posted by Chris on July 20, 2007 11:22 AM in Games
The bastardized, watered-down version of E3 has come and gone, and journalists have started comprising their lists of how next year's E3 can be improved. But do we even need an E3? This year wasn't packed with megaton announcements, instead focusing on games only being released this year. It was focused on the media being able to play a few games that have already been announced, only two or three months before their release. To what end? How does this benefit companies? Was it them just throwing us a bone because we expect E3 to wow us? Us, of course, referring to the gamer community. We are a demanding sort, picking through every announcement, every press release, trying to find tidbits of information about games that aren't even released yet. It's a culture of impatience, and I believe that the game companies just plain don't need E3 any longer.
Sure, I could talk about how the show could be improved for my own comfort level. But at that point, aren't we just going through the motions? Almost every PR rep I talked to at the show mentioned big announcements being held for Leipzig, or Tokyo Game Show, all of them holding back those precious gems of information we all desire.
It's a big party. It's a great party, filled with free booze and food, schmoozing and networking. It certainly benefits the careers of games journalists, but for the most part the companies represented at E3 could most likely do without the fanfare. E3 is dead, obsolete, and most likely won't return. E for All, coming in October, will reinforce this. Just imagine big game companies holding out their huge announcements for E for All, a show that is essentially a huge arcade - the very reason the original E3 was shut down. Imagine the outrage!
We are all going to look back at 2007 as a very interesting year for gaming indeed.
Tucked away in the middle of a cluster of gaming stations in the Barker Hangar was one solitary DS Lite. On that DS Lite? Contra 4. That was one of the more remarkable things about the Barker Hangar this year, the best games could just be sitting there, waiting for someone to play them, no lines. All my previous worries about Contra 4 were laid to rest after actually getting to experience it - this is certainly the Contra we all know and love. It's still SUPER hard, I could hardly get past the first level (by hardly I mean I didn't). The addition of a grappling hook feels natural to the series, though it's a bit frustrating it can only shoot straight up and not at an angle a la Bionic Commando. The controls are surprisingly tight for a small third party developer continuing this series, it really just feels natural. The music, the sound effects, everything is meant to harken back to the Contra days of yore. This is going to be an exciting rest of 2007, I tell you what.
While the PS3 is still way too expensive for me, there were a couple of compelling titles at E3 that made me stop and think if I could actually afford it. One of those games was Folklore, an absolutely gorgeous game in the vein of Okami, Zelda, and surprisingly Pokemon. You adventure through a Labyrinth/Dark Crystal style world, fighting a variety of monsters and capturing their souls. Soul capturing actually uses the PS3 controller in an interesting and non-gimmicky fashion: you yank back the SIXXAXIS to rip it out of the monsters. It's very satisfying. Once you have a mob's soul you can then map it to one of your four face buttons, using them as an attack. For instance a goblin might be able to punch, and repeatedly pressing the button you assigned the goblin to will punch as if you were punching all real-time action game style. Each monster's attack is useful for different things, and they are upgradeable as you progress.
I'll be watching this game quite closely. Hopefully it will end up sucking so I don't have to sell any organs to buy a PS3.
Tucked away in the corner of the EA booth, with very little fanfare, was the Orange Box. Well, most of the Orange Box. They had a demo reel of Team Fortress 2 (one of the many non-playable games on the show floor, the bastards) and Portal running on the PS3. While playing something like Portal on the PS3 with a controller isn't the most preferable thing in the world... it's fucking PORTAL. I've been anticipating this awesome puzzle game for quite some time, and I have to say it lives up to the hype. It will be interesting to see what the actual writing in the game is like, I was just able to play through a couple of puzzles. It seems like the final version is going to be ridiculously difficult as you progress. I just hope it's not too short, because from what I have played Portal is a game you are going to want to play a LOT this coming holiday. The Orange Box is one of the best gaming deals to come around in years, hands down.
I got into God Of War a bit late in the game, I was turned off by the media blitz Spike TV had for the first in the series, as Spike TV sucks. Why should I trust their opinion? Turns out I was wrong (Never! Gasp!) and God of War is pretty freaking brilliant. God of War for the PSP follows the tradition of excellence with a game that feels almost exactly like it is on the PS2. The graphics, sound, gameplay, everything is on par with the PS2 titles, running at a solid frame rate, never slowing down, and always keeping that visceral ass-kicking feeling through the levels. Damn it, it's more God of War and that's always good. The PSP is a viable system now? What the hell!
Final Fantasy 12 was definitely one of the best Final Fantasy games ever created, and Square Enix knows this. They know it so well that they are releasing about a million spinoffs in the same world as ff12, and surprisingly they all look pretty great. One of these spinoffs is a strange little tactics game for the DS called Revenant Wings. I got to play a bit of it on the show floor and I must say I was impressed. First off, Final Fantasy 12 on a portable system? Yes, please. Throw in some gorgeous fmv cutscenes, fantastic localization (Balthier's lines in the demo were priceless) and a new crisp almost chibi art style and you have a winner on your hands. My only issue with the demo was that the combat and gameplay was very slow paced, being a tactics game. You have to select the character you want to move with the stylus, then you have to select where you want them to walk or who you want them to attack, and then they sloooooooowly walk over and start auto attacking. The demo was pretty short and it didn't give a feel for the grand scope of the battle system, but from what I played I am certainly optimistic.
This is frikkin' hilarious. A man by the name of Jhidekim goes to E3 and interviews people about how to interview people. His subtle, awkward delivery is equal parts precious and brilliant.
posted by Chris on July 16, 2007 7:01 PM in Podcast
(note: Chris' mic cuts out around 21 minutes, and will be quiet for the rest of the program. Buy him some more RAM). On this week's podcast, Chris, The Geek, Colette and special guest Aaron Linde from Destructoid talk about the glorious week that was E3. Well, not so glorious for big game announcements, but certainly glorious for exclusive parties, free drinks, good food and friends. They discuss how the Wii zapper sucks, they ask if RPGs need to be innovative, and then Rock Band is pitted against Guitar Hero. Also Bill and Ted are discussed in length. Download the podcast now or subscribe on iTunes!
I never played much of the original Final Fantasy Tactics. I remember everyone telling me how great it was, and when it finally came out as a greatest hits edition for the Playstation, I ran down to the store and snatched it up. Something about the load times and the fact that I would have to spend a LOT of time in game in order to get anywhere just made me depressed. I traded it in for something. I don't remember what. Probably something horrible. Then, when Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced came out, I thought I'd give the series another shot, this time on a portable system. Man, what a difference. I spent upwards of 300 hours in FFTA, and loved every minute of it. Now that the original Tactics is coming out for the PSP, I'm a bit excited to come back to the game in a new, shinier portable format. After playing it at E3, that's basically just what it is. There's a couple new features like new cutscenes, new jobs, and the addition of Balthier from FF12 (!), but for the most part it's just a redesign on a portable system. And that's ok by me.
posted by Chris on July 13, 2007 11:47 AM in Games
I can say without hyperbole that Eternal Sonata is the most beautiful game I have ever seen. It reminds me a bit of Secret of Mana for the SNES, something so lush and detailed for its generation that it blows your mind to look at it. Not only are the graphics impeccable, the depth of field stunning and the character design fantastic, but the music is incredible. Someone told me there's already a demo out on Xbox Live (update: THAT PERSON IS A LIAR. A DAMN FILTHY LIAR WHO MADE ME ALL EXCITED ABOUT GOING HOME AND DOWNLOADING THE DEMO OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GAME EVER MADE BUT THEN CRUSHING MY SPIRITS LIKE A CLOWN POOPING ON ICE CREAM AND SERVING IT TO HOBO CHILDREN), but seeing it on the fancy HD tvs on the E3 floor was an experience all in itself. I believe the portion of the game I played was the same bit offered on Xbox Live. You play as a little girl walking through a town, fighting a couple baddies along the way. The battle system is pretty unique, merging real time action with turn based strategy. My only qualm is that the voice acting is a bit cheesy. But as long as that's the only thing wrong with this game, I see it taking up a ton of my time when it is finally released in a few months. If you haven't checked out the demo on live yet, DO IT. This is definitely going to be a classic.
I loves me some Ratchet and Clank, and I got to play the next part of the series at Sony's press conference yesterday. Called Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, it's a PS3 exclusive and is damn snazzy. Many people were upset by the previous game "Deadlocked", and its focus on the 3rd person shooter elements of the series, instead of the platforming elements we have all come to love. From the demo I played, it seems like Ratchet and Clank are back on track, with the classic mix of the two. The R+C series has always been one filled with lush graphics, so surprisingly the change between PS2 and PS3 isn't entirely marked. The trademark R+C humor is there, as well as the great camera work, and elaborate level designs. Playing it though, something was missing. The rumble! I completely miss the rumble. Without it the game just feels hollow somehow. As much as I completely love this series, this game alone doesn't justify the purchase of a PS3 for me. Maybe the combo of R+C, Heavenly Sword, Little Big Planet and Echochrome... naw. It's still too expensive. Maybe if they send one to me? SONY SEND ME A PS3 THANKS.
In summation: it's a next-gen Ratchet and Clank game, and includes everything you would expect from that.
Hooray! More Katamari! I demoed the Xbox 360 version of Beautiful Katamari, and it is indeed beautiful running in 1080p on these here E3 flat screens. The art style remains the same as previous iterations, it just looks a bit sharper. The play controls on the Xbox feel like they could get a little crampy after a while, with the two analog sticks slightly offset, unlike the Playstation dual analog, which is side by side. The soundtrack is supposed to be comprised of 80's-sounding J-Pop, which I found kind of disheartening. I loved the original Katamari soundtrack for its diversity, and the We <3 Katamari soundtrack kind of felt like it was trying too hard. The soundtrack is really important to the series, people! I was informed that there are online battle modes, but no online co-op, only offline. WHYYYYYY. Co-op in We <3 Katamari was OK, but online co-op would have been much better. Oh well. We will see what happens when it is finally released sometime in the near future.
Rock Band wasn't on the show floor, but I was able to get a couple of minutes with Guitar Hero 3, the bastard child of the music genre, sitting in the shadow of big daddy Rock Band. GHIII feels a bit like they completely reworked the game's icons and menus because they were afraid of being sued. It's just different enough that it makes you go "huh?". The gameplay is the same ol GH gameplay, the songs are pretty good, but something about it feels hollow. I'm sure it will be loads of fun, but from what I have tried here at E3, I feel like I'll be spending much much more time with Rock Band.
It's been out for a while, but Cloud was shown at E3 as part of the independent games showcase. It was the first time I have played the game, even though it's freely available online, but playing it at the show with the creators right there showing me how it all works was awesome. The game is gorgeous. You play as a boy flying through the clouds, picking up more and more clouds Katamari style, sucking in the vapors, and blowing them out to draw certain shapes. It's relaxing, casual, and absolutely gorgeous. For a student game, it's highly polished, but I would LOVE to see it picked up by a publisher and distributed on Xbox Live Arcade or something.
posted by Chris on July 12, 2007 12:10 PM in Games
Early impressions of Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles by other reviewers have been quite poor. The on-rails shooter that chronicles the events of the Raccoon City disaster across the majority of RE games has been maligned for poor controls and incredibly boring gameplay. I got a chance to sit down (stand up) with it yesterday, fully equipped with the new Wii Zapper. Let's talk about the Zapper first. It's a plastic housing for the existing Wii remote and nunchuk. The ii remote points forward and the nunchuk fits on the back, and you hold it a bit like an assault rifle. It feels nice and solid, but when you finally get to playing a game with it, it feels horrible. When it comes down to it, pointing with the Wii remote in first person shooters is shaky at best. Literally shaky. Umbrella Chronicles has some great gameplay, and I love arcade style on-rails shooters. Trying to aim with the Wii Zapper just plain sucks. I kept wanting to shoot the zombies in the knees to take them down, and nothing was happening. I tried headshots, but not only was it hard to get the pointer to stay in the right place, but all I got for my efforts was an angrier zombie. Reloading in the game requires you to shake the Zapper, which is frustrating because you lose track of your pointer. It takes you a good couple seconds to get re-oriented, and by that time a zombie is probably eating you. Not good!
I hope they find a way to make the Wii Zapper tolerable, because as it stands it's just another crappy Wii peripheral, implemented only in uselessly un-fun Wii games. I'd rather play with an analog stick, thanks. This is not immersion! This is just annoying! Quit it, Nintendo. Thanks.
posted by Chris on July 12, 2007 10:57 AM in Games
Of course, I am a huge Zelda fan. I was pretty disappointed with Twilight Princess, and when I heard that Phantom Hourglass for the DS used stylus controls ONLY I got kind of angry. Why must Nintendo force us to use the stylus for almost every game, just because it is there? Why can't I just use the control pad? After actually playing the first area of Phantom Hourglass, I am definitely sold. You use the stylus to lead Link around, you touch enemies you want to attach, you touch pots when you want to walk over and pick them up, you make little slashing gestures when you want to slash grass... it's surprisingly natural and smooth. The graphics are based on the Wind Waker style, which looks remarkably nice on the DS. It's that kind of lame 2.5d polygonal kind of game, and I would have preferred something beautifully hand drawn, but the graphics are definitely done well. This game has been getting GREAT reviews over in Japan, and I cannot wait for it to come to the US now that I have played it.
posted by Chris on July 12, 2007 10:46 AM in Games
The very first thing I did when I walked into the Barker Hangar was spot the Mario Galaxy booth. I rushed over quickly, and found it open! No lines! Was this a dream? Was this some sort of sleep-deprived delusion? No, it was true. I got to play, and what I played was wonderful. I've been completely annoyed with the Wii recently, very annoyed at Nintendo insistence in making me waggle my Wii remote to do anything in a game. Super Mario Galaxy really does feel like the true successor to Super Mario 64, just like they are saying. The level I played plops you down on a very Little Prince style planet, where you can run around the sphere, essentially turning upside down. It seems like this play mechanic would be disorienting, but you get used to it very quickly. The controls are tight but trying to jump on a goomba is a bit sketchy. It's hard to aim where you are jumping when you are running around upside down, but I can see getting fairly good at it. The only waggle I had to suffer through in the demo was used to perform a spin attack. The demo had me zipping from planet to planet trying to find stars (in true Mario fashion). The feeling of gravity, and zooming through space was very satisfying. So far I am pretty happy with the game, I am going to return to the hangar today to check out the bee suit level. That's right, MARIO HAS A BEE SUIT. Super Mario Galaxy is coming out in November, and from what I have played it's definitely a must-buy.
posted by Chris on July 12, 2007 10:17 AM in Games
Wow, this year's E3 is completely different from past years. The low key, toned down atmosphere makes it so much easier to cover all the games you want to play, at the expense of the over the top glitz and free swag. That's right, no swag! NO FREE STUFF! WTF! Well, that's not entirely true. I got a hat. So far, I have had an incredible time. I could have left yesterday and been completely satisfied. Just being able to meet so many industry people that I admire has been great. That's one thing this new E3 is supposed to foster as well: networking, meeting people and making those connections. The guys from Destructoid are pretty darn great, I must say, and they are super kind for putting me up and carting my lame ass around.
Hit the jump for my impressions of day one of this new wacky E3.
posted by Chris on July 9, 2007 6:52 PM in Podcast
The Geek, Chris and Colette are on location this week, preparing for E3! Subjects discussed include the Transformers movie, how we need an Alf movie, Rock Paper Scissors championships, crazy craigslist ads, and of course, E3 fun times. Download the podcast now or subscribe! DO IT!!!!! Alf commands you.
E3 hasn't even begun yet, but fun times have already been had. After I got off the plane this morning I met up with a bunch of people from Destructoid, including Colette (who is also technically from The Weekly Geek), Niero, Ron Workman, Chad Concelmo and William Haley. I just have to state right now how much I fucking Love (yes, with a capital L) the Destructoid guys. There's a reason they have such a great community: because they are all so damned amazing. We went to the beach, had some food, walked around Santa Monica for a bit, ran into Major Nelson at a toy store (!) and ended up at a super exclusive industry party, whos guests included Adam Sessler and N'Gai Croal, the latter of which actually expressed interest in being on the podcast sometime.
If the rest of the week ends up like tonight, it's going to be one hell of a show. Stay tuned to this space. I will also be uploading photos (probably daily) to this flickr set. Enjoy!
I am about to board a plane for California, for a week of excessive drinking, partying and video game playing. Oh, there will probably be some games journalism snuck in there, as well. That's right, I am headed to E3 in Santa Monica (min-E3, I guess as it is now called). As we aren't a gaming news blog, I won't be slamming you with the same announcements everyone else is going to be slamming you with. What I will give you, however, is an honest discussion about what I have seen, what I like and what I don't like. I will also take many many photos, and grab a bunch of swag for giveaways. I will also blog about my crazy fun times, and perhaps do excited/drunk podcasts from the hotel room with the people from Destructoid (who I am staying with).
Anything anyone is particularly curious about seeing at E3?
Tucked away in the middle of a cluster of gaming stations in the Barker Hangar was one solitary DS Lite. On that DS Lite? Contra 4. That was one of the more remarkable things about the Barker Hangar this year, the best games could just be sitting there, waiting for someone to play them, no lines. All my previous worries about Contra 4 were laid to rest after actually getting to experience it - this is certainly the Contra we all know and love. It's still SUPER hard, I could hardly get past the first level (by hardly I mean I didn't). The addition of a grappling hook feels natural to the series, though it's a bit frustrating it can only shoot straight up and not at an angle a la Bionic Commando. The controls are surprisingly tight for a small third party developer continuing this series, it really just feels natural. The music, the sound effects, everything is meant to harken back to the Contra days of yore. This is going to be an exciting rest of 2007, I tell you what. 
Rock Band wasn't on the show floor, but I was able to get a couple of minutes with Guitar Hero 3, the bastard child of the music genre, sitting in the shadow of big daddy Rock Band. GHIII feels a bit like they completely reworked the game's icons and menus because they were afraid of being sued. It's just different enough that it makes you go "huh?". The gameplay is the same ol GH gameplay, the songs are pretty good, but something about it feels hollow. I'm sure it will be loads of fun, but from what I have tried here at E3, I feel like I'll be spending much much more time with Rock Band. 
Early impressions of Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles by other reviewers have been quite poor. The on-rails shooter that chronicles the events of the Raccoon City disaster across the majority of RE games has been maligned for poor controls and incredibly boring gameplay. I got a chance to sit down (stand up) with it yesterday, fully equipped with the new Wii Zapper. Let's talk about the Zapper first. It's a plastic housing for the existing Wii remote and nunchuk. The ii remote points forward and the nunchuk fits on the back, and you hold it a bit like an assault rifle. It feels nice and solid, but when you finally get to playing a game with it, it feels horrible. When it comes down to it, pointing with the Wii remote in first person shooters is shaky at best. Literally shaky. Umbrella Chronicles has some great gameplay, and I love arcade style on-rails shooters. Trying to aim with the Wii Zapper just plain sucks. I kept wanting to shoot the zombies in the knees to take them down, and nothing was happening. I tried headshots, but not only was it hard to get the pointer to stay in the right place, but all I got for my efforts was an angrier zombie. Reloading in the game requires you to shake the Zapper, which is frustrating because you lose track of your pointer. It takes you a good couple seconds to get re-oriented, and by that time a zombie is probably eating you. Not good! 
Of course, I am a huge Zelda fan. I was pretty disappointed with Twilight Princess, and when I heard that Phantom Hourglass for the DS used stylus controls ONLY I got kind of angry. Why must Nintendo force us to use the stylus for almost every game, just because it is there? Why can't I just use the control pad? After actually playing the first area of Phantom Hourglass, I am definitely sold. You use the stylus to lead Link around, you touch enemies you want to attach, you touch pots when you want to walk over and pick them up, you make little slashing gestures when you want to slash grass... it's surprisingly natural and smooth. The graphics are based on the Wind Waker style, which looks remarkably nice on the DS. It's that kind of lame 2.5d polygonal kind of game, and I would have preferred something beautifully hand drawn, but the graphics are definitely done well. This game has been getting GREAT reviews over in Japan, and I cannot wait for it to come to the US now that I have played it. 
Wow, this year's E3 is completely different from past years. The low key, toned down atmosphere makes it so much easier to cover all the games you want to play, at the expense of the over the top glitz and free swag. That's right, no swag! NO FREE STUFF! WTF! Well, that's not entirely true. I got a hat. So far, I have had an incredible time. I could have left yesterday and been completely satisfied. Just being able to meet so many industry people that I admire has been great. That's one thing this new E3 is supposed to foster as well: networking, meeting people and making those connections. The guys from Destructoid are pretty darn great, I must say, and they are super kind for putting me up and carting my lame ass around. 
E3 hasn't even begun yet, but fun times have already been had. After I got off the plane this morning I met up with a bunch of people from 
I am about to board a plane for California, for a week of excessive drinking, partying and video game playing. Oh, there will probably be some games journalism snuck in there, as well. That's right, I am headed to E3 in Santa Monica (min-E3, I guess as it is now called). As we aren't a gaming news blog, I won't be slamming you with the same announcements everyone else is going to be slamming you with. What I will give you, however, is an honest discussion about what I have seen, what I like and what I don't like. I will also take many many photos, and grab a bunch of swag for giveaways. I will also blog about my crazy fun times, and perhaps do excited/drunk podcasts from the hotel room with the people from 