It was actually a pretty good day in San Francisco when Namco Bandai Games whisked us over to The Mighty nightclub for its annual Editors' Day event for 2008. We waited outside for a few minutes before the company let us in to check out its line-up of upcoming games for 2008. We grabbed a seat and settled in for a quick presentation, highlighting what the company had in mind for the next few months.

First, let's just get this out of the way – there was no mention of the forthcoming Tekken 3. No talk of the arcade version, no talk of the PlayStation 3 version, no nothing. Either Namco's saving it for something spectacular at E3, or it's in development until next year. Either way, color us slightly disappointed that we didn't even get something along the lines of a teaser trailer.

However, fans of the Tales role-playing game series should be happy with what Namco had on hand. Two new Tales games were introduced – Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for the Nintendo Wii. Both games were on hand and we came away rather impressed by both, as they inhabit the traditional Tales style of play while offering something completely different between the two of them. It should also be noted that Japanese pop star Bonnie Pink was also on hand to discuss the song she contributed for Vesperia, although she did not perform. (As a bonus, though, Namco did give us a couple of her CD's – coolness.)

Following that, the company revealed two new Xbox Live Arcade/PlayStation Network projects. The first, Powerup Forever, is a high-tech shooter where your ship constantly evolves as you shoot everything from the sky. A Namco rep gave us a brief eyes-on view of the game, and it looks pretty cool, even for an early work in progress. The second revealed game is none other than the Dreamcast classic Soul Calibur, complete with online play and other goodies that fans of the series will love. Both games are set to debut later this year. No word yet on pricing or online functionality, but hopefully they'll work better than Mr. Driller Online does.

The room was in awe (and we mean comedic awe) when Namco revealed National Geographic Panda for the Nintendo DS. This "pet simulator" lets you take care of a cute baby panda, helping it to perform tricks and eventually pushing it into slave labor. (We're kidding.) No, it looks like a cute little alternative to the typical pet game, and it's due for release later this year.

After that, the company showed a trailer for its action/adventure Afro Samurai. Based on the hit anime series, the game will feature voice work from the show's cast, including Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly Hu and Ron Perlman. It looks very spiffy at this point, featuring a wild artwork style and plenty of hack-and-slash gameplay. We'll go into more detail in a preview very soon, possibly within the next week.

Namco did introduce a couple of new projects. The first is Wii Cheer, a new cheerleading game where players have to perform complex arm motions in pure cheerleader fashion to hit songs. Although only a few songs were on hand in the game's playable build (from Erasure and Simple Plan), it looks like it'll be a lot of fun. Again, expect a preview soon. The company also showed off Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PlayStation 3, a rollicking take on the hit franchise with beautiful action and outstanding visuals. We'll get a better look at that game during E3, probably. (On a side note, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 was also shown for PSP, and doesn't look bad.)

To close out the presentation, Namco showcased a new trailer for Soul Calibur IV, featuring gameplay footage of Darth Vader and Yoda for the first time. Both seem like very agile fighters, swinging around their lightsabers and showcasing their Force talents like they're going out of style. After that, Namco unveiled the game's official release date – July 29 – along with limited special editions with art books and other goodies. The artwork looks very cool, decked out in all black for the PS3 (to match the Darth Vader motif) and all white for the 360 (with Yoda's "angelic" appearance). The game was playable at the event, but the new characters were not. It's as if George Lucas WANTS us to wait...

The Force is strong with Calibur.

Lastly, there were a couple of games not in the highlight reel that we were able to play. Outdoor Challenge is a crazy mini-game festival for one or two players, with everything from Whac-a-Mole to roller skating derbies to a fun cart game requiring the teamwork of two players. The game's still in an early state (we were playing a Japanese build), but is due later this year for the Wii. The second, We Ski, is a terrific take on the classic Alpine Surfer formula, utilizing both the Wii Fit pad (which is optional) and the Nunchuk-Remote set-up. You push the controllers like actual ski poles and lean left or right to maneuver. It's due for release next month, and we'll be back with the full review.

Overall, it was a fun day. Kudos to Namco Bandai for throwing a fun party and giving us lots of hands-on time. You'll see the results of it in the weeks ahead as we break down each game in a preview.

Related Links

Soul Calibur IV Game Guide

Namco Bandai Games