Tuesday 7 June 2011

E3- Day One











So it's on! I caught a few snippets of very exciting news that leaked early (you already know don't you?!!) while in the middle of writing an important job application, with some serious determination I managed to finish without being distracted in time for the Xbox conference and I got busy taking screengrabs of all I could - the quality isn't amazing (it was from a live feed after all) and there's bound to be better stuff out there - but I thought it was about time I got you readers something I'd found myself, even if it's a bit iffy on the quality!!

First game up was Gears of War 3 which I got a few shots of from this gameplay demo.

Marcus and his team are fighting a new aquatic lambent monster with enormous tentacles that smash through the ships they're fighting from.








To fight back they use a Silverback mech suit - my screen grab is awful, there are better shots of the WIKI












The next game was Mass Effect 3, which has been heavily demoed, with a few surprises in store.

The first surprise is Kinect availability, whihc I don't think anyone saw coming. The primary use of Kinect is in voice control, you can now speak in Shepard's dialogue options, making it seem more like your choice and you can also command your squad to move and use their powers with your voice, which could make gameplay very engaging.











We also got a glimpse of this working in a level which featured Mordin Solus as well as Garrus and Liara back on the squad.












After infiltrating this base and meeting up woth Mordin, they encounter a Krogan female - the quality of my shot isn't great, but she is in some kind of cell and containment so you couldn't see much anyway.












Lastly Shepard is up against some nasty Cerberus troops, including some that can hide behind riot shields and this nasty mech.















We also got to see Shepard use his Omni-Tool as some kind of blade in a nasty takedown, but it was too fast for me to get a shot - I've got more Mass Effect stuff to post up soon anyway.

Next we got more looks at what will happen with Kinect and Microsoft really looks to be making the most of the hawdware, with FunLabs, which is already online, that scans you to create an avatar and a bunch of other software that's coming soon, with far more connectivity to hardcore games too. There were a bunch of kid titles and the anticipated Star Wars Kinect, I wasn't bowled over, but it will be a lot of fun by the looks of it, and if they refine the controls it could really enhance the experience of, say, the next Force Unleashed game.














But by far the most exciting aspect of the show was Halo. The rumoured and anticipated Halo Anniversary a full HD remake of the first game was announced and will be out in November. The graphics aren't quite as super-slick as I'd imagined but the gameplay has definitely been ramped up with Reach style assassinations an available tactic.

Some slicker-looking Pelicans in this shot.









Elites looking a bit more shiny too, as are the environments
















And of course Halo itself has had a bit of a polish.













OK, but after an accidental leak, our hopes and dreams were finally confirmed - HALO STINKIN' FOUR!!!

The chief is roused by Cortana, you can just about make out the lady as the Chief uploads her to his helmet.
















After flying through the crumbling wreckage of Forward Unto Dawn with the aid of some boosters on the back of his armour and a souped up pistol the chief stands on the broken edge of his ship.












Which is being dragged toward something huge and dangerous looking...











Presumable something on the Forerunner world we saw at the end of Halo 3's Legendary ending. Which begs the question what will the chief find and what will he fight? Given that this us going to be a new trilogy there's obviously going to be enough threat to keep it going but with the Covenant disbanded and the Flood eradicated you've got to wonder who's left to fight. Well I have faith in the Halo team and I can't wait to find out - but for now, just having it confirmed is amazing!!

And that's it, I'll keep my eye on other E3 developments but most of the good stuff will surface for you I'm sure. Now that I have my scanner working I look forward to giving you more stuff that I haven't just stolen from the web - I'll just steal it from comics and magazines instead!

Have a great E3 guys!

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