Today I woke up a little late and packed my supplies in a rush to catch a shuttle to E3. Among the necessities was a carton of coconut water needed to soothe over a slight hangover. I sipped it casually on the ride there while taking in the scenery of downtown LA.
The shuttle dropped us off, and first and foremost, I was determined to head to Nintendo’s booth to spend quality time with the 3DS. Getting there a bit late meant that I was in line behind everyone else who wanted to do the same. I am unsure how long I was standing or how many times I unconsciously checked my iPhone, but eventually I was in the heart of the booth.
There, a number of systems were set up with different unplayable demos. The focus was therefore only the 3D and not so much the interface, probably due to the similarity between the 3DS and the the DS variants. The slider on the upper right side of the top screen controls the intensity of the 3D. It being a slider is somewhat unnecessary as there are only 3 levels of intensity as far as I could tell, one of them actually being 2D.
I noticed that certain titles looked better somewhere between the highest setting and 2D. I think this was proportional to the detail and amount of stuff happening on screen. The Resident Evil demo best showed this. When the 3D was set to high, it became difficult to distinguish depth and the edges became more harsh. This could have to do with the fact that this particular demo also featured a zoom option.
Maintaining the 3D really requires the player to hold the system head-on. Moving it too far to the left or right made the polarization fail and messed with the colors. Turning the slider down to 2D did not affect the appearance of the trailers made for 3D.
In terms of the hardware, the left side of the system features an SD slot and volume control, which is also a slider but slightly smaller in width than on the DS. The headphone jack has been moved to the center of the front of the unit. The slide pad/analog stick is set above the d-pad which offset both from the horizontal local of the buttons on the right of the system.
It was strange to look at my fingers at different heights on the system, especially when using the d-pad which is really close to the bottom of the unit. I have to say, I think the d-pad is rather unnecessary as the slide pad is more than enough, and a great improvement. The thought of a title that requires the player to use both really scares me. My guess is that it was left for backwards compatibility, but having both still felt awkward.
3DS Conclusions:
I am still not sure what my thoughts are about this 3D fad and how it will be accepted by gamers. Assuming it really does become the next big thing in gaming (as it is kind of being rammed down our throats), the DS is a great system to accent it. It is a comfortable distance from the successful DS, and fact that it doesn’t require glasses is awesome and a huge benefit to me.
Not seeing some aspects of the system in action like the gyroscope and basic controls may make it difficult to judge the system in its entirety. If I am simply judging the 3DS on its 3D capabilities (as it seems Nintendo wants) it is successful. I did feel as though there was another dimension of gameplay and not being forced to wear glasses was great. That is about the best I can sum up the system based on my experiences.
After Nintendo I headed over to Bethesda’s booth which was now only open to the media or those with appointments (unlike last year) — nice move, Bethesda. Not having to wait in lines as long is sweet. I was further buttered up when I received a free Bethesda track jacket.
First I wanted to play Fallout: New Vegas. Upon finding the area of the booth devoted to the game, I was disappointed to see that demoing the game on the PS3 was not possible — it was only for Xbox 360. I am of course not familiar with the Xbox controller or its implementation in Fallout 3. I soon realized that there was not a single PS3 in all of Bethesda’s booth. At least they veil their preference for which system they want to develop for! Me and my free track jacket were very disappointed.
Fallout: New Vegas
The demo was made up of two halves, the first in a small town in New Vegas. The main draw to this town was a small casino and a few NPCs. I immediately set about to gambling the healthy amount of caps I was supplied with. Blackjack was first. I kicked the bid up to maximum: 200 caps, and won close to 1,000 caps — I was on a roll. The manager came over and presented me with a bottle of vodka to keep the caps flowing.
I immediately set about punching him in VATS mode before switching to the second half of the demo. Here I was working with some of the NCR to battle some members of Caesar’s Legion. I played around a bit with my equips — put on some sunglasses and a grenade launcher, that sounded like it would get the job done.
Since I wasn’t entirely familiar with the Xbox 360 controller I accidentally fired a grenade at a member of the NCR. I decided to finish what I started and killed off all of the 3 dudes I was supposed to be helping. It certainly wasn’t my mission objective, but I was at least exploring a part of the game most probably hadn’t.
My follower, Boone, confronted me suddenly stating that he was a firm supporter of NCR and further action against them would result in him leaving. Rather than letting that happen (or fighting him) I just convinced him this wouldn’t happen again.
I found a member of Caesar’s Legion, killed him and put on his armor. A pop-up alerted me to the fact that other members of Caesar’s Legion now saw me as an ally — might as well head into their camp and see what it’s all about. Exploring their small camp was somewhat boring, probably because I was supposed to be killing these people.
I know that this wasn’t a clean or polished version of the game and that I was not necessarily taking the recommended path. Still, I was not wow-ed by the game, which I rather hoped for. It very much just felt like Fallout 3 with a new name. This could be because the features of the game that differentiate the two titles were not present: advanced conversation options and a story more faithful to the history of the series.
Rage
Bethesda had a lot more to offer, though. Their booth was filled with other games which looked promising. I spent about a half hour being shown Rage, their newest IP.
The game reminded me of a combination of Fallout 3 and Bioshock. The Fallout influence was clear in the game’s environment which was post-apocalyptic, vast, and filled with unique characters. The Bioshock aspects came from the enemies which exhibited unique abilities akin to splicers, and the player’s ability to engineer gadgets and gizmos to assist in their journey.
One really cool moment that stood out in my mind was when the player exhibiting the game shot his way into an underground enemy base. There, several acrobatic enemies were felled, but a room around a corner contained four enemies, which was probably more than he could take easily. A remote control car armed with explosives was selected and driven right into the middle of the room. The player deftly triggered the explosives making short work of the enemies within — awesome.
A mechanic thrown in which one wouldn’t expect to find in an FPS was a vehicle system. In addition to acquiring and upgrading weapons, the player can do the same for their buggy which is largely used to explore the game’s massive map. There will also be buggy vs. buggy battles, where the upgrades made to your vehicle will aid in combat. I should mention that once you enter your vehicle the game switches to third person.
It is rare that I approve of an FPS, as they mostly conform to some standard of mediocrity and monotony. I truly felt that Rage recognized this fact and took a clear and defiant step away from the norm. The game is very unique considering its genre (which can only be loosely applied considering its many mechanics). I believe that this is a game people should definitely keep their eyes on.
Oyasumi
Damn, I cannot believe how much I wrote about today! I am exhausted and am going to pass the hell out now. I think I missed some topics worth mentioning, but the ones I did mention are the most important in my mind, and a one man show really demands a laser focus. Look forward to more coverage from the show tomorrow! Hopefully I won’t burn out before then 
E3 2010: Day 2: 3DS and Bethesda
Today I woke up a little late and packed my supplies in a rush to catch a shuttle to E3. Among the necessities was a carton of coconut water needed to soothe over a slight hangover. I sipped it casually on the ride there while taking in the scenery of downtown LA.
The shuttle dropped us off, and first and foremost, I was determined to head to Nintendo’s booth to spend quality time with the 3DS. Getting there a bit late meant that I was in line behind everyone else who wanted to do the same. I am unsure how long I was standing or how many times I unconsciously checked my iPhone, but eventually I was in the heart of the booth.
There, a number of systems were set up with different unplayable demos. The focus was therefore only the 3D and not so much the interface, probably due to the similarity between the 3DS and the the DS variants. The slider on the upper right side of the top screen controls the intensity of the 3D. It being a slider is somewhat unnecessary as there are only 3 levels of intensity as far as I could tell, one of them actually being 2D.
I noticed that certain titles looked better somewhere between the highest setting and 2D. I think this was proportional to the detail and amount of stuff happening on screen. The Resident Evil demo best showed this. When the 3D was set to high, it became difficult to distinguish depth and the edges became more harsh. This could have to do with the fact that this particular demo also featured a zoom option.
Maintaining the 3D really requires the player to hold the system head-on. Moving it too far to the left or right made the polarization fail and messed with the colors. Turning the slider down to 2D did not affect the appearance of the trailers made for 3D.
In terms of the hardware, the left side of the system features an SD slot and volume control, which is also a slider but slightly smaller in width than on the DS. The headphone jack has been moved to the center of the front of the unit. The slide pad/analog stick is set above the d-pad which offset both from the horizontal local of the buttons on the right of the system.
It was strange to look at my fingers at different heights on the system, especially when using the d-pad which is really close to the bottom of the unit. I have to say, I think the d-pad is rather unnecessary as the slide pad is more than enough, and a great improvement. The thought of a title that requires the player to use both really scares me. My guess is that it was left for backwards compatibility, but having both still felt awkward.
3DS Conclusions:
I am still not sure what my thoughts are about this 3D fad and how it will be accepted by gamers. Assuming it really does become the next big thing in gaming (as it is kind of being rammed down our throats), the DS is a great system to accent it. It is a comfortable distance from the successful DS, and fact that it doesn’t require glasses is awesome and a huge benefit to me.
Not seeing some aspects of the system in action like the gyroscope and basic controls may make it difficult to judge the system in its entirety. If I am simply judging the 3DS on its 3D capabilities (as it seems Nintendo wants) it is successful. I did feel as though there was another dimension of gameplay and not being forced to wear glasses was great. That is about the best I can sum up the system based on my experiences.
After Nintendo I headed over to Bethesda’s booth which was now only open to the media or those with appointments (unlike last year) — nice move, Bethesda. Not having to wait in lines as long is sweet. I was further buttered up when I received a free Bethesda track jacket.
First I wanted to play Fallout: New Vegas. Upon finding the area of the booth devoted to the game, I was disappointed to see that demoing the game on the PS3 was not possible — it was only for Xbox 360. I am of course not familiar with the Xbox controller or its implementation in Fallout 3. I soon realized that there was not a single PS3 in all of Bethesda’s booth. At least they veil their preference for which system they want to develop for! Me and my free track jacket were very disappointed.
Fallout: New Vegas
The demo was made up of two halves, the first in a small town in New Vegas. The main draw to this town was a small casino and a few NPCs. I immediately set about to gambling the healthy amount of caps I was supplied with. Blackjack was first. I kicked the bid up to maximum: 200 caps, and won close to 1,000 caps — I was on a roll. The manager came over and presented me with a bottle of vodka to keep the caps flowing.
I immediately set about punching him in VATS mode before switching to the second half of the demo. Here I was working with some of the NCR to battle some members of Caesar’s Legion. I played around a bit with my equips — put on some sunglasses and a grenade launcher, that sounded like it would get the job done.
Since I wasn’t entirely familiar with the Xbox 360 controller I accidentally fired a grenade at a member of the NCR. I decided to finish what I started and killed off all of the 3 dudes I was supposed to be helping. It certainly wasn’t my mission objective, but I was at least exploring a part of the game most probably hadn’t.
My follower, Boone, confronted me suddenly stating that he was a firm supporter of NCR and further action against them would result in him leaving. Rather than letting that happen (or fighting him) I just convinced him this wouldn’t happen again.
I found a member of Caesar’s Legion, killed him and put on his armor. A pop-up alerted me to the fact that other members of Caesar’s Legion now saw me as an ally — might as well head into their camp and see what it’s all about. Exploring their small camp was somewhat boring, probably because I was supposed to be killing these people.
I know that this wasn’t a clean or polished version of the game and that I was not necessarily taking the recommended path. Still, I was not wow-ed by the game, which I rather hoped for. It very much just felt like Fallout 3 with a new name. This could be because the features of the game that differentiate the two titles were not present: advanced conversation options and a story more faithful to the history of the series.
Rage
Bethesda had a lot more to offer, though. Their booth was filled with other games which looked promising. I spent about a half hour being shown Rage, their newest IP.
The game reminded me of a combination of Fallout 3 and Bioshock. The Fallout influence was clear in the game’s environment which was post-apocalyptic, vast, and filled with unique characters. The Bioshock aspects came from the enemies which exhibited unique abilities akin to splicers, and the player’s ability to engineer gadgets and gizmos to assist in their journey.
One really cool moment that stood out in my mind was when the player exhibiting the game shot his way into an underground enemy base. There, several acrobatic enemies were felled, but a room around a corner contained four enemies, which was probably more than he could take easily. A remote control car armed with explosives was selected and driven right into the middle of the room. The player deftly triggered the explosives making short work of the enemies within — awesome.
A mechanic thrown in which one wouldn’t expect to find in an FPS was a vehicle system. In addition to acquiring and upgrading weapons, the player can do the same for their buggy which is largely used to explore the game’s massive map. There will also be buggy vs. buggy battles, where the upgrades made to your vehicle will aid in combat. I should mention that once you enter your vehicle the game switches to third person.
It is rare that I approve of an FPS, as they mostly conform to some standard of mediocrity and monotony. I truly felt that Rage recognized this fact and took a clear and defiant step away from the norm. The game is very unique considering its genre (which can only be loosely applied considering its many mechanics). I believe that this is a game people should definitely keep their eyes on.
Oyasumi
Damn, I cannot believe how much I wrote about today! I am exhausted and am going to pass the hell out now. I think I missed some topics worth mentioning, but the ones I did mention are the most important in my mind, and a one man show really demands a laser focus. Look forward to more coverage from the show tomorrow! Hopefully I won’t burn out before then
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