THQ invited Xbox Addict to its annual “Gamer’s Day Event” on April 3rd, 2008. We gladly attended the event held in San Francisco, CA and are now here to report to you what we did and saw. The purpose of this event is to give some previews and insight into upcoming games currently in development. Most of the games will release later this year on the Xbox 360. This years event was far from mediocre as we got a chance to sample some of the biggest and most anticipated titles of 2008 and early 2009. From off-road racing with BAJA to good ole gang-banging in the city of Stillwater with Saints Row 2, the show provided a wide assortment of titles to check out. THQ spared no expense for this event and it made for a wonderful evening. Nothing like video games, an open bar and yummy food to fulfill an entire evening of fun.

Before we headed out to the Gamer’s Day event, we were treated with a visit to Pixar Animation Studios across the bay in Oakland. Why you may ask? Well to get a sneak preview of the upcoming film WALL-E, and also get a glimpse and hands on of its video game counterpart. To say the least, the facility was impressive and the movie is spot on with traditional Pixar slapstick humor and charm. We got a chance to view about 12 minutes of the movie and were not disappointed in the least. The movie is loaded with plenty of laugh out loud moments, and any fan of Pixar films should definitely put this one on their must see list.

After our sneak peek of the film and a quick Q & A with the game producers and film producers, we were taken on a tour of the facility. Again, very impress as you can see by some of the pictures included with this article. Once the tour was over, we gathered in the main lobby for refreshments and hands on with the WALL-E video game. The videogame is targeted at the 8-12 age group, but will honestly be enjoyed by any Pixar fan. The game does not include any kind of online support, but features split screen multiplayer locally for the kids to enjoy. The game looked great from what we were able to see an play and looked to be a lot of fun to play regardless of age.

After our visit at Pixar, we headed back onto the bus and crossed back over the Bay Bridge to San Francisco for the Gamer’s Day event. The event opened up with a few representatives of THQ, including THQ President Brian Ferrell, talking on the future of THQ, upcoming games and showing a few trailers, including the Uncle Gary promo for Saints Row 2 featuring Gary Busey. Some definitive release dates were given on certain titles, and then the currents were drawn back and the expo room was revealed in all its video game glory. Coming up, I’ll give you a quick run down and overview of each game we saw on the show floor.

The very first booth we came across was for Saints Row 2 which will be releasing on August 26th, 2008. The guys at Volition are at it again allowing you to create mayhem in the streets and rule the city with all new weapons, vehicles and gameplay. One of the biggest features of Saint Row 2 will be the co-op story mode that is playable online with a buddy. This feature alone will appeal to many gamers and sell units in itself. But the game has even more to offer such as fully customizable characters, new satchel charge weapons, customizable taunting and fully customizable crib. Much of the gameplay is very similar to the original Saints Row, with exception of a welcome change in the gun play and targeting mode. You’ll now have an over the shoulder camera view which should make a lot of folks happy including myself. The game looks to be coming along great and when asked about the looming GTA title, the developers and THQ felt they had a product that could stand up right beside GTA IV. From what we saw they just might.

Our next visit was to the Darksiders: Wrath of War booth. Unfortunately there was not a hands on demo at this time, but rather a demonstration of the game that definitely got some excitement bubbling in our veins for this game. You play as a War, a horseman of the Apocalypse, and your quest is to regain a respect for you and your fellow horseman after inadvertently triggering the Apocalypse and causing an end to all humanity on earth as we know it. Angels and demons are fighting throughout the game to gather the remaining souls of humanity that have perished in the battle and this storyline is interlaced throughout the game with extremely cinematic backgrounds to the game itself. The game has hack and slash elements as well as puzzle based quests, along with a somewhat RPG feel to it as well. You’ll be able to upgrade armor and abilities, as well as enhance weaponry for battle. The games theme is based heavily upon Biblical storylines, hence the opening to our demonstration started with a verse from the Book of Revelation.

WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 was out next stop, and the while there was not a playable demo for us to get our hands on we got to see some good footage of new features coming in the 2009 version of the game. One of the biggest features the developers seemed to be promoting was the newly revamped Tag team system. You’ll now have better tag team interaction between partners including Tag Team Finishers, partner interference, and enhanced double team moves that could make or break matches. Also mentioned was the fact that the AI was completely overhauled and “smartened” up since it seemed to be one of the biggest gripes from fans in previous editions. You’ll also have the ability to create and save your own finishing moves with up to 10 different moves to create the finisher. Oh yeah, and its useable online as well, so that should appeal to the wrestling community and especially the CAW leagues. Graphics looked good once again, and collisions as well as animations seemed very smooth.

Off to the Red Faction Guerilla booth we went. Red Faction is set on a Mars planet background with a vast open world to explore. You play the role as a soldier of the Red Faction resistance group battling against the Earth Defense Force. You’ll be able to man many vehicles, take out the enemy with a variety of weapons and to top it all off the world is fully destructible. Vehicles range from standard 4 wheeled trucks to large mech-like robots. And once again, in the open world format, each vehicle and weapon will have a sole purpose somewhere in that world without doubt. The graphics looked good and the gameplay seemed fairly smooth for this demo of the game which does not release until sometime this fall. This is definitely a title to keep an eye on in the future.

Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon made an appearance at the event with a playable demo for us to get our hands on as well. The developers were excited about new weapons and features they added into the game as well. While many folks will glare at this game and wonder why it doesn’t seem to have “Next-Gen” graphics, the developers assured us that the game was all about gameplay more so than graphical appeal. I for one thought the game looked fine, and everything the developer was trying to do seemed to be captured. Fully destructible environments, as well as damage that persists through the level until you leave or turn off the game was very impressive. Many physics were used in the game corresponding to damage, destruction and just the way things moved on screen. One of the biggest new features that was being touted was the ability called Temporal Fist. This ability allows you to stop time and move objects around onscreen to reach points not normally obtainable or to just create havoc and mayhem unseen before. The game looks very promising, especially to the fans of this series. While it does not have any online multiplayer options included there will be local multiplayer included.

Finally, last but definitely not least, we come to the BAJA booth. Baja racing is a hugely popular southwestern style of off road racing in which many different classes of cars compete in one race across the desert. While there are no huge payouts for winning these races as its mostly about passion and pride, some of the vehicles can cost in excess of one million dollars to build. Trust me, $5000 race payouts aren’t going to cover repair costs so this racing is definitely about pride and passion. The game boasts an open world style racing that allows you to go anywhere you want during a race. You want to cut a hairpin turn way early, well then go right ahead. Just be aware that there may be consequences such as large boulders, trees or ditches off the beaten path. But it’s your choice. Anything that you see in the distance, you can drive too! Anything! Robb Rinard, was on hand to demo the game for us in a 3 screen simulator with 5.1 surround sound. Yes, the game supports the panoramic view using 3 screens and 3 Xbox 360’s. The game looked absolutely amazing in the simulator and sounded amazing as well. Robb recorded specific engine sounds for many of the vehicles you will use throughout the game, so all sounds are authentic.

The game will feature support of up to 10 players online with all race modes available online as well as offline. One of the most intriguing race modes is called the Baja 1000. This race will take you about 4 hours to complete with your buddies, but guess what you don’t have to race it all yourself. You’ll have an AI partner that you can call in at anytime to take over for you at the wheel incase you need a potty break or a drink from the fridge. The cool thing is, your friends won’t notice a difference at all. The AI may not drive quite as fast or as well as you, but it will still stay the course of the race and keep you in it. There are over 600 different sponsors included with the game and many upgradeable parts for your cars. 10 open landscapes are shipped with the game with 6 different race modes playable in all areas. This game is a must have for any off road enthusiast! As we get closer to the release of the title in August we’ll have more in depth analysis of the game and its modes. Keep your eyes and ears open.

Overall the show was great and full of information for the upcoming games of 2008 and early 2009. THQ is taking pride in original IP’s, and it looks like it may pay off in high dividends in the end. I look forward to watching all of the titles shown and seeing their progression as the months go by. After seeing this show, it really does look to be a jam packed fall season of great games once again for the 360. My hat is off to THQ on their upcoming titles, and a big thank you to them as well for the invitation to the show.