The conferences tend to be nice and long and at times, even boring. Well here's the deal, I watched, I paid attention, and now I'll sum everything up. They announced a partner ship with Netflicks so one can stream Netflicks, sounds okay. They also announced that they are making avatars for the 360, of course since the Wii has had it since launch and the PS3 announced it a year ot two ago. A list of every game that was shown, talked about, or revealed is there. Skim the list and figure out what you wanna find out about.
Fallout 3- Todd Howard took the stage here, he is the game director at Bethseda. This was the first live demoed version of Fallout 3. It starts off with a piece of a trailer, the full trailer is three plus minutes, but really shows the game off and its humor. The game takes place in a post apocolyptic Washington DC, in the year 2277. He tells the crowd that there will be over 100 hours of gameplay. Makes me a little happy. Then he gets into the action, showing off the VATS system, where the game freezes and you can choose shots to take at a baddie, and the percentage of each hit has to hit. It really shows that this FPS game is truly an RPG. He also shows off the PIP BOY 3000, it shows your stats, all of your inventory, and even counts as a radio so you can tune into local broadcasts. There is a lot more that he shows off more, but nothing that can truly be written in a short summary. He announces a few things about Fallout 3. One is that it still has a Fall 2008 release date. And the second is that they are already thinking of tremendous downloadable content. Overall this game is shaping up, and being one of the games I can't wait for, I was thoroughly enjoying every minute of the demo.
Resident Evil 5- Jun Takeuchi the producer of Resi5 came out to show off this game, of course he had a translator and both were wearing Umbrella Corporation Sweatshirts, really trying to milk the game (they looked really cool actually). This like Fallout 3 is the first live demoed version of the game. He tells us some facts we all know, like this is the first Resi game on a Microsoft system. He then tells us that the director of Resi is going to be playing. He gives us some story as Chris Redfeild strolls about a basement, shooting any baddie he comes across. He tells us it's in Africa and that Chris Redfeild is there to find out about a bioterrorism attack. He also tells us that he is not apart of STARRS in this game, but apart of a new group BSAA. The demo is doing all and well when suddenly Chris hits a dead-end, then Takeuchi drops a bomb, online coop... another person is now controling the new character Sheba (im not sure how to spell it), who runs over to Chris and does a flip to get to the opposite side. Zombies start to pour out, as Sheba moves forward and Chris protects her from afar. During this one tends to notice how brightly lit this Resi is, and that the graphics are much better as well. The demo continues with more zombie killing and having Sheba double back to save Chris. The demo ends with the apperance of an old baddie, the old chainsaw slinging-bag over the head zombie. Online isn't the only surprise he gives us, he also gives us a release date - Friday the 13th, March 2009.
Fable 2- Before I start here I must say this game I was excited about, but now not so much. It looks too much like the first, but I could be wrong. Peter Molyneux is the spokes person of course, as he is the creator of Lion's Head Studios, and the person who is most looking forward to Fable 2. He starts off by saying, "Fable 2 is done". They then continue to show the infamous bird trailer for Fable 2. But they then go into a demo of the game. It is an action-RPG Molyneux says off the bat, and that this game is 500 years in the future. The game still strangely looks the same and sounds the same as the first, maybe with just better lighting. We all knew that the game has coop online, but there was a something new he showed us. Ambiant Orbs. These little purple orbs floating in the game are in fact your friends, that are playing their own games at the same time. You can walk up to one and then request a party, and voila! they are there. A cool little addition. He then goes through character development a bit, and talks yet again about the marriage thing. He ends the demo by saying that the game is still slatted for an October 2008 release, which is weird since he said it's done.
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts- The controversial Rare game, that takes the platformer out, if only a little bit. They show a trailer that shows a lot of what can happen in the game. Nothing too much more then just that. You do get to finally see Gruntilda the Witch though.
Banjo Kazooie- What is this game doing here? Didn't this come out for the N64? Well of course, but Rare is with Microsoft now so the orginal Banjo Kazooie is coming back for download!
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise- A trailer was shown here. Showing off that there will be over 100 hundred pinatas. Two new places to build gardens, in the antarctic and in the desert. And that it has a new picture taking mechanic.
SceneIt Box Office Smash!- Of course people know how to play this game. It has four controllers with buttons on them and you answer the questions on the screen. Simple easy gameplay. This game is all movie trivia, but the okay thing about it is that they will be using the avatars when they are released.
You're in the Movies- This game is for all aspiring movie makers. It comes packaged with the XBOX LIVE camera. Then you use it much like the EYE TOY, to do little minigames, and in turn they make little short videos of yourself doing the game. It look a little different then the EYE TOY, but the cool thing is that you can edit the videos and make your own rather then using the games to do it. It has a little promise, but still seems like a gimick to get the younger crowd.
Gears of War 2- Cliff Bleszinski game director and man crush of many gamers, was the next person to introduce this game. He starts off by addressing the crowd like they are gamers rather then buyers like everyone else, doe she know how to make someone happy. He starts off by showing a trailer, which in tradmark Gears tradition, is very intense. Then he starts up a demo. Immediatly I notice the controls are the same, and while the graphics look the same they also look different. There is more detail and you can see further, making the already good looking game look better. He starts off by saying that the "locust are back and they are sinking cities", he tells us that he is playing coop and continues into the city. The demo continues, and they show off finishing moves, such as holding a downed baddie as a sheild and then when you are done with them you snap their neck (fatality!, sorry I had too). They show off a few new weapons like a flamethrower and a new pistol. Suddenly a large locust comes out with what looks like a sheild and a grenade. After CliffyB kills it he takes the sheild that the baddie was holding and puts it into the ground to provide himself with more cover, nice touch. The demo is continuing with nice little battles, but still nothing to good to talk about, until... He goes into a building and looks out the window, and I kid you not hundreds of locust are swarmming the building and a mighty Brumak is tailing behind. CliffyB jumps on a turret and starts to mow them down. The building eventually collapses and they move over to see a stuck Brumak, and the demo ends with Marcus saying that they should ride it. CliffyB of course isn't done there, he announces a new multiplayer coop. Horde. A five player coop mode where players fend off from the locust wave after wave. Other then that there was no more information on the new mode. He also announces the date for Gears, November 7th 2008.
Portal: Still Alive- This game is announced with true class, as the lights dim and GLaDOS' voice is heard of the speakers. Announcing that new test chambers are being made. No video or anything else.
Prince of Persia- Just announced.
Call of Duty: World at War- Just announced.
Tomb Raider: Underworld- Just announced.
Need For Speed: Undercover- Just announced.
PES 2009- Just announced.
Mirror's Edge- Just announced.
Geometry War 2- This game starts off by showing a trailer, in it you see coop. Which is a great addition, but they don't just add coop they add four player coop. The game looks great just like the first, but not much is revealed, but they did say it is coming out next month.
Galaga Legions- They start by saying this is the first true sequel to Galaga in 20 years. Then they show a trailer, the game looks like to still have the Galaga charm. The shooting look slick and the graphics looked impressive. This game also is coming out next month.
Guitar Hero: World Tour- Kai Huang the president of Red Octane comes out for this. He starts by saying they will have over 85 songs in GH. That there will be a wireless drum set, with cymbals. And that they are making a 'touch strum' guitar. All this sounds good and great, then he talks about the Music Studio part of the game, and how it will change the GH universe. He goes on and states that there will be 8 player Battle of the Bands. Still nothing drastically awesome he states, then he drops a little bomb. GH has gotten the rights to The Eagles and to Van Halen. Wow. They also say that when the new Metallica alblum is released they will have it ready for download for both GH3 and GH:WT.
Lips- Keiichi Yano comes out, he is the creator of many big games, such as Guitarro Man. This game is a karaoke game. Its different then others though. The microphone, first of all, is wireless and has built in LED lights. The microphone is also motion sensitive, so you can still play the game when you have to words to sing. So with the good looking microphone out of the way. They announce that you can hook up your IPOD or Zune, and you can sing along with your own song list. The game is scheduled to come out in the Holiday season, ready for Christmas present everywhere.
Rock Band 2- Alex Rigopulus is the main man to come out for this game. Normally he is playing the drums with this game, but this time he's all buisness. He announces that the game will have 84 songs, including (finally) Guns N Roses, Bob Dylan, and ACDC. With those bands now told, the game is sounding pretty good, but the one thing that really hits home is that fact that every song that you downloaded for the first carries over to the second, suck on that GH! They also said that they are working on the ability to play songs that are on the first, so you can only use one CD instead of multiple. Great little announcement, for a game that I thought was gonna be crushed by the GH Behemoth.
Infinite Undiscovery- Date announced, September 7 2008.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope- Date(ish) announced Spring 2009.
The Last Remnant- Date announced November 20 2008. A trailer is shown too, it looks strangely like Final Fantasy 12.
Final Fantasy XIII- And the biggest announcement, is shown through a trailer. It is hard to see the trailer as Square wanted to keep it semi-secret still, by having cameras at an angle. Even though you can't see the trailer this was a big surprise.
