Mid-week rant: E3? E3 who?
Finally, I have returned! After what seems like a lifetime (but was actually just a bit over two weeks), my arm is almost completely back to normal and I can start updating Flame War ADVANCE more regularly again. You guys have no idea how awful it felt to not be able to post the dozens of stories I wanted to comment on this month. I've lost count of how many events were held within the last two weeks. Let's start with a quick re-cap of everything that caught my eye this month:
First off, was Square Enix's party in Japan on the 12th. While there were a ton of disappointing announcements (Star Ocean for the PSP? Please.), Square did manage to come through at some level and deliver some good news to balance out the bad. Their new game The Last Remnant looks incredible, and finally reveals what Square licensed Unreal Engine 3 for. The way they described it almost makes it seem like a bit of a romance affair, but then again, aren't all Square games to an extent?
Then came the announcement that I really liked. Final Fantasy IV for the DS. Yes, I know, I know ... I bitch about Square's re-makes more than most and this is very hypocritical of me, but I do have my reasons. Final Fantasy III was just a huge disappointment ... the game is horrendously retro (and rightfully so) and I'm sure it has its share of rabid fans, but those don't include me. Me? I need a story. I need a role-playing game to at least try and take itself seriously. Judging by the FFIV DS screenshots, I think this new game is going to cater to my every need. According to an IGN report, the original FFIV only saw one-fourth (!!) of the planned content make it into the final game, which leaves a lot for the DS re-make. That, combined with the new look and Square (hopefully) learning from the mistakes they made with FFIII looks like it is going to make for a hell of a game.
Moving on, we come to the biggest, most important announcement in gaming since the Wii. Oh, what ever could it be? Here's a hint.
StarCraft 2 has officially, finally been announced and it's taken the world by storm. The official website for the game is beautifully designed and is every SC2 fan's wet dream come true. Concept art, gameplay footage, cinematics, features, FAQs ... it's all on there. Be sure to give it a look!
As for the actual game itself ... damn. Going by what Blizz said, they've been working on this game since 2003 and it is far into development. I'm guessing what they're doing now involves polishing and tweaking the game (something that, to a company like Blizzard, is arguably the most important stage in developing a title). I was pretty sure that the Brood would be a completely new race this time around, but come to think of it, that would be a complete nightmare while dealing with balancing issues. Sure enough, just a short while after the event in Korea, Blizzard revealed a bunch of info to the media, and confirmed that there would still only be three races in the game.
My expectations for this game, like anyone else's are sky-high. Gargantuan. It's Blizzard. Sure, they've been milking World of WarCraft for the past couple of years for all its worth, but hey; that money's bound to be going into StarCraft 2, right? Well, at least part of it ... the rest goes into Diablo 3, which still hasn't been announced, but hey; how long could it be? Personally, despite the fact that I'm looking forward to D3 more, I would love to see a StarCraft 2 demo or beta (or anything) a couple of months down the line.
Then, we had Sony's event, and sure enough; Heavenly Sword was the best title on display. The game looks like it is coming along really nicely and I have a feeling it's going to be the PS3's first really kick-ass exclusive. Sure, it's got Devil May Cry, God of War and Ninja Gaiden to beat before it makes a name for itself, but hey; DMC4 looks just like DMC3, Ninja Gaiden Sigma is a re-make of a re-make and God of War 3 won't see the light of day for years. Heavenly Sword stands a pretty damn good chance of standing out, if you ask me.
Moving beyond past news, what about things to come in the future? Maybe even this week? Or how about tonight?
Nintendo's media summit is bound to cause a ton of nosebleeds orgasms. Metroid Prime 3 has been dated for August 20th, which means it's definitely going to be playable at the event. The Super Smash Bros. Brawl website has steadily been counting down to a re-vamp which is finally complete, and my guess is this will tie into the media summit as well. Online? No online? How long? How many characters? Only a few hours to go before we find out.
I'm also really hoping to see news of Project H.A.M.M.E.R. and Disaster: Day of Crisis at the event, but I don't want to get my hopes too high. Again, we don't have too long to wait.
May has been nothing short of awesome this year. It really makes me wonder what that means for E3. The absence of the event doesn't seem to have stopped the flow of information in the least. If all these big, exclusive announcements are being made right now, what will we see at the new E3? More playable games? Or will companies hold back info deliberately to make sure they have enough for the event?
Since it's going to be a much smaller, quieter affair this time around, I'd expect the conference to rely more on actual, playable titles that build off the hype generated at all these personalized events being held by developers. That, in my opinion, isn't a bad thing at all.
First off, was Square Enix's party in Japan on the 12th. While there were a ton of disappointing announcements (Star Ocean for the PSP? Please.), Square did manage to come through at some level and deliver some good news to balance out the bad. Their new game The Last Remnant looks incredible, and finally reveals what Square licensed Unreal Engine 3 for. The way they described it almost makes it seem like a bit of a romance affair, but then again, aren't all Square games to an extent?
Then came the announcement that I really liked. Final Fantasy IV for the DS. Yes, I know, I know ... I bitch about Square's re-makes more than most and this is very hypocritical of me, but I do have my reasons. Final Fantasy III was just a huge disappointment ... the game is horrendously retro (and rightfully so) and I'm sure it has its share of rabid fans, but those don't include me. Me? I need a story. I need a role-playing game to at least try and take itself seriously. Judging by the FFIV DS screenshots, I think this new game is going to cater to my every need. According to an IGN report, the original FFIV only saw one-fourth (!!) of the planned content make it into the final game, which leaves a lot for the DS re-make. That, combined with the new look and Square (hopefully) learning from the mistakes they made with FFIII looks like it is going to make for a hell of a game.
Moving on, we come to the biggest, most important announcement in gaming since the Wii. Oh, what ever could it be? Here's a hint.
StarCraft 2 has officially, finally been announced and it's taken the world by storm. The official website for the game is beautifully designed and is every SC2 fan's wet dream come true. Concept art, gameplay footage, cinematics, features, FAQs ... it's all on there. Be sure to give it a look!
As for the actual game itself ... damn. Going by what Blizz said, they've been working on this game since 2003 and it is far into development. I'm guessing what they're doing now involves polishing and tweaking the game (something that, to a company like Blizzard, is arguably the most important stage in developing a title). I was pretty sure that the Brood would be a completely new race this time around, but come to think of it, that would be a complete nightmare while dealing with balancing issues. Sure enough, just a short while after the event in Korea, Blizzard revealed a bunch of info to the media, and confirmed that there would still only be three races in the game.
My expectations for this game, like anyone else's are sky-high. Gargantuan. It's Blizzard. Sure, they've been milking World of WarCraft for the past couple of years for all its worth, but hey; that money's bound to be going into StarCraft 2, right? Well, at least part of it ... the rest goes into Diablo 3, which still hasn't been announced, but hey; how long could it be? Personally, despite the fact that I'm looking forward to D3 more, I would love to see a StarCraft 2 demo or beta (or anything) a couple of months down the line.
Then, we had Sony's event, and sure enough; Heavenly Sword was the best title on display. The game looks like it is coming along really nicely and I have a feeling it's going to be the PS3's first really kick-ass exclusive. Sure, it's got Devil May Cry, God of War and Ninja Gaiden to beat before it makes a name for itself, but hey; DMC4 looks just like DMC3, Ninja Gaiden Sigma is a re-make of a re-make and God of War 3 won't see the light of day for years. Heavenly Sword stands a pretty damn good chance of standing out, if you ask me.
Moving beyond past news, what about things to come in the future? Maybe even this week? Or how about tonight?
Nintendo's media summit is bound to cause a ton of nosebleeds orgasms. Metroid Prime 3 has been dated for August 20th, which means it's definitely going to be playable at the event. The Super Smash Bros. Brawl website has steadily been counting down to a re-vamp which is finally complete, and my guess is this will tie into the media summit as well. Online? No online? How long? How many characters? Only a few hours to go before we find out.
I'm also really hoping to see news of Project H.A.M.M.E.R. and Disaster: Day of Crisis at the event, but I don't want to get my hopes too high. Again, we don't have too long to wait.
May has been nothing short of awesome this year. It really makes me wonder what that means for E3. The absence of the event doesn't seem to have stopped the flow of information in the least. If all these big, exclusive announcements are being made right now, what will we see at the new E3? More playable games? Or will companies hold back info deliberately to make sure they have enough for the event?
Since it's going to be a much smaller, quieter affair this time around, I'd expect the conference to rely more on actual, playable titles that build off the hype generated at all these personalized events being held by developers. That, in my opinion, isn't a bad thing at all.
1 comment:
Welcome back. Honestly between work and between work and half arse press releases i don't know how you fill your blog with such interesting posts. On a side note I get stuck in the middle of a three car sandwich last Friday (belated birthday present I guess). No injuries although my dog mashed the hell out of his safety barrier, poor fella.
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