Well, day one of 2012’s E3 has come and gone and the good people of Bagogames did a fantastic job of keeping you, me, and everyone else up to date with every announcement. The whole shebang kicked off once again with Microsoft’s presentation. Xbox’s moment in the spotlight was a mixed bag again as the focus was split between games, Kinect, and other media. Read on for a complete rundown of the event and my impressions of it.
The showcase kicked off in spectacular fashion as we got a look at a good chunk of gameplay from the highly anticipated Halo 4. We are greeted with what starts out as a live action set piece aboard a space vessel. Things quickly go downhill as a mysterious force seems to invade the craft and consume the life of everyone on board. Once the gameplay kicks in we see Master Chief traversing a jungle environment. Familiar enemies populate the world as we venture deeper into the trees but soon we are greeted with new enemy types that seem to be able to appear and disappear at will, bringing a unique challenge to the Chief. As is expected, gunplay looks polished and spot on but most importantly, fun. From what I can tell the core mechanics that we love about Halo look to be intact but what intrigues me most is the story potential. Cortana looks to have a bigger role this time and it even looks like we’ll get some insight into her past. I don’t know what that means for her relationship with Master Chief but I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on this game. Needless to say, it was a great way to kick off the Xbox show.
Next up was Don Mattrick who spent some time touting Xbox as the best-selling console in the world and promising cross integration with TV’s, tablets, and smart phones… more on that later.
Next we got a look at Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Any fan of Sam Fisher’s past exploits look like they have a lot to get excited about here. Gameplay looks like classic Splinter Cell but with a bit more emphasis on the action. Sam now climbs around the environment swiftly and quickly a la Nathan Drake or Altair. The Middle East setting looked to offer some cool gameplay opportunities but how much of the game is actually played in this area is yet to be seen. One of the biggest changes to come to Splinter Cell on the Xbox, though is Kinect voice integration. Players can shout orders and the game will respond in kind. How much of a gameplay element this Kinect addition will be is still a mystery but Microsoft’s decision to keep the Kinect relegated to voice commands is a good idea in my opinion.
EA Sports’ Andrew Wilson took the stage next to talk about the newest additions to the Madden and Fifa franchises. Again, the focus was on the Kinect integration but again, the additions were largely voice commands. Hall of Fame quarterback, Joe Montana joined Wilson on stage and with controller in hand, showed off some of the voice command options. Things like calling plays, audibles at the line, and targeting specific players all seemed to work fine as Montana led the Niners to a touchdown. The Kinect features all seemed to work fine but it still just seems like an unnecessary, gimmicky add-on. It was cool to see Montana again but after his time on the stage, it’s easy to see why he gained his popularity as a football superstar and not an actor.
We then got to see a very unimpressive trailer for Fable: The Journey. Not much to say here. It still looks like a silly Kinect game and the crowd didn’t offer much of a reaction. If you weren’t excited about this game already, the new trailer won’t do anything to change your mind and the fact that Microsoft stuck it in with no fanfare whatsoever, it’s hard to imagine that even they are excited about it.
Phil Spencer was next on the stage as he introduced two new Xbox exclusives. Gears of War: Judgment and Forza: Horizon. Gears of War: Judgment looks very promising but the short trailer didn’t offer much insight except for a few fleeting moments of gameplay and lots of quick shots of the Locust horde and blood splatters. Damon Baird looks like he’ll be the main protagonist here but details were very sparse. It is Gears though, so chances are it’s going to rock! Also shown was a trailer for Forza: Horizon. I’m not a racing fan and I have never played a Forza game but they seem to get good reviews and a lot of people like them so for a lot of people, this was probably an exciting trailer. There were shots of tight racing through the city streets and lots of open road driving through the countryside. For fans of the Forza franchise, it looks like another solid entry.
Next up was Yesef Mehedi. Games took a back seat for a while here as the focus was put on the additional features of Xbox. Lots of time was spent expounding the potential of the Xbox with new features to the Bing search engine, the addition of new countries and languages, additional suppliers and more. Most of these announcements didn’t do much for me as I don’t use my Xbox for any of those things. It’s just so much easier and quicker to look things up on my laptop but Microsoft is going to beat this horse until it’s dead, apparently.
Sports took center stage next as the new additions to the Xbox family were announced. Properties like NHL, NBA, and a 24 hour ESPN app were all highly touted but again, I just don’t find it exciting. All of these things are readily available on my TV without having to download an app and wait for it to load before I watch it. Some people may be excited about this stuff but I’m not one of them. There were some cool features shown like the ability to share moments with your friends while watching and other social activities like that but I can’t help but wonder how many people are going to be messing with that while they’re watching a game.
The next focus was on a new Nike fitness game that you use with Kinect. This section seemed to take up the most amount of time and it was largely the most uninteresting. Microsoft and Nike were announcing it like it was the second coming of Christ but it looked to me like it was just another Kinect fitness game. They have come before and they will come again and I fail to see why this one will stand out from the pack. It’s things like this that make me wonder if Microsoft is completely sure what gamers really want sometimes.
Next on the stage was head of XBLA, Marc Whitten. ALRIGHT! We getting back to the games? No. No we are not. This whole spot was taken up by Microsoft’s new Xbox Smart Glass. What this is is a way to integrate your Xbox, TV, smartphone, tablet, and probably your guest towels too. All devices are shown working together to provide you with the most immersive experience you’ve ever had while watching a movie or sporting event. I’m not sure, however, how much attention can be paid to whatever movie you’re watching while reading all the crap popping up on your other devices. There was some video game(!) integration shown but it was still a little gimmicky and not something that will probably be a make-or-break deal for gamers. The rest of the segment was dominated by the announcement of Internet Explorer coming to Xbox Live. Internet Explorer? Really? Who wants to fire up their Xbox to surf the web? Not me.
The show picked up some steam after that with some new gameplay footage of the new Tomb Raider. This game looks incredible. Besides Laura Croft now becoming apparently invincible, this reboot looks like it will be a more realistic and dark version of Laura Croft’s origin story. The clip showed Laura expertly wielding a bow and arrow for ranged combat and even gets up close and personal with some knife play. Laura gets swept down a river, thrown off a waterfall and flies through the air in a battered parachute. The game looks like it’s coming along nicely and I am only more excited for it after seeing it get the spotlight in Microsoft’s show.
Phil Spencer took the stage next and announced the reveal of three world premier exclusives. Excited? Well, hold your horses. The first was a game called Ascend: New Gods. This one looks like it might be interesting but all we really saw was some very bloody combat. It looks like it may be a fantasy hack and slash with some God of War style boss battles but at this point any guess would just be conjecture. The next premier was a game called Lococycle. I know two things about this game: it’s made by Twisted Pixel and it’s about a motorcycle. There you have it. The third game was even vaguer. It’s a game called Matter and has the involvement of Gore Verbinski. All we got to see was a round robotic device floating around a strange looking world. That’s about it. Three world exclusive premiers and I was unimpressed by all three.
Capcom had the spotlight next and while I have to admit that I couldn’t understand anything the gentleman was saying on stage, the game he was introducing looked very, very intriguing. The Resident Evil 6 gameplay we got to watch was a section involving Leon Kennedy as he and a female companion fought their way across a zombie infested, burning city. As is becoming the norm with Resident Evil games these days, the action looks to be fast and frantic. One exciting addition to the series, however, is the ability to walk and shoot at the same time. If you’ve ever played a Resident Evil game, then you know why I’m excited about this addition. It also looks like a more traditional approach to zombies is being taken which, again, excites me. They may not be the mindless flesh eaters from the past but at least they’re not riding motorcycles and doing calculus like in Resident Evil 5. The gameplay ends with a huge action setpiece involving a flaming helicopter flying into the building. It will be interesting to see how Capcom balances the action and survival horror elements this time around but after this section of Microsoft’s briefing, I am very excited to find out.
Next up was a look at a new Kinect game called Wreckateer. It looks a little like Angry Birds with motion controls. The young lady on stage waved her arms around to launch various objects at castles while a Scottish man shouted orders at her. I have no idea if this game will do any better than any other Kinect game but the lady on stage sure seemed to be enjoying herself.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame were up next to talk about their new game South Park: The Stick of Truth. If you’re a fan of the show then you have a lot to be excited about here. The RPG will let you step into the shoes of a created character and join the ranks of the South Park gang. Parker and Stone seemed to be pretty comfortable on the stage and even poked fun at some of the earlier presenters. I don’t really have much love for the South Park franchise and I don’t expect I’ll play the game but these guys time on the stage was a highlight of the show.
Next up was the announcement of Dance Central 3 which was highlighted by a performance by Usher. That’s right. The good people at Xbox thought that what all us gamers wanted was to see Usher gyrate onstage. Good call, Xbox. Oh, by the way, Dance Central 3 looks just like parts one and two.
Finally, to wrap up the show Don Mattrick returned to the stage to remind us how wonderful Xbox is and how much we love Kinect. Before the curtains closed though, we were ushered out with a lengthy look at some gameplay from the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Now, I’ve never been a huge Call of Duty fan. To be honest, I’ve only ever played one of the games to completion but this one actually looks promising. The near future setting is intriguing and the promise of more of a focus on story might be enough to pull me in. The gameplay looked predictably polished and exciting and will no doubt please the millions of fans who will be waiting for this game.
All in all I have to say that I was underwhelmed by the show on a whole. Besides Halo 4 and Gears of War: Judgment, most all the games that looked interesting were not Xbox exclusives. I also think they spent far too much time on non-video game related things. Smart Glass looks interesting but it got too much coverage. It’s good to see Kinect take a backseat this year but Microsoft is still trying to shoehorn it in at every opportunity and I just can’t help but think that it doesn’t always fit. I understand Microsoft’s desire to make the Xbox an all-in-one entertainment hub but after watching their hour and a half presentation I’m left hoping that the games themselves don’t get forgotten. Only time will tell.
What did you guys think? Were you impressed by what Xbox brought to the stage or were you left feeling cold?
