I have a sneaky feeling that people watch the VGA's more for the big, exclusive reveals rather than the actual awards. In the past we have been treated to lots of lovely delights, so how does this years offering stack up? I am not going to discuss every trailer, just the ones that got my interest. After all, it's my bloody blog and I will write what I want!
As always, this is just my opinion based on what I saw at the broadcast on Sat and then through rewatching last night. If you want to see all those reveals again, those lovely folks at Joystiq have everything on one nice page.
Hitman: Absolution:
Confession time: While I seriously dig the 'Hitman' character & mythos, the games have always left me cold. I have always felt that the execution (ohh I am punny) left a lot to be desired. That changed at E3 this year where I got to see the playable level and I have to say that this is on my must play list for 2012. The trailer summed up what the franchise should be about: Style, story and killing bad guys in a ultra efficient manner.
Verdict: Eager for more.
The Last of Us:
This was the trailer that everyone was curious about before the show. There were theories bouncing round that it might be Half Life 3 (Never gonna happen as a PS3 Exclusive btw) or perhaps a Resistance spinoff. Well everyone was wrong as Naughty Dog wheeled out something cool, kinda gritty and high on the 'Walking Dead' vibe.
I have to admit that as it booted up I also got a 'Dead Island' feel, which is no bad thing!. Naughty Dog are masters of the cinematic PS3 game and I am a sucker for real world games with zombies/mutants etc, this looks right up my alley.
Verdict: Give me more, now!
Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD:
The original TH games remade in HD without the wanky skate balance board thing or any of the general douchness that has invaded the franchise lately? I could go for that.
The trailer.. kind a blah but we know what we are getting so I hope RoboMoto step up.
Verdict: Cautiously optimistic
Command & Conquer Generals 2:
One of the most beloved PC games franchises of all time is now in the hands of one of the best development teams on the planet. C&C + Bioware should = me getting all moist.. but it doesn't. I am not sure why but I have a bad feeling about this game. I need to see much more before that feeling will go away.
Verdict: I am worried...for now.
Mass Effect 3:
No brainer right? This should have been the one trailer that got me all dribbly and aching for next spring... but it didn't. I was hoping for more story, something vast and cinematic to prep me for my continuing adventures with FemShep (she is such a minx) but all I got from this trailer was that it really reminded me of 'Gears of War'. Mass Effect is an action RPG in my book & ME2 really nailed the combination of story, RPG & action. I pray that BioWare has not messed with the ME2 formula, because if they have and gone more shooty shooty, I am going to be more pissed than an army of Taurens with crabs.
Verdict: Underwhelmed to say the least.
Rainbow Six: Patriots:
Where to start? Regular followers will know of my deeply personal attachment to the Clancy games following my time working at Red Storm. They will also know how much I feel the R6 & Ghost Recon franchises have been butchered by Ubisoft. I am going to try an put those feelings to one side to look at this trailer impartially.. oh screw it, that's not why you are here right?
I have so many concerns over this game that it's not even funny anymore. The trailer runs like a mishmash of generic trailer number 36 and a call to arms for the Tea Party. Where is Rainbow in all this? Why isn't Six in the trailer (Six is the code name for John Clark, the head of Rainbow) Where is Ding Chavez? Why don't we see Rainbow at their base in Hereford getting the briefing as to what is going on? R6 is a brilliant book and the first few games were outstanding before Ubi started shitting on them. Ubi are saying that the planning is back in this game, but I have a gut feeling that Patriots will be yet another COD clone that further rapes the corpse of a once brilliant Tac-Shooter series. UbiSoft - Prove me wrong.
Verdict: I am getting ready for a 'curled up in the shower while crying' moment.
Alan Wake's American Nightmare:
I really loved the first Alan Wake game, it felt like a true American Gothic story that kinda got hosed by a daft release date and less than stellar marketing. I am glad that Mr Wake is getting a second bite of the gaming cherry and I hope that MS get a good push behind the game, especially as it is a DLG. After watching the trailer a few times, I have to say that I really got a very 'Nathan Drake' vibe from the game this time round. That is not such a bad thing of course, because if the new game is half as good as Uncharted 3, then XBLA gamers are in for a treat!
Verdict: Want more!
The Amazing Spider-Man:
Its Spider-Man fighting a big robot. No Vulture, No Doc-Ock, No Lizard & a brief mention of Norman Osbourne. Got a sneaky suspicion that Arkham City will still be the best Superhero game around next year.
Verdict: Totally (un)amazing.
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
The last Transformers movie game was a total disgrace, but with no films to shill for next year, can High Moon pull it together and create a top quality robot on robot action game? I hope so because a bloody good Transformers game would be a joy to behold. Plus they have DinoBots now (which is important apparently).
Verdict: Hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
Fortnite:
A pretty damn clever play on words here, as you are defending a fort... at nite! Hope someone got an extra cookie for that gem! As to the trailer itself, well yes, I like the vibe I am getting! The prospect of a foraging/tower defense game that infused with the kind of visual humor that made 'Dungeon Keeper' such a joy for me is really intriguing. It seems like a real departure for Epic so lets see how this goes.
Verdict: Genuinely curious and a little excited.
Diablo 3:
Didn't need to see this really, its Diablo, I played the beta, I am stoked for it. Case closed.
Verdict: Just give me the damn game already!
BioShock Infinite:
Wow, its amazing how a song can change the whole tone of a trailer! Try watching this with the audio off then with the song playing. Its a totally different experience. I am actually a little conflicted about what was shown, the music and early footage worked so well, I felt that they didn't need to show the shooty stuff. My desire for this game has not dimmed one iota and it can't come soon enough for me.
Verdict: Beautiful trailer, beautiful game.
Metal Gear Rising Revengance:
Where do I begin? Revengance..transfarking..so..many...jokes...
No, must breathe deeply and crack on. This was a trailer for a Metal Gear game right? It appeared to me to be a Ninja Gaiden knock off featuring some guy who must have fallen into some industrial machinery at some point, then got a sword and decided to take out his frustrations on a bunch of soldiers and a giant AutoBot.
I guess it's hard to do all the sneaky sneaky stuff when you look like the offspring of David Beckham & a blender..
Verdict: I have no clue, honestly. Was this a real trailer?
Darksiders 2
Dude! It's Skeletor!
Verdict: By the power of GraySkull?
Ok, that be it for today! Those are my thoughts, next post will be on Thursday!
I cannot support this new Hitman game when it is finally just stabbing the final nail into the bloody coffin of the Stealth Genre.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty Markus, I don't care if you like it, I honestly think you should feel ashamed for liking it, as there are many of us who feel this is just another ruined franchise. To put it into a better context for you, it is what Deus Ex: IW was to Deus Ex.
As for the other games, I hope The Last of Us is a survival-horror game as the trailer made it seem.
I think you're kinda cautious about C&C because Bioware's games this year haven't necessarily been the best received. Things are not going good for that team when they literally have a conference about DA3 devoted entirely to saying DA2 was a piece of shit while the head developer of DA2 is sitting there looking as if he's about to cry.
ME3 I don't know about. I've heard they may be making a combination of the first games and second games gameplay (no regen health, just regen shields, weapon and armor customizing, etc) which I'm all for, but seeing it action got me a bit worried. And did I really see a Reaper get killed by a sand-worm (I forget the name of it)? I thought they were the most feared things in the galaxy, and one gets killed by a giant sand worm?
Ubisoft hates games. But really, I think they sorta blew it with this one.
I'm glad to see Alan Wake getting a sequel. Hopefully the ending isn't left as bad as the first one.
I thought the TF game was pretty neat. At least that company knows how to do spectacular trailers.
Fortnite was incredibly unexpected. I am vastly looking forward to it, probably for the fact that it doesn't look like an EPIC game.
The rest of them are pretty much the same thoughts as yours.
Hey Steve,
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts on Hitman. The demo I saw at E3 had a fair amount of stealth in it. As I said in the article, I didn't really like the previous titles as they felt too unwieldy. It will be interesting to see how it pans out, but I am certainly not ashamed for liking the look of it based upon what I have seen to date.
I had the same reaction to Metal Gear, I want my stealth, but I got a nice Vanquish feel from it, and I love that freaking game, so I don't know, it made me smile I know that. The Last of Us looks damn sexy and interesting, other then that I didn't really care for much else.
ReplyDeleteI agree with how Mass Effect 3 seems to be pushing itself even further away from its RPG roots. Honestly I did not care much for ME1 aside from the story because the combat system was simply boring. You didn't feel the impact or the rewarding feel of ending someone's life. Unless, of course, you decide to throw in some mods into your shotgun THEN there's some hilarity to be had. Otherwise if I had to make a brand new Shepard, I'll run through Mass Effect: Genesis and I would not look back into ME1.
ReplyDeleteME2 was a great fusion of RPG and modern combat gameplay conventions. It was simplified but in exchange it made the game feel much solid. Get rid of weapon proficiencies, render down the Good/Evil system to just a variable instead of making it a gated stat, give each class more meaningful abilities... and boom! I do trust Bioware's ability to end the trilogy in a way that will please the fans since the beginning. What I am perhaps more worried about is the sacrifices being made to create the multiplayer portion of the game. Sure, it's done by a separate department but compromises would need to be done on both sides to ensure that the game is enjoyable from both accounts. I just hope that the system changes keeps the core of the game entertaining.
That and kudos for playing FemShep. :D
As a big Metal Gear Solid fan, I'm not looking forward to Metal Gear Rising: Revengence... But, as a big fan of Platinum Games and their past work at Capcom, I'm really looking forward to this game. It's over the top, full of cheese and filled with guitars. It's going to be stupid and mindless and that's what I want and expect from Platinum Games. Can't wait to play this game. Not expecting anything from Metal Gear Solid at all.
I'm really down because of Mass Effect 3, I'm a huge fan, but I watched another day an interview with the mainly developer, he said a lot of stuff about action stuff, some stealth, that was cool, but when asked about new RPG stuff he said they put some more bars at the upgrade menu for skills... and quickly change the subject again to action.
ReplyDeleteOh, God, I do really hope they won't screw up as they did with Dragon Age 2.
What more can I say? Hitman looks awesome... by the way Square Enix have a bunch of nice shit for next year. I'm impress.
I don't care for Metal Gear, Diablo III got me surprisingly excited... and about The Last of Us thing, I hope they don't make it like a movie, because movies aren't playable and Sony's developers does love lauching movies for PS3.
I'm all in for Infite. AND YEAH, ALAN WAKE WILL BE ON MY STEAM BABY... Guess this nightmare will came out on Steam too. Makes sense.