Ubisoft:
So of course the first person you see is the president of Ubisoft. Now I don't really blame him, as it's not really his fault, but him and his French accent was really difficult to understand. Fortunately, however, he wasn't on stage for too long.
They started off with a new Rayman game, titled Rayman: Origins. The game had a very cartoon-y look, and co-op sidescrolling platforming, that seemed to borrow quite a bit from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which, let's be honest, is not a bad thing. Personally, I think if you weren't a Rayman fan before, this one might generate a little interest. The presentation then ended with a throwback to all the Ubisoft characters, which was a nice gesture and a really fun way to kick off their conference.
From there, however, it was all downhill from here. They then brought out a man who I simply remember being nicknamed "Mr. Caffeine", and trust me, he earned that title. This man was all over the stage, with wild, over-the-top antics, which wouldn't be that bad, if these antics weren't combined with Mr. Caffeine's really bad Charlie Sheen, Dick, and Gaming jokes (yeah, this guy swore a LOT. G4 had a really hard time censoring this guy, with his random curse words. He even managed to get the word dick passed their censors).
He then talked about how gaming fell into three categories: Gaming is Adventure, Gaming is Sharing, and Gaming is Life. To kick off "Gaming is Adventure", they started with a retro looking trailer, depicting what Driver, San Francisco might look like if it were made several years ago. Following this, they then jumped into what Driver: San Fran was meant to look like in real time. Driver was quite a popular franchise back in the day, but in this day and age, it's going to have to compete a little bit with Grand Theft Auto, but more importantly, it's going to have to compete with Saints Row 3, and unfortunately, this trailer didn't really show me anything that would make me want to play it over any of the other sandbox games out there already.
Following Driver San Francisco, they jumped into a very beautiful trailer of Farcry 3. One distracting thing however, is that the first half of the trailer depicts the player having been captured by this man, who goes on this speech about insanity, which would have been cool enough, if it weren't for the fact that the speech was littered with so many swear words, at least half of his talking was bleeped out. Aside from this, however, the demo for Farcry 3 was really impressive, and is definitely a game I am looking forward to playing in the future. Not to spoil anything, but for me, this was the best trailer Ubisoft had to offer.
Following Farcry 3, they brought out a Gearbox rep to talk about a new Brothers in Arms games, this one being called Brothers in Arms: Furious Four, which promises to bring a fresh look at the WW2 FPS games. Though they didn't actually show off any gameplay, though the game does look really funny, and may actually bring a fresh look to the WW2 genre. I do hope that the game does the obvious and includes co-op online play. I do hope to find out more about this soon.
They then played a passable movie based game, The Adventure of Tin Tin. It didn't really look like it stood out any more than any other game, so I’m not really gonna focus too much on it.
So after that ultimately forgettable game, they presented us with yet another retro looking trailer, this time for Ghost Recon. This was easily the best of the retro trailers, though even it wasn't all that cool. Of course you know, however, that the next trailer they jumped into an actual teaser for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Unlike when Microsoft showed off the game, this teaser actually focused on the basic gameplay, rather than what the Kinect can do. Definitely, this game will not be for those who are used to the more fast paced experience of Call of Duty may not enjoy this games more strategic and methodical gameplay. I think Microsoft did a better job of showing it a lot, although, this one actually did show of the core gameplay.
They then jumped into the second category, "Gaming is Sharing", and starting off this category was Trackmania, and perhaps it's because I'm already a pretty huge fan of Trackmania, but I was really excited about this game. For those who do not know, Trackmania is a PC racing game. The racing is pretty standard in comparison with any other racing game, but what sets this one apart from most other games is the in depth track editor, that allows players to create, customize, fine tune, and share their own tracks. Though not much was shown in the way of gameplay, they did talk about the addition of Maniaplanet, which would allow up to 200 people playing on one track at a time, and it would introduce a brand new way of sharing tracks.
Then came a new Raving Rabbits game, titled Raving Rabbits: Alive and Kicking. The man they brought out was, uh, intriguing looking to put it nicely. But aside from him, his demonstration was actually rather amusing. Alive and Kicking, to me at least, really reminded me of Wario Ware, only for the Kinect rather than a Nintendo system, which again, is not a bad thing by any means. Again, not really gonna sell anyone on the Kinect who was questioning getting one, however, if you do own a Kinect or were planning on getting one, this one looks as though it would be a great title to get, provided you have, you know, friends.
(If this is you though, then pass)
The final category, was "Gaming is Life", which led into Just Dance 3, which is pretty much Dance Central, but with different songs (probably), and it's coming out for all three systems (Kinect, Move, and Wii). Personally, it reminds me a little bit of Rock Band vs. Guitar Hero, in the sense that whichever game you get, if you get either, will probably come down to preference, though I suppose it also depends on what systems you have available (Dance Central is a Kinect exclusive).
Speaking of Rock Band and Guitar Hero, you know that guy at every party where either game is present, sits in the back with his rocker shades, and is cool, poser persona, and tells everyone who picks up the game that they should go out and learn to play a real guitar (despite the fact that, 90% of the time, this individual doesn't know how to play it themselves)? Well Ubisoft is working on a game to shut him up. That game is called Rock Smith. Little was actually told about the game itself, however, we did find out that the game is supposed to support real instruments, and may act as a tool to teach people how to actually play guitar.
Breezing past You Shape (because I mean, let's be honest, who really gives a f*ck?), Ubisoft closed out their conference with, of course, their big game, Assassin's Creed: Revelations. Of course, they first had to retro-tize it, showing a Windwaker-esque trailer of the first Assassin's Creed. The actual trailer itself, however, was very beautiful looking. I found myself wishing the entire time that I could see it in HD. Personally, not really being a fan of the Assassin's Creed series, I wasn't too excited, but I understand why die-hard fans probably lost their minds when this trailer played. The gameplay itself was fairly action packed, highlighted by Altair operating a hand cranking flamethrower.
Overall: Aside from Farcry 3 and Assassin's Creed, nothing was really all that epic to me. I mean, several games sparked interest, but either little was shown/told about them to *really* stick out, or they just weren't THAT interesting. Combined with the fact that the guy that got most of the stage time was REALLY obnoxious and distractingly over-the-top, I didn't care much for Ubisoft's conference at all. However, we've definitely seen worse conferences, so...
My Grade: C
Sony:
So of course, closing out the first day was none other than Sony, who arguably had the most pressure on them following their massive network outage/hack. Now, if you've been reading for a while, you'll know that I've been really critical of Sony, and definitely could not be called their number one fan by any stretch of the imagination. However, you might be pleasantly surprised that I actually liked quite a bit of Sony's press conference. However, don't think this means I don't have my criticisms, either.
Starting off, Sony played a cool video montage showcasing future and current PlayStation 3/PSP titles, though I really felt like this presentation lasted far longer than it should have.
Following this, the first thing they addressed naturally was the PSN outage. The man told the press you're welcome for giving you something to talk about, in what I felt was a surprisingly bold move. He then went on to thank the 3rd party developers who stuck with them through the outage (Valve and Warner Bros. come to mind), and then apologized to and thanked the Sony fans as well. He then talked about a lot of the things the network was capable of, like Netflix, Hulu, ect, which, I think was smart, but the problem was he didn't really point out anything that the 360 couldn't do as well.
Gameplay-wise, Sony started off strong with one of their best exclusives, Uncharted 3, showing that they were definitely not playing around this time. I thought it was really wise for them to first talk about such a popular title. Needless to say, the teaser itself looked really good, and did a great job of not only showing off Uncharted 3's style of gameplay, but the graphical power backing the PlayStation 3, even if the underwater portion looked a little too murky to see, and the person actually playing sucked at the game (You don't throw grenades at your enemy, then proceed to shoot them as well).
(Yeah, I think you got him)
They went even further, however, to show yet another trailer for the game, this time, in 3D (of course, this was only to the benefit of those actually there), letting folks know that this was going to be one of many games that were going to be 3D capable.
Right after that, out came an Insomniac rep to talk about Resistance 3, and played another 3D trailer. The demo did a really good job of pointing out what Insomniac does better that arguably anyone else, and that’s coming up with really unique weaponry. At the end, they announced a Move bundle for Resistance 3 coming out at a later date.
They then briefly talked about 3D capable, HD re-releases of the two God of War games that came out on the PSP, and a Ico/Shadow of the Colossus package. I just want to take a moment to point out that this is AWESOME. If you haven't seen either Ico of Shadow of the Colossus, you don't know that they are both absolutely gorgeous looking games, so the ability to see them in HD might be too much for your brain to handle.
They then announced a 3D display/television that is supposed to dismiss the idea of split screen and give two gamers playing in the same room their own full screen. This bundle is set to come with the display, obviously, a pair of the 3D glasses, hdmi cable, and a copy of Resistance 3, all for $500, which, for what it is, is actually a pretty decent price.
Next up, they decided to step away from 3D, and focus on their motion control based add on, the PlayStation move. Here's where they really fell flat, however. They decided to start off with a demonstration of how the Move will work with NBA 2K12, which ultimately just boiled down to pointing and clicking to perform different actions, and didn't really feature much "movement" at all. They brought out Kobe Bryant to demonstrate how anyone could play using the move, and well, he actually ended up not doing too great at the game. Unlike what Microsoft did with the Kinect, showing it off in a unique and exciting fashion, this demo really made me realize how gimmicky the Move really was, and only seemed to confirm that Sony did this in an attempt to fight the Wii.
They then followed up with a new game called Medieval Move, this time in the first 3D PlayStation Move demo. This one did a FAR better job than showing off the capabilities of the PlayStation Move, and actually looked like a slightly interesting game, however again, I couldn't help but feel that this game was supposed to be their answer to Legend of Zelda.
They then talked about InFamous 2, which is easily my favorite of the PlayStation 3 exclusives, however, I was a little confused as to why they even chose to talk about this game, considering that InFamous 2 is set to be released before e3 is even over. They also talked about Little Big Planet 2, a game that was already out, and mentioned that they were going to add more Move control to the game in the future.
They then played an unfairly short teaser for Starhawk game, which looks REALLY cool, however, seeing as they didn't even talk about the game, I can’t really say much about it.
The quickly moved on to the return of Sly Cooper, in a very cartoon-y looking teaser, which was jam packed with that special charm that only Sly Cooper can bring to the table. However, once more, they didn't actually speak on Sly Cooper, so I can't really talk much about it.
Next up was a FPS called Dust, which was created by, and is supposed to be able to connect to PC MMO Eve Online, though, whether this connection is only in story or actual gameplay was not talked about. The also talked about Move capability and NGP connectability, though the extent of this wasn't really talked about either. Overall, not being a fan of Eve Online, I simply dismissed this one as, "okay". I am interested in learning more about it at a later date, especially in finding out how this game is going to connect to Eve Online, but aside from that, it looked like just another Sci Fi FPS.
Following this, they moved on to Bioshock: Infinite. Right off the bat, the first thing you'll notice is that the art style is a huge departure from the previous two games more gritty look. A 2K rep who previously had many negative things to say about the Move came out to talk about how he was inspired to create a new Bioshock game featuring Move controls (mimicking last year, when the man behind Portal 2, who had previously called the PS3 a total failure, came out and praised the PS3). He also talked briefly about a new Bioshock game in development, and ended by stating how everyone who buys the PS3 version of Bioshock: Infinite will also receive a copy of Bioshock 1.
After briefly talking about Saints Row 3 (a game I’m personally really excited for), a new Star Wars games, a couple of PS3 exclusive tracks for SSX and Need for Speed: The Run, and how the PS3 version of Battlefield 3 would come with a free copy of Battlefield 1943, they then talked about a new system called PlayStation Suite, which is supposed to bring PlayStation content to certified phones and tablet device (which, I'm only going to assume that the iPad and iPhone will be among those that are certified). They stated they would have more details in the future, and didn't go too in depth on this either.
But of course, after this, they had to finally address what a lot of people tuned into the Sony press conference to see, and that is their brand new handheld system. First order of business was, to, of course, give the system an actual name, which they settled on the PlayStation Vita (Vita translating to Life). Now while the things they do show of later that I will talk about in a moment are impressive, i do have to stop a moment.
What he bragged about for the Vita was a touch screen and dual cameras for augmented reality. Already sounds familiar, doesn't it? Well, if you're like me, you instantly pictured competing portable gaming device, the 3DS. And this is what seriously irritates me about Sony. As I've talked about before, why is it that they simply CANNOT come up with their own original ideas? I mean, they created the Move to compete with the Wii, and the Move's controllers look fairly identical to Wii controllers. In fact, everything they did with the move looked like things that the Wii itself could do, albeit, not as good looking. But digressing from this, they jumped onto 3D, conveniently enough right after the launch of the 3DS, and now even their handheld system is taking a page from the 3DS's book. I really really would like to see, just once, Sony come up with their own original idea.
He also bragged about the Vita having dual analog sticks and sixaxis control, which is nice, but once again as previously stated, these are things that SHOULD have been on the PSP already, so I wasn't very impressed. He then announced 3G support, which sounded interesting, until he announced that it would be supported by AT&T (which actually drew a few boos from the audience. Verizon baby). He also talked about party support, just like the 360's chat parties, which is cool, and Sony does need something like that, but this just made me wonder why they didn't put that on the PS3 first, which, arguably, demands it far more than the new Vita. He closed out talking about a new system called Near, which was, in other words, the 3DS's Street Pass, except on, you know, the Vita.
All criticism aside, however, they started off strong with an Uncharted: Golden Abyss for the Vita. Here is what did impress me about the Vita. This game looks just as good as it's PlayStation 3 counterpart, letting us know that Sony was going to step it up in the handheld realm as well. They showed off different control options which included touch, tilting, and traditional button control.
From this, they jumped into a game called Ruin, a unique action RPG. Since it was on a handheld system, the demo itself was a little hard to make out, however, the did announce that the game would have social network capability, and a unique rival system that almost creates an MMO like feel. They also showed off how you could take your game, and connect it to the PlayStation 3, allowing you to seamlessly jump from the Vita to the PlayStation 3.
They then jumped into Mod Nation Racers, which featured a stage creation system, which was similar to, but far superior to Diddy Kong Racing DS. They also showed a teaser for Little Big Planet for the Vita, featuring new touch based minigames and new control elements.
They then brought out a Capcom rep to talk about Street Fighter x Tekken, or rather, specifically the Vita version. He announced that that the Vita version of the game would feature Cole from Infamous, which, while I do like this character, really baffles me. I mean, first of all, why Cole? Cole really doesn’t have the feel of either a Street Fighter or Tekken character. In fact, he kind of reminded me of Star Wars characters in a Soul Caliber game, though not quite THAT out of place. At least when they shoved Kratos on to Soul Caliber and Mortal Kombat, he felt a little more at home. But I also have to wonder, why include a guest character in a crossover game? I mean, the big attraction here is Street Fighter and Tekken characters meeting; characters from two of the biggest fighting game franchises. Why throw a third party in there? That’s kinda like Marvel vs. Capcom 3 featuring Master Chief. Just... why?
After that, they wrapped up by announcing a price for their new system, $249 for the Wi-Fi only version, and $299 for the 3G version. Both prices being a very smart move for this new handheld, and broke the recent trend of Sony WAY overcharging for their systems in recent years.
Overall: Again as a reader of this blog would know, Sony would have to push and push hard to really impress me, but I'm happy to admit that they did. While I'm still not impressed with the Move, nor convinced that the Move will be able to out-do the Kinect, and I am still considerably irritated with how much Sony seems to simply copy their competitors, I was impressed. I think this time around, they actually managed to create a handheld system that I think will give Nintendo a run for its money (though, I don't think it will ultimately do better than the 3DS). They weren't ridiculously over-the-top or overly gimmicky with their presentation, which was also a plus. At the end of the day, Sony went in, and hit hard. They addressed their outage, and showed us that they were already working to overcome this blunder. Unlike Microsoft, Sony focused on the exclusives that were going to bring them to the table, and gave several significant reasons in an attempt to get people to purchase the PS3 version of cross-platform releases. I definitely think Sony has a strong year ahead of them, and both Microsoft and Nintendo want to take note. Easily the most impressive conference day 1.
My Grade: A
No comments:
Post a Comment