Earl’s Blog: Part III

Note-I did not copy this idea from James. I confronted him about the idea of us both splitting the three conferences, however he convinced me to just do my thing here. 

Today at about 12:30 my time several affiliates of and within Microsoft came together for a media briefing for all of the big announcements Microsoft had to offer for gaming audiences that was to come in the next year. I have to say, I was impressed. Microsoft had a beyond solid lineup, and provided a great show to kick off E3 this year. Below are some of the main headlines from the press conference. 

• Todd Howard from Bethesda Games showed up and presented a demo of the highly anticipated game, Fallout 3, he showed off the open world, variety of weapons, and intriguing combat system that looked a little easy to me, as you may see below. Todd also confirmed the game for release later this year.
• Cliff Besinski showed up and talked a little about Gears of War 2, confirming a new mode “Horde” which allows for up to 5 people playing cooperatively.
• After that, a Microsoft representative popped up again and ran through the numbers of Xbox 360, how it’s outselling the others (Can’t wait to hear that from the other 2 companies), and how it plans to “unveil a new experience to change the industry.” I KNOW I’ve heard that before.
• Microsoft announced a new partner with its Xbox Live Marketplace, NBC Universal, which means people will now get to watch Monk on their Xbox 360s.
• Microsoft then announced its new Xbox Dashboard interface (But not before showing that they had downloaded Dan in Real Life), which kinda looked like the Ipod Touch interface. I personally saw nothing wrong with the old one, however, out with the old, in with the new and shiny things.
• After that they unveiled the Wii-60s, I mean the “avatars” for the new 360 interface, which look strangely like Miis. Hmmm…….
• Shortly afterward they announced a few new Xbox Live Arcade titles, from Geometry Wars 2 to Portal: Still Alive. After being haunted by GlaDos, they announced their partnership with Netflix. 
• They ran down a few stats and trailers for games like Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts, Rock Band 2 and its exclusitivity, Guitar Hero World Tour, and Lips, a new Singstar-esque microphone game with wireless microphones.
• The President of Square Enix came out and talked RPGs. Games like The Last Remnant, the new Star Ocean, and Infinite Undiscovery he slapped with  release dates and confirmed all 3 would be coming to the 360. Directly after that he drops the bomb that was Final Fantasy 13 coming to the 360. 

Possibly gaming’s biggest event, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, is coming soon. More specifically, July 14-18. This year all 3 of the industry’s giants-Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony, are to be there. In the past there have been some monumental unveilings at E3, from the Nintendo “Revolution” to the N-Gage. E3 is definitely a sight to see. This year is to be no different, with the Wii and PS3 almost 2 years old, and Xbox 360 beginning to show age at 3. The Nintendo DS is 4 1/2 years old, and the PSP being 3 years old as well. I’m not gonna talk hardware specs with you, instead I’ll talk games. 

Nintendo is probably the most lethal force this year. It’s too quiet. This year they’ve already launched the newest in two of their biggest franchises, Smash Bros. and Mariokart, and for the rest of the year, there’s almost nothing, excluding a new Kirby game for the DS and Wario Land Shake for the Wii. An earlier post I did was talking about how Nintendo was saying they had something big planned, and I believe they’re gonna blow everyone away at E3 with whatever it is. I personally have my fingers crossed for a Zelda sequel, and possibly some new Wii features, maybe even mew colors. If they do that, I’ll be pleased with Nintendo. They will definitely be the one to watch.

Sony and Microsoft are kind of doing the same thing, although they’re not as quiet. We already know what both of them are planning a huge list of games for their consoles, and I believe they’re just gonna play that out and just give us new information on those games, while unveiling some new projects for the future. Games like Gears of War 2, Halo Wars, Fallout 3, the new Banjo Kazooie, Resident Evil 5, and Left4Dead are only a few of the titles offered by Microsoft. Games like Resistance 2, Final Fantasy, Infamous, Borderlands, Motorstorm 2, Mirror’s Edge, Killzone 2, and more are more than likely to show off the newest Sony console. E3 is definitely going to be a huge event. Once any big news happens or any games are confirmed, you can be sure to see it here.

One of my favorite, if not all time favorite music-based game series has gotta be the Guitar Hero series. If you need me to explain or tell you what Guitar Hero is, come out from under your rock. The newest installment takes the series where it’s never been before: on the road. Guitar Hero: On Tour uses the DS’s GBA port for a handheld device to implement the classic array of buttons for the player to jam out with, uses the touch screen to strum the guitar, and watch your notes head for you on the left screen, all while holding the DS sideways, of course. I personally really enjoy the little peripheral, the buttons feel nice and smooth, and the playing experience during gameplay really comes across well-implemented and fun. I actually really enjoyed the songlist for this game, tracks like All Star, What I Want, Heaven, China Groove, and more really get my foot tappin. Sure it’s not the best songlist ever, but they portray the “on the go” presence. The graphics are good for the DS (I mean, come on, you can’t expect HD), and the audio, although fuzzy at times, is good for on the go. You’ll notice I keep coming back to “on the go”. That’s because that’s what this game is about, being able to take a fun rhythmn game on the go with you, to play on vacation, at a relative’s house, or any time you wanna drown out an annoying person with The Steve Miller Band. The only minor downpoints can be that the songlist is a little short and sometimes the presentation of menus and such can be a little lacking. I really enjoy this game, and look forward to playing it a lot more in the future and on the go.

4 out of 5  

You should know (whether from my site or some other less important site) that one of the newest Guitar Hero installments, Guitar Hero: On Tour, should be hitting stores soon, more specifically, June 22nd. However there will also be a bundle for the Guitar Hero outing. A specific Guitar-Hero themed DS, with the Guitar Hero logo on the glossy silver top, along with a copy of the game, will be releasing on June 22nd as well. For any Guitar Hero enthusiast who hasn’t bought a DS yet, this looks like a great buy.

You may have read in my previous post me proclaiming my love for Gamestop, and you may also know I placed a pre-order on Secret Agent Clank, the upcoming Ratchet and Clank game for the PSP. However, with the pre-order I also received a pretty nifty Secret Agent Clank figurine, along with a demo of the game. This only increases my love for Gamestop.

The game basically follows Clank inside his secret agent persona, before the events of Ratchet and Clank 5. Clank is quite possibly the best secret agent available, and is on mission when Ratchet is convicted of stealing the Eye of Infinity, a precious diamond. On the mission that I played in the demo, Clank was on assignment to go back into the museum to search for clues to prove Ratchet’s innocence. The game really takes a step from the run-and-gun action and goes more in-depth with the espionage action of the Clank minigames from past Ratchet and Clank titles, however instead of the minigames that didn’t really feel too deep, the gameplay feels a lot like a James Bond movie. You have a variety of neat little gadgets at your disposal that function a lot like Ratchet’s weapons in previous titles. There’s the tie-a-rang and the blot pen for blotting out laser systems. The game (or the demo that I played) has a lot of neat features that add to the depth, including some stealth attacks involving button combos, and some Guitar-Hero like button presses to get past complex laser systems. The game then moved on to Ratchet in jail having to fight against some older enemies in a Gladiator-style Annihilation Nation-esque arena, which really proves for an interesting concept I look forward to exploring in the future. Overall, the game feels a lot like a step out for the franchise, but in a good way. The new espionage gameplay is fun, and I look forward to playing the game more soon.

Today I walked into Gamestop, Orange Julius in hand, to check out the new releases and see if any good demos were available. I usually like Gamestop, I mean the staff is usually friendly and it has a nice nerdy atmosphere that feels comfortable. But today it really hit me how great Gamestop is. I came up to the register and was looking through the catalog of games available for pre-order, when one of the nice sales clerks started up a conversation with me, asking me the typical question required of them “Can I help you” blah blah blah, but then I mentioned a game and the conversation took off, which really surprised me. The people at Gamestop aren’t like the employees at Wal-mart, people that don’t know what they’re talking about most of the time. The people at Gamestop are gamers, they are people that you know go home and play video games, that actually know what they’re talking about, something I really appreciate. I got into a great gaming conversation with not one but two employees while I was there, talking about Guitar Hero 4 and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, and it actually being an intellectual, gaming conversation. I bought a multitap for my PS2 (with Guitar Hero 4 in mind) and pre-ordered Secret Agent Clank for $15. Money well spent. I love Gamestop now, and will try to make any and all possible video game purchases there. 

The first of the Guitar Hero 3 expansions, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, is due in stores in about a month, June 29th to be exact, however the song-list, or most of it, has been revealed. It is said the game won’t entirely consist of Aerosmith, but about 60% Aerosmith, 40% Bands that were somehow affiliated with Aerosmith. You’ll play as an opening act with a non-Aerosmith song first, then move on with Aerosmith into their gig. The game will feature the full 30 years of history behind Aerosmith, however will not chronicle the struggle of the band. From the first gig at a high school to playing at the Superbowl, this game is entirely devoted to Aerosmith. Here’s the song-list (If the song doesn’t have a band out beside it, it’s Aerosmith).

• All the Young Dudes-Mott the Hopple
• Dream Police-Cheap Trick
• Make It
• Uncle Salty
• Draw the Line
• I Hate Myself For Loving You-Joan Jett
• All Day and All of Our Night-The Kinks
• Movin Out
• No Surprize
• Sweet Emotion
• Complete Control-The Clash
• Personality Crisis-New York Dolls
• Livin on the Edge
• Rag Doll
• Love in An Elevator
• Always on the Run-Lenny Kravitz
• Hard to Handle-The Black Crowes
• Back in the Saddle
• Beyond Beautiful
• Dream On
• Kings and Queens
• Mama Kin
• Walk this Way
• Combination