Late E3 reflections, Part S

Trying to talk about E3 keynotes was a bad idea. So much other stuff I want to write about instead.

Sony's keynote was the only one which I didn't watch live. I watched EA's, and even Ubisoft's (color me regretful), but Sony's was one I couldn't make. However I did manage to catch it through GameTrailers coverage. Was fairly content with the quality of both their livestreams and their replay coverage.

Sony's keynote focused on 3D, and Move. 3D for big titles like Motorstorm Apocalypse, Killzone 3 and Gran Turismo 5. 3D technology can be hit-or-miss, and whether games receive it warmly is still perhaps unknown. The immersion can be great, but stands to come at a cost - nausea and discomfort are all possibilities.

Sorcery was an on-stage demo showed for the PlayStation Move. A quirky title with some smart mechanics to showcase the technology, but the rest seemed a bit thin. I am more impressed by the Move's ability to cater to traditional games, beyond Xbox's Kinect. It would seem Sony seems to be aiming to lay its foundation in core games, while Kinect hopes to diversify with the casual short mini-games.

A significant mention for third parties, in particular Electronic Arts, showed a strong partnership for PS3 as platform of preference for titles like the upcoming Medal of Honor or Dead Space 2, to receive more comprehensive bundles.

And then there was Valve. Gabe Newell's 'surprise', which many rabid Half Life fans (read: me) interpreted as a non-Portal 2 announcement, ended up being... a Portal 2 announcement. To be honest, Valve only explicitly stated that the original schedule for a Portal 2 announcement was gone. However, it is a gross (and I must stress this) misstep on their behalf to leave an open mystery surprise. Valve has a rich back catalog, and should have anticipated the hype and subsequent disappointment that would accompany their announcement. Back on topic though, Valve announced some degree of Steam support for the PS3's version of Portal 2, details withheld. Certainly an interesting idea, but without any details, a very flat 'surprise'.

PlayStation Plus, a paid premium service is also a new Sony venture. Subscription-bound freebies, and early and exclusive access to demos were both perks mentioned as part of PlayStation Plus. While there will certainly be opponents to the concept, I cannot see monetizing the services causing any direct harm so long as 'early' is strictly earlier than before. Cutting into the date margins for non-paying users is not outside the realm of possibility, but incredibly devious.

Of all three keynotes, Sony's seemed to have the least 'big news' to deliver. Microsoft had their new Xbox revision, along with the first reveal on Kinect titles. Nintendo had their new platform - the 3DS, as well as big titles to follow. Jack Tretton, Kevin Butler and a whole host of video montages (seemingly lacking in the other keynotes) worked well in delivering the otherwise undistinguished keynote.

Late E3 reflections, Part N

This will take me forever, but I'll soldier on. Something like a week of lag time is terrible performance on my part though.

Nintendo's keynote was fairly straightforward. First were the games, and then was the 3DS. That was about it, but there was just so much in both. Nintendo threw around some pretty big names - Zelda and Metroid were there as expected, but a new Kirby, Donkey Kong Country and Goldeneye (which was rumored earlier) seemed like a blast from the past. Dragon Quest IX to the DS was also predictable, whilst Golden Sun Dark Dawn was more of an expected, but interesting detailing. Not a 3DS title as I had guessed.

The 3DS looked fairly on-par with early speculation leaks. Hardware seems to follow a 'DS but more' approach. The adjustable 3D slider  and the slide pad (analogous to the PSP's nub) seem like necessary but well thought out amenities. There's something rough about the unit's look, perhaps due to the double front-facing cameras for 3D snaps, the sharper beveled edges, or the strong color tones it intends to release with, but it might just be a matter of conservative design in the older DS.

Fuel for excitement comes from the software more than anything else though. Mention of third-party juggernaut titles like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Ninja Gaiden and Professor Layton are all bound for the new platform. Nintendo seems to be breaking out some callback pieces, we're expecting Zelda - Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64 and Paper Mario. Also fresh titles like a new Kid Icarus, PilotWings and Animal Crossing seem to round out the pack.

Having only on-stage demos of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Epic Mickey lead to a lot of room to drop names for big titles. While certainly only a sliver will be out for the holiday season - predominantly Wii titles, Nintendo put emphasis on letting everybody know that they got game(s).

Could've done with some more specific details like launch date/price of the 3DS, but we all knew that'd be content for the Tokyo Game Show, did we not?

Late E3 reflections, Part M

Sorry for not actually throwing anything out there while E3 was still ticking away. Wasn't really sure on what to write about. We'll start with the Microsoft keynote, and how it wasn't really all that impressive.

I was giddy as I watched along with everyone else, but perhaps was more excited about E3 in general than what the keynote was actually made of. The keynote started with a very quick run-through of existent and known games. Call of Duty, Gears of War, Halo, were all very stunning, but were too transient - there was a short demo or trailer, but very soon passed along to the next title. There was no real surprises - Halo Reach alluded to some outer-space dogfighting, but nothing all too stunning. The big titles that would usually receive a large slice of attention were hurried along.

Then it came to Kinect-hour. It was during this hour that Microsoft summoned the actor/model families - a bunch of 'regular' people enjoying the experience we once called Natal. It was unnerving - they had somehow found a way to manifest the uncanny valley right there in the theater. There was a lot about the Kinect already known - both from official releases, as well as leaks and insider previews. Quite a few of the game titles seemed interesting enough, if not particularly original. If anything, I was more impressed by third party ideas like Harmonix's Dance Central, or even Ubisoft's Your Shape Fitness Evolved. Some of the features I, at the time, thought would be interesting as augmentations to the traditional hard-controller, but more on that later.

Perhaps the most eye-catching thing about Microsoft's keynote was the reveal of the new Xbox 360 model, a sleek glossy little brother to the older machine. As Don Mattrick revealed it, having been sitting under the shell of the old design, which had been sitting on stage the entire time, I couldn't help but grin. Microsoft's lenient pricing also proved to sit well with the members of the press, who were all given a unit for free for being at the keynote. Of quirky note, the new model forgoes red LEDs, meaning they literally cannot RRoD.

The Microsoft keynote failed to deliver for me - it lacked a showing of the core catalog of games, but redeemed itself in part by introducing a quieter, more efficient system. Kinect doesn't impress me as much as it used to - the limitations of the system seem a bit too great. I'll save that for another day.

Speculative Suppositions

Have to drop my thoughts fast, keynotes are hitting real soon, and it'd be a shame if I missed out on the opportunity to have my say early.

First, what's already documented in known quantity: Microsoft Natal is now known as Kinect, and is releasing with a couple other Kinect-centric games. The press conference, keynote, media briefing, however you wish to portray it, starts in a mere few hours, and people are quite antsy. I definitely think that Kinect will be the crux of most of the keynote, but it would be unlike Microsoft to not tout its big flagship titles. In particular I think Gears of War 3 will be a big hitter, along with Call of Duty: Black Ops. A new Xbox model is also speculated, but seems to be far from a downsize version we're used to as far as hardware revisions go. Looks like, out of the three big players, Microsoft has the most 'splaining to do. Definitely monumental - I foresee a lot of heated argument to the degree of 'casual' that Kinect will bring to the platform.

Nintendo is the next of the three to proclaim its goodies to the masses. The 3DS (speculative render/details) will of course be the show-stopper: an entirely new platform is to be unveiled, chasing after the success of the juggernaut DS. Perhaps the most crucial point is how well the sans-glasses 3D effect works. My gut hunch is that we'll hear of a title called Golden Sun 3-DS. After all, announced last year, with it not showing any significant in-game assets or content, it might just be a flagship launch title (though it does seem a risky proposition). New Zelda game seems to also be set in motion - I do not think we'll have any repeat situation as with the originally GameCube-bound (but later shifted) Twilight Princess. Aside from the 3DS, Nintendo might spend most its time on software titles.

Sony is the last to have its press conference, just like last year. With Microsoft pushing Kinect real fierce, it would make sense that Sony dedicate a lot into its counter-proposal, the Move. There are rumors of a new SKU for the PS3, likely to be a new bundle, with possible hard-drive upgrades. The PS3 front will likely be flaunting 3D, with Killzone 3 being the big title to reference off of. Otherwise, the rumor mill has been fairly silent for Sony - which could mean a dull conference, but also leaves room for big surprises. I'm placing my bets on the former, however. There are no real indications of any successor to the PSP and upon that, Jack Tretton needs to dance around the PSP Go numbers - sounds painful already. Any stage-time Kevin Butler can net however, will prove beneficial. I expect news from Square Enix about both FFXIV, but I'm a slight bit worried about the exclusive FFXIII: Versus that Sony fans are entitled to. My lack of Sony-knowledge leaves me with no real insight on the keynote.

What else can we look forward to? A lot of hopeful shooters to (at least be detailed) this year, in the fallow year where Infinity Ward does not actually develop a big title. A lot of fanboy fecal-slinging as to who has become the most 'casual'. Most importantly, many poor-sleeping nights for me as I suffer to watch keynotes in a most inappropriate time zone. Regardless - E3 is right on our doorstep, and I'm ready.

Addendum: My most anticipated part of E3? Valve's 'big secret'. So very hyped, yet also so very cautious for possible upset...

Sure is quiet 'round these parts.

A week of blog silence. With E3 coming up, this really should not be the case. I'll try and cover some stuff here in rapid order just to lay down some foundations before the show really beings. Will split it up just to keep those tags and labels clean.

So first, news breaks of Obsidian Entertainment taking up Gas Powered Game's Dungeon Siege franchise to the new Dungeon Siege III. I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed. I enjoyed the Dungeon Siege series, and while it clearly hasn't been garnering much buzz in recent years, I fail to understand why Obsidian needs to work on this IP.

For a little background, Obsidian as we know it has worked on, or is working on, the following titles - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Neverwinter Nights 2 (and associated expansions), Alpha Protocol, Fallout: New Vegas, and now Dungeon Siege III. Only one of these big-name titles (Alpha Protocol) originate from Obsidian as we know it, the rest are sequels of games developed by others (if we exclude the fact that Obsidian is composed of remnants of the long gone Black Isle Studios - those behind the original Fallout games). 

KOTOR II was a thoroughly weak and bugged experience compared to the first in the series (and now being succeeded by Bioware's MMO iteration - Star Wars: The Old Republic), Neverwinter Nights 2, though a good attempt, was also a bit diluted on flavor. Many of the fans of the original games cannot safely say that these follow ups were much satisfying at all. Alpha Protocol is an original game, and while it does seem to succeed in a few notable areas like narrative and voice acting, is terribly marred by some fundamental gameplay issues. This worries me for both Fallout: New Vegas and the known-by-name-only Dungeon Siege III.

It makes me wonder why Obsidian is so involved in developing sequels of other IPs. While these types of arrangements do not happen without agreement or cooperation between developers/publishers (at least in a legal sense), it too easily causes strife in the fanbase. Unless developers approach a sequel with the exact same direction and attitude as the former team, zealous and expectant fans have open opportunities to flame vigorously. Without letting a new wind blow through its sails, sequels are only lateral reiterations, featuring no innovation. The evolution of critically acclaimed titles, with improvements and refinements, should be done by the original developer - the developer who knows their product and IP best, the developer that has had to face the brunt of criticisms with which improvements are required. It's this disconnect when a sequel swaps hands, where a game can be fumbled and left disappointing.

There are many instances of this. The Call of Duty franchise, first developed by Infinity Ward, has been the metaphorical bong, being passed by its publisher Activision to Treyarch and now Sledgehammer Games for its full-feature titles, and Amaze Entertainment, Rebellion Developments and n-Space for its ports and offshoots. Speaking of Activision, they also own Neversoft, the folks who took up the Guitar Hero franchise after Harmonix left (and subsequently produced genre-rival Rockband).

Of course, a franchise that changes developers is not destined to fail. Fallout 3, while still much despised by a seething loyal underground fanbase, has had fantastic reviews, despite being a sequel developed by Bethesda Softworks, rather than the initial developers, Black Isle Studios. (Which is of course, being again passed down to Obsidian Entertainment.)

I don't want to come off as too negative towards Obsidian Entertainment. Alpha Protocol, though flawed (and in honesty, borrowing of Bioware's Mass Effect), is a good effort. Fallout: New Vegas also seems to fill in spaces that Fallout 3 missed out on. Dungeon Siege III, perhaps we will hear something about come E3. I just hope that the guys at Obsidian decide to spend more care in play-testing, bug-control and general QA. Perhaps find confidence in original IPs. That would do them many wonders.

Before I say anything, please take a look at this video:

Sunday, June 13, 2010. A pre-E3 show called Experience, with contributions by Cirque Du Soleil will be Microsoft's grand reveal for the dressed up Natal. Let us all hope their scripted, directed and choreographed videos turn out better than this one.

My first reflection is how similar this seems to the execution and reception to the Wii. The keynotes and press conference thoroughly dressed up the experience. Then the 'real' (read: 'embarrassing' videos hit the internet, and the haters flamed along while the fanboys (and fangirls) threw out all their defenses at the comical play style. When the Wii hit retail shelves, every new owner looked stilted, either stiff or agitated as they played. While the haters will never truly relent (i.e. 'haters gonna hate'), most people soon settled down, learning to be more proficient and exact. Amongst them, the lazy soon accustomed to competent play with a brisk waggle whilst seated snugly on a couch.

Hopefully the Natal will follow suit, at least in its users' adaptation to awkwardness. Perhaps the more pertinent question is how Natal will differ from a next-generation (PlayStation) EyeToy, but the exact criticism can be applied to the Move, an amped-up version of the Wii remote. Ultimately something that will be understood in due time, as E3 draws near, as details are still scant at best.

Definitely keeping close tabs on E3 this year. Thankfully the rest of my agenda seems to line up just right - by the time I'm done with my current set of work, the show will have just kicked in. Hoping to catch all the keynotes live, and deliver some insight fresh from Los Angeles.