Majesco Entertainment’s booth was hiding upstairs at E3, away from the glitz of the expo halls. That didn’t mean that they didn’t have anything to show us. Far from it. So we (@gamingangel and I) went on a tour.

Greg Hastings Paintball 2

I’ve never seen someone so pumped about paintball.

Wait, no. I dated a guy in high school who was really pumped about paintball.

Lemme try that again: I’ve never seen someone so pumped about a paintball video game. Hands down, Greg Hastings was the most enthusiastic demoer I’ve ever seen. His hands were flying. His face was animated and alive. He was all smiles, joy, and genuine love for his sport (and his game). Every mechanic was true to the sport: the dodging around obstacles; the peeking out around cover to shoot paintballs at that dude who nearly took your head off with the blue paintball; the courses set in the woods with real weather conditions. The everything. Even if paintball hasn’t been my style for a number of years, Greg had me pretty stoked about the game. You play as real paintball players from around the world; from kids to teens to adults; from beginners to pros; from the casual to the hardcore. If a player exists, he/she is probably hanging out in the gallery of players in Greg Hastings Paintball 2.

Greg Hastings Paintball 2 is the only E-Rated FPS on the market today, which is something to be really proud of. Most FPS games are not family friendly because they involve blood, gore, and general carnage. No carnage to be had in paintball. Just paint. And mud. And maybe a scraped elbow here and there.

Greg Hastings Paintball 2 launches on September 14 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii consoles.

Monster Tale

Take a cutesy little monster named Chomp with his adorable femme companion named Ellie, throw in some traditional Metroid style platforming, mix it up with some dual screen DS action, and you’ve got Monster Tale.

You control both Ellie and Chomp as they explore and battle through five non-linear kingdoms in the Monster World, including the Wicked Treehouse, Monster Express Train, Ancient Ruins and Monster Nightclub.  The Touch Screen serves as Chomp’s Pet Sanctuary where he evolves with new abilities as he eats and plays with what Ellie provides from the top screen or buys for him in the store. But when Ellie needs some brute force or protective defense, she can summon Chomp to the top screen to back her up in her quest to save the Monster World. As Chomp gains new attributes he can evolve into approximately 30 unique forms with new attacks, shields, bombs and even the ability to transform into useful objects.

Chomp goes from itty bitty adorable to great big “don’t mess with me, punk” monster.

Monster Tale will be available for the Nintendo DS for this holiday gaming season.

Babysitting Mama

“Oh no, I’m no good with kids. You try it, Manda,” says @gamingangel. “I’ll film you.”

Video camera + plush baby + creepily fun game = freaked out Manda. But I did it. For science.

Our demoer (a particularly amusing dude who had serious skills with this plush baby) took the reins and showed us how it was done. It was like I was back in high school with those creepy robot babies that are supposed to simulate what it’s like to be a parent. Except with a Wii-mote. And a “Mama” style face.

After a brief demonstration of how to rock the baby, make the baby appear like it’s taking serious amounts of meth-amphetamines, and soothe it… it was my turn.

Bath the baby?

Scary, yet intriguing.

Rock the baby to sleep?

My worst nightmare. Don’t even get me started on how hard it is for me to rock babies to sleep normally. My nephews don’t respond to the rocking. They respond to the bouncing and dancing around. New territory for this gal.

All in all, the game was creepy and enjoyable. @gamingangel is threatening to send it to me for Christmas. I’m afraid.

Babysitting Mama launches this holiday gaming season for the Nintendo Wii.

Zumba

I have terrible rhythm for latin music. I know how to shake my groove thing but only when Dance Central is involved, apparently. This was the third (dancing) game that @gamingangel and I played for the Kinect. For those of you (like me) who haven’t heard of the Zumba dance craze: it is an aerobic fitness program created by Miami-based dancer and choreographer Beto Perez and two entrepreneurs, Alberto Perlman and Alberto Aghion. It originated in Colombia in the 1990s and is taught by some 20,000 instructors in 35 countries.

It makes you SWEAT, baby. My hips couldn’t keep up with this game.

What I can tell is that Kinect was responsive. It knew I wasn’t getting the steps. It gave me feedback. @gamingangel rocked it all the way out the door, folks. That girl can MOVE IT. Definitely put this Canadian to shame.

I can see this game catching on for the Kinect. It was engaging, entertaining, and would be a damn fine workout, even if you end up swinging those hips in all the wrong ways.

Overall Impression of Majesco

An excellent time. @gamingangel and I had a lot of fun playing with the games and chatting with the knowledgeable staff. Majesco has a little bit of something for everyone. Solid lineup. Great people. Looking forward to chatting with them at the next E3.