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TEG Reviews: InFamous!

By MachoFantastico 10 Comments

MORAL CHOICES HAVE NEVER BEEN SO ELECTRIFYING!

Every single one of us, as at one point in their lives thought about what it would be like to have their very own superpowers.  To be like superman flying through the clouds or to suddenly go invincible at the click of your fingers. There abilities we dream of, and one of the main reasons companies like Marvel and DC have been so successful. Their comic book creations are stuck in the minds of generations, and even today the stories of Spiderman and Wolverine make fascinating reads for millions of people around the globe. But what makes a superhero or supervillian memorable, is it how much destruction and pain they cause or is it the way they go about using their special powers or abilities. Neither in my opinion, as the best creations are those with clear human flaws. Despite the great amount of power they behold, the most memorable are those that are clearly still human underneath. 

Empire City is a grim and decaying place after the explosion.
Empire City is a grim and decaying place after the explosion.
So with that, meet Cole McGrath. Cole is the heart of Sucker Punch Productions first venture onto the Playstation 3 with InFamous. Exclusive to the console, InFamous is the tale of a broken city riddled with all sorts of troubled villainous figures looking to cause nothing but pain. Cole is your every day city messenger, a herend boy if you will. While carrying a mysterious package, a massive explosion erupts laying the city to total ruin and changing Cole forever. Some how surviving the huge blast, Cole wakes up to realize he as special 'electrifying' abilities with which he must learn to control. He is soon contacted by numourous people looking to help him find the answers he is looking for, and as Cole it's your role to understand a much larger and more troubling evil rising from Empire City's destruction. Cole must handle the pressure of having these abilities and using them for either the good of the city, or for is own total selfish needs. It's the classic moral choices formula, but with an electrifying twist.

InFamous makes a somewhat slow first impression, despite the huge explosion and fantastically created cutscenes. The story is a slow starter. It takes a good few hours into the game for the overall story to build up excitement and urge you to spend another four hours playing until you realize it's five o'clock in the morning and you've been playing for way to many hours. The story is eventually one of the most delightful and thrilling features to InFamous's arsenal of overall awesomeness. While it can feel a little on the disjointed side from time to time, it's one of the most interesting and well thoughts out tales I've seen based around a superpowered hero or villian and works perfectly with the location of the game. In Empire City, Cole isn't the only one with superpowers as you'll eventually run into a whole basket full of nutcases with all sorts of unique abilities. The overall variety of enemies you come across makes InFamous one of the most entertaining games so far this year.

After the large explosion of which Cole is largely blamed, he is able to store huge amounts of electricity through his body that would usually instantly kill a normal human being. But Cole isn't exactly 'normal' anymore and soon realizes he is able to use this new strength as a weapon upon those causing pain to the cities civilians. Cole's reliance on electricity is also a weakness, for he requires a power source of some sort to be nearby so he can recharge and use is abilities against his enemies. While Empire City is full of such electrical sources scattered throughout the three large sections of the city, he must first get power backup and running by accessing underground power grids. As he does so, he acquires new powers to help in the fight for the truth. So it's clearly in Cole's best interests to get power working throughout Empire City. InFamous is a sandbox-styled game, so your not often forced to any form of linear path throughout the games lengthy storyline. Side-missions, collectables and more are available throughout the city so there's often always something to apply your superpowers to. 

Cole McGrath, electrifying superhero and Parkour specialist.
Cole McGrath, electrifying superhero and Parkour specialist.
It helps that Cole McGrath is no slouch with or without superpowers, skilled at a form of parkour he can freely and quickly travel up tower walls and can access areas with great balance and care. He handles almost perfectly and although the games automated grapple system can on occasion either connect to the wrong climbing points or miss entirely. Considering the geometry of specific buildings or even the usually impressive precision with which Cole can grab onto or balance on objects, such issues are easily forgotten and controlling Cole never gets in the way of dishing out executions to your enemy. InFamous for the most part, is not a perfect picture technologically speaking. The game can suffer from spells of poor framerate in the heat of a good battle and at times this drop in framerate, can affect the usually responsive handling of Cole. There are a few glitches that are easy to spot, from enemy A.I getting stuck between two fence panels to objects getting stuck in the middle of the air. But even despite such issues, InFamous is an absolute blast and it's gameplay alone makes the overall impact of these issues upon the game much less of a worry.


Cole as an whole selection of superpowers at his disposal, from the simple yet affective lightning bolt with which you can fry nearby enemies with little concern to the much more impressive rocket launcher like megawatt hammer. Infact all of Cole's abilities are unique despite all obtaining there power from the same source, electricity. Like all good comic book tales, you have to take InFamous with a pinch of salt and not look at the overall universe with a scientific eye or you'll end up not enjoying a truly fantastic videogame. Cole's powers can also be upgraded with experience points gained from killing enemies, saving civitizens lives or completing story missions and side missions. There are also certain abilities which can only be obtained through doing good or evil side missions, you can upgrade these powers by doing a specific set of these missions and both different powers are unique in both graphical style and function. The ability to upgrade Cole's powers is a welcomed addition, but it's also somewhat linear and while good powers will offer a more precise and clean means of taking out your enemies and evil powers are overly destructive in nature. I was still frustrated that I couldn't be more precise in the functions of each ability, allowing me to mold each and every power in the smallest of ways so creating abilities that suited my style of play.

But maybe that's for a future sequel, the upgrade system does provide a reason to push through the games many side missions even if they can feel a little on the repetitive side towards the end of the game. Cole can also collect shards from the explosion which are scattered throughout Empire City, these basically work as the games collectables but are important to find and obtain as they allow Cole's electrical guage (which shows how much electricity he currently as stored within his body) to upgrade, meaning that Cole is able to store more juice. Interestingly, InFamous allows Cole to send out an electrical pulse which is activated by pressing the right analog stick. This electrical pulse shows up electrical sources nearby and the locations of shards within Cole's surrounding area through the minimap. While this won't mean a great deal to most gamers, I did quite enjoy knowing where the shards could be located rather then having to search for hours just to find one. Cole's search for the truth sees him go against two or three memorable boss fights and you'll on a number of occasions have to fight the larger then life scrap metal beasts who can take one hell of a beating before they eventually go down. Not enough can be said about how enjoyable InFamous's gameplay is overall. Though a few extra boss battles would have been nice, considering how much fun they were.

InFamous's artistic cutscenes are an absolute delight to watch.
InFamous's artistic cutscenes are an absolute delight to watch.
While both it's technical and concept flaws are clear to see throughout  the game, it's hard not to be charmed by the rather simple yet entertaining gameplay. It's far from perfect, but few games offer such an exciting rush so quickly.  While side missions can start to feel repetitive some hours into the game, the actual story based missions offer some memorable moments and it's a title more then worth a second playthrough. Cole in particular is a suprisingly deep main figure, who is never truly sure what he wants or how to handle the responsibility of his recently obtained powers. Voicework suits the overall atmosphere well and is thoroughly fleshed out, with particular praise to Cole whose rather deep and rough voice perfectly suits the character. While the game does indeed use ingame cutscenes from time to time, it's the artistic comic styled cutscenes that are an honest pleasure to watch and watch again. There fantastically realized and I just wish they were ever more frequent as the ingame cutscenes can feel a little hit and miss. But they do a solid job, and the game looks good enough for it to not be such an issue. They just feel inferior compared to the comic drawn cutscenes.

In the sound department, InFamous is a solid if somewhat unspectacular package. While a special video for the game purely discussed the sound design of the game, it never truly shines out and the music in particular is neither here nor there. While at times it can feel epic, all to often it felt a little flat compared to other areas of the game. Sound effects are fantastic though, explosions both sound and look great. While there's a variety to the odd sounds of the city itself, citizens themselves can often come out with an amusing one liner or a desperate cry to the gods. But as I stated previously, the voicework is top notch and there are some memorable performances. But while I can say all this, you'll probably be to busy blowing stuff up or electructing some poor helpless citizen if you've gone to the immoral side to truly care about how InFamous's music sounds. I'll say one thing though, it does have one fantastic end credit song to enjoy. So while I could have a good moan about the overall soundtrack to InFamous, it's another fine example of how the sum of all it's parts are bigger then any of it's flaws.

Overall InFamous is a fantastic exclusive for Sony's console, and any Playstation 3 owner should have Sucker Punch's latest title in their collection. It's fast, exciting, over the top, thrilling and every other word that makes me think of awesomeness because that's exactly what I said upon completion. InFamous is a fine example of a pure videogame, and one of the best titles currently available for the PS3. It as many flaws and inpurities, but none of those issues come even near spoiling what is a thrill of a ride from beginning to story end. Even when the framerate falls to below average and things become less responsive, I found myself loving every minute of InFamous. A deeper upgrade system would have been nice, and more variation in side missions would not have hurt. It could have clearly done with some more time in the cleanup stage of development, but considering this is a whole new IP and genre for Sucker Punch Productions. I think they can be very proud of what they have created here, and it is in my personal opinion. One of the stand out games of this year. 

SCORE: 5 OUT OF 5.

WINNER OF A 'BLOODY GOOD GAME' GOLD MEDAL!

Thanks for Reading!
Reviewed by Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent).

10 Comments

Your Finest Digitalized Version Of That Game Good Sir!

By MachoFantastico 2 Comments

YOUR FINEST DIGITALIZED VERSION OF THAT GAME GOOD SIR!

Welcome to my Blog folks, 

While we do indeed live in an age of impressive technological advances in almost every aspect of our daily lives, from the trip to the local hospital to watching your favourite TV shows on a screen so big, that folks think your compensating for something. Yet even these wonderful advances, are always under some form of attack or often used to simply do harm to the specific industries, the companies involved in those industries and of course ourselves. I'm talking about digitalized content if you weren't sure, sometimes my rambling words get lost in the jungle of deadly nonsense. Let's not ignore the slow change to the digital form of distribution we are currently seeing for ourselves in the videogame industry. It's a topic I've also been a little unsure about, while I see it as an obviously smart form of defence against those nasty evil pirate folk. I simply can never truly see the videogame industry going digital only throughout. 

A rare picture of videogame pirates doing piraty stuff.
A rare picture of videogame pirates doing piraty stuff.
The whole 'going digital' debate, which as been discussed again and again. Recently came back to my ever confused mind, with the confirmation of Sony's PSP Go! Now I have no wish to ramble on about the new PSP in this blog, but it's sudden and some might say risky decision to go digital only. Is a clear sign of the ever changing face of videogame distribution. While Sony have promise a method of UMD usage on the PSP Go! Even though there is no such UMD drive on the newest version of portable system. I think it's clear that Sony, who have been bitten by the scratchy bug of piracy more then once, feel it's about time for the industry to change to fight a bigger evil. Now as we all know, digitally delivered games are a common sight nowadays. I still find it funny thinking back to the first time I downloaded a demo for a console game, or the first time I played Geometry Wars and realized that this was the new true home of arcade gaming. Digital distribution is a part of gaming now, and for the most part it's a good thing. 

There is no denying that selling games digitally does have it's advantages and we all know them well enough. But the true advantages of distributing games in this way, will not be felt if pirates can still 'pirate' the retail versions of these games. It's somewhat throwing the whole point of digitally sold games out of the window, so only a true digitalized distribution system in the videogame industry might work in stopping the evil folk torrenting the expensively produced games of today. This push would also mean the end of retail videogame sales, infact just saying that makes this whole argument kind of pointless. While there are those who would back the push towards digitally delivered games as the only means to purchase titles in our much loved industry, it would never work at this current time. Especially when one considers how important retail sales are to shops around the globe, not to mention the fact that not every gamer as an internet connection good enough to handle massive amounts of digital content. 

So now is clearly not the time for this change, but I could see it being a real possibility in the years to come. Sony's attempts to make all their future games digitally available through the Playstation Store is another small step towards this possible future, but we should also not forget Sony's promise to still sell UMD versions of PSP games. But their decision to go digital won't have an immediate affect on sales or a massive affect on piracy currently badly affecting the portable system, but with gamers eventually choosing to buy a PSP Go! (hopefully once the high pricetag goes down) then a clear change might be possible in the battle against torrented videogames. It's clearly one hell of a battle for the industry, and one they might never truly win. Who knows, maybe OnLive is the future of the videogame industry as we know it.... nah probably not! But I do believe we have begun the battle, and it's still possible that the gaming industry will not be fighting alone in this war. Let's not forget that piracy affects movies, music, software and many other forms of entertainment.

Everyone as their own personal views on this debate, I'm still not sure how I feel about digitally delivered videogames. While I love the rebirth and reimaging of arcade styled games on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Store and Wiiware. I'm not sure I'd be over the moon with having to download a specific videogame the size of a good five to eight gigabyte of content to my console or PC. Not to even consider the size requirements future harddrives would need, it's clear that there are a lot of obstacles still in it's path until it can officially become a true possibility. It may never happen, as I said previously the sale of retail games on the highstreet stores are key to the success of so many companies. Unless a code styled Patapon 2 form of retail sale is used, though even that requires a internet connection and I'd also like to mention the lack of credit or debit card usage for many online stores. Xbox Live for example does not support many of the widely available cards of the UK, issues like this would need to be solved. So it's possible that it may never happen like we think it will, maybe some new form of distribution we have yet to see will be the answer to the way we buy games in the future.

Is a digitally distributed only future an actual possibility for the industry as a whole?

Thanks for Reading, 

Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
(Twitter: JosephBayliss)

2 Comments

TEG's E3 2009 Awards!

By MachoFantastico 9 Comments

TRUEENGLISHGENT'S E3 2009 AWARDS!

Well E3 is over, and while it's taken me sometime to get around to providing my perspective on this golden videogame event in Los Angeles, California. What best place to start then in the general giving of fake awards. Now every gamer and his dog will write up their own opinions and even give out their own awards on the games and technology that impressed them the most. I see there being no problem in me jumping on the award bandwagon myself, and will hopefully in the process of this article put across some of the games that greatly impressed me. If anyone knows me from my past writings, you can probably already guess some of these winners. But there are a few surprises in there to. I've basically followed the basic award system when it comes to E3, giving awards to categories of the actual event. It all ends with of course the game of E3 2009. So please enjoy my rambling thoughts. 

THE 'WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU' AWARD?

WINNER: Half Life 2: Episode 3
This rather odd award, goes to the one game that I was most disappointed to not see or hear of at this years event. It was a rather easy choice and while the lack of Dead Rising 2 was also a sad frustration having been such a fan of the original. It was easily the ghostly figure of Half Life 2: Episode 3 that frustrated this gamer the most when E3 eventually shut down for another year. Seriously Valve? What the hell are you guys up to. I still recall the early belief we gamers had in expecting a new episode of Half Life 2 every six to eight months, where are we now. I've lost count in fact, since Episode 2 fans have been indeed eager to hear anything, just ANYTHING of Episode 3 and all we've been given were these rather average pieces of concept art some months back. Strangely Valve had somewhat of a bad E3 this year, at least in the public image form. 

Of course I'm speaking of Left 4 Dead 2, the rather oddly and surprisingly poorly named sequel to the brilliant zombie killing shooter. As been received with a surprising degree of anger by fans, even the most dedicated L4D players seem to be a little on the shocked side to see a sequel announced so early. Especially when one considers the extra content Valve promised gamers after the release of the original. As much as I love Left 4 Dead, I would have rather seen Episode 3 in it's place anyday. Come on Valve, get finished with that new Source engine for the health of all gamers around the globe.

THE 'WOW' AWARD?

WINNER: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
No, this is not an award related to World of Warcraft (damn you Warcraft, for destroying the enjoyable use of the phrase 'wow'). It is infact an award given to the game that simply made me say 'wow' out loud. To give it it's basic meaning, this award is given to the game that graphically most impressed me and I was given a nice choice of great looking games for me to choose. While Team ICO's 'The Last Guardian' impressed me greatly, it was another Playstation 3 exclusive that simply made me go 'wow' to even my great surprise. While I'd already knew that the folk at Naughty Dog could make one great looking game after the fine looking Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It was infact it's sequel that had such an affect on me. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves had first been given the style treatment in the form of a trailer, but it was the on stage demonstration at the Sony Press Conference that truly blew me away. While I was eager to see this latest adventure for Drake having been such a fan of the original, I wasn't expecting it to graphically blow me away. 

Elena's back, yay!
Elena's back, yay!
It was a great E3 for Uncharted 2 overall and developers Naughty Dog can be proud of being one of the best developers currently pushing Sony's hardware to it's upmost potential. Even the most dedicated Xbox 360 fanboy could not be impressed with the demonstration shown at the press conference. Seeing Elena back was also quite a nice surprise in the previously mentioned trailer, plus the surprisingly good Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta kicked off on the Wednesday of the E3 event. So Sony were clearly looking to push this big exclusive title in a marketing sort of way, though footage of the game would have been enough. It was more then worthy of this 'wow' award. 


THE 'THAT PRESS CONFERENCE, DEFINATLY WASN'T BORING' AWARD?

WINNER: Sony Press Conference
While Microsoft put a high bar of expectation with a well thought out and entertaining E3 press conference, and while I didn't fall asleep to the Nintendo press conference like I did to Ubisoft's attempts this year. It was Sony's showing that truly impressed me the most. Of course the general winner of this award will depend on your views to each of the three main videogame giants and while I have no loyalty to any specific console. It was still the Sony press conference that I found to truly produce what I expect to see from such an event. With a number of exciting reveals in the form of a new online Final Fantasy game, the Last Guardian from renowned developers Team ICO and of course the PSP Go! which had been leaked a day to two before the event had even kicked off. We got to see a fine selection of games, this choice was partly affected by the demonstration of Assassins Creed 2 and God of War 3, not to mention Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Infact there was a whole collection of games that excited me more then what I saw at Microsoft's conference.
PSP Go!
PSP Go!

This award is very user specific as I said previously, I'm rather sure most of you will disagree with me and some of you will comment 'did you NOT see Project Natal?' but seriously speaking this award is given to the press conference that impressed me the most. Not impressed you, so please keep that in mind before posting some hate comments. I guess I should also mention Sony's Motion Controller, now I'll be discussing this further in a future blog entry but this impressed me more partly because of it's likeness to Nintendo's Wiimote. Some of you will and have been raging about Sony's attempts to copy the Nintendo Wii, but if this is truly where games are going. Then this motion controller could be truly where it's at, it's what I always wanted the Wii motion controller to be and personally. The Wiimote (with motion plus and all) looked rather inferior compared to this new way of gaming. That's just another reason why Sony's press conference was the conference of E3 2009 in my opinion.

THE 'YOU BETTER BE WATCHING THIS ONE LADS' AWARD?

WINNER: Just Cause 2
I'll admit it, I thought Brad and Ryan were joking when they spoke about their eagerness to check out the sequel to Just Cause. The ever so smartly titled 'Just Cause 2' is a surprising winner of this award, especially considering how poor I thought the original game was. Now this award hasn't just been awarded for a well produced and stylized trailer, it's been given for the fine 10 minute demo shown on Giantbomb itself. I was honestly greatly impressed with what I saw and the action looked tight, insane and bloody good fun. I believe it was Brad's game of E3 if I'm not mistaken and he as chosen well, having read other previews of the games showing at E3. It's clear that this is one sequel we weren't expecting to be excited about. But seriously, any game where you can hijack a super fast fighter jet wins in my book. Definatly keep this one on check, could be something special indeed.

THE 'TRAILERS DO IT BEST' AWARD?

WINNER: The Last Guardian
There was massive competition for this award as I was honestly blown away by a number of trailers that came out of E3 2009. So tough that I honestly don't believe there is one true winner, though of course I only have one virtual and fake award to give away so it as to go to one trailer. Keep in mind that I have only considered trailers featuring game footage or the game's engine in use. So that discounts the brilliant Assassins Creed 2 CG trailer that appeared at Ubisoft's press conference. This also discounts the absolutely stunning Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer to, as that was technically CG so please keep that in mind. So which company as the best trailer developer/producer/next hollywood director in their ranks, well I eventually gave this award to the beautiful trailer for Team ICO's The Last Guardian. While we had technically seen a trailer much like it some weeks before E3 when it was being called Project Trico. This new trailer shown at the Sony Press Conference was simply beautiful in all aspects. Showing what Team ICO do best. Plus it's perfect choice of music perfectly showed off what these much loved developers are famous for.
CHECK OUT THE TRAILER!

THE BEST GAME OVERALL OF E3 2009?

Now while reading this you may have gotten the impression that I was very fond of Sony's push at this years E3, and I shan't say I wasn't. But I'm no Sony fanboy that's for sure (I shall never forgive them for how many PS2's that broke on me). But I was more taken aback by what they had to generally offer and while I was impressed with the showing of Forza Motorsport 3, the announcement of Crackdown 2 and of course finally getting to see The Beatles: Rock Band. A game I shall admit to being quite excited about. My overal game of E3 2009 as to go to a title that was flawless throughout the week in more ways then one, and was marketed at me more then anything else. While I won't deny my childlike excitement for the next Assassins Creed and a new Mario Galaxy game, it was Naughty Dog's offering that truly blew me away. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is my game of E3 2009, why you ask? Well for all sorts of good and worthy reasons. The demonstration was one of the best overall of E3 2009 and both trailer and multiplayer beta went a long way to make my excitement for Drake's latest run in with evil and nasty folk rise to unregistered levels. 

As I said, I could have easily picked out quite a few games. Assassins Creed 2 is everything I wanted from a sequel to a game I absolutely adored and I'll be discussing that in much more detail in a future blog. The PSP Go! was surprisngly impressive despite it's over the top pricetag and Project Natal as all sorts of amazing possibilities if used to it's full potential. There is a whole bucketload of things I could have pointed out, but I felt Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was the worthy game of E3 2009. Everything about it's showing was solid, tight and well planned out. It even made my Nintendo Wii addicted mate James say 'I want that game' out loud, that alone make it worthy of this award. This award is given for my views alone, so you'll probably disagree with me and that's perfectly fine. Having read other peoples views of E3, it seems it's a generally split impression on what one game truly made this years event. But when I never expected my excitement to reach a higher level, Naughty Dog go and blow the roof off my house of videogame excitement. That's why it's awarded this award.

GAME OF E3 2009: UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES.

MY GAME OF E3 2009.
MY GAME OF E3 2009.









Well I think these awards have gone on long enough, compared to the oscars these virtual fake pieces of meaningless junk won't mean a damn to the winners. But it's a chance for me to be a little selfish and discuss some of the games or moments that truly made E3 2009 for me personally. As I said at the start, every gamer and his angry pet rabbit write up their own general views on E3 and I do intend to discuss the event and it's content in greater detail in the coming weeks. But for now, if you spent your precious spare time reading this, then you are very welcome to stay in my massive house of excitement. 

Thanks for Reading, 

Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
(Twitter: JosephBayliss)

9 Comments

Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta Impressions!

By MachoFantastico 9 Comments

UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES MULTIPLAYER BETA IMPRESSIONS!

2009 looks to be yet another strong year for videogames and of course for us gamers. We will get to experience some of the most stunning and entertaining games of this generation, none more so then Naughty Dog's PS3 exclusive Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The sequel to the wonderful Drake's Fortune, looks to build and refine what was an already critically praised game and will also be adding multiplayer for the first time in the franchise. A beta kicked off on Playstation Network today and although the beta is accessible for us gamers if you received a code with InFamous, it is still technically a closed beta. I'll be honest, when I heard that Naughty Dog were including a brand new multiplayer mode into the latest installment in the Uncharted franchise. I wasn't exactly blown away with excitement. 

Like many of you I suspect, I loved Drarke's Fortunes simply because I found it both a blast to play and truly became immersed with both the story and the characters within the Uncharted universe. I definatly didn't need a multiplayer mode to help me decide if I was going to purchase Among Thieves upon release. So I went into the beta with mixed thoughts, I was eager to see how it controlled though and despite my love for the original, I think improvements could clearly be made. So after downloading the beta client and installing it to my system, I booted it up and hooked up my official Playstation 3 wireless headset which I was glad to actually use. As you'd expect with a beta, you basically have a few options that allow one to jump into a match online. While I was eager to check out this multiplayer mode, I also wanted to adjust to the leveling up system the game uses when online. 

Elena Fisher continues to be part of Drake's story.
Elena Fisher continues to be part of Drake's story.
Rather then creating your own character, you are asked to select the image of both a hero character and a villian character. The hero character comes in the form of one of the main figures of the franchise, for example I chose Victor Sullivan. While the list currently consists of around six different heroes, I already suspect that in the full retail game more will be made available possibly from completing the single player campaign. On a quick side note, I was glad to see Elena Fisher appear in the list of playable characters. It's only the latest E3 trailer of the game which as actually shown her within the game, at one point I had thought that she would not make an appearance. But back to the subject at hand, I picked a hero and a villian in the form of a hooded dark, moody looking gentleman who clearly had issues. Your also given the option to select a specific perk somewhat in the same vain as Modern Warfare. Knowing how I often waste a little ammo from time to time, I went for the extra ammo perk which allowed me to carry more ammunition when online.

There were only a few extra perks from what I could see, but it's possible that as you level up online you unlock extra new perks to adjust to your style of play. Now sadly the start of my beta experience was rather slow, it took ages for me to find players using the games matchmaking service. I'd say around six minutes before I was finally able to connect to any other players, not a great start I think you'll agree. I won't be to hard on this issue though considering it is a beta afterall and it's only just kicked off, Sony or Naughty Dog can work on this issue within the coming weeks. That's the whole point of a beta afterall. The first mode was plunder, a basic capture the flag styled mode which required both teams to rob the other teams plunder and take it to their respawn point. While this mode wasn't great, I was honestly shocked by how quickly a got into the action and how great controlling your character felt.

While some fans will feel that Uncharted would make a rather poor multiplayer game, I now actually believe that Uncharted's multplayer could be a bit of a quiet surprise. It's worth noting that your character really does handle well and controls are both fluid and fun. I still think grenade use is a bit of a mess but it's still useable.  One of the most interesting features, and the feature I very quickly grew to love about my spell playing the multiplayer beta so far. Comes in the form of the cover system, now that alone might not shock you as many titles of today use a form of a cover system. But online, Uncharted 2's cover system offers gamers the chance to use their brains and strategic minds to outwit their enemy. This cover system also means that the pace of the game is a lot more pleasant then your average Call of Duty game, and I found it very easy to adjust my play style to. There was a simple yet delightful pleasure in outwitting your enemies cover position and out flanking them. Of course you can also jump around on buildings and climb up walls so using you brain can pay off big time. 

Uncharted 2's multiplayer mode, could take many by surprise.
Uncharted 2's multiplayer mode, could take many by surprise.
I did rather poorly in my first round, achieving no kills what so ever. But my following playthroughs saw me appear consistently at the top of the charts and I suspect that I adjusted quickly to it's gameplay faster then others who may have been use to pacey titles such as Killzone 2. It needs to be experienced to truly see why I personally found the cover system to be such a key part of the enjoyment online. For some it will be a little to slow and thought out, it feels more about your strategic skills rather then your trigger skills and maybe that simply suits my style more. Controls haven't changed a great deal from the past Uncharted game, but it does offer a more tighter experience and general animations are top notch. Currently there is only a couple of maps available and there is also a co-op online mode for you and a friend to fight together, I have yet check this mode out fully so I'll write up on that at a later date. 

Weapons vary, but the common ones are all there and it's probably not really worth going into any great detail at this point. Many of the weapons used in the previous game make a returning appearance, it's worth noting that they do feel powerful to use though. One new weapon I did come across was a minigun of sorts, though I was usually being taken down by one rather then actually using it myself. I'm sure that some of you may have recently seen the simply stunning trailer for the game released at E3, well I can tell you that the game does look that good. Considering this is a multiplayer beta afterall, I was impressed by the visual improvements made. Everything looks sharp and it's honestly hard to point out any true issues with the graphical look of the game, it simply looks amazing. Sadly my experience as been affected by the horrid matchmaking service which at one point took fourteen minutes to find a match suitable, and some menu improvements could be made. But this is a beta afterall so such issues are to be expected, I just really hope Naughty Dog fix the matchmaking issues because I could happily see myself spending many hours with the multiplayer mode alone. 

So for now, that is my general impression of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Multplayer beta. All in all I absolutely love it, to my great surprise I might add. It's perfectly paced and allows you to use personal and team strategy to beat your opponents. Hopefully we will see fixes to the current matchmaking service and general connectivity in the coming weeks. But even those long waiting times are worth another round with Uncharted 2's multiplayer mode, I think that's worthy praise in itself. Other smaller improvements might also be nice to see, for example once you have completed your round with your fellow players. Your basically dropped to the main menu searching for more players. If it allowed you to stick with the same group then that would be good, maybe there is and I simply haven't come across it as this point. There is a sort of party system already in place. So for now, let's just say I like it. By far the most enjoyable mode is the usual deathmatch experience and it plays out well. I'll write again the future on my impressions.

Check back for future impressions of the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Multiplayer Beta!

UPDATE!
It's seems my PS3 as suddenly decided to cause me network problems, suffering from a very odd NAT problem which seems to be only directly affecting the Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta. Please note that apparently connection is working perfectly for most people so please ignore my comments concerning my problems connecting to matches, it seems the PS3 and my router are the ones to blame. The weird thing is that other games work perfectly online, I just cannot connect to Uncharted 2 beta properly. Currently working to fix this issue. 

Thanks for Reading, 

Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
(Twitter: JosephBayliss)

9 Comments

Project Natal = Future Horror Film Subject!

By MachoFantastico 8 Comments

 

PROJECT NATAL = FUTURE HORROR FILM SUBJECT!

Welcome to my Blog folks,

Day zero of E3 was both a rather odd and exciting experience, but the same can be said for many past E3's. We saw John Cameron talk for 14 hours about a game we never actually got to see, Microsoft acheived yet another one-up on Sony by unveiling Metal Gear Solid: Rising and of course we got to say hello to Project Natal. While this new Microsoft camera had been discussed in some detail for sometime before E3, no one truly knew what they were going to do with such technology. Though I had a slight idea what to expect from this camera, I was still very eager to see it in action. Microsoft offered us a couple of demos which showed the Natal camera working and while it did indeed feel very 'EyeToy' like, the possibilities do seem quite varied.

That's potentially where problems with such a camera lie, it's all about the possibilites. We've seen past motion-sensing cameras fail to truly impress, though the new Natal Camera already looks to build greatly upon the features of any ordinary game-related camera. While the demos were indeed interesting, they honestly didn't win me over and the only thing that truly came across was Microsoft's need to tap into a Nintendo dominated market. It's worth mentioning that Microsoft's terrible advert for the camera didn't exactly help my general opinion, something about their adverts always sends a shiver down my spine. While I was questioning the general point of this new camera, it was what developer Peter Molyneux us showed that eventually picked up my interest. 

Claire from Lionhead, interacting with Milo.
Claire from Lionhead, interacting with Milo.
He introduced us all to Milo, a very pleasant British boy who would be perfect to play a part in the latest Harry Potter movie. Milo is technically an interactive figure who uses the Natal camera to interact with anyone who appears in front of it. Only a video from Lionhead Studios was shown, and I couldn't help but think that some of it was scripted. But it was also rather fascinating, while the idea of creating a virtual boy to talk to might seem a little on the creepy side to some. The technology 'could' be a big advance in the way we view videogames and potentially the types of genres we see in the industry. But it's best to be wary on what we were shown, Peter Molyneux did state that a number of special people would get to meet Milo themselves behind close doors. 

While watching the interaction between Lionhead's Claire and Milo, I couldn't remove the thought of how great a subject this would make for a horror film. It almost feels like the slight beginnings of artificial intelligence, this pleasant young English lad Milo. Will one day become so advanced that he starts questioning his existance and starts blowing up electrical appliances, eventually destroying the World. Ok, maybe I'm thinking about this horror film to much. But it honestly could make for an interesting new subject for Horror directors. As for Milo and of course the Natal Camera in general, we'll have to wait until we see it in greater detail to see if it is capable of such interaction and new methods of entertainment. You clearly get the feeling that this is early days for the Natal camera, and there is no chance of a 2009 release. 

Most gamers will still be sceptcal and I can't blame them. We've learnt that new technology rarely performs as it seems, take the whole issue of Red Steel and the Wii Motion controller. But it's an interesting technical development that we should be seeing more of in the coming months. A debate will rage on I'm sure of that, and I still can't remove the concept of this being a slightly better version of the EyeToy just yet. Hopefully I will be proven wrong and I'm sure the Natal camera as limitations we have yet to see. There is clearly great potential here, it just needs Microsoft to come up with more interesting concepts for it. Splashing water about isn't exactly a gaming revolution and we've seen it before. But it was Peter Molyneux's Milo Project that appeared to be the most interesting tech demo of this new camera and it's possibilities. Hopefully I'll been discussing the Natal Camera in future blogs.

Thanks for Reading, 

Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
(Twitter: JosephBayliss)

8 Comments

Microsoft E3 Press Conference - My Thoughts!

By MachoFantastico 1 Comments

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.

Raiden is back! and I'm very excited.
Raiden is back! and I'm very excited.
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)

1 Comments

E3 Preview Part 4: Final Predictions!

By MachoFantastico 1 Comments

 

E3 PREVIEW PART 4: FINAL PREDICTIONS!

We are now technically only hours away from the start of the E3 Expo, so for the final part of my E3 preview. I thought it only best to discuss some of the predictions I have for this special videogame spectacle. Now every gamer as hopes and expectations for an event such as this, and I for one like to keep things realistic. Some of the much speculated rumours entering into E3 have already been answered, we have seen the leaked footage of Sony's new PSP Go! not to mention the many games that have already been revealed even before the actual event as even kicked off. So I wanted to focus more on a general view on what I think we'll actually be seeing rather then go insane and predict things that don't have a realistic chance of actually being true. 

ANOTHER CAMERA FOR THE 360 ANYONE?

A second camera for the Xbox 360 as been rumoured for a good few months now, there already seems to be some proof that one could be in the works. Afterall, Microsoft did buy motion-sensing company 3DV sometime back. While a new motion sensing camera wouldn't blow the minds of the core Xbox 360 crowd, it seems like a reasonable risk to take on the part of Microsoft. While this new camera could be unveiled whenever Microsoft felt it was the right time, E3 2009 seems like an almost perfect place to show the world what it will offer gamers and developers alike. It will be rather interesting to see how the hardcore Xbox 360 fanbase feels about this new camera, especially considering the attitudes shown towards Microsoft's most recent camera showcase in 'You're in the Movies' which was of course demonstrated at last years E3.

Microsoft's new motion-sensing camera?
Microsoft's new motion-sensing camera?

Will we actually see this new motion sensing camera at Microsoft's press conference? Well I'd predict a simple yes. There seems to be enough proof and backbone to this story that I wouldn't be shocked if Microsoft eventually showed off the new camera to the media and of course us gamers. How the gamers and the media respond to this new piece of hardware, is a total different matter. For me personally, I can't move away from the sense that this is just another EyeToy. But I would love to be proven wrong. Will we see Sony unveil motion-sensing hardware at this years event? Well considering the recently leaked PSP Go! I'm rather confident in saying no.


NEW HARDWARE FOR THE NINTENDO WII?
This prediction is a rather obvious one to be honest, while we already know that Wii Motion Plus will be making an appearance at the show. I'd also bet on seeing some other new piece of equipment for Nintendo Wii owners to purchase in the coming months. While I'm not a big fan of Nintendo's attitude towards peripherals, it makes perfect sense for them to keep developing more considering how well past hardware as done for the Japanese company. While it would be nice to eventually see an all in one Wii Motion Controller with Wii Motion Plus built in, I'm indeed confident we won't see such a thing at this years event. To be totally honest with you dear reader, I have no idea what Nintendo could have up their sleeves and neither to most of the gaming media. They are a very unpredictable company, who can always surprise in the wierdest of ways. But I would expect some sort of new hardware to make an appearance at the Nintendo E3 press conference.

METAL GEAR 'NEXT'!
I've already discussed this in some detail in a past blog, but I felt it was worthy of another quick mention. Without a doubt, a new Metal Gear game could potentially be one of the biggest pieces of news to appear out of E3 and Metal Gear fans have been debating what this new Kojima Productions game could be for a while now. There is of course every chance that this new title, could simply be an Substance version of Metal Gear Solid 4. It's a common trend for the Metal Gear Solid games to unveil a

special edition some months after the actual release of the original game, so that is of course possible. But I sense that from the recent interview with Mr Hideo Kojima himself and the sense of talk surrounding the game, that this is more then just Metal Gear Solid 4 plus. 


Weather update: Sunny spells with a pleasant sea breeze.
Weather update: Sunny spells with a pleasant sea breeze.
There seems to be a belief that Microsoft will announce Metal Gear Solid 4 at some point within their press conference. That wouldn't surprise me, though I'd be rather interested to see how it both looked and how they would change key parts of the dialogue which directly attacked the Xbox 360. But I honestly believe that this new Metal Gear game will indeed be Metal Gear 5, while we might not officially see it until the Sony or Konami press conferences. What this new Metal Gear game will be, as yet to be known. There are many theories going around, but it's now being generally accepted that the two figures seen on the teaser site aren't who we believe they are. That cyborg ninja is not Raiden, and that Big Boss lookalike is indeed not Big Boss. One thing can be for sure though, out of the whole of E3. It's this new Metal Gear game that as me excited the most of any other potential unveiling that we already know of. 

DOWNLOADABLE GAMES GOOD SIR!
One area of gaming which as continued to see great improvement over the recent years, as come in the form of the downloadable game. Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii have all embraced this new form of digital distribution. Creating in the process an almost retro return to videogaming. Never was it truly possible for games such as Flower or Braid to suceed in the days of old, but nowadays we can't get enough of these digital forms of entertainment. There is every chance that at this years E3, downloadable games will yet again become a key talking point for gamers and the gaming media. Large videogame companies such as Microsoft and Sony could discuss in detail their plans for downloadable games at some point in their press conferences. Microsoft in particular I sense, could push their downloadable games platform to a great degree and hopefully we'll see some top games announced for us all to get excited about.

DS'i WANT SOME MORE GAMES PLEASE NINTENDO!
While it's not been the talk of the gaming media, I totally believe that we'll see some sort of DSi push from Nintendo. The latest incarnation of Nintendo's popular portable console, as had a slow start out of the gate. Owners are desperate to see some quality titles get announced, not to mention the need for a proper backbone in the form of WiiWare. DSi needs something big, could the rumour of classic Nintendo platform titles eventually making their way to the DSI be true? It seems possible and would be an open opportunity for Nintendo to make even more money. At this point in time I see no reason to purchase a Nintendo DSi, but I'm honestly hoping that come the end of the week, I'll be discussing plans to purchase one. Will that happen? Have to wait and see. But expect a push from Nintendo at some point this week. 

GAMES, GAMES AND A FEW MORE GAMES!
Despite the announcement of new pieces of hardware that will eventually hit the market in the coming months, it's still generally thought that games will be the big talking point of this years E3 event. There are a number of highly ancitipated games we already know of and it won't be any great surprise to see some of those games get some coverage at their specific press conferences. But we could also see a flood load of brand new unannounced titles, for example the new Team ICO PS3 exclusive game might just make it's first true appearance in the form of a full trailer. While there are a number of games yet to be shown or revealed to the gaming world. I would love to finally see some solid proof of Half Life 2: Episode 3, a possible Crackdown 2 or maybe even some new IP's we don't yet know of. The gaming media as been hyping up the potential games that could be announced at E3, and it seems Sony could be the biggest deliverers of unannounced games. 

I'm excited to see what Team ICO's new game is all about.
I'm excited to see what Team ICO's new game is all about.
I'm eagerly anticipating The Beatles: Rock Band, and the previously mentioned new Metal Gear game. I'd be interested to see the Xbox 360 version of Metal Gear Solid 4 if the general talk is to be believed and of course we have God of War 3, Mass Effect 2, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and so many more to discuss in detail these coming months. Unlike last year, where the actual announcement of new games was pretty low. There are a whole bunch of titles we already expect to be announced, from a new Mario game to Forza Motorsport 3 for Xbox 360. Heavy Rain will no doubt cause some debate (is it actually a game?) and who knows what Nintendo have in store for the DS and DSi. We should also get our first details on potential new PSP titles in preparation for the PSP Go! Whatever will happen, we are in store for one hell of a ride.

FINAL THOUGHTS!
I think those final predictions will do for now, it's an already large enough article as it is. The Microsoft press conference is only hours away (starts at 10:25 am PST, that's 6:25 pm tonight for us British folk), who knows what we'll find at that show. Though I already suspect it will have something to do with a camera or Metal Gear Solid 4. But for now, I wish everyone a great E3 and really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read my blogs. You can follow me on Twitter if you wish by simply clicking on the name at the bottom, I'll be discussing the event in great detail and will be commenting on what we see at the three large press conferences. Don't forget to check out the other three parts of my E3 preview if your interested in what we might expect from the big three companies at E3.

PART 1: Microsoft.
PART 2: Sony.
PART 3: Nintendo.


Thanks for Reading, 

Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
(Twitter: JosephBayliss)

1 Comments

E3 Preview Part 3: Nintendo!

By MachoFantastico 1 Comments


TEG'S E3 PREVIEW PART 3: NINTENDO!


Part 3: Nintendo!
Part 3: Nintendo!

NINTENDO FOR THE CORE GAMER!

The previous two E3's for Nintendo have been rather forgetful events. While they've promised big announcements for Nintendo fans each of the past two shows, all to often we've come out of the conference wondering what the hell we just witnessed. No truer was this, then at last years Electronic Entertainment Expo of 2008, where Nintendo unveiled Wii Music. Now I still recall watching the streaming of the press conference in shock and laughter at what was being shown. It was generally agreed that Nintendo misunderstood who actually attended E3, there weren't many seven year old kids when I looked into the audience afterall. 

So Nintendo got it a little wrong last year, not to mention that they have continually laid down promises to please the core gamers of Nintendo. The type of gamers who wants to see top quality Mario titles, or see a new Zelda game hit the Nintendo Wii. So this year will hopefully be just that, while there is already some strong evidence that a brand new Mario title will be unveiled at E3. There is still some question over the future of Zelda, though Reggie himself stated that a new Zelda game was in the works. I'll admit I'm not a massive Nintendo fan, never have been to be honest with you reader. But I've always appreciated their franchises, many of them being the cornerstone of the videogame industry. Games like Mario, Zelda, Metroid and Pikmin are loved by millions and it's only fair to say that Nintendo, have some of the most loyal and dedicated fans of any gaming company.

But the big question entering this years E3, will surround Nintendo's ability to please such hardcore fans. While their popular portable console the Nintendo DS as contined to see many hardcore pleasing titles hit it's catalogue over the past few years, the Nintendo Wii as become a home for rather average party styled poorly produced games. I for one haven't touched my Nintendo Wii for many months now and that saddens me as a gamer, I want to be excited about a specific Wii game rather then feel that I've just wasted my money on a console I don't often play. So like many gamers, I'll be eagerly watching what Nintendo can produce at this years event. Now a new Zelda game doesn't exactly excite me, afterall I agree with Jeff on the E3 Bombcast who stated that the series needed to evolve. But I would enjoy me some more Mario. Nintendo have shown signs of answering the many concerns of the hardcore gaming crowd with the recently released Punch Out! But before we get into the games, let's talk about hardware. 

IT'S WII MOTION, BUT PLUS TIMES BETTER!

Wii Motion Plus is expected to receive some coverage within Nintendo's press conference, and they'll no doubt be some questions concerning what improvements it actually provides over the current default Wii Motion controller. Without a doubt, Wii motion controls have helped the system sell to a shocking degree around the World and I for one find it fascinating.  I'm not a massive fan of motion controlled gaming, though it seems to suddenly be all the rage if Sony and Microsoft are rumoured to be unveiling their own motion controlled pieces of hardware. Wii Motion Plus will apparently 'enhance' motion controlled gaming on the Nintendo Wii and isn't just another Nintendo Peripheral for all us gamers to waste our money on. I haven't seen it in action myself so I will be rather interested to see how it performs compared to the current controller, a controller that in my personal opinion. Seems perfectly fine for the job that it does, do we really need even better precision?

Wii Motion Plus, I've yet to be convinced!
Wii Motion Plus, I've yet to be convinced!
To be fair, I probably don't play as much Nintendo Wii to realize how bad the current controller can be in the heat of an exciting action game or the lack of precise precision it provides for a good puzzle title. Reading this you might get the feeling that I'm anti-Nintendo Wii, and to some degree I am. But only because I've always felt that it's a system with such great potential, but all to often Nintendo seem happy for below average titles to make an appearance on the system and of course the fact that there hasn't been enough core games released for the console hurts my general opinion of it. But despite this I am still rather intrigued to see how Wii Motion Plus will improve the way I game. Though I'd be even more interested to see what games appear using this new motion control extra, hopefully we'll get to see some unique titles that aren't party games. 

VOTE GAMES FOR THE HARDCORE GAMER!

All this talk as made me think that this years Nintendo E3 press conference could end up being all about the games. How perfect would it be if the Japanese giants decided to go mad and announce a whole basketful of new and exciting titles for the hardcore Nintendo fan. Why does it always have to be old franchises that excite gamers? Why not create some new IP's that could become legends in their own right in the years to come. As I said previously, a new Mario game does indeed look set to be announced at E3 and I really do hope to see some new IP's from Nintendo. Super Mario Galaxy was a fine example of how entertaining the Wii console can be, it's just that form of entertainment seems rather few and far between nowadays. There seems to be a split in the media though, on if a new Zelda game will be unveiled. While we already know one is in the works, not everyone is convinced we will actually see it at this years E3 Expo. 

A new Mario title is expected to be announced at E3!
A new Mario title is expected to be announced at E3!
Speaking of party games, I'm pretty sure we'll see a good few of them. But there are of course a number of already announced titles that will potentially get a showing at this years press conference, for example I'm pretty confident that The Beatles: Rock Band will get some coverage cosidering how well rhythm games are currently doing on the Nintendo Wii. There could also be a few other game announcements from Nintendo, the much talked about Wii version of Kid Incarus could finally be shown not to mention Pikmin 3. There's every chance that we'll see more Wii Fit and fitness games in general considering how successful that game as been in sales since release. Despite what we do know, there is still quite a lot that could make an appearance and I'm finding it hard to make true predictions on what we might be seeing at the Nintendo E3 press conference. After last years event who knows what will happen.

FOR THE PORTABLE GAMER!

While Nintendo will give much coverage to the Wii, I also fully expect to hear some big DS and DSi announcements at this years E3. The DSi in particular will potentially see the biggest changes and owners are eager to see smarter and more thought out features appear for the DSi. While I'm not a DSi owner myself, it would be nice to finally see an actual reason to purchase one rather then feel like it would just be a waste of my money. They'll probably be some Pokemon game shown, and we already know that The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will be at the event but the beauty of the Nintendo DS, is that one can simply never know what to expect when it comes to games. The more I think about it  the more I believe that the DSi will be key to the success of the Nintendo press conference and there is a chance that we'll be seeing changes in the way they distribute games. There as already been some talk that classic Nintendo titles could make their way onto the DSi.

This alone would be another example of the change in the way videogames are being distrbuted, considering the newly announced Sony PSP Go! will be only distributing games digitally. There is so much more they could do with the DS, but even with this in mind I believe Nintendo will look to give full coverage to the latest and most exciting hardware being released on the Nintendo Wii. Of course some mention of general sales are to be expected, but what press conference at E3 doesn't have that. Afterall that's partly the whole point for the big gaming companies, it's a place where they can show off how well their currently doing. But being more of a fan of the DS, I hope we get a good few surprises that can excite. What about a new Animal Crossing DS game, or I'd love me some Elite Beat Agent 2. It's hard to predict what announcements will be made for the Nintendo DS and DSi, but one thing is for sure. I'm excited to see what appears. 

E3 2009 is yet another year, where Nintendo as to bring some big guns to the battleground to please the core gamers. Hopefully they've learnt from the many lessons of last years event and will provide some mouth watering news for all us gamers to chew over. While I still believe that this years E3 press conference war will be won by Sony, Nintendo could be a real challenger with eager members of the media looking to check out the latest pieces of hardware and newly announced games. Sadly it's already been announced that Cammie Dunaway and her terrible fake smile will appear at the Nintendo Press Conference, thankfully Reggie some provide some stability for us normal folk not looking to be creeped out. Hopefully there will be more Reggie, and less Cammie this time around.

What are you most excited about seeing from Nintendo at E3 2009?
Check back soon for part 4: Final Predictions!

Part 1: Microsoft!
Part 2: Sony!

Thanks for Reading, 
Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
(Twitter: JosephBayliss)
1 Comments

The Death of Exclusivity?

By MachoFantastico 12 Comments

THE DEATH OF EXCLUSIVITY?

Welcome to my Blog folks,

You'll know doubt know that E3 kicks off early next week in Sunny Los Angeles, California. The event hasn't even kicked off yet and we've already seen a number of brand new games, let alone the answers to some big questions gamers had entering into E3 (yes, Commander Shepard is alive afterall). I'll admit that I've found some of these sudden reveals quite a surprise, let's just hope that there are still announcements to be made once this golden videogame event gets under way. But that's not technically what I wanted to talk about, for I wanted to discuss the touchy and often controversial matter of exclusivity. Unlike the days of old, exclusive games are somewhat of a rare site nowadays. Yes of course there are those first party titles such as Microsoft's Halo franchise or Sony's God of War series, but even the most dedicated videogame franchises are spreading their wings and venturing towards other consoles.
Microsoft have dominated in the exclusivity wars so far.
Microsoft have dominated in the exclusivity wars so far.

Now in this age of videogame development costing companies many millions of dollars, it's not exactly a great surprise to see such a business decision be taken. For the most part I'm all for it. But are we looking at the demise of exclusive videogames, or as the actual death of exclusivity already taken place. There are many a gamer, who point towards Square Enix's Final Fantasy 13 as a fine example of a true change in exclusivity. Now it should be noted that the Final Fantasy franchise as appeared on many different gaming consoles, but it was that sudden announcement that still sent shockwaves through the videogame industry. Again, it seemed like a sensible decision on Square Enix's part. As I said previously, the videogames of today don't come cheap and it's in a company's interest to make sure a game can bring in as much revenue as possible.

This years E3 looks like it could provide a few more big shocks for gamers around the World. While it's been debated for what feels like years to me, there does seem to be talk of a Metal Gear game hitting Microsoft's Xbox 360 soon enough. I myself heard an interesting little rumour only last night concerning Mr Hideo Kojima, it seems there is some talk that the legendary developer will be appearing at both the Microsoft and Sony Press Conferences. While this alone won't be a massive surprise to gamers, as talk of a Metal Gear game hitting Microsoft's console as been heating up as we near E3. If true, it could be a step nearer in Microsoft's ambition to dominate the format for hardcore gamers like myself. Of course we don't know if this rumoured Metal Gear game could be something new, or just a simple port of Metal Gear Solid 4. Have to wait and see. 

But that alone could be another fine example of a ever changing industry, there are even many in the media itself who feel that exclusive content (be it in the form of games, or downloadable content). Is a rather dirty concept nowadays that can only harm the industry as a whole. Being European, I've had to suffer some of these exclusive dirty tactics at first hand. Sony made sure that only the Playstation 3 version of Ghostbusters: The Videogame would see a release over here, while those eager to play it on Xbox 360 would have to wait a while longer. We have also famously ran into issues with Harmonix's Rock Band, which took forever to get released though that wasn't exactly due to dirty tactics. That whole affair didn't do Harmonix much good at all, and still aren't exactly trusted by most European gamers. We now live in an age, where it's the dirty side of exclusivity that dominates the videogame scene. 

Which brings me back to Metal Gear, I'm not sure how I'd feel about seeing Solid Snake on Xbox 360. Although I am a dedicated Xbox 360 gamer, I've become fond of turning on my Playstation console and seeing Snake do his thing. I've had a somewhat odd chemical reaction to this generation of consoles, I've talked about this in past blogs but despite having a much bigger cache of titles for my Xbox 360, I still feel more fond of the Playstation 3. Why is this? Especially considering that I grew to hate the Playstation 2, though to be fair I did  have seven break on me. Maybe I just like the underdogs, because although Sony are fighting back bravely. There still losing to what Microsoft generally as to offer the hardcore gamer.

Solid Snake on 360? Feels wrong somehow!
Solid Snake on 360? Feels wrong somehow!
In my own personal opinion, exclusivity is indeed alive and kicking. While it's taken a rather dirty turn for the worst lately, and as become a new battleground for the three big kings of consoles to battle over while Europe seems to have become the whipping boy. It's clear from last years E3 alone, that exclusivity can still shock. While I'll admit that I'm rather uncomfortable about seeing a franchise such as Metal Gear appearing on the 360, I should simply see that it's another example of these ever changing times and be happy with it. If at the Microsoft Press Conference, Mr Hideo Kojima announces a brand new Metal Gear title for the Xbox 360. Well I will indeed be excited, maybe even slightly thrilled even if it's just a simple port of MGS4. But I sense it will still take me sometime to adjust to seeing Solid Snake on my Xbox 360. 

Will there ever come a time where the cost of videogame development, force even first party developed titles to go multiplatform? It's possible I guess, though it would be a big moment for the industry. Videogames are being developed in a ever changing world, a world which doesn't always know what's around the corner. You simply never know what you'll get, so rather then the sight of exclusive titles being a thing of the past. It's more of a changing concept, that's being adapted by the hundreds of companies involved in industry. We gamers might not always like what it's being turned into, right now it does feel more like a weapon then an actual impressive extra for a console. But even we have to adjust to a form of entertainment, that gets stronger as each year goes by. Let's just hope that with change, comes a better quality product. 

What are your views on exclusivity in today's age of videogames?

Thanks for Reading, 
Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
(Twitter: JosephBayliss)
12 Comments

Metal Gear Excitement!

By MachoFantastico 21 Comments

METAL GEAR EXCITEMENT!

Welcome to my Blog folks,

Now while I originally had no intention of writing a blog this morning, I felt this alone deserved some more discussion time considering how big it could turn out to be. For those not in the know, check out the Kojima Productions teaser site whose most recent countdown ran down late last night for us Europeans. Many of you will know that the teaser site as been 'teasing' us gamers with cryptic images for a good while now as we near E3. If your anything like me, I suspect you've been finding the teaser site strangely fascinating and with the end of the previous countdown came images that surely guarantees a new Metal Gear game. You as excited as I am?

I don't usually let my excitement get in the way of my blogs or general writing, and there is every chance that this new game could turn out to be something totally different. Though I doubt that after a certain interview with Mr Kojima himself in Famitsu Magazine. On the teaser site, it's clear that the weather as detiriated further. Rain and thunder splash and scream across the screen, until the image of Big Boss appears from the shadows. This alone surely confirms a new Metal Gear game, though there are still one or two theories making the rounds. Apparently there is also an image of Raiden at one point, though from my viewing I did not come across it. Now I suspected a potential new prequel styled game for Big Boss is a recent blog of mine, though that was only because Kojima himself stated an interest in creating another game based around this iconic gaming figure. If so though, what's Raiden got to do with it?

Big Boss and the countdown timer, could be a new sitcom.
Big Boss and the countdown timer, could be a new sitcom.
While we still won't know anything official until E3, the debate and speculation is already burning up the web. While I do personally hope for this new Metal Gear game to be on the Playstation 3 (and possibly even the Xbox 360), it is still possible for it to be a new PSP Metal Gear title. Though the images alone make me suspect that it could be using the Metal Gear Solid 4 engine, considering how much that graphics engine reportingly cost to develop it wouldn't surprise me. We also know that Hideo Kojima is developing and directing the game himself, rather then passing the torch onto another producer. It's quite clear that Kojima is rather nervous of leaving his beloved franchise to anyone but himself. 

How do we know this? Well the recent Famitsu Magazine features a deciphered interview with the legendary producer, apparently the interview was more in depth then originally planned so Mr Kojima asked for certain parts of the chat to be blanked out. That itself confirmed a new Metal Gear game, and I'll admit to being glad of some sort of confirmation. While I wanted to get a little excited, I couldn't help but sense that this new title could simply be a new iPhone game or something similar. While we don't know for sure if it is a Playstation 3 exclusive title, the fact that it appeared first in the Famitsu PS3/PSP edition mag makes me believe it is. Though we should know for sure at E3 next week. 

Now I'll admit to being a huge fan of the Metal Gear series, so I forgive myself for getting quite excited about this latest development. For me personally, Metal Gear Solid 4 was one of the greatest videogames ever made and Kojima as already confirmed that it's the same team developing this new Metal Gear title. There won't be any Ryan Payton who was praised for his involvement in making MGS4 more Westernized friendly, as he is now working at a Halo focused team within Microsoft. But the hard work was done, and hopefully MGS4's amazing gameplay changes will be used for this new Metal Gear game. Being somewhat a Raiden fan myself, I'm still rather intrigued to see how he comes into the equation. We still have no title and we still don't know that much about the new game, though I believe many of those questions will be answered at E3.

What would you love to see in a new Big Boss Metal Gear game?

Thanks for Reading, 
Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
(Twitter: JosephBayliss)
21 Comments