E3 2011 The Second Day of Information Gathering
Wow! What a fun and productive second day. As promised, I visited the Nintendo booth, and got profoundly hands-on with their new Wii U console. The first demo that I played was a pirate themed game called, "Shield Pose." Basically, it's a mock-up of a game that teaches you how to use the new-fangled controller. You're on a pirate ship adrift on the seas, and you can look in all directions with the controller's screen. Up ahead, is a rival pirate ship that starts shooting suction cup darts at you from all angles, it's your job to catch them with the controller's screen, and then shake them off, so that you can catch more. A simple concept, that basically taught you all the moves necessary to enter this new world of gaming. Quite fun, and it was sound-tracked to a fun, danceable beat, making this the weirdest rhythm-dance game that I've ever played. Sorry, Pa Rappa!
Next, I also saw two demos that showed the power of the Wii U. One was called, Japanese Garden, where you could use the controller to look in every single direction imaginable, while the action on the TV screen concerned the activities of a young swallow, flying and nesting in a cherry blossom tree. The second demo, was called Zelda HD. It was a 1080p mock-up of a Zelda game, where you can control: the lighting (i.e. literally switch between night and day, to test the system's lighting effects processing power), the camera angles, and finally you can choose to remove the action from the TV screen, and transfer it all to the controller's screen instead. Very cool, and both demos were being rendered in REAL TIME!
The next game that I played was the New Super Mario Bros. Mii. Why the "Mii" in the title? Well, it's because you can upload your Mii into the game, and play along with Mario! Very cool concept, and the game itself was a complete blast. There were five stages to choose from, and each was everything that you have come to expect from a Mario 2D, side-scroller. Which is to say, brilliant. Using the oversized controller, in order to play such a game was surprisingly easy and intuitive.
Let's be honest, at this stage in my life, putting a controller in my hand and having me play a Mario game is as intuitive as tying my shoelaces in the dark. Here's a couple of brief videos, that show what it was like to play this great game:
There was also a multiplayer component, which is where the Mii's came in to play. On those demos, they had the Wii nunchuck controllers for all the other players, while Player 1 still used the Wii U controller.
I left the Wii U section of the Nintendo booth, and headed for the Nintendo 3DS section. I was greeted by Kid Icarus: Uprising, a fast-paced shooter, that has completely shed its action-RPG past. It was fun, but it didn't feel like the franchise was properly utilized in my opinion. Next, I played Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, the game was simply a perfect translation of the PS2 game. This is astonishing, since the original PS2 game was well-known to push the PS2 to its limits. My own PS2, makes all manner of noises when playing this graphics intensive game. Is it any surprise then, that they had to use a special 4GB cart, in order to bring this title to the 3DS? I should think not. I also played Resident Evil: Revelations, which lived up to the creepy trailer that I talked about yesterday. It felt and played, just like a Resident Evil title. I couldn't have asked for more. I also played Luigi's Mansion 2, and the new Pokemon Pokedex 3DS. The former, is a great platformer, that rivals its Gamecube forebear, while the latter is of interest only to the most hardcore Pokemon fan (although it utilizes the 3D capabilities of the system beautifully).
I left the Nintendo booth, and headed for the Aliens: Colonial Marines preview show. The man responsible for the game's development, had gone back to the original H.R. Giger, Syd Mead, and Ridley Scott drawing boards, to make sure that everything was completely authentic. As an underling played through the game with him, he was narrating all of the special touches that he and his team had put into the game, that would appeal to the hardest of the hardcore Alien(s) fan. They even placed objects that were only visible in the director's cut of the movie, just to be all inclusive! I was quite impressed, and hope it sees the light of day soon. Sorry, but no video or photos of the game were allowed. :(
On the other side of the hall, and for all you Xbox 360 fans, who also happen to be Kinect owners, I observed, Kinect Star Wars. If you have ever wanted to use the Force to push or pull your opponents, or to levitate giant objects, then this game is for you. Yes, of course you can also swing your arms, as if holding a lightsaber, and throw said lightsaber at objects on the screen so that it comes back to you boomerang-style. This game looked insanely fun to play. I cannot imagine any StarWars geek, that wouldn't want to play this game to death.
Well, that's all for the second day. Wish me luck, and I'll see you all tomorrow, to give you one final wrap-up to this year's E3. Until then, take care and happy gaming!
Next, I also saw two demos that showed the power of the Wii U. One was called, Japanese Garden, where you could use the controller to look in every single direction imaginable, while the action on the TV screen concerned the activities of a young swallow, flying and nesting in a cherry blossom tree. The second demo, was called Zelda HD. It was a 1080p mock-up of a Zelda game, where you can control: the lighting (i.e. literally switch between night and day, to test the system's lighting effects processing power), the camera angles, and finally you can choose to remove the action from the TV screen, and transfer it all to the controller's screen instead. Very cool, and both demos were being rendered in REAL TIME!
The next game that I played was the New Super Mario Bros. Mii. Why the "Mii" in the title? Well, it's because you can upload your Mii into the game, and play along with Mario! Very cool concept, and the game itself was a complete blast. There were five stages to choose from, and each was everything that you have come to expect from a Mario 2D, side-scroller. Which is to say, brilliant. Using the oversized controller, in order to play such a game was surprisingly easy and intuitive.
Let's be honest, at this stage in my life, putting a controller in my hand and having me play a Mario game is as intuitive as tying my shoelaces in the dark. Here's a couple of brief videos, that show what it was like to play this great game:
There was also a multiplayer component, which is where the Mii's came in to play. On those demos, they had the Wii nunchuck controllers for all the other players, while Player 1 still used the Wii U controller.
I left the Wii U section of the Nintendo booth, and headed for the Nintendo 3DS section. I was greeted by Kid Icarus: Uprising, a fast-paced shooter, that has completely shed its action-RPG past. It was fun, but it didn't feel like the franchise was properly utilized in my opinion. Next, I played Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, the game was simply a perfect translation of the PS2 game. This is astonishing, since the original PS2 game was well-known to push the PS2 to its limits. My own PS2, makes all manner of noises when playing this graphics intensive game. Is it any surprise then, that they had to use a special 4GB cart, in order to bring this title to the 3DS? I should think not. I also played Resident Evil: Revelations, which lived up to the creepy trailer that I talked about yesterday. It felt and played, just like a Resident Evil title. I couldn't have asked for more. I also played Luigi's Mansion 2, and the new Pokemon Pokedex 3DS. The former, is a great platformer, that rivals its Gamecube forebear, while the latter is of interest only to the most hardcore Pokemon fan (although it utilizes the 3D capabilities of the system beautifully).
I left the Nintendo booth, and headed for the Aliens: Colonial Marines preview show. The man responsible for the game's development, had gone back to the original H.R. Giger, Syd Mead, and Ridley Scott drawing boards, to make sure that everything was completely authentic. As an underling played through the game with him, he was narrating all of the special touches that he and his team had put into the game, that would appeal to the hardest of the hardcore Alien(s) fan. They even placed objects that were only visible in the director's cut of the movie, just to be all inclusive! I was quite impressed, and hope it sees the light of day soon. Sorry, but no video or photos of the game were allowed. :(
On the other side of the hall, and for all you Xbox 360 fans, who also happen to be Kinect owners, I observed, Kinect Star Wars. If you have ever wanted to use the Force to push or pull your opponents, or to levitate giant objects, then this game is for you. Yes, of course you can also swing your arms, as if holding a lightsaber, and throw said lightsaber at objects on the screen so that it comes back to you boomerang-style. This game looked insanely fun to play. I cannot imagine any StarWars geek, that wouldn't want to play this game to death.
Well, that's all for the second day. Wish me luck, and I'll see you all tomorrow, to give you one final wrap-up to this year's E3. Until then, take care and happy gaming!
Labels: E3 2011 Day 2 Second
posted by Mehrdad at 1:22 AM
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