G-pinions

I guess I should pick a starting point. I'll go with the 360. Firstly, we have a date, as Tom mentioned previously in passing - November 22nd. The thing about Microsoft is that they can't keep a secret to save their lives. I mean, if you ever sneak a cookie from the jar, just eat it and be happy. Don't tell Microsoft - even if you split it with him, he'll still tell mom. Pretty much every rumor, from the 360 name to PDZ at launch to two SKUs to "latter half of November", everything, has ended up almost right on the nose. The fact that a pic of the system leaked days before it was even shown, while the PS3 system, games and every last bit of info managed to stay behind the curtain until Sony chose to reveal it (ditto for Nintendo) is a testament to just how bad this company is at keeping their mouths shut. I could quite easily see a division of their marketing team devoted to thumbing through the Yellow Pages, calling random names and releasing bits of information about everything they plan on doing for the next four years. Something this consistent can't be accidental.

Getting back on track, the release date was fairly anticlimactic this late in the game, though I think it would have taken a Midnight New Year's Eve release to stir me from my indifference about the details. Well, I will say that Japan are a bunch of lucky mofo's for getting an all-inclusive premium SKU, at $50 less than ours no less. Not that Microsoft will win them over anytime soon in the Land of the Rising Sony, but at least they haven't botched EVERYTHING. Despite my gripes, I'm still excited for the system. PDZ and Oblivion were my main interests going into the show, and neither were even shown on the floor (or behind closed doors, as I understand it). So what mystery third game will I now be purchasing at launch? Shockingly, it will probably be Kameo. Gamespot's lengthy developer interview/walthrough video is absolutely stunning, and bumps it up to a day one purchase for me. Don't get me wrong, the art design still makes me want to piledrive a bag of babies into a wood chipper, but every other aspect of the visuals completely floored me. The shape-shifting gameplay looks really, really fun, and at over twenty hours long (so help him if he's lying), I see no reason not to play it. Oh, right, and CO-OP.

What else did the 360 have going for it? Dead Rising still looks like mindless, gruesome fun, Gears of War looks as stunning and badass as ever (and the only game to compete with any supposed PS3 in-game visuals thus far - more on that later), and, um Treasure are working on a new 3D game with 2D gameplay. Which is cool. Yeah, not a whole lot of new stuff going on with the system, but it's enough for a seemingly damn solid launch line-up (which...*sigh*...has yet to be announced), some very cool Live and system functionality to play with, and a handful of games to look forward to down the road a bit. That sounds a bit too much like a certain portable system now that I read it aloud, but let's try and look at the upside of the similarities. Oh, and next-gen Sonic was looking pretty snazzy, but I don't believe that it's system-specific at the moment.

So, PS3? Sony didn't have much of a next-gen presence themselves at the show outside of some rolling trailers, but what was announced and shown elsewhere at the show was enough to keep everyone's expectations incredibly high. Firstly, there's the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots trailer. Even if you don't give a crapshaith about the series, you have to respect these truly next-gen graphics, and the mood and realism that they can convey. Of course it's all about the gameplay, but those who think that visuals aren't tied intrinsically to EVERY facet of a game are not as wise as you and I. Kojima has always rolled in real-time, and I believe this is no different. MGS3 is probably the prettiest PS2 game, so I can easily believe this coming from the PS3.

A bit of Devil May Cry 4 was shown, Vision GT (Gran Turismo) looked entirely stunning, and a handful of very random sequels (Stuntman 2, Alone in the Dark, Way of the Samurai, and yay! Gradius!) were announced. There was a good amount of original games talked about as well, but they are just names at this point, with very little actually shown. Until then, I'll get excited about sequels if I must. Oh, and I cannot forget Warhawk. Incog made two of the most purely fun games this generation (and were money in the last), so having them aboard is a big, big point of interest for me. And the game looks awesome.

Also, I should say that I really like the "look" of the PS3 games that have been shown thus far, and I don't just mean from a sheerly technical level. While most 360 games seem to share a similar, high-end PC look to them, PS3 stuff just seems easier on the artistic eye for me. Maybe it's to do with the Cell processor (pure speculation, I don't know the first thing about the hardware), but things just look right. It doesn't seem like just a leap in resolution, it seems like an entirely different level and approach. I'll probably bring that up again in the future when I can explain it better (and more has been shown for both systems).

And then there's the REVoLUTIoN, or whatever the hell it will end up being called. I pretty much agree with everything Tom said in the previous two posts. I actually might even be a bit more excited. I think it's a brilliant move by Nintendo, and if this doesn't cement gaming in every home in the country, nothing will. PS3 versus 360 will no doubt be the battle of the near future, but everyone will buy a Revolution AS WELL as their competing system of choice. It's just so different, and looks like so much fun. I can't see many Third Parties warming up any more than they have for the Gamecube, but as long as the system is cheap and Nintendo releases a half dozen games a year, I'm fine with it. Hopefully it's as successful as the DS at being an innovative system everyone wants to play (and develop for now, as a result). And I'll say it now - Zelda at Revolution launch. You'll see.

What's left? Well, nothing of interest was shown or announced on the DS, but it has a pretty packed future as it is. The PSP seemed to have a pretty solid show (competition is good), including one game which I really, really want, Loco Roco. Gorgeous 2D animation, simplistic enthralling gameplay. Speaking of which, Katamari PSP looked good, even if the control scheme (D-Pad as one analog, face buttons as the other) seems silly. Oh, and then there's Every Extend Extra, Mizuguchi's ridiculously-titled new game. Which will be money, no doubt.

My game of the show? New Okami trailer.