E3 2008 News and Rumors Day 3
Sega and Capcom face off for best of show
By Jeremy Azevedo
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If Sega was still in the console game today, I’d consider it safe to say that they would rule 2009 on the strength of their upcoming game catalogue alone. They had no fewer than 8 games on the floor (and behind closed doors) that are sure to be monster hits, some of which were even totally brand new IPs! |
We’ll start with Bayonetta, an action game with a sense of theatrics so extreme that it makes Devil May Cry look like Connect Four. You play as a witch in 7-inch stilettos (that also double as machine pistols) with magic hair that can conjure up torture devices to destroy invading angels. Sounds crazy, is crazy, and looks all the more rad for it. Next up was Mad World, a black and white (and red) action game that looks kind of like Sin City but plays out more like “The Running Man”, only with 100 times more violence than any anything, ever. Surprisingly, Mad World is a Wii exclusive, much like the similarly violent but totally unrelated No More Heroes that quenched Wii gamers bloodlust this year.
Also showing at Sega was Sonic Unleashed, which features both a night and day play environment, one that has you running around as Sonic at speeds that made me want to take Dramamine, and one that has you playing more of a combat/exploration type game as “Sonic the Were-Hog”. Stormrise brings large scale tactical RTS combat to consoles, and Alpha Protocol looks like the spy version of Mass Effect. This last one in particular was one of the best of the whole show, a cool idea executed very nicely. James Bond can suck it!
Lastly we had Samba De Amigo for the Wii, Valkyria Chronlcles, a tactical RPG with a very unique looking cel-shaded graphical style, and Golden Axe: Beast Riders. I had heard that Golden Axe was cancelled a couple of months back so I was surprised to see it here in playable form, but it was a fun action title nevertheless, despite having nothing on Bayonetta. In total, an awesome showing from a veteran company in their finest form.
Square Enix was showing a new RPG called Infinite Indiscovery that looks to be the next big thing for the company (if it doesn’t fall too deep into the shadow of Final Fantasy XII), but it’s Nintendo DS gamers who are in for a real treat this fall season. In addition to the soon to be released Final Fantasy IV remake, there’s also Dragon Quest IV and the ever so long awaited Chrono Trigger port on the way as well.
I know a lot of you are wondering how Lego Batman and Mortal Kombat Vs. DC are coming along, and I am happy to report that both look like a lot of fun. While MK Vs. DC doesn’t have the depth of Soul Calibur IV or anything, it does play very well and the superhero powers are well implemented. There will be at least 10 characters from either universe included, not counting bosses and secret characters. Care to guess who they might be? I just hope one of them isn’t Aquaman… Lego Batman marks the first time that the Lego series gets to step out of the confinement of a pre-exisitng storyline and tell a unique story of their own (one that is approved by DC of course). The game looks all the better for it, with better puzzles, powers and guest characters than any previous Lego game. I can’t tell you the exact number of characters available to play, but I have been assured that the number is staggering, and assume that all the major Batman players will be included!
Special mention is due to relative newcomer “Southpeak”, a developer that had a couple of really fun games on hand at the show. One of these titles was X Blades, another action game with a female protagonist that gives players more of what they really want in that kind of game: tits and ass. With an art style that borders on hentai, this is one sexy game. The Gameplay is up to par though, with an awesome anime-inspired look and feel that makes it really stand out. Also showing was a small DS title called Ninjatown, one of the more unusual and memorable titles at the show. It’s somewhat of a tactical RPG, only with cute little ninja-men that must protect ninja town and all the ninja star shaped cookies contained therein from an invading horde of equally cute demons. The Gameplay manages to be simple enough to rope in non-traditional gamers while providing challenge to more hardcore gamers at the same time.
I’m not usually one for WWII games, but all that might change after playing Eidos’ Battlestations: Pacific. You play as either the Americans or the Japanese (in an alternate reality in which the Japanese were winning) in real-time naval and air battles. BP looks and controls better than anything in the genre, and allows you to take full control of any unit ant any time. Not only that, but it’s as historically accurate as is humanly possible. Monster Lab was right next door, a more lighthearted fare for the Wii and DS that allows you to create your own monsters (using any of 1556 different available monster parts) and send them into battle. Fun for kids, but also fun for adults. Lastly for Eidos was Tomb Raider: Underworld, a logical next step for a recently revived series. TR: Underworld captures the sense of wonder and exploration that was always the series trademark, while also making minor improvement to the already much better visuals and controls.
Rounding out the show was Capcom, who not only dropped the bomb that they would be porting Dead Rising to the Wii, of all places, but also had a remarkable stable of games in fully playable form. Of course Resident Evil 5 was the best of the bunch, with controls that were nothing short of legendary, and action that made RE4 look like a quiet Sunday drive. Co-op play will be supported, and in the single player game, you are assisted by an AI sidekick that actually helps rather than hinders you, providing covering fire, exchanging items and ammo with you, and helping keep you alive. Street Fighter 4 was the only game that could even come close to competing with it in terms of sheer graphical beauty, and was playing perfectly as a Street Fighter game should. All 12 original characters were represented, along with 4 new ones, and the game looked 3-D while still playing 2-D. The only time the game went full 3-D was for the dramatic special moves and finishers. SF2 Turbo Remix HD was equally impressive graphically, albeit for totally different reasons. It will probably be a decade before anyone is able to create a 2 dimensional game of any kind that looks and plays this smooth.
Bionic Commando was also playing great and living up to expectations, as you swing and shoot your way through a totally destroyed landscape ripe with things to hang from and toss around. Mega Man 9 was also a fun little diversion, bringing back old-school NES era Mega Man for one more battle with the nefarious Dr. Wily and his robot minions with weird, dumb names. But the real surprise was Dark Void, a shooter that really brings things into the 3rd dimension like no other game I’ve seen. It’s like Gears of War but with vertical elements. Your main character is a 1940s pilot sucked into a strange world via the Bermuda Triangle, and equipped with a jetpack that lets you take to the skies if you so desire. After playing Dark Void, simply moving around in a horizontal plane now seems glaringly limited.
That’s all for today, check back tomorrow for some more in-depth info on some of the best games of E3 2008!
Read about Day 2, Nintendo, Konami, Ubisoft, Sony and more HERE!
Read about Day 1, Microsoft, EA, Guitar Hero 4, Rock Band 2 and more HERE!
