E3 2011: NGP blowout! Hands on with every NGP game in Sony's booth

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We've touched it, played it, and tried to sneak it out of the room. Want to hear how it went?

Hustle Kings

Let’s be honest: there are only so many people looking for a billiards/pool game – but if you’re in the market for one, Hustle Kings looks built to satisfy. You can cross play with the PS3 version (it has the same lobbies as well), it’s fully online, you can take your own picture to be your avatar, and you can even place wagers against your opponents. There are three cueing methods, so everyone from sharks to suckers can sink a few, and the touch controls felt good. All the usual game modes are here: Black ball, Killer, 9 ball, 8 ball, cut throat, 14:1, continuous and 3-ball. But the mode we look forward to the most is Asynchronous mode, which functions like email chess – you take a turn, then log off and wait for your opponent to take a turn, then he waits for you, etc. It’s leisurely, but it saves you the trouble of tracking down a worthy opponent every time you want to play.

Little Deviants

This isn’t so much a single large game as a collection of 30 smaller mini-games, each of which showcases the NGP’s various features, from the camera to tilt controls, touch panels, and so on. We’ve done a full preview so you can hear more about all the various things you can do in Little Deviants, but this is ultimately more of a tech demo than it is a full-fledged game, we’re actually just hoping a lot of legit titles use Little Deviants as inspiration.

Reality Fighters

A super-customizable fighting game in which you scan in your own face and slap it onto what will surely be an absolute clown of a brawler once you’ve chosen his clothes, headgear, accessories and so on. We’re not sure about the actual fighting in this one, as it seems to be trying a little too hard to reinvent the wheel. The novelty appeal might be enough to endear the game to early adopters, though.

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Hot Shots Golf (tentative title)

Dismiss this franchise if you must, but it's some of the most fun you can have on any console and it looks better than ever on NGP. It's a bit less cartoony and more realistic, and that mix absolutely works. You've got all new characters, wifi and 3G support, a 50 hour single player campaign, a tweaked and simplified swinging/putting system - it's a whole lot of game even if you're not a huge fan of real world golf.


Jun 2, 2011

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Eric Bratcher
Eric Bratcher
I was the founding Executive Editor/Editor in Chief here at GR, charged with making sure we published great stories every day without burning down the building or getting sued. Which isn't nearly as easy as you might imagine. I don't work for GR any longer, but I still come here - why wouldn't I? It's awesome. I'm a fairly average person who has nursed an above average love of video games since I first played Pong just over 30 years ago. I entered the games journalism world as a freelancer and have since been on staff at the magazines Next Generation and PSM before coming over to GamesRadar. Outside of gaming, I also love music (especially classic metal and hard rock), my lovely wife, my pet pig Bacon, Japanese monster movies, and my dented, now dearly departed '89 Ranger pickup truck. I pray sincerely. I cheer for the Bears, Bulls, and White Sox. And behind Tyler Nagata, I am probably the GR staffer least likely to get arrested... again.