So, it's day zero (technically E3 doesn't start until Tuesday, but, hey, some people wanted to get their news out there before everyone else one year and now it starts on Monday) and Microsoft was up with what has become their fairly typical E3 Press Conference.
So, what did we get out of it? But, more importantly, what did _I_ get out of it?
Author's note: This is all my opinion. YMMV.
MODERN WARFARE 3: THE SUB-WAY
Hey, the demo looked good. But... it looked kind of boring as heck as well. Lots of slow moving, standard "few guys to kill along the corridors" scenes, and lots of scripted scenes of you blowing stuff up and playing follow the leader in an environment that is scripted to look like it's "real time" but really has no effect on what you do. I haven't been big into CoD and this is typically why. I think they would have done a lot better showing off a new multiplayer mode or some of the Elite features rather than the single player game that tends to be okay, at best.
TOMB RAIDER REBOOT
I'm all for gritty, harsh worlds, and this seems to pull it off really well. But, I worry about if it's not trying to reboot Lara a bit too much so that she's no longer the Lara we know and more just an entirely different game. Not to say I'm not very interested to see how this turns out, they look to have some good gameplay going, but let's hope I still get to do a backflip while shooting at an endangered tiger at some point ;)
EA SPORTS
Don't care, don't play. I'll leave that for people who actually do play to talk about.
MASS EFFECT 3 - LIARA, SEX SCENE!
This was my biggest let down. We were told many times that implementing Kinect wouldn't be a gimmick, that it would be built in and integral to the game. Instead, we got voice commands... It's not even motion gaming, it's a microphone that can be done on any game with a headset. To me, I just have to wonder what the point is. I don't want to talk at my TV. Perhaps that's just me? But this is not what I would call "integral" to the gaming experience, far from. Very disappointed in you, BioWare.
GHOST RECON - STOP DISASSEMBLING MY WEAPONS!
This was nice as a general game design element, but will Gunsmith Mode be shoe-horned in as being a Kinect-only feature? I ask because the UI didn't show anything that would normally be interpreted as controlled by a controller, including menu options for changing a weapon for close and ranged combat. If it is, that's a massive let down to gamers in general, because the feature itself looks awesome, Kinect or no.
I did find the alternative shooting controls to be slow and not something we will likely see in online use, but they did what they did well. Would be neat to see a matchmaking option that would put Kinect-only users against each other.
YOUTUBE ON XBOX LIVE
About time! And a slight tap to Sony's groin considering they haven't been updating the browser to view YouTube's updated code in their browser.
BING ON XBOX LIVE
Saw this coming ages ago. If they can keep this integrated to all content... this could be a great tool for people to use. But, I'm still not going to use Bing on my PC primarily because I got sick and tired of hearing all the radio DJs I listen to advertise it for months on end (let alone seeing it in almost every single TV show I've watched last season). Stop shoving it down my throat!
TV ON XBOX LIVE
I would really love to see them explain this in the U.S. considering every single service they mentioned was for Europe and many of them already available on the PS3 and other devices. Will Microsoft finally demolish the cable/satellite company dominance in the U.S.? I don't think so, but would love to see it happen.
UFC - I THOUGHT ESPN COVERED THIS?
Seriously, I guess it's great for those who love UFC and own a 360, but I don't see this being much of a massively used tool/service compared to ESPN and everything else your 360 is starting to do.
GEARS OF WAR 3 - RELEASE THE KRAKEN!
Great demo and our first and only star rep on the stage. But, this one actually works since Ice-T actually is a huge gamer and does love Gears of War (and CoD and MoH and BF and tons of other shooters). Graphics in this game are looking good. Not Crysis 2 good, but very close.
HALO CE HD - BECAUSE IT'S WORKED FOR SONY AND NINTENDO SO FAR
This will be a huge hit, IMHO. I don't go in for FPS shooters like this, but there's no denying the love for this game by millions of gamers who made XBOX Live what it is today. And, you better bet it will come with a beta invite for the next halo game (see last item).
FORZA MOTORSPORT 4
More photo mode and the same thing I already saw in Forza 3? Just wasn't impressed with what they showed and saw nothing that was "innovative."
MINECRAFT ON 360
Awesome, but not sure this will do that well outside of those who are already into it on the PC. Also would love to see how Kinect will be implemented.
KINECT DISNEYLAND ADVENTURES
Really need to see a lot more of how this plays out, but based on what I saw I was disappointed. It looks like just a mess of mini games without any storytelling elements other than using the known Disney characters in the mini games. Don't get me started on how annoying the kid actors were... total /facepalm when I heard "fist bump!"
STAR WARS KINECT
I would get this for my kid if they asked for it, but only because I approve of raising my child to be a geek like me. The gameplay itself was just boring, IMHO. On rails being key, and I'm not even sure it would be possible to lose a battle in the game as long as you waved your hand about based on what they showed. I would push the Lego games on my kid before this, considering it has more in depth gameplay, better cooperative play, and good puzzles to help them with critical thinking.
SESAME STREET
This trumps the heck out of Disney Kinect and is the right way to do it. You get the kids involved in a story, you get them interacting with known characters who talk to them, and you get them to learn based on the stories being told. This is how to do a Kinect kids game. Sure, they're a bunch of mini games, but they're mini games with a purpose to teach your child something rather than just collect some gold stars.
SCANNING ME INTO KINECT
And plans for the first ever penis t-shirt are being devised. This isn't bad, but the skeptic in me questions how well it really works. Will love to see some public demos of this and how it really works with the many clothing types available out there.
FINGER TRACKING
That's not finger tracking. That's hand tracking with your finger point being the edge used. Finger tracking involves following all of your fingers at the same time using minute gestures, such as being able to play an air keyboard or those used with sign language. Sadly, this is now the new definition of finger tracking and there's no way I can say anything that would change someone's mind on what is and isn't finger tracking.
SCANNING THIS INTO KINECT
And right after the first ever penis t-shirt, we now have the first ever dildo being scanned in and played being devised.
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