E3 2009 Discussion

[ZetaBladeX13]

[scy]

I'm looking forward to the EA conference, if only for Mass Effect 2. We'll see what happens.

Edit: Oh yeah, Bioware has like three games to announce. Some stuff from id possibly. Dead Space 2 and Mirror's Edge 2 maybe? Who knows. Since Sims 3 comes out tomorrow, I anticipate this whole thing being a giant Sims 3 ad.

[spoiler]And SPORTSFRANCHISE_01 2010 obviously.[/spoiler]

If Microsoft wants this service to take off, they need to get their heads out of their ass in regards to HDD pricing >>.

Edit: *shrugs* The premise of it is interesting even before the Milo demonstration. It looks stupid, sure, but so did every original Wii demonstration. Looking at it in a post-Wii control environment makes it seem a little less dumb.

[spoiler]If only for the explosions of stupidity from people bitching about the Wii and lack of 1:1 movement control and serious games ... and yet 1:1 motion and the premise of serious games and people bitch. OH JOY I LOVE GAMERS.[/spoiler]

Edit: For those who care, EA Press Conference is about to start.
Coverage.
Coverage.

[scy]

So ... EA's Conference is a go. WHAT WILL WE HAVE HERE?! EPIC BOMBA? MEGATONS? USELESS CAPS LOCK?

SIZE SIZE SIZE
[spoiler]No idea if this is part of the conference but a trailer for ... some game. Looks like some Action game. Dante's Inferno is my guess ... if so, what the fuck does this have to do with anything? I'm confused. Anyway, it IS an EA game. And it IS Dante's Inferno ... I still have no idea really what was going on. God of War clone by the looks of it.

Okay, EA press conference starts now. John Riccitiello on stage AND HE ALREADY MENTIONS SIMS 3. WHAT THE FUCK. Okay, I'll be honest, I'm picking up Sims 3 >>.

Okay, Sims 3 footage. Big fucking surprise. Anyway, creepy Sim speak is still about. Game looks, graphically, more polished than Sims 2 as obviously expected. Customization options seem definitely better but I was always was terrible at making my own characters. Brief footage though so HERE'S HOPING THEY DON'T SAY ANYMORE ABOUT IT.

Okay, John says they have 12 games to show and 12 CREATORS. So ... 12 different companies? Uh oh ... mentions their points and Nintendo Wii is one of them. Hm, interesting. I missed the first one but the last was following. *shrugs* Not a big deal anyway...

First on stage is Chip Lang EA's Hasbro division. On the screen is Littlest Pet Shop so ... I'm going to go GOUGE OUT MY EYES. 2 million girls? Wait, why are you specifying girls? Fucking creepy dude. Fucking creepy.

LITTLEST PET SHOP ONLINE OMG EPIC [s]MEGATON[/s] GIGATON. WII AND DS. This Fall for it. "Safe and fun place" = "No paedophiles honest." Oh fucker, a trailer really. God damn it I hate you already EA. God damn it life is no longer worth living.

Dyan Williams brings some girls on stage. I think the oldest up there is 14. "Games for Girls" game, Charm Girls Club. I ... but ... what ... DID SHE SAY BFF? OH MY FUCKING GOD I WILL NOT MAKE IT TO THE END OF THIS.

FOUR TITLES. FOUR. MyFashion Mall (DS), MyFashion Show (DS), MyPerfect Prom (DS), and Pajama Party (Wii). Oh great, paedophile bait is playing Speed Hair Teasing from Pajama Party.

Oh god damn it a trailer. A fucking trailer. I want the last 15 minutes of my life back.

Need for Speed: Shift, presented by Patrick Soderland--fuck if I got that spelling right. Again, I don't do racing games. Apparently, a new "Need For Speed" strategy. Cockpit view, apparently. You know what, I'm done. I don't know what the fuck this guy is talking about with these driving terms.

Haha, their video died on him. Okay, restarted. Anyway, something about driving "personalities" (Profiles) or something? Rivalries and leveling up and not all about placing first? I'm not sure anymore. I don't do racing games.

Oh hey, they're having a competition for a BMW M3. FLYING TO E3 FOR A CAR.

DRAGON AGE ORIGINS (BIOWARE) FINALLY THANK GOD. Two guys from Bioware and I missed their names + pronouncing them hurts (Dr. Ray Murzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschulk). World Premiere of the game via consoles. DAO is BioWare's deepest and darkest game, which bodes well to me. They're hyping it a lot in regards to changing your view on fantasy and moral choices. OCTOBER 20, 2009 for PS360 + PC

Trailer starts ... shows the Gray Wardens (in-game defenders) going around fighting the evil ... more like losing to them epicly. Weird choice of heavy metal in the background for music (Marilyn Manson at that). It may be in-gamne footage and all but doesn't really show too well what kind of game it is (i.e., how combat is done). A pretty meh trailer

Mass Effect 2 Mass Effect 2 Mass Effect 2. ME2 story is Shepard being sent on a mission to save the Universe ... a mission you're not expecting to survive (err...Mass Effect is a trilogy though?). ME2 is releasing to 360 and PC "early 2010."

Trailer starts for ME2 that is "just a taste" of what is to come. Anyway, video starts with a shot of the Normandy and Shepard stating he's looking for specialists for his suicide mission. "Shepard? But ... you're dead." Looks like some returning cast from the first one.

Graphics look polished and maybe a new enemy? The crew of the Normandy doesn't seem to have changed much (barring the whole looks like the Normandy just up and got fucked and they all died). The new weaponry looks impressive as they definitely took a cue from Fallout 3's big weapons (there's a mini-nuke shown near the end).

And now ... we cut to EA Sports. Little live action footage of pretty much every sport they have games for so I guess the next 6 titles are Sports games (Boxing, Football, Basketball, Hockey, Golf, Tennis).

And here comes PETER MOORE. Oh what a man. I miss him from Microsoft He can hype like no other.

First up, PS360 Fight Night Round 4. Hah, damn he's talking up FNR3 out the ass and goes to saying that FNR4 is "the fighting game of the year" and has a new impressive physics engine. Goes into a match to demo it. Appears to be they've got it to be stable 60 FPS up from FNR3's 30 FPS.

"So it can detect the difference between a glancing blow and a clean one?" No shit haha. Just seems to be a new depth to boxing games (height and distance difference matters). Actually kind of looks neat but I am a boxing fan. FNR4 launches June 25th for the PS360.

Edit: Fight Night Round 4 has had a demo up for how long now though? Seriously?

Oh god, a new EA Franchise. EA Sports: MMA. Hrm. A semi-MMA fan so this is interesting IF they can get the FNR4 physics engine for it. The diversity of combat styles makes me wonder if they can do it right since it does rely a lot on some of the things that FNR4 added.

Goes to talk about Dynamic DNA and online stuff "changing" the way Sports games are ... over 500 MILLION games played on their online servers. Oh dear. 1.3 Million Downloads on Fifa 09's new mode. Wow, really? THANKS FOR FIGURES GOT ANY CHARTS PETER?! You know, I'm not quite sure what the direction of this talk is.

Steve Chiang up to talk now ... oh boy. Talks about web based browser games (Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online) and EA Sports.com. Two new "connective" features to be announced.

First up, Team Builder. A web based feature for NCAA Football 10 for creating teams, stadiums, etc. I guess the hardcore football fans this is pretty big. Knowing my friends who do buy the new Maddens and such EVERY year ... this is pretty big for them. Team Builder available NOW, not when NCA Football 10 launches.

Second will "end productivity in the workplace forever." Oh god, even I know what this is. "You clamored for it. You e-mailed, blogged, tweeted. You said if we built it you would come. Now ... it's here." Madden NFL 10 ONLINE Franchise. This trailer is actually funny. "So you want to trade TO back to Dallas for Roy Williams, Crayton, and SOME GUY I've never heard of?"

Haha. So looks like they're supporting online Fantasy Football through Madden officially. Jesus. Nearly everyone I know that is "loyal" to an NFL team and does Fantasy Football. This trailer is hilarious to me. "I just did that FROM MY iPHONE. YEAH ... There's an app for that."

And now ... a new "bold" direction for EA Sports. For the Wii. Peter talking about games being a "force of good" for leading "healthier" lives. He has a point with WiiFit and EA's Sports Active ... though this little ad for it can probably fuck off for all I care.

And now, Allison Sweeney on stage. I'm not sure I know who she is but she's rather attractive ... for a bleached blonde I suppose. I kind of dozed off during this as she speaks a lot about it. And apparently 600,000 units of EA Sports Active have sold so far ... 13 days in. Jesus. That's ~300k per week. Ridiculous. EA Sports Active expansion due "this holiday season" for EA Sports Active. Wait, ALREADY? 30 new excercies and "more challenges and activities."

Edit: Her being hot was like ... the highlight of the fucking presentation.

EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis for the Wii. This ... isn't new, is it? I've read reviews of Motion+ for it. I'll say this now before they talk of it: major complaint on Grand Slam Tennis is that with Motion+ it is rather COMPLICATED to play. I'll find the comments later.

Anyway, they go into a demo of it. I'll be honest, I'm one of the people who REALLY wants a good WiiTennis game. It is of note that Peter is playing as Pete Sampras ... who shows up on stage behind him to take over. Not much to say but Sampras is smoking him but it's probably an intentional thing. Who knows.

I'll probably buy a copy and the Motion+ for us to have some fucking fun with.

Next up, Tom French is up from Pandemic to show The Saboteur AND WHOA BEARD HOLY SHIT SON. Trailer starts up into a crowded bar room, by the look of it. Visuals look nice and the music fits the vibe given by the game (World War II era). Goes into a CG scene of the protagonist stealthing around and going to assassinate his target (though he ends up shooting a truck carrying explosives). EPIC BEARD is back and they demo some gameplay.

World War II era, stylized black and white look. Protagonist is fighting the Nazi's and, as you complete missions, brings "color" back to the game. A sandbox game so seems to be a game ala inFamous, Protype, Grand Theft Auto, etc. Doesn't force it but they're showing off stealth like action (they demo sneak killing a guy and disguising himself as a Nazi). After blowing the base, goes into standard GTA-esque shootout and running to lose his followers (goes to a whore house haha). Seems interesting. I'LL BE THERE EPIC BEARD GUY.

EA Partners. Huh? Okay, these aren't EA games but those produced by them and developed by others. Orange Box, Left 4 Dead, Rock Band, Grasshopper's games, id, EPIC, etc. as his list of games / companies they produce for. And ... here comes TIM SCHAEFER OF DOUBLE FINE! Brutal Legend. Awesome. Action game "rooted" in the old school Heavy Metal genre. It's hard to have the game not sound weird but it's a Tim Schaefer game so you know to expect a weird game (I mean, there's a guy who plays Bass to heal people or a guy with "...but he has awesome hair" and can fly with it~). Haha, Ozzy Ozbourne as the "Guardian" of Metal. Trailer goes public tomorrow but a sneak peak (?) today.

"Out of the Darkness ... comes an evil that will destroy us all."
"Out of the Light ... comes ... a roadie."
"Armed with the power of METAL and DESTINED to become the legend ..."

Oh yeah, Jack Black as Eddie Riggs (Protagonist), Rob Halford, Lemmy Kilmister, Lita Ford, and Ozzy Ozbourne for the voice roles. Game is an action/hack-and-slash with a heavy metal soundtrack (and voices) with a rather comedic game (pretty much think of a Jack Black movie as a game). But, still, it's Tim Schaefer, the mastermind behind Grim Fandango and Psychonauts, so the game is going to be weird but epic.

And now some footage of Jack Black and some ... comedy. Not all that funny and it's kind of stupid. And now they cut to footage of the game. "Magic" is done via playing the Guitar and it doubles as his melee weapon (an "Axe").

Uh oh ... next up is Cevat Yerli, the CEO and President of Crytek. I think I have a feeling my computer will melt just from whatever trailer they show. Crysis 2 announced (though I think this is old news too). Multiplatform for the PS360 and the PC using the CryEngine 3 ... oh fuck my computer is crying. Say what you will about Crysis as an FPS but it's hard to deny that Crysis is a visual MASTERPIECE.

New partner for EA ... the team behind Grand Theft Auto 1 and 2 and Crackdown. That's right, Realtime Worlds. Dave Jones (Foudner) up to announce APB--All Points Bulletin, the new Action MMO. Pretty much imagine Crackdown as an MMO. Two sides, the Enforcers and the Criminals (SO UNIQUE). Character creation option is fucking robust by the look of things.

And now, trailer for APB starts up. Graphically, looks to be about GTA4 quality in terms of visuals (probably a bit better). Not much shown besides some driving around and minor shootouts (not gameplay footage though). Kind of interesting but I doubt I'd pay and play this. Who knows. Definitely has a Crackdown vibe (albeit not cel-shaded).

Cuts right into epic fanfare ... Star Wars. The Old Republic, as expected, makes a showing. A bunch of people march out dressed as Jedi and Sith, complete with Lightsabers. LucasArts [Darrell Rodriguez] and Bioware [Dr. Ray Muzyka] present Star Wars: The Old Republic. A new MMO in the Star Wars universe. Story is set thousands of year prior to the Darth Vader era which gives them some freedom in development in terms of story. This can't be worse than Star Wars: Galaxies.

tOR is announced as FULLY voiced. Somehow, this is going to change everything but ... eh. I don't even read flavor text that often when I play MMOs. Each class will have a unique story which sounds ... well, impressive. tOR is planning to add "story" as a new pillar into MMOs (the other three being Exploration, Combat, and Progression). Sounds intriguing, I suppose, but rather overreaching. We'll see. ...but, did he really say something about LucasArts rich heritage in story telling?

World Premiere trailer comes up. Eventually. Non-gameplay merely a cinematic trailer here. Anyway, trailer starts with a Sith going crazy and killing some guards and a Bounty Hunter moves in. Jedi show up ... AND THEN SHIP CRASHES INTO THE WINDOW. Horde of Sith come out and a massive fight between them and the Jedi breaks out. Pretty epic fight between what would appear to be the relative leaders of the two sides. Pans to the city where a full scale invasion is going on. END TRAILER. Now if only combat could look as good as what they showed in the trailer

Alright, Riccitiello back on stage and ... that's the end of the conference. ALRIGHT.[/spoiler]

So Ubisoft in a few hours. I'm going to go drink a lot so I can forget some of the stupid in that last one.

Edit: Oh fucking boy. Shots of Brutal Legend:
[spoiler]









[/spoiler]

Also, here's a video of the Milo presentation.

Edit: I can only imagine the uh ... ... ... I don't even know how to tastefully put it ... "reaction" if the Milo demo was an (of legal age) female. Japan + Natal scares me.

[spoiler][s]raep sims[/s] Tearful consensual sex sims of the future?[/spoiler]

Edit: The Old Republic Cinematic Trailer (available in HD if you go to the YouTube page)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6IAoPAjzpw[/youtube]

[scy]

Guess what? It's time to du-du-du ... wait, no, Ubisoft Conference nevermind. Assassin's Creed 2 and then some other stuff I bet noone cares about.

SIZE SIZE SIZE.
[spoiler]Oh boy, Joel McHale for Ubisoft presentation.
"THE WHITEST HOST YOU'LL EVER SEE"
"Looks like dreams do come true ... someone is going to PAY ME to talk about video games."
"I have two kids ... and I regret that."
"My Gamertag is Seacrest_killer_311 ... 311 is my height."

Anyway, Ubisoft is apparently the comedy act.

Anyway, Yves Guillemot, President and CEO, on-stage at the end of comedy hour. He has a funny accent. Very funny. Hehe...hehehe...I laughed and didn't really get much out of his speech. Something about conversions and ... I'm not really sure. Confluence is their goal. Just talk about what they've been doing to make better games (and ... movies?) and mention of U Play, their new online service (?) for creating and sharing content. Consists of four parts: U Share, U Win, U Help, and U Shop. U Play launches at the end of 2009 and will be a part of their games coming out soon (Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell, one more I didn't catch sounded like Avatar).

Okay, more talk about making movies. Ubisoft has partnered with someone unnamed to help with their movie making. Being rather hush hush about this person. Also, a partnership with Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg announced ... and these aren't the previously unnamed person. Hrm.

Talks about innovative controls (Wiimote, Stylus, iTouch) and what new things came from it ... and mention of their games on them. Yeah uh ... those games sucked sir. Please don't bring them up it isn't helping your cause. Oh neat, mentions Natal and talk of "forgetting" the control and interfacing with the game itself. Oh god, Ubisoft shovelware with the Natal. Says they've been working on it for over a year (!) now and will be DEMOING IT TODAY. Fucking A.

...I think. Who knows this guy has pretty bad English but that's what it sounded like.

Anyway, he switches off for Yannis Mallat (President of Ubisoft Montreal). English is better so I'm happy. More talk about their new technologies (Hybride, notably) and the bringing together or gaming and movies (yeah Uwe Boll tried and fucked on that and forever ruined it in my eyes). Says more details tomorrow will surface on James Cameron's Avatar. Thanks, announcing an announcement AT E3.

Mentions a new pipeline for combining their real-time engine work (Anvil - Assassin's Creed) and use them in pre-rendered stuff (say, movies). Yeah, they're talking a LOT about Ubisoft Digital Arts work on combining movies and games. Oh neat, stuff about a short movie/film based off of the world of Assassin's Creed 2.

Ubisoft is going from a "simple" game developer to an all-encompassing media company. That's wonderful. GET TO THE GAMES SIR. Oh fuck Yves is back. OH MAN FINALLY THEIR MYSTERIOUS PARTNER?! James Cameron on stage.

...

I had to take a call and I missed almost everything he said. So I unfortunately don't know what he's talking about. I'm very confused. OH HE'S TALKING ABOUT AVATAR MOVIE. He's also very long winded. I'm sorry, I haven't been really paying attention here but it's him talking up his movie and how awesome and epic it will be (it will TRANSCEND MOVIES). "Watching Avatar is like being in a dream state ... like dreaming with your eyes wide open."

Okay, so he gave Ubisoft "creative license" to take the world of Avatar and develop a game with a story independent of the movie. Sounds rather interesting and if the movie is any good, it may be quite fun (plus the game doesn't spoil the movie). But ... I wish he'd SHUT UP ALREADY THOUGH. Wait, Avatar (Movie) is 3D ... so he wanted the game in 3D ... and Ubisoft was hesitant? Wait what? I'm ... what?

*scratches head* Huh ...

I think he told me the entire plot, underlying theme, backstory, and whatever else involved of the movie and the game. I get the message. You and Ubisoft worked side-by-side on both the movie and the game; one wasn't sacrificed for the other. A long endeavor to try to make a good movie and a good game tie-in. OH THANK GOD HE SAID IN CLOSING FINALLY OH MY GOD YES.

The one-man comedy act is back. Thank god! YOU STAY UP THERE! "And now ... the players can be like the stars. You know, drunk..." Haha...

Anyway, lead-in to Red Steel 2 and Motion+ trailer (ps, don't try to stick a sword in your Wii, it costs thousands if you do that). Motion+ can hopefully get rid of the bad parts of the original so Red Steel 2 is at least interesting. Though ... the setting seems rather different than expected (seems to be ... in the Wild West?). I'll give Ubisoft a good job at the theatrics in the trailer for it but could've used more just straight gameplay. Interesting though so I may pick it up >>

Jason Vanderberghe, creative director of Red Steel 2 AND EPIC HAIR AND CANE OH GOD. Game takes place in a desert apparently, I still say it looks like the Wild West (and sounds like it) but man ... this guy is cheesy. Anyway, gameplay demonstration of the first level of the game.

Game opens up with some guy being dragged around tied to a motorcycle. I guess that's you, the protagonist, and using the Wiimote to weave and dodge things? Not sure. Speaking of the protagonist, kind of looks like a male Carmen Sandiago in the full red get up O.o. Scene ends and goes straight to demoing the Motion+ with the Sword. So yay, 1:1. Game can detect speed of swings to change power behind a swing ... and now that that is over, he loads into actual gameplay versus the villains of the game, the Jackals.

Control is nunchuk for movement, A to Block, B to Shoot, and Z to change targets. Game also has customizable controls. A lot of swinging and haha, demos a power that knocks the target into the air slows them down and lets you shoot them ... OR jumps after and attacks and knocks them back to the ground. Awesome. Load into what appears to be a mini-boss fight with something called "The Heavy" who will eventually be a regular enemy. States the game is running at 60 FPS which is rather impressive. Their art direction is a mixture of realism with a graphic novel-ish approach (their words). I quite like this type of combat so ... yay. Red Steel 2 will be BUNDLED with the Motion+, which is great news.

And now we go into Ubisoft and sports, mentioning Shaun White snowboarding. Oh god ... another Shaun White snowboarding game. Trailer (really more like a commercial ... which it is as I definitely recall seeing this before) is pretty bland stuff of a make-shift course being set-up and then cutting to game footage. More competition, slopes, challenges, etc. for this. I ... no comment, really.

As much fun as the comedy act is, it's getting a little tiring. Soccer game announcement ("They call it futbol over there I don't really get it") with Pele ... who, despite what he says, needs an introduction as I have no idea who the fuck this guy is (old Brazilian soccer player is what I get from the magic of Google). Game is called Academy of Champions but ... looks like they're having technical difficulties playing the game.

Okay, after a long speech by Pele (and his translator) about how proud he is to be here and have this game and so-on ... finally the gameplay footage. Except not it's all a cinematic. Huh ... *shrugs* Soccer game so ... yeah. May not be a "serious" Soccer sim based off the cinematic but not sure.

And next up is Producer and Creative Director of Splinter Cell: Conviction ... Alexis Parizeau and Max Beland. Haha, their goal in Splinter Cell is that "stealth makes you weak and slow," and their goal is to get a feel of wanting to use stealth because it makes you feel powerful. A bit more fast paced than traditional stealth. They don't want forced stealth that bogs down game. And cue the trailer ... from the Microsoft presentation. Nothing new to say here. Demo starts up and it's different from the Microsoft one (notably mention of the "Last Known Position" feature).

Demo starts and it's the same scene from Microsoft with the bathroom and interrogation scene. Seamless transitions between environments and use of low-tech things to get the job done (broken mirror to see around corners, past doors, etc.). Okay, shows the mark and execute feature which lets you "control the pacing of the game." Sounds like the marking from Red Steel's bullet time thing (mark targets during slow-down and after he fires through them). Seems to take out the "shooting" aspect of the stealth and replaces it with ... well, stealthing to it and letting the game do the precision.

Light/Shadow filter used when you enter the shadows (mostly to look cool also to show you you're hiding). Last Known position used to help "place" ... well, last known position. Kind of neat for helping with escape and such when line of sight is lost. The demo level is pretty much the same from the demo earlier, any differences is just from not being able to play EXACTLY the same really.

Talk about "interfaces" changing gameplay and goes right into the RTS game Ruse for the PS360 . The little "commercial" acts like a chess game with the pieces being military units. Kind of interesting and I loved the feint to expose the troops and bombers but that has nothing to do with gameplay I guess. But ... does that mean the table is a peripheral for the game?

...AND THEN HE JUMPS TO THE NEXT CATEGORY. Casual Games. My brain has just shut off. Tony Key out to talk about ... casual gaming. Well fuck dude. Well, as he puts it, he gets "biggest seller." Figures, he's the marketting guy. Oh god, the imagine line outsold all the big hits of 2008. Oh fuck really? PEOPLE BUY THOSE? What the ... who the ... god ... I HATE MY LIFE. It sold 2.75M with Pokemon at 3.09M (2nd and 1st, respectively with Petz as 4th, though I didn't catch the number). What the fuck. The ... fuck. I ... *shakes head*.

Oh god ... tween games 2.0. Integration, Interconnectivity, and Invention (the "3 i's"). I'm ... so sad. A lot of talk about the Imagine line, the Petz line, and the new line, Style Lab. Style Lab uses the DSi to try "styles" out on a virtual image of you (taken by the camera) and Style Lab Jewelry (or whatever) to create jewelry in-game, upload it, and then BUY IT. What the ... ugh.

Fastest growing genre: Fitness. Oh god, their Natal game sounds like a Fitness game. And it is. Jesus. It ... makes sense. As far as fitness games go, it sounds like it'll do a good job at it. Plus, the "peripherals" are what you have at home so ... kind of neat, I guess. Your Shape is coming to the Wii this holiday season. Wait, Wii? So they beat the 360 to the punch with their own camera peripheral? Hrm. Now I'm confused. It does sound like Nintendo had their own Camera peripheral so ... well fuck now what the hell.

Rabbids Go Home ... oh god what. I'm just not going to bother with this. Something about using a shopping cart to collect shit to build a pile to get to ... the moon. I think. I don't even know.

I DON'T EVEN KNOW. Oh god, a demo. A demo. Why must you do this to me.Okay, I chuckled at him abusing the fuck out of the Rabbid by smashing him into the screen and ceiling. The presenter at least is funny. So, wait, the entire game is just mercilessly abusing the Rabbids? I ... what. Oh, that's just a mode within it. Actual gameplay seems to be a platformer collect-a-thon. Various game modes so the rest are probably different stuff.

STOP WITH THE SEACREST JOKES OH MY GOD. 25th Anniversary game ... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (is it sad I got that off the 25 year anniversary reference?). President of Ubisoft America, Laurent Detoc, is up to talk about the TMNT. And, for that, TMNT Smash Up is announced to celebrate. Game Arts (!) working with Ubisoft, along with those who worked on Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, worked on this game. Now THAT is interesting so trailer starts up~

Gameplay wise ... Smash Bros Clone. There's ... no other words. Smash Bros clone. Fall 2009 release date (September 22, 2009).

OH MY GOD. NO MORE HEROES 2 ANNOUNCED. Haha, some talk about Suda51 haha. The crazy nutjob behind No More Heroes (surprisingly deep satire on this game). And now, talk about Rez, Lumines, and Space Channel 5 ... and, of course, the man behind it: Tetsuya Mizuguchi. So a new game known as "EDEN" for now. I assume it's a joint between Suda51 and Mizuguchi?

And ... we now move into Italy. During the Renaissance. WELL GEE I WONDER WHAT THIS IS. ASSASSIN'S CREED 2. Fastest selling new IP "EVER" and sold 8 million units (wow really?). Looks like gameplay demo is available at the show (DAMN!) and November 17th is the release date (I'M SO FAILING MY EXAMS THEN).

TRAILER. 1486, Venice Italy. Visuals are rather stunning, much like the original Assassin's Creed. Cinamatic trailer showing a party ... rudely interrupted by Altair crashing in to kill one of the masked men. Not a great stealth kill though as Altair just chills there. Moves to Altair killing and disarming his attackers and running to the rooftops to chase after the one that escaped. Talk from the masked man the death of Altair's parents and then a display of an old-school gun~ Awesome. END. Lack of stealthy action though.

And then ... END of Conference.[/spoiler]

Edit: All in all, Ubisoft conference showed barely anything new that I know of (AC2 trailer was pretty much the only thing), spent forever talking about Avatar yet showed nothing, and ... blah blah blah. Not even Jade Raymond could've saved it.

[spoiler]Who am I kidding, she could've redeemed it at least a little. Naked Jade to be plasted everywhere to redeem this GOD AWFUL CONFERENCE.[/spoiler]

Part of me wants to link videos. The other part of me is super lazy. So ... a compromise:

. A lot aren't here yet so you may have to go through the Main Page and the Newest Uploads until they get sorted. If I ever get unlazy and this whole mess gets sorted ... I probably still won't do it~

Huh, playable demo of Ninja Gaiden Sigma II. Playable Ayane, Rachel, and Momiji by the sound of it. Sonia is a possibility who knows.
[spoiler]





And Ayame gameplay footage:
.
.[/spoiler]

Oh yeah ... Hideo Kojima is in charge of Lords of Shadow. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow to be precise. Not much is known yet outside of some art and a year old trailer.

Edit: For all the hate I gave Raving Rabbids, it seems like an almost legitimate platformer (or at very least, a Katamari-esque game but that's rather misleading to word it like that so ... whatever). And ... a part of me chuckled at the customization room and using the Wiimote to abuse the little guy.

... >>

[Kinokokao]

So far, haven't heard anything that excites me.

When's Nintendo presenting shit?

[ZetaBladeX13]

Yeah, this E3 is looking kinda boring

Tuesday, I believe.

[Twat]

[ZetaBladeX13]

[Kinokokao]

OHMAN

NEW PLAY CONTROLS EARTHBOUND FOR WII

[spoiler]
;___;

Is liar.... is a total liar
[/spoiler]

[Twat]

[ZetaBladeX13]

[scy]

Plus it was a logical revival for use of Wii motion controls >> Ever since WiiSports Boxing anyone who had an NES was clamoring for Punch-Out! to come to the Wii. Sure, Japan probably couldn't care less about it but who cares what they want half the damn time since IT NEVER MAKES IT OVER HERE.

As for conference times, Nintendo is 9 AM PST, Sony is 11 AM PST, and Miyamoto's Nintendo presentation is at 8 PM (it's been the only fucking decent part of a Nintendo E3 for the past 3 years; this is where Brawl and Pikmin 3 were announced).

I guess I'm in the minority here (not surprised). This E3 is superior to last year easily so far, though most of EA and Ubisoft presentations were /bore. I'm picking up pretty much everything Microsoft announced (well, at least half of it), quite a few games from the EA camp, and Assassin's Creed 2 from Ubisoft.

*shrugs* I'd say something about trying different genres but I'd be repeating myself from before.

Oh yeah, Shiren the Wanderer was just announced for the Wii by Atlus this morning. People ... don't care (/ do care?). I'm still whiny over the Japanese box art being changed for the piece of shit that is the American box art but whatever. Demon Souls website/trailer has gone live and I'm still confused as to why since the game is already in English and playable on US PS3s.

[spoiler]

The trailer is merely the old trailer from the Japanese/Asian version of the game so ... noone cares.[/spoiler]

ps, there's been two Metroidvanias announced: EPIC's Shadow Complex for the XBLA and the multi-platform Lords of Shadow done by Kojima and not Iga so it might not suck. We'll see if they can nail it.

[spoiler]Then again, it'll probably end up being a God of War / DMC clone with heavy cinematic presentation and thus be awesome and hated by everyone here.[/spoiler]

Oh well. I'll have impressions of Nintendo and Sony's conferences as they occur here.

Edit: Oh and if you're not excited by Tales of Monkey Island for WiiWare (or even the remake of the original on XBLA), I'm afraid I may have to find some way to kill you. Jesus christ, what the fuck do you people want?

[Twat]

[scy]

[Twat]