4cr @ E3: Best of the Rest – E3 Edition

While the 4cr crew spent most of our time at Nintendo fantabulous booth, we did venture out to explore what other gifts the LA Convention Center held. What follows are impressions of the more memorable games from places other than the House of Mario.

Lost Planet – Xbox 360 – Media

I’ve seen plenty of Xbox 360 games in action, and while they all exhibit a level of graphical polish they never really “Wow” me in a way that “the next generation” should. I’m by no means a graphics-whore… but nice graphics are great, especially from a system I’m asked to spend $400 on.

Lost Planet is one of those games that begs to be looked at. In the cacophony and chaos that was South Hall, it was one of the few games that drew my attention and did not let it go. The graphics are, in a word, breath taking. Initially, it was the animation and the sheer amount of detail that screamed at me.

The snowy environment was an juxtaposition (I’m using big words for some reason… forgive me) of calm snowy white and jagged, rugged destroyed metal. The mix was very well done and created an environment that seemed both unique but familiar. When I finally got my hands on the game, I noticed the smaller details Capcom managed to put in.

The random and natural way snow seemed to fall, the indentations in the snow your character left as he walked through it, the sparks as your bullets shot off metal. Enemies (which consisted of both aliens and guys in techno snow suits) we equally well animated, and seemed to react realistically to your movements and gunfire. We’ve all seen stuff like this in video games, but it rarely looks so damn good.

Sound is equally well done, with big beautiful explosions set to appropriately big sounds. Bullets sound just right, footsteps in the snow have a satisfying crunch… it’s all really atmospheric.

So the graphics impress, and the best thing that can be said of the gameplay is that it keeps up. Gunplay and movement is intuitive and easy, and weapons all have a nice feel to them. In Lost Planet aliens, explosions, and snow combine to make the video game version of a great summer blockbuster. All that’s missing is the smell of stale popcorn and a Will Smith single. Good Job Capcom, your game may have single-handedly convinced me to invest in a 360 in the near future. - Benny

Namco Mobile – Cell Phones – Media

Cell phone games suck. I’ve never believed the hype about mobile gaming on cell phones becoming huge… because frankly as fancy as phones get, control is ALWAYS going to be an issue. So you can be rest assured that when I ventured into the Namco Mobile booth at e3, it was only to get the capsule toys that they were offering for playing some of their games.

See, it worked like this. Namco had a whole bunch of cellphone playing classic Namco franchises on cell phones. Whenever you played one game, a Namco representative (adorned with a big, goofy, AWESOME Pac-Man hat) would give you a token.

These tokens could be inserted into vending machines set up around the booth for these awesome capsule toys… everything ranging from Pac-Man keychains to squeezable ghosts were available… and there was a huge variety of toys you could get. I wanted the toys, and I was willing to sacrifice 5 seconds on crappy cell phone games to get them.

Surprise, surprise… Namco Mobile games are actually worth something. The first game I played was, Time Crisis for cell phones. Now I’m completely aware how crappy a Time Crisis game on the cellphone sounds, but swag will make a man do some crazy things.

I mean, “Time Crisis: Cellphone of Death” should in NO WAY work… it’s a cellphone adaptation of a light gun game fer christ-sakes! Much to my surprise, “Time Crisis: Red Ringtone of Death” does work, mainly due to an innovative control scheme. “Time Crisis: Press 1 for Death” looks exactly like old school Time Crisis, but with a 3 by 3 grid overlaid on the playing field.

You crouch with the “OK” button, and shoot enemies corresponding to whatever “grid” they are in. For example, if an enemy pops out from behind a crate on the top left corner of the screen (and is in the top most left grid box) you press “1″ to shoot him. It works surprisingly well, and feels exactly like Time Crisis should.

Needless to say I spent quite a bit more time playing “Time Crisis: Running Subtitle Gag” than I expected too… but eventually the need for more tokens and capsule toys pulled me away to look at some of the other games.

Most of the other games were classic Namco arcade games… and once again they worked surprisingly week. Everything from Mrs. Pac-Man to Galaga was represented in pixel perfect ways… and they controlled decently considering they were on a cellphone.

Finally, and perhaps most exciting for me was the fact that they had a cell phone version of Mr. Driller present. I love Mr. Driller, and on the cellphone he came away relatively unscathed. There was a bit of lag associated with it being on the cellphone, but not enough to ruin the game.

So sure, in the end I left Namco Mobile’s booth with a little more respect for cell phone gaming… but I think the most important thing I came away with was tons and tons of worthless Pac-Man flavored swag, and that my friends… is the greatest gift of them all. - Benny

Guitar Hero II – PS2 – Media

Passion for rock culture and finesse in music game creation combined to give birth to the first Guitar Hero. From what I played and saw at e3 Guitar Hero II looks to be the essential sequel. Everything seems bigger, badder, and more polished. The first Guitar Hero, was, for me a crash-course in rock culture. While I’m musically inclined (I play the Tuba… I know, I know… snicker snicker) I never really got into the guitar or “rock culture.”

Needless to say I was a bit hesitant to even buy Guitar Hero, especially considering the relatively steep cost of entry. But when I did, I realized exactly how much of a badass it can make you feel to rock out to some great rock classics. If you’ve never played Guitar Hero… it basically works like most music games, you press a series of buttons in beat with the music. The buttons correspond roughly to positions on an actual guitar. This setup is actually one of the more unique things about Guitar Hero as a music game, as it comes with one of the best music games controllers I’ve had an experience with.

Shaped like the classic Gibson SG (learned that from the game…) holding the SG Gibson controller in your hands makes you feel like a rockstar. “Rockstar” is flexible term here, because everyone who grabs the controller has their own stance and style of play. From the subtle foot tapping, to the more intense head bob, to a full on thrasher bounce everyone has their own way of rocking out and that’s all part of the fun.

One of the biggest new features of GHII is the ability to play a variety of guitar tracks within a single song. The most exciting for me being the inclusion of the bass parts for all tracks. See, playing the Tuba (still snickering?) for a large portion of my life has made me a very bass minded individual… so I always hear it in songs. Being able to play the bass part in Guitar Hero II was a fantastic experience, especially when playing it cooperatively with my fellow Rebellionaires.

New songs promise to be even more varied and amazing than the first soundtrack (which was one of the greatest in my own music game experience) and frankly, this is one of my most anticipated titles in the near future. Guitar Hero fans… your sequel has arrive, Guitar Hero virgins… go out and buy GH, now. - Benny

MotorStorm – PS3 – Media

It’s quite an understatement to say that I was underwhelmed with the PS3′s presence at Sony’s booth. Much of the playable software present simply wasn’t that impressive (graphically or gameplay-wise). One exception was MotoStorm, which I was able to play on Sony’s “bridge” hovering over the entire Playstation booth area. MotorStorm is an off roading racer, with the unique twist being that more than one type of vehicle can race at the same time.

In the one race I played there were tons of different vehicles on the same massive track. Everything from personal ATVs to dirt bikes to dune buggies (what I raced on) were all competing to be first to the finish line. Two things stood out to me about MotoCross, AI and the Terrain. The track I raced on contained a variety of specialized types of terrain that different vehicles had advantages in.

Heavy thick mud would slow down certain vehicles while giving others the upper-hand. The track contained tons of different shortcuts and paths that featured different terrain. The cool thing about this was that the shortcuts were all very subtle and organically laid into the track design as to present a challenge. The AI seemed to be able to take advantage of the terrain a bit better than I did. Opponents would try to push me into types of terrain that would slow me down, and much of the racing consisted of trying to get your opponent at a disadvantage, terrain-wise.

Terrain also got spit up and thrown around very realistically. Although the graphics were obviously early, the terrain definitely amazed in a very subtle way. In fact, the only way I realized that the terrain was mudding up my vehicle was when I lost my vehicle and got a new one. I didn’t even recognize the buggy I had been racing because it was free of muddy terrain when it re-spawned. It seems like a small thing, but it was one of those little real “next generation” moments. MotorStorm has some innovative gameplay ideas that use next generation power to really advance a set genre, more software that follows this principle can only help Sony convince people to gulp down that hefty price. - Benny

Loco Roco – PSP – Media

If there is one thing I love in my games, it’s a heavy dose of quirk. It’s actually one of the main reason I love my PlayStation 2. It seems that the Japanese love their quirk… and the quirkiest games seem to be released on the PS2. When I got a PSP, I hoped that something similar would happen with its library. It really hasn’t happened, but if e3 is any indication there is still hope for PSP to get it’s quirk on.

Of all the PSP titles shown at e3, Loco Roco does “quirk” the best. At it’s heart, the best way to describe Loco Roco is as a physic platformer. In it, you control a blob of yellow… stuff. Controls are really basic, left, right, jump, and split up. As you go through levels, you’ll gain more yellow girth, and at any time you can split up your yellow blob into a whole bunch of smaller yellow blobs, so that you can fit through small spaces.

The level design was varied and challenging, as you guide your blob through environments and basically try to figure out how to get him (her? it?) from point A to point B. This provided a lot of “trail and error” moments of, which is actually what makes the game so fun. At first you look at an obstacle and may have no idea how to get your massive yellow blob past it, but eventually the rewarding moment of illumination comes.

The only downfall to Loco Roco is not linked to the game at all, but to the PSP’s shoulder buttons. Basically, they hurt if you play with them for an extended period of time. By the time I ripped myself away from the engaging world of Loco Roco, my index fingers hurt like hell. Oh the PSP’s shoulder buttons may look cool and clear, but rest assured the little buggers hurt after a while.

Loco Roco is simple, endearing, and contains generous amounts of quirk (which may not actually be a real word). It seems like it should really be a jewel of the PSP software lineup once it’s released. - Benny

Rainbow 6 Vegas – Xbox 360 – Media

My award for prettiest game of E3, from a technical standpoint, goes to Rainbow 6 Vegas. The character models and textures were downright phenomenal. The lighting was fantastic and the sheer scope of the game amazed. Also, the ability to destroy pretty much anything was very cool.

The game was not playable on the show floor, instead it could only be seen running on video. While watching the video I was afraid that they had taken the highly tactical gameplay of the Rainbow 6 series and dumbed it down for a more arcadey feel. When I got to see the game behind closed doors I was relieved to see this wasn’t the case. The video was made of a player using “god mode” in order to show off more action and bangs for the E3 audience.

Seeing the game demoed was also great in that I got to see the new, much improved, HUD. Controlling your allies and issuing orders is much more refined and seemed to work wonderfully. Also, the AI seemed to be very good. I asked the lead designer about the AI and he said that they have a designer devoted solely to just thinking about AI and then a team of five or six guys working on implementing that. All in all this game looked fantastic and looks like will take the Rainbox 6 series to new heights. - Nick

BioShock Xbox 360 – Media

I’ve got a thing for water. I love looking at, playing it, drinking it… maybe I’m a fish. I also love water in video games. Case in point; every game at E3 that had water in it I ran to the water to see how it looked and how my character or vehicle interacted with it. Heck, swimming around in Super Mario Sunshine and sailing in Wind Waker are two of the fondest memories I have of gaming this past generation.

Well, BioShock gets my seal of approval when it comes to water. The game is set in an abandoned underwater facility and there is water everywhere. In fact, a decent amout of the team creating this game is dedicated to working solely on the water. And it shows… reflections, refraction, and disruption are all beautiful.

But that’s not all there is to this game. The game is actually an FPS where you are exploring this cool underwater facility that something terrible has happened on. The last time anyone visited this facility was back in the 1950′s and entire place is decked out in this theme. It has to be one of the coolest time period settings of a game I’ve every seen. The great designs and art direction of that era are all over the game and it gives it a unique look and a very intriguing atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the demo was cut short and I didn’t get to see much more about the game. There is something about crazy survivors that look like something out of Resident Evil and a creepy little girl working with a big awesome looking robo-dude… but that’s all I really know. I’m not a huge fan of FPS games, but this one has me intruiged. It was certainly a visual delight on all levels and I’ll be watching this one to see how it shapes up. - Nick

Assassins Creed- PS3 – Media

On the first day of E3 people were handing out the latest issue of Game Informer with Assassins Creed on the cover. I thought the cover looked great and I quickly flipped through the issue to see the screens before stuffing the mag into my backpack. With just that brief glance and the understanding that this was being made by the Prince of Persia team from Ubisoft made me instantly excited. I had to see this game in action.

The following day I was able to go to the Ubisoft booth and step inside a cool white cube where the game was being demoed. While the game was still early, I was floored. You can clearly tell that this is the spiritual successor to Prince of Persia. The main character is incredibly nimble and acrobatic and can scale walls like he was bitten by a radio-active spider. One of the things that everyone was talking about concerning Assassins Creed was how good that animation was and I have to agree; the character animation was some of the most fluid and beautiful stuff I have seen in any game. Also cool was character interaction. As you moved through the crowd you wouldn’t just stop when you ran into and NPC or clip through them, the Assassin would actually place his hand on the NPC and push them out of the way. Gorgeous.

Equally gorgeous was the setting of the game. The city of Acre, set in the era of the Crusades, is absolutely stunning and just beckons to be explored. And it certainly can be. Every nook and cranny can be squeezed into and every beautiful rooftop can be jumped on. The city extends as far as the eye can see and you can go there and further.

All in all this game looks very promising. A few of the game mechanics, like having to hide in a crowd of Monks, looks cool but is still unclear on how much it will effect gameplay. However, if the Prince of Persia lineage and the beautiful setting, cool lead character and intriguing story all come together, this will be a huge hit and a tempting reason to get a PS3… although the game will most likely make it out on the 360 and I will get it then. - Nick