For Sony, It's Back To The Drawing Board

Sony took stage last night and we here at Illegal Games, didn’t expect much from them. They were quiet leading up to E3 and with that, the gamer in me thought that they might have an ace up their sleeve with what they were showing at the event. Man was I wrong. Last night event was dull and boring. They came unprepared to impress the audience in any kind of way and I say that from knowing what the last game of the conference was going to be. Allow me to run down the events last night, so you can understand where I am coming from. Keep score.

They started with the first look at Quantic Dream new game “Beyond”. Beyond looks fantastic. The realistic look to the characters and the Sci-Fi elements that was shown makes this game look interesting. QD also announced that the main character “Jody Holmes” will be played by actress Ellen Page. If you don’t recognize the name, she has played in such films like Juno, X-Men: The Last Stand and Inception. This surely wowed the audience with visuals but there was one problem. There wasn’t any gameplay in the real time presentation until the very end, with an action packed cut scene. I am a big fan of Quantic Dream, but I need to see more about this game before I can talk fairly about it.

Next up to bat was “Playstation All-Stars: Battle Royal”, presented by Chan Park of SuperBot Entertainment. I will not sugar coat anything to you guys, this is a direct rip off of Super Smash Brothers. So direct that it if you put the screen shots side by side they look exactly the same. Now they did do something interesting as they played the game. They showed the power of the Playstation Vita. Two of the four players that were playing the game were playing on the Vita playing against players on the PS3. They call this feature “Cross-Play”.  Awesome, now back to the game. We could hardly keep up with what was going on while PS All-Stars was being presented. I would guess that the presenter had a hard time as well, as he said, “I’m not sure who is winning… let’s see who wins”. It was Fat Princess by the way, I don’t fully understand how but I guess I have to play it. Chan Park ended his presentation with the announcement that Nathan Drake from Uncharted and Big Daddy from Bioshock will be playable characters as well.

Now let me state something. We are 30 minutes in to this presentation and they have shown two games. One, which didn’t have any gameplay and the other, is a rip off of Super Smash Brothers. Lets continue.

During intermission, they started to talk about PSN. A redesign? Nope, Playstation Plus stuff. Everyone in the audience got a free year of Playstation Plus. This doesn’t help any of us, so I’ll keep going. No wait, I forgot if you join Playstation plus you can download Saints Row 2 for free!! Not Impressed by that, this one will make you harder than a hand full of Viagra. PS Vita will get PSone Classics, like Tomb Radier 1 and Final Fantasy VII!!! Its 2012 and yes they are classics, but you are almost at the end of a console cycle. It is time you show something new.

40 minutes, 2 games.

Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified was announced with no game play so we can skip that. They did show the spin-off game to Assassin Creed 3, titled “Assassin Creed 3: Liberation” which features a female assassin. The game comes bundled with a White PS Vita (I will pick that up). Sony showed some more gameplay of Assassin Creed 3 proper and the multiplayer campaign to Far Cry 3. At this point Sony has lost me. Here is why.

1 game with no gameplay, 1 rip off of smash brothers, 1 spinoff to a game that isn’t out yet that belongs to a handheld that isn’t selling and 2 games that was shown twice already. Moving on.

To discuss Playstation Move, Andrew House appeared on stage and gave the longest presentation of the new interactive “Wonderbook”. Wonderbook uses the Playstation Move and Eye camera to interact with books on your lap. J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame, gave “The Book of Spells” to demo along with the new interactive IP. It looks cool for what it is worth. You can open a book and practice spells and interact with the words on the page. This doesn’t need a fifteen-minute presentation and you just put everyone to bed.

God of War 4 was shown and it’s more God of War. Not much to say about it. Kratos does have a new power that allows his enemies to float in the air for a period of time and he did fight a half man half elephant and that is always great.

The last game in this presentation pretty much saved Sony. Lucky for them, this is the only thing they will remember from this long dry conference. “The Last of Us” is and will be a pure success. From the makers of Uncharted, Naughty Dog has shown that a mixture of “I Am Legend” and “Resident Evil” does work. Along with their story telling and unique gameplay, The Last of Us stole the show.

I hope I didn’t bore you with this post as much as Sony bored me last night. Die hard fans of Sony will come together and say that this won E3 but take that with a grain of salt. Microsoft conference wasn’t much better but comparing that to this, Sony made Microsoft look like they knew what they was doing. I came with a math equation for this.

1 game with no gameplay + 1 rip off of smash brothers + 1 spinoff to a game that isn’t out yet + 2 games that was shown twice already + 1 storybook that no one cares about + 1 a milked God of War + an impressive Last of Us Demo = a failed E3.

 Sony has lost E3.

First Screen Shots Of NBA Live 2013

Fans of Sony After The Press Briefing

Microsoft's E3 Press Conference Coverage - Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2

 
     Call of Duty.  The franchise that everybody loves to hate, but also according to sales records, the one that everyone loves to buy.  For the ninth installment in this long running, wildly successful, and now annual series, Treyarch will be releasing Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.  While the title is not much of a surprise, some gamers may or may not be surprised to find out that the setting is in the not so distant future with mechanized war machines a la Metal Gear.  Earlier footage of the game even showed off men riding on horseback into battle.  While many have been clamoring for a change to the tried and true, yet aging, COD formula, few can honestly say they expected this.

    
In this E3 demo, we were given a glimpse of some gameplay from the campaign of Black Ops 2.  To be honest, despite what seems to be a big shift in the setting of the game, the gameplay seems to be largely unchanged.  Still presented in the ever popular first person view, Black Ops still packs the realistic weapons with extreme detail down to the brand of holographic optics and slots of the picatinny rails.  Another thing we've gotten used to is the modern, and sometimes seemingly futuristic, support weapons and gear that we're able to play around with.  This demo was not short on those either.  We saw the player take control or aircraft, and order small arms fire from small drones on the fly just to name a few.  While many players may have been turned off by the news of the new setting at first, I think they can rest assured that the COD they know and love is still intact.

    
However, I think that some may argue that the series still hasn't evolved enough.  The gameplay is still largely an adrenaline packed, blockbuster film worthy sprint from set-piece to set-piece with some shooting and story delivered to you on the fly via radio chatter.  The campaign of these games seem to be more focused on presenting itself as a feature film more so than the realistic combat shooter that it appears to be with so much attention to detail.  But then again, who plays COD for the campaign right?

     Well, I'll be quick to admit that I do.  I'm the guy that everyone yells at for sucking on team deathmatch.  I enjoy the short lived thrills that the campaign delivers, even if they are a bit cheesy and fantastic at times.  Also, with Treyarch at the helm, it's been confirmed that the popular Zombies mode will be making it's return on the newest release.  With what seems like something for everyone, it's hard to find fault with Treyarch's approach.  Even if the gameplay is still inching closer to its expiration date, it's promising to see that Treyarch is at least trying to do something to keep this franchise firing on all cylinders.

Microsoft's E3 Press Conference Coverage - Resident Evil 6

  
 Not many game companies these days can brag about having a franchise as long running, or with as many entries, as Resident Evil.  Capcom is planning to continue to breathe life into the series with its latest installment, and official sequel, Resident Evil 6.  At E3 we were shown a demo which included a good bit of gameplay following series veteran Leon Kennedy trying to make his way through a zombie infested city.  He's accompanied by a female protagonist along the way making it somewhat reminiscent of Resident Evil 5.

     The series seems to be continuing to move away from its survival-horror roots in favor of a more action oriented play style.  This might come to the dismay of some fans who wish that the series would return to it's roots.  However, Capcom has promised that each of the three playable characters will have distinct playstyles which will allow them to blend fast paced action and survival horror between character plotlines without it seeming too out of place.  Chris Redfield has been rumored to have the more fast paced gameplay of the three characters, though after watching the E3 demo, it seems that Capcom is still going for a more overall action thriller theme altogether.

     RE6's E3 showing brought pretty much what fans were expecting.  The graphics look good with crisp textures and detailed backgrounds and the lighting is dark creating a fitting atmosphere for it's horror based plot.  Capcom has been listening to fan feedback, albeit slowly, and has made some changes to the controls that are quickly evident.  Finally, moving and shooting will be a possibility as the series slowly catches up on incorporating mechanics that seem to almost be a requirement these days.  Close combat from RE5 also makes its return in the form of prompted quick time events that allow the player to escape enemy attacks and deal damage to enemies without expending ammo.

   
     Speaking of quick time events, there were plenty throughout the short demo.  With Capcom pursuing a more cinematic experience within the game, they seem to be overdoing the quick time events in an attempt to keep the player feeling like he's in control.  I personally am not a fan of excessive use of QTEs, but my personal pet peeves aren't a reason to write this one off.  Resident Evil is a much beloved franchise and with a growing library of titles holding the brand that were not so good to be honest.  It's nice to see an official sequel trying to get the series back on track.  However, with Capcom trying to do so much to turn the series into something completely different from what it started out as, only time will tell if fans will be so willing to try what the developers plan to serve.

Battlefield 3 Premium Announced

Peter Moore and Patrick Bach took the stage to give the new about the upcoming expansion packs for Battlefield 3. With that, they announced Battlefield Premium, DLC pack that will give you all they content of Battlefield at the price of $49.99.

The DLC packs includes the expansion packs Armored Kill, Close Quarters, Back to Karkland, Aftermath, and End Game, along with exclusive items, deeper customization, unique events, new dog tags and other features.

You may purchase the DLC pack today with the other expansion packs to be released later in the year.

Peter Connected Just As Well As Microsoft Did

Microsoft 2012 E3 Press Briefing

Nintendo Pre E3 Event

Microsoft's E3 Press Conference - Tomb Raider

     Tomb Raider is a series that despite is success at the box office and several video game releases that sold very well, always failed to peak my interest.  However with the franchise seemingly taking a sharp turn with its upcoming title, I have to admit I get a little more excited every time I see it.  

 

      The newest installment into the series will take the form of an origin story showing off the beginnings of the series' popular heroine, Lara Croft.  This means that Lara will appear noticeably younger this time around and will likely exhibit more green behavior as she is slowly transformed into the the seasoned veteran that we controlled in the earlier games.  Her characters appearance really gives the player a sense that Lara isn't exactly a snug fit for her environment and that the challenges she's sure to face may could certainly be more than she is able to bear.  Origin storytelling has been a very well received approach to exploring and fleshing out  characters that fans already know and love.  This game seems to be following the formula, though I can't say that's necessarily a bad thing.

     Speaking of formulas, Crystal Dynamics (the developer behind Tomb Raider), seems to be borrowing quite a few equations from the folks over at Naughty Dog.  Much of the presentation bears a striking resemblance to the critically acclaimed Uncharted series.   Once again, that's not really a bad thing.  Lara moves and reacts to her environment in realistic ways that show things about her character that would normally be shown in cheesy cutscenes.  The demo also shows us that CD seems to be taking another page out of Naughty Dog's book and ratcheting up the action with huge set-piece moments. 

     That's not to say that fans of the series won't be getting more of what they love.  The developer promises that this will be a game of survival, action, and exploration.  That's good news because the environments that we find Lara traversing in the demo certainly seem to be worth spending a bit of time in.  Realistic lighting gives a soft glow that creates a dark and dreary environment for the young adventurer to navigate.  With the right amount of balance, we could be looking at a very promising game and a strong jolt to the series as a whole.  I just hope the developers don't rely too much on mashing the action button.

Konami Pre E3 Event

Summer Of Arcade Lineup Reveled

As part of Spike live coverage of E3 2012, Phil Spencer reveiled the line up for this year summer of arcade.

The Lineup includes Hybrid, Deadlight, Tony Hawk HD, Wreckateer, and Dust: An Elysian Tail.

Here are the trailers for the games below.

Hybrid
Deadlight Tony Hawk HD Wreckateer Dust: An Elysian Tail

Smart Glass is Microsoft Answer to the Wii U

Just when you thought that Microsoft didn’t have a few tricks up its sleeve, they pull out an ace. As a direct response to the Wii U, Microsoft reveled Smart Glass for the first time at this year E3.

Smart glass with interact with the Xbox 360 as a companion piece to play music, movies, games and browse the web.  The App will work on all Window 8 phones and tablets and IOS devices and will launch this fall worldwide.

Transformers: Fall of Megatron Trailer

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron - E3 2012: Metroplex Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Halo 4 Campaign Demo

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Halo 4 - E3 2012: Debut Gameplay (Stream) HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Microsoft's E3 Press Conference - Gears Of War: Judgement

    

We didn't get much more than a short teaser trailer for the new entry in Epic's wildly successful Gears Of War series.  However, we do know one thing about this new fan favorite.  Marcus Fenix will be sitting this one out.  What turns out to actually be a prequel to the events of the trilogy, Gears of War: Judgement will star series wise-ass and technical genius, Damon Baird.  The locusts will also obviously be making their return since the game is in fact a prequel to the other 3.

     At this point not much can be said about this game besides pure speculation.  No gameplay footage was shown off so at this point is hard to say whether or not this new Gears will be a breath of fresh air for the series or just another cover shooter worth a Redbox rental.  No official release date was given but we certainly won't be seeing this game until some time in 2013.  Hopefully, the time between now and then will be well spent making this game more than just another Gears of War.

Microsoft E3 Press Conference Coverage - Fable: The Journey

     
     I'm not even quite sure where to begin with this one.  At times I find myself wondering if this game is some sort of joke.  Fable, Lionhead's recently struggling franchise, tries to make a comeback with its Kinect exclusive game Fable: The Journey.  However, I'm finding it hard to understand who the targeted audience is for this new release.

    
     The most mind boggling change being made to the series is that it is now a Kinect controlled game.  This usually means that much of the control will be stripped from the player in favor of gimmicky, and usually ridiculous looking, gestures to make the game feel more "realistic".  This thought was solidified when I realized that in most, probably all, of the gameplay footage that I saw, the character was standing motionless on screen while enemies jumped, ran, and flew all around him.  For such an in depth and ambitious experience that Fable has its roots in, it really seemed like three steps backwards to be making it into a Kinect game.  It's almost as if they're trying to fix the gas leak by changing the oil.

    
     Most of the showing consisted of very visually unimpressive gameplay footage of the character standing around casting spells with some short clips of a guy looking truly ridiculous doing command gestures to emphasize the Kinect functionality.  The game doesn't only look ugly and seem to be light on mechanics, but it appears that the overall in depth RPG feel of the past games won't be making a return.  Instead, we'll be getting what seems to be a watered down casual experience, set in a hardcore fantasy universe.  So, again I ask, exactly who is the audience for this game?  I can say with confidence, that I am not a part of it.

Microsoft E3 Press Conference Coverage - Splinter Cell: Blacklist

   
     Ubisoft's long running Splinter Cell series is making it's return with Splinter Cell: Blacklist.  The plot seems to run along the usual lines of "terrorist plot needs to be stopped and you're the one that has to do it".  I wouldn't let that deter your interest though because the game is looking great.
     The visuals are very nice but the hardware is really starting to show it's age.  It's obvious that Ubisoft is doing it's best to squeeze every bit of performance out of an aging console generation.  Nevertheless, the visuals are easily on par with some of the best the industry has to offer today.  Flags blow fluidly in the background, desert scenery looks realistically drab and drained of life, and Sam moves the way you would expect to see a human being move.

   As fans have come to expect from the series, Sam has the usual 007 laundry list of tools and gadgets at his disposal to aid him on his missions.  In this game, Sam has rejoined 4th Echelon giving him access to even more attacks that he can employ in real time on the battlefield.  This is where Kinect comes into play.  Functionality has been integrated so that now Sam can call in strikes to the battlefield and give commands to his support in 4th Echelon using simply voice commands.  A quick "Grim, Now!" and we see an enemy technical destroyed with what appeared to be a JDAM airstrike.  Kinect also made a splash during the demo when the player whispered a simple "Hey you!" into the Kinect microphone to draw the attention of a guard while hanging from the side of a building.
     Still not convinced to buy a Kinect?  No worries.  Sam still exhibits excellent control using the XBox 360 controller.  The execution system from Conviction makes a return here and makes for some very impressive looking cinematic neutralizations.  In one scene, we see Sam dispatch two foes via the execution system, run and vault over the hood of a truck, and then take out three more enemies with style without breaking a sweat.  When done correctly, it seems the game aims to make you feel like a true badass and, let's be honest, Sam shouldn't be considered anything less.

Microsoft's E3 Press Conference Coverage - Halo 4

     As is only appropriate, Microsoft kicked off it's E3 showing with the official sequel to its flagship series, Halo 4.  First we were treated to a short cinematic video showing the commissioning of one of the UNSC's new starships.  Shortly after, something goes horribly wrong and the ship comes crashing down onto a mysterious planet as the Master Chief looks on.  We're then dropped into some gameplay as the Master Chief fights to make his way to the crash site.  The covenant makes a return as they race to beat the chief to the ship.  However, along the way, the Chief is greeted by a new enemy.

   
 These new enemies quickly differentiate themselves from the covenant.  The small, scurrying, fast moving critters don't seem to be armed with any weapons and seem far more primal than their covenant counterparts.  As the Master Chief moves closer, Cortana recognizes their weapons are using Forerunner technology hinting at the origins of this new foe.

    
Halo 4 showed off some polished and certainly upgraded graphics but they're certainly nothing to write home about.  The lush forest setting was well detailed and the new HUD gives a more "in armor" feel with the setup seeming more like a direct "through the visor" experience than its predecessors.  The chief still moves rather stiff and the overall feel of the game is still very "halo".  Fans of the series will certainly have something to look forward to.  This footage makes it difficult to determine if this new iteration will have what it takes to draw in new players.  Only time will tell.

XBox Press Briefing Live

Watch live video from gamespot's channel on www.twitch.tv

As E3 Approches, Nintendo Looks Lost

Yesterday, Nintendo presented a recorded live stream as a prelude to their upcoming E3 briefing. While they have a lot riding on this year presentation, mostly due to the release of the Wii U, the live stream shows that they are ready to give what the gamers want but not what they need.

Nintendo has always been a company full of innovation. Since the release of the Nintendo 64, Nintendo has given the gamer new experiences with wild ideas that, for the most part, have been entertaining, but with that amount of willingness to do things outside the industry norm, comes a price of Nintendo not learning from their mistakes. Why do I say this, well take a look at what they showed yesterday and the questions that I feel they have to answer on Tuesday.

Question number one; will the tablet come with the Wii U and based on that choice, how much will it cost?

This can be a deal breaker for the upcoming system. Look at it like this. That tablet can't be cheap to make. If it comes with the tablet, then we could be looking at a system that cost around $350. With out the tablet and with a plain Wii-mote, we could look at the system costing somewhere around the starting price of the original Wii at $250. So what about that tablet? Nintendo can not be stupid with this decision. Simply put, if this thing cost more that a Kindle Fire and does less, they have already lost their fan base.

Question number two; have Nintendo gave into the third party?

They shown off their 360/dual axes gamepad at the live event as well. Nintendo has really studied that controller are cause it is a direct rip off of both. Doesn't this already show that the third party developers weren't interested in making games with the Wii-mote and the tablet? They damn sure wouldn't be interested in making games with the pro controller and the tablet, especially with single player campaigns. Can I also mention that there are now three primary controllers for the Wii U? Does that mean that I have to own all three to play a game at any given time? 

Question number three; do I really have to join another social network?

I do not want another social network to join. Why do we have remind Nintendo who they are? Nintendo could have fully integrated Twitter and Facebook into their ecosystem without having to create one of their own. It could be a good idea to have a Nintendo network for people who love Nintendo, but knowing Nintendo, they will make it complicated and use friend codes to invite their users (I hope they are smarter than that).

My last and most important question; WHERE ARE THE GAMES?

Please Nintendo, I am begging you. Your briefing is only one hour. You need to spend 15 minutes on 3DS; 15 minutes on the hardware of the Wii U, and the rest of the time just show the games. You can not have any more mini game collections because that will not carry the system into the next generation. You are already behind in graphics as it is. You have to find your roots and channel the times of the past. Make the Wii U about the games and not about the hardware. This is how you beat Sega; this is how you beat the next generation. As much as I think you are going to fail, the gamer that was five years old when he played his first game wants you to succeed. Don't make a fool of yourself. 

Also, my games that I downloaded online better be transferred to the new console.