So it all kicked off with the Microsoft Conference, showing off the future of the Xbox 360. What we expected was a Kinect driven show with room for the hardcore. What we got was...to be honest slightly underwhelming. Hours before the clock struck 9.30 (in L.A.), the interwebs were alight with rumours that Microsoft had not only dropped the ball, they'd thrown it to the ground, danced on the shards of its very being (I'm assuming it's a discoball), and swept it up with the tail of a greyhound. All their big announcements were posted to www.xbox.com, including the biggest of them all. If whoever posted that is reading this; click off this tab and get back to jobsite.com.
The show started slow as ever, with New York getting blown up. PUT THAT PHONE DOWN! I was talking about Modern Warfare 3, this ain't real life...
But, yeah, it looked nice. When you consider it's running off the same engine as Quake 3, it's really quite impressive what Infinity Ward have achieved. You can bleet on all day about how much better Battlefield 3 will be, but you know and I know you're gonna buy it. It looks like it'll be another popcorn title.
Tomb Raider. The developers would not shut up about Lara Croft being 21 years old in this one. We get it. Middle aged developers get off at the idea of 21 year olds being put into perilous situations, where they make, for lack of a better word, crudely adult grunts. I mean it looks quite pretty, yes, and it looks quite exciting, yes, but the focal point, it seemed, was the fact that Lara Croft was getting all dirty in a cave. And THAT is why I'm not completely sold on this reboot.
Got a Kinect? No? Then you're SCREWED for the rest of this overview. Because once those two titles were shown the door, we were greeted with the "KinectKonveyuerBelt" (if anyone says that, I'm sueing them. I thought of that name, it's MINE). FIFA 12, Madden NFL 12 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2013 will all be "Better With Kinect". The mind races at the thought of what EA plan on doing with FIFA. I'd imagine there's be some form of penalty shootout mode, or Avatar Exhibition mode (ala Mii Footaball), but, for now at least, it's an interesting concept.
Mass Effect 3 is now also "Better With Kinect". Not combat. Voice recognition. You now say the options in conversations, and can command your team using your voice. "THANE. MOVE UP." That;'s how it'll be done. Like I predicted when it was leaked a few weeks ago. Ghost Recon Future Soldier falls into that BwK group, but only for a single mode. "Gunsmith" will allow you to use your arms to create your perfect weapon, and try it out on a testing range using Kinect. Yes. They've done it. Shooting mechanics on the Kinect. Your left arm is your iron sights, your right is your trigger. You open your palm to fire, you close to stop. It looked really cool. I'm excited.
I was buying both games anyway, but this has increased my level of excitement for both titles. I look forward to them with one eyebrow raised.
Remember in 2007 when the blades disappeared, and your dashboard transformed into something more accessible? Yeah, in a few months that's going. The "New Xbox Experience" will become something that resembles the tiles thingy on Windows Phone 7. It looks really clean and will suit those with Kinect more than what they've got now. But I'd imagine it'll become really awkward for non-Kinect users. Only time will tell. Oh, and YouTube, Bing and Live TV will be coming to your 360 with the update. Yeah, they're partnering up with more stations or whatever to bring you a tv experience on your Xbox. and YouTube also. And Bing.
Sticking with the live tv thing, you'll now be able to order UFC fights on your Xbox. Something about it being pretty popular, and Microsoft having a lot of money. While watching the fights, you can check fighter stats and other cool things you'll use once and never use again.
Cliffy B and Ice-T played Gears of War 3, giving the Xbox conference the title of "Microsoft: Year of the Three-quel." It looks like a Gears of War game. I don't play Gears of War, so I was left unaffected, but I'm sure fans of the series will enjoy it plentifully.
Crytek's Ryse had a teaser trailer. Set in Rome, you'll fight off attackers. I was all ready to crown it the new Sparta: Total Warrior (the most under-appreciated ever), when i was revealed to be BwK. ENOUGH KINECT! WE GET IT! IT EXISTS!
So, 10 years ago a little game called Halo: Combat Evolved was released. It's getting a HD remastering, with 4 player online co-op, and 8 multiplayer maps. Halo: Anniversary is set to be released for this Christmas, and we're all very excited. I never got to play this game, so I'd like to see where it all began. And it's a budget title. So happy days all round.
Forza 4. Sequel to the "best driving game ever". World tour, rivals mode, voice recognition and head tracking...yep...it's better with Kinect. It's got the Top Gear test track in it, though, so I guess fans will be well happy with that one.
Leaving no franchise alone, Kinect comes to Fable, in; Fable: The Journey. Which looks like a slow, boring, on rails shooter. Is this the mode that was meant to be in Fable III? Because if they're creating a £40 game for something that was meant to be a single mode in the last game, I will not be pleased.
MORE BLOODY KINECT. Minecraft, Disneyland Adventures, Kinect Star Wars (which got a few 'woop's from the crowd), Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster, and Kinect Fun Labs were all announced. I'm not going into detail on for any of them, because they're all essentially the same. You wave your ams around, stuff happens.
Time to wrap it up. Kinect Sports: Season 2 announced. The big Rareware title. That company is wasted at Microsoft. It's hard to believe these people made Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie and Viva Pinata. Forced to slave endlessly at Avatar stuff and Wii Sports rip offs.
Dance Central 2. Now with everything you expected from Dance Central. Like multiplayer. and and online mode. But, you can import your songs from Dance Central 1 onto Dance Central 2. Ala Rock Band to Rock and 2, and Rock Band 2 to Rock Band 3. I really liked Dance Central, so I'll probably get this.
BIG REVEAL TIME! It's Halo 4. The Cheif is awake after his nap, and ready to kick some futuristic ass. Apparently. The trailer lasted about 40 seconds, and was just a CGI thing. If this wasn't leaked, it would've been as big as the Twilight Princess announcement in 2004. We've got to wait for anything that big to come along again...
So that was Microsoft. What did I think? I was really impressed. I saw games I'm excited for, I saw Kinect support where there wasn't any before (the core gamer market), and I liked the new dashboard. I think it was a hardware announcement away from greatness, but, as it is, it's a very very good, professional conference.
Tomorrow I'll cover EA and Ubisoft, so stay plugged to the Gohma gaming Blog, and The Mercurial Anecdote.
