Games for '09

[Walter]

I'd reserve judgment on Project M if I were you, CaSan. We've only been shown a brief trailer. And trailers by their nature condense the most grabbing aspects of the subject and force them violently on screen. Just because the trailer shows action scenes doesn't mean that the entire game will be like Ninja Gaiden (my secret fear).

All told, I was yawning through both Nintendo and Sony's shows. Nothing that was shown impressed me as much as Microsoft's yesterday.

 

[Aazealh]

All told, I was yawning through both Nintendo and Sony's shows. Nothing that was shown impressed me as much as Microsoft's yesterday.

Yeah, MS definitely stole the show this year. What do the fans of survival horror we have here think of Alan Wake? I liked what I saw personally.

 

[Voyevoda]

Aazealh & Walter: True, I may have jumped the gun a bit, but considering who is making the game (even if Sakamoto/EAD are with them on this) I'll remain skeptic. The overall visual style didn't do it for me either I must add. It just didn't look seem like an actual metroid game to me.

Out of all the conferences, The Last Guardian is probably what piqued my interest the most, Although I a have feeling the developers are a bit stuck in making these tranquil and desolate settings (they are beautiful though, and truth be told; I can't say how one would best go about changing things up whilst retaining the powerful nature of the scenery). Still, it's not even remotely as played out as some other settings that come to mind, and the whole premise of the beast and the boy is absolutely fantastic. I love it!

Yeah, MS definitely stole the show this year. What do the fans of survival horror we have here think of Alan Wake? I liked what I saw personally.

It started out very nice, yet to me it devolved when they mostly showed direct confrontations with Alan using the flashlight and gun to dispatch scores of enemies. It didn't feel very suspenseful to me. If that is a representation of how you'll deal with immediate threats most of the time, then I must say it's an opportunity wasted. Hopefully, ammunition for your weapons will be really scarce at least, and they just made things convenient for the purpose of the demonstration.

 

[Aazealh]

The overall visual style didn't do it for me either I must add.

I'm not too big on it either.

Hopefully, ammunition for your weapons will be really scarce at least, and they just made things convenient for the purpose of the demonstration.

I think so yeah. The guy had over 100 cartridges for his gun and yet he ran from the enemies most of the time, so I imagine you won't just be killing everything.

EDIT: FFXIV trailer

 

[CowTip]

Considering my statement awhile back of playing FFXI for the last 6 years... that FFXIV announcement nearly stopped my heart.

That seems to be happening a lot to me lately.

 

[NightCrawler]

Yeah, MS definitely stole the show this year. What do the fans of survival horror we have here think of Alan Wake? I liked what I saw personally.

Max Payne + GTA horror? Bring it!

 

[Walter]

Borderlands sounds like one of the more promising titles I've read about at E3 so far: http://kotaku.com/5276499/borderlands-eyes+on-co+op-fallout-in-reverse

Take the wasteland environment, role-playing, and first-person shooter elements of Fallout 3, add in a little bit of Diablo-esque looting and weapon generation, and then give the whole thing a strong focus on co-operative multiplayer and there you have Borderlands...and that's not a bad recipe whatsoever.

 

[Griffith]

I'm most interested in the Natal technology, if they can get that to actually work and commit to it... yikes.

Of course, anything they can come up with today, Sega already proved could fail. =)​

 

[Walter]

UGH! I can't believe you remember that failure! I only barely did...

And yeah, Natal wowed me the most this year. However, that awe was instantly met with skepticism in my mind, because it's all about finding a suitable application for this kind of open-ended technology. As I told Aaz when we were both catching the play-by-play, Nintendo revolutionized their controls in 2006 and it hardly caused a stir at all in their gameplay innovation. Three years later, it's essentially still a gimmick. I don't foresee Natal dramatically changing that status quo, whether it's through Milo or something even more revolutionary.

 

[Griffith]

Hahaha, and isn't it telling, in a bad way, that these companies are basically following the Sega model of inventing crazy stuff that developers historically don't support? That's why I love Sega though, they had so many off the wall and innovative things that never quite worked, it fills me with wonder to this day. Anything they make now, Sega already had a crappier steam-powered equivalent in 1993. =)

P.S. They even developed a modem with AT&T, the Edge 16, for online multi-play with the Genesis. I even remember seeing an ad for the crazy thing (though, on second thought, maybe it was one of the hilarious promos for XBand), but it never went to retail because partner AT&T pulled the plug at the last minute. Imagine, if Sega had their way, they'd have had people across the country playing Mortal Kombat II online on the Genesis with the backing of the nation's biggest phone company, back in 1994.

 

[Aazealh]

Borderlands sounds like one of the more promising titles I've read about at E3 so far: http://kotaku.com/5276499/borderlands-eyes+on-co+op-fallout-in-reverse

Yeah, that close-up shot of a girl's ass sure looks promising to me. Conceptually it sounds nice, but I'm a bit wary of Gearbox Software considering their development history (Brothers in Arms).

I'm most interested in the Natal technology, if they can get that to actually work and commit to it... yikes.

Honestly to me it's far more of a gimmick than even the Wiimote. See, when it's used appropriately the Wiimote can be real fun and manages to enhance the experience without forcing it on you. It adds something to traditional control schemes while trying not to remove something else. But this "no controller" idea clearly has limitations that will come up like a wall when the time comes to have fun with it in games requiring moderately elaborate controls. Because it goes way beyond the Wiimote concept and removes the traditional controller from the equation.

Sure, it's fun to use the dashboard like in Minority Report, but it's the kind of thing you do once before returning to the faster, more convenient traditional controller. Honest to goodness gimmick. That leaves us with Wii Sport-like applications, or stuff akin to Tony Hawk's new board controller. That can be fun and I eagerly look forward to it (assuming the add-on doesn't cost an arm and a leg), but it's almost a genre in and of itself at this point. What I hope the most is that it won't just be a glorified EyeToy and that it'll see some innovative uses for fun games.

As for Milo, I'm terribly skeptic. It looked amazing, no doubt about that. Even revolutionary. But it's Molyneux. That man can't be trusted.

 

[Griffith]

True, but they can easily just add a controller to the mix and have the best of both worlds (or the Roll N' Rocker). The real problem is that nobody is going to really commit to the technology and exploring its possibilities now. Instead it'll probably be used in gimmicky ways and end up a one-trick pony like you say. Meanwhile, we'll be using derivatives of the SNES and N64 controllers until the end of time. =)

 

[Aazealh]

True, but they can easily just add a controller to the mix and have the best of both worlds (or the Roll N' Rocker). The real problem is that nobody is going to really commit to the technology and exploring its possibilities now. Instead it'll probably be used in gimmicky ways and end up a one-trick pony like you say. Meanwhile, we'll be using derivatives of the SNES and N64 controllers until the end of time. =)

Hahaha, well the Rock 'n Roller is actually more like the Wii's Balance Board. The thing is, I'm not sure they can actually easily add a controller into the mix. Unlike the Wii, Natal is basically tacked on the existing Xbox 360 hardware and I'm wondering how immersive and seamless it can really get in-game. Guess we'll have to wait and see, but until then I prefer to be cautious.

And like you say, down the line we're still going to be using ameliorations of SNES controllers for quite a while.

Anyway, more trailers:

Borderlands
Uncharted 2: Among thieves
FFXIII conference trailer
FFXIII combat gameplay
Front Mission Evolved

And Major Nelson has announced that Perfect Dark will be coming to the Xbox Live in 1080p this winter!

 

[Voyevoda]

Metroid Dread might actually still see the light of day sometime in the future! http://kotaku.com/5277377/nintendo-new-metroid-is-not-metroid-dread

 

[Aazealh]

Metroid Dread might actually still see the light of day sometime in the future! http://kotaku.com/5277377/nintendo-new-metroid-is-not-metroid-dread

That's good to know. A Metroid using a 2D similar to that of the Wario game that came out on the Wii a while back would be a blast.

 

[Voyevoda]

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3174587 --- Interview with Yoshio Sakamoto and Yusuke Hayashi about Metroid: Other M.

Good that someone took the time to ask the one question I just needed an answer for:

1UP: When I think of the two series, they seem very different. Metroid is very slow, methodical, exploratory, while Ninja Gaiden is very fast, violent, and action-oriented. How do you reconcile those two and create something that takes advantage of your strengths, but still feels like a Metroid game?

Yusuke Hayashi: We want to try and take the best of both. As you progress through the game, there will be more action-oriented, faster-paced sequences. But then you'll have your careful, exploratory parts of the story as well. We actually used it to our advantage to try and marry the two concepts together.

Yoshio Sakamoto: When I brought the proposal to Team Ninja, I had no idea what their response would be. As we progressed through development, of course there were differences of opinion, but we were able to work through those and ultimately create something that's better than either of us could have expected. It's been a really collaborative, creative process, and I feel that the result is something that's very positive.

They talk the talk. Now it'll be a long waiting game to see if they can follow it all through.

 

[dwarfkicker]

Re: Hideo Kojima's Project Next

The new Castlevania game looks like it'll be an awesome game, especially compared to the other 3D atrocities. Also it's a restart/reboot to the franchise that isn't tied to the previous games (IGA's games).

Trailer:
http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/e3_2009/castlevania/

So many good action games coming out.
-Bayonetta
-Castlevania: Lord of Shadows
-Darksiders: Wrath of War
-God of War 3
-Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
-Dante's Inferno (hopefully EA delivers)

Now if only Capcom showed something on Devil May Cry 5.

 

[Walter]

I agree that trailer does look awesome. I had read that Lords of Shadow would have some tie to the Castlevania world, but I didn't know it was an actual Castlevania TITLE until this trailer. Am I alone in that?

Hope you don't mind that I moved your post to this thread dwarf.

 

[dwarfkicker]

Nah it's all good. As soon as I saw it I had to spread the word. I know that a lot of Castlevania nuts dwell here

 

[handsome rakshas]

I know that a lot of Castlevania nuts dwell here

Here I am! And yeah, it wouldn't have been surprising if it hadn't been given a Castlevania title. Looks good so far, did Konami have their conference already? I want to check out another Silent Hill trailer.

 

[CowTip]

So my two most anticipated titles became Final Fantasy XIV and Lord of Shadows. Not enough info out about the new Metal Gear, though I do want that PSP one. Mass Effect 2 looks pretty good too.

Seriously, there's just too many grade A looking games coming out over the next year. I don't know whether to cheer or to cry.

 

[handsome rakshas]

A couple of vids for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBI_5vsCDOw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6piLaGuWX_Q&feature=related

Because I too have enjoyed roleplay during sex.

 

[Aazealh]

I had read that Lords of Shadow would have some tie to the Castlevania world, but I didn't know it was an actual Castlevania TITLE until this trailer. Am I alone in that?

Someone didn't read previous posts.

The game was actually a new IP that had nothing to do with Castlevania when it was first announced last year, but we learned a few days ago that they had decided to include it in the Castlevania franchise and to involve Kojima in the project.

Anyway, the trailer looks good. Gameplay reminds me of God of War.

A couple of vids for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBI_5vsCDOw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6piLaGuWX_Q&feature=related

Game looks nice so far. I like how the guy regularly comments on stuff, and the phone inferface is cool as well.

Seriously, there's just too many grade A looking games coming out over the next year. I don't know whether to cheer or to cry.

Yeah it's going to be a busy year indeed. Costly, too.

 

[nomad]

Someone didn't read previous posts.

Ha ha, I was JUST about to say something there, as always... you're one step ahead.

Anyway, the trailer looks good. Gameplay reminds me of God of War.

Been meaning to ask you actually, your thoughts on this gameplay. We've both shared some of the common likes on this franchise, but I can't help but wonder if this would benefit the name itself or hit the fan. This happened with N64, and well.. enough said. Could it be that I am not big on the whole GoW gameplay? Anywho... Looks like it has a solid storyline, and I'm digging the cast for the voices. Time will tell for my part.

Overall, it was clear that this year's E3 was interesting. Sony seemed to be more focused on this new PSPgo than anything else. And that dreadful interactive prototype controller really made Playstation like a tool. *sigh* Oh well... here's to you Last Guardian. You're their only hope

 

[Aazealh]

Been meaning to ask you actually, your thoughts on this gameplay. We've both shared some of the common likes on this franchise, but I can't help but wonder if this would benefit the name itself or hit the fan. This happened with N64, and well.. enough said. Could it be that I am not big on the whole GoW gameplay? Anywho... Looks like it has a solid storyline, and I'm digging the cast for the voices. Time will tell for my part.

Well what's sure when it comes to GoW's gameplay is that it works. It's effective. Just putting a Castlevania skin on top of it would suffice to make a better product than most 3D Castlevania games so far. And it seems they've made their own thing when it comes to special attacks and whatnot, so we can be hopeful. Now of course, by the looks of it, it's going to be an action game and not an adventure game or a platformer. If you're expecting anything else... Disappointment awaits.

To be perfectly honest, despite being a Castlevania fan myself, I'm not particularly looking forward to this game. I'll buy it if it's good, but at this point I'm more interested in Bayonetta.

*sigh* Oh well... here's to you Last Guardian. You're their only hope

I wouldn't rely on The Last Guardian to save the PS3 if I were you. Team ICO games get much love, but they're kind of a niche genre. SotC didn't even sell a million copies in the US. I think that games like Uncharted 2, God of War III, Agent or Gran Turismo 5 are more likely to move hardware sales.