E3 2012 Thoughts…
Microsoft Press Event:
Halo 4: When I heard Halo 4 was being made by 343 Industries and not Bungie, I had my doubts but after seeing the trailer and live demo my doubts were gone. It looks incredible! New enemies, environments, new weapons and of course Master Chief is back!!!
Splinter Cell Blacklist: During the demo as soon as the execute markers popped above the enemies I immediately knew it was a Splinter Cell game and I instantly got goose bumps. Splinter Cell has been my favorite Ubisoft franchise and seeing its evolution starting with conviction is interesting. Obviously they have kinda ditched the stealth genre and now the game is more of an action/stealth genre. Still looks insanely fun. Only one disappointment from that demo…No Michael Ironside as the voice of Sam Fisher.
Gears of War Judgement: Only the trailer and a Spring 2013 release date at the press event. But later we learn that Horde and Beast mode will be combined in Judgement called overrun where it’s 5 COG Soldiers against 5 players controlling the Locust horde and the it’s an attack and defend class based mode. Should be a great new take on Mulitplayer for Gears.
XBOX SmartGlass: It’s a really cool idea to connect other Microsoft devices like Tablets and Phones to your Xbox but for people like me who don’t own any other MS products besides an Xbox 360 it doesn’t really apply to me. But it’s still neat!
Tomb Raider: In my opinion, this was the best game showcased during the press event. Tomb Raider is just gorgeous. The way Crystal Dynamics is handling the reboot of this franchise is phenomenal. The graphics, the game play, it looks incredible. A definite buy in my book.
Kinect Features on Madden 13: Hall of Fame Quarter Back Joe Montana came out to help demonstrate this one. Using the Kinect you can call plays and audibles just like a real QB. Pretty cool for guys who know plays and are hardcore football fans.
Resident Evil 6: Gameplay still looks the same from both RE4 and RE5, which is good (Don’t fix if it ain’t broken right?) but there are few added gameplay elements which make it seem a whole lot better from the previous 2 games. Also Zombies. Yay for zombies!
Dance Central 3: Usher performed. He sang. He danced. Another Dance Central game. Whee!
Call of Duty Black Ops 2:Don’t get me wrong, I love Call of Duty. I have all the games that have been released since Call of Duty 2, but I’m not entirely sold on this one. Maybe I’ve finally hit a point where I’ve realized Activision is hashing different looking COD’s every year with really nothing new to offer. The game does look great however, but it doesn’t seem like a true Black Ops sequel to me nor does it do anything to grab my attention. Maybe when Zombie footage and details leak out, then will I be more interested.
Electronic Arts Press Event:
Dead Space 3: This is one of the games I was excited about from EA. Dead Space is brilliant and it improves every time. Demo looked very action packed, different than the previous two so hopefully the survival horror genre is still the main focus of the game. Also there is co-op play which is very different being that in the last two games you were walking around by yourself with no support whatsoever.
Battlefield 3 Premium: Has anyone heard of Call of Duty Elite? You know the payable service to give you content before the general public a couple weeks in advance? Yeah, just like that.
Medal of Honor Warfighter: Quite honestly the rebooted Medal of Honor franchise is looking a little bit better than Call of Duty. Why do I say that? MoH is sticking to that realistic Military shooter rather than CoD which is going along the lines of story telling and in your face action. Don’t get me wrong both are great but Medal of Honor isn’t hashing out the same game every year in my opinion. Demo looked great though. I expect this game to be a step up from the last Medal of Honor.
UFC and EA Partnership: This was a shock to me. I had no idea THQ shut down the San Diego team because of this acquisition. In a way I think it’s good for the UFC and the future of the games. EA Sports does an amazing job on their sports games so I’m looking forward to what EA will bring to the table.
Ubisoft Press Event:
Far Cry 3: First thing we see from the live demo. Boobs. Now that’s out of the way, the game looks gorgeous. The jungle, the water, the lighting, it all looks incredible. It reminds me of the time when I first played Far Cry and how incredible I thought it looked then. Story seems intriguing as well. There is also 4 player co-op and apparently LOTS of islands to explore. Looking forward to it Ubisoft.
Assassins Creed III: I don’t think words cannot describe how this game looks. I said on my twitter yesterday that 140 characters isn’t enough, now that I think of it…words aren’t enough. The way Conner moves through deep snow, the way he is running through the trees and attacks with his tomahawk, taking cover behind a soldier when others open fire on him. It’s incredible what Ubisoft Montreal is doing with this game. I loved AC1 and AC2, but with AC Brotherhood I had to literally force myself to finish and I never go through that with any game I play. I haven’t even played AC Revelations, but I’m hoping it is way different than Brotherhood. Anyways I think AC3 will be the game to play this year. If you haven’t seen the demo yet look it up and see for yourself. Like I said words cannot describe this game.
Watch Dogs: Totally shocked and awed by this brand new IP. Watch Dogs was a total surprise to me. A game where you hack and disable electronics to help you basically assassinate people is something I’ve truly never see before and at the end of the demo you switch to a new character while the one you were just controlling is escaping from the cops. I don’t know much but it looked great. One of the contenders for best of show for sure.
Sony Press Event:
The Last of Us: This game really caught my attention and it really sucks that I don’t own a PS3 because this game looks amazing. Naughty Dog truly is the best at making video games that look and play out like movies. The graphics are insane as well. I want this game. I will buy a PS3 to play this.
Nintendo Press Event:
Pikmin 3: It’s been a long time since I heard anything Pikmin related. I loved the original one but never played the 2nd one. But I’m glad this was announced because it’s a very unique game and that it will be using the WiiU’s game pad controller, it will make it even more interesting.
WiiU: Hardware looks interesting now that there are games announced for it and speaking of games, good hardcore titles announced for the WiiU: Assassins Creed III, Mass Effect 3, and Batman Arkham City Armored Edition.
ZombiU: I will get a WiiU just for this game. This was probably the only game that really showed how the WiiU’s game pad really works. It looks like a great zombie game as well and the cool feature of you only get one life with your character and when you die you control a completely new character to go hunt down the previous one that is zombified to get your old backpack.
Miscs:
Star Wars 1313: This another game that would be in contention for best of show. Not a whole lot shown of this game but from what is shown…HOLY CRAP. The graphics and physics are insanely good. It’s dark and gritty which explains why it has the M rating. The only way I can put the graphics is that it looks like a CGI cut-scene but it’s an actual game. The detail they put in is astounding. In one video a part of a ship was blown off and as free falling, the sparks inside the ship are being sucked out. That’s how much detail is in it. Check out the demo videos.
Those are just my thoughts on what has been shown the last two days. I really liked Tomb Raider, Assassins Creed III, Watch Dogs, Star Wars 1313, and The Last of Us. In my opinion best games at the show right now and I’m definitely looking forward to playing those. Except The Last of Us…cause I don’t have a PS3…(sad face).
