6.27.2012

Oh yeah, Nintendo

So, remember that conference that happened earlier this month? E3? Yeah, I remember that too. I also remember too many psychology terms and not enough about introductory U.S. Government. Summer school is fun - I hope you realize that is sarcasm.

With that sad excuse for an apology, I present to you what you may have missed at the Nintendo 2012 E3 conference - which really wasn't that much. So lets make this short.

via Kotaku

The Nintendo conference was far from spectacular. Of course, my hero Miyamoto was present and set the stage for Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America. Fils-Aime guided us through our Nintendo journey with awkward faces and comments. And by journey, I mean a petting zoo. No Amazon jungle with unknown surprises at every turn - just baby goats, pigs, and even a few Pikmin.


Games Announced: 
 (3DS = Nintendo 3DS)



Aside from games, not much else was announced. We were informed that the WiiU will allow for two WiiU pads to be connected and that there will be more ways to connect online with friends by posting updates that are displayed on the Miiverse - WiiU's new home screen. 

Who know's what they will announce in the coming months. Perhaps they will just wait for us to purchase our WiiUs this holiday season to find out more.  

To watch the conference for yourself, click here.

Was there anything you wanted to see that Nintendo didn't present? What did you think? 

Yours truly, 
HavokRose 

P.S. I seriously apologize for the tardiness of this post. I don't advise taking two summer classes while working - it's not fun. In the next month I promise to make it up to you all. Thank you for your support/readership!

6.08.2012

Happy Birthday!


Picture from GourmetGaming.co.uk

One name change and 39 posts later, this blog is one year old today! This next year expect more posts, videos and much more.

In addition, I would like to announce that I will be attending this year's GameStop Expo - a five hour conference where I'll be able to talk with publishers, developers, and even play some games before they are even released.

If you plan on attending, let me know so we can meet up. I'm not too sure if I'll be dressing up but I will announce those plans in the near future.

Thank you all for reading this blog! If there is anything you would like to see, feel free to let me know.

Yours truly,
HavokRose

6.07.2012

Sony's Conference - E3 2012

Sony didn't open their conference with one game, but with dozens. They utilized their multiscreen stage to it's full potential, while presenting a montage of games that will come to Sony systems.


The first person to take the stage was Jack Tretton, Sony of America's President and CEO. Of course he talked about the industry, where the show could be watched and also payed homage to the loyal Sony's gamers. After a little bragging about Sony's hardware, Trentton handed the reigns over to Quantic Dream's David Cage.

This is where the show really begins. Cage wasted no time when presenting Quantic Dream's new IP, Beyond: Two Souls. This PS3 exclusive is a game that explores the life of a girl who can see the dead. The way Cage describes the project makes it sound more like a movie than a video game. Jody Holmes, the main character of Beyond: Two Souls, is to be played by Ellen Page. So if you've ever wanted to run around in a virtual world as Ellen Page who can control a ghost, your game has arrived. 



The trailer looks fantastic, but until we get some more gameplay and details I can't say I'm sold yet. 

Here are the other games Sony presented: 
(P = Playstation Exclusive) (V = Vita ) (M = Playstation Move) (W = Wonderbook)



New Features and Hardware: 
  • Little Big Planet 2 Cross-Play - Play and save Little Big Planet 2 on your vita and resume on you PS3. 
  • PS1 Classics for Vita 
  • Crackle Television and Hulu Plus will be added to Vita 
  • Wonderbook - An interactive book that uses the Playstation Eye camera to bring books to life.
  • PlayStation Mobile - Sony games on tablets and smartphones 

The Sony conference always has too much bragging. You can't go two minutes without Tretton saying something about how great Sony is or how exclusive something is. It get's a little old. (I still prefer him over the Ubisoft hosts.) Another thing I didn't like about this year's conference was the lengthy montage at the very beginning. Like some of there demos, it was too drawn-out and I got bored. Sometimes shorter is sweeter.

Sony's conference also had a lot of great features. This year, they presented two new items that do a fantastic job of bridging the game industry to both the film and print industry. Also, they are the only ones that allowed non-industry fans into their conference. In addition, they pulled an Oprah and gave all attendees one year free to PlayStation Plus.

To watch the conference for yourself, click here.

What did you think about Sony's conference?

Your truly,
HavokRose

6.05.2012

Ubisoft Conference - E3 2012

Everyone is throwing out the celebrity card this year. While E3 is no stranger to live performances, (like Microsoft's Cirque Du Soleil in 2010) this year sure does have a lot. Ubisoft began their conference with a group of women dancing to the upcoming Just Dance 4 songs, and ended the performance by becoming Flo Rida's back up dancers. So, Microsoft snagged Usher and Ubisoft got Flo Rida. Who is the real winner here?

Pictures by Boston.com and USA Today

The best part of Flo Rida's performance was when he told the audience to put their hands in the air. Almost immediately, you see a bunch of arms go up but they are flailing awkwardly since everyone is seated and a good amount of them have laptops or other electronic devices in their laps.

After Aisha Tyler made an awkward comment about everyone being a little bit gay, the presentation Ubisoft's of new games began.


Towards the end of the conference, Ubisoft showcased their already released free-to-play online games. E3 is pretty much a massive advertisement, but Ubisoft shouldn't have been advertising what they already have on the market.  The following games were shown with their reviews slapped next to them.
  
  • Trails Evolution 
  • The Settlers Online 
  • Ghost Recon Online

Ubisoft didn't use their time wisely here. I understand they are proud of what they've developed, but E3 is all about showcasing what is new, not what has already been accomplished.  I only forgive them because of the awesomeness they concluded their conference with - even though it wasn't related to their lengthy montage. 


Watch Dogs is probably the best new thing I've seen out of any of the conferences. It's a game with consequences and it is surely going to be one that'll make you think about what you do before you do it. I'll be writing more about this later this week in my 'Best of E3' post. 

To watch the press conference for yourself, click here.  [Warning: The hosts are annoying.]

Stay tuned for coverage of Sony and Nintendo's conferences!

Yours truly,
HavokRose

6.04.2012

EA Conference - E3 2012

The first thing I want from this conference is The Sims. When I think EA, The Sims is the first thing that comes to mind. I played that game on my computer as a child well into my teenage years. Returning to that series would be awesome.

Dead Space. EA started with DeadSpace 3, and I was just about ready to run from the room. If there there is one thing that really scares me, its aliens. I don't mean aliens like the cute Grunts in Halo, I mean like the big baddies in Aliens.


Thankfully, the trailer hardly showed any of the gruesome creatures, but it did reveal something else: Co-op! Who doesn't love Co-op? Especially if it's a simple drop-in and drop-out format. With this addition, maybe I could handle the horrifying world of Dead Space. Just maybe.




Everyone was just bringing in surprise guests today. In order to talk more about the upcoming Madden game, EA brought in NFL's Hall of Famer, Michael Oher.

Then, it was time for a Maxis presentation. I was so happy - then they announced it was a game for Facebook. That shrunk my excitement down to the size of a pea. In a way, it makes sense that they are finally releasing the SimsCity Social for Facebook.

Facebook is a great place for simulation games, such as FarmVille and CastleVille, so it was only a matter of time before Maxis brought it's original creation to Facebookers. In addition, they announced another SimsCity for PCs that would include a multiplayer feature.

In addition to these three games, EA announced and presented the following games:


My favorite part of this conference was when Criterion Games' Executive Producer Matt Webster ended his presentation with "God save the queen." So British. 

Did anything from EA's conference impress you?

To watch EA's Conference, click here.

Tune in tomorrow for a report on Ubisoft and Sony's conferences! 

Yours truly, 
HavokRose 


Microsoft Conference - E3 2012

Once again, it's here! E3 - also known as the most important televised event in the gaming community - begins today with the anticipated Microsoft Conference. Like last year, I'll be breaking down the conference and reporting what's what - that way you don't have to think about it too much.

Microsoft picked up right where they left off from last year by premiering the partially live action trailer of Halo 4, which led right into the first ever gameplay footage.


For anyone who has had doubts about Halo 4, and I know there are a lot of people out there, each and every one of you must watch this video. It's gotten me more excited than ever to get my hands on this game. 343 Industries did a fantastic job on designing the new enemies, and this trailer has me drooling for more. 

After a quick word from Don Mattrick, the barrage of game trailers and gameplay began.

Games



K = Kinect Enabled 
X = Xbox Exclusive 

Features


Aside from games, Microsoft announced a number of new features. Since they are becoming more entertainment focused, they had a good amount to reveal:  

  • Bing Genres - Search entertainment genres through voice control. 
  • More Language Identification for Bing 
  • Nickelodeon, Paramount, Machinima, Univison added
  • NBA Legue Pass/Game Time 
  • NHL Game Center 
  • Watch ESPN - More networks available 24/7
  • Xbox Music - Available on Xbox 360, PCs, Tablets and Phones 
  • Nike+ Kinect Training 
  • Xbox SmartGlass
  • Internet Explorer

Microsoft concluded the conference with Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. The coolest thing about that for me was that they made their president a woman. Other than that, I wasn't too interested. When it comes to Call of Duty, I prefer Modern Warfare. The game looked interesting but before I'm ready to buy I'll want more information on the game. 

Final Commentary 


SmartGlass was the most impressive new feature Microsoft announced. This system is a way to connect phones, tablets and televisions to movies, gameplay and other media. While you are watching the Game of Thrones on HBO Go, you can whip out your tablet to see what part of the land the characters are at and read other information about the show. It also gives your phone the power to become a remote. This becomes an important feature with the addition of Internet Explorer. You can use your touch phone to scroll, zoom, and perform other features. This is a big improvement from other console internet programs because they are typically difficult to control. Using your phone is much simpler than trying to scroll through each letter and slowly typing with a controller.

Photo from Liveside.net

Another interesting feature was the Nike+ Kinect training. This new program will send you messages to your phone for when you need to workout, connect you to the Nike+ system and provides interactive workout routines. I think this is a smart partnership for Microsoft. Just like Wii Fitness, it will attract a wider audience to their console, especially since it is a program backed by Nike+, which already has a plentiful amount of users. 

As for games, I was disappointed with what Microsoft revealed. There was nothing new that I was really impressed with. We already knew about Halo 4, Tomb Raider, Fable: The Journey and to an extend, the new Gears of War: Judgement and Black Ops 2. Basically, Microsoft needs to step it up when it comes to games - we need more than just sequels. 

Dance Central 3 was another game Microsoft announced. Was anyone surprised? Definitely not about the game, but maybe about Usher's live performance. So, if I purchase Dance Central 3, will Usher pop out of the game? If so, I think they could use this transportation technology to better the world and bring me Orlando Bloom instead. That would be nice. 

What did you think about the conference? 

To watch the conference, click here.

Stay tuned for coverage of EA, Ubisoft and Sony's conferences. 

Yours truly, 
HavokRose