At the 2010 Nintendo Media Summit, there was nothing on display – not even the behind-closed-doors demonstration of Metroid: Other M – that looked quite as good as Sin & Punishment: Star Successor. Every other game I sampled due to curiosity or a sense of duty; but with Sin & Punishment 2, the reason I chose to play was because I simply couldn’t keep my eyes off the screen.

The rainbow of brightly colored projectiles, beams and explosions, the fluidity and grace of the character animation and the huge quantity of detailed foes on screen made other Wii titles on display look drab by comparison, and the screenshots you’ll see here don’t do the game justice. Graphics are hardly the only reason to be excited about Star Successor, of course. But for those to whom “Sin & Punishment” sounds more like the title of a Nietzsche book than a video game, let me digress: (more…)

Slowly making my way through the throng of video game reporters exiting the 2010 Nintendo Media Summit‘s newsworthy opening presentation, I climbed the stairs to the third floor of the W Hotel in San Francisco, where Nintendo’s coveted hands-on gameplay demonstrations were just getting underway. Immediately, I saw a friendly face: Associate PR Manager David Young, clutching one of the brand-new DSi XL handhelds debuting March 28th. Seeing a chance to demo the new system and greet David at the same time, I moved closer — and found myself face to face, in more ways than one, with the hilarious DSiWare title PhotoDojo.

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Before the dust settles after this morning’s press event, I am already thinking about E3.  With almost all of Nintendo’s loose ends tied up this morning, that leaves me thinking about what they didn’t tell us: the second half of the year.

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