E3 2011 Day 1: Microsoft and EA

So of course, the long awaited date has finally arrived. The first day of e3 is here (and by the time you read this, it will probably already have passed), and it was a very very interesting setup. We marched over to a friends house who actually had g4 to watch the coverage they had on tv, and had laptops ready to watch the confrences that took place online, and an iPad to take notes on. And man have i been taking a lot of notes. I've been pounding away at the virtual keyboard jotting down my opinions on all of the different cofrences and games I've seen thus far.

Now there's a lot of e3 to discuss, and even I would have to admit there's probably quite a bit that I haven't even seen yet, so for the most part, this is going to mostly cover the confrences. I want to break them down from presentation, to the actual games themselves, and then combine it into an overall ranking. Of course, we can't actually pick a winner yet, since we still have Nintendo to tomorrow morning, and we know they will have quite a bit to contribute to the entire event.

Either way, if you were paying enough attention and new to look online or watch on Spike, you watched Microsoft kick off the entire event. If you're strictly watching the G4 television coverage, than you probably missed Microsoft, and will have to wait until tomorrow in order to see their confrence. Also, if you weren't paying attention, you probably missed the EA confrence too, but more on that later.

Microsoft:
With Microsoft kicking of the entire event, you knew they had to go big. Really big. So it actually makes perfect sense that they would kick things off with Modern Warfare 3. While there have been several parties complaining about the frequent releases of Call of Duty games and how they hardly seem to change between game to game, there is no denying that there are several people out there who are very excited for Modern Warfare 3. One thing I do want to adress before going into the demo itself is a question that many people have asked "Why start off with a multi-console game?". Simply put, while it is true that Modern Warfare 3 is not console exclusive, it is true that the Call of Duty series seems to favor the 360 over the Playstation 3, which is why, for example, the DLC for such games always appears on the 360 quite a while before the Playstation 3 gets, so it makes sense that Microsoft would begin with Modern Warfare 3.

As far as the presentation goes, it was pretty standard, aside from a humorous moment at the begin where the the player's controller disconnects. It started off slow with the underwater portion, but then after skipping ahead (which SERIOUSLY irritated me. I mean, really? You literally programed a message "In the interest of time" into your demo?) it jumped into an actually quite interesting looking battle in downtown Manhattan.

(Yeah, it was something akin to that, actually, though, less furry)

I personally am really interested in the campaign of this one. I really do like the idea of a World War 3 game. Aside from that however, I think if you're a fan of Call of Duty, you'll get this game, but if you're not, you won't. I doubt this game will really bring a lot of new fans to the series, but will really appeal to existing fans.

Up next from Microsoft was the new Tomb Raider reboot. Right off the bat, I do have to say that this was one of my favorite demos that we saw the first day. With the Uncharted franchise dominating this sort of adventure games the last few years, when Tomb Raider came back, they really had to go big to compete with Uncharted, and I think they are going to do just that. From opening to finish, the Tomb Raider trailer was dynamic, intense, and exciting. I do really like Lara Croft's new look, as well. It's not nearly as "sexy" as her previous appearances, but I appreciate the grittier, more realistic look about her.

About the only thing I really could complain about as far as this trailer goes, was meerly the fact that Lara Croft talked a LOT throughout this trailer. It didn't ruin the entire thing, but it was really really distracting to hear her narrate all of her entire escapate, from when she had to escape her bonds at the begining to just escaping the cave. By the end, you were just really really hoping she'd stfu. However, all negatives aside, (and this coming from someone who definitely was NOT a Tomb Raider fan over the years, I'm really excited to get my hands on this game.

After that, an EA rep came out to talk about EA games (mostly their sports games), and talk briefly how future EA games will utilize the Kinect. He specifically mentioned that Tiger Woods, FIFA, Madden, and another mystery game to be announced at a later time would all have Kinect support. He also announced near the end, without going into specific details, that a future Sims game would have Kinect support.

Next up was then a Bioware rep, to talk about Mass Effect and confirm rumors floating around that Mass Effect 3 was going to have Kinect support. From what we saw, the Kinect isn't going to allow you to step into Shepard's shoes yourself and allow YOU to be the controller. Insteand, the Kinect simply adds on voice control abilities, allowing you to simply speak dialogue options rather than cycling through them, and allowing you to command your squad through voice commands in game. It is pretty cool, especially since commanding your squad, which should allow you to command them in a far easier fashion. Odds are, it's not gonna make you rush out and buy the Kinect if you're already getting the game, nor is it going to make you rush out and buy the game if you already own a Kinect, however, if you do own a Kinect, and you are planning on getting the game, it should be a nice little function. Of course, we'll talk about Mass Effect itself more during the EA portion of the blog.

Then came what was, argueably the best use of the Kinect tonight, and that was Ghost Recon Future Soldier. The Ubisoft rep was really hard to understand (more on him later), however, the demonstration ROCKED. Gun smithing looked amazing, not to mention actually playing and shooting with the Kinect. Hopefully this game isn't all hype, but should it live up to the demonstration, this may just very well be the first Ghost Recon game I play.

A few things I caught in between here was the Gears 3 demo, and a few Kinect dashboard capabilities. Admitabley, I somewhat missed this part due to a family issue.

The first full thing I came back for was a teaser for a new Kinect game called Ryse. At first I thought it was a teaser for God of War on the 360, however, what it did actually turn out to be was a nice little surprise. It looks like it may turn out to be a very nice adventure game on the Kinect. I was really sad however that nobody actually took the time to stop and talk about the game (a problem I'd end up having a few more times later in the night). I really would have liked details for this game. It's one of the few games that actually made me really interested in getting a Kinect.

Folowing that unfortunately brief teaser, we were treated to a voice that all hardcore Xbox fans should recognize, and that's the announcer for the Halo franchise, He talked us through a trailer for the remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved, and from what they showed us, it looks like a really decent visual revamp of the original game. If you've never played the original game (like me), this might be a good time to get into it if you're interested. This revamp is not only bringing back the single player campaign, but the multiplayer aspects as well, so there will be PLENTY of game here.

They followed this with, what else? One of the most boring teasers of the day, the Forza Motorsport teaser. Now while I do have to give them a thumbs of for using one of my favorite songs of last year (Power - Kanye West), ultimately, I felt the same way I did about Modern Warfare 3: I dont think this teaser is going to bring any new fans to the series.

Then out walked a man I love and hate all at the same time, Peter Molyneux, to talk about Fable, naturally. Now we all know his track record at e3, he ALWAYS talks about things the game is going to have in it, and only half of what he says actually end up in the game. This time however, he didn't really talk about the game, but instead let the game speak for itself. This game, much like most of the other games we've mentioned so far, has Kinect support, however, I do believe that Fable: The Journey, may be controlled entirely through Kinect, which looks like it will bring an interesting experience to the game. The teaser saw the player driving a horse carriage and casting spells in combat all using the Kinect. This game looks, very very interesting. The opening of the game had Theresa speak about the imminent destruction of Albion, and how heros were no longer being born, so they must be made. If nothing else, the story to this game will be one that will shake the history of the Fable franchise.

They then quickly talked about how Minecraft is coming exlusively to the Xbox, and would also have Kinect support as well, before jumping over to Kinect: Disneyland Adventures. This game is supposed to bring the entire Disneyland park to you, you know, just in case you could never actually make it to Disneyland yourself

(If you don't come to him, he will come to you)

There are different worlds based on different Disney properties (specifically the showed off Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland), which looked cool enough, though they looked very simmilar as well. All in all, it looks like it would be a cool looking game for kids, especially for those that can't make it to the actual Disneyland.

Next up was Kinect for Star Wars, which yes, finally allows you to unleash your inner Star Wars kid. Though the demo didn't quite work as smoothly as they might have hoped, it did look cool enough. However, I do believe it is based on the animated Clone Wars series, so if you're not a fan, you might be a little disappointed.

Following this was probably my biggest wtf moment of the day. This was another Kinect game known as Once Upon a Monster, based on Sesame Street. The whole game was looked fun for the kids, but the entire demo was simply silly looking, though, innocent enough. You got to see Cookie Monster and Elmo shake around like they were in an earthquake, tangle with a Galoof, and watch puffalopes walk by. All in all, its a pretty innocent game.

Next was the Kinect Fun Labs, which was ultimately just a fun tool for Kinect owners to really experiment with their Kinect. Fun Labs is really three games in one, including first, people scanner, which allows the Kinect to scan your, and make an avatar that looks just like you, right down to the clothing you are wearing. The face recognition is pretty simmilar to the Mii creator on the 3DS, and appeared to be about as accurate. Finger Tracking was easily the coolest of the three, which allows one to create 3D drawings, which was pretty amazing looking, especially if one actually had a 3D tv. The last one, object scanner allows you to scan an object, like, a teddy bear for example, and then play as them in game. They really didnt show of this one outside of simply moving around the object they brought into the game, so hopefully there will be more to it then that. In the end, it was cool but still didnt really make me want to rush out and buy a Kinect.

They then played a short teaser for Kinect Sports Season 2. They claim its going to be "more realistic" than ever, with voice suppoer and new full body gestures. Looks pretty passable, though I will admit I'm even curious to see how Kinect Football will play out.

Harmonix then came out to talk about Dance Central 2, which finally announced multiplayer dance, and a campaign mode, and new songs, plus carry over from the last game. Overall, it looked really epic!

And of course, how else would Microsoft end their confrence than with a teaser for Halo 4, which of course, would have been a lot cooler had the news not been leaked already before the confrence. Regardless of this fact, it was pretty intelligent for them to close out on Halo 4, argueably the most anticipated possible Microsoft teaser.

Overall, I don't think Microsoft disappointed. I think i would have liked to see less Kinect based demos for those of us who have not purchased a Kinect yet, though it does make sense that they would focus heavily on this system that they poured a ton of money into. I also would have liked to see more than the obvious, meaning a new, original game, and not just a bunch of games that were connected to pre-existing franchises; something new, fresh and original, but then again, I supppose that job goes to the third party developers. Their presentation was fairly simplistic, not really gimmicky or over the top, which I think worked in their favor, but at the same time, didn't really quite work in their favor.

My grade: B-.

Following Microsoft, for those who bothered to check online, found out that EA was also having a confrence. After looking down a place that had already archived the confrence since I had missed the live presentation, I actually found one of the most enjoyable presentations we saw on the first day.

EA:

EA started off strong with a trailer for one of their two biggest games this year, Mass Effect 3. One of the earliest things they talked about was how new players would be able to jump into this one without having played the previous two games, while at the same time, those who have been playing the last two and carrying over the same character from each game would have all the choices they made in the previous two come to a dramatic point in this game. They then proceeded to jump into an actual gameplay demo. Graphically, it doesnt look much better than the previous two Mass Effect games, however, even within simply the demo alone, you could feel everything coming to a dramatic climax that *really* makes you want to play this game, especially if you've been keeping up with the series.

Second EA game on the list was the next Need for Speed game called, The Run (no, not The Runs. Thats a totally different game). The first thing they made sure to mention was how the Auto Log system would now track ones entire career, and not just portions of it. They also spoke and then showed off different action sequences where you actually stepped out of your car, and had some rather epic on foot action sequences. However, while this teaser may have won over some new fans, ultimately it did feel like yet another Need for Speed game that would mostly tailor to pre-existing fans.

The next teaser was, at least graphically, the single BEST looking trailer I saw today. I'm not quite sure if it will be the way actual gameplay looks but if the cutscenes for The Old Republic look just as good as the teaser did, I will be a very happy individual. I am very much interested in this game, and I am neither a Star Wars or Old Republic fan.

They then moved into a nearly equally as beatiful SSX teaser. This one was another one that got me interested in a series that i was never really a fan of before. Through satalite technology, EA promises to bring realistic recreations of actual mountains for one to snowboard down, in three different play modes.

Following this was the two biggest sports games in the EA library, FIFA and Madden. Fifa adds several different aspects to the gameplay including tactical defending and a player impact engine. They also announced a new FiFA football club, which promises to connect fans to the real soccer world, and different fans. It'll come with challenges based off of real live soccer games as well.

Madden however, looked largely the same. Despite the fact that the president of EA talked about not having random celebrities, they brought out three football players to promote the game. These three players were supposed to be representative of new features that were only actually talked, and not actually shown off.

The next two games included a new Sims social that looks as though it will allow you to bring your Facebook friends into your Sims world. A very interesting project that i have to say, I'm quite intrigued in seeing how it actually works. They also talked briefly about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which didnt really seem to stand out from any other fantasy RPG, though it looked impressive for what it was.

Following this, they brought out an Insomniac rep to talk about a new game titled Overstrike. This was yet another very crisp, detailed, beautiful looking trailer for a very interesting, Borderlands-esque squad based FPS. I am very very interested to see this title, not only due to this trailer, but due to the fact that it's an Insomniac game, which, as we all very well know, is the creative masterminds behind the Ratchet and Clank series.

EA then decided to close out with their other big title, the "Call of Duty Killer", Battlefield 3. And I personally, think that it very well may earn that self-proclaimed title. Needless to say, as far as FPS's go, Battlefield 3 looks simply AMAZING, with its brand new engine, Frostbite 2, which boastsfully destructable environments, and a very realisitc an cinematic visual feel. The trailer they played did seem to drag along slightly longer than I feel it needed to be, but at the end of the day, it looks like it wil be a steady competitor with Modern Warfare 3.

Overall: EA was VERY impressive in their comfrence. Minus Madden, everything they showed off today was incredibley beautiful and impressive looking. Personally, I think EA is going to have a really good year this year, and is definitely a company to keep your eyes on. Much like Microsoft, they werent overly flashy, or over the top, and simply let the games speak for themselves. However, this tatic DEFINITELY worked better for EA than it did for Microsoft, leading to one of the best presentations thus far.

My Grade: A

But as you probably already know yourself, this was in fact, NOT all that happened within the first day. We still have Ubisoft and Sony to cover. So check back very soon for my opinon on these two powerhouse company presentations.