Saturday, May 20, 2006
E3 2006: Nick's final G-Pinion
Playable Game of the Show
Gears of War
Considering that the multiplayer hadn't before been shown or discussed, it was very tight, looked and felt great, and already had a very nice strategic flow to the gameplay. The single player looks equally well done, if a bit less unique. It's a bit frustrating giving such a recognition to a game that ultimately isn't anything new or revolutionary, but that's not the 360's job at this point; it's just to do what we like, and do it really, really well.
Honorable Mentions:
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
This was easily the most fun I had at the show, it's just tough to put it up against proper gaming experiences when the series is barely a game in it's final form. But let me tell you - running, hula-hooping, turning a crank, cutting cookies, etc. - all full body actions, all infinitely more fun than the real actions somehow. It doesn't exactly demonstrate what the Wii is capable of in terms of gameplay experiences, but it does show exactly how precise the Wiimote is and how entertaining waving yourself around like an idiot can be.
Dead Rising
The controls in the demo couldn't be inverted, which sucked, but no other game displayed anywhere close to the potential for fantastically mindless fun (please, no pun intended, don't insult me), and good ol' fashioned ridiculousness. The first time through, I hit zombies with a sledgehammer, a shotgun, a potted plant, a cash register, a giant teddy bear, milk, an orange, a cash register, a plastic sword, clipping shears and a bench. And then proceeded to play the game on two more occasions while wandering by later in the show, with entirely different weapons. All this while completely ignoring the other survivors or anything remotely objective-based. I hope they tighten up the controls a bit before release, but it's a really good time as is.
Saint's Row
Weird, I know. It's all the fun of GTA, with easier, more consistent physics and dynamic environments. It seems to have benefitted greatly from the various delays, as the graphics are sharp and every element of the controls works well, even hand to hand combat. Character creation is also the deepest I've ever seen, with the sliders within sliders within slider to sculpt every inch of your in-game persona. The whole thug vibe is a bit obnoxious obviously, but it quickly fades to the back of your mind when the gameplay gets going and it's any more obtrusive than GTA ever was. It's tough to judge a sandbox game in fifteen minutes of play, but what was there worked really well and I'm definitely looking forward to the release and the "TBA" multiplayer modes they're working on.
Heavenly Sword
It was a very compact demo taking place entirely in one arena, but was easily the most "next-gen" PS3 experience on the floor, and it looked and felt fantastic. It pitted you, a rather violent redheaded young lass, again two dozen or so brutes hopping down into a fully furnished arena to fight you. Many of the combat maneuvers were ridiculously cinematic, but it all worked well in context and was a breeze to pull off. Timing exercises and experimentation were dually threaded throughout through the gameplay, adding a lot to what would otherwise feel a bit too much like Devil May Cry. Physics were also at the top of their game, as vanquished foes were thrown haphazardly into the stands above, bodies rolling down and breaking through tables. Go find a video, and know that it's incredibly easy to pull off anything badass that you see happen. It's that simple.
"Playable" (Closed Door playthrough by the developers) Game of the Show
BioShock
Stunning art and environment design, incredibly promising gameplay. The exploration of a destroyed sunken city with an amazingly imaginative cast of organisms and security robots has been fully realized, rendered in by FAR the most striking and unique use of the Unreal 3 engine yet. Every room was dripping with atmosphere and detail, and most importantly, gameplay possibilities. The "food chain" hierarchy of the world is equally unsettling and intriguing, and can be used to your advantage in all sorts of ways. The game was just completely fascinating on every level, and something I'm dying to play through myself but will wait patiently until they're done.
Honorable Mentions:
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Action/RPG was one of my surprise favorite genres last generation, and this seems to be a step in the right direction for the next batch. Gorgeous, completely unique character models (yay for self-shadowing!) in equally impressive scenery, causing all the mayhem you'd expect from a rowdy bunch of super heroes. I like the idea of being able to create your own four-person hero team, though the developer was awfully quick to answer 'no' to my "can you play as four Wolverines with different costumes?" question. Boo.
Army of Two
EA had a great show, as we were expecting, but Army of Two was the real star in their lineup (well, besides Spore, but that's a given). Despite what Penny-Arcade says, by the way; they seem to have missed the entire point of the game. It's all based around co-op play, whether it's your buddy or the A.I. There are plenty of cool touches if it's the latter, such as your teammates not letting you make the all-important dual-sniper countdown if you botched it last time. I'm just happy seeing EA let their creativity catch up to their presentational talent.
Mercenaries 2
Exactly what I expected from a series that could have befitted greatly from a next-gen sequel. Bigger, prettier explosions, with a somehow even more flexible engine. I like the new dynamic of playing with fire too - you can dribble gas along the ground, and light it up to create a trail of destruction wherever you like. Good times, and the kind of thing I would buy a PS3 for if it does end up being exclusive. Oh, and co-op.
Viva Pinata
All the appeal of complete openendedness, none of the slightly off-putting art design of Animal Crossing. Actually, it's much more unstructured and open than AC, if you can believe it. There aren't really any goals outside of growing the most badass garden and filling it with every Pinata species you can lure. Rare has kind of fallen out of sync with making good games in popular genres these last two generations so far, so I'm glad they're using their talents for something this fresh. I'm sure it will all be a whole lot less charming when the commercials for the TV show start blaring with annoying voices, but as it stands right now I'm dying to start my own garden.
The Darkness
It's not really fair that we saw BioShock right afterwards, which would make anything look like crap in retrospect. I swear the game was looking really good though, from what I can unbiasedly remember. Shoot out lights and your body becomes a swarming mess of black mouths and tentacles, and devious Darklings are summoned from the ground (who like to kill your enemies, with, say, a jackhammer). There's even a very phallic tentacles emerging from your lower region that can be used for tossing around police cars and breaking through walls. It's one of those experiences that should really make you feel powerful, and the atmosphere and art direction are really in sync with the gameplay motivations.
Turok
While I was quite excited for Turok going into the show, I secretly had very low expectations for it after the underwhelming screens that had been released. Well, the game looks about ten times better than the screens in motion and seems to play really well so far too. The dinosaurs are fast and scary, and the combat is violent and well-animated. Much of the gameplay direction seems undecided at this point when asked, but the demo was impressive and they have a very large, experienced team to follow through on their ideas. I probably now have unreasonably high expectations for the final game.
Biggest Disappointments
Red Steel
It just doesn't look or feel good at this point. Not intuitive, not striking, not anything really. There were definitely some cool ideas in action, but I don't see why I'd ever play this over an FPS on the 360. I would love a reason to, and I'm sure the game will feel a lot better at launch, but they're going to have to do some serious refinement.
Crackdown
As it stands, it's much more entertaining to watch someone play who knows what they're doing than to play yourself - which is a bad thing. It's not really a fair comparison since it's coming out so much sooner, but Saint's Row felt much more grounded (yes, I know you jump very far in Crackdown, no, that wasn't a pun). This could very well shape up to be a game of the year contender, with fantastic RPG elements, co-op, and a very realized stylistic city, it just feels very rough and flimsy at this point.
DS Lineup
There were plenty of great games - dozens even. Starfox DS and Yoshi's Island 2 were both fantastic. But seriously, almost everything was a sequel. No Nintendogs, no Electroplankton, no Trauma Center, no Brain Age, nothing striking or new. In a system that has defined itself through those unique experiences, it doesn't excite me in the least to know that I'll be playing nothing but SNES sequels for the next year. Weak.
Shadowrun
Ugh.
Zelda: Twilight Princess
I don't like the N64 Zeldas, and haven't played more than a couple minutes of Windwaker. Everyone should know this about me. As expected, TP did little for me. The movement and camera feel archaic, the Wii functionality comes off as completely tacked on, and the world is drab and visually inconsistent. I should have probably just played the fishing demo, I'd be a lot more excited about it then. I'm sure I'll get caught up in the hype and play it when it hits, maybe even enjoy it, but I couldn't have been less enthralled with it at the show.
Most Potential
Mass Effect
The NPC interactions were brilliant and cinematic, and the combat seemed interesting even if real-time seems like a step back from the interesting pace of KOTOR's. I ultimately wasn't super-impressed with what we saw, but it certainly peaked my interest. With such a large game (at least as promised) it's hard to get a proper feel from a ten-minute demo, but I'll definitely be following the development and hoping for the best.
Too Human
Dyack made it sound good, and talked me into having patience so that their vision could be realized. He's lucky he's a much better speaker than his game is a....game.
Superman
TONS of visual glitches and inconsistencies were present (probably why they only had EA reps doing the actual playing), but the basic framework looked solid and the Superpower mechanics looked like a lot of fun (blowing cars down the street, flying from sky to ground in seconds, etc.). I also like that the city has a health bar, not you (great solution to the lame power of being unkillable). It's tough to imagine that this will come together completely in five months, but it certainly COULD, so keep an eye on it (I will be).
Super Mario Galaxy
Definitely the best-looking Wii game on display, and probably the most interesting take on a traditional genre on the system thus far. But it wasn't immediately intuitive, and therefore wasn't Mario as far as I'm concerned. It also had a ton going on at any given moment, and having to stay on your toes to that extent isn't really a hallmark of the series. It was super fun, and could turn out to be as classic as the best in the series, I just hope they chill out on the pacing and focus the myriad gameplay mechanics a bit more.
Gears of War
Considering that the multiplayer hadn't before been shown or discussed, it was very tight, looked and felt great, and already had a very nice strategic flow to the gameplay. The single player looks equally well done, if a bit less unique. It's a bit frustrating giving such a recognition to a game that ultimately isn't anything new or revolutionary, but that's not the 360's job at this point; it's just to do what we like, and do it really, really well.
Honorable Mentions:
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
This was easily the most fun I had at the show, it's just tough to put it up against proper gaming experiences when the series is barely a game in it's final form. But let me tell you - running, hula-hooping, turning a crank, cutting cookies, etc. - all full body actions, all infinitely more fun than the real actions somehow. It doesn't exactly demonstrate what the Wii is capable of in terms of gameplay experiences, but it does show exactly how precise the Wiimote is and how entertaining waving yourself around like an idiot can be.
Dead Rising
The controls in the demo couldn't be inverted, which sucked, but no other game displayed anywhere close to the potential for fantastically mindless fun (please, no pun intended, don't insult me), and good ol' fashioned ridiculousness. The first time through, I hit zombies with a sledgehammer, a shotgun, a potted plant, a cash register, a giant teddy bear, milk, an orange, a cash register, a plastic sword, clipping shears and a bench. And then proceeded to play the game on two more occasions while wandering by later in the show, with entirely different weapons. All this while completely ignoring the other survivors or anything remotely objective-based. I hope they tighten up the controls a bit before release, but it's a really good time as is.
Saint's Row
Weird, I know. It's all the fun of GTA, with easier, more consistent physics and dynamic environments. It seems to have benefitted greatly from the various delays, as the graphics are sharp and every element of the controls works well, even hand to hand combat. Character creation is also the deepest I've ever seen, with the sliders within sliders within slider to sculpt every inch of your in-game persona. The whole thug vibe is a bit obnoxious obviously, but it quickly fades to the back of your mind when the gameplay gets going and it's any more obtrusive than GTA ever was. It's tough to judge a sandbox game in fifteen minutes of play, but what was there worked really well and I'm definitely looking forward to the release and the "TBA" multiplayer modes they're working on.
Heavenly Sword
It was a very compact demo taking place entirely in one arena, but was easily the most "next-gen" PS3 experience on the floor, and it looked and felt fantastic. It pitted you, a rather violent redheaded young lass, again two dozen or so brutes hopping down into a fully furnished arena to fight you. Many of the combat maneuvers were ridiculously cinematic, but it all worked well in context and was a breeze to pull off. Timing exercises and experimentation were dually threaded throughout through the gameplay, adding a lot to what would otherwise feel a bit too much like Devil May Cry. Physics were also at the top of their game, as vanquished foes were thrown haphazardly into the stands above, bodies rolling down and breaking through tables. Go find a video, and know that it's incredibly easy to pull off anything badass that you see happen. It's that simple.
"Playable" (Closed Door playthrough by the developers) Game of the Show
BioShock
Stunning art and environment design, incredibly promising gameplay. The exploration of a destroyed sunken city with an amazingly imaginative cast of organisms and security robots has been fully realized, rendered in by FAR the most striking and unique use of the Unreal 3 engine yet. Every room was dripping with atmosphere and detail, and most importantly, gameplay possibilities. The "food chain" hierarchy of the world is equally unsettling and intriguing, and can be used to your advantage in all sorts of ways. The game was just completely fascinating on every level, and something I'm dying to play through myself but will wait patiently until they're done.
Honorable Mentions:
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Action/RPG was one of my surprise favorite genres last generation, and this seems to be a step in the right direction for the next batch. Gorgeous, completely unique character models (yay for self-shadowing!) in equally impressive scenery, causing all the mayhem you'd expect from a rowdy bunch of super heroes. I like the idea of being able to create your own four-person hero team, though the developer was awfully quick to answer 'no' to my "can you play as four Wolverines with different costumes?" question. Boo.
Army of Two
EA had a great show, as we were expecting, but Army of Two was the real star in their lineup (well, besides Spore, but that's a given). Despite what Penny-Arcade says, by the way; they seem to have missed the entire point of the game. It's all based around co-op play, whether it's your buddy or the A.I. There are plenty of cool touches if it's the latter, such as your teammates not letting you make the all-important dual-sniper countdown if you botched it last time. I'm just happy seeing EA let their creativity catch up to their presentational talent.
Mercenaries 2
Exactly what I expected from a series that could have befitted greatly from a next-gen sequel. Bigger, prettier explosions, with a somehow even more flexible engine. I like the new dynamic of playing with fire too - you can dribble gas along the ground, and light it up to create a trail of destruction wherever you like. Good times, and the kind of thing I would buy a PS3 for if it does end up being exclusive. Oh, and co-op.
Viva Pinata
All the appeal of complete openendedness, none of the slightly off-putting art design of Animal Crossing. Actually, it's much more unstructured and open than AC, if you can believe it. There aren't really any goals outside of growing the most badass garden and filling it with every Pinata species you can lure. Rare has kind of fallen out of sync with making good games in popular genres these last two generations so far, so I'm glad they're using their talents for something this fresh. I'm sure it will all be a whole lot less charming when the commercials for the TV show start blaring with annoying voices, but as it stands right now I'm dying to start my own garden.
The Darkness
It's not really fair that we saw BioShock right afterwards, which would make anything look like crap in retrospect. I swear the game was looking really good though, from what I can unbiasedly remember. Shoot out lights and your body becomes a swarming mess of black mouths and tentacles, and devious Darklings are summoned from the ground (who like to kill your enemies, with, say, a jackhammer). There's even a very phallic tentacles emerging from your lower region that can be used for tossing around police cars and breaking through walls. It's one of those experiences that should really make you feel powerful, and the atmosphere and art direction are really in sync with the gameplay motivations.
Turok
While I was quite excited for Turok going into the show, I secretly had very low expectations for it after the underwhelming screens that had been released. Well, the game looks about ten times better than the screens in motion and seems to play really well so far too. The dinosaurs are fast and scary, and the combat is violent and well-animated. Much of the gameplay direction seems undecided at this point when asked, but the demo was impressive and they have a very large, experienced team to follow through on their ideas. I probably now have unreasonably high expectations for the final game.
Biggest Disappointments
Red Steel
It just doesn't look or feel good at this point. Not intuitive, not striking, not anything really. There were definitely some cool ideas in action, but I don't see why I'd ever play this over an FPS on the 360. I would love a reason to, and I'm sure the game will feel a lot better at launch, but they're going to have to do some serious refinement.
Crackdown
As it stands, it's much more entertaining to watch someone play who knows what they're doing than to play yourself - which is a bad thing. It's not really a fair comparison since it's coming out so much sooner, but Saint's Row felt much more grounded (yes, I know you jump very far in Crackdown, no, that wasn't a pun). This could very well shape up to be a game of the year contender, with fantastic RPG elements, co-op, and a very realized stylistic city, it just feels very rough and flimsy at this point.
DS Lineup
There were plenty of great games - dozens even. Starfox DS and Yoshi's Island 2 were both fantastic. But seriously, almost everything was a sequel. No Nintendogs, no Electroplankton, no Trauma Center, no Brain Age, nothing striking or new. In a system that has defined itself through those unique experiences, it doesn't excite me in the least to know that I'll be playing nothing but SNES sequels for the next year. Weak.
Shadowrun
Ugh.
Zelda: Twilight Princess
I don't like the N64 Zeldas, and haven't played more than a couple minutes of Windwaker. Everyone should know this about me. As expected, TP did little for me. The movement and camera feel archaic, the Wii functionality comes off as completely tacked on, and the world is drab and visually inconsistent. I should have probably just played the fishing demo, I'd be a lot more excited about it then. I'm sure I'll get caught up in the hype and play it when it hits, maybe even enjoy it, but I couldn't have been less enthralled with it at the show.
Most Potential
Mass Effect
The NPC interactions were brilliant and cinematic, and the combat seemed interesting even if real-time seems like a step back from the interesting pace of KOTOR's. I ultimately wasn't super-impressed with what we saw, but it certainly peaked my interest. With such a large game (at least as promised) it's hard to get a proper feel from a ten-minute demo, but I'll definitely be following the development and hoping for the best.
Too Human
Dyack made it sound good, and talked me into having patience so that their vision could be realized. He's lucky he's a much better speaker than his game is a....game.
Superman
TONS of visual glitches and inconsistencies were present (probably why they only had EA reps doing the actual playing), but the basic framework looked solid and the Superpower mechanics looked like a lot of fun (blowing cars down the street, flying from sky to ground in seconds, etc.). I also like that the city has a health bar, not you (great solution to the lame power of being unkillable). It's tough to imagine that this will come together completely in five months, but it certainly COULD, so keep an eye on it (I will be).
Super Mario Galaxy
Definitely the best-looking Wii game on display, and probably the most interesting take on a traditional genre on the system thus far. But it wasn't immediately intuitive, and therefore wasn't Mario as far as I'm concerned. It also had a ton going on at any given moment, and having to stay on your toes to that extent isn't really a hallmark of the series. It was super fun, and could turn out to be as classic as the best in the series, I just hope they chill out on the pacing and focus the myriad gameplay mechanics a bit more.
// posted by Nick @ 10:47 PM 
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