E3 2010 Day 1: Round-up and Thoughts

It's that time of the year again: E3 2010, the biggest video game expo of the year. Today marks day 1 of the festivities, with Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft holding their conferences. I wasn't there of course, but I have read the news and watched the streams, and I'll get you all up to speed on what happened during the first day of E3 '10, and offer my thoughts on the proceedings so far. We'll start with:

Microsoft:

Microsoft's conference set the tone for the first day of conferences, and that tone was not a good one for people more interested in games than hardware. The star of the show was Kinect, formerly known as Project Natal, the motion controller for the Xbox 360 that uses a camera to read the player's moves and mimics them on-screen. Kinect demos took up a big chunk of MS's conference, but the games on display did not impress, looking like little more than imitations of Wii Sports and Mario Kart. MS's announced that Kinect would be available come November, but have yet to give it a price tag. Rumors have set it at around $150-$180, which is a lot for a piece of hardware with no must-have games in the works. For that price I could buy a used Wii. MS also announced that they had signed a multi-year deal with Activision that will give early access to future Call of Duty map packs to 360 owners. A nice boon to 360 owners, I guess, but I don't really see the point. I can't see someone buying a new Xbox just to get a CoD: Black Ops map pack two weeks earlier.

Only a handful of non-Kinect games were shown, including co-op gameplay for Gears of War 3, Fable 3, Halo Reach, and Metal Gear Solid: Rising. The most talked-about of the three, Rising, an action game MGS spin-off starring cyber-ninjafied Raiden, debuted at last year's E3, and showed up this year with a much-buzzed about gameplay trailer. The cutting mechanic looks really cool, but it remains to be seen if there is substance to match the style. Microsoft closed the show with one last major announcement: A new "Xbox Slim" 360 bundle. For $300, the same price as a current Elite bundle, the new Slim is quieter, smaller, has a bigger hard drive, and comes with built-in Wi-Fi (wireless adapters for older models cost an insane $100). It hasn't been confirmed if the new model still has the ethernet port, but if it does, the new Slim model is a very attractive option and, for me, the biggest announcement of Microsoft's press conference.

Final Thoughts: A big, fat scoop of meh. Microsoft's conference placed an undue degree of emphasis on Kinect, with too little focus on games, ostensibly the entire point of E3. Kinect has potential, but the current crop of games only squander it. While Rising looks great, the rest of the games on display just weren't enough to carry the show.


EA:

Oh look, games. Yes, after Microsoft's dismal show, EA stepped up to actually show games. Mostly. Their conference started with the reveal of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, a new NFS developed by Criterion, creators of the Burnout series. The developer and franchise are a perfect fit for each other, so this may be exactly what the NFS series needs to become relevant again. Next up is Dead Space 2, and boy does this footage look great. The first Dead Space was a very solid horror/action game, and the sequel looks to be on the right track. There was a 24-player multiplayer demo for Medal of Honor, which looked scarily similar to Call of Duty 4. That's not necessarily a bad thing. The beta begins in a week on June 21, so we won't have to wait long to sample the gameplay.

There was a lot of EA Sports stuff, including EA MMA (which includes a neat feature that allows players to upload videos of them talking smack to their opponents before having a fight that is broadcast to other players on consoles and through the internet) and Madden 2011, which claims to simplify and shorten games while adding more depth to them. Sounds like a paradox to me, but we'll see. There was a weird, rambling speech on the nature of playing god in The Sims 3 or something, which I honestly tuned out completely. The Sims 3 is coming to the PS3 and 360, whatever. Crysis 2 and Bulletstorm were demoed. Crysis just looks like a very generic FPS, but a pretty one (and in 3D). Bulletstorm has a cool, arcadey, way-over-the-top style, but the main character's constant corny one-liners were almost unbearable. Finally, there was a new CG trailer for BioWare's Star Wars MMO The Old Republic, which looked amazing. No gameplay footage, and only a passing mention of the PVP element of the game but, jeez, just look at that trailer!

Final Thoughts: Some solid games on display. Dead Space 2 looks fantastic, EA MMA and Medal of Honor are promising, Crysis 2 and Bulletstorm are a bit meh, and The Old Republic gets cool trailers. The lack of Dragon Age or Mass Effect is disappointing, though.


Ubisoft:

Not a lot to see here. The announcement of a Laser Tag game that requires hardware that will probably cost an obscene amount. Rayman Origins, a 2D sidescrolling platformer that goes back to the series' roots. A new Ghost Recon, a trailer for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (essentially AC2.5 featuring multiplayer), a new Driver game, and, uh, Michael Jackson: The Game. Really.

Final Thoughts: Rayman Origins will likely be worthwhile, and everybody loves Assassin's Creed. Everything else? MEH.


So What's Next?

Tomorrow wraps up the "Big 3's" conferences, with shows presented by Nintendo and Sony. Nintendo will certainly be showing off the rumored 3DS, their new handheld that is speculated to feature gaming in 3D. There will also be footage of the upcoming Metroid: Other M and the new Wii Zelda, as well as some info on the new Golden Sun for the DS that was announced at E3 '09. Sony will be demoing the Move, there own motion controller. One can only hope it proves more impressive than Microsoft's Kinect. Sony has already announced several major exclusives, including Killzone 3, InFamous 2, and LittleBigPlanet 2, leaving many to wonder what else they'll have in store for their conference. I'm guessing there will be some info on the new PSP God of War game Ghost of Sparta, and The Last Guardian, the new game from the creator of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. The announcement of a Team Ico collection has also been rumored. We'll see tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

~Nick