7 Random E309 Thoughts
Posted June 21, 2009
Most Excited by: Scribblenauts
And I’m not even close to being the DS fanatic on the staff. The sheer depth of being able to write anything on the screen and having it appear automatically is just amazing. Any game that allows me to summon a time machine to find a dinosaur in order to battle robot zombies is simply brilliant.
Most Surprised by: Splinter Cell: Conviction
I’m not much of a Splinter Cell fan. I love the concept of the series, but I’ve always hated the “limitations” of Sam Fisher. Sam has never been allowed to kill indiscriminately, but it seems that Ubisoft simply tossed that concept out the window with Conviction.
Sam is a man with a death wish, only wishing to punish everyone responsible for his daughter’s death. He’s essentially a combination of Jack Bauer and Liam Neeson’s character in Taken if Elisha Cuthbert / Maggie Grace was murdered at the start of the story. Combine that with a super-polished presentation and Sam Fisher is set for a crazy adventure this go-around.
Biggest Trailer Tease: Star Wars: The Old Republic
I loved EA’s flair for presentation at their conference with this title. Add in an incredible trailer and I’m really to the point where I could care less how the game plays. CGI light sabers and John Williams music makes for an immediate preorder.
Most Disappointed by: (TIE) PSP Go and Wii Vitality Sensor
Sony’s blatant greed or Nintendo weirdness, I’m not sure which is worse. The PSP Go is priced $70 more than its predecessor and actually uses less hardware. It’s without a UMD drive and they didn’t even include a second analog stick this go-around. Nintendo’s vitality sensor was medically creepy and overly bulky. I have no idea what Nintendo was thinking when rolling that out and the high concept level has left the entire gaming population confused.
Sequel I’ve always wanted: Mafia II
I was able to pop into Take Two’s conference room during the show and catch a demo of Mafia II. I loved the original Mafia, even the dreaded speed limit on those early automobiles. The narrative in Mafia oozed pure atmosphere and blew away any of those sub-par Godfather games that EA keeps churning out. Mafia II follows an identical method of storytelling and overall timeline. While taking place in the fifties, the story is spread over 10 years and looks absolutely epic!
Most annoyed by: Distant Release dates
Alan Wake, Heavy Rain, Metroid: Other M, Halo: Reach, Super Mario Galaxy 2, God of War III, take your pick. Wake me up next year.
Missing in Action: Half Life 2 Episode 3 / Beyond Good and Evil 2 / Dead Rising 2
Seriously Gabe, did you even go to E3? It’s been 2 years since Episode 2. Ubisoft, give me something. You gave us a teaser last year, but an E3 no show. Boooo! And don’t even get me started Capcom. Please don’t wait until TGS to give us another DR2 trailer.
And I’m not even close to being the DS fanatic on the staff. The sheer depth of being able to write anything on the screen and having it appear automatically is just amazing. Any game that allows me to summon a time machine to find a dinosaur in order to battle robot zombies is simply brilliant.
Most Surprised by: Splinter Cell: Conviction
I’m not much of a Splinter Cell fan. I love the concept of the series, but I’ve always hated the “limitations” of Sam Fisher. Sam has never been allowed to kill indiscriminately, but it seems that Ubisoft simply tossed that concept out the window with Conviction.
Sam is a man with a death wish, only wishing to punish everyone responsible for his daughter’s death. He’s essentially a combination of Jack Bauer and Liam Neeson’s character in Taken if Elisha Cuthbert / Maggie Grace was murdered at the start of the story. Combine that with a super-polished presentation and Sam Fisher is set for a crazy adventure this go-around.
Biggest Trailer Tease: Star Wars: The Old Republic
I loved EA’s flair for presentation at their conference with this title. Add in an incredible trailer and I’m really to the point where I could care less how the game plays. CGI light sabers and John Williams music makes for an immediate preorder.
Most Disappointed by: (TIE) PSP Go and Wii Vitality Sensor
Sony’s blatant greed or Nintendo weirdness, I’m not sure which is worse. The PSP Go is priced $70 more than its predecessor and actually uses less hardware. It’s without a UMD drive and they didn’t even include a second analog stick this go-around. Nintendo’s vitality sensor was medically creepy and overly bulky. I have no idea what Nintendo was thinking when rolling that out and the high concept level has left the entire gaming population confused.
Sequel I’ve always wanted: Mafia II
I was able to pop into Take Two’s conference room during the show and catch a demo of Mafia II. I loved the original Mafia, even the dreaded speed limit on those early automobiles. The narrative in Mafia oozed pure atmosphere and blew away any of those sub-par Godfather games that EA keeps churning out. Mafia II follows an identical method of storytelling and overall timeline. While taking place in the fifties, the story is spread over 10 years and looks absolutely epic!
Most annoyed by: Distant Release dates
Alan Wake, Heavy Rain, Metroid: Other M, Halo: Reach, Super Mario Galaxy 2, God of War III, take your pick. Wake me up next year.
Missing in Action: Half Life 2 Episode 3 / Beyond Good and Evil 2 / Dead Rising 2
Seriously Gabe, did you even go to E3? It’s been 2 years since Episode 2. Ubisoft, give me something. You gave us a teaser last year, but an E3 no show. Boooo! And don’t even get me started Capcom. Please don’t wait until TGS to give us another DR2 trailer.