Hands-on

LOS ANGELES--One of our biggest gripes with Microsoft's controller-less motion system was the fact that it required quite of bit of real estate to function properly. A minimum of 6 feet from the camera seemed to be the sweet spot, but even at that distance we've experienced some nags with gameplay.

Small apartment living rooms like the ones we're used to in New York may now be able to accommodate Kinect with Nyko's Zoom for Kinect accessory. Thanks to a series of what we'd describe as an arrangement of wide-angle lenses, the $30 snap-on accessory sits over the standard Kinect array and drops the space prerequisite by 40 percent. That's a bold claim, so we had to try it out for ourselves.… Read more

It takes a lot to excite three seasoned gaming writers independently at a single show, and it looks like Bioshock Infinite has pulled the trifecta. Big, bold, and highly hyped, Irrational and 2K Games' prequel to the Bioshock universe is undoubtedly one of the most exciting games at all of E3 2011. Here's why.

Scott: I'm rarely excited about E3 games. I hate genre repetition. I don't like the endless flow of shooters and racers and fighters, the summer-movie-cliche money-shot explosions, the tacky dialogue.

However, once in a long while, a game comes along that has a big imagination. So big that it seems to challenge the perceiver, and bend the mind. Consider my mind bent, because BioShock Infinite seems to get ever more bizarre, epic, and richly detailed every time I see it.

The E3 closed-door demo of the game is hard to describe. We couldn't play the game--we only watched a 20-minute controlled playthrough--but what we saw had the scope, drama, and surprise to rival most of Hollywood's output. Early 20th century floating isolationist city in an alternate steampunk universe. Psychic powers, mechanical robot birds, gangs of political deviants, roller-coaster rail systems--yes, check. There are also endless clever and creepy historical details akin to what filled the original BioShock, such as a decaying gift shop filled with presidential forefather marionettes, dangling their decaying limbs from the ceiling.… Read more

LOS ANGELES--Though it won't be available in stores until at least 2012, Nintendo unveiled, and gave a name to, the hardware successor to the Wii, known at this point as Wii U.

True to many rumors and predictions, Nintendo unveiled at this year's E3 a new console with an attention-getting tabletlike controller, complete with its own 6.2-inch touch screen. This multifunctional tablet will form the centerpiece of what the Wii U will be about.

The tablet controller With a glossy … Read more

Editors' note, June 7, 2011, 6:33 a.m.: Updated with hands-on impressions of Vita games.

LOS ANGELES--Sony's revamped take on the PSP has impressive graphics, a slick screen, tons of controls, and an aggressive $249/$299 price, but all that's nothing without games. At Sony's E3 2011 press conference, a variety of Vita games--some known, some new--were announced, and many were made available afterward for hands-on demos on the floor.

A number of Vita units were available to play with at demo stations. They were tethered "development kit" units, but I still got to … Read more

Can iPads replace laptops in mission-critical, hot-and-sweaty environments? My colleague Dan Ackerman gave it a go at last year's E3, and I'm giving it a try as I head to L.A. this year with a keyboard-case twist, using iLuv's new leather folio. (I'll also have a laptop backup plan.)

The Professional Case with Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad 2 doesn't have a catchy name, but this type of case isn't about looking sleek … Read more