Microsoft E3 Press Conference - My Thoughts!

MICROSOFT E3 PRESS CONFERENCE - MY THOUGHTS!

So the first large scale E3 press conference is over, and it was quite an enjoyable ride. I forgot how hard it can be to adjust to so many interesting things being shown on stage at once, I actually feel slightly burnt out and I wasn't even there. We saw things that we expected to see, and were still taken back by a surprise or two. Overall it was quite an entertaining press conference and set a standard for both Nintendo and Sony to match tomorrow. While I was disappointed to see no Assassins Creed 2, there were still a good few games to get excited about. Jeff showed everyone that he knew best and predicted that Crackdown 2 was in production and would be shown to some degree (bravo Jeff). We the first footage of Splinter Cell: Conviction which I thought produced one of the best demos of the conference and so much more. 

Of course we can't forget the big pieces of news coming from Microsoft. We saw the unveiling of the new motion sensing camera or the 'Natal' project as I believe it was called, I'll admit I'm both a little confussed and scared of what the camera 'could' do. Even though a few of the tech demos made rather interesting viewing, I'll wait and see more before making a full prediction. I guess for me personally, it was all about Metal Gear Solid. Though why they have kept the 'Solid' part of the name in I do not know. Metal Gear Solid: Rising was announced for Xbox 360 with Mr Hideo Kojima himself making an appearance. Now while I will admit that seeing Metal Gear on 360 feels a little odd, I get the feeling that this isn't any normal Metal Gear game. Though I have to admit that Raiden is my personal favourite figure of the Metal Gear games so I'm excited to see what's next for him.

While the Metal Gear Solid: Rising news was indeed big, I have to admit that I was over the moon with news that Europe is finally getting some unique NXE features. Though only parts of Europe, though we are all apparently getting a new Last.fm feature which does sound rather neat and I do enjoy using Last.fm myself. But it is Microsoft's new partnership with BSkyB that as me excited the most. Folks of the United Kingdom and Ireland will be given the chance to watch Sky tv and of course sports through their Xbox 360. No specific details have been mentioned at this point, but it was shown in action on screen and it looked fine.

I wanted to keep my thoughts quick on this so I'll leave my opinions on Project Natal for a later much deeper blog entry, but overall I was impressed with what Microsoft had to offer. Though they were still missing something that I couldn't put my finger on. The new Twitter and Facebook features for the NXE sound like neat additions and Modern Warfare 2 is looking as brilliant as one would expect. Going back to Metal Gear Solid: Rising for a quick second, everyone seems to think that it's going to be the only Metal Gear game. Yet what of the Big Boss character? I can see a seperate PS3 game being in the works myself and maybe even announced tomorrow and the Sony Press Conference.

Also have to mention The Beatles: Rock Band which simply looks amazing, everything I wanted from that game so bravo Harmonix for some great work. I missed the starting demonstration due to streaming issues but the gameplay looks amazing from what I've seen. I'll talk futher about my opinions at a later date, but for now we have the EA conference to check out. Maybe we'll see some FIFA 10 action, I hope so. Though I hope I can personally stay awake, I'm getting tired an all. So for now I apologise for this slightly rushed blog, check back soon for my further thoughts on what Microsoft bought to the E3 Expo of 2009.

Thanks for Reading, 

Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
(Twitter: JosephBayliss)

MICROSOFT E3 PRESS CONFERENCE - MY THOUGHTS!

So the first large scale E3 press conference is over, and it was quite an enjoyable ride. I forgot how hard it can be to adjust to so many interesting things being shown on stage at once, I actually feel slightly burnt out and I wasn't even there. We saw things that we expected to see, and were still taken back by a surprise or two. Overall it was quite an entertaining press conference and set a standard for both Nintendo and Sony to match tomorrow. While I was disappointed to see no Assassins Creed 2, there were still a good few games to get excited about. Jeff showed everyone that he knew best and predicted that Crackdown 2 was in production and would be shown to some degree (bravo Jeff). We the first footage of Splinter Cell: Conviction which I thought produced one of the best demos of the conference and so much more. 

Of course we can't forget the big pieces of news coming from Microsoft. We saw the unveiling of the new motion sensing camera or the 'Natal' project as I believe it was called, I'll admit I'm both a little confussed and scared of what the camera 'could' do. Even though a few of the tech demos made rather interesting viewing, I'll wait and see more before making a full prediction. I guess for me personally, it was all about Metal Gear Solid. Though why they have kept the 'Solid' part of the name in I do not know. Metal Gear Solid: Rising was announced for Xbox 360 with Mr Hideo Kojima himself making an appearance. Now while I will admit that seeing Metal Gear on 360 feels a little odd, I get the feeling that this isn't any normal Metal Gear game. Though I have to admit that Raiden is my personal favourite figure of the Metal Gear games so I'm excited to see what's next for him.

While the Metal Gear Solid: Rising news was indeed big, I have to admit that I was over the moon with news that Europe is finally getting some unique NXE features. Though only parts of Europe, though we are all apparently getting a new Last.fm feature which does sound rather neat and I do enjoy using Last.fm myself. But it is Microsoft's new partnership with BSkyB that as me excited the most. Folks of the United Kingdom and Ireland will be given the chance to watch Sky tv and of course sports through their Xbox 360. No specific details have been mentioned at this point, but it was shown in action on screen and it looked fine.

I wanted to keep my thoughts quick on this so I'll leave my opinions on Project Natal for a later much deeper blog entry, but overall I was impressed with what Microsoft had to offer. Though they were still missing something that I couldn't put my finger on. The new Twitter and Facebook features for the NXE sound like neat additions and Modern Warfare 2 is looking as brilliant as one would expect. Going back to Metal Gear Solid: Rising for a quick second, everyone seems to think that it's going to be the only Metal Gear game. Yet what of the Big Boss character? I can see a seperate PS3 game being in the works myself and maybe even announced tomorrow and the Sony Press Conference.

Also have to mention The Beatles: Rock Band which simply looks amazing, everything I wanted from that game so bravo Harmonix for some great work. I missed the starting demonstration due to streaming issues but the gameplay looks amazing from what I've seen. I'll talk futher about my opinions at a later date, but for now we have the EA conference to check out. Maybe we'll see some FIFA 10 action, I hope so. Though I hope I can personally stay awake, I'm getting tired an all. So for now I apologise for this slightly rushed blog, check back soon for my further thoughts on what Microsoft bought to the E3 Expo of 2009.

Thanks for Reading, 

Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
(Twitter: JosephBayliss)