E3 is finally over and gamers everywhere are still buzzing with the convention high. New consoles, new games, and new announcements are all apart of the e3 formula and 2011's convention wasn't lacking in any of those departments. Let's take a look back at everything that made e3 2011 a memorable one; from Microsoft's press conference to the final day at the booths.
Microsoft:
-Microsoft kicked e3 with a 5 minute playthrough of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. There wasn't much else special; just another upgrade to the CoD series. (The player's controller shutting off was probably my favorite part.
-The new reboot of the Tomb Raider series was showcased with cave spelunking! Lara Croft waded through waters, surviving and completing puzzles. What I found discouraging was Croft's whiny, noisy, and overall crybaby voice.
-A dashboard update will be available this fall that will bring Youtube, Bing (with Kinect voice capabilities ie yelling at your tv to look up tentacle hentai).
-Gears of War 3 present. Same old same old.
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-Of course, we all knew that Kinect would be a major priority for Microsoft but by the end of their Kinect showcase I wanted to shoot myself. So . . . much . . . gimmicky . . . crap . . . can't . . . take . . .in . . . all . . . the . . . casual. Anyway, here's a list of the Kinect titles displayed: Disney Land Adventures, Kinect Star Wars, Tim Schafer's Sesame Street Once Upon A Monster (that's a long drop from expecting Psychonauts 2), Dance Central 2, Kinect Fun Labs.
-Fable Journey was touched on. A first person, wave your arms around to cast a spell, RPG. Seemed kind of interesting but eh.
-The final Kinect title that was shown was Ryse. A dark Roman gladiator type brawler. Swing your arms to decapitate your enemy!
-Can you believe that it's been 10 years since Halo hit the shelves! Well, in celebration Microsoft is rereleasing the classic FPS with updated HD graphics.
-Are you ready to finish the fight? . . . again? That's right Halo 4 has been announced! Not only that but it's going to be a trilogy! Master Chief's duty will never be done.
Overall, Microsoft gave a unimpressive briefing. Absolutely nothing was a surprise. Nothing but FPSs. And Kinect as far as the eye can see. It was truly disappointing and at times painful to watch. I'll give Microsoft a grade of D just for announcing a few new games even though we saw them coming a mile away.
Sony:
-Sony started off by apologizing for the PSN outage. Maybe I would have accepted their sincerest apology if Kevin Butler had returned to grovel at our knees. But to prove that they have not given up on the consumers, and to prove their are still devoted, they will put up more apps on PSN including Cinenow which shows on demand movies and tv shows.
-A trailer for Uncharted 3 was shown as well as an onstage demo.
-A trailer for Resistance 3 was shown of course.
-Here's some pretty cool new; the PSP God of War titles Ghost of Sparta and Chains of Olympus will be remastered in HD and headed for the PS3!
-Everyone's been waiting for the Team Ico HD collection but Sony has made the wait harder as the collection will now be in 3D. I'm not a fan of 3D but the idea of seeing the epic colossus fights sound pretty awesome.
- Kobe Bryant tests out the Move enabled NBA 2K11.
-An Infamous 2 trailer was shown which I thought was a waste time seeing as how the game would be released the day after the Sony conference.
-Oh, and LittleBig Planet 2 will be Move enabled in an update this September.
-The sequel to Warhawk, Starhawk is set for a 2012 release. I was half expecting it to be Move enabled.
-For the Sly Cooper fans, Sly 4 was revealed in an intriguing trailer. (But if you played the Sly collection, you already knew this news was coming.)
-Back to the Move capable stuff, Dust 514 is an intriguing PS3 game in that in can to connect to Eve Online for the PC.
-They showed a trailer to the much anticipated Bioshock Infinite. Also, they announced a Bioshock game for the NGP.
-They announced a Move enabled Star Trek game based on the newest film.
-I was actually surprised how much exclusive stuff they will offer if you choose to buy a game for the PS3. A Mt. Fuji level will be offered in SSX, Need for Speed: The Run will offer 7 PS3 exclusive cars and Battlefield 3 will have the entire Battlefield 1943 on disc.
-Playstation Suite ill offer connectivity to mobile phones or whatever I don't care.
-Now the time we have all been waiting for, the reveal of Playstation Vita, the next generation successor to the PSP. This baby will include 2 analog sticks, multi-touch 5 inch screen, motion sensing tech, touch sensors in the back of the system, front and back cameras, wifi, and 3G wifi capabilities. Also, it's a phone just so you know with service exclusively from AT&T. And I kid you not, the people actually snickered, laughed and booed when Kaz Hirai announced this. It was truly a priceless e3 moment.
-A social app called Near will act as a Sony social network that will keep track of friends, trophies, and online activity.
-Official Game for the Vita: Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Ruin which can connect to Facebook and Twitter and it is able to transfer content to the PS3, Modnation Racers, Wipeout (cross platform play), LittleBig Planet, Street Fighter X Tekken will be on the Vita with exclusive character Cole McGrath from Infamous!, Sound Shapes, Project: Gravity, Hustle Kings, Super Stardust, Reality Fighters, Hot Shots Golf, Shinobido 2: Tales of the Ninja, Dynasty Warriors, Dragon Crown
-The games and the Vita will all be available by Winter. The Vita itself will cost 300 for 3G and 250 for wifi only. That's actually a pretty good deal right there.
-Sony had a lot going for it. They didn't focus on the Move but instead included them in games they were either going to announce or integrated them into already existing games. It's a definitely plus that they didn't spend half their show on the Move as Microsoft did with the Kinect. New game announcements and the Vita helped make Sony's 2011 e3 conference a pretty damn good one. I give them a grade of B.
Nintendo:
Perhaps the most anticipated of all the e3 conferences took place on Tuesday after all the others had finished. Nintendo's 2011 e3 agenda: 3DS, new console
-Reggie Fils-Aime detailed a bunch of 3DS games that we had all been anticipating since the dawn of the system. Trailers for Mario Kart (Holiday), Star Fox 64 3D which allows for video chat during gameplay (September), Super Mario 3D (2011), Kid Icarus Uprising which will utilize AR cards (2011), Tetris, Cave Story 3D, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries, Resident Evil: Revelations, Pacman & Galaga Dimensions, Tekken 3d, Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D.
-Luigi's Mansion 2 was announced for the 3DS! After 10 long years this cult classic makes a return to gamers' hands. Luigi will now explore more than one mansion as he searches for someting (could Mario be missing again?)
-Reggie announced the new console to be the WiiU. Although the only thing that was showcased was the capability of the controller, it was enough to keep the audience intrigued.
-This odd new device includes a 6.2 inch touch screen, two analog sticks, a d-pad, XYBA buttons, ZL/ZR buttons, L/R triggers, mic, speakers, camera, stylus, gyroscope, accelerometer
-A video that showcased the Wii U controller's features. You will be able to switch your game from the big screen to the Wii U controller to play while someone watches the big screen.
-Using the stylus you can draw and color on the controller which can also display on the tv.
-The WiiU will be backwards compatible with all Wii games and Wii equipment including the Wiimote, Zapper, Balance Board, etc.
-You will be able to make video calls.
-The video concluded with some impressive CG images of Link fighting a giant spider. Could we have a new Zelda on our hands?!
-Super Smash Bros. was confirmed for both the WiiU and 3DS and they will be interactive in some way.
-Confirmed games: Lego City Stories (Lego GTA?), Darksiders II, Tekken, Batman: Arkham City, Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon Online, Dirt, Alien Colonial Marines, Metro Last Light, Ninja Gaiden 3.
-EA expressed great interest in the WiiU and promises many new titles to the system.
Nintendo really gave it their all at this e3. The WiiU took the show with its innovative game mechanics, jaw-dropping graphics, and its re-embracing of the hardcore market. The 3DS, although we knew about most of them, did a great job showing off its new eShop features. Nintendo definitely earned an A.
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