If I only consider my original hopes for E3, then this would easily be the most disappointing E3 I have witnessed. Out of my list of wants, the only thing shown was Golden Sun Dark Dawn. No Pokemon, no Mirror’s Edge 2 and most importantly, no The Last Guardian.
Luckily for me, Nintendo came in to save the day. I’ve never been a big fan of the 3D Mario games, my personal poisons have always been Donkey Kong and Kirby. Just when I was giving up hope on seeing a new entry in either series for a very long time and having just given up on my Wii, Nintendo decided to slap me around, stick some games in my face and call me Shirley.
The reveal of Donkey Kong Country Returns had me squealing like a school girl. I was glad that Jarrod was doing the Nintendo liveblog and not myself, or else all the readers would have been greeted with was a 600 character ‘Whoooooo!’. Not only is it a new Donkey Kong game, but it also goes back to the gameplay of my favourite games in the series, the Rare developed Donkey Kong Country games. I’m much more cautious with Kirby’s Epic Yarn though. While I love Kirby I’m not sure how I will deal with not being able to suck up enemies and change my form. I guess only time will tell how I feel about that one.
The list of developer support for the 3DS at launch was another standout of E3. With a new Professor Layton, Kid Icarus, Saints Row and Animal Crossing, as well as games in the Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Dragon Quest series and remakes of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Metal Gear Solid 3 the 3DS is looking to have an outstanding launch.
All things considered, it was a fairly weak E3 in my opinion, but Nintendo's showing was the best they had in years.
Will the 3DS be Nintendo’s next big success?
This year’s E3 once again gave the giants of the gaming industry the opportunity to show off their latest wares, but how did Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo fare? The house of the mustachioed plumber undoubtedly had the best presentation, but our other writers have covered the inventors of the Wii expertly. As a self-proclaimed hardcore gamer, my interests were with the Xbox 360 and PS3. While I came away from E3 knowing my bank account will have rough time over the coming year, the advocates of HD gaming unfortunately failed to spark my interest. When will they learn that, by far, the couch is the preferred resting place of the dedicated gamer?
After the first fifteen or so minutes into their conference, they only thing Microsoft accomplished was putting the majority of their audience to sleep. Sure, Gears of War 3 looks epic, and I completed an impromptu happy dance upon seeing space combat in Halo: Reach. However, thereafter, the only entertainment I derived was a chuckle at the guy on stage wearing shades (when did E3 become the Matrix?) and the brightly coloured sweater. ‘Kinect’, while initially showing promise, fell into the ‘lets steal the Wii market’ trap with juvenile games and a zoo of cute animals. And special note to Microsoft: I don’t need advice on what music to listen to, thanks.
Sony’s offerings were somewhat more interesting, though unsurprising and uninspiring. If the PS Move looked in the mirror, it would see MotionPlus staring right back at it. However, the device appears to be utilised well in games such as Sorcery, and should offer an outlet for high-definition versions of past and future Wii games. KillZone 3 impressed, but the pre-show announcement killed any surprise. The absence of Resistance 3 was a disappointment, but not as much as The Last Guardian. Nonetheless, the real star of Sony’s briefing was Kevin Butler. Seriously, this guy should have his own sitcom.
One thing to take away from E3 2010 was the outstanding line-up of titles on display. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II were personal highlights, showing just how much existing franchises can evolve, especially this far into the current generation of consoles.
The Force is with this one.
So E3 2010 is finally over, and what a week it was. Though 80% of my time was spent finishing up final assignments, the other 20% was furiously checking back up on E3 to see what was announced and what surprises laid dormant at the mammoth show.
The biggest surprise for me first off was Nintendo, as I didn't expect much, if at all from them. Boy was I wrong. Nintendo stole the show with their ridiculously awesome announcements, from the reboot of the Donkey Kong Country games to the announcement of the 3DS. Though I've openly bad-mouthed and slammed Nintendo's direction over the past few years, I'll forgive them after these announcements, as they now have my full hardcore gamer attention and seem to be going back to what made them great in the first place.
Sony played their cards pretty decently this year, albeit not as well as they did back in 2009. The first half of the conference was an utter bore with barely any gaming announcements. But okay, they picked up a bit in the second half, with a new Twisted Metal on the way, and finally a release date for Gran Turismo 5. Not bad, but could've been better (and I am gutted that there was no The Last Guardian info. GUTTED).
As for Microsoft..err..I guess Gears of War 3 looks nice? I wasn't impressed at all this year, and I think I'll just keep it at that before I anger some people.
The rest of the show was the best part for me however. Crysis 2 is looking pretty swish even on the consoles (hah!), the new Mortal Kombat is about 47 layers of kick-arse, The Witcher 2 is absolutely gorgeous, and RAGE has me pumped for some post-apocalyptic mega-texture awesomeness. There was a lot shown this year that will make my wallet cry, but I'm pretty sure it'll all be worth the awesome entertainment it'll give me. Bring on them games, developers.
Oh and Bulletstorm is what Unreal Tournament 3 should've been. Fact.
Crysis 2: you won’t have to mortgage your house to play.
The awesomeness of E3 2010 can be summarised in one word: Nintendo. Nintendo pretty much stole the show this year by going back to their roots and once again giving gamers and their fans exactly what they wanted and really fulfilled their heart’s true desires.
Nintendo gave us a new Zelda title for the Wii, as much as I loved Twilight Princess I always knew that a Zelda built from the ground up would accomplish just that, and what we saw in E3 2010 really lived up to my expectations and more. Then there was the new Kirby title, I am so glad that Nintendo have dropped the usual gameplay style in favour of the really intuitive and fresh ‘yarn’ gameplay mechanic, also the art style looks fantastic. Then there was Donkey Kong Country Returns, the original Donkey Kong Country is one of my favourite platformers of all time and seeing a shiny new game that follows the original formula so closely, made my gaming spirit glow. Then there was Nintendo 3DS. The hardware, graphics and line-up is nothing short of amazing. I have already started saving up for one.
Also glad to hear that the new Sonic titles shown at E3 2010 were not train wrecks! Both Sonic Colours and Sonic 4 are so far free from ridiculous and game crippling issues and gimmicks, hopefully the final home versions will be solid and playable games that will have more of the classic Sonic gameplay and design.
So there was no Zone of the Enders 3 shown by Konami, but at least Castlevania: Lords of Shadows and Metal Gear Solid: Rising look like fantastic and thrilling 3rd person action games, being a huge fan of stylish action games like Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, Konami’s upcoming action fests have a sure spot on my ‘must buy’ list.
Finally, seeing a new Rayman title was just amazing, the 2D graphics are of superb quality and animation, it really shows that 2D is anything but dead. I’m glad that Rayman will be making a long overdue return, I was getting really annoyed by those Rabbids.
The right gear?
Like a bad case of diarrhoea, E3 has come and gone faster in retrospect than the snail pace it seemed to travel at during. Lengthy conferences at early morning hours and an endless stream of news that still seems to be coming in remind me that no matter how excited I get each year, there’s always something to bring me back to reality.
Microsoft set the bar this year for the worst conference ever. What could have been a great demonstration of Kinect technology for core games, and proof that the Xbox 360 still has plenty more oomph in it for the coming years, was instead a line-up of tired sequels and casual games that dragged on for far too long.
Speaking of dragging, Sony’s wasn’t much better. Okay, it was a lot better, but it still dragged. The highs of Kevin Butler and Twisted Metal were let down by overlong golfing demos and a slightly racist advertising campaign for a handheld platform that is all but dead in the western world. But hey, at least Dead Space 2 looked amazing
Nintendo disappointed this year by not disappointing. Usually in the running for the worst conference each year, this time they packed theirs full of surprise title announcements, great looking games, and an absolutely phenomenal introduction to the 3DS. What the hell Nintendo? Donkey Kong, Kirby, Epic Mickey, Zelda, and Metal Gear 3DS all looked amazing. Not even the Vitality Sensor reared its ugly head.
But the best part of E3? That’s a tie. First up is Portal 2. The crem dela crème of game design made a stunning return in what will doubtlessly be the best title of 2011, even if the lack of Episode 3 information was disappointing. Right alongside Portal 2 was Konami’s conference, or if you prefer, ‘The Konami Circus’. You will be sucked, and in the wise extreeeme words of Tak Fuji, “One million troops…woooooow”. The greatest train wreck of all time. OF ALL TIME!
The portal will open again.
Stayed tuned for Part 2 of PALGN’s Staff E3 Reflections tomorrow.
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