Microsoft
We begin with a darkened video displaying a gridded layout of a city and orders being given over radio waves. Two men begin drilling through an underwater gate.. then the controller disconnects. If the iconic green and black didn't give the video away, it was the pause menu.
The video continues with swimming followed by more swimming. The impressive graphics don't make the lengthy b-roll any more interesting. This demonstration is saved by the action that follows.
Despite their minor mishap and the slightly drawn-on presentation Microsoft was able to start off their conference strong with the presentation Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This wonderful bun shall be delivered November 8th, 2011.
Other titles that were announced:
- Tomb Raider
- Tiger Woods PGA, FIFA, Madden NFL (K)
- Sims 3 Pets (K)
- Family Game Night 4 (K)
- Mass Effect 3 (K)
- Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (K)
- Gears of War 3 (X)
- Ryse (K)(X)
- Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (X)
- Forza Motorsport 4 (K)(X)
- Fable: The Journey (K)(X)
- Minecraft (K)(X)
- Disneyland Adventures (K)(X)
- Star Wars (K)
- Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster (K)(X)
- Kinect Sports: Season 2 (K)(X)
- Dance Central 2 (K)(X)
(K = Kinect enabled. Awful puns were included in the presentation.) (X = Xbox Exclusive)
Surprisingly, voice command was the most popular key feature each game utilized Kinect for, not motion control. This is probably to set it aside from Sony's Playstation Move and Nintendo's Wii. Isn't this something that could have been developed with the headsets that are already linked to the controllers?
New Features were also announced:
- Kinect enabled xbox main screen. (Scroll through the menu or use voice control)
- YouTube
- Xbox Bing (Searches movies, games, and videos)
- UFC Xbox Live (Purchase, bet, and connect)
- Xbox Live TV (Coming this fall)
- Kinect Fun Lab (Multiple programs made by developers and users that utilize Kinect features)
Personally, I'm not too thrilled about all this Kinect mumbo jumbo. Especially the voice command. I mean, what if I am trying to have a healthy conversation and my game messes up because I was talking? And if it requires a headset, then the entire advertisement that went with the new voice control feature is misleading consumers into thinking all they'll need is their current Kinect. The headset that would go with it have to be wireless (which would mean a very expensive new accessory) in order to prevent the player from having to plug into a controller which would impede their movement. I am incredibly disappointed that the next Fable is going to use the Kinect, as I will not be able to purchase it because I have no intention of purchasing a Kinect. What a shame.
However, my disappointment was relieved with an announcement that left me incredibly excited. Microsoft really saved the best for last.
Oh yeah Bungie, you milk that cow!
However, Halo 4, of course, will not be the last Halo game. Don Mattrick, Microsoft's President of the Interactive Entertainment Business, said before presenting this video that it was the "dawn of a new trilogy." Hm. We'll see where that takes us!
If you'd like to view the Microsoft conference yourself, click here.
Yours truly,
HavokRose
The excitment of Halo 4 is indeed very high, but the only problem is that Bungie has seperated from Microsoft, so they are not making this new Halo "Trilogy" so to speak. Microsoft has built a sub division called 343 Industries, to sort of sub for the absence of Bungie. So we'll see how these guys handle it
ReplyDeleteHozTul
Thanks for the information. That is something I'd definitely like to look deeper into.
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