports Resort – We heard about this last year, but Nintendo looks like it’s almost ready to let it out into the wilds. Wii Sports Resort comes with Wii’s brand new MotionPlus adapter, which will put a bit more accuracy in your Wiimote waggle. And it comes with a ton of new games including skydiving, canoeing, cycling, basketball, swordplay and more.

New Legend of Zelda – Although not mentioned during Nintendo’s press conference, series creator Shigeru Miyamoto revealed during an event afterwards that he’d really wanted to announce one and that it was on its way too. More details aren’t expected until 2010, but it may well make use of Wii MotionPlus, and early concept art shows an older, gloomier looking Link.

Sony PSP

Gran Turismo – The PSP’s long lost racer is finally nearing completion. Has the wait been worth it? Hell, yes. 800 cars, 30 tracks, 60 layouts and four player ad-hoc racing – it’s a fully fledged GT offering for your fist and it’s landing October 1st. Forza who?

LittleBigPlanet PSP – No surprises that PSP will be getting its own version of LittleBigPlanet as Sony plans its huge PSP comeback. LBP PSP has a whole new adventure and lets you create your own levels from your handheld. Then you can share them online.

Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker – This news would not have made Microsoft happy. No sooner had it scored a Metal Gear Solid spin-off game (Rising), then Sony revealed a ‘real’ MGS game, which creator Hideo Kojima termed a proper MGS sequel. And it stars Snake. Well, several of them. Expect that twist to be explained over the course of a few hours of cut scenes sometime in 2010.

Assassin’s Creed Bloodlines – Assassin’s Creed 2 is a multiplatformer, but Bloodlines is only for PSP. The really good news is that it’ll unlock six additional weapons in Assassin’s Creed 2, should you own both systems. The bad news is that you won’t be doing so until November 2010, by which point you may have grown bored of flying Italian knife-wielder Ezio.

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge – If Gran Turismo is a bit too serious for you, then Arctic Edge is probably more your cup of tea. In the new handheld game, you’ll be ripping snow capped Alaskan terrain to shreds, in six different off-road vehicles. There’ll be special environmental effects including avalanches and collapsing bridges, as well as racing online and over ad hoc connections.

Nintendo DS / DSi

Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Insider Story – Part of the surprisingly enjoyable Mario RPG series, this game is already out in Japan and getting a well deserved release across this side of the rising sun. You’ll play through two parallel stories, one featuring Bowser’s struggle against someone trying to pinch his castle, and one quite literally inside Bowser’s stomach, where miniature Mario and Luigi are attempting to control him without his knowledge.

Golden Sun DS – We’re not exactly brimming with details on Golden Sun’s DS outing, but as a staple of the Game Boy Advance, it’s a welcome return for the series.

WarioWare DIY – Another Japanese conversion, WarioWare DIY lets you build and share your own micro-games. You can even share them with your Wii to play them on your telly. Graphically it’s not as pretty as LittleBigPlanet, but you can see that Nintendo isn’t slacking in the user creation department.

Style Savvy – One for the ladies; you can play dress up by creating a range of clothes and accessories and sharing them with your friends and oh we’re gonna be sick...

Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion – DS gets its own murder mystery franchise courtesy of bestselling author James Patterson. We’re promised strong narratives, clue hunting and puzzles; a bit like Professor Layton but without all the puzzle-obsessed weirdos.

20 Games that changed it all