Electronic Entertainment Expo is a lot smaller than it has been in years past. However, the big game companies still have a lot of news this week. One of the biggest surprises that Microsoft announced during their press conference is that Final Fantasy XIII is going to be released on the Xbox 360. The Final Fantasy games have been exclusive on Sony consoles since FFVII in 1997. In addition to Metal Gear Solid, the Final Fantasy series have been one of the exclusive advantages Sony has held over the competition in the past. This announcement further legitimizes that Microsoft role in the video game industry. They can be just as competitive as Sony. Although the game is being launched on Xbox 360 and PS3 in the Europe and US, the game will still remain exclusive to the PS3 in Japan. I think this is a great opportunity for all fans. Perhaps it will also bring more fans to the series and genre.

1up posted a discussion with the producer of the FFXIII following the announcement. Final Fantasy XIII will combine the best of both combat modes from FFXII and FFX. Although many people disliked the combat in XII, I found it less annoying than most griding battles of other RPGs. XIII will be a return to the combat style of X, but enemies will be visible like in XII. The are little details on the game specifics other than the game is based on Fabula Nova, the mythology of the Crystal. As a big fan of the Final Fantasy RPGs, I’m thoroughly excited for this next installment. There is no official announcement on the release date.

It’s no mystery that the Wii is dominating households and the casual market. However the the tracking and accuracy of the Wiimote have always been wonky. Anyone who’s experienced the sub-par sword gameplay in Ubisoft’s Red Steel knows what I’m talking about. Thankfully today Nintendo announced the Wii Motionplus (Working Name) attachment along with Wii Sports Resort. Basically this little attachable gizmo will make your Wiimote waggling gestures more accurate and precise.

No longer will Wii sword games be limited to rudimentary up/down, left/right, and diagonal slashes. This was demonstrated rather nicely during Nintendo’s press conference in the fencing mini-game segment. The actual position of the Wiimote in 3D space translated directly into the position of the Mii’s sword. I’m looking forward to some awesome swordplay (Bushido Blade sequel please?) and another reason to dust off my Wii.

After beating Metal Gear Solid 4 I found myself in a games drought. Luckily I was able to borrow Ninja Gaiden II from a co-worker, who suggested I play the game on “Warrior” (hard) mode. I followed his suggestion and ended up crawling to the 3rd act after dying numerous times (mainly during boss battles).

Despite the lukewarm reviews for this title, it’s certainly grown on me. The combat is improved over the first title and much more furious. I think reviewers were particularly disappointed because there is no real cohesive plot to justify all the locale changes. In addition, enemies feel cheaper overall and death is often due to bad luck instead of the player’s fault. The camera issues are certainly annoying, but I found myself adapting around them. The increased difficulty is countered by the partially regenerating health bar, which is very welcome change. I wonder how much abuse I’m going to take until I have to restart in Acolyte (easy) difficulty. If you’re a fan of action games, difficulty, and pure gameplay mayhem, then this is the game for you…. even if it doesn’t live up to Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

Six years after Super Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendo has finally released a to sequel to their best selling fighting game. Super Smash Bros. Brawl includes characters from all of Nintendo’s most popular games, such as Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda. The battles are simple enough so that anyone can just pick up a controller and fight. However, hardcore gamers will likely have their favorite character’s moves and combos memorised. This is one of Wii’s best party games yet. You can fight with up to four characters at a time. Although Brawl’s graphics are only marginally improved over the the SSB Melee, Nintendo has added a bunch of extras that will make any fan happy. You can unlock trophies of your favorite characters and objects. Also, each level now has several music tracks to choose from. There are also secrets to unlock throughout the game.

The characters in the game are greatly imbalanced. I have yet to figure out how to play with Olimar effectively. Meta Knight, Snake, and King Dedede were my favorite new characters. Other new characters also include Pokemon Trainer (3 characters in one), Pit, Wario, Snake, and Sonic the Hedgehog, and more. In addition to the group and solo mode, there is the new The Subspace Emissary, which is basically a story adventure mode to unlock new characters, levels, and items. You can play this mode solo or co-op. When you play this game, I highly recommend bringing out your old GameCube Controller or purchase a Classic Controller. Although you can play with the Wiimote, it isn’t as easy or as comfortable to hold.

Ah, yes, Solid Snake, his aging version and the game that was always meant to be the Sony PS3’s killer app: Metal Gear Solid - Guns of the Patriots. The great finale to the vastly overrated Metal Gear series of games that started life on the MSX, moved to Nintendo’s Famicom, and ended up supporting the PlayStation. The first PS3 game to truly try and use all of the space provided by them Blu-Ray discs. A properly mainstream, all singing, all dancing, highly anticipated, major release. So, uhm, how is it?

Well, for starters it’s got a distinctly unattractive title and an obvious obsession with all things militaristic, but that you knew, didn’t you? Other than that, MGS4 seems (only played -and watched- it for a few hours mind you) like a fine -if flawed- game with some amazing production values. The graphics are fantastic, the soundtrack is okay and the plot decent enough for games of this sort. Gameplay-wise MGS4 is an enjoyable shooter/stealther with overcomplicated controls that’s constantly being interrupted by B-movie quality cutscenes; a fact that seems to have been ignored by most reviewers, who apparently loved the thing to death. Oh, and if you’re a fan of the series you absolutely have to grab it apparently. If not, but still want to see what Hideo Kojima is capable of, give the excellent and quite retro Snatcher a go.

While Wii owners are waiting for what can only be described as the most interesting release to date (that’s Telltale’s Sam & Max Season 1, in case you were wondering), here’s another truly traditional and properly proper point-and-clicker to show off just how well the average genre offering can work with the Wii Remote: Secret Files: Tunguska. It’s a mystery thriller set in the Tunguska region of Siberia, involving a missing scientist, his daughter and can fairly accurately be described as X-Files in Russia. Yes, intriguing, I know. Oh, and do bother googling “Tunguska”.

As for the game itself, well, Secret Files on the Wii is an almost straight port of the PC game released a couple years ago, meaning that changes from the Windows version have been kept to a minimum, but do include such welcome additions as small rumbling (yes, rumbling) and visual hints, and a slightly improved interface that perfectly fits the Wii. Actually, it feels slightly more polished than the already slick PC version and has even retained the lovely visuals and pretty lush cut-scenes. The plot remains unchanged too and -unfortunately- the same goes for the available puzzles. They are too much of a mixed bag really and not a very original one at that either… Still, a worthy addition to every adventurer’s Wii library.

Truth be said, both Football Manager 08 and the Orange Box are excellent games with decent price tags, that are absolutely worth every penny you decide to spend on them, though -frankly- paying isn’t necessary if you want to enjoy a few hours of quality gaming. Especially if you are into shorter, quirkier or rather old-fashioned affairs and don’t expect top production values. So, uhm, without further ado, here are six of the very best freeware offerings around:

Jet Set Willy Online

Remember Miner Willy and his 8-bit platforming adventures? Mathew Smith? Why, of course you do and now you’ll get to relive them in an insane MMO platformer/collect-’em-up in a vastly expanded mansion. One of the best games ever, really.

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

A vast and incredibly polished (for freeware standards, that is) fantasy point-and-click adventure game with lovely 2D graphics. Oh, yes, and it will definitely remind you of them Sierra classics.

Prototype II

Classic R-Type style shoot-’em-up action sporting a ton of options and frenetic action. Not very easy to beat.

Knytt Stories

A cult classic. Simple mechanics, excellent music, great pixel art graphics, smart puzzles, intuitive controls and a brilliant editor make this lovely indie offering a necessary download. And wait till you see what the KS community has come up with.

Gun Mute: A texty shoot-em-up

A brilliantly written piece of interactive fiction that goes easy on genre beginners. Oh, and you get to shoot a lot of stuff in a steampunk/Wild West hybrid sort of setting. Lots of robots are also featured.

Cube 2: Sauerbraten

A proper FPS with impressive graphics, oldschool gameplay, that’s running on its very own, very current-gen graphics and physics engine. Single and multiplayer options are also provided.

Funcom, the incredibly talented people behind The Longest Journey, Dreamfall and (the now freeware MMO) Anarchy Online and one of the best European developer teams around, have finally released their biggest and most ambitious project so far: Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. And yes, it’s the latest epic fantasy MMORPG offering that will try to take over your hard-drive, life and bank account. It also is the only game obviously -and officially- based on Howard’s popular, pulp, low-fantasy, high-on-gore, 30s, sword and sorcery works.

But, really, why should you care for another contender to WoW’s throne? Well, for starters, you could be a Conan fan, I suppose. I sort of am… Failing that, you might just care for a less cartoony, more violent and way more adult in its outlook RPG experience. Or perhaps can’t withstand Age of Conan’s absolutely fantastic visuals and impressive production values. See the pic above? Good. Now, imagine moving through it in glorious 3D with sun and weather effects turned on. Not impressed yet? Well, the hefty single-player element and truly innovative action-oriented combat are the last things I’ll try to convince you with; if nothing else, they are a welcome deviation from the standard MMO formula and help make Age of Conan a great game. A great game indeed. Despite its obviously unfinished state and not so modest hardware requirements.

Forget Metal Gear Solid 4 for a second. It is after all (or so I hear) a pretty tedious experience, and apparently more of a rather dull movie than a properly interactive game. Better focus on Overlord: Raising Hell that should be moments away from hitting the average European PS3 instead. Now, if you, like me, have played the brilliant and impressively hilarious PC version of Overlord you are already desperately craving for more imps, degenerate heroes and vaguely focused destruction. After all, playing the bad guy in a surreal fantasy setting sporting the smart writing of Rhianna Pratchett is way more enjoyable than following a run of the mill Cold War-esque plot.

If you haven’t got any previous Overlord experience, well, expect a humorous third-person action-adventure with some strategic bits bolted on, as you and your army of silly -though appropriately nasty- imps rampage around an odd version of medieval countryside. As an added bonus you also get your very own Dark Tower with easy access to highly sought-after supernatural abysses. Inside, and that’s info straight from this nice real-estate young guy, generously appointed dungeons lead to a treasury with plenty of room for expansion and a state-of-the-art forge perfect for creating a mighty arsenal to mercilessly crush elves, dwarfs, and even squishy peasants. The show-piece master-boudoir benefits from stunning panoramic views across the kingdom, a choice of two live-in mistresses and offers a sultry setting for R&R after a hard day’s tyranny. Better have a look methinks…

Having a PC and thus a lovely keyboard-mouse combo to control stuff with, it seems I just can’t escape enjoying the odd RTS offering. Especially when said RTS offering is one based on the Lord of the Rings setting as is the case with EA’s Battle for Middle Earth II and even more so when it’s a great game to begin with. Actually, make that an absolutely excellent game with glorious graphics, a ton of innovative mechanics, incredibly balanced units, above average multiplayer options, a fantastic single player campaign and the addictiveness of, well, a very addictive thing. What’s more, the specialized-unit based highly tactical gameplay of the original (with only a hint of rock-paper-scissors) has been improved upon, the new AI makes managing your armies easier, less frustrating and enemies more challenging, whereas the inclusion of new units, more races (six different factions) and a selection of excellent new battlefields offer hours (upon hours) of quality gaming. Oh, and fighting over Mikwood, Dol Guldur and the Misty Mountains should be any Tolkien fan’s wet dream. Provided we are talking about a tactical minded fan, that is. The RPG lot should instead focus on the massive Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar MMORPG.