E3 2010 Day 2 Wrap Up
Day 2 of the biggest gaming event of the year can be excruciating. There’s an unusual vibe on the show floor because by the second day, all the major announcements are out of the way and most attendees have a general layout in their head of what they need to see and what they’re gonna skip over. So any high expectations have been grounded, but there is still a lot of work to be done and a lot to be seen.
Putting the 3DS and Kinect at the top of our priorities, the Playstation Move got its facetime with us today. The Move consists of a camera and a proprietary controller with a colored light emitting orb attached to the tip. In a strong way, it feels like the natural progression of the Nintendo Wii’s technology, but it would seem too little and too late with Microsoft’s giant leap towards full body, controller-less control.
Still, the Move is impressively accurate. Not only did it combine my live video on screen but it also effectively tracked the controller’s position and rotation. In the party-game title we demoed, the game replaced the wand with a paintbrush, a tennis racket and a flashlight that convincingly moved and twisted with my motions. In a way, I feel sorry for Sony because had it not been for Microsoft, the Playstation Move would be much bigger news and likely have taken best in show. Unfortunately though, it comes off more as an “us too” kind of a product.
Heading next door, back to Nintendo, we get some multiplayer action with Goldeneye 007 for the Wii. This isn’t exactly a remake, or reboot, or re-imagining of possibly the most successful N64 title of all time and a 1st person shooter game changer. The upcoming re..hashing duplicates the single player and split-screen multiplayer of its forefather with a brand new menu system, a few new game types and Daniel Craig replacing Pierce Brosnan’s voice over duties. You might see that as a minor detail, but it stands out like a sore thumb.
Here’s the thing with Goldeneye though. It’s one of those rare things that really can’t get any better than we remember it and no matter how much us old-schoolers hate to admit it, the old game just doesn’t hold up over time. First person shooters have evolved to the point where anything more than 6 or 7 years old just feels tired and sluggish and I was quickly ready to move on.
Unlike Goldeneye though, Mickey Mouse is timeless and I’m predicting a succesful return of the iconic rodent to video games with Disney’s Epic Mickey for the Wii. We’re going to go a little more into detail in a related article, but in a nutshell, Epic Mickey puts our hero in a darker hued world of forgotten Disney characters and sent on a mission to save his beloved animated world. Players must make the choice to either erase enemies and world elements with “turp” or to befriend and restore them with paint. Despite the more sinister take, Epic Mickey is still accessible to all ages and is presented in an art style that is very unique to a Disney property and perfectly suited for its home on the Wii.
A few additional Nintendo highlights included, of course, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, a hack and slash adventure sequel that takes advantage of the Wii motion controls well. Kirby’s Epic Yarn (yeah, two ‘epic’ titles in one year.) is gorgeous and fun. The little puff-ball’s debut on the Wii has him rendered as yarn. In fact the entire world and all its enemies look like they are textile base. Even interacting with the world means lassoing buttons to fold up large gaps and pulling zippers to open new areas. Finally, NBA Jam looks as much fun as it ever was. 4 players, online and all the On-Fire action you could ever want.
On our way to the Harmonix/MTV showing, it was almost easy to pass up two screens in the corner of Square Enix’s booth with a fresh, but familiar title on it. After 32 years, Space Invaders is returning to game screens via download on Xbox 360 and PSN. Space Invaders: The Infinity Gene throws away the flat plane of descending spaceships and throws players into a 3D vector world reminiscent of Geometry wars 2, adding occasional Space Harrier-like visual perspective and enough enemies to make R-Type blush. Gameplay was lightning quick and engaging, even if it was almost completely lacking in color. Throw in a thumping electronica soundtrack and you’ve got a winning title.
Finally, as a fledgling guitar player, I was giddy to see how Rock Band 3 was able to make use of a real, honest to God electric guitar as controller. In and of itself, RB3 comes with an impressive 80 tracks, not the least of which is a few Queen titles (read Bohemian Rhapsody) and a retooled interface. The big news is the Pro mode and added keyboard instrument. Harmonix wants to finally bridge the gap between faking music and making music and this looks to be the way. In Pro Mode, the colored buttons are ignored and instead real keys, chords and notes must be hit in order to score, effectively teaching muscle memory for the instrument in question.
For guitarists, two special peripherals are being developed. The first is a plastic guitar controller on steroids. The colored fret buttons are sacrificed for 102 string-thin buttons that represent 17 frets and six strings across the neck of the guitar. The second is a specialized instrument, an actual playable 6 string guitar, that has been tooled to recognize which strings are pressing down on which frets and to a degree, with how much pressure. The game’s notes come down similarly to the game we all love, but along with the track markers, a number appears telling you which fret to be on. And it’s not just single strings either. Full chords are as much a part of playing guitar as finger picking and Pro players will be expected to learn them too.
I might have mentioned how personally excited I am about this mode, but nothing is solid yet. The proposed price for the hundred-plus button guitar is $150, putting the real one at…well, at a lot more, just unannounced. You can find low end, entry guitars for less, but lessons will easily run you the cost of the game plus the control and more. I wish I could say the guitar is responsive and natural feeling, but being that only a few of these guitars exist, getting hands on time with it was out of the question. It was no less a highlight.
As you can see, Day 2 was pretty packed and I’m certain that Day 3 still holds some surprises.
