And this year sure had it's share of much buzz, hype, and rumors as any. With the commercial success of the Wii, Sony and Microsoft are sporting their own versions of motion technology to counter Nintendo's casual blockbuster console (or gimmick depending who you ask). Many of the biggest franchises make their return here as well, as well as the brilliant creative teams that spend years bringing their newest game to your home and on your TV - including Dead Space, Gears of War, Ghost Recon, Call of Duty, and Halo, just to name a few.
Today, the media and the public watching on home either online or on the air, have been treated to major press conferences of Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft. Today Microsoft returned and pressed hard on the emphasis of
And here's my two cents of Day 1, for each conference!
Microsoft's Press Conference
Compared to the last year's show, this year Microsoft really didn't seem on edge this time around. As previously mentioned, the majority of the press conference showed off more of 'Kinect' (and somehow I always think of K'Nex when I see it), showing off more tech demos of games that will be available once Kinect launches, as well as some interface navigation with the Dashboard as well as some added features to X-Box Live including ESPN and Hulu. Unfortunately, for a more hardcore player, the offerings of games for this peripheral are almost non-existent. Save for a racing game and a game partnered with Lucasarts, Microsoft didn't show much. Which is shame, really, considering that a live demo of Halo: Reach or other big developments supposedly supported on Kinect would have at least shown that the tech could work more than WiiSports clones and a Milo-esque version of Nintendogs - all titles which no doubt will have every poor family jumping running and jumping in place like idiots in their living room. Of course, I can just imagine the possible lawsuits for damages to property much like the Wii happening because you know a dimwit is going to do something stupid with it. Also, as for the Kinect's navigation, while it seems great for to provide tech-sorry folks a much easier way to navigate through menus, I could easily find myself (and others who have worked with any console in the past) be able to navigate through the various menus much faster than the rate it would take a Kinect user to accomplish the same action. Although, I suppose Kinect is a bit more for the more casual folk more so than the core audience, which is no doubt what Microsoft is aiming for with the device. All the same, can't say I am sold on the concept, especially if I would need to shout commands to the Kinect in a room full of noisy people - rendering voice command utter useless in the situation in case I ever dare play this thing at a frat party.
Though, that is not too say that Microsoft didn't have great stuff presented. In the beginning of the presentation, the show premiered a live demo of Call of Duty: Black Ops - and possibly the biggest highlight of the whole Microsoft offering. And naturally, Halo: Reach and Gears of War 3 showed up to the party as well, along with Metal Gear Solid: Rising - which offered nothing too new than another glimpse of what to expect of the gameplay, with Cyber-Ninja Raiden being able to cut through objects in almost anyway possible, and hinting something to do with draining power from robotic-like foes. Can't say that I'm particularly excited about Rising - and by no means does this mean about playing as Raiden, as I'm probably one of the few people that actually didn't mind him being the protagonist of Sons of Liberty. However, at the same time, Sons of Liberty was not primarily an action game as more of a sneaking game. And while not playing as Snake is not exactly a ball-breaker (hell, Snake Eater was a great game and we played as Big Boss, so it's kinda half-Snake, anyway), just the idea of playing a bad ass ninja sounds more in place in a Ninja Gaiden game. And noticing how the game isn't directed by Hideo Kojima, this rises a few eyebrows about the game's final results. But I suppose we'll have to see, won't we? It was a bit odd seeing Mr. Kojima leave the conference rather in a hurry...
So overall, Microsoft's press conference, aside from Kinect, didn't have much to really blow my mind. What a shame. Perhaps when Kinect becomes a damned successful as the accursed Wii, maybe we'll be treated to a Kinect orchestra like WiiMusic in a distant E3, crazed drummer and all. Thanks, Microsoft...
Oh, yeah, and a slimmer 250 GB 360 was also introduced. Exactly how long did it take those wankers to put in the built-in wi-fi? Does it still come with RRoD?
EA Press Conference
My conference of the day, EA presented a well-rounded roster of ten games coming most within the early 2011 period. Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit was the show's kickstarter, and while I admit I've never really been drawn to play the games, the concept of high speed chases involving the fuzz and speed demons, both with exotic cars is a bit of a wet dream for the inner adrenaline-seeker inside me.
Although, what really stole the show for me was the live gameplay demo of Dead Space 2, where we catch a very brief glimpse of Isaac fighting off more necromorphs. In the sequel, it seems Isaac Clarke has taken his trial of hell on the Ishimura and has taken upon himself to rid of the necromorphs throughout the galaxy, sporting a military suit that could easily been a design of Tony Stark's. The producer of the game said Isaac will not only face regular necromorphs but be faced with the nerve-racking truama of his plight on the Ishimura, causing him much metal stress, although I wonder if this will be more apparent in the story rather than a gameplay mechanic. From what was seen in the presentation, it seems most of the basic design of Dead Space 2 will be unchanged from the original, although the HUD of Issac's RIG looks like it has been slightly tweaked, and Issac would have more range of weapons to choose. This includes a rod gun that can pin enemies to the wall Half-Life 2 style, and I admit I was laughing hysterically in joy watching as necromorphs were crucified to walls. It seems the plasma cutter, pulse rifle, and line gun from the previous game make a return to the arsenal. For the most part, while the setting takes place elsewhere (on a full-blown colony I hear), the atmosphere seems to be as creepy as ever, and I personally loved what I saw. Although, I'm still not too hip on the cover art they've chosen. Otherwise, I was satisfied.
The presentation continued with EA introducing more into their EA Sports line. During this time, I zoned a little, since I've little to no interest in sports games, whatsoever. Although, Joe Montana's appearance for the Madden 2011 was fun to watch (although I could swear Peter Moore was about to confess his love to him :P).
Otherwise, we saw more of Medal of Honor. Gone are the campaigns of World War II and arrived are the chaotic streets in Afghanistan. A combined effort of Battlefield Company's Dice and EA's Western team promised both an intriguing multi-player and single player experience. Although the lack of a single player snippet was sad, a demonstration of a 18-player deathmatch was shown on stage.
Of course, the conference ended with a high note with the finale with Lucasarts and BioWare's The Old Republic, with some more details about commanding ships, and a new trailer, which, by far, was more impressive than the announcement trailer - and the best seen so far this E3. While the trailer was top-notch, it didn't contain anything much about gameplay as I would have hoped, but perhaps we'll hear more as details are spilled from the demo's at E3.
Ubisoft Press Conference
Uh.....
One of the worst conferences I have ever watched. If you thought Nintendo's E3 2008 conference was horrible, or you couldn't stand James Cameron speaking aimlessly forever regarding the Avatar game from Ubisoft's conference last year, than you just found yourself one of the hardest conferences to watch to date. If it weren't for the god-awful keynoter, the totally out-of-place lazer tag game (yes, LAZER TAG), and the endless amount of casual games, this conference may have been bearable. Oh, and I guess I can add Shaun White skateboarding to that, too.
Although, not all was lost. The new Assassin's Creed Brotherhood trailer and demo was intriguing and the new Ghost Recon (albeit very brief) demo was able to be gleened from this otherwise pile of dung.
So there's Day One. Check tomorrow when I give my impressions on tomorrow's press conferences, including Nintendo and Sony! God, I hope Kevin Butler is there! :D
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