Hey, I liked the first Ken’s Rage quite a lot, as it brought Koei’s Dynasty Warriors gameplay into the world of the anime while adding a nice-looking 3D engine and some pretty interesting gameplay elements. Granted, the game is definitely for fans more than folks looking for the best beat ’em up ever created, but it does what it does well and is long as hell with so many characters to play and stuff to unlock. Part 2 looks to continue that trend, which is good times for guys like me who just love a game that you can dive into when you want and play for hours on end. I’m not sure this is getting a US release, but if it does, I’ll be playing it…
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…
It’s too bad the first game isn’t coming to the PS3 and 360, as I can see it doing well (with the same new game camera system the sequel has), but even without it, there will be an instant appeal to Disney fans looking for something they can hop into with the kids or a friend who wants a cool co-op experience and a non-violent one at that. Granted, the musical numbers will probably have too many people having to listen to their kids singing songs from the game on long car trips, but hey – it’s less annoying than having the kid keep quoting lines from a Gears of War or God of War game, right?
It’s great to see that Capcom has kept this game going despite the ongoing (and always lame) bile-fest from so-called fans that didn’t see how hard the law of diminishing returns hit the franchise back when the fourth installment was released. It was time for a new look and a new take on the character and fortunately, developer Ninja Theory has stepped up to the plate to deliver the goods. Now, it’s all about getting the game done and shipped and perhaps some sort of demo that assures those who need it that this one’s going to be not only FUN, but fresh and funny where needed. Keep it going, guys, keep it going!
Travelers Tales has had this LEGO thing all sewn up tightly for a while, but with this game and LEGO Batman 2, they’re doing their best work to date. Between the funny, family friendly gameplay and always cute visual style, there’s something for any gamer with a pulse who happens to love to laugh. WBIE knows that the LOTR franchise had enough legs to stand up to this sort of kookiness, so kudos to them for getting this one out for just about every console or handheld available. Now, about that greatly improved War in the North sequel I hope is being worked on (wishful thinking, but hey… I can always dream, right?)…
To me, this was hands down, Ubisoft’s best games lineup to date. Yeah, yeah, we all knew Assassin’s Creed III was going to be great (it’s even better than I thought), Far Cry 3 continues to be gorgeous (and even MORE outrageous with each new reveal) and the new Splinter Cell: Blacklist looks fantastic. ALL of these were superior game experiences I’d buy as well as recommend in a heartbeat. But it was the new IP that made me jump out of my seat (and more than once at that).
Rayman Legends was perfect, nostalgic fun on the Wii U, and that up to five player thing is going to make a LOT of families happy (as well as any gaming party where a little levity is needed). But then there’s Watch_Dogs. Wow. Not only does the game address some things I’ve been whining about for YEARS (our loss of security in this “always online” era), it’s actually one of the best looking games I’ve ever seen, blending cinematic techniques and gameplay seamlessly while surprising me with gameplay that shifted to a new character at the end of the demo.
Oh yeah… I don’t give a hoot about Just Dance 4, but you can’t deny the game has been HUGE on the Wii and sit JD3 last year, the PS3 and Xbox as well. So I’ll give then that and dock point for the boring Shootmania e-sports part I wish they’d relegated to the show floor instead of torturing the audience with for so long. I do want to see MORE on that Avengers game, though – even though it’s not hitting the PS3 or 360, it might be fun to play, as the trailer showed old school versions of Wolverine, Storm, Magneto, Venom and Spider-Man doing their stuff in CG form (but no actual gameplay, boo!). Update: Ubisoft also plans to “port” it’s Wii U titles to other mobile devices as a means to offset development costs, so I guess we’ll see where that goes and if it’s a success other publishers will mimick at some point….
Between Ubisoft’s mind-blowing Watch_Dogs, Naughty Dog’s brutally beautiful The Last of US and Quantic Dream’s stunning surprise Beyond: Two Souls., it’s CLEAR that the current console cycle has at least one great year left in it. Granted, Rayman Legends had me tearing up from laughing so much and YES, Ubisoft showed off how well the Wii U Gamepad and new Pro Controller will work for multiplayer action there, but it’s going to be another might spectacular 2012 and 2013 for gamers who happen to just own a PS3 or 360. More in a bit. I’m still processing a ton of notes…
Like plenty of publishers these days, Atlus has been diversifying its games lineup for a while now with unique games in assorted genres outside the ones they’re know for in the US. Here are trailers to two titles from their lineup, one a sequel to a PC, PSN and Xbox Live Arcade fighter/action/shooter hybrid (that i REALLY wish would be put on a disc with the first part so MORE can play it) and the latest in the Sherlock Holmes game series ported from PC (which has ZERO to do with that bizarre BBC show everyone seems to like save for Holmes purists). Oh yeah, my Game of Thrones review will be up once all the E3 madness subsides, it’s not as bad as some sites are saying… you just need a great deal of patience and not mind at all that the game takes itself REALLY seriously (for the most part)…
OK, how many times did YOU defeat that Ur-Dragon? Did you find all those hidden in plain sight storerooms and dungeon entrances? Did you get the Salvation Key the first time through and explore those areas you thought you couldn’t access? I’m stopping my second playthrough about 12 hours or so in to do some E3 stuff, but, as noted in my review, this game is MASSIVE. Capcom has a definite keeper here and I sort of wish I hadn’t truncated my review so much (I didn’t want to spoil so much of the wild second chunk of the game that opens up when you get into a certain location). Anyway, if you’re looking for a game that’s going to surprise you as much a hundred hours in as it does the first hour, DD is worth that $60. I’d buy a sequel in a heartbeat, provided a few tweaks are made. Change #1: the button for giving someone a gift should NOT be the same one for a basic attack. The only times my character went to jail were due to accidentally hitting someone I wanted to give a present after closing the dialog too quickly. Yeah, it my fault, but I’ve heard of others doing it, so I’m not the only klutz with a controller out there….
2K Games and developer Yager really have a hit here, what with all that amazing sand technology and the source material (Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness) being perfect for the game they’re presenting. Here’s yet another example of a genre game defying the usual conventions and stepping outside of the box to do it differently. Like a few other titles pushing the envelope, I’m hoping gamers can free up a few extra brain cells to actually appreciate the hard work that went into this one without complaining about the experience NOT being what they “expected.” Hell, sometimes, it’s NICE to be surprised about a game, I say…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 