E3 2012: Unreal Engine 4 Tech Demo: Like It Or Not, It’s Coming Your Way…

Posted on June 9, 2012 by geelw

This is pretty great to look at, but remember: it’s ONLY a tech demo and under the right hands, I’m betting things can only go up from there. But at what cost? For me, a game engine is only as good as the programmers and artists who end up using it. There have been a number of games created with older and current versions of the Unreal engine that do an amazing job of NOT looking as if they were made using it (which is really cool in my book). This leads me to believe that while we will indeed see plenty of games that make us all say “Oh…THAT’S Unreal 4?”… we’re going to be sitting through a lot of games before that, sighing “Oh, that’s Unreal 4…” Continue reading →

E3 2012: Agni’s Philosophy Tech Demo Shows Square Enix Is More Than Ready For New-Gen…

Posted on June 8, 2012 by geelw

Lovely. Absolutely lovely. Well, if they can make a battle system that’s a bit more action oriented (and lose the quick time events!), I’ll be diving back into a Final Fantasy game after too long away. Still this IS a tech demo, so it’ll be up to what the programmers can do to assure any game using this engine looks as great or even better. As for MY own new-gen wants: I want NO damn “dot” shadows ever again in a 3D game, EVER, destructible/movable objects (no more furniture nailed to sets), ZERO clipping issues, voice sync that looks realistic and hell, every door opening in a game for a change. Some bathrooms would help as well, but hey, RPG characters aren’t real and don’t need to poop or pee, I guess.

OK, that said, I STILL want to see an anime game on a new console that looks and flows even more like an actual anime does. We’re getting to that point and it’s clear that the coming console cycle Can make that happen. I’ll be keeping my eyeballs peeled (eww), so get on it, guys….

E3 2012: As A Game, Defiance Proves Me Wrong, But The Show Still Needs To Be Worth Watching…

Posted on June 8, 2012 by geelw

OK, I’ll admit it. I wasn’t at ALL keen on Defiance from the moment I heard about it. Sure, Trion Worlds is known for some solid MMO experiences, but the fact that the game would be based on a show from the network that brings us crappy camp like Sharktopus and Jersey Shore Shark Attack! didn’t exactly make me comfortably assured about reliable quality control in regards to the upcoming TV series. Sure, the Battlestar Galactica reboot was groundbreaking and great from the start , but as the song goes, “What Have You Done For Me Lately?”

Then I saw some gameplay and well, I had to eat my hat…

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E3 2012: Lost Planet 3 Trailer: I’ll Have Another Cold One, Thanks…

Posted on June 7, 2012 by geelw

Capcom and developer Spark Unlimited are going back to the past to bring you the future with Lost Planet 3. Taking place before events in the first game, the mix of “older” tech, some new Akrid to fight and a few tweaks to the gameplay formula (while ditching what didn’t work in part two) could just make this one a sleeper hit. Just don’t get it mixed up with Dead Space 3 (as that installment gets a cold and wintry planet to explore as well as huge bosses to battle) and you’ll do fine…

E3 2012: Divinity: Original Sin & Divinity – Dragon Commander: Larian Doubles Up On The Fun Stuff

Posted on June 7, 2012 by geelw

Not one, but TWO new games on the way from the fine folks at Larian Studios? Nice. We’re getting a prequel to Divine Divinity (still a really cool RPG to dive back into for me) and an all new strategy game with what’s looking like a wild sense of humor from the same team. Here are looks at both games iv developer videos from before and during the show. Keep up the great work, guys!

E3 2012: Nintendo Press Conference: Forging Ahead Toward Greatness, Blinders On (Like Everyone Else)…

Posted on June 6, 2012 by geelw

While it’s easy for some writers to harshly criticize Nintendo for not showing certain core franchises to the press, the simple fact is, they were first and foremost, REALLY showing off the Wii U and new 3DS titles to what I call “pure” Nintendo fans, not jaded games journalists. As the company has been reaching outside standard media channels through their official site for a while now, it’s clear to me what’s happening. Quite simply, they want to show consumers who already (and only) have a Nintendo console in the household (or have interest in owning one) that they’re being looked out for in terms of getting them many of the most popular core third-party titles already on (or coming to) the competition. If you think about it, Sony and Microsoft do the same thing in catering solely to their fans in the exact same manner (as they do EVERY E3), touting their systems and services as the “best” for their respective target audiences.

If you know me (or read the title of this blog), you’ve probably figured out that I’m against this sort of system bias, so I’ve found this quite a dumb way to do things for ages. Still, business is business, so the “console wars” march onward…

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E3 2012: Nintendo Wii U: Still Skeptical? Some Perspective To Roll Around In Your Heads

Posted on June 5, 2012 by geelw

Nintendo’s E3 Press conference was interesting, but a bit backward. They should have opened with the park theme and closed with Pikmin 3, but ah well. Still, a LOT was revealed, but even more questions were left unanswered, most importantly, a price point and actual release date. Also, some important franchises were nowhere to be seen, HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean they aren’t in the pipeline. Nintendo isn’t dumb enough to think they don’t need to work on these core fan experiences at all, folks. I know they’re coming, but I’m patient enough to wait until they’re ready to roll out what’s ready to show.

it’s actually a smart thing that third-party tiles, most of which have NEVER been played by those who ONLY own Nintendo systems (which is a lot of folks, by the way) will take up the slack while Nintendo gets to work on whatever Zelda, Metroid, Super Smash Bros. and whatever other key games we didn’t see this year. Sure, those jaded multi-console owning gamers and game journalists (who should all know better) are griping that they’ve played Arkham City or Mass Effect already, and sure that is a point of consideration for those folks. But I’m gathering that the Wii U content will end up being superior in a few ways thanks to the new controller, as it allows developers to go back and add things that can enhance the experiences enough to make them worth going through again whether you’ve played them on another console or not.

Just a thought…

Back later – I’ve got some games to see…

E3 2012: Platinum Games’ “Project P100”: Classic And Current All In One Must-Buy

Posted on June 5, 2012 by geelw

As soon as I saw this trailer and then the actual gameplay reveal on Spike TV, I got really excited and had to put my first thoughts down. The team at Platinum Games has basically created a modern day mash-up of the ancient Game Boy classic Mercenary Force and Lucasarts’ awesome Zombies Ate My Neighbors on the SNES, added their own stylistic brilliance with Wii U functionality and is setting this loose on Nintendo fans for their approval. I like this one a lot, so it’s a must-buy in my book. Go Platinum!

E3 2012: Microsoft Press Conference. Something Old, Some Things New – It’s All Good (Mostly)…

Posted on June 5, 2012 by geelw

As far as exclusives go: Halo 4 looks like a Halo game (a great thing if you’re a fan), The new Forza is a bit more Burnout and Need For Speed, there’s a another Gears of War coming next year (no number this time) and among other things, Microsoft is bringing Internet Explorer (hopefully virus-free or else) as well as device support to the Xbox 360 very soon. This is of course, great news for those who want all that stuff, but me, I just want to play GAMES on my consoles. I don’t need ESPN, more movies and music channels, an automatic pizza delivery button or whatever else they’re offering, but I won’t stop YOU from getting all that coolness.

Speaking of games, Splinter Cell: Blacklist was nice (albeit with a not so subtle political message) that new Tomb Raider demo looked amazing and fluid, I’m never going to use that Nike Kinect functionality ever and that Call of Duty Black Ops 2 demo is showing that Treyarch knows how to get that old engine running what they want to flawlessly while shutting up the haters in the process. There’s also a God fo War-inspired XBLA game coming (that didn’t look as insane as Sony’s God of War Ascension) plus some other stuff I’ll get to writing about at some point. Overall, an OK press conference with less exclusives than Sony’s (I’ll post that shortly), but we’ll see what Nintendo has up later today and perhaps think about picking a “winner” afterward…

E3 2012: BEYOND: Two Souls. Quantic Dream’s PS3 Exclusive Surprise of the Show.

Posted on June 5, 2012 by geelw

Take one of the most innovative console developers and their award winning tech, add in a great actress with huge fan appeal and mix well under cover for a while, let bake and pop off the lid unexpectedly at a huge press event. BEYOND: Two Souls is going to be fantastic for a few reasons, the least of which being it takes place over a period of fifteen years in the main character’s life. The game is also something a lot more action driven than Heavy Rain, but Page’s character is clearly a “normal” human who happens to have some sort of powerful spirit that enables her to do some superhuman things (and attract the notice of a well-armed SWAT team). Other than a probable 2013 release date, nothing else is know about the game, but this first look at the game and amazing trailer should be more than enough to make you want to buy a PS3 just to play what’s bound to be an instant classic.