[J'nathus]

Here's what has really piqued my interest from the games covered at E3 on Gametrailers.com:
(the names are links to trailers BTW)

I have ONE game that makes me want a PS3 . . . "The Last Guardian" . . it looks like such an experience / emotionally evocative game. Alas, a new PS3 just isn't in the budget, especially not just for 1 game. There's not much of the 'Sony native' list that compels me to want a PS3 outside of this game.

Crackdown 2... looks like a teaser . . . as in not gameplay and it's not releasing real soon. I love the first game (still reset the gangs and play through it now and again). To be honest, the sequel looks like they took the fun first game and made it much more gritty. I don't know that it's on my hit list until I see more of it, but just like Prince of Persia Warrior Within, the gritty 2nd take on the first game didn't do much to endear it to me.

Splinter Cell Conviction - I'll be getting this for the PC... anytime there's a crosshair and tense action, I do much better with a mouse and keyboard. It looks fun, but some of the game mechanics like the 'last known location' and how the screen grays out when you're in the shadows.. I'd want to turn that off to aid immersion. Otherwise it looks really fun.
Release: 10/20/2009 Availability: PC, X-Box360

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 - This looks really good and action packed / tense. I really like games that don't involve scary mutants, monsters, zombies or aliens... but still offers tense nail-biting action. I also like the snowmobile section shown in the demo, although being able to reload easily with one hand on a moving snowmobile might be a bit of a stretch... I'll forgive it for the action that I want to enjoy. I haven't had a snowmobile section since No One Lives Forever (1 AND 2). It's FPS so I'm definitely getting it for PC.
Release: 11/10/2009 Availability: PC, PS3, X-Box360

Assassin's Creed 2 - The world looks more diverse, more immersive and more interesting than the first Assassin's Creed. The lack of a on-board weapon (no sword) seems a bit different, but the gameplay definitely looks worthwhile. I'm glad it's coming out for the PC and the X-Box 360, but I think I'll be getting it for the X-Box 360. Melee combat seems to work best with a gamepad.
Release: 11/17/2009 Availability: PC, PS3, X-Box360

Mass Effect 2 - This looks darker than the first game and it looks more mysterious (or that's just the trailer). Otherwise I'm glad it's coming out simultaneously for the PC and the X-Box 360. Given it's focus on shooter gameplay, and mouse crosshair aiming, I'll be getting it for PC.
Release: 12/31/2009 Availability: PC, X-Box360

Star Wars The Old Republic Cinematic - VERY well done. Very interesting to watch for any Star Wars fan. The lead villain dood looks like a cross between The Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader and Darth Maul (the emperor's cold calculating and sound, Vaders suit - for the most part, and Darth Maul's moves). The problem is.. it's like a WoW cinematic... this tells nothing of the gameplay, even if this cinematic is included in the game as an explanation for part of the game storyline. It's still cool none-the-less.
Release: 2010 (?) Availability: PC

[Janichsan]

J, on June 3rd 2009, 09:19 PM, said:

Crackdown 2

Same game rehashed.

Quote

Splinter Cell Conviction

Same game rehashed.

Quote

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2

Same game rehashed.

Quote

Assassin's Creed 2

Same game rehashed.

Quote

Mass Effect 2

Okay, will probably be decent. But becomes even more a shooter than an RPG according to several previews.

Quote

Star Wars The Old Republic Cinematic

Could also be decent, although I doubt that Bioware will be able to do what made KotOR a great game in an MMORPG.

Quote

The Last Guardian

Probably the only game apart from Hard Rain on the whole E3 that I also deem interesting. Not very innovative (the gameplay looks a lot like Ico with a griffon instead of the girl), but probably a great game.

...and yes, I'm very negative at the moment about what the games industry shovels on the market in the last time.

[J'nathus]

Janichsan, on June 3rd 2009, 12:45 PM, said:

...and yes, I'm very negative at the moment about what the games industry shovels on the market in the last time.

And I appreciate you taking the time to spread your negativity to a post I spent so long making. Additionally, did you read any of my statements or watch any of the gameplay trailers before drawing those conclusions, or are you simply using my convenient E3 posting to vent your frustrations?

As an example, the Splinter Cell game while being an extension of the previous storyline looks to be completely different than any other Splinter Cell offering. Even "Double Agent" showed some notable similarities with the previous games. This isn't Madden 09... this is definitely a change. I feel certain that most of the games I indicated will be enjoyable for me... I'm sorry that my tastes do not meet with your particular standards.

[Janichsan]

J, on June 3rd 2009, 10:03 PM, said:

And I appreciate you taking the time to spread your negativity to a post I spent so long making.

You're welcome. No, seriously: You certainly have the right to be thrilled by these announcements, but you should also entitle other people to have a different opinion.

Quote

Additionally, did you read any of my statements or watch any of the gameplay trailers before drawing those conclusions, or are you simply using my convenient E3 posting to vent your frustrations?

Yes, I have read your statements and have seen most of the trailers earlier. In addition I have followed the E3 coverage on a couple of sites so I know a bit about these games besides what can be seen in the trailers.

[J'nathus]

Janichsan, on June 3rd 2009, 01:47 PM, said:

No, seriously: You certainly have the right to be thrilled by these announcements, but you should also entitle other people to have a different opinion.

You obviously do, and I cannot control you, but I would give preference to you mentioning only those that interest you, or sharing your preferences instead of negating mine. Difference of opinion doesn't necessarily mean demeaning what other people like.

Your interest in Mass Effect seems trivial to me. It looks like the same thing it was before with some new weapon upgrades and a darker tone, otherwise the same.

It doesn't matter if it's the new Camero, it's still a Camero.. V8, rear drive, it's all been done before.

It doesn't matter that No One Lives Forever was fun and funny. Comedy? That's been done before. The 60s spy thing, we just saw that in the movies (at the time)...

My point being, originality is hard to come by, and the fact that we all live on this little ball of a planet, everything tends to be somewhat derivative. Was Mirror's Edge considered unoriginal because Assassin's Creed had already done free running? There was a Japanese game that had already done free running in 3rd person that predated both (as I recall).

Why do you have to pick the things I get excited about to vent your negative appraisal of? As a matter of fact, what's the use of offering a negative appraisal at all? I don't really care for fish / most seafood. If you made a post about it, I would simply let others who are interested in discussing that topic do their posting and leave well enough alone. Perhaps that's not an accurate metaphor, but the differing opinion still applies.

I guess that's just the risk I run positing this kind of thing on a web forum. I prefer healthy discussion / debate, not mud slinging and negating others. I guess that too is just something particular to me. People have a right to speak their minds negating things I like, partake of, or otherwise care about. However, that doesn't mean I have to take it lying down, or stick around while you badmouth things. Opinions are subjective, and as has been pointed out elsewhere on this forum EVERYTHING can be broken down to simply stated based concepts. That doesn't make the act of doing so endearing, nor particularly interesting.

[teflon]

Splinter Cell Conviction looks pretty intense. I especially like the new stylings to how they present information and objecives by plastering in massive words on in game object. When Sam got the guy to talk in the bogs and all of a sudden the guy he was talking about was being projected onto all the walls I was just wowed. It was then almost completely seamless into that mission, and the objective was clearly painted by having its name in massive lights on the wall, which was very cinematic.
Add to that what looks like a very streamlined combat system and this could be the next Chaos Theory, a pinnacle of its genre. So Im pretty darn excited.

And Janichsan, I see what youre saying, yes a lot of sequels. But when a game is flawed on several levels despite having a lot of potential, does it not deserve the opportunity to get it right a second time? Assassins Creed was too repetitive and staid, AC2 looks to seriously mix things up, put another layer of polish on the experience (I mean, did you see the building just fall away in the background, that was cool as heck) and right a large number of the problems of the original.

Its all well and good saying "same game rehashed" but when its actual substantial changes to the experience, like the rather cinematic approach Splinter Cell now has, or Modern Warfare 2 taking some of the action to the next level by adding vehicles and trying different things like ice climbing (which in and of itself turns into a little minigame), you need to really look at the merits of giving a sequel and continuing a franchise rather than simply say "its gonna be rubbish".

Sometimes the glass is half full and the developer is asking you if you want it totted up.

[Ichigo27]

Janichsan, on June 3rd 2009, 02:45 PM, said:

Probably the only game apart from Hard Rain on the whole E3 that I also deem interesting. Not very innovative (the gameplay looks a lot like Ico with a griffon instead of the girl), but probably a great game.

Heavy Rain, second the game isn't even out yet.


And Yes the xbox 360 is the best seventh generation platform available and not playing the playstation 3s exclusives is a great thing!

[Sneaky Snake]

Mass Effect 2 is the one I'm looking forward to the most - due to how good the original was

Splinter Cell Conviction will also be watched like a hawk by me. I beat the first 2 but for some reason never picked up the 3rd which I understand was the best ever. Loved the series though.

I'm getting kinda tired of the COD hype by people - the game is real fun but takes no real skill to play (compared to games like Halo, Killzone, and pretty much any other fps). The teamdeathmatch is just every one trying to rank up by killing everyone with noob tubes, random grenades everywhere, and spray-'n-pray's. I always liked COD but it pisses me off when people say it is the be all and end all of games. Forgive the rant, its directed towards the COD fanboys - not anyone here.


Not mentioned here but Halo: Reach is getting my attention. The reason being as I would love to see the return of the epic-ness of Halo's campaigns (1 was amazing, 2 & 3 finished the story but were pretty "meh"). If this game is true to its roots (halo 1 and the novels) it otta be good

[J'nathus]

Sneaky Snake, on June 3rd 2009, 05:53 PM, said:

I'm getting kinda tired of the COD hype by people - the game is real fun but takes no real skill to play (compared to games like Halo, Killzone, and pretty much any other fps). The teamdeathmatch is just every one trying to rank up by killing everyone with noob tubes, random grenades everywhere, and spray-'n-pray's. I always liked COD but it pisses me off when people say it is the be all and end all of games. Forgive the rant, its directed towards the COD fanboys - not anyone here.

I never got into the CoD multiplayer. Most FPS multiplayer annoys me because I'm never going to be as good as people who really spend time playing it. I have other games to get to. To me, CoD is ONLY the single player campaign. To that end, this new one looks like it's going to be the most interesting / diverse yet... but we'll see.

Yes, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory was really good. Double Agent is very tense / cinematic, but it's not fun to replay and the load screens are so busy being pretty that the game loads are incredibly slow.

I was replaying Mass Effect the other day and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I've done 2 times through. I've tried being the 'renegade,' but it's very hard for me. Sort of like Black and White 2... I'm just not good at being evil. HOWEVER, when Star Wars The Old Republic comes out, I'm going to give being a Sith a whirl.

[Sneaky Snake]

J, on June 3rd 2009, 10:00 PM, said:

I never got into the CoD multiplayer. Most FPS multiplayer annoys me because I'm never going to be as good as people who really spend time playing it. I have other games to get to. To me, CoD is ONLY the single player campaign. To that end, this new one looks like it's going to be the most interesting / diverse yet... but we'll see.

I was replaying Mass Effect the other day and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I've done 2 times through. I've tried being the 'renegade,' but it's very hard for me. Sort of like Black and White 2... I'm just not good at being evil. HOWEVER, when Star Wars The Old Republic comes out, I'm going to give being a Sith a whirl.

Agreed. I've loved the COD's single players. Online just seems to be full of tards. I don't know what it is but I can never bring myself to be evil either - In any game. FPS, RTS, RPG, etc. I think I've clocked a few hundred games with as the ISA (the good side) in Killzone online, but only a few dozen as Helghast, and those few dozen times are the ones were I wasn't given a choice

[Janichsan]

J, on June 3rd 2009, 11:44 PM, said:

Why do you have to pick the things I get excited about to vent your negative appraisal of? As a matter of fact, what's the use of offering a negative appraisal at all?

I apologise. I didn't want to bash your expectations in particular. It's just that this E3 – from my point of view – had the lamest announcements ever. On every platform, from every developer.

teflon, on June 4th 2009, 12:46 AM, said:

... or Modern Warfare 2 taking some of the action to the next level by adding vehicles and trying different things like ice climbing (which in and of itself turns into a little minigame), ...

Based on my past experiences with the CoD series, that probably means two short levels with vehicles and a single two minute sequence of ice climbing (in single player – I guess the vehicles will play a bigger role in multiplayer mode).

Ichigo27, on June 4th 2009, 02:36 AM, said:

Heavy Rain, second the game isn't even out yet.

Right. Bad weather in any way. And I assume you are referring to The Last Guardian with the second part? Also right, that's why I meant the gameplay looks like Ico. However, gameplay innovations never were what the games of that developer team were about.

[teflon]

maybe, and maybe not. Yes itll stick to the bread and butter of shooting for the main part, but thats because its a shooter. Im sure that theres going to be plenty other little bits of variety thrown in there.

As for E3 as a whole, I think that last years was much worse. Nintendo didnt announce anything of interest, sequel or otherwise, except the plus, MS just showed a bunch of games we already knew about and also FF13 and Sony were just so introspective and sad that thats all I remember about it. This year, Nintendo announced a bunch of sequels to the best games on the Wii, Microsoft actually showed some exclusives and Sony managed to show that they were quite a way ahead in terms of exclusives and that MS werent the only ones who could get motion control done differently to nintendo.

simply, last years show was just depressing, whilst even though you bemoan a lack or originality, this year is far more interesting.

[J'nathus]

teflon, on June 4th 2009, 01:40 AM, said:

simply, last years show was just depressing, whilst even though you bemoan a lack or originality, this year is far more interesting.

You folks and your E3 show... All I care about is games that suit my particular tastes and playstyle coming out. X-box 360 exclusives!?!?! So long as the games come to the PC they're not exclusive, which means that 'exclusivity' doesn't 'exclude' me (unlike what the mean mean Sony does). I think the only game in my library that doesn't have a PC port is Crackdown, which (as a shooter) would be easier with a mouse, but otherwise plays great on the 360. That's actually a little upsetting for me because I bought the 360 originally to fill the gaps of games that I wanted that weren't released on PC. Less and less qualifies for that.

I actually agree that this year's show did some some interesting things. Don't you think that owes in part to them returning the show to a more 'convention center' approach?

[Thain Esh Kelch]

That Star Wars trailer has to be one of the best I've ever seen. Damn, that was real quality. Thanks for bringing it up.

[Janichsan]

If I may just spread a tiny wee little bit more negativity: the following comes from a hands-on preview of Mass Effect 2.

Quote

BioWare has ditched "health packs" for regenerating shields and health.

EPIC FAIL!

[Tetsuya]

Janichsan, on June 5th 2009, 02:21 AM, said:

If I may just spread a tiny wee little bit more negativity: the following comes from a hands-on preview of Mass Effect 2.
EPIC FAIL!

someone apparently didn't play ME1... at all.

always had regenerating shields, and unless you were playing a Biotic every CLASS had a way to get real-time health regen; and ANYONE could do it with a simple armor mod.

so... yeah. Not really sure what the deal is here.

I never once used a health pack in any of the 3 runs of ME 1 i played through.

So no change apparently = giant fail?

and edit:

Halo: Reach looks a lot more appealing than any of the other shooters showed. "You've got Spartans on the ground, sir. We're not going anywhere." The story of why John was the last spartan should be very compelling.

I think they should probably just go ahead and name it directly after the book, though. Halo: The Fall of Reach sounds better.

[Janichsan]

Tetsuya, on June 5th 2009, 03:49 PM, said:

always had regenerating shields, and unless you were playing a Biotic every CLASS had a way to get real-time health regen; and ANYONE could do it with a simple armor mod.

It seems you didn't completely grasp the meaning of that change: regenerating health is no longer something you can earn in the course of the game. You have that now right from the beginning. You are virtually invicible. ME2's gameplay is obviously a big step away from being an RPG to be a shooter. Hence, EPIC FAIL.

[the Battle Cat]

Tetsuya, on June 5th 2009, 06:49 AM, said:

I think they should probably just go ahead and name it directly after the book, though. Halo: The Fall of Reach sounds better.

I've got that book. You know, it was almost more fun reading the books. Let me tell you I was disappointed and felt a little ripped off after reading about how I could survive a free fall from orbit in the book but a 30 foot drop in the game would kill me. I mean even in Marathon I could drop down 300 foot shafts with half a ton of munitions and land on my toes ready to murderize any woe begotten foe unlucky enough to be in my ground zero.

[Tetsuya]

Janichsan, on June 5th 2009, 07:19 AM, said:

It seems you didn't completely grasp the meaning of that change: regenerating health is no longer something you can earn in the course of the game. You have that now right from the beginning. You are virtually invicible. ME2's gameplay is obviously a big step away from being an RPG to be a shooter. Hence, EPIC FAIL.

Earn? huh?

you can have it from level 1 in ME1. Trust me, this isn't a significant change of any kind.

concerning The Fall of Reach - yeah, the books were pretty good. Particularly The Fall of Reach and First Strike. I haven't read Ghosts of Onyx or Contact Harvest yet, though, and i do believe there is a new one out just recently.

The Mass Effect books were quite good as well, since they were written by the guy who wrote the games, they dont screw up the story or cause any continuity issues. The second book, in particular, seems to tie directly into the new game, as it deals almost exclusively with Cerberus.

[J'nathus]

Thain Esh Kelch, on June 5th 2009, 12:24 AM, said:

That Star Wars trailer has to be one of the best I've ever seen. Damn, that was real quality. Thanks for bringing it up.

It was quite impressive. I hope the game includes cinematics of that caliber, otherwise that pre-rendered teaser is just that... a teaser.