Thoughts On E3 2011 June 16, 2011
Posted by MegaPhilX in : Uncategorized , trackbackHi everyone!
So, like pretty much everyone in the game industry, I’ve been following the events at e3 very closely. I’ve watched the Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo press conferences (Or “media briefings” as they like to call them) and here are my impressions on them and the even in general.
Microsoft
To me, Microsoft is the loser out of the 3 conferences. Now keep in mind I’m not speaking for everyone! I’m just giving my personal opinion.
That being said, the XBox 360 did absolutely nothing in this presentation to convince me to buy their products. Basically, it was Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, Gears of War 3, Halo 1 remake and Halo 4-5-6 (Overabundance of shooters) and the rest was Kinect pushing.
The last 3/4s of the event was litterally just Kinect crap. Now again, don’t get me wrong it might be great for little kids (Disney and Sesame Street stuff) but it doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. Mass Effect 3 voice recognition, XBox Live avatar scanning and Ubisoft’s gun customization using voice might be pretty flashy as a tech demonstration but it’s still not a game. It doesn’t look fun.
Another thing about their Kinect showings is that. The response time is STILL AWEFUL. That Kinect Star Wars game seems to react half a second after the guy was moving.
That Ryse trailer looked fun but, think about it: It’s a pre-rendered trailer. Using editing, it’s easy to make anything look awesome. It wasn’t actual real time gameplay.
So Microsoft pretty much showed nothing interesting to me and their conference was very similar to last year’s. I’m going to go back to playing those 3 bullet hell arcade shooters I got on the 360 and I should finish Alan Wake at some point : P
Sony
Well, Sony’s conference was kind of a mixed bag.
Their big thing was the PlayStation VITA as they now call it (It was called the NGP up until now) which is the successor to the PSP. It looks like an awesome device. And there seems to be a surprising amount of third party support for it. (I think I heard that there was going to be BlazBlue on it so it’s very cool)
The touch screen in the back of the device is an awesome idea to me. Being able to use touch controls without hiding half the screen is a great idea.
I’m probably going to get the PSVITA at some point. I don’t want to get an iPhone or iPod and I use my PSP for music so the VITA is a logical update for me.
There will be 2 versions, a WiFi one for 250$ and a WiFi+3G version for 300$ which is a pretty decent deal.
The 3G will be AT&T exclusive in the US, which made some people angry but personally, I don’t care, I’m in Canada and here, it will probably be on some network with insanely over-priced fees so, I don’t know if I’m interested yet…
Other than that, Sony showed a bunch of exclusive content on many PS3 games. I’m happy for them but… I don’t know… I want games I’ll actually be getting instead of exclusive stuff for games I don’t really care about…
Oh and, Uncharted 3… Can’t exist on this planet without being told that Uncharted is awesome… : P I think it’s “okay”. I’ve discovered over the years that I don’t really like those ruin-exploring-climbing-puzzle-solving-Indiana-Jones-like games.
Nintendo
Well, Nintendo… everybody is talking about the new console they have revealed. It’s called the WiiU, and its controller will be like a tablet.
It’s got buttons on the sides and a big screen in the middle. You’ll be able to use that smaller screen in conjunction with the TV screen in your game.
I find the idea interesting. There are some cool things to do with that BUT… I feel that Sony will probably do the same thing with the PSVITA and the PS3 by the time this console comes out.
AND, Miyamoto said that the console will probably support only one controller which is ridiculous considering the very NAME of the console means “We”. But then again, Reggie Fils-Aime said it could support 2 controllers so I’m going to tell you the truth now: They don’t have a goddamn clue if it’s going to work or not. ( :
Other than that, the conference was about The Legend of Zelda’s anniversary and more games milking their usual franchises: Mario, Zelda, Kid Icarus, etc… The 3DS got a reasonable amount of games announced but I’m still not interested. Too expansive and the 3D doesn’t interest me.
Games
I have to say that this e3 for me was one of disappointments. As you may know I love the action hack & slash genre and, well I’m a huge fan of the Devil May Cry series. 2 of the games I was looking forward to know more information about at this year’s e3 were DmC and Ninja Gaiden 3.
Both were disappointing displays…
DmC
I was waiting anxiously to know more about this title because I don’t like the new direction this is going.
Following the horrible trailer revealed at TGS, Capcom and Ninja Theory have been hitting fans with crappy interview after crappy interview.
No in-game footage, no gameplay. And they kept telling us it was going to be great and it would surpass even DMC3 (Which is considered to be the best in the series) They kept telling us to wait for more info.
And at e3 this year, there was only a “gameplay” trailer. Now I put “gameplay” in quotes because the trailer is so full of cuts and camera shakes that it’s impossible to see if the game seems as smooth at the other games in the series. But it looks slow and the framerate seems to drop. Cuts and shakes are sometimes signs of wanting to hide flaws in the game.
Also, it wasn’t playable on the show floor. So, if Capcom wanted to prove me wrong, the trailer they shown did nothing to ease my concerns (And the concerns of many DMC fans) which are about Gameplay Speed and Framerate.
On top of that, they did a very short interview with the producers of the game the next day and that interview was downright frustrating. We learnt absolutely nothing. And during the whole interview, people were asking legit questions on the live chat.
When they got to answer fan questions, they answered stupid questions instead of the legit ones. So, Capcom, if this game is going to be so great like you keep telling us without any proof, then can you please answer the following 5 gameplay questions on the e3 trailer:
1: The gameplay seemed kinda slow in the trailer. There has been a rumor that the game will run at a locked 30 FPS instead of the 60 FPS from the previous games? Is this rumor confirmed? Fast frame rate is very important to the DMC series.
2: We’ve heard rumors about the guns incorporating some sort of overheat/cooldown system. This hasn’t been a part of DMC before and we wanna know if A: It’s true or not and B: If it’s true, why?
3: Is the slow-motion in the trailer actually in the game or just added for dramatic impact?
4: Can Dante switch between styles like in DMC4?
5: Why the different changes in motion trail color effects? Is this a hint as Heavenly Sword-style gameplay?
Again, I want Capcom to prove me wrong on this. I want a new DMC game. I’m a huge fan of the series. But I don’t want it to suck like that Castlevania Lords of Shadow reboot that was ironically ALSO handed to another developer. Ninja Theory doesn’t seem to know how to make a deep game if we judge from their last 2 games and they don’t seem to actually respect the series and the fans if we judge from their overall attitude.
If you want to read a really good article on why exactly the DMC fans are not happy about the whole thing, I highly suggest you read this article from First Name on the subject. He’s a passionate Devil May Cry fan from the Capcom-Unity forums and he explains in details why the backlash is so strong. And that it’s not just about Dante’s hair. Check it out.
If you want to voice your opinion on things or take a look at the fan reactions, head over to this forum.
EventStatus on Youtube is an awesome guy, speaking for the gamers in general. He is very charismatic and his show is a blast to watch. Very up-to-date info on the industry in general.
Ninja Gaiden 3
Now, I’m not that big of a fan of Ninja Gaiden, but in this day and age, the true deep action hack & Slash gameplay is disappearing along with the horror genre.
Now we have God of War button mashing and QTE-Heavy clones that are but just weak and pale imitations of games like Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry.
So, Ninja Gaiden 3 was one of the games I was looking forward to at this e3. And what do we get? QTEs of course! Everyone seems to be GodorWarizing combat gameplay and Unchartedizing their games now.
I saw a climbing sequence in NG3 were you have to press L and R in sequence to stick your kunais in the walls to climb it.It’s slow and looks boring as hell.
Why they choose to do this instead of jumping from wall to wall LIKE IN EVERY NINJA GAIDEN GAME is way beyond me. Now he climbs with boring quick-time events and dives off from high buildings like… oh I dunno, A LOT OF GAMES! : P
Now here, I’m going to list the games I think are interesting to follow and those that I just thought were disappointing or that I feel are just not interesting to me. Remember, I’m just voicing my own opinion:
More Games to Follow:
Silent Hill Downpour – Looking forward to what they’ll do with the franchise. I don’t want the horror genre to die. : ( Tecmo, here’s a hint: MAKE A FATAL FRAME GAME ON THE PS3! Use the PSMove if you really want to add motion control to it…
Twisted Metal – Looks like this game has a lot of great gameplay. I’m a fan of Twisted Metal Black so I like this new one. Definitely checking it out. Great ideas.
Asura’s Wrath – This game looks epic. Gameplay seems to run smooth… Only thing I’m not too sure about. Quick Time Events… yeah…
Dragon’s Dogma – Imagine Demons Souls but made by Capcom with combat that looks smooth and epic monsters to battle. This one is on my radar.
NeverDead – Konami’s next action game. The main character can’t die and he can throw his own limbs at enemies. Not too sure but I’ll keep checking.
Metal Gear Rising – Of course. It wasn’t at e3 but I’m a huge fan of MGS so this one is on my radar too.
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection – 1st day buy. It’s MGS2, MGS3 and MGS Peace Walker on the PS3. ’nuff said.
Zone of the Enders HD Collection – God I loved this series, especially ZOE2. Definitely getting this one.
Games I don’t care for:
Mass Effect 3 – Not that big on RPGs, especially ones that try to be First-Person Shooters. I heard it’s good but I’ve got The Witcher 2 to play right now.
Battlefield 3 – 0 interest
Tomb Raider – This one is kind of in the middle of the Care/Don’t Care ground. I think their re-design of Lara Croft looks good, but then again, all games look good nowadays. Having pretty graphics is no longer a problem. But as I said, ruin-exploring cinematic wannabe games… not that interested…
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 – 0 interest
Uncharted 3 – Everyone and their mother is talking about this but… Not that interested, as I explained earlier.
BatMan Arkham City – I know everyone is having orgasms over this one but… meh… Still haven’t finished the first one. I don’t know I’m not motivated by this. In the first one, I remember some shallow combat and button mashing to tear off ventilation ducts lids.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 – I saw some gameplay. It looks the same, now with more QTEs and the paradigm system has been “Refined”. but I didn’t really like the system so… More endless monster fighting, yay!
So, in conclusion, this year’s e3 was, too many shooters and not enough focus on the things I prefer in games: action depth and horror. It looks like it’s all eye candy. Oh and, industry, COULD YOU STOP PUTTING QTEs IN YOUR GAMES DAMMIT!? It sucks!
In closing, I have a very important article you should all read if you consider yourself a gamer: READ THIS
Oh and there is now a FaceBook page for MegaMan Unlimited! Check it out!
Anyway, see ya around! ^_^
Comments»
That’s one heckuva rant!
But yeah, when I buy video games, I don’t want to chained forever to a prescription plan or monthly payments. I sincerely hope that idea backfires in their face!
Shooters are nice, but too much of a good thing is bad!
Also, I hope the MGS HD collection isn’t a slop job like the PS2 MGS collection. They couldn’t even be bothered to port MGS onto a PS2 disc! And what happened to Subsistance disc 2?!
Can’t wait to play MMU! Keep up the good work!
Hey Megaphilx, if it isn’t too much to ask, may I use your Robot Master icons & frames for an art project I have in the making? I want to make a collage of ALL the Robot Masters Mega Man has fought so far. That includes the Stardroids, Mega Man Killers, Genesis Unit, King’s robots & Dimensions (all in 8-bit!) Of course, I’d credit you for the robot masters you created!
The only fan game I’m including is Mega Man Unlimited because Capcom used Comet Woman’s background on their Mega Man 10 website (which is a big compliment in & of itself!)
Sorry, but for the most part, this rant sounded like pure sony-fanboyism. Sony milking their typical franchises like Final Fantasy, DmC and GTA is totally awesome, but if Nintendo does that with Mario, Zelda etc. and Microsoft with their Halo franchise, it’s automatically a bad thing?
Yeah I know, it’s all about personal opinions and stuff but c’mon, be more unbiased instead of acting like an inhibited fanboy going pro-sony.
By the way, it’s good to see that your MMU-project is still in the works, haven’t seen any updates on YT for awhile.
You didn’t read the text did you?
1: Final Fantasy, Devil may Cry and Grand Theft Auto are not Sony’s property.
2: I specifically said that I’m not interested in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and that I’m really worried about the new DmC which and all the problems it has (But it’s still not a Sony brand anyway). I also said I’m not really interested in Uncharted 3, which is kind of Sony’s biggest franchise right now.
I’d really do like Nintendo to bring some new stuff to the table besides their usual. I know they can make great games and I wish they’d use that power to bring in new IPs. you know, like what Sony and MS did when they brought in Halo, God of War, Uncharted 3, Little Big Planet, Gears of War, Modnation Racers, etc…
I haven’t brought update on MMU because there isn,t much to say really… however I might do a Q&A/Update video soon if I have some time… Thanks for the support ^_^
Sure you may use them. ^_^
The PS2 MGS collection was just a bundle really. : P The new one looks like it’s taking a lot of time to do so I guess it’s going to be good… I hope ( :
The 2nd disc of Subsistence isn’t probably because they were thinking of shutting down the online MGS3 servers… ( ;
Thank you very much, Phillipe :) This is the project I was talking about a few comments earlier!
http://devilman337.deviantart.com/#/d3n3tka
Also, I was watching some of your “Let’s Play” videos on YouTube. I love the French accent! Are you from Quebec?
Ignore that last link. Updated version here:
http://devilman337.deviantart.com/#/d3ngj91
hi im GULL dont be shy say hi umothafafas