Now that we have seen pitches from Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, we can take a step back and judge who had the best floor-time at E3.
Microsoft had a reasonably good conference. I have to say that I was impressed with the improvements that they are going to be making to the Dashboard system, as the existing 'blade navigation' is a little like a Pandora box at times. Looking for content at times (particularly older DLC) can leave you feeling like you're searching for the 'Crystal Skull' rather than 'that Boston track you like from Rock Band'.
The games being showcased by Microsoft and their affiliates were not too bad either! Gears of War 2's gameplay looked amazing, which was relieving, as I personally thought that it was not going to be dramatically different from the original. Turns out however, there's enough chainsawing, explosions and mind blowing in-game events to keep you coming back for more!
Fallout 3 looks reasonably good but I cannot see it being a HUGE seller. Considering how rubbish the first two were…people might not want to even bother with a third, even though it is radically different.
Square's announcement of the 360 bound Final Fantasy XIII, was of course, the reason behind the internet exploding. Now, I'm no 360/PS3/Wii fanboy or anything but this came as a massive surprise to me, no doubt. Here we have one of the Playstation 3's biggest, thought-to-be 'exclusive titles' being announced to appear on their closest rival's system. Final Fantasy XIII was one of the exclusive titles, besides Metal Gear Solid 4, which justified the purchase of a PS3 for most gamers out there. For one of these massive titles to appear on the cheaper system is just…insane! Especially on launch day! It would at least merit a little sense if PS3 owners, who have been following the game's progress very closely, would be able to play it first!
Final Fantasy should be an amazing game but as a 360 owner, I cannot help but feel sorry for those who bought a PS3 in order to play the next installment in the FF series…they could have saved a lot of money!
Now onto the Nintendo E3 offering!
The Wii is a family oriented play-thing…I think everyone can admit this now. Sure, there's a few games like Super Mario Galaxy, No More Heroes, Super Smash Bros. and Twilight Princess that can be hailed as 'classic videogames'. However, these titles did NOT take the Nintendo Wii to the summit of its unbelievable success. Games like Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Wii Play have and nobody can really deny that.
Anyway! This of course explains why Nintendo are going gimmick crazy this year at the Electronic Entertainment Expo! Wii Music will surely have the entire family going bonzo gonzo simulating various 'instruments' with their Wiimote/nunchuck combination! There is also no doubt that the general audience for the Wii will be fascinated with the prospect of Jet-Skiing with the Wii-board and…Wiimote handlebar!? The announcement of a Wii-Sports sequel will also have store clerks worldwide going nuts over supply and demand issues come Christmas time for certain!
From a gamer's point of view…Nintendo's line-up did not excite me at all. Aren't we all waiting for an actual Wii Zelda title still…instead of a Gamecube port!? Or even a home-console port of Pokemon! The Japanese market would go crazy for that! There would be no doubt that European and North American market would like it to become a reality too!
Perhaps the future of Nintendo is all for family friendly, interactive entertainment and that we will soon witness timeless characters such as Mario and Link become sideshow attractions as…say…retro fitness instructors for Wii Fit: Extreme!? Who knows for certain…I certainly hope we see more REAL games from the true kings of gaming.
Last but certainly not least - we arrive at Sony's presentation. This was a bit of a disappointment to be honest, as nothing really made a big impact this year. Before E3 even kicked off this year, I predicted that Sony might have heavily endorsed the release of Final Fantasy XIII as their Trojan horse, riding fiercely into the next generation console battle! But since Microsoft stole their thunder, they failed to even mention the treacherous title.
Instead, Sony decided to pump as much excitement as they possibly could into the technically sound Little Big Planet…which has been making waves ever since it was debuted. The trailer for Resistance 2 seemed…a tad…'work in progress' for my liking however. The first game was very impressive but the sequel's footage shown at this year's conference seemed to be a waste of time, as it clearly was not ready for a showcase.
After all that could be said about two of the only exclusive games in their arsenal, they decide to take…a step back!? Wait…a major step back - who on Earth wants to hear about what's in store for the Playstation 2!? Aren't we supposed to be looking towards the next generation now!? I mean we're two years into it now. It does, however, seem like a wise tactic by Sony…believe it or not. Instead of taking all the heat and humiliation of not having much in store for their new console, they have decided to focus on their most successful console to date. There is no doubt about it. The PS2 was their crowning achievement and really cemented Sony on the gaming map.
The sudden resurgence of the Playstation 2 is like the KISS comeback tour…or y'know, the Atari 2600 effect! Remember how the beast that was the Atari 5200 bombed and Atari, like the clever buggers they are, decided to go back to their most successful system, knowing full well they were sinking? Well I believe history may repeat itself here…afterall…it's not as if developers would complain about producing PS2 games again…most Wii games can be easily ported to and from it anyway.
…okay, so that all seems a tad unlikely but I can see the PS2 being given a few big titles to keep it afloat as back-up!
As for Sony's HOME system…how long have we been waiting for this to become available? Is it worth the wait? That's up to the customer…but personally, I'm going to play games, buy dvd's and talk to my friends the good ol' fashioned way if you don't mind. I could not care less for HOME if I tried.
I think my rant is over lol