OK, so E3 has come and gone. Officially. Now us huddled masses can go from waiting from the announcement date, to waiting for more news on a release date so we'll know when we can stop waiting. And we fucking love it. E3 is a wonderful time if you're a gamer, regardless of whether or not you were in actual attendance. Thanks to the wonderdrug called the internet, me and my associate have been ingesting a steady diet of game media. We endured, we persevered, we bled from eyes, possibly saw Jesus, napped, and have returned (Kind of, but not in any way like Jesus) to give our impressions of what has been announced and what is to come. Why? Because... fuck you! Thats why.
Kevin:
Why must you tell the reader off? Its hard enough to write this shit without you shaking a gun at them!
First off Microsoft:
First off Microsoft:
Kevin:
Microsoft seems to be gearing the Xbox more towards being seen as an entertainment center then just a game console. With the addition of Youtube and live TV, Microsoft is trying to appeal to everyone by offering more the just games to their system. Plus the addition of UFC to XBL, you can tell that they understand most of their core audience. Last year they announced EPSN to the line up of services that XBL has, yet I no longer see it on the marketplace (assuming it was ever implemented to begin with.) There is a bit more of a correlation between people who are gamers and people who are UFC fans which would make more sense. Yet I still feel like gaming as I remember it is something of the past.
Tim:
The best way to sum this one up would be that this year's press conference echoed the one that Microsoft had prepared last year. However, accurate as that may be, it makes for a boring article so let's put it another way: It was the exact same presentation. Kinect, new Fable, new Halo, new Gears of War, Kinect, exploitation of children, Kinect, and dancing. Always with the dancing.
The best way to sum this one up would be that this year's press conference echoed the one that Microsoft had prepared last year. However, accurate as that may be, it makes for a boring article so let's put it another way: It was the exact same presentation. Kinect, new Fable, new Halo, new Gears of War, Kinect, exploitation of children, Kinect, and dancing. Always with the dancing.
Kevin:
Kinect is a fantastic device, I have had the time to play around with it and its fun. The types of games currently out for it however, all seem pretty much the same. Party games simular to what you’d find on Wii (a demographic of gamers MS is trying to appel to) and it works to a degree. Having a Sesame Street game done by Double-Fine and a virtual Disneyland sound interesting but if they are really going to focus on Kinect they should really try pushing the bounds of what it can do. Its pretty much the same as last years fare; with an update to their sports party game KINECT SPORTS SEASON 2, and Dance Central 2 its almost an echo of what they did at the previous E3.
We are the future!
Tim:
Still, there is something to be said about following through with what you started. Kinect didn't exactly thrill me upon it's initial announcement last year. It made me think of two things: 1) The obvious vie for Nintendo's (With Sony on the horizon's), motion-control market. Which brings me to 2) This shit has been attempted before. Recently. Does anybody not remember the Eye Toy? The PS2 peripheral that, like most PS2 peripherals, didn't work quite as great as advertised, and barely had any software support. (IE - Games) Microsoft have added enough titles to the Kinect's roster to make me want to believe there's a chance this thing could work well. The cynic in me isn't hearing any of that shit though. He's been burned before. Remember the first wave of Wii titles? Remember playing Red Steel for the first time and feeling dirty? I think it'll be a matter of time before we see how many of these titles feel like they weren't shoehorned in but a few titles seem to have promise. The Gunstringer in particular has kept my attention. The "puppet master" control scheme is something new and, mixed with humor and Lloyd Kaufman (Toxic Avenger yo), could be the first good game for Kinect that isn't a essentially tech demo.
Potential
Kevin:
While they also plan on adding Kinect support to some of the EA sports titles and Mass Effect 3, there are only three things that really interested me when discussing Kinect and E3. The Ghost Recon weapon customization demo, Fable The Journey, and Star Wars Kincet. While I am not a big FPS fan, the Kinect demo did demonstrate a more comfortable flow when dealing with menus arranging items and the like. Not to mention how he controlled it during the weapon test. When looking at Fable The Journey the aspect of moving our hands to conjure spells and attacks look very interesting during the conference, however I wonder if The Journey is going to be anything more then a medieval fantasy rail shooter. Lets hope I am wrong. Star Wars Kinect looked like a fun title, however again I feel that it was more of a suped up rail shooter, in most cases that is what it feels like when playing most of these motion control games. The core mechanics feel well but the execution when it comes to bring it more interactive and immersive come into play, you’re still just a silly retard flailing their arms about like a jackass. Not to mention it looks like a creep robot that studies you, constantly!
"I can see you masturbating."
Tim:
One Kinect feature starting to be utilized more (as seen with Mass Effect 3) is voice command. I am excited for this and incredibly wary about this feature for one reason: what happens if you're playing with another person in the room? Even if Kinect is able to single out your voice when recognizing commands, will you be a mute to everybody else in the room? The only real options are to be a dick and ignore everybody or talk and end up giving out accidental commands triggered by the wrong word. Maybe some games will have fail safes built in but smart money says there will be some rushed titles that won't.
Also, another interesting note on voice command. The new "Bing" service. You know, the one where you can navigate menu's via voice command? It seems pretty sophisticated but this is another one of those thing that better have selective voice recognition. Anybody remember "Lord of the Flies"? Well think of the XBox controller as a conch. Imagine an environment where control of the floor was no longer regulated to a single person. Anybody save for a deaf/mute will be able to interject on any choice a person in the room makes. Player 1 will cease to exist and what starts out as a fun family night with Netflix, mutates into a triple murder-suicide.
"Socks to your Ass-mar!"
Kevin:
On that note Halo CE is making a comeback, an anniversary edition which is a remastered 360 remake of the original Halo with the classic multiplayer maps and everything. Not to mention the end of the press conference which announced Halo 4 and the start of a new trilogy. I can’t really think of anything else they can do with Halo, the controls are pretty spot on and the game itself in most if not all of its forms is still playable online somewhere. Isn’t it time to give it a bit of a rest for a year or two (we haven’t made it to the Nintendo article yet and I ask for a series to take a break).
Tim:
Ok, a new Halo game. It's not bad news but it's not really the kind of surprise to leave your presentation on. It was a surprise when developer Bungie announced that Halo: Reach would be the company's last Halo game but I don't think there was any question of whether or not one of Microsoft's biggest cash cows was going to continue with Microsoft still owning the rights.
Also, you're adopted!
Kevin:
Last year they had a playable demo of Gears 3, this year its a new playable part of the campaign (and Ice-T. Did they not have a rapper last year too?) It got the same amount of screen time it did last year and really didn’t add anything new. I understand that it takes time to make a game and that big franchises sell consoles, but isn’t it time for a bit more variety? (Again, not at the nintendo article yet)
Tim:
But of course there's variety. You can play as a woman this time around. Diversity! Oh wait, they told us about that last year...
Kevin:
Overall I feel while there are some interesting keypoints that MS had to show us overall it felt much like (well pretty much the same) as last year. With Sony releasing a new handheld this year and Nintendo releasing a new console Microsoft had a lot to contend with. Perhaps they are holding out that many will just be happy with the Halo 4 teaser while they cobble together a new console that hopefully won’t die a bit after launch.
Up next Sony...
Prepare to be "moved".
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