Serra

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June is an exciting month. NBA fans have the end of the playoffs, brides have weddings, fathers have their day, and children have the start of summer vacation. For gamers though, June means E3 (at least since it moved to June in 2009). Considering the importance of this week for the gaming community, I’ve decided to do a special write up to share my opinions on what we’ve seen in LA (and because I now have a soap box to spout my opinions, so take that!).

(Warning: this is going to be especially text heavy as I more or less conveyed my thoughts at the end of each press conference by the "Big Three.")

Microsoft
The press conferences from the "Big Three" opened with Microsoft again this year. Last year, many felt they focused too much on Kinect which came across almost entirely casual without any appeal to hardcore gamers. Going into E3, I was personally expecting them to reveal a number of big games we didn’t know about, to try to appeal to those hardcore gamers they had disappointed last year, and to find ways to incorporate Kinect into those hardcore games. Microsoft’s Press Conference certainly started in that direction, showcasing trailers for the hotly anticipated Modern Warfare 3 and a darker, grittier Tomb Raider. Both games looked great and definitely were aimed at their hardcore audience. Following that, Peter Moore came out to talk about Kinect and how they had incorporated it into their big games like Madden and Fifa. Unfortunately there were no demos, which would have been nice considering almost every game that followed incorporated Kinect in some way, and seeing it in Madden or Fifa would have helped stir up excitement. EA did manage to show off a phenomenal looking Mass Effect 3 which did incorporate Kinect for issuing voice commands. However, this along with the Ghost Recon demo that followed illustrated a big problem with Microsoft’s press conference. While the voice options and Gunsmith feature do look cool, they just seemed like additions, not necessities. I can’t imagine many people are going to pick up a Kinect for features that are not central to these games. These demos were followed by a segment that showcased some of the additions to Xbox Live and the Xbox in general. The voice features seemed far too similar to the features they showed last year and the ability to access YouTube and Bing just reminded me that the Xbox still doesn’t have an internet browser. The thing that did get me excited was the ability to use the Xbox to watch TV directly, but at the same time, using them as a DVR is gonna fill up really fast. The next big demo was the one I personally would have started with, Gears of War 3. As expected, this game looks more epic and intense than its predecessors. Apart from revealing a 10 year anniversary edition for the original Halo, a new Forza, and a teaser for Halo 4, the rest of Microsoft’s presentation focused on Kinect. The only two games that seemed targeted at hardcore gamers were the gladiatorial game Ryse, which will have people kicking their TV, and Fable. They also showed a Disneyland and Sesame Street game that utilize Kinect. While those of us watching thought the kids looked ridiculous during these presentations (fist bump!), I saw the appeal these types of games would have for kids, so in that regard, I think these will be some of the more successful uses of the hardware. There were also the obligatory party/sports games which honestly just made me wish EA had showcased some of their own games utilizing Kinect. So, how did Microsoft do? To be honest, not great. While they certainly managed to include Kinect in a number of hardcore games, I personally felt they didn’t do it in ways that made the Kinect a must-have. Combined with the fact that there wasn’t any really big surprises (save for Halo 4), I have a hard time giving them a high mark. Microsoft’s press conference just didn’t have a lot of stuff that made them truly stand out.

Pros:
Exciting demos from Modern Warfare 3, Tomb Raider, Mass Effect 3, and Gears of War
New Halo Trilogy
Potential cool TV possibilities
Games that appeal to kids for Kinect look fun

Cons:
Apart from Gears of War, none of the really exciting demos were exclusives
New Halo not made by Bungie..
Inclusion of Kinect into hardcore games seems unnecessary

Final Grade: C-


Sony
Sony moved their press conference from Tuesday to late Monday night this year. Last year, Sony focused on pushing the inclusion of 3D technology into their games. This year however, the big question was how Sony would approach the recent hacking and network outages, and this is exactly where Jack Trenton started. Considering the scope of the outage, it was nice to hear them apologize as there really wasn’t anything else they could have done given the situation. That said, I would have liked to hear them talk about a few of the things they’re doing to make things more secure as the continuous flow of information of hackings at Sony still raises concerns. With that out of the way, Sony jumped into its big games, starting with Uncharted 3 and Resistance 3. Both games looked phenomenal, but of the two, Uncharted was the one that really stood out to me. After these demos, Sony moved on to talk about a few remakes. I’m pretty indifferent to the news that the PSP God of War games will be released on the PS3, but the thought of both Ico and Shadows of the Colossus in HD sounds amazing. Ico especially shows its age, and I have high hopes for that remake. This would have been the perfect time to segue into information about the Last Guardian, but unfortunately there was no new information. The next item on Sony’s agenda was the unveiling of a new, affordable 3D TV. This is a package geared for college students, and while I’m not exactly thrilled about the size or the 3D aspect, the multiplayer capabilities they touted sound very cool. Sony continued their presentation by focusing on demos which included a presentation of NBA 2K12 aided by Kobe, a game that solely utilizes Move titled Medieval Moves, Infamous 2 which was odd considering the game is almost out, an updated Little Big Planet utilizing Move, Starhawk which I’m assuming is a sequel to Warhawk, and a new Sly Cooper game. The next announcement was for a game that actually sounds really exciting to me, Dust 514. This is a FPS produced by CCP games that will work in conjunction with Eve Online. I’ve never played Eve, but from what I gathered, players of Dust will be able to accept missions and contracts from Eve players. Depending on how these players do, who wins skirmishes and such, will have an effect for the players of Eve. If they can execute it well, this sounds like it has the potential to change the shape of immersive game universes. This demo was followed by Bioshock: Infinite, a game I’m very excited for but hope doesn’t involve a lot of escorting, a new Saints Row, and a Star Trek game that is going to coincide with the next movie. Similar to Microsoft’s press conference, EA took the stage during Sony’s. They showcased a new SSX game, a new Need for Speed which will take the action out of cars at points, and the stunning Battlefield 3 which they revealed earlier during their own press conference. At this point, Sony moved on to its portables. After briefly touching on their Playstation Suite plans for Android phones, they moved on to talking about the newly rechristened Playstation Vita. They demoed a number of games including an amazing looking Uncharted, Modnation Racers, Little Big Planet, and Street Fighter x Tekken. To close, Sony announced, much to my surprise, that the Playstation Vita would be sold at $250. Overall Sony had a strong press conference. They showed off a number of impressive games, touched on both 3D and Move without focusing on them too intensely, and made an impressive presentation of Playstation Vita.

Pros:
Great price for Playstation Vita
Lots of good looking demos
Impressive sounding 3D TV
Dust 514 sounds very promising
HD remakes of Ico and Shadows of the Colossus

Cons:
Once again, no information on Last Guardian
Again, no information on FFXIII Versus
Would have liked more information about security

Final Grade: B+


Nintendo
Last year’s winner was clearly Nintendo. They started strong with the reveal of a new Zelda, showed a number of demos that were clearly aimed at their long time fans, and announced the 3DS. Going into E3 this year, everyone was anxious to see what would be revealed about the sequel to the Wii that had been appearing on the gaming sites. Again, Nintendo opened this year with the Legend of Zelda. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Nintendo had an orchestra play the overworld theme for Skyward Sword. This was followed by a torrent of Zelda goodies including Link’s Awakening for the 3DS shop, reiterating Ocarina of Time’s release for the 3DS next week, a free download of Four Swords, and the announcement that Skyward Sword would be released this holiday season. They closed the Zelda segment by unveiling a collector’s gold Wiimote, announced a series of Zelda concerts, and revealed a CD of Ocarina of Time music for early purchasers. Unexpectedly, this was the only piece of information for the Wii as the rest of their press conference focused on their new devices. Starting with the 3DS, Nintendo revealed a new Mario Kart which featured coin collection and kart customization, another trailer for the soon to be released StarFox game, a 3DS Mario which returns the Tanooki suit to Mario’s arsenal, more amazing information on the new Kid Icarus, and finally a return to Luigi’s Mansion which will take place in multiple mansions. Most surprising, all these games save Luigi’s Mansion will be out this year. After this, Nintendo showcased a number of 3rd party games including two Resident Evil games, another Mario and Sonic Olympic game, Ace Combat, a seemingly basic Tetris release, Cave Story, Driver, Tekken, and Solid Snake Eater. Afterwards, they closed the 3DS segment by explaining a number of new network features. With that, the stage was set for Nintendo to reveal their sequel to the Wii, titled the WiiU. While the trailer shown only focused on the controller, this is a completely new system. The biggest feature of this new system is the second screen present on the controller. While everyone expected the screen to be used to display additional information during games, Nintendo revealed it could also be used as the main display if the TV was in use. One point they stressed was that this controller is not intended to be used as a portable system as the images are still generated by the console. They showed an impressive graphics demo and later revealed the system will allow for native 1080p. Unfortunately, Nintendo didn’t actually showcase any gameplay videos. In fact, the only game demos shown utilized footage taken from the PS3 and 360. Feelings about this system have certainly varied. On one end of the spectrum, some feel it’s just another gimmicky console not worth picking up. On the other, some are excited about the possibilities of the new controller and HD Nintendo games. Personally, I would have preferred if they had revealed the system and not focused so much of their press conference on it. I understand wanting to build hype, but without any concrete demos and gameplay, it’s hard to decide one way or another. It was good to hear support for the controller from so many 3rd party developers, but at the same time, it would have been more impactful with concrete examples. Considering how overwhelming the focus on the WiiU was in comparison to how little content is currently available hurt Nintendo’s press conference. However, the opening that showcased the Legend of Zelda franchise saved them from a worse grade.

Pros:
Amazing information for Zelda fans
WiiU is HD
WiiU controller has potential
Good games coming out this year for 3DS

Cons:
No games apart from Skyward Sword featured for Wii
WiiU is an awful name
Focused too much on WiiU with too little content
Should have showcased some of the games coming out for Wii like the new Kirby

Final Grade: C+


Game of E3: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
For someone who has never played an Elder Scrolls game, the demo for Skyrim came as a shock. Not only was it the most gorgeous game (in my opinion), but the gameplay also appeared spectacular and immersive. With over 150 dungeons and over 300 hours of gameplay, this game sounds like it’s going to be a beast to progress through. Combined with the intriguing mechanics for the dragons, this game jumped from off my radar to a day-one purchase.