How did Killzone come to carry such a burden? I asked myself this as I slogged through an early level in Killzone 2. PlayStation 2 wanted its "Spartan" and the original Killzone was called to task, failing miserably. And then, almost forgotten, Killzone emerged again through a dazzling display of smoke and mirrors at E3 2005. Three years later, we're inching ever closer to Killzone 2's release in February 2009. Now that the smoke is settling we wonder if a true "Halo killer" stands before us.

The E3 2008 demo begins with a beach landing (what else?), and continues with a crawl up into the bowels of a hellish place. This is a gray and lonely world, an industrial city of towering steels and concrete. The views are beautiful though. This is a gorgeous game -- Guerrilla has delivered on that promise. Where Halo offers relief from the horror of its subject matter with rich, 'toonish colors, Killzone plunges your senses deep into the despair and grotesqueness of a world at war. The stark environments are enriched by a distinct art design. There's cinema here. But we're not idly watching, are we?

Insomniac carved out its fourth "C" behind closed doors at E3 this week: Community. (Can you name the other three?) Bungie has put the pressure on other FPS developers to serve their dedicated player base, and Insomniac hopes to respond by relaunching myresistance.net alongside Resistance 2 this fall.

We were shown some concept slides of the new site design, beginning with a landing page with links to three distinct experiences. To the left was an entryway into the community pages, in the center was "game info," and to the right was "chronicles" (a section of the site that ties the franchise together with content like a timeline system). The landing page will be customizable to some extent. We saw a mock "ticker," which could run along the top of the page displaying various Resistance related feeds (news, developer updates, friends activity, etc.). But what happens when we jump into the community portal?

We noticed a lot of you asking about WipEout HD's whereabouts, so we corned SCEE's Charlotte Panther in the Sony room and demanded an explanation. Apparently, WipEout is still in development to add "extra features." Satisfied?

Responding to a question at Nintendo's 2008 E3 developer roundtable about whether or not a new Pikmin is in the works, Miyamoto says he'll announce a new sequel when he's ready. Apparently he's ready now. "We're making Pikmin," confirms his translator. (Is this the megaton you have been waiting for, dear Fernando?)

Speaking at the Nintendo's 2008 E3 developer roundtable, Shigeru Miyamoto has confirmed that the Wii Music "game" disc will contain 50 songs, featuring a variety of of public domain songs, as well as licensed music. As for DLC? Nintendo is "not really thinking" about digital song distribution, instead focusing on using WiiConnect24 to share music videos.

Guerrilla hosted a Killzone 2 "online" (what else?) multiplayer tutorial at E3 today, detailing the ins and outs of the experience. What we saw borrowed much from recent efforts, including Call of Duty 4, Team Fortress 2, Metal Gear Online, and even Battlefield Bad Company. Player progression is at the core of Killzone's multiplayer, which supports up to 32 players and features 8 maps of varying sizes and 5 missions (game modes).

Player progression is divided into 12 military ranks and 46 ribbons and medals, which, once earned, unlock game features. The key game feature is the badge (think: character class). There are six badges, unlocked through progression (except the default Rifleman), each possessing a primary ability and secondary ability, and linked to certain weapon groups. The badges are:

• Rifleman: default badge; no special abilities
  
• Engineer: erect automated turret (primary); repair skill (secondary)
  
• Medic: revive teammates; deploy health packs
  
• Scout: cloaking suit; tag enemies with hidden marker (they become revealed on team radar)
  
• Assault: heavy armor; sprint boost
  
• Tactician: green smoke grenades (they're spawn points!); AI sentry bot (it's the COD4 helicopter but cooler)
  
• Saboteur: enemy disguise; proximity-activated C4 charge
  

Badges can be combined in order to merge two abilities from two different badges, creating a new class. For example, players can create a Medic Engineer possessing revive and repair abilities. (PS3 Fanboy has more on multiplayer classes.)

You'd think for all his years of good service, Kirby would deserve a shout-out during the Nintendo E3 2008 keynote -- at least a spot in a video montage. But no, Kirb got the shaft, and if you weren't already keeping tabs on the pink puff, you'd have no idea Nintendo was releasing a (somewhat) new Kirby title for DS -- one of only five first party DS games scheduled for release during the remainder of the year. Exploring Nintendo's E3 press site, we've discovered confirmation that Kirby Super Star Ultra (a remake of the ultraless SNES game) is still on track for a September 22 release.

Super Star Ultra will feature all of the original game's modes, plus "new adventures," including three, touch-controlled minigames (Kirby Card Swipe, Kirby on the Draw and Snack Tracks) that support up to 4 players via DS Download Play. With multiple cartridges, two players can play the adventure mode, with one assuming the roles of "Helpers," clones of Kirby's foes created with a new ability.

Liberation? Retribution? There's definitely something up with the jump to handheld third person ... Dive deeper into the mystery in the gallery below, and then check out Super Stardust (um, not in HD), and a pair of colorful sequels posted after the break.

Well, at least grammy's pleased with Nintendo's first party lineup... (Plus: If you've got a longer attention span than Nintendo, we've got shots of two overlooked titles after the break!)

While apparently not worthy of mention among juggernauts like Cooking Nanny Navi and Chinatown Wars during Nintendo's E3 2008 keynote, Rhythm Heaven was quietly announced on Nintendo's E3 press site today. Rhythm Heaven is, of course, the localized version of Rhythm Tengoku Gold, itself a sequel to one of Nintendo's last and greatest efforts on GBA, which was sadly never released outside of Japan. Today's confirmation (need not import!) included a fact sheet with these few tidbits:

• Players hold the Nintendo DS system sideways like a book and tap their stylus on the touch screen to the rhythm of the music. Players tap, slide or flick the stylus to hit the right beat.
• Rhythm Heaven features catchy tunes, charming characters and a wide variety of rhythm games.
• Well-known Japanese music producer TSUNKU♂ (pretentious, ain't he?) helped direct Rhythm Heaven and composed the music for it.

Rhythm Heaven's release date is currently TBA.

Over 350,000 units sold in three weeks ... on a handheld? You're damn straight Activision is already booking a second tour -- call it: Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades. The sequel to last month's (yeah, last month's!) palm-packed jam session was confirmed today during the Nintendo E3 2008 keynote. While not detailed, Decades will likely include a setlist that ranges multiple ... decades. The game will also include a song-sharing feature, allowing those with only the original On Tour to sample the Decades tracks. And apparently, there could be some form of microphone functionality (karaoke?) -- as if On Tour wasn't already awkward enough to play during the morning commute...

EA pimped its partnership with id Software today by debuting a (somewhat) new trailer for Rage, the first spawn of the id Tech 5 engine. This is only the second brief glimpse we've caught of the shooter-with-wheels (and the first in nearly a year!), so it's a bit disappointing to see some of the same imagery being recycled these many months later. But damn, when a game is dripping with this much butter, we don't really mind the double dips.

Two words not uttered during the Microsoft keynote today: "Halo Wars." While the game's absence didn't force the only missing piece from an N-column "Bingo!" (curse you Alan Wake!), it certainly raises questions about the RTS's status, despite those supposed demo stations lurking in the bowels of the E3 convention center. 1UP today relieved some of the skepticism, reporting that lead designer Dave Pottinger confirmed last week that Halo Wars would not slip to 2010. In fact, the release date apparently has been narrowed down to ... the first half of 2009. Break out the magic markers, we still gotta lotta calendar days to x off!

Four polygonal ships rendered on the same screen ... at the same time?! On August 6, Bizarre will prove the impossible possible when Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 bursts onto Xbox Live Arcade. The sequel features a "remixed" version of the original game, along with 5 additional game modes: Waves (from PGR4), Pacifism (Achievement Evolved!), and newcomers King, Deadline, and Sequence. Each game mode supports up to 4 players locally (read: not online), for either 2-vs-2 or every polygon for itself gameplay. Additionally, GWRE2 will feature a Co-Pilots mode, where one player steers and the other shoots. As expected, all those particles still add up, as online leaderboards make a return -- hey K4rn4ge, you still got it?

Bizarre will reveal further details leading up to the game launch, including info on new enemy types and 12 new achievements -- and hopefully ... a price! 400 points, pretty please?

As if we didn't already have enough ways to purchase Joust, Midway has launched the "Midway Arcade," which offers just as much quarter-pumping excitement as the name implies. The online store -- really, it's just a store -- features 14 ancients for purchase and download in preset bundles, along with, oddly enough, $5 PC versions of select games from Midway's TouchMaster compilation for DS. Midway's also selling some of its contemporary efforts -- in another location -- for direct download to PC, highlighted by titles like Unreal Tournament 3 and ... what's this? Midway Arcade Treasures! That's right, today alone, we've got two new ways to own Joust. You know, just in case.

The full list of releases is posted after the break.