God of War II: You know, God of War II left me feeling underwhelmed. Yes, it's gorgeous and, yes, it is still fun to play. But as is the case with great games, you hope that the sequel will bring more than just "more of the same" to the table. Based on my limited playtime, I did not see anything new here. The same great graphics, the same tight gameplay, even the same "Kratos falling through the clouds" intro. Maybe I wanted a new weapon? Maybe I wanted a new playable character? I don't know, but while this is definitely going to be a good title, I can't yet say that it will be a great sequel.
Dead Rising: You want a sandbox game? Capcom's got your sandbox game...with zombies. Simply put, this game is a blast to play. Hitting zombies in the skull with a giant LEGO head was worth waiting for, let me tell you. But what about that lazy camera? (Zombies kept sneaking up and biting me in the behind.) What about that annoying photographer dude? (Listen, pal. I don't want to take pictures of you beating zombies. I'd much rather beat you myself.) In a mall environment where everything is a weapon and with gameplay open-ended to the max, this just may be the game that gets me to buy a 360.
Too Human: Speaking of buying a 360, Too Human was on my "must play" short list before heading out to LA. I got the chance to sit down with the game twice, and I was really impressed. Now, keep in mind: the gameplay was very choppy and the load times were unforgivable. This was clearly an early build, and I would venture to guess that Microsoft really had to think hard about whether or not to display this puppy at E3. Well, I'm glad they did, because if you look past its rough edges you can really see the potential of something extraordinary. The controls are quite different, with all of the action orchestrated by the dual analog sticks. The environments were just gorgeous, with some really cool effects and enemies thrown in for good measure. The demo was way too easy, as I got the feeling I could have played through with my eyes closed. Silicon Knights is promising an "easy to learn, difficult to master" mechanic, and if they can deliver, this is going to be an awesome experience.
Spectrobes: Yeah, this game is a Pokemon rip but the creature designs are sweet! And the developer is the company behind Kingdom Hearts for the GBA. So I'm going to keep my eye on this one. Also, Buena Vista has revived the Turok franchise (good) and entered into the weird with the Desperate Housewives game (weird). So what do you care if you gotta catch all them Spectrobes?
Gears of War: Thanks to my friend Greg, I had the opportunity to go behind closed doors with Gears of War to check out the multiplayer deathmatch. Now, I'm mostly a single-player dude, so I was going in a bit skeptical. Let me first say that the game is freaking GORGEOUS. If you're a 3rd person shooter fan, you NEED to check out this game for that reason alone. But, okay, what else does the game offer besides pretty graphics? The only innovation I saw was that the guns had chainsaws on them. (Gone are the days when you had to be saddled with your chainsaw separately. Huzzah!) Seriously, this is next-gen? Freaking chainsaws? I'll wait for the single player, because this looked just like more of the same.
Yakuza: OK, now we're talking. This PS2 exclusive from SEGA is probably just around the corner. Maybe I'm just an old school fogey, but Yakuza was one of the best demos I played at the show: an RPG beat-em-up with real style. Set in the Japanese criminal underground, the title promises some pretty varied gameplay, AWESOME fight controls and elements of "go anywhere, do anything" that may or may not come to fruition. What I can tell you is this: beating a guy over the head with a golf club until it breaks, then smashing the side of his face into a coke machine is just about as cool as it gets.
Prey: There was a lot of buzz around this game leading into E3. Honestly, I played this game at the Microsoft booth because it was one of the few kiosks that was empty when I arrived. Well, I'm glad I played it, because it brings something different to the "been there, done that" feeling that I get from most FPS titles. In fact, I jumped into a deathmatch game and quickly found my footing. The action was fast and fun, and -- get this -- the maps rotate a full 360 degrees. This is hard to explain, but basically, you can run up alongside certain walls and flip the map over. I did not have enough time to figure out the strategy underneath it all, but I did get to see my opponents running on the ceiling like crazed cockroaches. And as far as I'm concerned, running on the ceiling = sign me up!
Full Auto 2: Speaking of deathmatch, I played me some Full Auto 2 deathmatch and I had a freaking blast. (Again, SEGA brings me one of my favorite game experiences of the show.) The controls were a bit dicey until I got a handle (pun intended) on the handbrake. At that point, I could zoom along at full speed with a bogey on my six, do a quick 180 degree turn and blast missiles right into his grill. I don't think this game is going to move any PS3s, but when I get one I will probably make sure Full Auto 2 is on my shelf with it.
DQ Heroes: Rocket Slime: No Dragon Quest Yangus on the floor had me crying in my Alchemy Pot, but this game is a fine substitute. Coming to your DS in September, Rocket Slime is an action/RPG hybrid (lower screen) with giant mecha slimes (top screen) all served up in the inimitable DQ style. Yeah, I'm a bit of a latecomer to the Dragon Quest games, since the only one I've played (other than DQ8) is the original Dragon Warrior for the NES. But who cares? I love this series.
Justice League Heroes: How about this for a surprise? Justice League Heroes is awesome! Developed by Snowblind, the same guys who did the Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath dungeon crawlers, JLH already has the same spit-and-polish of those games, with a superhero sheen. I played this one at the WBIE booth. I was Superman, the guy from Snowblind was Batman. We totally kicked some robot ass. Perhaps my reaction is due to severely low expectations, but as a comic book fan I am now really looking forward to picking up this game.
Guitar Hero II: What can I say? I've saved the best for last. Guitar Hero II promises to be awesome. I played "YYZ" in co-op mode with some other dude: me on bass, him on lead guitar. It was superb. To activate star power, you and your partner must tilt your guitars simultaneously. This is a lot like the Lifeson-Lee synchronized guitarring of old. I don't think I've ever rocked harder with a video game. Plus, I got a free poster.
Speaking of Guitar Hero II, there's something I have to mention. I was at the Capcom party at Gallery 1988 (where I bought the piece called "Zebes Welcoming Committee" at above right) and they had Guitar Hero customized with the Megaman theme! That was pretty sweet. (They also had the Ikari Warriors theme, but I didn't see anyone from SNK crashing the party.) I see a video game music edition of Guitar Hero coming some day to a console near you...
All told, this was a pretty amazing show. I was disappointed that I did not get to try the Wii. Everyone who walked out of that experience had a big shit-eating grin on their face. (Too bad I did not have the time or the patience to wait for 6 hours to try the damn thing.) Well, I am very happy for Nintendo. They really know how to buck the trend. I am sure some of the games will be gimmicky, but as one friend of mine said, "I've played tennis for real and in video games a million times. But now I get to play it in a whole new way." Can't argue that one, folks.
Other games to watch for are: Assassin's Creed, Spore, Hellgate London, Red Steel, Huxley, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Twilight Princess (of course) and Command & Conquer 3...among many others.
Now it's time for a nap!
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