AgentJ

• Mass Effect 3. It's what I got to the convention center at 7:30 on Saturday for. I'm not sure if it was because I've read every demo preview any outlet has done so far, but the demo felt very second-nature. Good to see our  SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content. back to lend a hand. Controls were nearly identical to those in Mass Effect 2. Visuals looked... better, but not so much so that you're going to be astounded at the Bioware team for their amazing work. 
  Dev teams on sequels always seem to talk about how much they've improved the AI in their game. You'll hear it every year from EA Sports. But in Mass Effect 3, enemy strategy was probably the thing that stood out the most. These mofos were relatively smart, even in this demo version. I had to really pick my spots coming out of cover, and was lucky to not have died throughout. 
  Speaking of cover, there were a few issues with that aspect. Getting behind boxes and the like didn't always work perfectly, leaving me standing around like an idiot as I was being shot at by certain enemies SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.nearly tore me to shreds. It's still a demo though, and I expect those issues to be worked out.
  Note: Got a Normandy S2 for my Xbox Live Avatar, so waiting in line was just fine. Left the show for a few hours to see my Sounders play, then came back and played the next game, and more.
• Marvel vs Capcom 3. First, I want to make it perfectly clear just how important this game is to me. On Friday, I went by the Udon booth. Udon is the company that does much of the art for Capcom, Street Fighter in particular. They did all the HD sprites in SSFIITHDR. They also did the art for Phoenix Wright, one of my favorite game series of all time. So at the Udon booth I picked up art books for both Phoenix Wright and Street Fighter Tribute, books that I have meant to buy each of the last three years at the convention but haven't for various reasons. UMvC3 is, as far as I'm concerned, a perfect marriage of my love of Phoenix and Street Fighter (and indeed Resident Evil). 
  You can imagine my disappointment in finding out that he wasn't in the demo. 
  It's understandable of course. No one was supposed to know about him yet. But if I was going to play the demo of Ultimate, I would have just downloaded the demo of the first game and used my imagination. Hawkeye controlled interestingly, as did Tyrant, but the game was missing its major draw to me. To sum it up... NEEDS MOAR PHOENIX. 
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. Perhaps my biggest disappointment of the show. Not to say it was bad, mind you. I'll say something similar about Batman in the next section, but a lot of work has been put into this game. Zombies seem to come out of every possible nook and cranny, creating a great claustrophobic vibe during gameplay. But melee attacks are greatly overpowered, not having to worry once about being bitten as I slashed my knife around. And I did that a bunch, because in true Resident Evil fashion, I ran out of ammo. Green herbs were also in short supply, and if a teammate grabbed it first while you were clinging onto life, then you were boned. Unlike other games at the show, this is one I would have preferred to see the versus multiplayer instead of the story co-op, so see more of the infection dynamic (bleeding causes zombies to come at you ferociously). 
• Batman: Arkham City. All I have to say is this; if you at all enjoyed the first one, you'll love Arkham City. Every facet is better, most notably the combat (including environment-specific attacks and counters. Playing as Catwoman, pressing X near a table would cause her to roll across it, using her legs to dispatch her attackers). This game has had a very evident amount of care paid to it, and will be a game-of-the-year candidate in a very, very crowded year. 
• Halo: Anniversary. Okay, it wasn't REALLY Halo: Anniversary. it was Halo: Reach on the Anniversary engine with Anniversary maps. Not being a big Halo aficionado, I still felt like there was a difference, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The map was fun; that's all I can really say without hurting my gamer cred. But man, the WETA Warthog they had there was sick. I have a picture or two if someone would like to see it. 
  
• Spider Man: Edge of Time. Another Spider-man brawler. Confusing goal objectives were made a bit more forgiving by a surprisingly deep attack system. Flow was easy to keep, making dispatching the numerous enemies enjoyable. Getting to high places was a pain though, which should never be the case in a spidey game. If Batman gets swinging around more correct than Peter Parker, than something is wrong.
  The dialogue was great though. Banter between the current and future Spider-men felt genuine and sometimes pretty darn funny. This game may force me to rent it when it comes out, despite the flaws. 
• Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.  It's what I got to the convention center at 7:30 on Sunday for. Worth it? I'm still not sure. Elder Scrolls has never really been my cup of tea. First person melee combat performed by wildly swinging a sword around? I'm not asking for precision, but such combat simply frustrates me. That said: OMG THIS GAME LOOKS BEAUTIFUL. I remember when Oblivion came out it looked quite nice, but Skyrim makes Oblivion look like Dead Rising Wii. The trees, the water, etc everything looks fantastic. 
  Of course, I didn't get to look at it all that long. The demo booth that I was assigned to froze up before I even started, leaving me with less than half the time with the game as anyone else. Also, I was looking forward to the much-hyped dragon fights, only to learn they weren't available where I was. Makes me regret that I never went to the Capcom booth to play "Dragons Dogma" which actually looked pretty cool. 
• Lollipop Chainsaw. Suda 51 is alive and well. Long live Suda 51. 
  Lollipop Chainsaw will be second-nature to anyone that enjoyed No More Heroes. the controls are similar, mapped to a normal gamepad instead of the Wii-mote, and sees players flipping around and making special attacks within a minute. All of the visual flairs you'd expect from Grasshopper are present, and the cheerleader lead is unsurprisingly sexualized the way many of the females in NMH were. Of the brawlers I played at the show, this one has by far the most interest on my end, though maybe that's because of the foam chainsaws they were giving everyone that played the game. 
  Final note; this is Suda's second consecutive game in which he supplies players with a body-less head to help you get through the game. I've gotta think that is a record. 
• Super Mario 3D Land. Like an idiot, I didn't realize there was a sprint button for this new Mario game until AFTER I played it, making my main opinion (that it was too slow) moot. The 3D really does help to gauge relation to things like power-up boxes well, making it perhaps the game with the best practical USE for 3D yet. The puzzles in the demo were simple and didn't show the creativity of Galaxy or Galaxy 2, but it was early in the game. Frankly, didn't see enough of the package to know whether it's worth anything.
• Rayman Origins. Hot damn this game is pretty. Hand-drawn sprites on a hand-drawn background make this one a feast for the eyes. And, from what I saw in the demo, it's also brutally difficult. Playing co-op as Rayman's big blue friend, I found myself dying frequently (I wonder if the hit box for my character was bigger than Rayman's because of the size of the sprite. In which case, NO FAIR!). The game takes the Mario mechanic of having dead friends float around in bubbles until you can free them, simultaneously helping the flow of the game and assisting players stuck on a certain part (assuming one of them can pass safely). I could see myself picking up the 3DS version of this title (which wasn't on the show floor).

• Mass Effect 3
• Batman: Arkham City
• Halo: Anniversary
  
• Spider Man: Shattered Dimensions
• Lollipop Chainsaw
• Super Mario 3D Land
• Rayman Origins

• Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
• Halo: Anniversary
• Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
• Uncharted 3

I really hope SFxTK turns out to be good. Been hearing mixed opinions about it from people in the fighting game community.

@AgentJ: Hmmm. Well, how do the controls for Zelda feel besides the sword mechanics? In regards to Kid Icarus, what kind of gameplay was on demonstration? I'd love to know more about how the basic mechanics of that game work.

A good recap I must say , mainly for us unfortunate souls who cant go to one of this things :[ (the problem of living in another country ... sigh)

@AgentJ: Wait... Spiderman Shattered Dimensions? Isn't the new one Edge of Time?

I would really really love a CS:GO beta key... /tries to teleport to PAX... poops a little

...

On the subject of Udon's art books, I recently got their Valkyria Chronicles Design Archive, and OHMYGAWD it's beautiful. The amount of info and details in that book is insane. It makes waiting on a VC3 localization all the more painful...

That is an awesome write-up on many, many games I'm interested in. Thanks, and keep the good stuff comin'. Don't go changing.

In keeping with my schedule from the  last few years, I'm posting my observations from day one of the greatest gift to gamers   
 
Thoughts

• Dead Island. I've had only a passing interest in this game up until today, but faced with a short line, I discovered what I can only describe as a First Person alternate universe Dead Rising. And I mean that in the best possible way. The tension of being out in the open with only a pole to protect you is palpable from the minute you step onto the sandy beaches of an infected paradise. These aren't normal zombies. These are fast zombies. 28 days later zombies. They can and did fuck me up a couple times in a 5+ minute demo. 
  
  
• X-Men: Destiny. I asked the booth rep two things after I finished playing the demo for the game. First was "Do you play as any of the X-men people are familiar with in this game?" To which his answer was, predictably, no. My second question, which sums up my feelings for Silicon Knights, was "So... Where can I find the Eternal Darkness 2 demo"? To which we shared a nervous chuckle. Which I took as a "right here, next year". You heard it here first. 
  The gameplay was solid. I picked the little japanese girl (which best reflects my inner self) and I had some genuine fun experimenting with her powers and abilities. There was some depth there, beyond mashing the attack button. Also, in the 10 minute demo, there were no fewer than 5 cameo appearances from established Marvel heroes. This game is flying under my radar, but with some good review scores I could see myself taking a swing at it. 
  
  
• Resident Evil: Revelations. This game looks VERY good. The reason why the 3DS has 3D is for games like this. I'm having a hard time coming to the words I want to use, but in its own way, Revelations looks as desirable graphically as current console games do. It sucks you in through its looks alone. I have heard there is a third-person aiming mode in the game, but I didn't get the oppourtunity to try it. Instead, I was stuck in first-person, which functioned, but was far from ideal. 
   
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I left the booth, the first one I stopped at, wishing I could play a bit more. I had just finished getting my ass handed to me by the nemesis of the game, the man with the well-endowed... tounge. the booth rep (one of many I bugged about Project Rainfall) said she hadn't seen anyone beat him yet. 
  While the sword mechanics took some getting used to (particularly being a lefty, where everything seems backwards... again...) I eventually got the hang of them just as the demo came to a close. the sword swipes are well re-created in the game, though there was a bit of lag between my swing and Link's. Visually the game was stunning, and I don't just mean for a Wii game. Miyamoto and crew have put a ton of very evident care into this title, making the Wii look like something that isn't a Wii. Unless... maybe they were hiding Wii Us under the cabinets and didn't bother to tell us. 
  
  
• Mario Kart 7. My next stop after Zelda was to the Nintendo 3DS booths, most prominent of which was Mario Kart which, as a gamer nearby noted, seems to have followed the Windows method of numbering. I came into it not really thinking it would be much of an upgrade from the DS predecessor, and functionally it really isn't. You still pick your racer and take three laps around the track as you always have. The addition of propellers and hang-gliders doesn't change the race in a noticeable  way (though gliding was sort of fun). Again though, maybe it was just because of the 3D effect, but Kart was as visually appealing as I can remember the series ever being. 
  
  
• Gotham City Impostors: I came into the game expecting little more than a Team Fortress 2 clone, and that doesn't seem to be an unfair comparison on the tail end of my time with it. A squad-based arcade shooter with special abilities and quirks, Impostors is very much Impersonating the popular Valve game. At the same time though, there's enough in the package to separate itself from what seems to be a blatant inspiration. Fun, though neither I nor my partners in crime-fighting were keyed in on potential depth, I could see Imposers making a name for itself.
  
  
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations. There are only two multiplayer games I play nowndays. One is the predecessor to another game on this list. The other is Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Even when I was done with the fantastic single-player experience, I was able to dive in and love the sneaky goddamnyoustolemykillandanotherguyshankedmefrombehind fun. The sequel, and its new multiplayer experience, seem to have refined and improved the overall package. While it's not perfect (I'm so tired of my target running around on rooftops, where any kill I achieve will be rewarded with minimum points) I'm looking forward to sinking my dagger into this one. The mode on display, instead of pointing to the target, simply indicates when he or she is in your field of vision, making it easier to hide effectively and set up those big points multipliers. While it's only one mode (the previous model is coming back from what I understand) it's one that I will likely favor. One downside; I'd already pre-ordered the game prior to PAX, so I'm unable to get an Altair costume, distributed for preordering AT PAX. *fist shake*
  
  
• Kid Icarus. This is the sort of game that makes me hope real hard that the rumors of a dual-thumbpad 3DS upgrade are true. This game, even more than the afforementioned Zelda, is not at all friendly to lefties. I can't legibly write my name with my right hand, so trying to control a shooter with said useless limb is akin to painting a portrait with your feet. Some people can do it, but the results wont be pretty. This is especially disappointing because the game underneath feels great. The mechanics are crisp, and it has the same fun factor that Smash Bros does. But there's not a chance in hell that I'm going to be buying the game if I have to struggle with the stylus between my T-rex fingers. There was also a cute, but useless, AR card game. 
  
  
• Counter Strike: Global Offensive. The other multiplayer game that I still touch is Counter Strike: Source. Probably the single most anticipated game at the show from my point of view, only to drop me on my face when i got to the end of the line. The game itself seemed fine, but my experience was marred by... *shudder* CONTROLLERS! And not a keyboard and mouse in sight! It sounds like a nightmare, but it was very real. I couldn't even equip my silencer! Aiming was imprecise and, well, what one expects from a console. I suppose I can't complain too much though, since everyone that played got a pass to the beta later this year. Good times will be had soon. 
  
  
• StarFox 64 3D. Unlike the other 3D games I played, this one surprisingly didn't seem to benefit all that much from the new technology. It's the same game you knew and loved back in the day, and while it's still fun, I would have expected the 3D to add to this game the way it did Mario Kart and Resident Evil. It just wasn't the same though.
  
  
• Ghost Recon: Future Soldier/Ghost Recon Online. I was psyched to get my hands on the single player after seeing videos of the game in action at the two previous E3s, so imagine my disappointment when I saw it was only the multiplayer on display. To be fair, the game worked well and was fun, but in my short time I didn't see much that helped Future Soldier set itself apart from, say, the upcoming free-to-play Ghost Recon Online, or other first and third person shooters.  Teams were given tasks to perform and a set time to perform them in. Great and stuff, but I wanted to use all the crazy stealth and gadgets from the trailers. Online was fun, with a strong capture vibe, but these games largely played the same. Fun, but not really what I was looking for. 
  
  
• Street Fighter vs Tekken. I got schooled, and hard. Not sure whether the special moves were different, but Ibuki didn't feel like her usual old self, and it ended badly for my duo. I can't really say I got a fair look at what this game offered from how little I played.

• Mass Effect 3
• Marvel vs Capcom 3
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
• Batman: Arkham City
• Halo: Anniversary
  
• Spider Man: Shattered Dimensions
• Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
• Uncharted 3
• Lollipop Chainsaw
• Super Mario 3D Land
• Vita

It's the morning of PAX '11, the sun is peaking over  the trees, and everything feels right with the world. I'm about to embark on my fifth-annual trip to the bestest gamers show in the United States, and possibly the Universe.  
From my limited PAX experience, the show seems to follow a pattern of lulls and highs, and this year is most certainly a high. I'm struggling to keep track of all the amazing games that will be on the show floor today, but I'll try to list as many as I can below anyway.  
 Each day I'll be posting a new blog detailing what I played that day, what impressed me, disappointed me, or surprised me. The lines will be longer than ever, so I'll be sort-of be crossing my fingers, hoping to get to everything. If there's another "Duke Nukem Forever" my whole schedule could be thrown off, but could there possibly be something prepared to knock Duke off of his broad, muscular shoulders? Blasphemy! 
 
THE GAMES: 
Assassin's Creed: Revelations 
Batman: Arkham City 
Mass Effect 3 
Elder Scrolls: Skyrim 
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier 
Rage  
Halo 4/Anniversary
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword 
Counter Strike: GO  
Dead Island
 
In this pre-dawn daze, i'm not thinking of all that's coming out, so if I'm forgetting something major, TELL ME. I'll do my best to get to it. 

ALL HAIL BALL!

@Three0neFive: You are 400% incorrect

If you're updating, and taking recommendations, please add 999: 9 Doors, 9 Persons, 9 Hours. It's a brilliant game, similar in style to Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk: Room 215, with tons of replay value.