sword

What would you have said if someone told you pre-E3 that Microsoft would do its best to mimic Nintendo, whereas Nintendo would act like Microsoft? It certainly seemed like the companies flip-flopped at their respective E3 press conferences. Though the 360 spent a great deal of focus on motion control and the Kinect, Nintendo didn't breathe a word about health, motion, or the Wii Fit at its E3 briefing on Tuesday.

Instead, the company's games were the real focus, especially retro franchises: those folks hoping for years for a taste of old Nintendo games certainly had a field day. StarFox, F-Zero, and Pikmin remain undisclosed (Update: Though not discussed at the press briefing, StarFox 64 3D was announced for the 3DS), but Nintendo did unveil new Kirby, Donkey Kong, and Kid Icarus titles, along with detailed gameplay from the next Wii Zelda.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword: Demonstrated for nearly half an hour, the Nintendo flagship sequel will feature Wii MotionPlus support for more-accurate weapon and item actions. The rest of the story remains a mystery, but the game has a more cel-shaded look than Twilight Princess. It arrives in 2011.

Wii Sports Mix: In a very smart move, Nintendo is creating a Mario compilation sports game with what appear to be soccer, hockey, dodgeball, basketball, and volleyball. This could be a real surprise hit, and it's a nicer idea than infinite "Mario X" sports games.

Wii Party: Nintendo's "bridge" game, the next in the "Wii" series, features Miis in a game that looks a lot like an updated Mario Party. Board games, minigames, and group casual play seem like the focus. … Read more

Fruit Ninja is a simple, but well-made game that challenges you to slice and dice fruit with a ninja sword as it flies onto your iPhone screen. The controls are extremely simple, requiring you to swipe your finger through a flying fruit as you would slice with a ninja sword. There are two game modes: Classic and Zen. In Classic you're challenged to slice fruit as it flies on screen while avoiding occasional bombs that will end the game immediately or allowing three fruits to drop below the bottom of the screen. In Zen mode you won't have … Read more

I'm sure I'm not alone in my anticipation of what Steve Jobs will announce on Monday at the Keynote for the WWDC. With that (the iPhone 4G or "HD") in mind, I've decided to make my iPhone apps post about games this week in the hope that we can all kill some time this weekend before the big event.

To start off, possibly my favorite iPhone game from 2009 went on sale today. Meteor Blitz (99 cents; usually $2.99) for iPhone is a fun and challenging classic arcade-style shooter where you use dual joysticks … Read more

As what one might call mainstream consumers of interactive entertainment, we're quick to snicker at anything too concerned with elves and dragons, or any kind of stat-juggling role-playing game. That said, we've always had a soft spot for epic, story-driven games such as Oblivion and Fallout 3, which use the trapping of the RPG format to build a fully realized virtual world.

This year's entry in the epic RPG/adventure game category is Dragon Age: Origins, released Tuesday. After getting an early preview during this year's Game Developer's Conference, we were surprisingly hooked and eager … Read more

Dungeon Defense is a promising game with ample swords-and-sorcery ambiance and an innovative take on the traditional tower-defense format. You have to protect a dangerous dungeon, commanding an evil army of skeletons as it fights off heroic (or maybe just greedy?) adventurer types. But the "towers" in this tower-defense game are your skeleton warriors, and the skeletons--being skeletons--they move.

The interface mimics many other tower-defense games: you pick from three skeleton types (light, heavy, and archer), you choose where you want to place them on certain locations on the map, and then you can sell, upgrade, and heal … Read more

SwordBible offers users a no-frills digital Bible with an automated daily devotional. What this program lacks in flare, it makes up for in fantastic features.

The program is fairly complex, though not impossible to master. Its confusing icons will take some time to learn because of the cluttered interface. Another headache is that each Bible section in the menu is abbreviated, so users must know that Exod is short for Exodus and so on. Fortunately, the program's Help file is excellent and simple to manage. Once the navigational kinks are worked out, SwordBible reveals itself to be an excellent … Read more

The follow-up to the sword-slashing original, Red Steel 2 will make full use of Wii MotionPlus, promising a 1:1 representation of your movements on screen. Developed by Ubisoft, the company plans to bundle the accessory with the game as well. While no release date has been set yet, Red Steel 2 will be available exclusively for the Wii when it does launch.

Reign of Swords Free is a limited version of Reign of Swords, a complex and challenging turn-based strategy game in which you engage in a wide variety of fantasy battles, from bloody fortress sieges to epic battles royal. Reign of Swords Free definitely takes some effort to learn--and much more to master--and arcade fans might be put off by the chunky graphics, relatively slow pace, and sometimes clumsy use of the touch screen. However, this game definitely offers deep gameplay and lots of satisfying options for fans of similar games (such as Advanced Wars on the DS). The free version … Read more

If the Lucas empire and its legion of trademark attorneys get all hissy about this latest Wii attachment, they have only themselves to blame for not making it first. The "Wii Light Sword" is coming out in time for the long-awaited Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Although the game isn't expected until the spring, U.K.-based Play.com has jumped the gun--or the sword, as it were--and will unsheathe its luminescent weapon for shipment soon at about $31, according to Coolest-Gadgets. This saber-like remote accessory gets its intergalactic glow from 22 LEDs but can be dimmed … Read more