E3 2010 is still alive and kicking down south but I thought it would be best to write my initial thoughts down before my head explodes from the shear amount of news, gameplay, and surprises that have been revealed thus far. While I want to go a little more in depth about my thoughts on some specific games, for now, I thought I'd put into words my opinion about the press conferences that were presented this year at E3.Microsoft - I will admit that I did not watch MS's full press conference and yes I am a Sony fangirl, so this will be bias, but hey at least I warned you ahead of time. The big thing about MS this year at E3 is why did they split up their press conference and do an event just for Kinect and why did they have acrobats at that event? You would have thought that they would have used their limited time wisely to show everything they could about Kinect and its features. Out of all the motion control gameplay that I've seen so far from the Big 3 (and I'm not talking about Marleau, Thornton, and Heatley), I think Kinect is the weakest. They are using tech that we've had since the EyeToy, gameplay isn't very compelling, and it seems to be targeted at a much younger audience. But I will say this about Kinect, the futuristic navigation of the 360 is probably the best and coolest feature of Kinect and is the most innovative out of the Big 3.
As for the games, Gears of War 3 looked great and the addition of 4 player co-op will add much needed strategical depth to the game. I also like the mutated look of the Locust, since I always thought that the original enemy design was a bit lacking. Their live demo of Call of Duty: Black Ops ran smoothly and seeing Metal Gear Solid: Rising was a great addition. Though I thought that their exclusive deal (if you can really call it that) with Activision and Call of Duty was a bit weak. Wow, you get map packs early, yay! Overall, what I saw was a bit lackluster with Fable III being the only game that made me go, "Ooh, I want that!" I have to say with so much focus on Kinect, I'm surprised they didn't have a stronger line up of games as well as a price. I could only see it as being great for those gamers who want to do Yoga or other fitness games. As for some more "hardcore" games, I think Mad Catz still sells those racing wheels.
Electronic Arts - With their press conference opening to the sound of engines and squealing tires, I knew that we would be seeing another Need for Speed game, what I didn't know is that it would be done by the geniuses behind Burnout Paradise - Criterion. The live demo for Hot Pursuit actually got me pretty excited about the NFS franchise again and what you could do with the Cops vs. Racers element. Dead Space 2 also made a live appearance as well as a 24 player live match in Medal of Honor. I'll be talking about Medal of Honor later but I will say this, Call of Duty, you better watch your back. An interesting thing about the live demos was that they were all running on PS3s and later at the Sony press conference, I found out why. Overall, I think EA actually had a great show with some great games for almost everyone. Their fitness game, Active 2 even showed some greater depth than I've seen in other fitness games. With a new loyalty rewards program, Gun Club, and new EA Partnerships - EA's new year is looking pretty good. And I will say that my attitude about EA has changed quite a bit from thinking that they were only out there for the money (which in a way they are) and would milk all of their franchises dry. With their partnerships with Insomniac, Respawn, and Epic - they are actually allowing the developers to own the rights to their IPs, giving them full control over their creations. I got to give EA credit for that, they have the power and the resources to absorb these companies yet they are playing nice and I think it's going to pay dividends in the end.
Ubisoft - Why, oh, why did you waste my time once again Ubisoft? You make such great premier games like the Tom Clancy franchise and Assassin's Creed, yet you come out with the slogan "Games you can Feel." I knew right then and there that this was going to go downhill very quickly. The only things that were truly exciting about this press conference were the live demos of AC: Brotherhood and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Both look spectacular and left me wanting more, oh so much more. Then, things just got weird. Shaun White came out to plug his new skateboarding game and the odd banter between him and host Joel McHale was painfully awkward and the jokes were horrible. The game itself has some interesting features but not strong enough to pull me away from Skate 3. Then, it just got worse with a bunch of people running around playing laser tag in the audience. I thought that this was a lead up to Ghost Recon or maybe (I was praying for) an announcement for another Tom Clancy game like Rainbow Six but I found out that it was actually to push laser tag. Yes, Ubisoft is coming out with an actual laser tag game called Battle Tag. The "unique" thing about Battle Tag is the fact that game scores will be uploaded to a website that you can manage. Apparently, Ubisoft hasn't been in a Target lately because about 20 versions of this game exist with the online component already in place. If you thought that was weird, wait until you see Innergy which uses a sensor on your finger to monitor your pulse. Then, the game directs you to follow this weird fishy looking creature and control it with your breathing . . . yes, breathing. Breathing in and out slowly not only relaxes you but in Ubisoft's eyes makes a fun game as well. Then I was treated to Your Shape, the new fitness game that is going to use Kinect. Not only is exercising kind of boring in general, it's definitely not fun to watch someone else do it either. And the lag that you saw from Kinect didn't help the case for this fitness game. Though Ubisoft did end it with some random dancers dancing to Michael Jackson (which I'm assuming is going to be turned into a dance game for the Wii or Kinect) overall I felt like this press conference once again was a waste of time. I get that Ubisoft wants to hop on the train of fitness, green, and holistic games but I also think they forgot who was in their audience. Ubisoft left me utterly dazed and confused on its strategy and place in the gaming industry. Considering that they are one of my favorite video game producers, I'm a little worried about what's to come. I just have to remember to think of happy thoughts, "think of Ghost Recon, think of Ghost Recon."
Nintendo - as with Microsoft, I did not see Nintendo's press conference in full, though I did see a lot more of it than I did with MS. If I was a Nintendo fan, I would easily say that it was the best press conference of the show. Since I'm not, I kind of say that Nintendo and Sony tied, why? The problem that I've always had with Nintendo is that if I'm not a fangirl they have nothing to offer me. At least with MS, there are games on the 360 that I want to play (Splinter Cell *sob*) and if I could afford another console, I probably would get a 360. But Nintendo only seems to cater to their fans and to casual gamers. That's why I have to give some credit to Sony for reaching across the aisle and saying to non-Sony fans, "Hey, we have games that you'll like too." I'm sure it was great to see old franchises like Goldeneye and Donkey Kong come back (I have a lot of friends who grew up on those games and still play them) but for me who wasn't involved in that movement, it kind of goes over my head. It also has me wondering if Nintendo has hit a sort of creative wall. Because motion control is their main form of input, are they running out of ideas and ways to turn it into a compelling game? Even with the 3DS, everything looks to be ports of N64 games and revamps of older DS games. Though, I will give Nintendo this, if anyone can take 3 franchises and continue to pop out games for eternity without ever doing something new, it's Nintendo. They're IPs are the strongest in the industry and the most recognizable. Nintendo did bring some new stuff out like Epic Mickey, the only game that really caught my attention. It looks great and the fact that you can create and erase everything from a level is amazing. A true Wii built Zelda game has also been the talk of the town. I'm very interested to see how gamers react after they get the chance to put 4+ hours into it and how well they will like using motion control for the game. Overall, Nintendo did steal the show and is king of E3. But as a Nintendo outsider, they still haven't given me a true reason to run out and pick up their console that is relatively cheap and would be easy for me to do.
Update: Apparently Mad Catz isn't making a racing wheel for the 360 anymore. Whether it was Microsoft forcing the cancellation or Mad Catz just wanting to focus on plastic instruments, it looks like hardcore racing fans will have to have Kinect if they want to use something other than their controller.
