Behind closed doors, in one of the Concourse Hall’s many meeting rooms, I had a chance to check out some upcoming titles from 505 Games.

Michael Phelps: Push the Limit

As the first swimming game for the Kinect (above), it does appear to push the limits (of causing a ruckus amongst friends). Obviously, yes, you have to wave your arms around to simulate swimming, but you also have to emulate diving positions before hitting the water and are scored on the accuracy of your posture. Before a swim, you can also wave your arms about to encourage cheers from the audience, which increases your adrenaline. Once you hit the water, you need to follow along with the pace as displayed at the bottom of the screen. Everything is just like a swim meet, aside from this odd endurance building scenario as you relay back. You have to place your hand over lightning bolt icons to successfully build your endurance, but be wary of accidentally placing your hand over error icons. How this exactly simulates competitive swimming is beyond me…

The game has various modes, such as Party Mode where you and another player can do a team-up relay race, Training Mode which features Michael Phelps himself, who provides hints and pointers, and a Freestyle Mode. The game is expected to be released in October, later this year.

Top Gun: Hard Lock

The developers stated Hard Lock would not follow a flight simulator trend, but rather, offer a third-person arcade styled shooter instead. Hard Lock gives you reigns of not only the classic F-14 but a slew of today’s more modern fighter jets. Though there will be the usual guns a blazin’ and missile works, the game utilizes a unique feature called ‘Hard Lock’ – when you’re right behind an enemy, your targeting circle will increase, maximizing the efficiency of your bullet spread, or you can opt to instantly kill an enemy jet with a missile, all while the game steers for you. Enemies you’ve locked onto, however, will try to distract you by dropping flares or barrel rolling. If you react well enough to maintain the foe in your sights, your Hard Lock circle will increase in size which minimizes escape.

Hard Lock will feature a wealth of references to the movie, so for those who loved the film, this will be worth your attention. The Story Mode is set 25 years after the film, bringing the story to modern times. It will also feature a lot of dialogue during flights, as well as cameos from the film’s cast, ensuring an authentic Top Gun feel. There will also be a Team Deathmatch Mode that allows up to 16 players to face off in the sky. Campaign Mode will feature 15 missions and, of course, online leaderboards will be included.

Top Gun: Hard Lock is slated for a Spring 2012 release, look for it on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.