L

Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks (DS)
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo
• Release Date: TBD 2009
• Screenshots
• What We Saw:
The sequel to Link’s last DS outing was trotted out with a three part hands-on demo. I tried out Link’s new mode of transportation first – riding the rails. The train sections are pretty tight – the locomotive moves much faster than The King of Red Lions (that is, the boat from Wind Waker), and you actually need to use your whistle to keep stray animals from becoming roadkill. There’s also combat on the rails – you can fire your little cannon to knock hostile riders out of the way.
I also tried my hand at a sample dungeon/puzzle stage, wherein you alternately controlled link and a phantom knight (remember them?) in order to solve a few simple switch-hitting puzzles in a dingy dungeon setting. It’s classic Wind Waker-inspired stuff, but fun and cool to see little Link back in action.
Finally, there was a sample boss section to try out. I duked it out with a giant beetle-creature with a serious toxic mist issue. I had to take a cue from the guy playing three stations down from me to figure out that you need to actually use the mic to blow away some of the mist, but once I got it down, I was victorious.
• What We Think:
Danielle: This is pretty much Phantom Hourglass 2 – and that’s not a bad thing. The controls are as awesome and streamlined as ever, and the action is pure, sweet Zelda. This will serve as a nice appetizer for the massive new console Zelda that we heard tell of at Nintendo’s press conference.
Brandon: I think I loved it. I think I'll buy it. I think I'll enjoy it as much as the first, although I can only hope that the train sections had the same free roaming navigation as the sailing sections from "Phantom Hourglass". It's Zelda on the DS, so I'm happy even if it doesn't.

Left 4 Dead 2 (PC, 360)
• Publisher: EA
• Developer: Valve
• Release Date: November 17, 2009
• Screenshots
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
The original Left 4 Dead was the unholy answer to the prayers of the necrotically devout. Valve could have sated us with a map or two on Steam and XBLA, but instead, has crafted an entirely new adventure with four fresh characters. Don’t worry about Valve getting too meddlesome and ruining the formula that made the original so fantastic. The GameShark crew, ripe with musky testosterone, or possibly body odor, courageously stormed through two sections of a dusk-time chapter. Judging from the groups before us, we also seem to have some skill. We came across new melee weapons, incendiary ammo, and the Charger zombie, whose ability is to literally bowl everyone over. Unfortunately, the Wandering Witch (exclusive to the day) never made an appearance.
• What We Think:
Brian: Apparently, few people other than me enjoyed the dusk setting. It not only makes sense to travel by day, it also tells me that Valve isn’t afraid to do a little exploration with the new game. The axe and frying pan (best weapon of E3!) have to stay, and the incendiary ammo should go. I can’t think of a single instance when the incendiary ammo didn’t come back to burn us. I hope the difficulty was set to Easy, or that The Director hasn’t become lenient. One teammate, whom I won’t say was Brandon, spent a lot of time running ahead, falling behind, and prancing about without a single ambush. Otherwise, it felt like old times with new faces.
Brandon:The characters for this second time around don't have the same personality as cranky Bill and Francis "I hate elevators" McLeathervest, but seeing a zombie in a hazmat suit was awesome. The new special, the Charger, is like a Hunter with no follow-through, so I'm not sure how much it will add to the campaign. I know that Bill isn't sold on the daytime setting, but honestly, it doesn't bug me all that much. Getting pounced by a Hunter in the middle of the day doesn't hurt any less than when done in the middle of the night. Plus, wouldn't it be safer to move during the day? Any way, it's more Left 4 Dead, so I'll play it.
Bill: The frying pan -- silly but awesome. The axe -- brutal. I liked the Charger. It's fast and can knock out an entire team. I think a good Charger player in Vs mode can really set his team up. Something just felt weird about playing in the daylight. Yes, it makes sense to move during the day but does it make sense for a frying pan to knock a crazed infected across the room as if shot by a 12 gauge? No, but I loved that. The game was easy..and I didn't see any smokers. I bet it was set to "let's not get the players killed" mode. This isn't reinventing the wheel and some may scoff that this isn't DLC material, but look bucko no one is making you buy it. But you know you will. And good lord Brandon...how did you get 1,000 points in L4D? Worst. Player. Ever.
Todd: We're missing a lot of details yet, but more Left 4 Dead nuttiness is always a good thing. I'm not sure about the daylight scenario in the demo we played, and I do think players will miss the original four characters. I'm not sure this motley collection will have quite the personality of Lewis, Bill, Francis and Zoey. The new guns, however, were both fun to use, as is the flammable ammo. More fun was knocking down zombies with a frying pan. Not sure how viable a weapon it really is, but why let that get it the way of smacking the undead around while spouting cheesey one-liners. I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the game's campaigns look like.
Mitch: I’m not hot on the new Trailer Trash Mafia characters (I already miss Francis and Zoey!), but five new campaigns and new special infected enemies are enough to make me want Left 4 Dead 2 anyway. Item power-ups like incendiary ammunition will probably result in friendship-ending friendly fire, but I can’t deny how great it looks to see a horde of blazing undead running around the sun-soaked streets. If there was nothing but new level design I’d be satisfied with more of the same ol’ L4D. This other stuff is just gravy.

Lego Battles (DS)
• Publisher: Warner Brothers Interactive
• Developer: Hellbent Games
• Release Date: June 9th, 2009
• What We Saw:
We’ve all seen the various Lego movie tie-in action adventure games. This one, which is designed for the DS, is nothing of the sort. In fact, it’s a Warcraft II-inspired real-time strategy guide that the game’s developers are eager to make the “gateway drug” for kids into the world of the RTS. The game features 90 levels over six campaigns with each level designed to be finished in a mere 10-15 minutes. In addition to the various unit types (ranging from builders, to kings, to soldiers and so on) there are 25 Hero characters that each their own unique magical ability.
• What We Think:
Todd: This is probably not the game for the experienced RTS gamer, but for fans of Lego games who also happen to like simple Warcraft II-styled RTS games.