For the last three E3's acclaimed developer BioWare (Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, Dragon Age) has shown a really cool cinematic to promote their upcoming game Star Wars: The Old Republic (or SWTOR as us nerds say). I probably won't get the game because any MMORPG would completely take over my life but the cinematics deserve to be shared.
From E3 2009:
From E3 2010.
From this year's E3.
Showing posts with label E3 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label E3 2011. Show all posts
6.08.2011
6.07.2011
E3: Nintendo Press Conference
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| BEHOLD: that person has really nice hands |
Nintendo held their press conference this morning and as expected, announced their new console, the Wii U. The name is a little bit weird, but I'm impressed by the system itself. The Wii U's big draw is the controller, which will involve motion control as well as a 6-inch touchscreen. Everything I have read says that the console's E3 demos are loads of fun, Nintendo may not have the same level of resources as Microsoft and Sony, but they definitely know how to innovate. However, this console will see the rift between Nintendo and the their two gaming rivals grow even larger.
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| It looks like the Wii's older, less flamboyant brother |
Starting with the Wii, Nintendo created a console that was cheaper and more accessible to the average person, in other words they began catering more towards the "casual gamer." Meanwhile, the 360 and PS3 were more costly, powerful units that focused on better graphics and increased internet connectivity. The Wii U will continue this trend. Details about pricing haven't been released yet but the demos played such as Chase Mii are geared more towards playing together in a living room than playing online with other people from around the world.
Increasingly, Nintendo consoles and Microsoft/Sony consoles will be considered in different categories of gaming and I don't see that ever changing. Nintendo can't compete when it comes to making incredibly powerful consoles and there probably isn't room for all three in the same market anyways.
Look for the Wii U to hit stores in mid-2012.
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| A picture from the inevitable Zelda game for the Wii U |
Speaking of Zelda, what will probably be the last big release for the Wii is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
Nintendo will put tons of work into the game so it will probably be pretty good but the graphics in that trailer is one of the main reasons why Nintendo needs a new console. For the first 30 seconds I honestly thought the video was mislabeled and this was actually footage from an old Gamecube game I'd never heard of. Skyward Sword is set for a Holiday 2011 release
E3: Sony Press Conference
I watched about half of the Sony Conference before my internet decided to stop interneting, but from what I can tell the first half was the more eventful part anyways. The Conference opened with Sony Entertainment of America's CEO (who seems like a complete tool) apologizing for the PSN outage. His apology seemed sincere but as long as the Network functions reliably from now on, people will start to forget. Here are some highlights:
You probably won't want to watch a 6-minute video, so I'll summarize: Uncharted 3 will be awesome and this time they've added cool water-effects. Uncharted 2 is one of my favorite games of the last few years and it doesn't look like the third installment will do much to change the winning formula. The game will feature large set-pieces (such as a boat sinking) and fun third-person combat. The combat looks to be slightly improved, with the addition of a few nifty mechanics such as pulling the pin out of a grenade on an enemy soldier's belt then pushing him away so he explodes (it happens at 4:08 in the video). Looks like Drake will be fighting another army of evil mercenaries, which is surprising because at the rate he's been killing them over the last two games you'd think there wouldn't be any left. Uncharted 3 is my most anticipated game of 2011, look for it on November 1st, 2011 in North America, November 4th, 2011 in Europe, and on an undetermined date in the 4th Quarter of 2011 in Australia (sorry Australia).
Resistance 3
I played the first Resistance last winter and hated it but the game was extremely dated by that point so I'm willing to give the third installment a chance. It certainly has the potential to be a great game. The storyline seems strong, the scale of the enemies is impressive, and the unique weapons make Resistance different than your average shooter. Also, this has nothing to do with the actual game, but the box art is pretty cool. Resistance 3 will hit shelves in North America on the 6th of September, then Europe and Australia on the 20th of September
Sony 3D TV
The only reason I'm taking the time to talk about a TV is because its 3D technology will eliminate screen-splitting for multiplayer. Each player will be able to view the entire screen, AWESOME. I've been pretty uninterested in 3D technology but this has definitely caught my interest. I had never considered that 3D TV's could eliminate screen-sharing. The 24-inch TV will release in the Fall along with a pair of 3D glasses, an hdmi cable, and a copy of Resistance 3 for $500; still out of my price range, but consider me interested.
Other Highlights of the show included the announcement of an ICO/Shadow of the Colossus remake (Spring 2011), Sony's new handheld now called the Playstation Vita (to be released on December 31, 2011, a very odd release date because it just barely misses Christmas), and Kobe Bryant playing NBA 2K12 with the Playstation Move. Just thinking about Kobe Bryant in a room with 6,000 video game developers and media makes me laugh, I wonder if he's more athletic than all of them combined.
Uncharted 3
You probably won't want to watch a 6-minute video, so I'll summarize: Uncharted 3 will be awesome and this time they've added cool water-effects. Uncharted 2 is one of my favorite games of the last few years and it doesn't look like the third installment will do much to change the winning formula. The game will feature large set-pieces (such as a boat sinking) and fun third-person combat. The combat looks to be slightly improved, with the addition of a few nifty mechanics such as pulling the pin out of a grenade on an enemy soldier's belt then pushing him away so he explodes (it happens at 4:08 in the video). Looks like Drake will be fighting another army of evil mercenaries, which is surprising because at the rate he's been killing them over the last two games you'd think there wouldn't be any left. Uncharted 3 is my most anticipated game of 2011, look for it on November 1st, 2011 in North America, November 4th, 2011 in Europe, and on an undetermined date in the 4th Quarter of 2011 in Australia (sorry Australia).
Resistance 3
I played the first Resistance last winter and hated it but the game was extremely dated by that point so I'm willing to give the third installment a chance. It certainly has the potential to be a great game. The storyline seems strong, the scale of the enemies is impressive, and the unique weapons make Resistance different than your average shooter. Also, this has nothing to do with the actual game, but the box art is pretty cool. Resistance 3 will hit shelves in North America on the 6th of September, then Europe and Australia on the 20th of September
Sony 3D TV
The only reason I'm taking the time to talk about a TV is because its 3D technology will eliminate screen-splitting for multiplayer. Each player will be able to view the entire screen, AWESOME. I've been pretty uninterested in 3D technology but this has definitely caught my interest. I had never considered that 3D TV's could eliminate screen-sharing. The 24-inch TV will release in the Fall along with a pair of 3D glasses, an hdmi cable, and a copy of Resistance 3 for $500; still out of my price range, but consider me interested.
Other Highlights of the show included the announcement of an ICO/Shadow of the Colossus remake (Spring 2011), Sony's new handheld now called the Playstation Vita (to be released on December 31, 2011, a very odd release date because it just barely misses Christmas), and Kobe Bryant playing NBA 2K12 with the Playstation Move. Just thinking about Kobe Bryant in a room with 6,000 video game developers and media makes me laugh, I wonder if he's more athletic than all of them combined.
E3: Microsoft Press Conference
Microsoft had its press conference today, here are some of the highlights:
Halo 4
Not much actual content to talk about from that trailer. The "fourth" Halo game will be the start of a new trilogy, which means we can expect the Halo series to continue until Microsoft goes bankrupt or hell freezes over (hell freezing over is the more likely of the two). Does anyone else think the relationship between the Chief and Cortana is a little weird? Expect Halo 4 to hit shelves in late 2012.
Halo: Combat Evolved Remake
On November 15th, 2001 Halo: Combat Evolved was released, my social life still hasn't recovered. The original Halo is one of the most important/ best games of all time, without it the Xbox 360 probably wouldn't exist, I would have had to interact with real people in middle school, and the world would be a sadder place. I have a feeling many people won't want to pay for a remake, especially when this particular remake will be extremely faithful to the original. In general I would agree, but Combat Evolved isn't just any game. Look for the remake starting on November 15th, 2011, the ten year anniversary of the original's release.
Mass Effect 3
No big announcement here, everyone has known about Mass Effect 3 for a while but oodles (yes, I say oodles) of new content was released at E3. Most of the new content involved using the Kinect but Shepard is getting a knife and I thought the above trailer was pretty cool. Looks like the Reapers have finally made it to Earth in order to exterminate all life. I'm not sure why they are so big on exterminating everything other than, "it's what they've always done." Mass Effect 3 will be released on March 6th, 2012.
Tomb Raider
I've never played any Tomb Raider game, the Playstation 2 was my first Sony console and by that point the series had already deteriorated considerably. However, the series reboot actually looks pretty cool. There isn't any gameplay, but making Lara Croft a badass instead of a gimmick with huge boobs is definitely a step in the right direction.
Halo 4
Not much actual content to talk about from that trailer. The "fourth" Halo game will be the start of a new trilogy, which means we can expect the Halo series to continue until Microsoft goes bankrupt or hell freezes over (hell freezing over is the more likely of the two). Does anyone else think the relationship between the Chief and Cortana is a little weird? Expect Halo 4 to hit shelves in late 2012.
Halo: Combat Evolved Remake
On November 15th, 2001 Halo: Combat Evolved was released, my social life still hasn't recovered. The original Halo is one of the most important/ best games of all time, without it the Xbox 360 probably wouldn't exist, I would have had to interact with real people in middle school, and the world would be a sadder place. I have a feeling many people won't want to pay for a remake, especially when this particular remake will be extremely faithful to the original. In general I would agree, but Combat Evolved isn't just any game. Look for the remake starting on November 15th, 2011, the ten year anniversary of the original's release.
Mass Effect 3
No big announcement here, everyone has known about Mass Effect 3 for a while but oodles (yes, I say oodles) of new content was released at E3. Most of the new content involved using the Kinect but Shepard is getting a knife and I thought the above trailer was pretty cool. Looks like the Reapers have finally made it to Earth in order to exterminate all life. I'm not sure why they are so big on exterminating everything other than, "it's what they've always done." Mass Effect 3 will be released on March 6th, 2012.
Tomb Raider
I've never played any Tomb Raider game, the Playstation 2 was my first Sony console and by that point the series had already deteriorated considerably. However, the series reboot actually looks pretty cool. There isn't any gameplay, but making Lara Croft a badass instead of a gimmick with huge boobs is definitely a step in the right direction.
5.30.2011
E3 preview #1: Sony wants everyone to forget how badly it screwed up
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| *Crickets* |
The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is essentially Christmas for nerds because it is where many video game developers announce new releases. E3 is closely watched by the video game media and goes a long way in determining how a particular console or game will perform in the upcoming year. In anticipation of this year’s E3, which runs from June 7 to June 9, I will be doing a series of previews starting with one about Sony’s Playstation Network.
For those of you who don’t know, in mid-April the Playstation Network (PSN) was hacked and personal information as well as a few thousand credit card numbers were stolen. For a good timeline of events through May 6th check out this link, if you don’t care enough to click that link I’ll summarize in one sentence: After being hacked, PSN was down for close to a month before service was restored in North America on May 15th (Playstation Store is still down), but lots of people are still (justifiably) upset with Sony.
Prior to the PSN debacle, Sony was poised for a strong year with a lineup of Playstation-exclusives including Killzone 3, Infamous 2, and Uncharted 3. Now that they’ve gone and pissed off millions of Playstation owners, including the video game media, Sony will have to perform the difficult task of restoring confidence in the PSN while still selling next year’s game lineup to the public. One thing is clear: Microsoft’s Xbox Live was regarded as the gold standard for gaming consoles prior to the hack, now Sony has fallen even further behind.
The full extent of the damage done to Playstation’s sales by the PSN hack is still unclear, so I will be watching with great interest to see how Sony deals with the situation and how the gaming community reacts.
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