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What have we learned here? Pt3
0975 days
The last of the big three to present was Sony. Following up on what Microsoft started and what Nintendo held up in the second place slot, they had a lot to accomplish. Here is what they had to reveal.
After a montage of everything presumably that will be coming out in the near future, the man the myth the legend Jack Trenton steps out on the stage and kicks off the show. Jack got jokes this year. He starts off by saying “Thanks for showing up… Given the industries inability to keep things confidential I didn’t think anyone would show up.” Nice stab at everyone in the industry and the crowd as well. In true Sony form, and continuing what Jack has ALWAYS done, here come the numbers. Jack says that “today we will see some of the 364 games coming to the Playstation platforms this year.” Also boasting that Playstation captured 30% of the total retail sales for video games. He also again pushes the point that the PS2 is STILL a viable platform to produce on. Also that Playstation will be going out to more areas in Latin America.
A shot in-game
The it’s time for the show. We didn’t come to see numbers, we came to see games. Welcome to the stage Evan Wells from Naughty Dog to demo Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Being a fan of the original i was ready to see this one. The wait since the teaser trailer was well worth it. Every thing is rendered beautifully on screen. The environments look lush and alive, and so do the characters on screen. The action shown is explosive and only makes me want to pick up the first one again even more. Absolutely cannot wait for this one to come out.
Next on the scene is a live demo of M.A.G. (Massive Action Game *sigh*). But not just any demo, it will be a demo of a full 256 player match. Several members of team Zipper come on stage controllers in hand and plan an assault on a base. We are told about how everyone will interact with everyone else. It looks nice, smooth and things go bang. Hard to believe that every single manned vehicle and every soldier is controlled by a REAL human somewhere, but that is what they want us to believe.
The PSP GO
Up on stage comes Kaz Hirai President of SCEA. He talks about the PSP, and tells us that they are not content to sit by with the current style of the PSP. So he whips out the PSP GO. Probably one of the worst kept secrets in Sony or E3 history. It abandons the UMD completely, instead opting for a download only form for games. Still it only has the ONE analog stick. It looks a little cramped an possibly painful to play with. Time will tell I guess what players will actually think of it.
Please welcome the founder of Polyphony Digital and the father of Gran Turismo, Kazunouri Yamauchi to the stage. Where he announces (again) the release of Gran Turismo PSP. If I sound totally underwhelmed about this it’s only because this SAME GAME was announced 5 years ago when the PSP originally launched. A sizzle reel is shown and apparently Kazunouri has it playing on his PSPGo he happens to be carrying. When it hits retail, THEN I will believe it.
Next on the stage is Hideo Kojima, making his second appearance at E3 press conferences. He announces the TRUE sequel to MGS: Portal Ops, called MGS: Peace Walker. The video demo of the game is shown and it looks quite nice. It would appear that things are going back to Outer Haven and more will be told of that part of the story as “The missing link in the MGS story” is professed on the screen. It will launch along side the PSP Go on October 1st.
Mashing up a much of titles quickly, screens and video both are shown in quick succession. We see that there will be a Resident Evil title on the PSP finally, called simply RE: Portable (hopefully a working title). A version of Little Big Planet is shown, clips of Fat Princess, some strange game that looks like the Eye of Judgement, the Hannah Montana game and something looks to compete with Ninten-Dogs.
Jack is back and he has more numbers. Apparently PSN has 24 million registered users in 55 countries; more than 475 million pieces of content downloaded, and more than 90 exclusive titles. “In addition we’re adding more than 50 PlayStation One classics to the PlayStation Store” this year including Final Fantasy VII, available today.” (which at the time wasn’t true, I checked, but it is now.) There is talk about Playstation Home and how it will get bigger and bigger over time. More publishers are signing on and a montage is shown. Jack says his name in Home is Mr.T and he rocks a mo-hawk. Sure Jack, sure.
Then it’s time for the big stuff, and (naturally) a montage of the games we can expect from the PS3 in the near future is shown. Footage includes stuff from games like; Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Madden, Final Fantasy XIII, MAG, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Brutal Legend, Ghostbusters, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Buzz, Saw, Tekken 6, Dark Void, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Heavy Rain, Battlefield 1943, PixelJunk Shooter, Katamari, Fat Princess, Zombie Apocalypse, DC Universe Online, BioShock 2, Ratchet & Clank, Fight Night, an of course God of War 3.
Jack also drops on us that Lost Planet 2 will be on the PS3 from launch. He also says that apparently RockStar has been working on an exclusive game for Sony’s big boy called simply “Agent.” Nothing at ALL is shown about the game and we are given absolutely no information further than that.
Next some members from Ubisoft take the stage and we are treated to one of the more highly anticipated games recently Assassin’s Creed 2. Live demo time. This one takes place in Venice and starts up right where the last one left off. Things look stylistically the same, if only marginally better. Enzio (the protaganist) has a couple new tricks up his sleeve (pun intended). As we are treated to a DOUBLE “wrist blade” kill on screen on two different targets. Also it would appear that Enzio will have some pretty well known friends helping him along his journey this time, including but not limited to Leonardo Da Vinci. Enzio climbs into his famous “flying machine” and shows us what a litera interpretation of “Death from above” would look like. Awesome. Also, Enzio knows how to swim, as shown when he escapes from pursuit by diving into the water.
Jack comes back on the stage. Talks about how Final Fantasy XIII will be hitting the PS3 in the spring and a video of basically the same demo from the Microsoft Press Con. It still looks great and I am still anticipating this one, and will probably buy it on the PS3 anyway. After the trailer Jack says how excited he is about FFXIII AND about being the only place to find FFXIV as well (say WHAT!?!?!) and the trailer for that is shown as well. Looks nice, but unfortunately it appears to be a MMORPG since the title is Final Fantasy XIV: Online. It also will be released apparently in 2010, oh well I won’t be getting that one. FFXI was not a favorite for me, for it’s severe lack of story and the fact that I don’t like to pay for my games AFTER purchasing it at the store.
After that was a rather lengthy demonstration on motion tracking using the current version of the Eyetoy. I am sure that I am not the only one that was thinking that this seemed a little rushed. The motion tracking was controlled by what looked like a black Wiimote with a ping pong ball on top. The programmer that was explaining the demo said that this was a very early version and would probably drastically change through its development. There really wasn’t much “new” that they were doing except for the fact that it was being done with the PS3. They showed the interaction between the player and the items on screen, and boasted… ready for this… a “1:1 range of motion.” Yeah heard that one before huh? It was interesting but very very bare bones and like I said looked rushed. Almost like they had watched the other two Press Conferences and called back to the shop to bring what they had, polished or not. Time will surely tell how well this pans out.
Next Jack comes back and talks a little about Little Big Planet and its over “900K user created levels” that have been “played over 2 million times.” (Very sad that I haven’t touched mine in months *sad face*) Why is he talking about a game that is nine months old? Because the motto of Little Big Planet “Play. Create. Share.” isn’t just a motto… it’s a new genre of games. Thus introducing us to the guys at United Front Games, and their new game “Mod Nation Racing.” Which can pretty much be summed up as the Kart Racing version of LBP. You can play with the preloaded racers, cars, and tracks, but that’s not where the REAL fun is. You can (just like in LBP) create your own driver and track. The user interface for the creation process seemed very easy, considering the demonstrators made and PLAYED a track created in literally five mins. This game is going down as my sleeper hit of E3 ’09. This is one that I will be watching.
Jack hits the stage again and introduces a video for the next game in the ICO trilogy called “Last Guardian.” The game looks amazing. From the feel of the video, you will play as a kid that had a GIANT guardian that you apparently have to set free… maybe. Oh and it appears to be some sort of mix between a dog, deer, and a chicken. I know, it sounds weird but I really don’t know how else to describe it. From the way the kid interacts with the “Guardian” this will be a very emotional game. I for one cannot wait to play it.
Jack is back and intros a sizzle reel from that game that will never come out in a full release [not confirmed] Gran Turismo 5. Yeah it looks nice, but again it’s all sizzle and no live demo. Leaves everyone with a wait and see vibe.
Kratos = Moody
Finally the biggest of the big comes out on stage for his live demo… Kratos and God Of War III. The game gets a ten minuet demo live on stage and it looks amazing. Not only does it look good, but it looks polished/refined good. Like this game should be on store shelves soon. Kratos kills a pile of baddies, including a rather large Minotaur weilding an axe. The QTE’s from the first couple games are still there, as shown by when Kratos disembowels the Minotaur. The sheer scope of the game is fantastic. A giant lava golem lumbers in the background and is slowly destroying whatever city he is in. The demo gets really heated and just when you think it is going to get great… “We have to end the demo there.” Dammit! I guess we will have to wait until March 2010 when this one will apparently hit the store shelves.
And with that the Press Conference ends. Sony had a lot to prove coming third in order at this E3. They did a very good job of showing they still have it. It only goes to show that the “Console Wars” haven’t ended, or even slowed down any. The next year or so will be very fun to watch. See you next year in June for E3 10… E3 2010… something like that. For now, happy gaming!
What have we learned here? Pt2
0976 days
I know I am doing this kinda out of order, but eff it. Microsoft was actually the first Press Conference for E3, they were allowed to kick things off, and boy howdy did they ever do so.
You would think that the opening of the show they would kinda take it easy and hold off on showing their hand, but you would be wrong. Right out of the gate Microsoft comes out swinging with Rock Band: Beatles. Showing of some in game stuff, talking about songs and such. They have Giles Martin, the son of Beatles producer George Martin, on stage to talk about all the remastered tracks for the game. Then, why the hell not… Bring out Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, letting us know that Xbox will get the exclusive track “All You Need Is Love” and the proceeds from the sale will go directly to Doctors without Boarders. Oh and while we’re at it here is Paul and Ringo and have them talk about the game. So they do. Naturally they like it, like they would say anything else. “The game is good. We look great!” Very subtle guys.
Next up after a little more fluff from Xbox suits, Tony Hawk. Tony is here to try and convenience you not only that you should buy his new game, BUT also pay an as oh yet unnamed price for his faux skateboard controller. Tony Hawk Ride is the newest addition to the Tony Hawk branded games. I will admit that I have owned pretty much all of the TH games recently, but most were bought at a huge discount and I never really did much but fuck around in them. The “board controller” for Ride does look sweet, however I have an issue with a couple things. One being its durability. This thing better be sturdy as hell to absorb all the jumps, falls, and sheer amount of weight applied to it over the course of the game. Second, if this is going to be more “sim” than the rest of the games, how scaled huge is the learning curve going to be. If you suck as a real skater because of some balance issue or lack of dexterity, where will that leave you as a player in this game? I guess this will remain to be seen.
Never backing down, Microsoft’s next reveal is a live demo of Modern Warfare 2. We are treated to an in-game story sequence of climbing a icy mountain with none other than Soap Mctavish. Once you reach the your destination the action starts. It’s almost white out conditions so you are forced to use some sort of radar enabled silenced weapon to take out your foes before they even see you (or you see them). Needless to say it is action packed, loud, detailed and pretty awesome looking. November 10th can’t get here fast enough.
Steadily building on the momentum set by MW2, who should come out next but Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama from Square Enix, to talk about Final Fantasy XIII. Then they drop the live demo of FFXIII running apparently on an actual 360. It is a translated version of the video shown before, only it’s being played live. They tell of the innovations that FF has made over the years and what you can expect from the latest installment. The demo is beautiful complete with a summon of Odin. It looks totally amazing and I for one cannot wait for this to come out. Surprisingly enough they announce that FFXIII will targeted for release in Spring of 2010. Here’s hoping.
Next up on the stage is Donald Mustard from Chair Entertainment and Cliff Bleszinski from Epic. They announce that they have been working on a new title called “Shadow Complex” for XBLA. Dropping names like Castlevania, and Super Metroid and being a game that is not only about explosions and action but also about exploration. I looks very slick and could be very cool. Slated to come out over XBLA summer sales push we may find out very soon how much fun this game really is.
In rapid fire several game trailers and quick demos are given. I will run through them quickly as they will probably be covered later anyway. First was a game that is near and dear to me that is getting a sequel, Crackdown 2! The city is sick and you are the cure, or something like that. Who cares the first was fun as hell and the second promises to be just as good. After that was something that probably NO ONE expected. A man speaks about talking to his grandma about praying for the world… Zombies are shown… then the satisfing engine rev of a chainsaw, and the hilarity of a frying pan kill. What could bring all these together? Only Left 4 Dead 2!! That’s right the sequel to probably one of the funnest multi player games on the 360 in years, and its coming out THIS November. More of everything is promised in the second installment. Gabe says this one will last longer as a “platform” with more updates and a better version of the “AI Director”. Sold! Next is the reveal of the recently totally revamped Splinter Cell: Conviction. I have never been a big fan of the games they always seemed to tedious to me (strange considering my love affair with MGS games). However this one has sold me and I will be looking forward to its release. Finally Dan Greenawalt comes out from Turn 10 Studios introduces us to Forza 3. Described as ”The definitive racing game of this generation.” Not being a big fan of racing games, this one is low on my interest meter but never the less it looks great.
Before the REALLY big guns come out, they let us see some of the new features of the 360 coming soon. Like Felicia Day talking about the FaceBook and Twitter integration into the 360 menu. Do pretty much anything you can do on your PC with them now on your 360. The big feature with this I could get behind is the ingame screen captures, however it only works with certain games at the moment. Netflix also announces that they will have streaming video in 1080p as well as allowing you to add movies to your instant queue through the xbox. Finally “Last.FM” will also be made a part of the 360 menu system. Giving you the ability to listen to their music library and make recommendations to friends and such.
Next came some of the bigger games of the show but I will come back to them. Real quick (because I will cover more on this later) Don Mattrick talks about making games work with out using controller AT ALL. Sizzle reel is shown of people doing just that. Then Kudo Tsunoda comes out and talks more about the latest innovation in camera tracking and gameplay dubbed “Project Natal.” Aside from the slight snafu with Kudo’s on screen avatar from 360, it tracks him quite nicely. A demo is shown exactly how it can track movements and distance and all sorts of things. Then Peter Molyneux steps on stage and begins to tell us about his new project called “Milo.” Which for all intents and purposes is a self aware AI locked in your 360 that you interact with through Natal. A demo is shown where a girl interact with Milo, and he knows who she is, how she feels and her mood based on her voice. She “walks with Milo, plays in the water with him, and even draws a picture for him which after “scanning” it in front of the camera he then interacts with in his virtual world. It really is remarkable, and truly amazing if and that’s a BIG IF, they can deliver on something like this. The up side is that it is said to work with all existing 360′s on the market right now. The possible downside is exactly how much of the HDD Milo will take up should he try to become a “Real Boy.”
Finally on the the BIG GUNS of the Microsoft press release. First of which was a live demo of the much anticipated ever delayed “Alan Wake.” My first reaction to this game brought back horrible memories of the recent Alone in the Dark debacle. It’s a dark setting, creepy things are happening all around the main character, Alan himself, and he has to apparently “use the light” to do battle with foes. However this game looks (even in early stages) more polished than AitD ever did. After literally years of hype and wait it is still nice to see it working on screen, and if it delivers the full experience that the demo leads us on, I can see myself getting it.
Next on the stage was Joe Staten from Bungie, to do a live demo for Halo: ODST. (Here is were I start a flame war.) I really don’t care much for the recent Halo games, yeah I just typed that. Don’t get me wrong I was totally into the first one. It really did start the story driven FPS. However since then it really hasn’t innovated that much. Sure the multi-player experience is great, but the story and the mechanics that go along with it haven’t changed much since the first installment. So needless to say the demo kind of underwhelmed me. Great now I get to use two silenced weapons, and the “single pistol” is back. If that is all you are coming with, count me out. Then the big reveal of Halo: Reach. The game that took place before the first Halo. Absolutely NOTHING is shown of this one. Just a 2 min clip of a burning planet and some talk over the radio… no chills, no nothing from me.
Then probably the absolute biggest announcement to come in the keynote. Dan Mattrick is on stage and says something to the effect of the “console being complete.” When from off stage a shadowy figure approaches and a giant exclamation mark pops up on screen. Signaling only one thing. Hideo Kojima is in the house. Also meaning only one thing. Metal Gear Solid is coming to the Xbox 360. That is great news to kids that have wanted to play as Snake on their console of choice the 360, but wait what’s this? Metal Gear Solid: Rising won’t star Snake, it stars none other than Raiden. Awww sorry kiddies. The tag line for the game is “Lightning Bolt Action” which to me means that it will be focused more on just that, “action” and not the sneak sneak of the previous installments. All in all it is still good news for 360 owners that they can play a MGS title again. Still given the speed of the 360 and the fact that I already own one, I will be playing the new game on my PS3 anyway. Oooh yeah that’s right, it’s not exclusive the the 360. Sorry.
So that is the show in a rather large nut shell. Microsoft definitely brought out the big boys and swung for the fences. It took shots at both the Wii (motion control) and at the PS3 (stealing part of MGS). In my opinion it had the better showing of the three. They set the standard that the other two would have to live up to. Again, 2010 and beyond looks to be a great albeit expensive future for gamers everywhere.
