The server was unable to process the request due to an internal error. For more information about the error, either turn on IncludeExceptionDetailInFaults (either from ServiceBehaviorAttribute or from the
Today was Microsoft’s E3 presser. As usual, they held it one day before the show actually starts, but this year EA and Ubisoft also rode this trend. Last year we were losing it over Project Natal and the announcement of a Final Fantasy coming to the Xbox 360. What did this year bring?
First, here’s the 30-second TLDR (too long; didn’t read) version:
Natal is now Kinect, releasing November 4th, 2010 with 15 launch titlesCall of Duty: Black Ops will have map packs and addons released first on the Xbox 360Metal Gear Solid: Rising really focuses on cutting everything. Lightning Bolt Action. Not sure if it’ll have Kinect integration.Gears of War 3: 4 player co-op, female Gears, mutating enemies, trading weapons, and a new mode called BeastFable 3: Looks the same. There was a trailer and no discussion, and I haven’t played the previous ones. There were muskets.Codename Kingdoms: Xbox 360 exclusive. Microsoft is publishing this title and ‘partnering’ with Crytek. Great graphics from the short trailer, as expected.Halo Reach: It’s the Halo prequel. Added melee stealth attacks, and there was a spaceship shooter sequence that seemed pretty cool.Kinect apps: Kinect Zune to play music and movies, videoKinect for voice chat (think Skype), and the camera tracks you as you move so you don’t have to adjust it.There’s an ESPN partnership for live events and videos on demand, but that won’t be coming to Canada yet.Kinect first party titles: Kinectimals (virtual pet), Kinect Sports (Wii sports), Kinect JoyRide (exactly what you think it is), Kinect Adventures (some casual rollercoaster type game)Kinect third party titles: Ubisoft’s YourShape (a pretty cool fitness title), Harmonix’s Dance Central (exactly what it sounds like), LucasArts’s Star Wars (fun with lightsabers and force powers, looked pretty cool)Forza folks demonstrated what they would do with Kinect, but there was no promise of a new title or anything.Xbox 360 Slim, with a 250GB hard drive and built in Wi-fi with Wireless N. Your router is probably not working off N anyway, but maybe! Shipped today.In talking to a Microsoft rep, he stresses that “core” gamers should not be worried that not as many hardcore games were shown this year. They tried to emphasize that the Xbox 360 is THE gaming platform now that it has games for everyone.Now, for those of you interested in more of the nitty-gritty details, here are some of my impressions and more detailed description of each. Call of Duty: Black Ops had several things that caught my eye, though nothing was revolutionary. Modern Warfare 2 wasn’t revolutionary either and it was the best selling game of all time or something, so I’m assuming that doesn’t matter. With Treyarch at the helm as opposed to Infinity Ward though, this CoD will be scrutinized tightly. First, there seemed to be unique reactions to friendly fire that other characters remember. I’m not sure how different or varied these are, but it was pretty neat as the player was crouching through the tunnel with some allies. There was some authentic sounding voice acting in a foreign language and a jungle landscape as the player hijacked a helicopter and went on a destruction spree. As he blew up enemies dirt would come flying and everything looked really nice. And like I mentioned in the short version, Microsoft has worked out a deal where all the addons and map packs will be going to Xbox 360 first, which I’m not sure is a huge score or not.
Metal Gear Solid: Rising is not an exclusive to Xbox 360, but it will be the first Metal Gear on the Xbox 360. Konami said they wanted to make something new and unique, and this seems to take the form of… cutting lots of things with Raiden’s sword. Seriously. The trailer showed him cutting pillars, watermelons, cars, and of course, people. Really, the entire thing can be summed up as “CUT EVERYTHING!!”
Gears of War 3 looked amazing in the usual Gears of War way. Things were hectic and in your face, but now you have more buddies to help! There were these new mutating enemies that should switch up the encounters a little bit, but nothing extraordinary. It looks like a great time for Gears fans. Unfortunately Dude Huge did not show any of the new Beast mode.
Fable 3 didn’t get anything but a trailer, and it wasn’t exciting. It seemed to be set a little bit later in timeline as there is a revolution of some sort and some people had muskets. That’s really all I can tell you, go look for the trailer!
Codename Kingdoms had a short CG trailer of a gladiator or Spartan soldier with blood dripping from his sword. Nothing else announced from the short trailer and when I asked the Microsoft rep about the “partnership”, he couldn’t tell me if it would be multiple games or just one with Crytek, or he’d have to kill me.
Halo Reach looks exactly like every other Halo to me. I will leave that coverage to our resident Halo experts.
The Kinect stuff had potential. I’ll really enjoy not having to find the controller to control movies and music. Waving to sign in to the Xbox 360 was kind of neat. The videoKinect application is pretty much what’d you expect, except the camera follows you as you move so you won’t have to adjust it, which is technologically cool. Kinectimals will let you add your own animals by scanning barcodes that will probably be attached to some plush toys made by some toy manufacturer. Details were pretty vague from the rep on that one. The demo was with a cute little child, and it was all going okay until the virtual pet tiger went to lick her and she laughed and said “It tickles!” which seems far fetched to me. Still, I’ll probably get it for my toddler. Well, either that or a real tiger. Kinect Adventures is a game where the players are each on rails and you have to jump and duck to avoid oncoming obstacles and also try to collect as many tokens as you can by moving your limbs and body. But the crazy thing is that there are spots where there are cameras, just like a roller coaster ride, and they’ll take pictures of you playing the game as you pass through. Your images are superimposed onto the background of the game so it’s okay if your living room is messy while you’re playing. These pictures are then (optionally I hope) uploaded to your Facebook automatically.
Ubisoft’s YourShape was really cool, I thought. It is a fitness program that can actually give you feedback if you’re doing exercises wrong. If your knee is bent at an incorrect angle so that you’re not getting the full workout, it will let you know right on the screen. Also, there are actual classes you can take like kickboxing. I doubt these will bring you much expertise in those things, but we didn’t get too many details about it.
Dance Central by Harmonix is… well, full body dancing using Kinect. It has the requisite dance moves trainer to teach people with no rhythm or style, but I can guarantee I’ll look like a fool in front of this thing anyway. Still, I’ve heard from other people that they think it’ll be a good time and I have to admit it was amusing watching other people play it, so in the words of Captain Falcon: Show me yo moves!
Star Wars seems fun even though the movements looked a bit awkward or forced (pun optional) on the screen. Activating Force powers with actual movements was cooler than flailing the lightsaber to me.
Finally Microsoft teased us with what the Forza people were toying with, and then announced the new Xbox 360 Slim for the same price as the Elite. It includes a 250 GB HDD and a much overdue built-in Wi-Fi card that supports the 802.11N specification. They then gave it away to everyone in attendance. I cried a little inside.
And that was the show, folks! What are you most and least excited about from the Microsoft presser? Let us know in the comments!
Don Tam is a game enthusiast who currently resides in Toronto. He currently owns a two-year old PC, a Xbox 360 Pro and a DS Lite (black). His favourite games include Gears of War, Rock Band, Civilization IV, and pretty much anything Blizzard caresses with their gentle, godly hands.
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz