Pap the Disney Gamer's E3 Highlights

Last week, the video game industry celebrated one of its biggest events: The Electronic Entertainment Expo. E3, as it is known, is an expo where video game companies show off their biggest games and hardware for the fall and holiday season, and tease about the possibilities of future releases. It is an event where companies spare no expense in putting on a show video gamers across the globe can't get enough of.

Disney Interactive and their partners game development, of course, were there to highlight some of their upcoming projects. Here are some of the games that they showed off at this year's E3:

Disney Universe
System: Wii, PS3, Xbox 360

One of the first games revealed weeks before the actual event, Disney Universe is a multiplatform adventure title where players take control of these little blue guys and explore worlds based on classic and modern Disney and Pixar movies. These characters can be dressed up in many outfits inspired by Disney characters. Outfits and worlds confirmed so far are "Monsters Inc.," "Alice in Wonderland (the 2010 Tim Burton version)," "TRON Legacy," "Finding Nemo," and "Lilo and Stitch." It has also been confirmed that there will be 40 characters in the final version of the game.

Best of all, four friends can play and either co-operate or compete with each other as they explore six different worlds based on Disney and Pixar films.

Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension
System: Wii, PS3, DS

I know what we are going to do today! The stars of the hit Disney Channel animated series return to video games as they celebrate their new TV movie: "Across the Second Dimension." The story behind both the movie and the game is that Phineas and Ferb have built a machine that sends them to another dimension. It is there where they realize that their pet platypus Perry is a secret agent. Now they must switch between the two dimensions in order to set things right. It will feature the main cast of characters as well as their respective voice actors. It has been confirmed that there will be ten playable characters, including the famous secret agent, Perry the Platypus. The game will be available on all major gaming systems. The PlayStation 3 version, however, will have special support for the Move controller.

Cars 2: The Video Game
System: Wii, PS3, Xbox 360

A few months back I wrote about the Cars video game, released around the time the first Cars movie premiered. It was a surprisingly solid game that made great use of the license and continued the plot of the movie in a very faithful manner. With "Cars 2" about to hit theaters in a couple of weeks, a video game adaptation promises to keep the legacy of the Cars video game series alive and well. Much like the movie, while Lightning McQueen is racing around the world with his pit crew from Radiator Springs, Mater has become a secret agent for Chrome, realizing that his tall tales of adventure and excitement are not as romantic as he made them out to be.

The racing aspect of previous Cars titles will obviously remain present, but this time there will be a stronger focus on combat. The game promises to have over 20 courses based on locales featured on the film. Players will take control of their favorite Cars characters as they race and battle each other in an epic spy thriller that looks to be as exciting as the upcoming Pixar film.

Cars 2: The Video Game is being developed by Avalanche Studios, the same folks who worked on last year's Toy Story 3 video game. That title became a surprise hit, scoring solid praise from gamers and the media.

The game will also be connected to the "World of Cars Online" browser game. When players connect their accounts to the game, the rewards they earn can be used to unlock goodies in the browser game.

Disneyland Adventures Kinect
System: Xbox 360

This was one of the biggest surprises at E3. Announced during Microsoft's keynote a day before the actual show, Disneyland Adventures is a game created exclusively for the Kinect, a motion sensing camera released last year that provides unique and innovative motion controls. Disneyland Adventures is a mini-game collection title where players young and old get to visit a digital version of one of the world's famous theme parks. While walking around the park they will be able to meet Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse and Snow White, and take pictures with them. What's really cool, though, is that the mini-games are all based on famous Disneyland attractions and movies. For example, the teaser trailer showed kids battling Captain Hook in the world of Neverland, mimicking sword movements in order to defeat him. The teaser also showed a Pirates of the Caribbean: stage where the players were on a boat surviving the perils of the ride. In order to control their boat, players did a rowing motion.

These were some of the offering had at the show. They all look like fun titles that promise to live up to the expectations of the Disney gamer. Expect to read about them on Gamer Tuesday as they are slowly released throughout the year.