Not being a real journalist I stand very little chance of ever attending E3 in person, but all the media that comes out of it from various websites is quite comprehensive, so the following is my opinions of what was on show based on the reports and footage from other sources. Of course if anyone is in a position to hook me up for next year then by all means, drop me a line.
Industry Innovations
So, let's start with thing's that are moving the industry forward, and hot on the heels of James Cameron's Avatar we're now seeing video games making the move to 3D. Arguably the biggest move in this direction comes in the smallest package (see what I did there?), I'm of course talking about the Nintendo 3DS. when this was first announced a few months ago I was quite skeptical and uninterested, not really being one for hand held consoles and the concept just seemed too advanced to be real or as described, a 3D screen that doesn't require glasses. But the independent reports following the hands on opportunity at Nintendo's press conference all say that it truly is a 3D experience, with objects seemingly jumping out of the screen, which has made me really want to see it for myself, especially seeing as a port of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has been announced. On the big screen side of things Sony were very keen to push their 3D TVs by showcasing their first party title Killzone 3 on the PS3 which reportedly makes great use of 3D, and is the first real nudge Ive had towards thinking about upgrading to a 3D TV (although it's still plenty of nudges and out right shoves away yet).
The other innovation that caught my eye was the game Black Light: Tango Down, while not a technically amazing game by any standards, looking at the footage I find graphics lacking by modern standards but that's not the point of the game, nor does it have any baring on it being mentioned here. I'm interested in it on the grounds of the way it is being made available, namely a digital delivery only release which is interesting from the stand point of where the industry is heading. Digital delivery is nothing new, but this is a move towards full games from big name studios and developers being made available solely through this method of distribution, maybe by the next generation of consoles we won't have packaged products or even downloaded products on hard drives anymore, maybe everything will be played remotely. that said, I can't see me buying the finished product, I tend to rate games on their single player experience and think of multiplayer as an added bonus, but Black Light: Tango Down is just a multiplayer package, although the co-op side of things could go some way towards tempting me.
The return of the old skool
A growing trend at the minute among developers is to add a retro flavour to their games, which I believe is largely inspired by increased interest in retro games and the production of simplistic indie games. What are are now seeing though is a number of well established franchises going back to their roots, in either a full blown retro style of play or borrowing from their earlier iterations to make a hybrid in play styles and presentation, and from what I've seen this is a very good thing! One franchise that used to hypnotise me with it's bright colours and funky sound track right from the original in 1990 was Sonic the Hedgehog, but the move to 3D for this franchise has been plagued with lack luster games, so Sonic 4: Episode 1 is like all my childhood dreams coming true, a true Sonic sequel with all the same style and flare as the Mega Drive (that's Genesis to you guys the other side of the Atlantic) originals and is only 1 of 2 new Sonic games to have caught my attention. Sonic Colours has peaked my interest more than any other 3D Sonic game, which is probably because a totally new direction has been taken to the design. The game appears to be 2D side scrolling platforming like the old Sonic games (and now Sonic 4) which seamlessly transitions into behind view racing and platforming of the more recent games and this currently looks like it's been executed with much more care than previous attempts.
Next on the list of games following this trend is Donkey Kong Country Returns which is being developed by Retro Studios, and like Sonic 4, it doesn't look like a huge departure from the original DK titles, which makes perfect sense for Nintendo after their success with Super Mario Bros Wii and New Super Mario Bros on the DS.
Team Ninja seem to have taken this on board as well for their up coming Wii title Metroid: Other M. Until this E3 I was under the impression that this was going to be a combat based game with a flashy new fighting style partially inspired by the recent Ninja Gaiden games, which would have been a massive departure from the classic Metroid games and the first person action of the Metroid Prime trilogy. But now it appears to be a throw back to Super Metroid crossed with many of the play elements of the Metroid Prime games, which I think is a smart move, and has made me pay a bit more attention to this work in progress.
One more from Nintendo's offering from the old school was the remake of GoldenEye for Wii. Now I didn't think that last sentence really does my feelings on this justice, so I will reiterate: GOLDENEYE! FUCKING GOLDENEYE! Oh my god I'm pumped for this, not 100% sure about having Daniel Craig playing Bond as Pierce Brosnan was a pretty good bond in the movie (not so much in his other Bond outing though sadly) but in essence this game could make me cum in my pants.
The last throw back that I'm way too excited about is Mortal Kombat, this looks to be another nice dose of nostalgia with a modern lick of paint. I lost interest in this series when it made the transition to 3D, and I don't seem to be the only one Ed Boon, series creator, has stated this new game has been crafted out of fan feedback, and seemingly the fans want a modernised version of the original trilogy, which makes me a giddy inside!
The big hype games
Before we get into the run down of the big name games which, while not really breaking any new ground or trying anything too far removed from the proven formulas, I first want to cover a couple of titles that have really caught my eye. First up is Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, which I'm suddenly hungry for due to the epic cinematic trailer that was put on display which, if representative of the ingame action, could make this game very special. I wasn't really paying attention to this title until I saw the trailer but I'm now thinking and praying that this could be the Jedi game we've always wanted. The original Force Unleashed was a move in the right direction towards that lofty goal but it suffered from loose controls which caused the player to feel a but detached from the action. And speaking of giving us what we've always wanted, we're brought nicely onto Metal Gear Solid: Rising, which might possibly be the MGS Ninja game we've always wanted. Konami showcased their sword cutting game mechanics and amazing visuals, but not too much else, so time will tell and it's unlike Kojima to let us down... after all, we already know Raiden is the main character this time around, which in the past was the biggest failing they've made.
The best of the rest
Moving onto the assortment games that aren't breaking new ground but still look good enough to bust out the credit card for. I'm going to let my fanboyism for this series break through to get the ball rolling with Halo Reach which we finally got to see some campaign footage for. I wasn't too hyped about the space battle section which everyone seems to be creaming over, but it does look like it has all the super soldier comic book infantry action fun of the Halo series intact, so consider me signed up.
Returning series Medal of Honor are busting out a blatant Modern Warfare rip off, but you know what, who fucking cares, they're not the first to do it and won't be the last, and most importantly it looks good so I'm keen.
Trayarch are taking their bi-annual stab at the Call of Duty series with COD: Black Ops, taking a page out of Infinity Ward's book (quite probably their last ever book) they are making an overdue departure from World War Two setting, and offering up more of the same well executed first person shooter action but in a selection of scenarios spread out over the cold war era. That's pretty new and intriguing on it's own and if it has the zombies mode like World at War I'm sold.
Gears of War 3 is looking, not too much new stuff from what we've already seen, new enemy characters and 4 player co-op are new aspects but essentially it's still the well realised 3rd person shooter it's always been. that said I'm hoping for more out of the multiplayer this time, I never really found much to enjoy in the last two Gears on that front.
I enjoyed Assassin's Creed despite it's short comings, and I really enjoyed Assassin's Creed 2, so I'm very much looking forward to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, essentially this looks like more of the same but with expansion on the villa upgrade gameplay of AC2. The new recruiting and levelling mechanics for building your brotherhood look like a nice new layer of gameplay mechanics and multiplayer component appears to be quite a different type of experience from anything else currently on offer.
As far as new IP's go, Spec Ops: The Line looks like a solid third person shooter with an interesting setting and unique gameplay mechanics around dynamic changes to the environment as you play and Rage from id Software is something that I'm super pumped for. It just looks like a really awesome FPS with a fallout type setting and stunning visuals, I want to get my hands on this little beast sooner rather than later.
The ones that failed to inspire
A couple of key announcements failed to deliver in my opinion, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword left me quite underwhelmed after so much hype leading up to the announcement. It doesn't look like any kind of step forward visually than the last game, in fact I thought it looked worse with drab blocky textures and clunky character models, if it wasn't for the motion plus controls I would have felt totally dejected by this. And speaking of motion controls, the Kinect is without doubt amazing technology, but it has nothing in the way of software that interests me, and the same can be said of Sony's all too familiar offering to the point and waggle market, the so called PlayStation Move. I can't help but feel these thing's are out there just to test the market for what is to come a couple more years down the line.
Where are they now?
It may have been the biggest video game event of the year, but a few games were strangely absent, both the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum and the PS3 exclusive The Last Guardian were nowhere in sight which I found bemusing. Batman already has the engine and mechanics in place so I at least expected to see a few environements and character teasers, and The Last Guardian is something that I'm starting to think was just an illusion.
One other disappointing no show, although not at all surprising was Aliens: Colonial Marines, I mean where the hell is it? It's in development, it's out of development, will we ever fucking see it? Is anyone working on it, I gotta say, I've lost track of what is meant to be happening with this game, if anything at all.
One to watch
Before I wrap up I want to give special mention to Devils Third, we only got to see a brief reveal trailer, but that trailer contained nothing but gameplay, which consisted of big guns and samurai swords being used generously in chaotic fast paced third person action, which are things that rate very highly with me. this is something I want to see more of and will be watching the development of this potential gem closely.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, Microsoft are making a nice move with their Xbox 360 Slim and have a nice line up of forthcoming games that I want to play (a lot of which will be available on the PS3 as well) but none of which are especially innovative, however I'm totally not into the Kinect and the same goes for Sony's Playstation Move, but I do like that they are starting to push for 3D games on the PS3 (although I don't have a PS3 yet and sure as shit won't be getting a 3D TV for quite some time). But ultimately Nintendo wiped the floor with both of them for cool upcoming games and technological innovation, so well done to the oldest player of the big three.
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