Let's recap. The Assassin's Creed franchise started out with what many would consider a flawed masterpiece. It was groundbreaking in many ways, mainly in its story, but it just wasn't that fun to play. Then we hear it's going to be a trilogy, and Assassin's Creed 2 comes out, vastly improving on the original but still with some flaws. But oh no, now a trilogy is no longer good enough. Now the dollar signs are flashing in Ubisoft's eyes and soon the word "franchise" starts rolling off their tongues. And they figure, "Man, everybody loved Ezio so much more than Altair...let's just give them more Ezio!" And so we get Brotherhood, an improvement in many ways, but also a drawback in that it was essentially the missing Rome of 2 bloated up into its own game. Then once more the heads gathered together and they said "Okay...people still love Ezio, but there's nothing more to build off of. However, we still have one more year until 2012, which is the big important year in the game. So how about we make one more game, tidy up some questions so we don't have to spend that much time in the 3rd game talking about it, and call it good?" And thus we get Revelations.
You may get a sense at this point that I am not having the greatest positive reaction to this game, and you'd be right. Here's the thing. Two years were spent between Assassin's Creed 1 and 2, and the improvement was incredible. Now we're getting yearly iterations (not even counting the portable titles in-between) and the improvements are, shall we say, not as groundbreaking. Yes, the combat's a bit more fluid. Yes, the freerunning feels tighter and more responsive. Sure, the graphics are a little better. But in almost every other way the series fails to improve, or tries to innovate and ends up slitting its own throat. And you can't help but get the feeling that if they had playtested these ideas for another year, we'd be looking at a much better product. Not only that, but while the saying runs true with many games, I think it especially fits here: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." The wonderful thing about Assassin's Creed is how unique it is in its story and locations. Keep throwing the same thing at us year after year, however, and that uniqueness starts looking pretty stale.
So it is with Revelations. But Revelations doesn't just make the mistake of being almost identical to its predecessors. Oh no. It makes the mistake in that where it's different, it sucks.
SPOILERS HERE ON OUT. Ye be warned.
First things first. We start off right at the end of Brotherhood, where Desmond is trapped in a coma inside the Animus after falling to the power of the Apple and killing Lucy. His psyche is broken, just as Subject 16 was, between his own memory and his ancestors. Rebecca has loaded him into a basic program hidden deep in the Animus called the "Black Room". It appears as a small island with gateways to other memories, to help his mind start to sort itself out. But there's a catch. After unlocking all of 16's secrets in Brotherhood you discover that 16's consciousness has been kept in the Animus as well, and he's waiting for you on this island, obviously there to help, but in a mentally imbalanced kind of way. He basically reveals that in order for Desmond to regain consciousness, he has to finish reliving both Ezio and Altair's memories until they have nothing left to show him. But he has to be careful, as if the Animus catches on to him leaving the black room it will at best pull him back, and at worst, treat him as a virus and try to delete him. On top of that, there are 5 gateways unlocked by finding animus fragments in Ezio's memory that reveal more of Desmond's backstory through...very interesting ways (more on that later). Basically it's all one big setup to wrap up Altair and Ezio's storylines and reveal a bit more of Desmond and 16's pasts.
Ezio starts off in Masayaf, the location of the first game, tracking down the lost secrets of Altair. However, it has fallen into decline and is now controlled by Templars. Barely escaping, Ezio learns of the existence of a library in the keep that possibly holds a great weapon, and which can only be opened with 5 keys. The Templars have one, and the rest were hidden by Niccolo Polo, Marco Polo's father, in Constantinople. But in an Inception-like turn, each key turns out to hold the memories of Altair, and so during these sequences you're essentially playing as Desmond playing as Ezio playing as Altair. They tell the story of Altair's rule and fall and eventual return as leader of the assassins, and finish up his story quite nicely. Back in Constantinople, between retrieving keys Ezio gets caught up in a civil war between two brothers looking to claim the sultanship for their own, and of course discovers one is a Templar and does everything he can to stop him. You can probably guess the rest. Ezio routs the Templars, finds the keys, opens the library, learns a secret, and shares everything he has left to share with Desmond so Desmond can wake up.
As for Desmond's past, these five...challenges? are unlike anything else in the series. They most closely resemble 16's puzzles, but only in that they're segmented chunks of story you unlock sequentially by finding things on the map. In short, they're first person sequences where you hop on various geometric shapes and can place your own either bars or ramps to further progress your way through the level. Sometimes there are blocks of data you can't touch, sometimes there are areas where you can't place blocks, sometimes there are areas where your blocks will drift in a certain direction...Basically they're platforming-ish puzzles, each revealing more of the story of Desmond's journey from the Farm to New York to Abstergo. Don't make sense? I don't blame you. If you tried explaining that to me I'd go "What the fuck are you on about?" Just...google an image or something cause that's the only way you'll see.
Now, I have a lot of problems with this game and I'm going to try my best to dole out some good with bad, but here's where the bad begins. So, in both 2 and Brotherhood, collecting things in the world got you big reveals. Sure there's 100 feathers to collect, but there's a nice reward for doing it! Now there's only 10 feathers, and all you get is an achievement, but there's 100 flags and a handy cape for those! In Revelations...they do the reverse. There's 100 Animus fragments, and 10 memoir pages. 30 fragments opens up all 5 Desmond memories. After 50 you can see all of them on your map. And at 100...a trophy. That's it. A bronze trophy. It practically spits in your face, especially as there are 2 OPEN DOORWAYS past the 5 you unlock. But apparently those are just there to get your hopes up. The pages, however, net you the best armor in the game. What. You can imagine my rage when I spent all this time tracking the damn things down, only to have just the trophy pop up saying "Congratulations for wasting your time!" It was an especial insult because the Desmond sequences were very interesting, despite how weird they were, and I wanted more of them and more about Desmond. So fuck you too Ubisoft.
As for the rest of the game, it plays almost exactly like Brotherhood. There are two touted innovations this time around, however: the hookblade and bombs. The hookblade adds a little bit to your climbing reach and makes things speedier, as well as letting you zipline across the rooftops. Technically it can be used in combat too but the difference is mostly cosmetic (except for the ability to counter-steal, where you block an opponent's attack and steal their gold at the same time). Bombs come in three groups: lethal, tactical, and diversion. Lethal ones kill, tactical hinder your enemies in some way (smoke bombs, caltrops), and diversionary draw guards' attention somewhere else. You can technically craft like 300 different types of bombs depending on the shell used, the explosive radius, and the effect type, but pretty early on you'll realize maybe only 2 or 3 combinations for each type really matter. Overall I found them a welcome addition, as they added some variety to how to get through each encounter, but for the most part I would often completely forget about using them unless the game forced me to, which it would do very, very often. I understand you want people to use this new mechanic you put a lot of time into, but forcing them to play a mission where bombs are the only way to get full synch? Especially the only epic mission in the game, namely the one they showed off for E3? Not cool.
Speaking of, I honestly didn't have that much of a problem with the full synch requirements for missions in Brotherhood. Sure, they were often quite a lot of trouble and could limit how to play a mission or made a mission seemingly impossible (I'm looking at you, "don't get hit" tank mission), but most of the time they simply seemed to fit with being a better assassin. Like don't lose too much health, kill only your target, don't be detected, etc. In Revelations things feel wholly different. Technically many of the requirements remain the same, but somehow this time they feel more arbitrary and harder to accomplish. The "don't use blades" E3 level and "kill 6 guards from a haystack" when only 1 guard patrols around a haystack level are the most egregious examples, but some levels "don't be detected" or "don't lose any health" are practically game-killers in how often you have to replay it to get it right (if you're a perfectionist like me and want that 100% sync). And of course, all you have to look forward to with that 100% is a goddamned trophy, and of course getting rid of the feeling like you failed that mission because you didn't play it the way they told you to.
Also revamped and nearly game-breaking is the notoriety system, Borgia towers (now Assassin's Dens) and economy. And yes, they do all tie together. Each Den plays out just like a Borgia tower. You kill a captain, climb to the top of the tower, light the beacon, and it's yours. It also allows you to renovate nearby shops. However, this time, if your notoriety gets too high the Templars can launch an assault on your den, which propels you into the Den Defense minigame, which is the worst idea they've ever come up with. Essentially it's a tower defense game where you set up different types of units on the rooftops and barricades in the street while waves of Templars come by and tear it all down in an attempt to wreck your den. This...minigame...is so bad...there are no words. Most of it appears to be luck. And the worst part is, if you lose, the tower just goes back to Templar control, and it's actually usually faster to just forfeit the minigame and then reclaim the tower than it is to play the minigame. As for notoriety, the best I can say is that they listened to fans and got rid of the stupid posters. On the other side, they made it so that renovating a shop or buying a landmark bumps up your notoriety by 25%. Killing a guard doesn't even do that. It's fractional compared to that. And sure, there are no more posters, but now bribing heralds only takes away 25% (and they're less abundant), and killing officials takes away 50% but they hardly ever pop up. Oh, and capturing a den automatically makes you notorious. But it's the punishing you for renovating that makes me cringe. Essentially for every shop you renovate you have to find a herald, unless you like playing the godawful den defense game, which brings the whole system to a crawl. Not only that, but gold is less abundant overall. All those treasure chests now only contain bomb ingredients for the most part.
This also ties in to the slightly reworked assassin recruits and Mediterranean Defense, where you send your recruits to other cities to spread Assassin influence. This time each mission reduces Templar influence at that city, and you also have the option to try and reclaim the city. If you do, the city brings in bomb ingredients and gold for you. However, your own influence also decreases over time, and if it reaches 0 you have to reclaim it again. Missions earn your assassins xp, and once they reach level 10 they can be promoted to the head of one of your dens. If they reach level 15 they become master assassins and the den they protect can no longer be targeted for den defense. However, it takes quite a lot of time, and it's pretty boring, so I only had 2 master assassins by the time the main story ended.
What this all goes to show is that Revelations suffers from the same problem that plagued Brotherhood. There's simply too much to do. Between worrying about den defense, gaining your assassins xp, renovating, finding heralds, trying to complete faction challenges, searching for fragments and pages, yadayadayada you're left with hours worth of tedious things to do far after the story is over. In Brotherhood I put it up to a simple misjudgement in wanting to include everything to make the game seem longer. In Revelations there is no excuse. This time they knew it was padding around a main story that, while it lives up to its name in theory (sure it reveals things, but they're not very interesting revelations) is pretty bare otherwise. The civil war storyline is pure filler with nothing interesting to it. Ezio's search for the truth Altair left behind has its strong points, but falters in others. And worst of all, Ezio's relationship with his future wife, which could have provided the emotional center this game needed to make any sort of impact, is almost completely skipped over or is simply told to us in Ezio's narration.
Here's the thing. Revelations is not a bad game per se. It's still an Assassin's Creed game, and that core gameplay and interesting story that keep this series so fascinating is still there. But as I did with Uncharted 3, I have to look at this game in the light of its predecessors. Because we have to face facts here. Anything good in Revelations came from the last games. Almost everything new that it adds either nearly breaks the experience or makes little difference overall. If I hadn't played the other, better games, I probably would've given this an 8 or 8.5. But as it goes...
Assassin's Creed Revelations gets a 7/10.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Uncharted 3
Naughty Dog, the makers of the Uncharted series, were both fortunate and unfortunate in the making of Uncharted 2. They were fortunate in that they redefined the action-adventure game and created an amazing masterpiece that was basically what Indiana Jones 4 should have been. They were unfortunate in that they then had to follow that up with the end to a trilogy that had to top its predecessor, and let's face it, more often than not when a series has an incredible second entry the third tends to fall short. Unfortunately, Uncharted 3 falls right into that category, never escaping the shadow of 2.
And to counter-point that, you can really tell what they worked hard on and had time to fully flesh out. The boat level, if you've seen the previews, is the standout. It shows off what it takes to top Uncharted 2. The dynamic shifting of the waves and water, the tilting of the boat, the many many options they give you for how to approach each fight, all of it works together and makes something magical. The story also starts to shine when we start to finally get some background on Drake. Where he grew up, how he met Sully, and why things are so strained with the wonderful villain Marlowe. The reason the Uncharted series rises above so many others is not just because of its amazing set pieces and gameplay, it's also the heart put into the characters. Uncharted manages to capture humor in a way few others have, and the characters seem all the more real and fleshed out. So when Uncharted 3 teases with those glimpses of character it makes it all the more disappointing when most of the game focuses on simply getting these characters through the action. Yes, it has some wonderful moments, and I for one am happy about where they ended with it, I just wish they had gone deeper into the story as it seemed they really wanted to.
This makes me sad, especially because in any other case, Uncharted 3 would easily be a 10/10. The graphics are amazing, the story is interesting if a little muddled or forgotten at times, combat is tight and responsive (especially the revamped hand-to-hand mechanics), and there are some set pieces here that stand out even above 2. But here's the thing. You can feel, throughout the entire design of this thing, that they needed more time. The set pieces that stand out the most are actually the most removed from the story. If they hadn't been in there, you wouldn't have noticed because they're literally just little side trips. The story itself often feels rushed, and is about yet another lost city that holds some secret power that if released to the world would mean devastation. And you have to run from hordes of spiders like 5 different times because...well...they never really tell you why there are massive amounts of spiders scattered all over the world in these caves. Not even a "well they must be protecting the secret of the city!" They're just there, I assume, in an attempt to spice things up a bit and add some urgency to certain levels.
And to counter-point that, you can really tell what they worked hard on and had time to fully flesh out. The boat level, if you've seen the previews, is the standout. It shows off what it takes to top Uncharted 2. The dynamic shifting of the waves and water, the tilting of the boat, the many many options they give you for how to approach each fight, all of it works together and makes something magical. The story also starts to shine when we start to finally get some background on Drake. Where he grew up, how he met Sully, and why things are so strained with the wonderful villain Marlowe. The reason the Uncharted series rises above so many others is not just because of its amazing set pieces and gameplay, it's also the heart put into the characters. Uncharted manages to capture humor in a way few others have, and the characters seem all the more real and fleshed out. So when Uncharted 3 teases with those glimpses of character it makes it all the more disappointing when most of the game focuses on simply getting these characters through the action. Yes, it has some wonderful moments, and I for one am happy about where they ended with it, I just wish they had gone deeper into the story as it seemed they really wanted to.
Multiplayer is back. Now, I never played 2's multiplayer but heard it was fairly innovative and something different to the traditional genre, and 3 seems pretty much the same. It truly innovates with things like a 2 sequence map where one team is on trucks trying to board a plane while it's taking off, and then once it does things shift into a more traditional area with buildings. However, it's not different enough to really make it anything special. Sure it's a fun-ish way to pass the time, but if you're a multiplayer gamer (I am not) there are definitely better offerings out there for you. Sure it's nice to be able to climb all over the place and shoot while hanging and things like that, but most of the time it still just boils down to find cover, shoot enemy, find new cover.
I hate harping on the game like this, because as I said, it's an amazing game and if you own a PS3 you owe it to yourself to play it (especially if you didn't play 2). But under the shadow of 2, Uncharted 3 just seems like a rehash that excels in some places and falls short in most others. And I really can't help but get the feeling that this is an 80% finished game. Yes, it plays like 100%, but something tells me that if they had another year to work out the storyline and add the same level of quality they put into the boat and burning manor set pieces, this could have been what we all wanted it to be. But for now...
Uncharted 3 gets a 9/10.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The initial rumblings I heard about Seattle Shakes' new production of Midsummer had me very confused. Often, one piece of news would make me think it was going to be amazing, and the next would make me question that. First, it was going to be at the Intiman. Awesome. Next, Lysander was being changed to a girl (Lysandra) to further highlight the forbidden nature of his/her love to Hermia. Bad. They'll be taking a darker spin on the play. Awesome! That darker spin apparently includes rather questionable junky looking costumes. Bad. They cast some of my favorite Seattle actors in all the lead roles, including their best physical comedian Chris Ensweiler as Puck. Rock on. The entire cast of lovers are unknowns. Questionable...but could surprise.
So the moment finally came, and I got to see the show closing night. Which side won out? As expected, it was a mix, though not for the reasons I was expecting.
First up, the lovers. For once this production actually did something interesting with Theseus and Hippolyta, choosing to actually show how much she dislikes him instead of glossing it over as most others do. Unfortunately, despite her amazing name, Qadriyyah Shabazz didn't quite seem up to the task of presenting the nuance needed to really sink it home. It really needed to be understood that in order to gain her approval Theseus would have to approve of Hermia and Lysandra, and it just didn't read. Mike Dooly as Theseus, a Seattle Shakes constant (he played Horatio last year), did well with what he had, though he too lacked the subtlety to really make clear whether Theseus actually approved the relationship or just said he did in front of her father Egeus.
However, let it be said that they are a small part of the play, and I pay particular attention to them having once played Theseus.
As for the main 4 lovers (Lysandra, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena), the show was stolen by the exquisitely mournful and pathetic Helena as portrayed by Terri Weagant. With just her walking on stage to the sight of Lysandra and Hermia, she took control of the audience and demanded laughter and pity, and retained that control whenever she was on. Demetrius I started out not liking, but got to like more and more as the actor seemed to loosen up throughout the show. The switch of Lysander to Lysandra actually didn't make much of a difference to me, though honestly that's the problem I had with it. First, it didn't add to the show except to make one line about "men's oaths" a bit funnier, and it didn't really detract from the show either except to make Puck's mistake about applying the flower juice to her eyes really confusing since he took her for a man...but she wasn't made up like a man or referred to in any way as man-like throughout the show. So the crux of the issue for me is this: if it's not going to aid or hurt the show in any significant way, what's the point? Sure I guess there's some gender morality issue you're trying to flirt with here, but it's not doing it in any significant or impactful way. It also didn't help that the women playing Lysandra and Hermia just weren't that great. Not bad, just not great.
The mechanicals/fools were another story entirely. I am in love with Todd Jefferson Moore. He consistently does an amazing job in whatever show he's in, whether it be the slapstick stylings of Dogberry in Much Ado or the sinister slyness of Richard III, and as Bottom things are no different. I shall even go as far as to say he is the greatest Bottom I have ever seen, and his supporting cast no less. The play within a play, Pyramus and Thisbe, is I think widely considered the funniest part of Midsummer. Well this, my friends, this was by far the funniest one of them all. Every comedic moment was hit, the timing was perfect, the embellishments made were hilarious all around, hell even the side comments from the lovers which can turn real nasty real quick were tempered in their comedy. One specific moment I'm thinking of came with a throwaway quip from Demetrius which after he realizes the actors have heard he quickly turns behind him to the audience and goes "SHHH!" The only gripe I had with the fools was their entrance music, which was such a departure from everything else that it screamed at the audience "GET READY, HERE COMES THE FUNNY ONES".
But now I come to the part I dread reviewing the most. The part I was most excited for. The fairies. They had almost everything going for them to make me like them. Three top Seattle actors in the main roles: Reginald Andre Jackson as Oberon, Amy Thone as Titania, and Chris Ensweiler as Puck. A darker spin that's traditionally skimmed over or ignored altogether. In short, despite the photos I saw of the rather questionable costume choices, I was still highly excited to see what they did here...which is probably why it was all the more disappointing to get what they gave me. Instead of a forest we were given a swamp, where the creatures within are all those things that make weird noises. Basically, this "darker spin" only amounted to a literally darker set, and instead of the fairies being joyful and obnoxious, were stereotypically weird and creepy...and obnoxious. Puck especially was the disappointment of the show. He kept making this weird whiny noise that made him sound more like a demon than a goblin, and every exit he made he assumed a kind of almost Vaudevillian "I'm about to run off!" pose before he, well, ran off. And somehow, despite casting their best physical comedian in the role, there was almost no physicality to Puck besides crouching and swaying. He finally got to shine when he took control of the lovers and tossed them around the stage into their final places, because for once he was getting to have fun, and we finally got to see what Chris Ensweiler does best when given control of the stage. But otherwise the performance was an overacted mess. The entire fairy cast (save one, I'll get to her in a second) and fairy theme seemed to suffer from the same flaw. There's a saying that goes "Don't act. Be." Well they all acted, instead of being. They tried pushing "I'm a scary weird creature!" instead of actually being scary weird creatures. I got the feeling a lot of this was directorial intervention, so I have to lay some blame here on Sheila Daniels, which makes me sad as I've loved her work in the past (Electra, Pericles, Macbeth). It just seemed like Oberon was from some African tribe, Titania was a dryad, and Puck was from some other mythology. Nothing meshed together. It you're going to go for a tribal/more primal feel, stick to a tribe.
Now, there was one exception to the rule: Kacey Shiflet, a senior at Seattle U, who played Cobweb. A throwaway role by any measure, Cobweb is one of the miscellaneous fairies that tend on Titania. Yet somehow, with almost no lines and limited stage presence, Kacey was the only one up there who managed to convey what I assume the director was trying to go for. Her entire physicality, her mannerisms, her voice, everything about her was this dark fairy. And by the end of the show she had me convinced of something I really never would've thought I would think...that she should've been Puck. So kudos to her.
Overall, the play was good. The mechanicals were amazing, the lovers had their moments of greatness, and despite how much I didn't like them the fairies weren't bad per se, just out of place. Though I won't forgive whoever it was that decided it was a good idea to end the play with Puck still being hissy and weird and then making his weird noise and pose after the last line. Left quite a sour taste in my mouth. Nonetheless, for the most part the rest of the play made up for the unfortunate choices made with the fairies. I just really wish all of them had latched on to what the surprise of the show Kacey Shiflet was doing and gotten rid of all the stupid goddamn noises.
A Midsummer Night's Dream gets a 7.5/10 (8.5 without the fairies).
So the moment finally came, and I got to see the show closing night. Which side won out? As expected, it was a mix, though not for the reasons I was expecting.
First up, the lovers. For once this production actually did something interesting with Theseus and Hippolyta, choosing to actually show how much she dislikes him instead of glossing it over as most others do. Unfortunately, despite her amazing name, Qadriyyah Shabazz didn't quite seem up to the task of presenting the nuance needed to really sink it home. It really needed to be understood that in order to gain her approval Theseus would have to approve of Hermia and Lysandra, and it just didn't read. Mike Dooly as Theseus, a Seattle Shakes constant (he played Horatio last year), did well with what he had, though he too lacked the subtlety to really make clear whether Theseus actually approved the relationship or just said he did in front of her father Egeus.
However, let it be said that they are a small part of the play, and I pay particular attention to them having once played Theseus.
As for the main 4 lovers (Lysandra, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena), the show was stolen by the exquisitely mournful and pathetic Helena as portrayed by Terri Weagant. With just her walking on stage to the sight of Lysandra and Hermia, she took control of the audience and demanded laughter and pity, and retained that control whenever she was on. Demetrius I started out not liking, but got to like more and more as the actor seemed to loosen up throughout the show. The switch of Lysander to Lysandra actually didn't make much of a difference to me, though honestly that's the problem I had with it. First, it didn't add to the show except to make one line about "men's oaths" a bit funnier, and it didn't really detract from the show either except to make Puck's mistake about applying the flower juice to her eyes really confusing since he took her for a man...but she wasn't made up like a man or referred to in any way as man-like throughout the show. So the crux of the issue for me is this: if it's not going to aid or hurt the show in any significant way, what's the point? Sure I guess there's some gender morality issue you're trying to flirt with here, but it's not doing it in any significant or impactful way. It also didn't help that the women playing Lysandra and Hermia just weren't that great. Not bad, just not great.
The mechanicals/fools were another story entirely. I am in love with Todd Jefferson Moore. He consistently does an amazing job in whatever show he's in, whether it be the slapstick stylings of Dogberry in Much Ado or the sinister slyness of Richard III, and as Bottom things are no different. I shall even go as far as to say he is the greatest Bottom I have ever seen, and his supporting cast no less. The play within a play, Pyramus and Thisbe, is I think widely considered the funniest part of Midsummer. Well this, my friends, this was by far the funniest one of them all. Every comedic moment was hit, the timing was perfect, the embellishments made were hilarious all around, hell even the side comments from the lovers which can turn real nasty real quick were tempered in their comedy. One specific moment I'm thinking of came with a throwaway quip from Demetrius which after he realizes the actors have heard he quickly turns behind him to the audience and goes "SHHH!" The only gripe I had with the fools was their entrance music, which was such a departure from everything else that it screamed at the audience "GET READY, HERE COMES THE FUNNY ONES".
But now I come to the part I dread reviewing the most. The part I was most excited for. The fairies. They had almost everything going for them to make me like them. Three top Seattle actors in the main roles: Reginald Andre Jackson as Oberon, Amy Thone as Titania, and Chris Ensweiler as Puck. A darker spin that's traditionally skimmed over or ignored altogether. In short, despite the photos I saw of the rather questionable costume choices, I was still highly excited to see what they did here...which is probably why it was all the more disappointing to get what they gave me. Instead of a forest we were given a swamp, where the creatures within are all those things that make weird noises. Basically, this "darker spin" only amounted to a literally darker set, and instead of the fairies being joyful and obnoxious, were stereotypically weird and creepy...and obnoxious. Puck especially was the disappointment of the show. He kept making this weird whiny noise that made him sound more like a demon than a goblin, and every exit he made he assumed a kind of almost Vaudevillian "I'm about to run off!" pose before he, well, ran off. And somehow, despite casting their best physical comedian in the role, there was almost no physicality to Puck besides crouching and swaying. He finally got to shine when he took control of the lovers and tossed them around the stage into their final places, because for once he was getting to have fun, and we finally got to see what Chris Ensweiler does best when given control of the stage. But otherwise the performance was an overacted mess. The entire fairy cast (save one, I'll get to her in a second) and fairy theme seemed to suffer from the same flaw. There's a saying that goes "Don't act. Be." Well they all acted, instead of being. They tried pushing "I'm a scary weird creature!" instead of actually being scary weird creatures. I got the feeling a lot of this was directorial intervention, so I have to lay some blame here on Sheila Daniels, which makes me sad as I've loved her work in the past (Electra, Pericles, Macbeth). It just seemed like Oberon was from some African tribe, Titania was a dryad, and Puck was from some other mythology. Nothing meshed together. It you're going to go for a tribal/more primal feel, stick to a tribe.
Now, there was one exception to the rule: Kacey Shiflet, a senior at Seattle U, who played Cobweb. A throwaway role by any measure, Cobweb is one of the miscellaneous fairies that tend on Titania. Yet somehow, with almost no lines and limited stage presence, Kacey was the only one up there who managed to convey what I assume the director was trying to go for. Her entire physicality, her mannerisms, her voice, everything about her was this dark fairy. And by the end of the show she had me convinced of something I really never would've thought I would think...that she should've been Puck. So kudos to her.
Overall, the play was good. The mechanicals were amazing, the lovers had their moments of greatness, and despite how much I didn't like them the fairies weren't bad per se, just out of place. Though I won't forgive whoever it was that decided it was a good idea to end the play with Puck still being hissy and weird and then making his weird noise and pose after the last line. Left quite a sour taste in my mouth. Nonetheless, for the most part the rest of the play made up for the unfortunate choices made with the fairies. I just really wish all of them had latched on to what the surprise of the show Kacey Shiflet was doing and gotten rid of all the stupid goddamn noises.
A Midsummer Night's Dream gets a 7.5/10 (8.5 without the fairies).
Friday, November 4, 2011
Ico and Shadow of the Colussus Collection
It may have been a little while since I've updated and I may or may not have been watching movies and playing games in the meantime that I probably should've reviewed. But let's leave that to the past shall we? Unlike these next two games, which have been resurrected from the bygone days of the PS2 in full HD graphics and 3D if you're one of the few who own a 3DTV.
Sony's been doing a lot of dredging up the classics recently, with their first venture being the very successful God of War 1+2 remakes. So it's only natural that the trend continue, and we get two artful masterpieces in Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, redone as they should've been seen.
Now, I never played Ico though I heard a great deal about it, and I enjoyed Shadow though it seemed a little repetitive and lacking for my tastes. So how's the transition into HD? It's beautiful to a fault. Allow me to explain.
It's been 10 years since the release of Ico, and 5 since Shadow. That may not seem like a long time to most, but in game years every couple years brings about a giant shift in graphics and improved gameplay experiences. Every couple years we get better and better games. So to drag these games back from the depths, you're also dragging back old design.
Both games are astonishingly beautiful. The HD update works perfectly, and the old lag problems in Shadow from the strain it put on the PS2 are gone. It basically plays how it was meant to play. Unfortunately, with this amazing graphical quality you start to instinctively expect more modern gameplay as well, and this is where the collection went wrong. By doing a straight port with better graphics, the glaring camera and pathfinding issues in Ico, and the awkward horse maneuvering and glitchy jumps in Shadow seem all the more prominent. We gamers could forgive those kinds of issues back in the day. Not anymore.
For those unfamiliar with the series, Ico tells the story of a boy with horns brought to a prison, who miraculously manages to escape his cell and find a fellow captive named Yorda who speaks a strange language he can't understand. You spend the game dragging Yorda around by the hand, trying to solve puzzles while avoiding/fighting these shadow creatures that keep trying to drag her back (for purposes later revealed), and figure out how to escape the prison. It's basically one long escort mission, though it's a miracle that it somehow never feels too tedious. What's key in Ico is the story, which though it says little, speaks volumes. It's quite a journey Ico and Yorda share, however short it may be (I finished it in 6 hours, though there's a trophy to complete it in 2). Somehow even though they never understand what each other are saying, there's an inexplicable and unbreakable bond forged between them that drives the story forward and makes the entire game a joy to play even if you want to punch Yorda in the face sometimes for her poor pathfinding.
Shadow is the spiritual successor (if not prequel) to Ico. This time we step into the shoes of a mysterious man who has traveled to a forbidden land where a demon named Dormin is held captive, in order to try and get Dormin to bring his girlfriend back from the dead after she was sacrificed for some reason. Dormin agrees to help, in exchange for you traveling across the lands and killing 16 Colossi, personifications of the 16 statues keeping Dormin trapped. Joining you on your adventure is your trusty horse Agro, who while mostly serving as a fast form of transportation across the rather large game world, is also invaluable in defeating certain colossi. Where Shadow falls for me is that it feels like a story driven game, but there's little to no story throughout. Mostly it's "Your next target is this colossi. Go kill it." Then you find it with the help of your sword, which if you hold it up in the light points you in the right direction (and reveals weak spots on colossi), figure out the particular puzzle for each colossi that gets you its weak spots so you can kill it, kill it, and then get transported back to the main shrine to receive your next target. Other than that, you get very small snippets of story about every 4 colossi (girlfriend is looking better, wanderer is looking worse, there are some people after you, they've arrived) but most of the story happens in the beginning and end, and it just seems a bit lacking.
The game world is pretty damn large, but there's nothing to do in it and no reason to explore it. There are save points scattered all over the map but only a few are actually important (being near colossi), and you can also collect fruit from trees to increase your health and collect tails from glowing lizards to increase your stamina, but each one has such a minimal effect that it's easier to just kill the colossi to get the upgrades, and even then it apparently takes 3 to 4 complete playthroughs to max them out. The battles with the Colossi can be quite epic, but can also feel repetitive as some designs are used for more than one colossus, and in the end each one comes down to "Find weak spot, stab weak spot, hold on for dear life as it tries to shake you off, then stab again. Repeat until dead."
This all isn't to say Shadow is a bad game. As with any work of art, the experience is all in the eye of the beholder. Others praise Shadow for its lack of things in the world because it adds to the sense of solitude, really makes it feel like an ancient land you're not supposed to be in, etc. It's just in my experience, I got bored with it. But it is hard to deny how gorgeous this game is with the updated graphics. Sometimes you will just want to stop and stare around at this fallen yet majestic land.
So overall I enjoyed Ico more than Shadow. A deeper story and more varied gameplay overcomes its quirky camera and relics of bad design. Is it worth it to get the collection versus the two on their own if you own a PS2, or even have the games already? Honestly, I would say yes. You can tell that while the actual gameplay issues weren't fixed, they put a lot of effort into making these games look stunningly beautiful, and the way they were originally meant to be seen. Plus you get some free themes and several behind the scenes videos (that I admittedly haven't watched yet). On that note...
Ico gets a 9/10.
Shadow of the Colossus gets a 6/10.
The Collection gets an 8/10, as it's greater than the average of its parts.
Sony's been doing a lot of dredging up the classics recently, with their first venture being the very successful God of War 1+2 remakes. So it's only natural that the trend continue, and we get two artful masterpieces in Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, redone as they should've been seen.
Now, I never played Ico though I heard a great deal about it, and I enjoyed Shadow though it seemed a little repetitive and lacking for my tastes. So how's the transition into HD? It's beautiful to a fault. Allow me to explain.
It's been 10 years since the release of Ico, and 5 since Shadow. That may not seem like a long time to most, but in game years every couple years brings about a giant shift in graphics and improved gameplay experiences. Every couple years we get better and better games. So to drag these games back from the depths, you're also dragging back old design.
Both games are astonishingly beautiful. The HD update works perfectly, and the old lag problems in Shadow from the strain it put on the PS2 are gone. It basically plays how it was meant to play. Unfortunately, with this amazing graphical quality you start to instinctively expect more modern gameplay as well, and this is where the collection went wrong. By doing a straight port with better graphics, the glaring camera and pathfinding issues in Ico, and the awkward horse maneuvering and glitchy jumps in Shadow seem all the more prominent. We gamers could forgive those kinds of issues back in the day. Not anymore.
For those unfamiliar with the series, Ico tells the story of a boy with horns brought to a prison, who miraculously manages to escape his cell and find a fellow captive named Yorda who speaks a strange language he can't understand. You spend the game dragging Yorda around by the hand, trying to solve puzzles while avoiding/fighting these shadow creatures that keep trying to drag her back (for purposes later revealed), and figure out how to escape the prison. It's basically one long escort mission, though it's a miracle that it somehow never feels too tedious. What's key in Ico is the story, which though it says little, speaks volumes. It's quite a journey Ico and Yorda share, however short it may be (I finished it in 6 hours, though there's a trophy to complete it in 2). Somehow even though they never understand what each other are saying, there's an inexplicable and unbreakable bond forged between them that drives the story forward and makes the entire game a joy to play even if you want to punch Yorda in the face sometimes for her poor pathfinding.
Shadow is the spiritual successor (if not prequel) to Ico. This time we step into the shoes of a mysterious man who has traveled to a forbidden land where a demon named Dormin is held captive, in order to try and get Dormin to bring his girlfriend back from the dead after she was sacrificed for some reason. Dormin agrees to help, in exchange for you traveling across the lands and killing 16 Colossi, personifications of the 16 statues keeping Dormin trapped. Joining you on your adventure is your trusty horse Agro, who while mostly serving as a fast form of transportation across the rather large game world, is also invaluable in defeating certain colossi. Where Shadow falls for me is that it feels like a story driven game, but there's little to no story throughout. Mostly it's "Your next target is this colossi. Go kill it." Then you find it with the help of your sword, which if you hold it up in the light points you in the right direction (and reveals weak spots on colossi), figure out the particular puzzle for each colossi that gets you its weak spots so you can kill it, kill it, and then get transported back to the main shrine to receive your next target. Other than that, you get very small snippets of story about every 4 colossi (girlfriend is looking better, wanderer is looking worse, there are some people after you, they've arrived) but most of the story happens in the beginning and end, and it just seems a bit lacking.
The game world is pretty damn large, but there's nothing to do in it and no reason to explore it. There are save points scattered all over the map but only a few are actually important (being near colossi), and you can also collect fruit from trees to increase your health and collect tails from glowing lizards to increase your stamina, but each one has such a minimal effect that it's easier to just kill the colossi to get the upgrades, and even then it apparently takes 3 to 4 complete playthroughs to max them out. The battles with the Colossi can be quite epic, but can also feel repetitive as some designs are used for more than one colossus, and in the end each one comes down to "Find weak spot, stab weak spot, hold on for dear life as it tries to shake you off, then stab again. Repeat until dead."
This all isn't to say Shadow is a bad game. As with any work of art, the experience is all in the eye of the beholder. Others praise Shadow for its lack of things in the world because it adds to the sense of solitude, really makes it feel like an ancient land you're not supposed to be in, etc. It's just in my experience, I got bored with it. But it is hard to deny how gorgeous this game is with the updated graphics. Sometimes you will just want to stop and stare around at this fallen yet majestic land.
So overall I enjoyed Ico more than Shadow. A deeper story and more varied gameplay overcomes its quirky camera and relics of bad design. Is it worth it to get the collection versus the two on their own if you own a PS2, or even have the games already? Honestly, I would say yes. You can tell that while the actual gameplay issues weren't fixed, they put a lot of effort into making these games look stunningly beautiful, and the way they were originally meant to be seen. Plus you get some free themes and several behind the scenes videos (that I admittedly haven't watched yet). On that note...
Ico gets a 9/10.
Shadow of the Colossus gets a 6/10.
The Collection gets an 8/10, as it's greater than the average of its parts.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Somewhere
I'm a big fan of Sofia Coppola. I even enjoyed the more criticized Marie Antionette. So when I finished watching Somewhere, knowing next to nothing about it when I started except that it was a Focus feature, which I almost universally enjoy, and that it was supposed to be good, I was shocked to see her name come up as the director. Why? Because Somewhere is about as slow, uninteresting, and pretentious as a movie can be. Apparently many considered it a work of art, which I could agree with, as all art is subjective and some can find volumes of meaning where others see just a solid black block. Unfortunately, I fall into the latter category this time.
The basic story follows relatively successful actor Johnny Marco as he...well...does very little. He drives his expensive car, he goes to press conferences, he sits around and looks at the wall, and he bangs any readily available girl (of which there's always at least one). A small twist comes in when his ex-wife tells him she's leaving for a while and so he needs to take care of their daughter for a while and make sure she gets to summer camp. Meanwhile he has an awards show in Italy he has to attend, and so he brings her along. You might think this means there's a story here about redemption, about finding himself, about the bonding of father and daughter. It's somewhere in there (pun intended), but it's so lost among the dreariness and overly long shots that beg the audience to find meaning in them despite their emptiness that nothing makes an impact. And maybe that's the point, maybe we're all supposed to feel a complete lack of emotion just as Johnny does, but personally I found the whole thing more tedious and boring than soul-searching or thought-provoking.
The only good part of this movie was the fascinating look at the role of his daughter, played with surprising depth and expression by Elle Fanning. At once she seems completely oblivious to the life her father lives, but then the moment changes and we see just how concerned she is for him. She also delicately treads the line between living in the luxury surrounding her and trying to be normal as one. One of the most poignant parts of the movie comes when she phones room service to bring her the ingredients for a meal that she then makes for him. It doesn't sound like much, but the way the movie shows the ease with which she lives with this contrast is stunning.
So yes, there are some interesting moments, mostly revolving around the daughter, and the movie certainly has some points to make and things to say. It's just all drowned out by the absurdly slow pace and pretentiously artistic loooooong shots.
Somewhere gets a 4/10.
The basic story follows relatively successful actor Johnny Marco as he...well...does very little. He drives his expensive car, he goes to press conferences, he sits around and looks at the wall, and he bangs any readily available girl (of which there's always at least one). A small twist comes in when his ex-wife tells him she's leaving for a while and so he needs to take care of their daughter for a while and make sure she gets to summer camp. Meanwhile he has an awards show in Italy he has to attend, and so he brings her along. You might think this means there's a story here about redemption, about finding himself, about the bonding of father and daughter. It's somewhere in there (pun intended), but it's so lost among the dreariness and overly long shots that beg the audience to find meaning in them despite their emptiness that nothing makes an impact. And maybe that's the point, maybe we're all supposed to feel a complete lack of emotion just as Johnny does, but personally I found the whole thing more tedious and boring than soul-searching or thought-provoking.
The only good part of this movie was the fascinating look at the role of his daughter, played with surprising depth and expression by Elle Fanning. At once she seems completely oblivious to the life her father lives, but then the moment changes and we see just how concerned she is for him. She also delicately treads the line between living in the luxury surrounding her and trying to be normal as one. One of the most poignant parts of the movie comes when she phones room service to bring her the ingredients for a meal that she then makes for him. It doesn't sound like much, but the way the movie shows the ease with which she lives with this contrast is stunning.
So yes, there are some interesting moments, mostly revolving around the daughter, and the movie certainly has some points to make and things to say. It's just all drowned out by the absurdly slow pace and pretentiously artistic loooooong shots.
Somewhere gets a 4/10.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Crysis 2
What better way to celebrate FINALLY getting a new, awesome graphics card than to tackle the graphical powerhouse that is Crysis 2? The original Crysis was a major benchmark when it first came out, making only the best and most expensive systems able to play it at max settings, and Crysis 2 looked to do no less. So I installed the new card, booted things up, and went....
"Oooooooooooooooooooooo, preeeeeeeeeeeetty."
For those unfamiliar, the original Crysis put you in the shoes of Nomad, part of a team of soldiers equipped with nanosuits sent to a tropical island to stop the North Koreans from taking hold. Your nanosuit offered you boosted powers depending on the mode you selected: strength, speed, armor, or stealth. However, each mode drained your suit's power supply which, if it got to 0, would leave you without powers until it recharged. And with that, much like its spiritual predecessor FarCry, you're left to explore a fairly open world, dealing with North Koreans and the mysterious alien menace that popped up there as well.
Crysis 2 picks up a while after the first game, where the aliens are invading everywhere, spreading a deadly plague. This time around you take the role of Alcatraz, an ordinary marine sent as part of a team via submarine into New York to find Dr. Gould as he may have info on how to defeat the aliens. But things go wrong quick, the sub is destroyed, and soon you're hauling yourself to shore to find a guy in a nanosuit taking down the dropship that destroyed your sub. We soon learn that this is Prophet, the leader of the team from the first game. Having been infected with the virus, Prophet gives his suit to you and kills himself so that the suit bonds to you completely. However, it turns out that other people were looking for Prophet as well and don't realize you're not him, including Dr. Gould. After an encounter with the new and improved aliens on your way to Gould, the suit starts reacting to the alien genetics and starts synthesizing a cure to the plague. From there it's a long long road through hundreds of aliens and military forces that want the suit reclaimed, buying time until the suit can process the DNA and release a counteragent that could not only help cure the plague, but defeat the aliens as well. Personally, I don't expect much story in my FPS, so the barebones one they put in here which mainly consists of "DO THIS THING BEFORE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS!" might put others off, but I found it entertaining.
Gameplay is a bit different this time around, in a good way. Instead of having 4 separate modes, speed and strength are integrated into things like running, jumping, and kicking cars, while armor and stealth still get their own toggled mode along with an infrared "nanovision". The open world is also gone in favor of more directed, mission-oriented gameplay, but the areas you're given are nonetheless still quite large, and never feel limiting. You're also once again given plenty of weapons to play with, each with slight modifications like scopes and grenade launchers.
So here's the thing. Crysis 2 is by far a much more enjoyable game than the first. The loss of the open world is actually a big benefit, as the action is much more fluid, the set pieces are all the bigger, and the story gets a big boost as well. And for most of the game, I was happily firing away at everything that moved while admiring the variety of environments they were able to achieve (considering you never leave New York) and generally basking in the glow of some very impressive graphics and gameplay. But the problem doesn't come in any of the parts, it comes in that eventually Crysis 2 runs out of steam in terms of enemy variety and mission type. Much like my problem with Resistance, Crysis seems to hope that for an ending, a lack of enemy variety will be made up for by simply throwing a lot of them at you. It's disappointing to realize at the end that the final battle you just had was very similar to and not much harder than previous battles with the exact same enemies.
Still, in every other department Crysis 2 shines. The gameplay is dynamic and fluid, with repeated playthroughs of sections (due to death) playing out differently enough each time to keep things interesting. On top of that, depending on your playstyle, you can focus suit upgrades on armor, stealth or strength which varies up the experience even more. My personal style of hit-and-run stealth was perfectly complemented and made battles tactical and very fun. The environments are astonishingly different and make it feel like an open world even though it's not. Oh, and did I mention that it's gorgeous. All this together makes Crysis 2 one of the best FPSs I've played.
Crysis 2 gets a 9/10.
"Oooooooooooooooooooooo, preeeeeeeeeeeetty."
For those unfamiliar, the original Crysis put you in the shoes of Nomad, part of a team of soldiers equipped with nanosuits sent to a tropical island to stop the North Koreans from taking hold. Your nanosuit offered you boosted powers depending on the mode you selected: strength, speed, armor, or stealth. However, each mode drained your suit's power supply which, if it got to 0, would leave you without powers until it recharged. And with that, much like its spiritual predecessor FarCry, you're left to explore a fairly open world, dealing with North Koreans and the mysterious alien menace that popped up there as well.
Crysis 2 picks up a while after the first game, where the aliens are invading everywhere, spreading a deadly plague. This time around you take the role of Alcatraz, an ordinary marine sent as part of a team via submarine into New York to find Dr. Gould as he may have info on how to defeat the aliens. But things go wrong quick, the sub is destroyed, and soon you're hauling yourself to shore to find a guy in a nanosuit taking down the dropship that destroyed your sub. We soon learn that this is Prophet, the leader of the team from the first game. Having been infected with the virus, Prophet gives his suit to you and kills himself so that the suit bonds to you completely. However, it turns out that other people were looking for Prophet as well and don't realize you're not him, including Dr. Gould. After an encounter with the new and improved aliens on your way to Gould, the suit starts reacting to the alien genetics and starts synthesizing a cure to the plague. From there it's a long long road through hundreds of aliens and military forces that want the suit reclaimed, buying time until the suit can process the DNA and release a counteragent that could not only help cure the plague, but defeat the aliens as well. Personally, I don't expect much story in my FPS, so the barebones one they put in here which mainly consists of "DO THIS THING BEFORE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS!" might put others off, but I found it entertaining.
Gameplay is a bit different this time around, in a good way. Instead of having 4 separate modes, speed and strength are integrated into things like running, jumping, and kicking cars, while armor and stealth still get their own toggled mode along with an infrared "nanovision". The open world is also gone in favor of more directed, mission-oriented gameplay, but the areas you're given are nonetheless still quite large, and never feel limiting. You're also once again given plenty of weapons to play with, each with slight modifications like scopes and grenade launchers.
So here's the thing. Crysis 2 is by far a much more enjoyable game than the first. The loss of the open world is actually a big benefit, as the action is much more fluid, the set pieces are all the bigger, and the story gets a big boost as well. And for most of the game, I was happily firing away at everything that moved while admiring the variety of environments they were able to achieve (considering you never leave New York) and generally basking in the glow of some very impressive graphics and gameplay. But the problem doesn't come in any of the parts, it comes in that eventually Crysis 2 runs out of steam in terms of enemy variety and mission type. Much like my problem with Resistance, Crysis seems to hope that for an ending, a lack of enemy variety will be made up for by simply throwing a lot of them at you. It's disappointing to realize at the end that the final battle you just had was very similar to and not much harder than previous battles with the exact same enemies.
Still, in every other department Crysis 2 shines. The gameplay is dynamic and fluid, with repeated playthroughs of sections (due to death) playing out differently enough each time to keep things interesting. On top of that, depending on your playstyle, you can focus suit upgrades on armor, stealth or strength which varies up the experience even more. My personal style of hit-and-run stealth was perfectly complemented and made battles tactical and very fun. The environments are astonishingly different and make it feel like an open world even though it's not. Oh, and did I mention that it's gorgeous. All this together makes Crysis 2 one of the best FPSs I've played.
Crysis 2 gets a 9/10.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
E3 2011: Nintendo
All of the hype this E3 has been surrounding Nintendo's announcement that they will be unveiling a new console, and that it will be playable on the show floor. Is it a new Wii? With HD? Is it more in line with the Gamecube/a hardcoreish console? Is it something completely new and different that sounds cool but no one will ever really know what to do with like the Wii? Stay tuned for the answer.
I personally came into it having been thoroughly wowed last year by Nintendo at E3, only to find that most of their greatly hyped releases only stirred a kind of "meh" response. And worst of all, the 3DS' no glasses 3D turned out to not really work. I tried it out with Pilotwings Resort at Best Buy and could tell just how much that thing was straining my eyes, and how finicky the effect was if you didn't hold your head and the controller in exactly the same position the entire time. Sure it's still a nice vamped up DS, but it disappointed. So with the announcement of a new console, I'm back to being wary. But on to the actual show...
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Zelda, an entire orchestra played the new theme song to Skyward Sword alongside a compilation video of all the past Zelda titles. Then Miyamoto, who created Zelda, came out and had some fun asking the orchestra to play some classic tunes, like those going along with opening a treasure chest and solving a puzzle. Miyamoto is adorable in how enthused he is about the entire thing. But then we get to the important part: the games. In celebration of the 25th year, there will be a new Zelda game for each platform. Link's Awakening is relaunching on the e-store on the DS, Ocarina of Time 3D for the 3DS (which has a bunch of new features like hint movies for first time players, or the mirror Master Quest mode for the hardcore), the 4 player co-op Four Swords game as a free download for DS, and of course, Skyward Sword for the Wii. And the orchestra is there as a taste of the 25th anniversary orchestral concert which will be touring around the world, and yes, there will be a CD.
So after that big self-pat on the back, and some more orchestral music, they mention what we're all here for...the new console. They acknowledge that the Wii essentially expanded their player base, but wasn't for everyone. Well, with this new console they have two words for you: "deeper" and "wider"..............by which they mean deeper gameplay experiences for the hardcore and even wider appeal than the Wii of course, what were you thinking? But of course, this is just a teaser for showing it off later in the conference..........the console, that is. Until then...
All your favorite franchises are coming to 3DS. Mario Kart, Starfox, Super Mario, Kid Icarus, and Luigi's Mansion. Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo America, then comes out and says some very interesting things. And I think it perfectly explains Nintendo's philosophy, and why they keep releasing the same games over and over again. He goes into a speech about how "We hear you. You want what you've always wanted. But you also want something new." How we like the comfortable, but want the buzz of the new. And how those may be contradictions, but they can do it. Then we get trailers for all of the above games, explaining how yes, each is familiar, but each has some new 3D tricks that make it new, essentially. Mario Kart just adds 3D, Starfox will have tilt control (bad idea, since the 3D effect is so centered around holding the controller in this "sweet spot") along with real-time video of you and the other 3 players you play against in multiplayer, Super Mario focuses on 3D platforming, Kid Icarus will have playing cards you can fight with using the 3DS camera and AR (augmented reality), and Luigi's Mansion 2 will have some kind of 3D integration (hard to tell from the trailer). It's essentially everything we've seen before, just with 3D. So essentially, expect what you've always expected from Nintendo...more of the same.
But thank goodness there's third parties interested in the 3DS, as they show trailers for Resident Evil: Mercenaries, Mario and Sonic at the 2012 Olympic Games, Ace Combat, Tetris, Cave Story 3D, Resident Evil: Revelations, Driver: Renegade, Pac-Man and Galaga: Dimensions, Tekken 3D, and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D......wait, let me look at that list again.....Really? Really? These are titles you want to showcase? I understand the other blockbuster titles you were listing off last year may not be ready yet, but...looking at that list and the trailers that went along with them...let's just say I'm not jumping out of my seat to grab a 3DS. I'm barely even lifting a finger.
They even bring out added 3D and AR functionality for Pokemon Black and White with an advanced pokedex, but apparently the pokedex can only be filled with special codes and trading with friends, etc., not through the actual game. WTF Nintendo.
Well at least they're moving right on to the new console. And here it is...the WiiU. U, for uuuuuuuuuh, what? When it first came out, the name "Wii" was meant to symbolize "we", all of us playing together. Apparently now the U is in there to symbolize how yes, it's still about us all playing together, but now it's also about a better experience for "you" as well. Apparently it's also "unique", "unifying" and even "utopian". How does it accomplish this? Well, I'm going to put aside the next 30 minutes of confusing, ambiguous, and hype-filled presentation to just present what I've learned from not only this conference, but added details that were released later that cleared up some unanswered questions.
The WiiU, despite appearances, is in fact an entirely new console, but with a very special controller. It will output full 1080p hi-def video, uses some kind of disc (as yet unspecified), and will use a Wii sensor bar to be fully backwards compatible with all Wii games. But while details on the console itself remain vague, the controller was up front and center to define what the new WiiU experience is going to be. This thing is the size of an iPad or tablet, with a 6" touchscreen on the front, a front-facing camera, two analog sticks, shoulder buttons, your standard 4 button a/b/x/y, a microphone, gyroscope, accelerometer, and speakers. In essence, think of it as a tablet mashed with a standard controller.
The application of said controller to gaming comes in many forms, with Nintendo I think hoping as they did with the Wii that third party developers will look at this new tech and think of really cool things to do with it. Currently, though, they had several tech-like demonstrations to show off. There were essentially three different configurations of how it could be used: as a simple controller for the game on the TV, in combination with the TV, or alone. The most impressive thing it can do is take any Wii U game playing on your TV, and transfer it straight to the controller so you can keep playing if someone else wants to use the TV. It can also be used in conjunction with the TV, allowing things like your inventory to just be on the controller screen instead of taking up space on the big screen, or even allowing interactivity where you can do something like shoot throwing stars by sliding your hand across the touchscreen towards the TV screen. Another possible interesting application is to use it as a window into the game, allowing you to look all around you with the controller, exploring your living room as if it were the game world. Apparently in one demo on the floor you had to use the controller to look around the room to stop incoming arrows from hitting you that you otherwise wouldn't be able to see.
But as I always say, impressive/innovative tech means nothing without the games to support it, and Nintendo delivered quite a shocker on this one. While their own first-party titles were typical/uninteresting, the very first third party title they announced was Darksiders 2, showing that they've finally expanded into the mature market. But the real surprise came when after that they started flashing up other titles like Batman: Arkham City and they have EA's CEO talking about bringing Battlefield 3 over. So finally, Nintendo is getting the same games that the hardcore consoles are getting. To what degree those titles will use the Wii U tech is uncertain, especially as the console isn't coming until late next year, after most of these titles will launch for the other platforms. Still, it's nice to see that Nintendo is finally stepping up to the plate with some hardcore titles and getting the support they so desperately need.
But here's the real question, and I think it's pretty clear from Sony's response what the answer is: is this a next gen console, or is it simply gen 1.5...or even just stepping into this gen? Sony was quite clear in their response that they were not worried about the Wii U, and that it won't be hampering or hastening their plans to release their next console sometime around 2014. Especially because...they're already getting that tech covered with the Vita. With the Transfarring system coming to Metal Gear games, and the cross functionality shown off with Ruin, it's already clear that the greatest feature of Wii U, namely being able to continue playing on the controller when the TV is occupied, is already being taken care of by the Vita. And it's not a big stretch to see it doing the other stuff as well. It might take a version 2.0 to get the right wireless tech in it, but frankly it's not that big a leap, and with a 5" screen, you're not getting that much less screen for a much more wieldy thing to hold in your hands. For once, Nintendo's brand new innovation...doesn't appear to be all that brand new. Time will tell, especially in what Sony decides to do with the Vita, and as we get more details about everything the Wii U will do closer to its release next year, but Nintendo might find themselves once again woefully behind the times in a much shorter period of time than they expected.
I personally came into it having been thoroughly wowed last year by Nintendo at E3, only to find that most of their greatly hyped releases only stirred a kind of "meh" response. And worst of all, the 3DS' no glasses 3D turned out to not really work. I tried it out with Pilotwings Resort at Best Buy and could tell just how much that thing was straining my eyes, and how finicky the effect was if you didn't hold your head and the controller in exactly the same position the entire time. Sure it's still a nice vamped up DS, but it disappointed. So with the announcement of a new console, I'm back to being wary. But on to the actual show...
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Zelda, an entire orchestra played the new theme song to Skyward Sword alongside a compilation video of all the past Zelda titles. Then Miyamoto, who created Zelda, came out and had some fun asking the orchestra to play some classic tunes, like those going along with opening a treasure chest and solving a puzzle. Miyamoto is adorable in how enthused he is about the entire thing. But then we get to the important part: the games. In celebration of the 25th year, there will be a new Zelda game for each platform. Link's Awakening is relaunching on the e-store on the DS, Ocarina of Time 3D for the 3DS (which has a bunch of new features like hint movies for first time players, or the mirror Master Quest mode for the hardcore), the 4 player co-op Four Swords game as a free download for DS, and of course, Skyward Sword for the Wii. And the orchestra is there as a taste of the 25th anniversary orchestral concert which will be touring around the world, and yes, there will be a CD.
So after that big self-pat on the back, and some more orchestral music, they mention what we're all here for...the new console. They acknowledge that the Wii essentially expanded their player base, but wasn't for everyone. Well, with this new console they have two words for you: "deeper" and "wider"..............by which they mean deeper gameplay experiences for the hardcore and even wider appeal than the Wii of course, what were you thinking? But of course, this is just a teaser for showing it off later in the conference..........the console, that is. Until then...
All your favorite franchises are coming to 3DS. Mario Kart, Starfox, Super Mario, Kid Icarus, and Luigi's Mansion. Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo America, then comes out and says some very interesting things. And I think it perfectly explains Nintendo's philosophy, and why they keep releasing the same games over and over again. He goes into a speech about how "We hear you. You want what you've always wanted. But you also want something new." How we like the comfortable, but want the buzz of the new. And how those may be contradictions, but they can do it. Then we get trailers for all of the above games, explaining how yes, each is familiar, but each has some new 3D tricks that make it new, essentially. Mario Kart just adds 3D, Starfox will have tilt control (bad idea, since the 3D effect is so centered around holding the controller in this "sweet spot") along with real-time video of you and the other 3 players you play against in multiplayer, Super Mario focuses on 3D platforming, Kid Icarus will have playing cards you can fight with using the 3DS camera and AR (augmented reality), and Luigi's Mansion 2 will have some kind of 3D integration (hard to tell from the trailer). It's essentially everything we've seen before, just with 3D. So essentially, expect what you've always expected from Nintendo...more of the same.
But thank goodness there's third parties interested in the 3DS, as they show trailers for Resident Evil: Mercenaries, Mario and Sonic at the 2012 Olympic Games, Ace Combat, Tetris, Cave Story 3D, Resident Evil: Revelations, Driver: Renegade, Pac-Man and Galaga: Dimensions, Tekken 3D, and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D......wait, let me look at that list again.....Really? Really? These are titles you want to showcase? I understand the other blockbuster titles you were listing off last year may not be ready yet, but...looking at that list and the trailers that went along with them...let's just say I'm not jumping out of my seat to grab a 3DS. I'm barely even lifting a finger.
They even bring out added 3D and AR functionality for Pokemon Black and White with an advanced pokedex, but apparently the pokedex can only be filled with special codes and trading with friends, etc., not through the actual game. WTF Nintendo.
Well at least they're moving right on to the new console. And here it is...the WiiU. U, for uuuuuuuuuh, what? When it first came out, the name "Wii" was meant to symbolize "we", all of us playing together. Apparently now the U is in there to symbolize how yes, it's still about us all playing together, but now it's also about a better experience for "you" as well. Apparently it's also "unique", "unifying" and even "utopian". How does it accomplish this? Well, I'm going to put aside the next 30 minutes of confusing, ambiguous, and hype-filled presentation to just present what I've learned from not only this conference, but added details that were released later that cleared up some unanswered questions.
The WiiU, despite appearances, is in fact an entirely new console, but with a very special controller. It will output full 1080p hi-def video, uses some kind of disc (as yet unspecified), and will use a Wii sensor bar to be fully backwards compatible with all Wii games. But while details on the console itself remain vague, the controller was up front and center to define what the new WiiU experience is going to be. This thing is the size of an iPad or tablet, with a 6" touchscreen on the front, a front-facing camera, two analog sticks, shoulder buttons, your standard 4 button a/b/x/y, a microphone, gyroscope, accelerometer, and speakers. In essence, think of it as a tablet mashed with a standard controller.
The application of said controller to gaming comes in many forms, with Nintendo I think hoping as they did with the Wii that third party developers will look at this new tech and think of really cool things to do with it. Currently, though, they had several tech-like demonstrations to show off. There were essentially three different configurations of how it could be used: as a simple controller for the game on the TV, in combination with the TV, or alone. The most impressive thing it can do is take any Wii U game playing on your TV, and transfer it straight to the controller so you can keep playing if someone else wants to use the TV. It can also be used in conjunction with the TV, allowing things like your inventory to just be on the controller screen instead of taking up space on the big screen, or even allowing interactivity where you can do something like shoot throwing stars by sliding your hand across the touchscreen towards the TV screen. Another possible interesting application is to use it as a window into the game, allowing you to look all around you with the controller, exploring your living room as if it were the game world. Apparently in one demo on the floor you had to use the controller to look around the room to stop incoming arrows from hitting you that you otherwise wouldn't be able to see.
But as I always say, impressive/innovative tech means nothing without the games to support it, and Nintendo delivered quite a shocker on this one. While their own first-party titles were typical/uninteresting, the very first third party title they announced was Darksiders 2, showing that they've finally expanded into the mature market. But the real surprise came when after that they started flashing up other titles like Batman: Arkham City and they have EA's CEO talking about bringing Battlefield 3 over. So finally, Nintendo is getting the same games that the hardcore consoles are getting. To what degree those titles will use the Wii U tech is uncertain, especially as the console isn't coming until late next year, after most of these titles will launch for the other platforms. Still, it's nice to see that Nintendo is finally stepping up to the plate with some hardcore titles and getting the support they so desperately need.
But here's the real question, and I think it's pretty clear from Sony's response what the answer is: is this a next gen console, or is it simply gen 1.5...or even just stepping into this gen? Sony was quite clear in their response that they were not worried about the Wii U, and that it won't be hampering or hastening their plans to release their next console sometime around 2014. Especially because...they're already getting that tech covered with the Vita. With the Transfarring system coming to Metal Gear games, and the cross functionality shown off with Ruin, it's already clear that the greatest feature of Wii U, namely being able to continue playing on the controller when the TV is occupied, is already being taken care of by the Vita. And it's not a big stretch to see it doing the other stuff as well. It might take a version 2.0 to get the right wireless tech in it, but frankly it's not that big a leap, and with a 5" screen, you're not getting that much less screen for a much more wieldy thing to hold in your hands. For once, Nintendo's brand new innovation...doesn't appear to be all that brand new. Time will tell, especially in what Sony decides to do with the Vita, and as we get more details about everything the Wii U will do closer to its release next year, but Nintendo might find themselves once again woefully behind the times in a much shorter period of time than they expected.
E3 2011: Sony
Before the PSN network outage, E3 looked to belong to Sony this year. Then, Sony mistakenly declared war on hackers, and lost. For a month, there was no online. They lost money, the second-party companies that use PSN lost money, and everyone was just generally pissed off. So instead, Sony walks into E3 humble, and with a big elephant in the room.
And they dealt with it wonderfully. Right off the bat the CEO comes out, and gives a long, very heartfelt apology to everyone (except the press, who he says "You're welcome" to). It felt sincere, was just long enough to not feel like a throwaway, but was just short enough not to distract from the line-up of awesome they had in store. So bravo, Sony.
Of course, after that, what better way to start the show than with Uncharted 3. If you played Uncharted 2, you remember the train section. Well get ready to have that blown away by by the boat section they showed off. Dynamically shifting with the waves, a bit of stealth, lots of action...Uncharted 2 set a bar for action adventure games, and this looks to surpass it. Waiting with bated breath for November 1st.
Blockbuster #2: Resistance 3. So far Insomniac had only shown off a section on a boat, which looked...well, it didn't sell me. This section, an ambush on a dropship, looked much more intense, using more of the cool gadgets and weapons expected from an Insomniac game. Unlike the rest of the world, I didn't enjoy the first Resistance game, and I haven't played the second, so I'm keeping my reservations about the third, but there's no doubt that for FPS fans, Resistance 3 is going to stay true to its traditions of gritty, high action combat with innovative tech. But to top it all off, they announced a new PS Move bundle, which will come with Resistance 3, the PS Eye, a Move controller, a navigation controller, and the sharpshooter peripheral, all for only $150. So if you're ever going to get Move, this will be the way to do it.
Sony has been pushing the 3D train along whether people want it or not, possibly (okay, definitely) because they also sell the 3D TVs. Both Uncharted and Resistance will have 3D, but then they also announce that the God of War Origins collection (the 2 PSP games remastered for PS3) AND the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus collection will both be coming this September, and both will be fully playable in 3D. But all this 3D doesn't really matter if a TV is going to cost you a ridiculous amount of money right? So they introduce a PS branded 24" 3DTV, with a special tech that allows two players to see two distinct images on the same TV set instead of having to do split screen, AND the 3D glasses are going to be less expensive. So what does all this actually come to? The TV, a pair of glasses, and HDMI cable, and Resistance 3...$500. Glasses alone...$70. While I still wince at the glasses price, taking into account the cost of Resistance and the glasses, that makes the TV cost only about $370, which is a steal. Though, it also seems to me that if you really want to spend the money on a 3DTV, you're going to want more than 24". Still, at least Sony has caught on to the fact that if you really want 3D to take off, you're going to need to make it more affordable.
From 3D we move to...the Move. The first title they show is NBA 2K12, where using the Move you can easily just point and click at the person you want to pass to, or while on defense click the guy you want to block. Now, the thing about it is it looks like you can pretty much let the game play itself, as Kobe Bryant shows when he comes up on stage and seems to not really play the game at all (watch the cursor on screen). Plus it's a sports game so I already don't care.
Next up is Medieval Moves: Dead Man's Quest. From the same makers as Sports Champions, this quirky title looks to do away with an inventory system while still allowing you access to three weapons: sword and shield, bow and arrow, and throwing stars. Depending on the motion you make, that's the weapon you use, and the switch is really quite seamless. It seems a game that would work much better with two Move controllers, but they only showcased one. Still, it looks to be a fun use of Move, and it's coming this Fall.
Trailer for Infamous 2 that reminds me I need to review it...heehee. Whoops. But there's also the announcement that later this year they will be adding Move functionality to both Infamous 2 and adding more Move functionality to LittleBigPlanet 2.
Trailer for Starhawk, which while it was a little unclear about what the gameplay will be like, has received nothing but good buzz from its showing on the show floor. A mix of ground combat, air combat, and some kind of system where new units/equipment is dropped from space? Sounds cool to me.
Teaser for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. Never did play the originals or get the Sly collection, though I've heard nothing but good stuff about it. Time to get the collection?
Now here's something I don't know what to make of. Dust 514 is going to be an extension of EVE Online, a massive space MMO, but it's going to be exclusive to PS3 and focus on ground combat. Yet, it will still link somehow with EVE. Not only that, but it will have Move support, a space in Home, and will extend to the NGP (yes, it finally gets a name, more on that in a bit). Guess we have to wait until Spring 2012 to see what it's all about.
Get your saliva glands ready, it's Bioshock Infinite. Only a trailer, but still, the more I see of this game the more I NEED IT. But then Ken Levine, head of Irrational Games steps up. And he looks kind of nervous. And then he starts talking about how he did this interview a while ago doubting motion control and how he said some disparaging things about the Move. And all I could think was Gabe Newell last year announcing he was wrong about Sony and how the PS3 version of Portal 2 would be the best one. So Ken keeps going and says Sony heard the interview, and sent him a Move and talked with him about it and basically said "Just try it." And he did, and he liked it. So Bioshock Infinite will have Move support. And if that isn't a reason to get it I don't know what is. Then to top it all off, he says there's another Bioshock game that has been mulling around in his head for a long time and it's still in the very early stages, but it finally found a home...on the NGP. Oh, and after that, the PS3 version of Infinite will also have a free copy of the original Bioshock. On the same disc. Good....god. It's like Christmas came early.
Brief mention of an exclusive game mode for Saint's Row the Third coming November 15th.
Here's something interesting, a co-op third person shooter based on the next Star Trek film that actually looks good? And it's fully compatible with Move, and will have a phaser peripheral. And it comes with a prequel exclusive to PSN. Rock on.
Some exclusive offers from EA: race down Mt. Fuji in SSX, 7 additional supercars for Need for Speed: The Run, Battlefield 1943 for free and on the same disc as Battlefield 3, along with other unmentioned support for the NGP.
Speaking of, it's finally time! Well, first an odd and very vague announcement about Playstation Suite, which will allow PS certified Android smartphones access to the "playstation experience". What this means is anyone's guess, especially since they talked about it as people using it to get a taste of Playstation which will bring them running to the PS3.
Now it's time! The NGP is officially called...the PS Vita. Front and back touchscreens, dual analog sticks, front and back cameras, a multitouch 5" OLED screen, and six-axis. This thing is a freakin powerhouse. Then they mention a 3G version with an exclusive contract with the nation's fastest network...and you can tell everyone is wondering who the hell they think that is...and then they say it. The bad word. AT&T. And there's an audible groan throughout the audience. After all the complaints about AT&T with the iPhone, how Sony could turn to them and not expect backlash is beyond me. Oh well, moving on they're finally introducing cross-game chat which PSN users have been complaining about not having (since it's on Xbox) for a while now, along with something they're calling Near, which sounds like a way to connect with other PS Vita users near you.
But new tech means nothing without good games to go with it. So what do they roll out but Uncharted: Golden Abyss. And...wow. Just wow. The graphics are easily as good as the first Uncharted. Then on top of that, the touch screen controls not only look somewhat useful and interesting, but in case you don't care for them they're also completely optional. Whaaaaat.
Next up is Ruin, a top-down action RPG that looked an awful lot like Torchlight/Diablo. However, there's apparently this system whereby during the course of the game you create your own lair that rivals you encounter on PSN can attack, and you can attack theirs as well to earn better loot. Sounds interesting, as long as it's implemented well. But then the real kicker comes in that you can seamlessly transfer between playing on the Vita and playing on the PS3. Just save your game to the Cloud, load it on PS3, and there you go. I certainly won't complain about a portable Diablo clone I can also play at home.
ModNation Racers is back with a Vita specific version that allows you to craft a track in much less time using the touch screen. By touching the back you can add mountains, by touching the front you can draw the line of the track, add jumps and banks with a flick of your finger, and even create dents and lakes in the scenery just by pressing on an area. Again, racing games and creating tracks aren't really my thing, but I can certainly see the appeal, especially as all 2 million tracks and cars from the previous versions will be available from day 1.
Also no big surprise, Little Big Planet is coming to Vita, also with new functionality and sharing between it and the PS3 (at least in costumes, that's all they showed in the trailer).
Street Fighter X Tekken will have a PS Vita version, which really isn't surprising considering Street Fighter came to the 3DS. What is surprising is that Cole from Infamous will be in the game, which is awesome, and a short demo showed the graphics to easily be up to par for a PS3 Street Fighter title, despite still being in like alpha phase.
But now comes the important part. The price. There are two models, one just WiFi, and the other WiFi+3G. WiFi only will be *drum roll*....$249. WiFi+3G will be $299. This is frankly shocking, as not only is it the same price as the, sorry, technologically inferior 3DS, but it's also the same price that the PSP launched at. Now, it's arguable the PSP launched at a far too high price, but it's now just as easily arguable that the Vita is launching at a low price point considering all the tech inside. I've never owned a handheld before, but the Vita is making a strong case for being the first. Great launch titles, impressive tech, connectivity with PS3, and a stomachable price point means this thing is going to sell like hotcakes.
Sony looks to be coming out of this E3 stronger than ever, with a great showing in terms of blockbuster games, new Move support, and the PS Vita. Despite the PSN outage, Sony's rolling on, and looking to wow everyone. Well done.
And they dealt with it wonderfully. Right off the bat the CEO comes out, and gives a long, very heartfelt apology to everyone (except the press, who he says "You're welcome" to). It felt sincere, was just long enough to not feel like a throwaway, but was just short enough not to distract from the line-up of awesome they had in store. So bravo, Sony.
Of course, after that, what better way to start the show than with Uncharted 3. If you played Uncharted 2, you remember the train section. Well get ready to have that blown away by by the boat section they showed off. Dynamically shifting with the waves, a bit of stealth, lots of action...Uncharted 2 set a bar for action adventure games, and this looks to surpass it. Waiting with bated breath for November 1st.
Blockbuster #2: Resistance 3. So far Insomniac had only shown off a section on a boat, which looked...well, it didn't sell me. This section, an ambush on a dropship, looked much more intense, using more of the cool gadgets and weapons expected from an Insomniac game. Unlike the rest of the world, I didn't enjoy the first Resistance game, and I haven't played the second, so I'm keeping my reservations about the third, but there's no doubt that for FPS fans, Resistance 3 is going to stay true to its traditions of gritty, high action combat with innovative tech. But to top it all off, they announced a new PS Move bundle, which will come with Resistance 3, the PS Eye, a Move controller, a navigation controller, and the sharpshooter peripheral, all for only $150. So if you're ever going to get Move, this will be the way to do it.
Sony has been pushing the 3D train along whether people want it or not, possibly (okay, definitely) because they also sell the 3D TVs. Both Uncharted and Resistance will have 3D, but then they also announce that the God of War Origins collection (the 2 PSP games remastered for PS3) AND the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus collection will both be coming this September, and both will be fully playable in 3D. But all this 3D doesn't really matter if a TV is going to cost you a ridiculous amount of money right? So they introduce a PS branded 24" 3DTV, with a special tech that allows two players to see two distinct images on the same TV set instead of having to do split screen, AND the 3D glasses are going to be less expensive. So what does all this actually come to? The TV, a pair of glasses, and HDMI cable, and Resistance 3...$500. Glasses alone...$70. While I still wince at the glasses price, taking into account the cost of Resistance and the glasses, that makes the TV cost only about $370, which is a steal. Though, it also seems to me that if you really want to spend the money on a 3DTV, you're going to want more than 24". Still, at least Sony has caught on to the fact that if you really want 3D to take off, you're going to need to make it more affordable.
From 3D we move to...the Move. The first title they show is NBA 2K12, where using the Move you can easily just point and click at the person you want to pass to, or while on defense click the guy you want to block. Now, the thing about it is it looks like you can pretty much let the game play itself, as Kobe Bryant shows when he comes up on stage and seems to not really play the game at all (watch the cursor on screen). Plus it's a sports game so I already don't care.
Next up is Medieval Moves: Dead Man's Quest. From the same makers as Sports Champions, this quirky title looks to do away with an inventory system while still allowing you access to three weapons: sword and shield, bow and arrow, and throwing stars. Depending on the motion you make, that's the weapon you use, and the switch is really quite seamless. It seems a game that would work much better with two Move controllers, but they only showcased one. Still, it looks to be a fun use of Move, and it's coming this Fall.
Trailer for Infamous 2 that reminds me I need to review it...heehee. Whoops. But there's also the announcement that later this year they will be adding Move functionality to both Infamous 2 and adding more Move functionality to LittleBigPlanet 2.
Trailer for Starhawk, which while it was a little unclear about what the gameplay will be like, has received nothing but good buzz from its showing on the show floor. A mix of ground combat, air combat, and some kind of system where new units/equipment is dropped from space? Sounds cool to me.
Teaser for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. Never did play the originals or get the Sly collection, though I've heard nothing but good stuff about it. Time to get the collection?
Now here's something I don't know what to make of. Dust 514 is going to be an extension of EVE Online, a massive space MMO, but it's going to be exclusive to PS3 and focus on ground combat. Yet, it will still link somehow with EVE. Not only that, but it will have Move support, a space in Home, and will extend to the NGP (yes, it finally gets a name, more on that in a bit). Guess we have to wait until Spring 2012 to see what it's all about.
Get your saliva glands ready, it's Bioshock Infinite. Only a trailer, but still, the more I see of this game the more I NEED IT. But then Ken Levine, head of Irrational Games steps up. And he looks kind of nervous. And then he starts talking about how he did this interview a while ago doubting motion control and how he said some disparaging things about the Move. And all I could think was Gabe Newell last year announcing he was wrong about Sony and how the PS3 version of Portal 2 would be the best one. So Ken keeps going and says Sony heard the interview, and sent him a Move and talked with him about it and basically said "Just try it." And he did, and he liked it. So Bioshock Infinite will have Move support. And if that isn't a reason to get it I don't know what is. Then to top it all off, he says there's another Bioshock game that has been mulling around in his head for a long time and it's still in the very early stages, but it finally found a home...on the NGP. Oh, and after that, the PS3 version of Infinite will also have a free copy of the original Bioshock. On the same disc. Good....god. It's like Christmas came early.
Brief mention of an exclusive game mode for Saint's Row the Third coming November 15th.
Here's something interesting, a co-op third person shooter based on the next Star Trek film that actually looks good? And it's fully compatible with Move, and will have a phaser peripheral. And it comes with a prequel exclusive to PSN. Rock on.
Some exclusive offers from EA: race down Mt. Fuji in SSX, 7 additional supercars for Need for Speed: The Run, Battlefield 1943 for free and on the same disc as Battlefield 3, along with other unmentioned support for the NGP.
Speaking of, it's finally time! Well, first an odd and very vague announcement about Playstation Suite, which will allow PS certified Android smartphones access to the "playstation experience". What this means is anyone's guess, especially since they talked about it as people using it to get a taste of Playstation which will bring them running to the PS3.
Now it's time! The NGP is officially called...the PS Vita. Front and back touchscreens, dual analog sticks, front and back cameras, a multitouch 5" OLED screen, and six-axis. This thing is a freakin powerhouse. Then they mention a 3G version with an exclusive contract with the nation's fastest network...and you can tell everyone is wondering who the hell they think that is...and then they say it. The bad word. AT&T. And there's an audible groan throughout the audience. After all the complaints about AT&T with the iPhone, how Sony could turn to them and not expect backlash is beyond me. Oh well, moving on they're finally introducing cross-game chat which PSN users have been complaining about not having (since it's on Xbox) for a while now, along with something they're calling Near, which sounds like a way to connect with other PS Vita users near you.
But new tech means nothing without good games to go with it. So what do they roll out but Uncharted: Golden Abyss. And...wow. Just wow. The graphics are easily as good as the first Uncharted. Then on top of that, the touch screen controls not only look somewhat useful and interesting, but in case you don't care for them they're also completely optional. Whaaaaat.
Next up is Ruin, a top-down action RPG that looked an awful lot like Torchlight/Diablo. However, there's apparently this system whereby during the course of the game you create your own lair that rivals you encounter on PSN can attack, and you can attack theirs as well to earn better loot. Sounds interesting, as long as it's implemented well. But then the real kicker comes in that you can seamlessly transfer between playing on the Vita and playing on the PS3. Just save your game to the Cloud, load it on PS3, and there you go. I certainly won't complain about a portable Diablo clone I can also play at home.
ModNation Racers is back with a Vita specific version that allows you to craft a track in much less time using the touch screen. By touching the back you can add mountains, by touching the front you can draw the line of the track, add jumps and banks with a flick of your finger, and even create dents and lakes in the scenery just by pressing on an area. Again, racing games and creating tracks aren't really my thing, but I can certainly see the appeal, especially as all 2 million tracks and cars from the previous versions will be available from day 1.
Also no big surprise, Little Big Planet is coming to Vita, also with new functionality and sharing between it and the PS3 (at least in costumes, that's all they showed in the trailer).
Street Fighter X Tekken will have a PS Vita version, which really isn't surprising considering Street Fighter came to the 3DS. What is surprising is that Cole from Infamous will be in the game, which is awesome, and a short demo showed the graphics to easily be up to par for a PS3 Street Fighter title, despite still being in like alpha phase.
But now comes the important part. The price. There are two models, one just WiFi, and the other WiFi+3G. WiFi only will be *drum roll*....$249. WiFi+3G will be $299. This is frankly shocking, as not only is it the same price as the, sorry, technologically inferior 3DS, but it's also the same price that the PSP launched at. Now, it's arguable the PSP launched at a far too high price, but it's now just as easily arguable that the Vita is launching at a low price point considering all the tech inside. I've never owned a handheld before, but the Vita is making a strong case for being the first. Great launch titles, impressive tech, connectivity with PS3, and a stomachable price point means this thing is going to sell like hotcakes.
Sony looks to be coming out of this E3 stronger than ever, with a great showing in terms of blockbuster games, new Move support, and the PS Vita. Despite the PSN outage, Sony's rolling on, and looking to wow everyone. Well done.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
E3 2011: Ubisoft
Ubisoft has a special place in my heart for their E3 conferences. They're all very French, and as such come up with some ideas that don't necessarily translate well, but you can at least tell they were trying really hard to be funny. Last year they had Joel McHale and laser tag. This year...
Well this year they start off letting us know that this is their 25th year, and good on 'em. The CEO comes out, thanks everyone for their support, and introduces the man behind the very first game they ever released, Rayman, to show off Rayman: Origins. But, being French, it wasn't just enough to have him come on stage. He appeared, looked around and commented that it was a wonderful theater, and said they could perform Shakespeare. So he gets on one knee, lifts his arms and says "Tell me Yves, after 25 years...Ubi, or not Ubi?" and Yves responds "Ubi of course!" They hug, laugh, and the audience laughs awkwardly with them. Oh the French.
Anyways, Rayman: Origins. This was introduced last year and looked very impressive, and the demo maintained that feeling. The levels they showed were fast paced, very colorful, kinda crazy, and looked like a whole lot of fun. To think that only 5 people made this game is frankly astounding.
And then they introduce our host for the evening....Mr. Caffeine. I'm not kidding. This douchebag looking fellow shows up on stage with that stereotypically bad stand-up comic personality, introduces himself as Ubisoft's own Mr. Caffeine (for the past 8 years) and proceeds to try really hard to be funny while fully admitting to things like drumming up his own applause and not being afraid of a couple dick jokes. *sigh* To seal the deal he even brought out a Charlie Sheen joke nearly right off the bat. Alright, moving on.
For Driver: San Francisco all we get is a trailer, which highlights literally nothing about this game that would set it apart from any other game besides "It's set in the 70s! Drive retro cars!" Knowing all the interesting things about it that they showed off last year, this was a bit of a disappointment.
To make up for it, they show off an amazing demo of Farcry 3. Seamlessly integrating cutscene with gameplay, this continuation of the franchise looks to return to its roots with a vibrant jungle, big open world, and a main villain who leaks that creepy, quiet kind of insanity. Add some impressive graphics on top of it all and you've got a game to beat.
Next up is a new Brothers In Arms game from Gearbox (same people behind Borderlands). While Brothers In Arms has typically been about realism in WW2, this time they're taking a different tack. Introducing the Furious Four, a band of Inglorious Basterds-like fellows who each have their own unique style of ripping Nazis to shreds. All we got is a trailer, and based on what I saw I'm not going to hold my breath, but who knows, this could be a surprise.
Some familiar faces in Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson show up on screen to talk about the Tintin video game which will tie in to the movie. Frankly, it seemed like all the features those two were impressed with were already standard in most video games. Frankly, with the poor track record of movie-based video games, I saw nothing that would change that.
Apparently this is also the 10th anniversary of the Ghost Recon franchise, which means it's time to finally get a look at Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Is it me, or has this game changed from last year? Last year the gameplay we saw looked very scripted, and while it still looked interesting and fun, it also looked a bit straightforward. This is a new beast, with dynamic team combat, running and gunning, and some big action pieces. I wasn't that interested in this game last year, and while I still don't really think it's a game for me, I was wholly impressed by what they showed off here. And then after the demo they announce something VERY impressive, Ghost Recon Online, where it looks like you'll have access to the multiplayer portion of Ghost Recon ...for free. And if you have Future Soldier the two will tie together somehow, probably in stats and unlockables, etc. Still, that's quite an announcement, and free can't be beat.
Next up they roll out Maniaplanet once more to talk about Trackmania 2, a game where you build your own cars and tracks like ModNation Racers, but with much more realistic visuals and style. And that style is pretty. Easily ranking with the top racing games this generation. Personally, I just can't wait until they extend it to Questmania, where you can make your own RPGs. Unfortunately, they first have to roll out Trackmania 2 and Shootmania, their FPS builder. DAMN YOU.
Raving Rabbids: Alive and Kicking. Uses Kinect to bring the Rabbids into your home. Nuff said.
Just Dance 3. You might have guessed, it looks just like the others. Except this time they got celebrities like Katy Perry to play it in a commercial.
Rocksmith. A game dedicated to teaching you Guitar. Not an added pro mode like in rock band where you could maybe learn guitar from it, this is meant to teach you guitar. And, it works with any electric guitar. *sigh* Time to go guitar shopping.
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved stunned me last year with its impressive use of Kinect, and the sequel looks to do more of the same. No actual footage was shown, but the first was a resounding success and I'm sure this will be no different.
FINALLY, Assassin's Creed: Revelations. The unexpected, by me anyway, finale to Ezio's trilogy. Here I was thinking Brotherhood was just wrapping up the loose ends of 2, and it turns out it's part two of its own trilogy. I'm not going to complain, especially with how freaking impressive Revelations looks. Showing off the new Hookblade, the ability to make hundreds of types of bombs, and the giant action set piece of using Greek fire (an old school flamethrower) to take down an armada/blockade and then sail casually away was jaw-dropping. And with the promise to wrap up and answer all the questions from not only Ezio, but Altair's storyline as well leaves me salivating until this drops November 15th.
Well this year they start off letting us know that this is their 25th year, and good on 'em. The CEO comes out, thanks everyone for their support, and introduces the man behind the very first game they ever released, Rayman, to show off Rayman: Origins. But, being French, it wasn't just enough to have him come on stage. He appeared, looked around and commented that it was a wonderful theater, and said they could perform Shakespeare. So he gets on one knee, lifts his arms and says "Tell me Yves, after 25 years...Ubi, or not Ubi?" and Yves responds "Ubi of course!" They hug, laugh, and the audience laughs awkwardly with them. Oh the French.
Anyways, Rayman: Origins. This was introduced last year and looked very impressive, and the demo maintained that feeling. The levels they showed were fast paced, very colorful, kinda crazy, and looked like a whole lot of fun. To think that only 5 people made this game is frankly astounding.
And then they introduce our host for the evening....Mr. Caffeine. I'm not kidding. This douchebag looking fellow shows up on stage with that stereotypically bad stand-up comic personality, introduces himself as Ubisoft's own Mr. Caffeine (for the past 8 years) and proceeds to try really hard to be funny while fully admitting to things like drumming up his own applause and not being afraid of a couple dick jokes. *sigh* To seal the deal he even brought out a Charlie Sheen joke nearly right off the bat. Alright, moving on.
For Driver: San Francisco all we get is a trailer, which highlights literally nothing about this game that would set it apart from any other game besides "It's set in the 70s! Drive retro cars!" Knowing all the interesting things about it that they showed off last year, this was a bit of a disappointment.
To make up for it, they show off an amazing demo of Farcry 3. Seamlessly integrating cutscene with gameplay, this continuation of the franchise looks to return to its roots with a vibrant jungle, big open world, and a main villain who leaks that creepy, quiet kind of insanity. Add some impressive graphics on top of it all and you've got a game to beat.
Next up is a new Brothers In Arms game from Gearbox (same people behind Borderlands). While Brothers In Arms has typically been about realism in WW2, this time they're taking a different tack. Introducing the Furious Four, a band of Inglorious Basterds-like fellows who each have their own unique style of ripping Nazis to shreds. All we got is a trailer, and based on what I saw I'm not going to hold my breath, but who knows, this could be a surprise.
Some familiar faces in Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson show up on screen to talk about the Tintin video game which will tie in to the movie. Frankly, it seemed like all the features those two were impressed with were already standard in most video games. Frankly, with the poor track record of movie-based video games, I saw nothing that would change that.
Apparently this is also the 10th anniversary of the Ghost Recon franchise, which means it's time to finally get a look at Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Is it me, or has this game changed from last year? Last year the gameplay we saw looked very scripted, and while it still looked interesting and fun, it also looked a bit straightforward. This is a new beast, with dynamic team combat, running and gunning, and some big action pieces. I wasn't that interested in this game last year, and while I still don't really think it's a game for me, I was wholly impressed by what they showed off here. And then after the demo they announce something VERY impressive, Ghost Recon Online, where it looks like you'll have access to the multiplayer portion of Ghost Recon ...for free. And if you have Future Soldier the two will tie together somehow, probably in stats and unlockables, etc. Still, that's quite an announcement, and free can't be beat.
Next up they roll out Maniaplanet once more to talk about Trackmania 2, a game where you build your own cars and tracks like ModNation Racers, but with much more realistic visuals and style. And that style is pretty. Easily ranking with the top racing games this generation. Personally, I just can't wait until they extend it to Questmania, where you can make your own RPGs. Unfortunately, they first have to roll out Trackmania 2 and Shootmania, their FPS builder. DAMN YOU.
Raving Rabbids: Alive and Kicking. Uses Kinect to bring the Rabbids into your home. Nuff said.
Just Dance 3. You might have guessed, it looks just like the others. Except this time they got celebrities like Katy Perry to play it in a commercial.
Rocksmith. A game dedicated to teaching you Guitar. Not an added pro mode like in rock band where you could maybe learn guitar from it, this is meant to teach you guitar. And, it works with any electric guitar. *sigh* Time to go guitar shopping.
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved stunned me last year with its impressive use of Kinect, and the sequel looks to do more of the same. No actual footage was shown, but the first was a resounding success and I'm sure this will be no different.
FINALLY, Assassin's Creed: Revelations. The unexpected, by me anyway, finale to Ezio's trilogy. Here I was thinking Brotherhood was just wrapping up the loose ends of 2, and it turns out it's part two of its own trilogy. I'm not going to complain, especially with how freaking impressive Revelations looks. Showing off the new Hookblade, the ability to make hundreds of types of bombs, and the giant action set piece of using Greek fire (an old school flamethrower) to take down an armada/blockade and then sail casually away was jaw-dropping. And with the promise to wrap up and answer all the questions from not only Ezio, but Altair's storyline as well leaves me salivating until this drops November 15th.
E3 2011: EA
EA knows what we want. We want us some Mass Effect 3. Right away. We want a trailer showing the Earth devastated, attacked by hundreds of Reapers. And then we want a demo, where Shepard takes on a Reaper. From behind a mounted turret. And then they tell us we have to wait until March 6th, 2012. WHYYYY.
Then they VERY briefly talked about their new Steam-like download service called Origin, and kept talking about all the games integrated with it throughout the show, but neglected to really say anything about the service. I haven't checked it out myself yet, but from what I can tell they're essentially trying to compete with Steam, just with EA titles. Good luck guys.
Need for Speed: The Run will take you in a race across the country, something called autolog keeps track of all of your and your friends' stats, and there will be out of car action sequences for the first time. The demo looked fine, though to me it seemed like any other racing game, just with some quicktime events for those out of car moments. But then again, I'm not a racing fan.
Star Wars The Old Republic is taking far too long to get here. They've made a lot of promises for an MMO, especially while looking like many other MMOs in terms of gameplay. So this guy comes out and essentially says "We're working really hard on it, I'm not going to try to convince you to play it, just play it and enjoy it." At which point I figure we'll get some sort of demo of somebody playing it....nope. Literally just a compilation/rehash of all of their brilliant but still just CG trailers.
Then they start pumping in smoke over the screen, which is showing a giant mountain, and excitement is building and everyone wonders what the hell is going on and then they show...SSX. Much like my reaction to Twisted Metal last year, SSX has been around for a long time, and despite how excited everyone sounds for it, I really just don't care. I swear they nearly wet themselves talking about how they used data from NASA so you can snowboard down actual mountains. Ah well.
Oop, here's EA Sports again, time for another map. Takeaway from the next 10 minutes: FIFA 11 was massively popular, FIFA 12 is better and will also be massively popular, football players like money to show up at a conference, and Madden 12 will also be massively popular.
Oh no. Oh no no. The Sims is coming to facebook. Because more people needed to be addicted to facebook. Farmville was bad enough. And now the Sims? Oh dear god.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning sounds like it should be one of the best games ever made. Designed by Morrowind and Oblivion designer Ken Rolston, with artistic direction from Todd McFarlane, and a story by acclaimed author R.A. Salvatore, this game could come from out of nowhere and take the RPG crown...if it weren't for Skyrim of course. But still, I remain a little skeptical from what I've seen of the gameplay. It's not that it looks bad, it just doesn't look like anything new. In fact it kind of reminded me of Fable in many ways. So, we'll see.
Then Insomniac comes out, makers of Ratchet and Clank and Resistance, and announces the multiplatform Overstrike, about a team of 4 misfits with a bunch of cool tech and weapons at their disposal causing as much havoc as possible. No gameplay, but the trailer made it look fun (if a bit of a slant on Borderlands' style).
Battlefield 3 seems to have been capturing everyone's attention since gameplay footage was released and promised one of the best looking games this generation thanks to the Frostbite 2 engine. Is there enough here to take the crown from Call of Duty? It certainly looks that way. Destructable environments, sweeping vistas, tight mechanics, all the elements are there for a great game. And to add icing to the cake, while Activision just announced a new service for hardcore Call of Duty players that does special stat tracking and other things I cared nothing about that will cost some unannounced monthly payment, Battlefield is going to be offering what sounds like the exact same features for absolutely free. And with that they launch into the demo...and it's surprisingly underwhelming. It's a loooong, very drawn out tank battle. And while it shows off the graphical impressiveness quite wonderfully, it leaves something to be desired gameplay-wise. Still, no doubt this will be a big contender, especially coming out before Call of Duty on October 25th.
And that's EA!
Then they VERY briefly talked about their new Steam-like download service called Origin, and kept talking about all the games integrated with it throughout the show, but neglected to really say anything about the service. I haven't checked it out myself yet, but from what I can tell they're essentially trying to compete with Steam, just with EA titles. Good luck guys.
Need for Speed: The Run will take you in a race across the country, something called autolog keeps track of all of your and your friends' stats, and there will be out of car action sequences for the first time. The demo looked fine, though to me it seemed like any other racing game, just with some quicktime events for those out of car moments. But then again, I'm not a racing fan.
Star Wars The Old Republic is taking far too long to get here. They've made a lot of promises for an MMO, especially while looking like many other MMOs in terms of gameplay. So this guy comes out and essentially says "We're working really hard on it, I'm not going to try to convince you to play it, just play it and enjoy it." At which point I figure we'll get some sort of demo of somebody playing it....nope. Literally just a compilation/rehash of all of their brilliant but still just CG trailers.
Then they start pumping in smoke over the screen, which is showing a giant mountain, and excitement is building and everyone wonders what the hell is going on and then they show...SSX. Much like my reaction to Twisted Metal last year, SSX has been around for a long time, and despite how excited everyone sounds for it, I really just don't care. I swear they nearly wet themselves talking about how they used data from NASA so you can snowboard down actual mountains. Ah well.
Oop, here's EA Sports again, time for another map. Takeaway from the next 10 minutes: FIFA 11 was massively popular, FIFA 12 is better and will also be massively popular, football players like money to show up at a conference, and Madden 12 will also be massively popular.
Oh no. Oh no no. The Sims is coming to facebook. Because more people needed to be addicted to facebook. Farmville was bad enough. And now the Sims? Oh dear god.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning sounds like it should be one of the best games ever made. Designed by Morrowind and Oblivion designer Ken Rolston, with artistic direction from Todd McFarlane, and a story by acclaimed author R.A. Salvatore, this game could come from out of nowhere and take the RPG crown...if it weren't for Skyrim of course. But still, I remain a little skeptical from what I've seen of the gameplay. It's not that it looks bad, it just doesn't look like anything new. In fact it kind of reminded me of Fable in many ways. So, we'll see.
Then Insomniac comes out, makers of Ratchet and Clank and Resistance, and announces the multiplatform Overstrike, about a team of 4 misfits with a bunch of cool tech and weapons at their disposal causing as much havoc as possible. No gameplay, but the trailer made it look fun (if a bit of a slant on Borderlands' style).
Battlefield 3 seems to have been capturing everyone's attention since gameplay footage was released and promised one of the best looking games this generation thanks to the Frostbite 2 engine. Is there enough here to take the crown from Call of Duty? It certainly looks that way. Destructable environments, sweeping vistas, tight mechanics, all the elements are there for a great game. And to add icing to the cake, while Activision just announced a new service for hardcore Call of Duty players that does special stat tracking and other things I cared nothing about that will cost some unannounced monthly payment, Battlefield is going to be offering what sounds like the exact same features for absolutely free. And with that they launch into the demo...and it's surprisingly underwhelming. It's a loooong, very drawn out tank battle. And while it shows off the graphical impressiveness quite wonderfully, it leaves something to be desired gameplay-wise. Still, no doubt this will be a big contender, especially coming out before Call of Duty on October 25th.
And that's EA!
E3 2011: Microsoft
Sorry for the long delay! I fell behind a bit in my writing and let most of E3 pass me by, but I am back, the conferences are over, and it's time to review the crap out of them starting with good ol' Microsoft.
Now, coming into E3, Microsoft had some leery eyes pointed at it for the seemingly complete lack of console exclusives besides Gears of War 3 while Sony is pumping them out left and right. Add that to some apparently not-as-good-as-they-were-hoping Kinect sales and you get an E3 where Microsoft really needs to hit it out of the park to prove they can compete this year.
So the conference starts, and BAM, right out of the gate we get a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 demo. In the mission they showed you're underwater, part of a team assigned to place mines on a submarine. You heard me right. You put mines on a submarine to make it surface. Then, you infiltrate it, kill everyone aboard, steal some launch codes, launch the missiles, escape the sub to a raft that you drive through explosions and warships all around you and into a waiting aircraft transport that as it lifts off shows you all the destruction happening to Prime Destroyable American City #1, New York. Call of Duty is often compared to a Michael Bay movie, and I think the demo showed why there's good reason for that. Now, the thing to remember with Modern Warfare 3 is that while the company who made it is still called Infinity Ward, who made the first two, due to legal disagreements most of the original staff of Infinity Ward is gone and has regrouped as Respawn. Will this make any difference to how well it sells? Oh god no. Will it make any difference to how it plays and if it carries that special something of the first two? We'll have to wait and see until November 8th.
Next up, the Tomb Raider reboot. Now, this game has been hyped as "grittier" and "darker" and all those adjectives commercial people use to try to make you think a game is cool or better than it really is. So, I have been skeptical. Then they started the demo...and I was frankly blown away. She starts the demo having been captured on this mysterious island, hanging upside down and bound in this almost cocoon. Swinging back and forth she catches another nearby cocoon on fire, and consequently hers, which releases her into the pit below where her side says hello to a pointy stick. Impaled, bleeding and broken, she has to escape from her pursuers through crumbling caves in stunning graphical quality. Apparently this was the first of many games to be unfortunately misrepresented by their demo, as a great deal of the action in the demo was quick-time event based whereas the longer form of the demo available on the show floor showed off a great deal more of actual combat and puzzle solving. And considering I was impressed with so little, this has definitely become a title to watch when it drops in Fall 2012.
Then EA Sports takes the stage and I take a quick snooze. I don't get sports games. I don't understand how a company can put out these yearly iterations of practically the exact same game with a few tweaks but overall the exact same experience, and that people BUY THEM. EN MASSE. Anyways, they did at least bring up the first mention of Kinect, saying that Tiger Woods, Madden, Fifa, and an unannounced title would all support Kinect. Thankfully, this is where the sports talking ends. He then branched out into non-sports titles like The Sims 3 Pets and Family Game Night 4 which will also support Kinect, as well as one little title a few people are excited for...
Mass Effect 3. Here's the thing. They showed off two features of how Kinect will integrate into the game, and neither were very impressive. First, you can choose your dialogue options by directly saying them. However, the thing about Mass Effect's conversation wheel is that the snippet on the wheel is not what is actually said. So basically you say one thing out loud, and then Shepard says something completely different on screen. It...doesn't work. Then, something with at least possible interesting applications, you can speak to your squad members during battle to tell them to do things. "Garrus, move up. Liara, singularity." And so forth. But once again, the thing about doing that is, it's a lot easier to push a button. Yes, it may give you the feeling of being more in the game, but would you really rather spend the extra time talking in the heat of battle? Sure it only takes like a second longer to say something than to press a button, but I am just skeptical of how this function can actually improve the game. In terms of the non-Kinect stuff however, this game looks fabulous. I mean, you finally get to see a Krogan female. Rock. On.
Next up, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, specifically the Gunsmith system. Boasting over 20 million different combinations of parts, you can customize weapons in game exactly the way you want them. By spreading your hands apart, you open up the gun into its different components, and by putting your hands back together you close everything up again. You can also use voice commands for quick access to specific parts. It all looks very Minority Report, which is to say, cooooool. You can even test out the weapons, though the stance you use is very odd (similar to drawing the gun from your back like a sword, and then holding your left hand like you're about to eat something from the invisible fork you're holding while your right hand is clenched and flashes open to fire the gun...just look it up). It seems that Ubisoft, out of everyone, seems to understand that the coolest thing about Kinect is the user interface, not the gameplay mechanics. And then at the end it's announced that all future Tom Clancy titles will support Kinect.
Then they start talking about how Kinect will start working with everything on the Xbox (including a new partnership with Youtube). They unfortunately start slipping into the odd rehearsed quality they had last year here, as to demonstrate how this works, they bring a woman on stage who literally only says things like "Xbox, video" to show how you can now scroll over to the video tab with your voice. Everyone with me now, "Oooooooooooo." At least, I assume that's what they wanted us to say. Instead, it's more like "Oh.....okay." The real kicker is that they're bringing live TV to Xbox this fall. How this will actually work, and why Comcast or DirectTV aren't throwing a hissy fit, is a mystery.
A bunch of new interactivity stuff with UFC fights. Woot.
Here's where the eyes rise, people, as everything from this point is Xbox exclusive...
And they show Gears of War 3. *sigh* And bring out cast member Ice-T to play the demo with the head of Epic, Cliff Bleszinski. The demo is awesome, of course, as they take on a giant sea creature and its small exploding minions. And as a surprise that it sure sounded like no one really cared about, Ice-T's old band Body Count is reuniting to do a song to celebrate the return of Horde mode. Look for Gears on September 20th.
That mysterious game last year which was a partnership with Crytek, makers of Crysis, formerly known as Codename: Kingdoms, is now known as Ryse. It looks to be a brutal first person hack and slash set in Rome, where Kinect reads your body movements and allows you to not just use a sword and shield but also headbutt and kick. No indication of a release date, but this looks to be the first actually mature game just for Kinect. Hopefully it pays off, cause Kinect sure needs more like it.
With this being the 10th anniversary of the first Halo, they've fully remastered the campaign and several old multiplayer maps and are rereleasing it on November 15th. Fanboys rejoice.
Forza Motorsport 4 will have voice and headtracking integration with Kinect, and showed a lot of things that I know and care nothing about as someone who knows nothing about cars. But for all you racing fans out there, it's coming October 11th.
Aw, it's Peter Molyneux. I look forward to when he takes the stage because he always comes out with something really cool and awe-inspiring, only to completely disappoint people when the game actually comes out. He's mostly known for Fable, but he's also the guy behind Milo, who if you haven't seen just look up Project Natal (the pre-release name of Kinect) and Milo and be amazed. Unfortunately, the project was scrapped for wholly unknown reasons. So what new disappointment are you bringing this year? It's called Fable: The Journey, and it's part 2 in games that were made to look bad by their demos. In the demo, the game appears to be on-rails, while you swing your hands about in different ways to create spells to launch at goblins. It looked...well...kind of boring. But then Molyneux came out later and essentially said it's not on rails at all, they just decided to do that for the demo. Of course, it would be nice to know how movement is going to work then, but it appears we'll all have to wait and see.
Now here's a shocker. Minecraft. Not only is it coming to Xbox, it will be Xbox exclusive AND feature Kinect support. Want to know more? Too bad! That's all they'll say.
The Kinect train rolls on with Disneyland Adventures, which apparently recreates the entire Disneyland theme park and integrates various Kinect based minigames into it. And since it's a kids Kinect game, that's right, it's time for awkward overly rehearsed creepy kids demo time! They start off with a flight with Peter Pan where you hold out your arms like an airplane and then tilt back and forth randomly (at least it looked random) to try and get coins. Then a mad trip through Alice in Wonderland that ends with an oh so awkward "Fist bump!" Please, dear god Microsoft, stop with the child actors. It looks stupid, overly rehearsed, and utterly unrealistic. It's not even funny. It's just plain bad. But you can look forward to exploring Disneyland this holiday.
But if you really want some repetitive and random arm swinging, look no further than Kinect Star Wars! Seriously, apparently this is part three of the demo did disservice to the game in the same way as Fable (looked on rails but isn't), but I honestly doubt the game could be much better than what they showed. Here's the problem with any swordfighting game where you don't actually have a sword. You're going to hack and slash in any direction and really just kind of hope for the best. And that's exactly what this was. All that guy did on stage was swing his arm back and forth while his character on screen obediently carved through each enemy. Oh he could lean and the character would dodge to the side or even over an opponent to take them by surprise, or lean forward to charge to the nearest foe, but all he did was haphazardly swing his arm. It just looked so boring and made such poor use of Kinect. Plus it was the Clone Wars, with graphics/design from I believe the cartoon, which just made it all look BAD. GRRRR.
Then dear Tim Schafer, maker of such whimsical games as Brutal Legend, Costume Quest and Stacked, brings out his family friendly Kinect game Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster. Which really, if anyone is going to make a good Sesame Street game, it's this man, and....oh god damn it they're back. As Schafer says, "Unleash the simulated family. Very life-like." Anyways, ignoring the complete awkwardness that follows from a grown man and young boy pretending to be father and son very very poorly, the gameplay appears to be nothing new to Kinect, but there is something magical about playing along with Elmo and Cookie Monster that could at least make this game acceptable.
It's obvious at this point that in lieu of having any hardcore exclusives besides Gears, Microsoft is pushing Kinect as hard as they possibly can. Thankfully, at just the right time they bring out what could possibly be their greatest announcement: Kinect Fun Labs (though please change the name). Essentially up until now there have been some really interesting possibilities with new and creative uses for the Kinect hardware, but they've all only been accessible through a PC. So Microsoft created Fun Labs to allow all that innovation to come straight from the Xbox. They showed off things like people scanning, where you can instantly create an avatar that looks just like you, finger tracking, where you can draw a 3D image and look at it at different angles using head tracking, and object capture where you can take literally any object, scan it with Kinect and use it in game. And that's just what they thought of. I'm sure this will open up a gigantic window of innovation and I can't wait to see what comes of it, especially as it released that day.
Kinect Sports 2. Everybody yawn with me.
Dance Central was the surprise hit of Kinect, and Dance Central 2 looks to continue the trend with a campaign mode, seamless multiplayer dancing, and voice support. And not only that, but all tracks from the first game can be imported into 2. Looks to be a must have for Kinect owners.
And then, one last "surprise", Remember last year how I said that they said Halo Reach was going to be the last Halo game, just as they said Halo 3 was going to be the last Halo game? Remember how I was skeptical? Well guess what. One year later and they show a CG trailer for Halo 4, which is not only a new Halo game but will be the start of a new trilogy. That's right Microsoft, drain that cash cow dry cause all that money just taste so goooood.
Overall I think Microsoft once again fell a little flat this year. With no big exclusive titles to throw out there they had to try and throw a lot of excitement behind their other forms of entertainment, namely Kinect and everything else besides games that Xbox does. And sadly it didn't work. Fun Labs could easily show a lot of promise, and secures Microsoft against the piracy Sony has had to deal with by bringing in the modder/hacker community instead of shutting them out. And if you're a young child, there are games such as Disneyland Adventures and Once Upon A Monster to look forward to. But for everyone else, Microsoft's ending claim that this year they would become the best selling console worldwide sounds a bit of a stretch.
Now, coming into E3, Microsoft had some leery eyes pointed at it for the seemingly complete lack of console exclusives besides Gears of War 3 while Sony is pumping them out left and right. Add that to some apparently not-as-good-as-they-were-hoping Kinect sales and you get an E3 where Microsoft really needs to hit it out of the park to prove they can compete this year.
So the conference starts, and BAM, right out of the gate we get a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 demo. In the mission they showed you're underwater, part of a team assigned to place mines on a submarine. You heard me right. You put mines on a submarine to make it surface. Then, you infiltrate it, kill everyone aboard, steal some launch codes, launch the missiles, escape the sub to a raft that you drive through explosions and warships all around you and into a waiting aircraft transport that as it lifts off shows you all the destruction happening to Prime Destroyable American City #1, New York. Call of Duty is often compared to a Michael Bay movie, and I think the demo showed why there's good reason for that. Now, the thing to remember with Modern Warfare 3 is that while the company who made it is still called Infinity Ward, who made the first two, due to legal disagreements most of the original staff of Infinity Ward is gone and has regrouped as Respawn. Will this make any difference to how well it sells? Oh god no. Will it make any difference to how it plays and if it carries that special something of the first two? We'll have to wait and see until November 8th.
Next up, the Tomb Raider reboot. Now, this game has been hyped as "grittier" and "darker" and all those adjectives commercial people use to try to make you think a game is cool or better than it really is. So, I have been skeptical. Then they started the demo...and I was frankly blown away. She starts the demo having been captured on this mysterious island, hanging upside down and bound in this almost cocoon. Swinging back and forth she catches another nearby cocoon on fire, and consequently hers, which releases her into the pit below where her side says hello to a pointy stick. Impaled, bleeding and broken, she has to escape from her pursuers through crumbling caves in stunning graphical quality. Apparently this was the first of many games to be unfortunately misrepresented by their demo, as a great deal of the action in the demo was quick-time event based whereas the longer form of the demo available on the show floor showed off a great deal more of actual combat and puzzle solving. And considering I was impressed with so little, this has definitely become a title to watch when it drops in Fall 2012.
Then EA Sports takes the stage and I take a quick snooze. I don't get sports games. I don't understand how a company can put out these yearly iterations of practically the exact same game with a few tweaks but overall the exact same experience, and that people BUY THEM. EN MASSE. Anyways, they did at least bring up the first mention of Kinect, saying that Tiger Woods, Madden, Fifa, and an unannounced title would all support Kinect. Thankfully, this is where the sports talking ends. He then branched out into non-sports titles like The Sims 3 Pets and Family Game Night 4 which will also support Kinect, as well as one little title a few people are excited for...
Mass Effect 3. Here's the thing. They showed off two features of how Kinect will integrate into the game, and neither were very impressive. First, you can choose your dialogue options by directly saying them. However, the thing about Mass Effect's conversation wheel is that the snippet on the wheel is not what is actually said. So basically you say one thing out loud, and then Shepard says something completely different on screen. It...doesn't work. Then, something with at least possible interesting applications, you can speak to your squad members during battle to tell them to do things. "Garrus, move up. Liara, singularity." And so forth. But once again, the thing about doing that is, it's a lot easier to push a button. Yes, it may give you the feeling of being more in the game, but would you really rather spend the extra time talking in the heat of battle? Sure it only takes like a second longer to say something than to press a button, but I am just skeptical of how this function can actually improve the game. In terms of the non-Kinect stuff however, this game looks fabulous. I mean, you finally get to see a Krogan female. Rock. On.
Next up, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, specifically the Gunsmith system. Boasting over 20 million different combinations of parts, you can customize weapons in game exactly the way you want them. By spreading your hands apart, you open up the gun into its different components, and by putting your hands back together you close everything up again. You can also use voice commands for quick access to specific parts. It all looks very Minority Report, which is to say, cooooool. You can even test out the weapons, though the stance you use is very odd (similar to drawing the gun from your back like a sword, and then holding your left hand like you're about to eat something from the invisible fork you're holding while your right hand is clenched and flashes open to fire the gun...just look it up). It seems that Ubisoft, out of everyone, seems to understand that the coolest thing about Kinect is the user interface, not the gameplay mechanics. And then at the end it's announced that all future Tom Clancy titles will support Kinect.
Then they start talking about how Kinect will start working with everything on the Xbox (including a new partnership with Youtube). They unfortunately start slipping into the odd rehearsed quality they had last year here, as to demonstrate how this works, they bring a woman on stage who literally only says things like "Xbox, video" to show how you can now scroll over to the video tab with your voice. Everyone with me now, "Oooooooooooo." At least, I assume that's what they wanted us to say. Instead, it's more like "Oh.....okay." The real kicker is that they're bringing live TV to Xbox this fall. How this will actually work, and why Comcast or DirectTV aren't throwing a hissy fit, is a mystery.
A bunch of new interactivity stuff with UFC fights. Woot.
Here's where the eyes rise, people, as everything from this point is Xbox exclusive...
And they show Gears of War 3. *sigh* And bring out cast member Ice-T to play the demo with the head of Epic, Cliff Bleszinski. The demo is awesome, of course, as they take on a giant sea creature and its small exploding minions. And as a surprise that it sure sounded like no one really cared about, Ice-T's old band Body Count is reuniting to do a song to celebrate the return of Horde mode. Look for Gears on September 20th.
That mysterious game last year which was a partnership with Crytek, makers of Crysis, formerly known as Codename: Kingdoms, is now known as Ryse. It looks to be a brutal first person hack and slash set in Rome, where Kinect reads your body movements and allows you to not just use a sword and shield but also headbutt and kick. No indication of a release date, but this looks to be the first actually mature game just for Kinect. Hopefully it pays off, cause Kinect sure needs more like it.
With this being the 10th anniversary of the first Halo, they've fully remastered the campaign and several old multiplayer maps and are rereleasing it on November 15th. Fanboys rejoice.
Forza Motorsport 4 will have voice and headtracking integration with Kinect, and showed a lot of things that I know and care nothing about as someone who knows nothing about cars. But for all you racing fans out there, it's coming October 11th.
Aw, it's Peter Molyneux. I look forward to when he takes the stage because he always comes out with something really cool and awe-inspiring, only to completely disappoint people when the game actually comes out. He's mostly known for Fable, but he's also the guy behind Milo, who if you haven't seen just look up Project Natal (the pre-release name of Kinect) and Milo and be amazed. Unfortunately, the project was scrapped for wholly unknown reasons. So what new disappointment are you bringing this year? It's called Fable: The Journey, and it's part 2 in games that were made to look bad by their demos. In the demo, the game appears to be on-rails, while you swing your hands about in different ways to create spells to launch at goblins. It looked...well...kind of boring. But then Molyneux came out later and essentially said it's not on rails at all, they just decided to do that for the demo. Of course, it would be nice to know how movement is going to work then, but it appears we'll all have to wait and see.
Now here's a shocker. Minecraft. Not only is it coming to Xbox, it will be Xbox exclusive AND feature Kinect support. Want to know more? Too bad! That's all they'll say.
The Kinect train rolls on with Disneyland Adventures, which apparently recreates the entire Disneyland theme park and integrates various Kinect based minigames into it. And since it's a kids Kinect game, that's right, it's time for awkward overly rehearsed creepy kids demo time! They start off with a flight with Peter Pan where you hold out your arms like an airplane and then tilt back and forth randomly (at least it looked random) to try and get coins. Then a mad trip through Alice in Wonderland that ends with an oh so awkward "Fist bump!" Please, dear god Microsoft, stop with the child actors. It looks stupid, overly rehearsed, and utterly unrealistic. It's not even funny. It's just plain bad. But you can look forward to exploring Disneyland this holiday.
But if you really want some repetitive and random arm swinging, look no further than Kinect Star Wars! Seriously, apparently this is part three of the demo did disservice to the game in the same way as Fable (looked on rails but isn't), but I honestly doubt the game could be much better than what they showed. Here's the problem with any swordfighting game where you don't actually have a sword. You're going to hack and slash in any direction and really just kind of hope for the best. And that's exactly what this was. All that guy did on stage was swing his arm back and forth while his character on screen obediently carved through each enemy. Oh he could lean and the character would dodge to the side or even over an opponent to take them by surprise, or lean forward to charge to the nearest foe, but all he did was haphazardly swing his arm. It just looked so boring and made such poor use of Kinect. Plus it was the Clone Wars, with graphics/design from I believe the cartoon, which just made it all look BAD. GRRRR.
Then dear Tim Schafer, maker of such whimsical games as Brutal Legend, Costume Quest and Stacked, brings out his family friendly Kinect game Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster. Which really, if anyone is going to make a good Sesame Street game, it's this man, and....oh god damn it they're back. As Schafer says, "Unleash the simulated family. Very life-like." Anyways, ignoring the complete awkwardness that follows from a grown man and young boy pretending to be father and son very very poorly, the gameplay appears to be nothing new to Kinect, but there is something magical about playing along with Elmo and Cookie Monster that could at least make this game acceptable.
It's obvious at this point that in lieu of having any hardcore exclusives besides Gears, Microsoft is pushing Kinect as hard as they possibly can. Thankfully, at just the right time they bring out what could possibly be their greatest announcement: Kinect Fun Labs (though please change the name). Essentially up until now there have been some really interesting possibilities with new and creative uses for the Kinect hardware, but they've all only been accessible through a PC. So Microsoft created Fun Labs to allow all that innovation to come straight from the Xbox. They showed off things like people scanning, where you can instantly create an avatar that looks just like you, finger tracking, where you can draw a 3D image and look at it at different angles using head tracking, and object capture where you can take literally any object, scan it with Kinect and use it in game. And that's just what they thought of. I'm sure this will open up a gigantic window of innovation and I can't wait to see what comes of it, especially as it released that day.
Kinect Sports 2. Everybody yawn with me.
Dance Central was the surprise hit of Kinect, and Dance Central 2 looks to continue the trend with a campaign mode, seamless multiplayer dancing, and voice support. And not only that, but all tracks from the first game can be imported into 2. Looks to be a must have for Kinect owners.
And then, one last "surprise", Remember last year how I said that they said Halo Reach was going to be the last Halo game, just as they said Halo 3 was going to be the last Halo game? Remember how I was skeptical? Well guess what. One year later and they show a CG trailer for Halo 4, which is not only a new Halo game but will be the start of a new trilogy. That's right Microsoft, drain that cash cow dry cause all that money just taste so goooood.
Overall I think Microsoft once again fell a little flat this year. With no big exclusive titles to throw out there they had to try and throw a lot of excitement behind their other forms of entertainment, namely Kinect and everything else besides games that Xbox does. And sadly it didn't work. Fun Labs could easily show a lot of promise, and secures Microsoft against the piracy Sony has had to deal with by bringing in the modder/hacker community instead of shutting them out. And if you're a young child, there are games such as Disneyland Adventures and Once Upon A Monster to look forward to. But for everyone else, Microsoft's ending claim that this year they would become the best selling console worldwide sounds a bit of a stretch.
Friday, June 3, 2011
E3 2011: Konami
WOOOO E3! Time once again to look at the year to come in games, and what we can look forward to. Kicking things off before E3 even starts is Konami with a video compiling interviews with various designers about the projects they're working on. So let's get started!
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3DS
Personally I could never really get into the Metal Gear series. I played and enjoyed Sons of Liberty, but when I moved on to Snake Eater I just got bored with the gameplay and completely lost in the story. However, for those who do enjoy some tactical stealth with everyone's favorite box hide and go seek champion, Snake Eater 3DS looks to incorporate some interesting, though not necessarily wise, features. The best, and easiest, decision was to put inventory on the bottom screen, allowing quick changing of items. A fun, though not necessarily useful new tool is the ability to take pictures with the 3DS camera and then incorporate that into Snake's camouflage. And finally, easily the worst decision, the incorporation of the gyro sensor so that you have to tilt the 3DS while Snake is doing something like crossing a bridge to make sure he doesn't fall off. Didn't we go through this with sixaxis, people? Especially incorporated into the 3DS where even a slight tilting of the screen can ruin the 3D effect. Still, no doubt fans of the series will enjoy another foray into the shoes of Snake despite, or even possibly because of, these new features.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
I don't follow soccer and hate the idea of yearly iterations of sports games rehashing the same old formula. But for you soccer fans out there, they've improved enemy AI, focused more heavily on not just the ball holders' movement but the movement of the rest of the team as well, and refined the mechanics of doing special moves like feint plays. Woot.
NeverDead
This new IP starts with a very simple premise: you cannot die. You face big horrible monsters and can get smashed to pieces, but then you simply roll your head around, collecting your body parts back until you kill the thing. Well where are the stakes if you can't die? Sounds a bit boring right? Well apparently the game is actually more centered around how you use your body parts once detached to defeat the enemy (or I'm guessing solve the puzzle) at hand. Also, I lost count of how many times the guy said this was "new". They're banking on originality and innovation, but I'm waiting to see whether this game will bring something new and fun, or simply new.
Silent Hill series
In an interesting turn the focus shifts to the upcoming movie Silent Hill Revelations, with the director talking about how he was inspired by the games. Drawing from Silent Hill 3, let's hope this movie turns out better than the rather average first one.
Brief statement about how they're releasing the Silent Hill Collection, Silent Hill 2 and 3 in HD.
Silent Hill: Book of Memories will be a new title exclusively for the Next Generation Portable (NGP) from Sony. I really hope Sony chooses a better name soon cause NGP just ain't cutting it.
Silent Hill Downpour is coming out soon and from the trailer looks...pretty impressive actually. Creepy environments, lots of misshapen baddies hiding in shadows, and a convict with a mysterious past as the lead. What more could you ask for?
Kojima Productions
The man behind Metal Gear Solid releases a rather hilarious video of this guy interviewing him about why he wouldn't be at E3 this year. After taking a voice activated elevator that had sounds of moving trains and cows as they traveled, and which identified the random guy as an unknown demon entity before Kojima cleared him, random guy and Kojima sit down and a video within the video starts to play of these masked men from another game company try to interrogate a janitor as to what the big E3 reveal this year is going to be. After Psycho Turkey, an obvious homage to the weird Metal Gear villains, uses his "nanobots" to read the mind of the janitor, a video within the video within the video starts to play and reveals that Kojima is introducing a new service called Transfarring wherein you can essentially transfer your saves from certain games (the first being Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker) from your PS3 to your PSP and vice versa so you can continue to play at any time on either system. Also introduced is the Metal Gear Solid HD collection, which will include MGS 2, 3 and Peace Walker (which won't be like the Sony barebones PSP remasters, it will have trophies and is being fully remastered), and the Zone of the Enders HD collection as well. And in a surprise move, both collections are coming the 360 as well as the PS3.
But Kojima wasn't done there. He lays out his master plan, which is to use Transfarring not just between PSP and PS3, but eventually to step it up to PS2 games on PS3 and NGP, and in the final phase, being able to play PS3 games on the NGP and vice versa. Personally, if he does end up doing that and Sony doesn't adopt it or a version of it for all games, a lot of people including myself are going to be very upset. Go for the kill Kojima!
And he does. He reveals that he's developed a new engine called the Fox engine, which is being used in the new game he's developing that he can't talk about, and that it will be multiplatform and hopes it will become the new standard engine for other developers. It certainly did look very pretty.
And that does it for Konami! A couple interesting titles, several remasters, and a few blows to Sony's midsection from Kojima. All in all, shouldn't be a bad year for them.
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3DS
Personally I could never really get into the Metal Gear series. I played and enjoyed Sons of Liberty, but when I moved on to Snake Eater I just got bored with the gameplay and completely lost in the story. However, for those who do enjoy some tactical stealth with everyone's favorite box hide and go seek champion, Snake Eater 3DS looks to incorporate some interesting, though not necessarily wise, features. The best, and easiest, decision was to put inventory on the bottom screen, allowing quick changing of items. A fun, though not necessarily useful new tool is the ability to take pictures with the 3DS camera and then incorporate that into Snake's camouflage. And finally, easily the worst decision, the incorporation of the gyro sensor so that you have to tilt the 3DS while Snake is doing something like crossing a bridge to make sure he doesn't fall off. Didn't we go through this with sixaxis, people? Especially incorporated into the 3DS where even a slight tilting of the screen can ruin the 3D effect. Still, no doubt fans of the series will enjoy another foray into the shoes of Snake despite, or even possibly because of, these new features.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
I don't follow soccer and hate the idea of yearly iterations of sports games rehashing the same old formula. But for you soccer fans out there, they've improved enemy AI, focused more heavily on not just the ball holders' movement but the movement of the rest of the team as well, and refined the mechanics of doing special moves like feint plays. Woot.
NeverDead
This new IP starts with a very simple premise: you cannot die. You face big horrible monsters and can get smashed to pieces, but then you simply roll your head around, collecting your body parts back until you kill the thing. Well where are the stakes if you can't die? Sounds a bit boring right? Well apparently the game is actually more centered around how you use your body parts once detached to defeat the enemy (or I'm guessing solve the puzzle) at hand. Also, I lost count of how many times the guy said this was "new". They're banking on originality and innovation, but I'm waiting to see whether this game will bring something new and fun, or simply new.
Silent Hill series
In an interesting turn the focus shifts to the upcoming movie Silent Hill Revelations, with the director talking about how he was inspired by the games. Drawing from Silent Hill 3, let's hope this movie turns out better than the rather average first one.
Brief statement about how they're releasing the Silent Hill Collection, Silent Hill 2 and 3 in HD.
Silent Hill: Book of Memories will be a new title exclusively for the Next Generation Portable (NGP) from Sony. I really hope Sony chooses a better name soon cause NGP just ain't cutting it.
Silent Hill Downpour is coming out soon and from the trailer looks...pretty impressive actually. Creepy environments, lots of misshapen baddies hiding in shadows, and a convict with a mysterious past as the lead. What more could you ask for?
Kojima Productions
The man behind Metal Gear Solid releases a rather hilarious video of this guy interviewing him about why he wouldn't be at E3 this year. After taking a voice activated elevator that had sounds of moving trains and cows as they traveled, and which identified the random guy as an unknown demon entity before Kojima cleared him, random guy and Kojima sit down and a video within the video starts to play of these masked men from another game company try to interrogate a janitor as to what the big E3 reveal this year is going to be. After Psycho Turkey, an obvious homage to the weird Metal Gear villains, uses his "nanobots" to read the mind of the janitor, a video within the video within the video starts to play and reveals that Kojima is introducing a new service called Transfarring wherein you can essentially transfer your saves from certain games (the first being Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker) from your PS3 to your PSP and vice versa so you can continue to play at any time on either system. Also introduced is the Metal Gear Solid HD collection, which will include MGS 2, 3 and Peace Walker (which won't be like the Sony barebones PSP remasters, it will have trophies and is being fully remastered), and the Zone of the Enders HD collection as well. And in a surprise move, both collections are coming the 360 as well as the PS3.
But Kojima wasn't done there. He lays out his master plan, which is to use Transfarring not just between PSP and PS3, but eventually to step it up to PS2 games on PS3 and NGP, and in the final phase, being able to play PS3 games on the NGP and vice versa. Personally, if he does end up doing that and Sony doesn't adopt it or a version of it for all games, a lot of people including myself are going to be very upset. Go for the kill Kojima!
And he does. He reveals that he's developed a new engine called the Fox engine, which is being used in the new game he's developing that he can't talk about, and that it will be multiplatform and hopes it will become the new standard engine for other developers. It certainly did look very pretty.
And that does it for Konami! A couple interesting titles, several remasters, and a few blows to Sony's midsection from Kojima. All in all, shouldn't be a bad year for them.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire is a strange beast to me. Made by Rockstar, the people behind Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, one goes into it expecting a certain type of gameplay. Even hearing reviews beforehand about just how different this game was from anything else out there, the graphics and underlying mechanics of GTA and Red Dead are still there and unfortunately set up some expectations about how this game's going to run. There's a weekly vidcast on g4tv.com called Feedback, and one of the panelists explained where Noire fits in Rockstar's canon perfectly. She said that essentially GTA is all about the action at the cost of story. Red Dead was a nice mixture of story and action, but still focused mostly on the action. Noire throws all of its weight behind the story, and while there's still action, it's highly de-emphasized. Does Noire suffer because of it? Yes and no.
The problem with Noire, is that it's much like Heavy Rain in that there is no other game you can really compare it to. The experience is entirely unique. You play as Cole Phelps, a hero returned from the war who starts as a beat cop in the LAPD. After making a name for yourself in some introductory cases, you start getting promoted up the ladder, taking on different desks in departments like traffic, homicide and vice. Most of your cases are unrelated to each other, or at least appear so at first, which gives the game an almost serialized feel, especially as each case has essentially the same underlying structure to it. You hear about a suspicious death from your captain, make your way to the crime scene, search the area for clues, use those clues to find and interrogate suspects, and based on what you find, close the case. It's odd, because I feel that in any other game, this repetitiveness would've been a major downside, but it Noire, it honestly never felt repetitive. Each case brought new clues, new suspicions, new suspects that taxed your lie detection skills in ever varying ways.
Yet it also leaves me feeling confused because while the cases themselves didn't feel repetitive, I couldn't help notice their repetitive nature due to Cole's overarching storyline being, as I felt, rather non-cohesive. Yes, it was there, and going back and replaying cases especially I can start to see how present it was, but I couldn't help but feel during the course of the game that I was just moving from one case to another without moving the more important story forward. In fact it almost felt like there were three or four different storylines that didn't mesh together all too well. There's the beginning, with Cole starting to shine and make a name for himself. Then there's the Black Dahlia cases. Then there's a mass conspiracy involving real estate. And through it all, something to do with morphine and Cole's old war buddies. It's a vast web of interconnections that's hard to keep track of, especially with how little focus it receives until the very end.
And maybe that's my problem. I'm so used to stories beating me over the head with exposition and explaining exactly what's going on, that when a story like this comes along that doesn't connect all the dots nicely for you and asks to do some thinking and connecting for yourself, I get a little lost. While the game is very forgiving and does some hand-holding if you mess up an interrogation or make some mistake along the way, it isn't afraid to drop that hand when it comes to actually piecing everything together. Whether that's a downside for the game, or just for my mental capacity I can't really tell.
As for the game itself and how it plays, that too is an entirely different animal. As I said with the formula, you get a case and are told to go investigate somewhere. You drive there, get briefed on the situation by the coroner or the first man on the scene, and then start hunting for clues. You do this by walking around the scene, looking very carefully for anything suspicious, or just walking randomly until your controller vibrates, telling you you've found something to investigate. Sometimes it's just a piece of junk you quickly discard, other times it's a clue you have to rotate in your hand until you see something important, and sometimes it's a dead body whose head you need to turn to get a better look at the rope marks around their neck. Investigation music plays until you've found everything important, at which time you go searching for suspects or question witnesses. And here's the most important part of L.A. Noire: the questioning.
You see, Rockstar spent years making this game, and it wouldn't have been possible without some astoundingly impressive motion capture tech that captures the performance of each and every actor with remarkable precision. Because, in these interrogations, you ask the suspect a question. They give a response. Then, based on their facial expressions, movements, tics, etc. you have to decide whether to believe them, doubt them, or call them out on a lie based on evidence you collected. These sessions are by far the most interesting, and often most difficult, parts of the game. Unfortunately, they're not always difficult in a good way. Most of the time it's fairly obvious when you should be doubting someone, when they're telling the truth, or if you have evidence that would contradict what they just said. And even if it's not, you gain special Intuition points throughout the game that allow you to remove one of the wrong responses to give, or to ask the community which answer you should choose. However, even with those, sometimes it is frustratingly difficult to try and tell which way the game is asking you to go, especially in determining whether to doubt someone or which piece of evidence you have would catch them in their lie. After letting someone get away with 0 questions answered correctly I had to look up why I had done so poorly, and found that at least one reason were sometimes the suspect would give an answer and I thought calling lie on them was trying to call them out on one thing, but if you actually pressed the button Cole would try to call him out on something else. It was always related, but not necessarily the same thing. I just have to harp on this because if you're going to make this, especially this, the number one important feature of your game, it better be damn near perfect. And while it was pretty solid for most of the game, those odd turnabouts in logic stood out all the more and removed me from the experience.
I suppose this is really where all my complaints come down to: the experience. I honestly think it rather unfortunate that this was a Rockstar game. Or at least, that its underpinnings are much like GTA and Red Dead, because it then invites comparison that it frankly can't live up to, or even simply chooses not to. The world of Noire is gigantic. It's recreated, as they say, 90% faithfully to the L.A. of 1947. But there is nothing to do in this world. There are landmarks to find, cars to unlock, and random street cases (essentially small action-oriented cases) to respond to, but none of them give any good reason to really explore or take an interest in this world that was so masterfully crafted. In GTA and Red Dead they used the space well, but here it feels like it goes to waste. The action in GTA and Red Dead is often intense, and quite fun, while the action in Noire feels short, recycled, a little boring and even simply out of place. And for a game that placed all its emphasis on story, I couldn't help but feel that while it handled its case by case stories better than any of the missions in GTA or Red Dead, Red Dead trounced Noire in the overarching story department. I have to say, without spoiling anything, the Noire let me down with its ending. I feel it didn't build to any worthwhile conclusion and left me wondering why the game wasn't still going in the same way Red Dead continued.
What I'm trying to say with all of this is that by having those constant points of reference, I was constantly being drawn out of the experience I believe Rockstar actually wanted me to have. When it hits its mark, L.A. Noire is easily one of the most interesting and completely engrossing games ever made. The actors are all wonderful, the music sets the tone perfectly, and you start to see the big picture unfolding in front of you and feel like it's a personal accomplishment, that you, master detective, were able to figure out what it all means. But then it reminds you that it's a game. You walk aimlessly around rooms pressing x whenever your controller vibrates instead of carefully searching for something that stands out. You soak up bullets and regenerate while two shots takes out practically any enemy. Every car you drive feels like you're steering an awkward turtle. On top of all that it's a game in a lineage of games that it really shouldn't have anything to do with yet can't help but invite comparison to for the features that it lacks.
Now, I know I've leveled a lot of criticism at this game, but only because it's received so much god-like praise everywhere else. Yes, this is by far one of the most innovative and interesting games ever made, and if you're a fan of film noir and detective stories then this game will have you salivating from the get go. You'll also likely enjoy it more if you haven't played Red Dead or GTA as it will be a completely new experience. Then again, you may like it more even if you have played them just for how different it is. If there's one thing I'm sure about with L.A. Noire, it's that some will love it, some will hate it, and some like myself will find themselves uncomfortably sandwiched in-between praising it for its genius and criticizing it for not having all the elements of a game we've come to expect and enjoy. By no means do I consider this a bad game, but I have to be honest about my personal experience with it and say that unlike others I don't consider it to be one of the best games ever made. As I've said before in other reviews, to me, it doesn't matter how original or interesting you are, if you don't have the gameplay to back it up then it doesn't matter. And while L.A. Noire is harder to judge on gameplay since there's nothing like it out there, I simply came away feeling that it could've been more.
L.A. Noire gets an 8.5/10.
The problem with Noire, is that it's much like Heavy Rain in that there is no other game you can really compare it to. The experience is entirely unique. You play as Cole Phelps, a hero returned from the war who starts as a beat cop in the LAPD. After making a name for yourself in some introductory cases, you start getting promoted up the ladder, taking on different desks in departments like traffic, homicide and vice. Most of your cases are unrelated to each other, or at least appear so at first, which gives the game an almost serialized feel, especially as each case has essentially the same underlying structure to it. You hear about a suspicious death from your captain, make your way to the crime scene, search the area for clues, use those clues to find and interrogate suspects, and based on what you find, close the case. It's odd, because I feel that in any other game, this repetitiveness would've been a major downside, but it Noire, it honestly never felt repetitive. Each case brought new clues, new suspicions, new suspects that taxed your lie detection skills in ever varying ways.
Yet it also leaves me feeling confused because while the cases themselves didn't feel repetitive, I couldn't help notice their repetitive nature due to Cole's overarching storyline being, as I felt, rather non-cohesive. Yes, it was there, and going back and replaying cases especially I can start to see how present it was, but I couldn't help but feel during the course of the game that I was just moving from one case to another without moving the more important story forward. In fact it almost felt like there were three or four different storylines that didn't mesh together all too well. There's the beginning, with Cole starting to shine and make a name for himself. Then there's the Black Dahlia cases. Then there's a mass conspiracy involving real estate. And through it all, something to do with morphine and Cole's old war buddies. It's a vast web of interconnections that's hard to keep track of, especially with how little focus it receives until the very end.
And maybe that's my problem. I'm so used to stories beating me over the head with exposition and explaining exactly what's going on, that when a story like this comes along that doesn't connect all the dots nicely for you and asks to do some thinking and connecting for yourself, I get a little lost. While the game is very forgiving and does some hand-holding if you mess up an interrogation or make some mistake along the way, it isn't afraid to drop that hand when it comes to actually piecing everything together. Whether that's a downside for the game, or just for my mental capacity I can't really tell.
As for the game itself and how it plays, that too is an entirely different animal. As I said with the formula, you get a case and are told to go investigate somewhere. You drive there, get briefed on the situation by the coroner or the first man on the scene, and then start hunting for clues. You do this by walking around the scene, looking very carefully for anything suspicious, or just walking randomly until your controller vibrates, telling you you've found something to investigate. Sometimes it's just a piece of junk you quickly discard, other times it's a clue you have to rotate in your hand until you see something important, and sometimes it's a dead body whose head you need to turn to get a better look at the rope marks around their neck. Investigation music plays until you've found everything important, at which time you go searching for suspects or question witnesses. And here's the most important part of L.A. Noire: the questioning.
You see, Rockstar spent years making this game, and it wouldn't have been possible without some astoundingly impressive motion capture tech that captures the performance of each and every actor with remarkable precision. Because, in these interrogations, you ask the suspect a question. They give a response. Then, based on their facial expressions, movements, tics, etc. you have to decide whether to believe them, doubt them, or call them out on a lie based on evidence you collected. These sessions are by far the most interesting, and often most difficult, parts of the game. Unfortunately, they're not always difficult in a good way. Most of the time it's fairly obvious when you should be doubting someone, when they're telling the truth, or if you have evidence that would contradict what they just said. And even if it's not, you gain special Intuition points throughout the game that allow you to remove one of the wrong responses to give, or to ask the community which answer you should choose. However, even with those, sometimes it is frustratingly difficult to try and tell which way the game is asking you to go, especially in determining whether to doubt someone or which piece of evidence you have would catch them in their lie. After letting someone get away with 0 questions answered correctly I had to look up why I had done so poorly, and found that at least one reason were sometimes the suspect would give an answer and I thought calling lie on them was trying to call them out on one thing, but if you actually pressed the button Cole would try to call him out on something else. It was always related, but not necessarily the same thing. I just have to harp on this because if you're going to make this, especially this, the number one important feature of your game, it better be damn near perfect. And while it was pretty solid for most of the game, those odd turnabouts in logic stood out all the more and removed me from the experience.
I suppose this is really where all my complaints come down to: the experience. I honestly think it rather unfortunate that this was a Rockstar game. Or at least, that its underpinnings are much like GTA and Red Dead, because it then invites comparison that it frankly can't live up to, or even simply chooses not to. The world of Noire is gigantic. It's recreated, as they say, 90% faithfully to the L.A. of 1947. But there is nothing to do in this world. There are landmarks to find, cars to unlock, and random street cases (essentially small action-oriented cases) to respond to, but none of them give any good reason to really explore or take an interest in this world that was so masterfully crafted. In GTA and Red Dead they used the space well, but here it feels like it goes to waste. The action in GTA and Red Dead is often intense, and quite fun, while the action in Noire feels short, recycled, a little boring and even simply out of place. And for a game that placed all its emphasis on story, I couldn't help but feel that while it handled its case by case stories better than any of the missions in GTA or Red Dead, Red Dead trounced Noire in the overarching story department. I have to say, without spoiling anything, the Noire let me down with its ending. I feel it didn't build to any worthwhile conclusion and left me wondering why the game wasn't still going in the same way Red Dead continued.
What I'm trying to say with all of this is that by having those constant points of reference, I was constantly being drawn out of the experience I believe Rockstar actually wanted me to have. When it hits its mark, L.A. Noire is easily one of the most interesting and completely engrossing games ever made. The actors are all wonderful, the music sets the tone perfectly, and you start to see the big picture unfolding in front of you and feel like it's a personal accomplishment, that you, master detective, were able to figure out what it all means. But then it reminds you that it's a game. You walk aimlessly around rooms pressing x whenever your controller vibrates instead of carefully searching for something that stands out. You soak up bullets and regenerate while two shots takes out practically any enemy. Every car you drive feels like you're steering an awkward turtle. On top of all that it's a game in a lineage of games that it really shouldn't have anything to do with yet can't help but invite comparison to for the features that it lacks.
Now, I know I've leveled a lot of criticism at this game, but only because it's received so much god-like praise everywhere else. Yes, this is by far one of the most innovative and interesting games ever made, and if you're a fan of film noir and detective stories then this game will have you salivating from the get go. You'll also likely enjoy it more if you haven't played Red Dead or GTA as it will be a completely new experience. Then again, you may like it more even if you have played them just for how different it is. If there's one thing I'm sure about with L.A. Noire, it's that some will love it, some will hate it, and some like myself will find themselves uncomfortably sandwiched in-between praising it for its genius and criticizing it for not having all the elements of a game we've come to expect and enjoy. By no means do I consider this a bad game, but I have to be honest about my personal experience with it and say that unlike others I don't consider it to be one of the best games ever made. As I've said before in other reviews, to me, it doesn't matter how original or interesting you are, if you don't have the gameplay to back it up then it doesn't matter. And while L.A. Noire is harder to judge on gameplay since there's nothing like it out there, I simply came away feeling that it could've been more.
L.A. Noire gets an 8.5/10.
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