Sunday 12 June 2011

Impressions of E3 2011.

This isn't a post where I'm going to list everything that happened at E3 this year, because you can easily find all that information online or in your head if you watched it. 


What did you think was awesome? Anything that you weren't expecting? Anything that you predicted? What did you think about the big announcements and unveilings? Anything disappointing?

Personally, I think that Playstation's display bundle is brilliant. It's the perfect size for a bedroom, and a nice little price. Plus, it comes with Resistance 3! I will have to think about getting one because it's a great way to get into 3D gaming. I don't think anyone saw this coming, so it was a great little surprise. 

I loved all the stuff about the NGP, or the PSVita as it's officially named. I can't wait to see more about the Bioshock title that was announced for it, and I'd love to see some other brilliant titles announced too such as Loco Roco or maybe another GTA. With the dual sticks, there is a huge range of gaming possibilities that the PSP didn't have before. And the price is great! I was honestly thinking it would be £500+. I couldn't see Sony doing it for less. But for £280 (This is on Amazon, there have been no official prices announced for England yet but this seems about right) you can't go wrong! There has been loads of new ideas put into this system and I can't wait to get my hands on one. And plus, it has trophies! That was one of the reasons I didn't play my PSP much, I wasn't being rewarded. I see trophies as an incentive to play more of a game and now, a whole system. I'm not sure about them saying it's the next generation of hand held gaming, but hey, it's Sony we're talking about. 

The Wiiu. The controller was shown at the Nintendo briefing and it was a little strange. I can't see it catching on, to be perfectly honest. It looks silly. It's a good idea, I suppose. But it doesn't seem very practical. I can't really see what it can be used for in the long run. I saw the mini games that they showed, and the Zelda items on the screen, but it just seems awfully gimmicky if you ask me. The console itself wasn't shown although it was seen in the booths afterwards. Here's a picturehttp://www.engadget.com/2011/0…..e-eyes-on/.

The biggest disappointment was the Xbox briefing. They are pushing the Kinect as a new console, whereas Sony are pushing the Move as a controller, and a different way to play games on your PS3. Microsoft have tackled the Kinect in the wrong way. They have got contracts or licenses with Lucas Arts and Disney and Sesame Street, but they've just ruined their 'console' by doing so. I was really looking forward to the Star Wars game, but now it's just a disgrace. It's an on-rails thing, in which the guy was just swinging his arms to kill the droids and saying 'Lightsaber on'. They also ruined Fable. From what I saw, it was also on-rails. Sure, the whole spell casting thing was pretty cool, but having the game on rails ruins the idea of Fable. 

And of course, the final disappointing and underwhelming demo of the week was Modern Warfare 3. I know people say every year how much the CoD games look the same as the predecessor, but this time, it really is. It's the same engine which just makes the game look unbelievably stale, and of course, it is bound to have the same problems as before. With all the other shooters around now, it is starting to be overshadowed by the bigger and more powerful games, namely Battlefield 3. I'm not saying I won't get it, but I am saying it's probably going to be a severe disappointment, and I hope this is the beginning of the end for CoD. As much as I enjoy it with my friends, and you guys occasionally, it has become tedious and I want something to outshine it. I'm rooting for Battlefield this time. 
So, that's my view on the week. What about you guys?