E3 Awards
By sparky_buzzsaw 4 Comments
I'm back from vacation, so here are my belated E3 awards, fresh out of the oven and ready for your consumption. Play on, players!
Most Disappointing Use of a Franchise Name
XCOM
It's not so much that XCOM looks like a terrible game (it does). It's not even so much that it's ripping its style directly from Bioshock (it is). It's the fact that they've turned a goddamned turn-based strategy game into an abortion of a first-person shooter with only glancing nods towards the venerable series's roots. Take Fallout 3 - at its core, Fallout 3 is essentially still Fallout, despite its first-person trappings. The VATS system is still intact, the world still feels the same, and the core gameplay feels rooted and steeped in its predecessors despite the option to play the game as you would a modern first-person shooter. It's a stellar way to modernize a favorite franchise. But this abortion of a premise for X-Com (excuse me - XCOM) feels like these guys have simply looked at the bullet points of what made the original great, threw out most of them, and kept only enough to piss off fans who don't want to see yet another franchise raped by bad development decisions.
This is one where I want to be proven wrong. I hope this game turns out to be the slam-dunk that Fallout 3 became. But I really doubt it. I mean... ink aliens? Really?
Runner-up: Medal of Honor
Most Surprising Announcement
Valve-PS3 Support
It wasn't an E3 chock full of surprises, but most of the announcements were pleasant surprises. It was hard for me to pick between the various Nintendo announcements or this, but ultimately, I think this will probably have the largest effect on the industry as a whole. I say this not because of the games that'll be hitting the PS3 soon from Valve, but because of the Steam support and slow integration into the PS3. Will we see it really affect this current generation? I don't know, but I doubt it'll have any serious impact for at least a year. That being said, I love Steam, and if it replaces the dismal PSN store, all the better.
Runner-ups: Donkey Kong Country Returns, GoldenEye, Kirby, Kid Icarus
Game I'm Ashamed to Admit I Want to Play
Epic Mickey
It looks amazing. Shaddup.
Top Tech Device
Nintendo's 3DS
This is maybe the only pick from last week's thoughts that I had any second doubts about. I reviewed the videos again yesterday of all the games being demonstrated on the Kinect, Move, and the 3DS, and ultimately, I decided that my initial reaction was correct. Ultimately, it boils down to the lack of awesome games on MS's part (other than that exercise game, nothing drew me in) and a sense of "mii too" from Sony. That's not to say that the respective companies don't have some amazing technology on their hands - they do. But in order to succeed, Microsoft and Sony both need to develop games that will attract core lifetime gamers, and right now, I'm just not seeing it. The 3DS, however, demonstrated a total backing by Nintendo, with one of the most incredible lineups of games I've ever seen. Kid Icarus, Kingdom Hearts, Resident Evil, Metal Gear, Animal Crossing, and Star Fox, just to name a few? Oh hell yeah. See, technology alone is awesome. Support that technology with drive, determination, 3rd party support on an unrivaled scale, and individuality, and you've got a winner in this category.
Runner-ups: Kinect, Move, Shaun White's hair styling tools
Best Presentation of a Game
Twisted Metal
There wasn't a question in my mind about this one. Twisted Metal's announcement exemplifies what I love about E3. The big, flashy introduction combined with lots of great gameplay footage had me hooked from the get-go. Throwing the truck on the stage along with the Sweet Tooth actor was just icing on one freakin' delicious cake. I think the most important part to me was the confidence shown by demonstrating so much of the gameplay. It was ballsy to show the game in this early of a stage, especially with some of the rougher visuals, but damn it, that's exactly what I want to see out of developers and publishers. Don't just give us a trailer - give us a minute of footage, something we can digest and chew on for a good long while until more information can be released. This is E3 at it's cheesiest best, and I loved every second of the announcement.
Runner-ups: Call of Duty: Black Ops, NeverDead
Best Gameplay
Call of Duty: Black Ops
I know I'm not the biggest advocate of the Call of Duty series here on Giant Bomb, but I do have respect for the series, and I think the various demonstrations of Call of Duty: Black Ops exemplify what makes the series so exciting and appealing. The helicopter level shown is intense, action-packed, and looks like a blast to play. It doesn't hurt that the graphics are seriously awesome, too. While I doubt I'll be picking up the game on its release, I think Black Ops is shaping up to be the game where Treyarch finally shows us what they can do.
Runner-ups: Twisted Metal, Killzone 3, Shaun White Skateboarding
Best Trailer
Swarm
I don't have a clue what the game is about, but I'll be damned if the trailer didn't charm the hell out of me. Looking like a cross between Lemmings and Monsters, Inc., they've put out a heck of a cinematic trailer for an almost unknown game. You've got me curious - now show us the goods!
Runner-up: Fable 3
Best Head Shake of Doom
Jeff Gerstmann
Seriously. The dude's head shake on day zero's livecast destroyed my mind.
Best Leaked Game
Mortal Kombat
I'm a huge fan of the original Mortal Kombat and its sequel, and seeing the game take such a back-to-basics route makes me all warm and fuzzy inside with thoughts of true fatalities and blood galore. It really doesn't hurt that the gameplay looks smooth and fluid, with a great cast of announced characters. If the end game is anything like what we've seen, I'm sure Mortal Kombat will turn out to be one hell of a reboot.
Please note that I don't consider Twisted Metal to have been "leaked," only rumored with strong educated guesses as to its reality.
Best of Microsoft
Fable III
It wasn't a good year for Microsoft's E3 press conference. The Kinect came across as little more than a gimmicky Wii variation with few games to seperate it from the horde of mini-games and sports activities out there. Microsoft, I love ya, but you stank up the room this year in a big way. That being said, a few quality titles were on display. Fable III looks to continue the incredible gameplay of the 2nd, with a similar art style and focus. The E3 trailer was great, but more gameplay would have gone a long ways towards making this my game of the show. Instead, it'll have to be satisfied with my Best of Microsoft award. Sadly, this year, that's not saying much.
Runner-ups: Gears of War III, announcement of partnership with Crytek
Best of Nintendo
3DS
Holy shit, Nintendo brought the pain this year. It's hard to decide on just one thing from their show that I loved the most, but in the end, I've gotta give it up to the 3DS in general. Not only is the technology amazing, but the gigantic wall of text listing the games in the 3DS section should explain why any gamer should be excited for its release. I've already detailed some of the highlihgts above, but go look at that list right now, and tell me you didn't just get a geek boner. Nintendo knows what its core gamers want, and they're delivering. It's amazing to see the 3rd party support as well. But the big part for me is the fact that the 3d is optional. I really doubt the tech will work with my particular vision problems, so having the 3D slider is a big thing to me. Also, the support of the original DS's games will go a hell of a long ways towards its initial launch replayability.
Runner-ups: Kid Icarus, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Goldeneye
Best of Sony
Twisted Metal
Sony's conference was a bit slow to start, but it picked up a hell of a lot of Steam (heh heh), culminating with the biggest Sony announcement of the year - Twisted Metal. We can safely say we all saw it coming eventually, but the way the game was revealed, along with the excellent amount of gameplay footage, made this one super special. It's a return to a series I adore, with smart-looking gameplay, classic characters, and neat gameplay variants. I'm going to be anticipating this one, that's for damn sure.
Runners-up: Valve supports PS3, LittleBigPlanet 2
Best Multiplatform Game
Mortal Kombat
Not to keep gushing about Mortal Kombat, but seriously, this game looked rockin'. I'm hoping for good things here, and I doubt I'll be disappointed (unless some bonehead decides to make it PG-13).
Runner-up: Call of Duty: Black Ops
Best of Show (The Big Three)
Nintendo
My gut instinct was Nintendo, and a week later, my decision hasn't changed. Nintendo's great game reveals combined with excellent technology on display definitely took me in. The 3DS looks incredible, and it has a hell of a lot of good looking games lined up. Of course, gameplay footage for those games will ultimately be the deciding factor in the long term success of the 3DS, but I think it's safe to say that there will be something for everyone. GoldenEye looks good, Donkey Kong Country Returns looks amazing, and they even had me secretly wishing I was about ten so I wouldn't feel creepy about buying Epic Mickey and Kirby (thank you, anonymous Amazon deliveries!). Had Sony come out the door swinging or shown more support for the Move with quality games, they might have been a contender. But as it is, I think Nintendo swept this category.
Best Hair
Shaun White
Duh.
Best of Show (Individual Game)
Twisted Metal
This was the most difficult category this year, thanks to two quality games on display. Mortal Kombat could have easily taken the top spot as well, but I think in the end, Twisted Metal's clever, cheesy reveal won me over, along with the quality gameplay footage and genuine enthusiasm from its developers. Twisted Metal looks to be returning in fine form, and I'm glad to say that in the end, it wins my Game of E3 2010 award. Nice!