I tried out the demo a little while ago, twice. I can’t believe they are pre-loading achievements now. You just do the stuff to unlock the achievements and then when your time expires it shows which achievements will come up when you play the full game.
The game is amazing. Why? Well, it’s still the same old Crackdown but the experience seems much more story driven. You are lead more or less from point to point. If you don’t want to do it that way, that’s fine there is no penalty for it. But the game does encourage you to do this. I think in the demo your evolution is probably accelerated as I was all most maxed out on strength during the limited time the demo allowed. Also, I managed to get all most to max on my agility as well, which I know can’t be that easy.
So even with this in mind, I have to say that Crackdown 2 seems like a much better game than Crackdown, the original. Even if most of the tropes and graphics are intact from the first one. Perhaps the game could easily get repetitive. But from what I played it seemed like a definite rental if nothing else. That’s pretty good for such a short demo.
So after getting home this morning, early! And going to see Jonah Hex with friends. I decided I should start thinking of what my games of show would be for E3. I didn’t get to play everything I would have liked, but hey there are only so many hours in the day. The lightning, part of this is, the fact that tonight in Chicago we are having some CRAZY storms. I’m just glad I came back this morning and not tonight.
All right first and foremost, numero uno! Star Wars the Old Republic. The best thing at E3 other than the 3DS was this game. I have never been more excited for an MMO in my life, except maybe World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Beta. But that is another story. Anyway, I was SO stoked to see all the powers and options the player gets in this game and I can’t wait til Spring of 2011 to play this bad boy. Sign me up and prepare to be destroyed by the Dark Side you filthy Jedi!
Second, I’m going to have to give this one to RAGE! The Id game that left my jaw on the floor and a puddle at my feet(not really its hyperbole, look it up). The graphics are incredible, the world is well realized, and the A.I. is stellar. I cannot wait to get my grimy mitts on this game. Although it is still set for a far flung future date. Probably holiday of 2011. But who knows, maybe Quakecon will reveal a release window.
Third, Dead Space 2, yes I’ve made it to number 3 without mentioning a sequel. But I think this is it for a while. This game looks better, plays better, and I’m going to boot up my copy of Dead Space to check, but I think it even animates better than the last one. I love this game and wish it was out right now so I could skip finishing Dead Space one and go right after it.
Fourth, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. I just picked up my very own copy of Assassin’s Creed 2. I’m around half way through the campaign and when I saw this ordered it right from my hotel. I really need to finish #2 and I really loved everything they did with multiplayer for Brotherhood. It was fun and chaotic. I loved it. I can’t wait to get the game and boot up some matches to assassinate random people online. Because you know you deserve it. Fifth, Marvel versus Capcom 3: FTW. This game is INCREDIBL! I was SO thrilled to get a chance to play this game. It plays just as wonderfully as Super Street Fighter IV and it really handles the character drop ins and combo moves wonderfully. I can’t wait to play the full game next April. Which it will be out in April right Capcom? Right?
Sixth, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. This is probably going to be my most anticipated racing title of the year and until I’m done with Blur probably my only one. Test Drive Unlimited and Gran Turismo 5 look fine. But neither have the kind of awesome arcady action of Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and to have a whole career as a COP! That is just AWESOME.
Seventh, Rock Band 3. Real Guitars, keyboards, and awesome new visuals? What more could you ask of a music game these days? I don’t know, but when you figure it out let me know. This game was awesome to play and I can’t wait to start learning guitar. What I am worried about is price, this game could go from 7th most interested to last game on earth I would buy; if it comes it over $300.
Eighth, now we start to go all crazy, Comic Jumper. This game was great in the Pre-E3 stuff I’d seen, but all the new stuff at E3. Made me want this title even more. The guys that made the Maw and Spolsion Man are making this so you know it’s good. I can’t wait.
Ninth, Vanquish, now I know I just put a XBLA game above an awesome game from Platinum but my problem with this game is that I’ve seen too little of it. I REALLY enjoyed what I saw, but my worry is that this game is going to get repetitive. I know the folks at Platinum did an AWESOME job with Bayonetta so I have faith. But it’s a suspicious kind of faith.
Tenth, Castlevania Lord of Shadows. Yes, it might be a little bit of a rip off of Dante’s Inferno; but I loved Dane’s Inferno. So I don’t really care. They say there will be puzzle elements, which worries me. But otherwise, I’m really psyched about this game and can’t wait to play it.
Just so you folks don’t think me completely insane; by saying that Nintendo had the best press conference and then not mentioning one single Nintendo game, I would like to collectively say that I would miss all of these games if the 3DS came out tomorrow. Because I would be playing Street Fighter IV on 3DS for the next 8 months. Also, I would have probably picked up Resident Evil and Kid Icarus so I would not getting any writing done on the site either. 3DS is supposed to launch sometime around March 4 of 2011 in the US. I would venture to say the only thing that will keep me away from playing that console 24/7 will be sleep, work, and Star Wars Old Republic(Assuming it’s out by then).
I have to admit that this was the first showing of Wii titles since the two No More Heroes games that made me mad that I didn’t have a Wii. But hey Epic Mickey comes out around end of December beginning of January maybe I’ll grab one after Nintendo has their holiday price cut so I can play Epic Mickey, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Metroid other M, and the 2 No More Heroes games that don’t look like they are getting ported to the XBOX 360 in the US. Or maybe I’ll just wait for Wii #2, which has to be coming out by Fall of Next year. I mean come on… Although everyone thought they would announce one this year. Mmmmm…. This is going t be an expensive 12 months. Anyone hiring out there? I think I’m going to need at 2nd or 3rd job.
So having tried out Rage today, I watched someone play it. I have to say it’s the best looking game at the show and it is running on a console in super smooth 60 FPS. It’s awesome. I can honestly say that this game has the potential on PCs to last forever. After all, if the mod community can move with awesome editors from games like Left 4 Dead think what they can do with these incredible tools. I can only dream of a day when that content will be pushed to consoles.
I’ve seen a ton of XBOX LIVE Arcade style games. Too many to name. I’m looking forward to Project Dust and Comic Jumper the most. Of course, I’ve played a bunch of Pac-Man Championship DX and love it. I will hopefully some day be able to play the game on a PSP. If I ever get one. It won’t be this year. Looking at my perspective budget for the next 12 months, I think I’m in trouble.
The only question I have at this point in the day is that can I remap my gas pedal to a trigger in Gran Turismo 5.
When I have more information you will have it, well, probably a little while later. But you’ll get it.
So in going around the show floor, I've tried to par trailers with commentary. But I've started to run out of trailers. But hey, I will drop more information on you when I have it. Expect stuff on and off until the end of the week.
So I guess the above video is pretty much a good extension of my day. Games that I was luke warm to like Shaun White Skateboarding I now really have hope and interest in. And some expectations I had like PSP2 are memories. So maybe the PSP2 isn’t happening this year but at least we all have the awesome 3DS to look forward to; and if I can play Street Fighter IV in 3D anywhere, I’m starting to think the system could be worth $400. Anyway, Capcom brought the Thunder today with everything I saw from them looking SO GOOD; I wanted it now!
Also the wonderful Rock Band 3 instruments look so awesome that I’m worried the bundle will cost $500. Perhaps another couple summer jobs would be good and perhaps a winter one.
I priced out PS3 Move online and I think I can piece the sucker together for around $80. But I’m not sure I’m going to. I’m still very much on the fence about motion control.
I would really like to have unlimited time to play games; with World of Warcraft getting Cataclysm, the Agency, DC Universe Online, and of course my GAME OF SHOW STAR WARS OLD REPUBLIC only months away. I feel like I could spend all my time playing MMOs. Which would be really bad considering I would miss all the awesome console and handheld games coming out. Needless to say that Starcraft 2 is all ready paid for, so that would suck.
Well, so everything went great today and hopefully by tomorrow night I’ll have even more to share with you folks. I really would like to see both new THQ Warhammer titles as they both look awesome. I would also like to get some hands on with Castlevania Lord of Shadows. It looks HAWT! I don’t care what anyone thinks. But I would also like to get around to trying out both Kinect and Move again. Perhaps I was too asleep to appreciate their grandeur this morning. Or maybe it was just after seeing the 3DS I didn’t care anymore.
As you'll see in the video, this game is incredible. I love playing the multiplayer and the fact that there is a whole single player experience in here is amazing. This is probably my second or third top game of E3.
This game is incredible. I really need to get back over there and play more before I leave. I think I'm going to need to set a timer on my phone so I don't spend too long.
There is nothing better than getting your hands on a Sith Inquisitor. I love this game, the when this game releases next Spring there really won't be anything like it. This game will destroy every other MMO out there. I'm looking at you DC Universe Online. Maybe they will step up their game by their November release date to account for a world that includes Star Wars Old Republic. I'm not entirely sure that I can pick just one character or class. This game looks SO GOOD that I loved watching others play it. You know that a game is really good when you can just watch and love it.
While Portal 2 being on the PS3 probably wasn’t the biggest announcement but it was probably the most unexpected. What I really loved about the Portal 2 announcement was that it was also the announcement of Steam on PS3. Which can only lead to incredible things. Not sure what yet, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. I am a BIG FAN of Steam; so this made me really happy.
The announcement of Twisted Metal for the PS3 was incredible and is probably the highlight of the Conference. But I figured it would be, sorry David. But on to the Move technology and the 3D that was so overly dominate at the Sony show that by the end it was getting really tiring. OK, so this is the kind of thing made for people who can drop $3000+ on a 3D TV, $100 for Move, and then you have to buy the games. That just isn’t going to happen. There wasn’t ANYTHING that Sony showed, even in 3D that made me even moderately interested in 3D. The whole thing seems so gimmicky that it all most borders on laughable. I did like Move but it seems like maybe it also is just gimmicky and they fall into the problem that Microsoft is; that anything you do is simply a rip off of things you’ve done with the Wii just with better graphics.
The horrible “relaunch” of the PSP made my stomach turn. Why make new hardware when you can start more earnestly start hocking the original. This just makes me incredibly disappointed, I really expected to see at least an announcement of PSP 2.
Having played most of the games shown in the Press Conference by now. At least those that they would let us play. I feel like the biggest announcements were Twisted Metal and Portal 2. Killzone 3, seems like it’s going to get lost in a market overflowing with FPS games. There are FAR TOO MANY FPS games at E3 in general. If I never see another new one, it will be too soon.
Sony didn’t impress me and really it seems like the third parties are the ones with all the power this year and next. I will be happy to get my hands on Infamous 2, LittleBigPlanet 2, Twisted Metal, and Portal 2 but that’s it. And that is at least 4 games too few for my Sony tastes.
So I know I haven't posted in a while. But I've been busy. I've been playing a crazy amount of games and honestly I think I'm at video game overload right now. So here I am to talk about the EPIC NINTENDO PRESS CONFERENCE. This was BY FAR the best showing of the whole of E3 with the exception of perhaps EA/Ubisoft. Nintendo knows its fans have wanted a descent announcement and showing since the Wii launched way back when.
The announcing of Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kid Icaraus for the Nintendo 3DS, Epic Mickey, Mario Sports Mix, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Lest we not forget Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword; hardcore gamers have seriously gotten what they wanted. With the giant burn of Super Mario Galaxy 2 fresh in the blown out eyes of fans most of these games will be coming out this year or early next. This is unprecedented for Wii and Nintendo.
As you might know I really dislike Nintendo and their previous business model. While successful, I felt as industry leaders they should have been more responsible. This is certainly coming through with this show. The NIntendo 3DS is absolutely fabulous and everyone will want one when it comes out. Let me put it this way. It is all ways connected to the internet it plays 3D movies and it also plays games at resolutions that compete with the XBOX 360 and PS3. No details were given on price or date of release but hey, I'm hoping this thing will be affordable at launch so hopefully it will hit late enough to deliver a descent retail. I'm thinking $250. So even though I don't own a Wii and haven't touched my DS in about two years. I have to say that I am absolutely thrilled with what is going to happen in Nintendo's future.
So unlike the other two big console holders this year, Nintendo knows it's core audience and isn't talking down to them or treating them like a cash station. Good on Nintendo.
So here we are at the end of Day 1 of E3. I’ve seen both the wonderful and the crappy today. Everything the hardcore gamer could want and everything they would never want. I want to call out Electronic Arts and Ubisoft for bringing the pain today. They both showed SO MUCH WONDERFUL stuff that it all most made up for Microsoft being total causal copy cats of Nintendo. I would also like to thank Jade Raymond for being a wonderful person(you had to be there).
But hey, things could have been worse. My plane didn’t get delayed and I only missed the Microsoft Press Event and 10 minutes of EA. So things are good. Now on to tomorrow. Nintendo and Sony will be killing it and we will of course, have floor time. Yay! Anyway, this so far is a pretty good E3. But I’m STILL really disappointed in Microsoft. Nintendo ACTUALLY has a chance at beating them this year; unless Sony REALLY tanks. And that seems unlikely judging by all that developers couldn’t talk about today because it was going to be at the Sony Conference.
Can’t wait, now I’m off to bed. It’s a been a REALLY long day.
Kind of seems like Gears of War crossed with something like Modern Warfare. All this with a very science fiction feel kind of like Borderlands. But for all the comparisons, I think it looks good.
So I watched a demo of Homefront and it looks like Kaos Studioes has been playing too much Modern Warfare 2. The game looks SO MUCH like MW2 that I really can't imagine what new stuff we are going to get out of this. So far it looks like a rental to me. But hey I'm not going to pass judgement based on a five minute demo.
Game looks pretty good. I liked the drop in and drop out co-op options. I will really be interested in seeing the whole story and final game. So far things look a little on the simplistic side. Perhaps seeing many different types of enemies and more spells will get me more interested. This game is coming out first quarter of 2011.
I couldn’t get out to California for the Microsoft Media Briefing today, I’ll be heading out to E3 tonight. But I felt I had to mention how completely and uttering underwhelming Kinect games. I cannot see why ANYONE with an XBOX 360 would bother buying Kinect unless you have a little sister that is around 12 or for some reason your mom wants to play it. Also, if you don’t have a big room for your Kinected XBOX 360, you might not want to pick this up. The games look like they involve running in place, jumping, dancing, etc… You want to do that in your apartment? Not me.
The other games they showed were great even though they really weren’t surprises to anyone. Also, what was with them spending what seemed like five minutes talking about ESPN on XBOX 360? It’s video on demand, I don’t think the concept is too foreign to anyone.
Not to be too critical, but it seemed like EVERYONE who was demoing the Kinect Stuff either got up way too early this morning or acting like they were having fun when they really weren’t. This isn’t usually a big deal to me, but oh my god was it annoying when it was person after person.
If this is the tone of all the new motion controlled stuff, another rip-offs of Nintendo’s stuff; count me out. Unless your going to give me one for free of course. Are you listening Microsoft, I hope so…
The games that were shown were Call of Duty Black Ops; looks like a good game, but nothing earth shattering here. Some good Gears of War 3 footage that was equally good but nothing too original, and finally a Forza Kinect game that looked like Kinect was basically bolted on other than the ability to drive without a controller (Upper Arm strength is going to be through the roof), and there was a very oddly staged Star Wars game for Kinect that had the strangest graphics I’ve ever seen. They weren’t bad, they just looked fake? I know… Had to explain.
Seriously though, I’m starting to think that Microsoft knew this press conference was bad because they decided to give everyone a XBOX 360 Slim to all the reporters assembled to make up for having to sit through it.
Oh and before any of you complain that this is the shortest commentary on a Press Conference ever, well that might go to show how exciting the many announcements were at the conference.
While this looks great I'm a little afraid its Red Steel 2 with better graphics and a MGS storyline. We will have to see when the game comes out but this wsn't exactly what I was hoping for with Kinect.
Snoopy lopped out to his dog house that morning, it was like any other. But as he approached the little red structure he soon realized that something was amiss. He heard the distant whirring of an biplane rotator. He then knew that the Red Baron had returned and it was his duty to defeat him.
The above scene has been played out in different ways in many Peanuts cartoons. The essence of this kind of daydream is played out to the fullest extent in the new game by Smart Bomb called, Snoopy Flying Ace. The game takes place during an alternate WWI where the Peanuts characters take up all the parts in their battle against the Kaiser(Lucy) and the Red Baron. The game is an action thrilled ride that can be easily compared to games like Crimson Skies. But this time the whole cast of Peanuts has come a long for the ride.
The best part of the game are the incredible controls. The ability to control your plane and not only shoot your machine guns but also deploying special equipment that consists of everything from homing missiles to aerial mines to an EMP. The controls are exacting and with some practice plenty of fun aerial maneuvers can be pulled off and if your interested in not getting shot down; your going to have to eventually employ some creativity to not only defeat Lucy but the Red Baron.
The game allows you to play through a decent size single player campaign and then go into a multiplayer modes where you can play everything from a free for all deathmatch to more team based modes. All standard fair, but this IS an XBOX LIVE ARCADE GAME after all, so we cannot expect something completely different or more complicated. The game seems to have a multiplayer focus as all the pilots and weapons are available in the multiplayer and new weapons must be unlocked in the single player. The multiplayer is a little frantic but still very fun and will SO MANY competing pilots in the air, the player must use all their creativity not to be shot down over and over.
During the single player campaign the player will be asked to dogfight with other enemy planes, defend different objectives, run races, and man turrets on both vessels and buildings. During the single player, I never felt like I was doing too much of the same thing over and over. I really enjoyed the way they decided to spread out the different types of play.
Just as a final note before I say how much I want all of you to at the very least try Snoopy Flying Ace. I have to say that the achievements in Snoopy are terribly difficult to get. I finished the game and played some multiplayer and was only able to get a single achievement. Some achievements are tied to long term play in multiplayer or excellence in that type of play. Or they are tied to completing the single player in near perfect manner. I really hate when developers choose to make achievements like this. But as fun as the game is, you shouldn’t be held back from trying/purchasing the game because of this.
I found it very fun unlocking all the different planes and weapons in single player. In multiplayer the player is able to level up and get new titles. Hopefully after you level up enough you get other things. But I didn’t have time to level up significantly. This is definitely the right way to do a XBOX LIVE ARCADE game, with perhaps the exception of the achievements. You won’t be sorry if you give this game a shot.
Today I started reading Tom Bissell’s Extra Lives. I’m only on chapter 2 but Chapter 1 begins with Bissell talking about Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. In which he talks about the lack of tight storytelling in open world games like the two mentioned. What he fails to mention is Grand Theft Auto IV. Which I’m told has incredible storytelling despite the open world setting. But more than this, I would like to discuss the way in which we view video games and how we discuss them.
Video games are generally considered by most people who play them regularly as an entertainment diversion to things like television or movies. Perhaps even reading. Generally we do this not because we are looking for some kind of diversion from those things (movies, television, reading). We are looking for a feeling… Yes ladies and gentlemen I said a feeling. Now I don’t mean the one that you get during a sad movie or the sense of satisfaction you get from reading a good book or perhaps an intense laugh you might get from a television sitcom. No, we play games to feel: powerful, fearful, and the intense rush you get from just not dying when you probably thought you should have.
So does this make every game nothing more than a sport and that we are after some kind of never ending adrenaline rush? No, because some games are like Alan Wake, Uncharted 2, and Heavy Rain where the story leads us into a position that makes us feel something. Even if it’s just the nostalgia of watching an Indian Jones flick from years gone by. So no, story is VERY important in games. But you usually won’t find that story in a diversion heavy game like Fallout 3 or Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
Finally, I would like to mention the most problematic thing I found when reading the first chapter of Extra Lives. That was the fact that Mr. Bissell was recalling something that had happened long before he was even paying attention to video games enough for him to be thinking about writing about them. Usually when I remember a game like Fallout or Oblivion or even something like an MMORPG. I usually remember highs and lows only. Not a kind of chronological history that Mr. Bissell comes up with. Which makes me believe that ANYTHING he experienced at the beginning of either game probably was completely lost to him by the time of the writing of the book.
What is my memory of Oblivion and Fallout 3? Well, in Oblivion I remember the Isle of Madness the most clearly as that was the last thing I did. In Fallout 3, my main memory was coming out of the vault and wandering into an abandoned school and killing four guys who didn’t go down easy, but did go down. It was insane, the feeling of fear and pressure. That is what you played those games for, a place and time you could NEVER experience or see in reality. That is the reason we play video games. If I want an excellent story or excellent acting I would watch a movie or read a novel.
I managed to get in a few hours play time with the new Transformers War for Cybertron Multiplayer Demo that just hit XBOX LIVE. The demo allows you to play two modes Team Deathmatch and Conquest. Allows you to pick between two Classes: Solider and Scout. Which are basically Warrior and Rogue for those of you more role playing mind folk. All other features except for the barest of the bare in customization are locked in lieu of the full game.
But people this game is AWESOME! The amount of strategy and fun you can have with these characters is immense and this doesn’t even crack two classes and flying. Yes, seriously can’t wait to fly as EITHER an Autobot or Decepticon.
The perks unlocked as you level up seem balanced and fun. The game, once it gets started, runs perfectly. I was a little excited for this game before this, but now I’m pumped. Anyone who thinks that this is another licensed game money grab, THINK AGAIN. Transforming is fun, playing your CREATED TRANSFORMER is fun. Once I get the full game and get my grubby hands on all the customization features I will REALLY see what you can do, but so far I can’t wait. Best part is the week after E3 is when this game comes out. So once everybody gets back from the crazy that is E3 we can all sit down and make each other explode for a few hundred games of Transformers War for Cybertron Multiplayer.
Don’t believe me? Download the thing for yourself. The game rocks!
