There are plenty of demo stations featuring some of the most anticipated titles around, but this time, I noticed a lot of demo walkthrough stations where a game representative would play the demo for attendees to watch and ask questions. Splinter Cell: Conviction, Alien v. Predator, and the new Star Wars: Clone Wars game were all demo walkthrough stations while games like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Halo 3: ODST, and Lego Rock Band were playable by attendees.

After running through the two main halls of the show, we headed to our appointment with Activision. Activision’s booth is definitely one of the biggest ones at the show. They have a huge stage to feature games, and we were fortunate enough to catch DJ Shadow spinning some great music.

The kind folks at Activision treated to a walkthrough of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, and being a comic book geek, I was super excited to check this game out. I was a little disappointed with the first Ultimate Alliance for a few reasons. First, I did not feel like the superhero powers were all that powerful or even used powerfully in the game. Second, the levels seemed far too enclosed, even in the outdoor levels. And lastly, the graphics were rough on the eyes. I am extremely pleased to report that Ultimate Alliance 2 seems to have improved upon each of these points.

Graphically, the shading and textures are far more detailed. The lighting effects are also really great. Some of the animation seemed a little bit slow or sluggish to me though (not to be confused with low framerate), but there is almost always a ton of action on the screen at any given moment, so it might be better to be able to see what’s going on in the screen.

Speaking of action, we were shown a portion of a level with a ton of enemies. You’re not just fighting a half a dozen goons this time around, you engage with dozens of em, all at once, and on the same screen. This means that some of the levels are wide – really wide, and with tons of destructive elements (Hulk can even use a car as a weapon!), Ultimate Alliance 2 screams epic.

In the first Ultimate Alliance, using characters’ powers together to defeat an enemy seemed a little lackluster, but in the sequel, with the new Fusion combo attacks, the powers come together in massively destructive ways.

After checking out Ultimate Alliance 2, we were going to take a look at Wolfenstein, but unfortunately, we ran out of time since we were running up against our appointment with Sega to check out Bayonetta.

Bayonetta is a game that seems familiar. Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, and even the recent Ninja Blade seem to have contributed to the gameplay of Bayonetta. Guns and powerful slashing weapons are things we have seen before. But Bayonetta, being a witch, can cast spells and execute enemies in spectacular fashion. There are a lot of scripted quick time events that require twitch responses, but there are tons of opportunities for players to hack and slash as well. Bayonetta seems to offer a lot more of what hack and slashers love, but with unique stylings and the addition of devastating spells.

With exhaustion catching up to us, we decided to forego other game appointments, we hit the show floors again to soak in some more of the circus. Jakenbear, from Xbox Canada asked us for a few words for Inside Xbox Canada (as I mentioned earlier), and then Brad and I decided to finally find a place to feed ourselves some much needed nourishment.

We were heading to the LA Live center to grab a bite, when we came across a group of people promoting OnLive on the street corner. One of the ladies invited us to drop in our business cards for a chance to win a “limo for the night.” Luck appeared to be on our side because when the drawing was held just a few minutes after we dropped our cards in, we won! The “limo” turned out to be a town car, and we didn’t really have to go anywhere far (just a couple of blocks), but we did enjoy the ride.

Our entertainment for the evening was provided by our gracious hosts, Turn 10, the folks behind the superb Forza series. Turn 10 hosted an event atop the LA Live parking structure. Sure, it may sound rather casual, but the event was held under a huge tent on top of a parking garage for a reason: under that tent were dream exotic cars and plenty of gaming stations to spend some quality time with Forza 3. Turn 10 even brought the simulator rig that was featured on the show floor for people to try out.

Exhausted, we finally made it home, and looked forward to the Day 2.

For the rest of the photos from Day 1, check out Brad Bretz’ flickr page: LINK

Gametrailers.com  http://www.gametrailers.com/video/reveal-trailer-modern-warfare/49655

You can also download the full trailer on Xbox Live

Looks like this game means business!  Let’s hope it’s not plagued with some the Xbox Live profile bugs that the first modern warfare had.

The new controller doesn’t have trucks or wheels, just a board and some buttons to get you into the game, almost like a futuristic hover-board design.   Looks like we’ll be kick-flipping out when this thing is released alongside the new Tony Hawk game, Tony Hawk Ride…gnarly.

Check out the new Tony Hawk Ride game debut video at Gametrailers.com http://www.gametrailers.com/player/49280.html

Today Activision announced it’s fall lineup including Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero.  But it was the other announcement that caught my attention, DJ Hero.  Not that the game was just revealed, but that we now have a first look at the new controller.

Owning a Technics 1200 professional turntable myself and trying my hand at scratching up my records and breaking a few needles.  I’ve always been fascinated by the Turntablist world and the creative art of mixing, scratching and beat matching.  And growing up in a time during the emergence of breakdancing , hip-hop and  house music has given me an appreciation for the music as well as the mixmaster behind the “wheels of steel.”

FINALLY, fans of all music genres spun on vinyl will now have a game that they can get into. Not that Guitar Hero was a game you couldn’t get into,  it’s fantastic, but more games are always a good thing. And the controller seems like it’s going to give fans of DJing a hands on lesson in mixology.

Check out the new DJ HERO controller!!! (DJ not included)