Quick E3 thoughts

- PS Vita.  Won't comment on the name because I do not think there has been a single videogame device released where I have liked the name initially.  They all become second nature by the time they are released.  Anyway, its $249.99 price point is pretty amazing.  I am sure Sony is taking a loss at this price, but it is all win for the consumer.  $299.99 for the 3G version is also not a bad deal.

 

- While we're on the subject of names, I give you the "Wii U".  Just like with the Wii, the console itself is not the star, the controller is.  The Wii U controller is big.  Like, very big.  Looks like a tablet with analog sticks.  It promises to do many things, I just don't know if I want to do those things when I play my games.  I'll reserve final judgement until I try it myself.  I recall everyone thinking Nintendo was crazy when they showed off the Wiimote for the first time, but 5 years later they clearly got the last laugh.  Nintendo IS crazy.  But sometimes they are crazy smart.  We'll see.

 

- The new Tomb Raider reboot looks promising.  They may want to consider cutting back on Lara's grunts and groans during gameplay though.

 

- Halo: Anniversary.  I was actually hoping for a full-blown remake of Halo: Combat Evolved using the Reach engine and including many of the gameplay improvements the series has seen over the years.  Looks like this remake is running off the exact gameplay engine of the original, but is using two of the original's graphics engines simultaneously for the upgraded visuals.  One cool thing is that you can switch between the original and enhanced visuals on the fly with the press of a button, like with the Moneky Island remakes.  I'll probably pick this one up as long as it is not full-price.

 

- Halo 4 was announced.  I knew this series would continue, but since Halo 3 ended that "trilogy" and storyline, I assumed any new games would sport a new title.  I guess that was silly of me, considering the clout and recognition the name "Halo" has.  I wonder if Halo 4 will even have halos in it!

 

- The Resistance 3 demo they showed at the Sony press conference looked pretty weak to me.  The game seemed totally uninspired and uninteresting to me.  I've never been a fan of this series though, so your results may vary.

 

- Uncharted 3, on the other hand, looked phenominal.  Granted, gameplay-wise I am not expecting anything different, but I'll be damned if Naughty Dog does not know its way around the PS3 hardware.  Looks like they are trying to take back the "best graphics on a console" crown from Killzone 3.  The visuals were amazing and the processing power at play to generate the movement of the ship (which from what I understand is all real-time with actual physics at play, not some canned animation) is extremely impressive.

 

- Rayman Origins looks absolutely gorgeous.  One of the most vibrant games I have seen in recent memory.  I really hope this game is sucessful and brings forth a slew of 2D games using these powerful consoles to display truly breathtaking 2D visuals.  And good God can someone PLEASE release a remake of Out of this World and Flashback with enhanced visuals like this?  PLEASE!!!!

 

That's all for now.  I still have plenty of more media to see.

 

L.A. Noire

Anyone going into L.A. Noire expecting Grand Theft Auto set in 1940's Los Angeles is going to come away disappointed.  Red Dead Redemption might have taken the GTA formula and masterfully transported it to a Wild West setting, but L.A. Noire tries to do no such thing.  Good thing too, because as much as I enjoyed RDR, L.A. Noire comes off as a truly unique experience.

 

The game's main hook is its new facial animation capture technology and in my opinion Team Bondi pulls it off beautifully.  It truly is impressive tech.  And it does not stop there, the entire visual package is top notch.  1940's L.A. has been recreated with a surprising level of detail.  The city is large and sprawling, the lighting engine is excellent and the animations (as has been the case with all recent Rockstar games) are incredibly life-like.  The game suffers from some pop-up, texture fill-in and the occasional frame-rate drop, but I don't know of an open world games that doesn't.

 

On the audio side the level of quality continues (if not surpasses the visuals).  Excellent voice-acting and some fantastic music transport you into the game world.  The entire audio/visual package is top notch.

 

Gameplay is much slower paced than prior Rockstar open world games, but also much more focused.  Similar to Mafia II, the game world is open for you to explore, however, the game is linear and story-driven with practically no incentive to go off the beaten path.  So while you can drive around aimlessly and explore, there is little incentive to do so aside from the occasional crime which will come through your police scanner.  The game is broken down into acts which are basically the different cases you'll be trying to solve.  The majority of your time will be spent driving to various crime scenes or to question P.O.I's (persons of interest) related to your case.  Thrown into the mix are car chases, on foot chases, fist fights and gun battles.  Unlike in GTA, you cannot un-holster your weapon at any time in L.A. Noire.  Gunplay only becomes an option when the game deems it appropriate.  Some may find this as restricting your freedom, but it doesn't bother me much.  You are a detective after all, no need to be capping civilians in this game.

 

The newest gameplay mechanic comes during the interrogation sections.  During these scenes you ask individuals a series of predetermined questions and then decide whether they are being truthful or lying based on their response.  This is where the facial animation really comes into play since you need to study how they respond not just by their words, but their mannerisms.  Shifty eyes or a nervous twitch are telltale signs that a subject may not be entirely truthful.  It is too early for me to tell how deep this system is, but it has been different and enjoyable so far.

 

L.A. Noire has been a refreshing change of pace.  Fantastic atmosphere and top notch production values, along with unique gameplay.  I applaud Team Bondi for trying something different with a such a high budget title.  I hope it pays off for them.  I'll give further impressions as I experience more of the game.

 

Chiming in

Haven't posted in a while, mainly because I haven't been doing much gaming.  Except for Black-ops.  I can't seem to put that one away.

 

I was looking forward to Brink but the reviews and impressions have taken that game off my immediate must-buy list.  I will however be picking up L.A. Noire today after work.  Been looking forward to that one and early word is that it is a very unique experience.  Which I am more than willing to dive into.  And a much needed change of pace from all the fast-twitch fragfest I've been getting from Blops.

 

Of course, looking at my schedule for the rest of the week, I'm not sure I will have much time to put L.A. Noire through its paces.

 

Portal 2 impressions

The short version.  It's fantastic.

 

I've been playing Portal 2 for the last two nights and the game is an absolute joy to play.  It has a ton of polish and attention to detail.  It oozes charm.  The animation and voice-acting is so impressive that the game has an almost Pixar quality to it.  Not in visual fidelity mind you, but in general look, feel, and level of talent involved in making it.  All characters you interact with are robots, but their animation and voices are so well done they come across as more "human" than most characters in lengthy RPGs.

 

The game is also down right hilarious.  Even funnier than the first one.  I have not stopped smiling while playing and I have lost track of how many times I have actually laughed out loud.

 

The puzzles and level design is also fantastic.  Solving a particular clever/tricky puzzle is quite exhilarating.

 

I purchased the PS3 version since Valve seemed to favor that one (over the 360).  You get a free copy of the PC version through Steam with the PS3 copy.  You can also play co-op with PC users from the PS3.  And you get Steam cloud save support.  I applaud Valve for again seeming to treat their customers right.  The Orange Box was (still is) one of the best values out there and the PS3 version of Portal 2 seems to give a lot back.  Good job guys.

 

Not sure how long the single-player is (I'm by Chapter 5 I think) but I've already put more hours into it than the first game.  I'm in no hurry for it to end.

 

Crysis 2

I never added my thoughts on Crysis 2, which I picked up for the 360 the day it was released.  Since it has been a few weeks now, laziness has set in and I don't feel like writing up a detailed impressions post.  So just some quick thoughts.

 

- Game is plenty pretty, although Killzone 3 and Uncharted 2 are still holders of the best-console-graphics crown imo.

 

- The Nanosuit is a lot of fun to use and can make you feel like a bad-ass.  Me like.

 

- I found the sections that have you fighting against the human forces far less entertaining than when you were up against the Ceph.  Not sure why.  Maybe I just like killing squid-like aliens.

 

- Gameplay is solid.  The game controls and feels great and I didn't have any problem utilizing all of the nanosuit's powers and abilities, since they are all smartly mapped to the controller.

 

- While battles don't feel as dynamic and entertaining as those in the Halo series, the battlefields are large and offer you plenty of ways to approach them.  Enemy A.I. is smart at times, but can also be very glitchy with enemies walking in circles, getting stuck in the environment or sometimes being oblivious to what is going on around them.  And sometimes, the opposite is true, with enemies spotting you instantly from 50 yards away while you are hiding behind some foliage as if they were looking in your direction the whole time.

 

- The story was . . . well it was kinda weak and relayed to the player poorly.  I never played the first Crysis but I've read even if you did, it had little to do with this game.  You basically follow way points the entire game, not really knowing (or caring) what you had to do most of the time.  Or maybe I just wasn't paying attention since it was all pretty uninteresting.

 

- I've only tried a handful of multiplayer matches and the impression I got was that engagement usually just consistent of both players activating Maximum Armor and unloading on each other.  That may not be a fair assessment of the whole experience given my limited time with it.  Not sure if it interests me enough for me to devote much time to it to find out though.  Or I should say, not sure if I am willing to stop playing Black-Ops to find out.

 

Torchlight

I've been interested in Torchlight since it was released on the PC in 2009, since many of the gaming blogs I read on a regular basis were giving it great praise.  Since I am not a big PC gamer however, I let it go.

 

It has now been released on Xbox Live.  I finally decided to try the trial version last night.

 

Oh wow.

 

First of all, the trial is pretty long.  It was getting kinda late and I actually began wondering when it was going to end because I had to go to bed (not because I wanted it to end mind you, since I was having a grand old time).

 

I do not think I have ever played a trial that has made me want to purchase the full game so much.  Not only because of how fun the game was, but because of something else.  It's what makes these type of games so addicting in the first place.  I did not want to lose all the great equipment and weapons I had already found and begun to customize to my liking!

 

I did not end up purchasing Torchlight last night.  I am actually using all my willpower to NOT purchase it.  I've been trying to spend less time gaming and do more productive things.  A few months back I was doing just that and very much enjoying getting things done and not feeling like my days were just being wasted away sitting on my couch.  Recently however, I've been back to my Black-Ops addiction and playing it every night (got my overall k/d ratio to 2.00, and I am very happy about that).  Before that I spent a solid two days playing through Killzone 3.  I've spent time with BG&E HD.  Basically, I am back to gaming every free moment I get and it pains me to say it, but I don't want to be.

 

And Torchlight, I am afraid, is a game that will push me overboard.  I can see myself playing that game for hours straight, thinking to myself, "I'll just go down one more dungeon level, get some more loot, and then go to town to sell stuff and that's it . . . just one more level".  Those types of games, while highly enjoyable for the most part, feed off some sort of weird addiction where you're playing the game not even so much for the enjoyment of the play mechanics, or story, but because of some internal need to continue level and collecting.  It's kinda like the MMO or RPG syndrome.  You get an almost high from leveling up and finding new items.  The gameplay itself is repetitive or sometimes not even very fun.  But you just cannot stop playing.

 

Yes, I definitely do not need a game like that right now, as much as I wanted to keep playing the game after the trial ended.  So my apologies to the developer, even though you made a fantastic port and a great title, I cannot give you my money (but most importantly, my time) right now.

 

Alright now that I got that off my chest anyone that knows me already knows that I will probably own this game before the end of the week.  :-(

 

Reminder . . .

Beyond Good & Evil HD was released on Xbox Live Arcade yesterday.  Buy it.

 

That is all.