Game iPad

Sony was allowing a 15-minute hands-on demo of the Team Ico classic on its packed stand (within minutes of the show opening this morning, the queues to get on the Vita units were backed up past the "hour wait" marker and down through the hall). I played from the very beginning of the game where our titular hero is solemnly transported to a remote citadel and then locked inside a sarcophagus by superstitious villagers who see him as a bad omen.

Shamefully, I also enjoyed watching Blades of Time in action. Yep, it's another hack-'n'-slash romp for the Xbox 360 and PS3, this featuring a treasure hunter named Ayumi, sporting blonde pig-tails and dual sword/rifle weapons. Apparently she's stuck on a mysterious island and must battle a range of enormo-beasts, while leaping across a series of vertigo-inducing jumping challenges. But get this: she can also turn back time and create a clone of herself, allowing her to co-op with her own past-life on certain puzzles. I'm not sure I totally understand that.

A game gives you fun, emotion and healing. That's why we believe that a game might contribute to Fukushima's reconstruction and the Japanese future. Our hope is that, someday in the future, [our students'] games will be needed and loved by everyone.