Every few years or so we’re even witness to the unveiling of a new console generation, or in this year’s case, a new way to interact with our consoles (Natal and Move).
However, we’re also just as likely to see misguided game remakes, unneccessary accessories and our favourite characters from days gone by forced to once again slog through endless soul-sucking sequels all hoping to bring the series back to its glory days (hello, Sonic…).
Some of the things we DO want to see at E3 2010…
That’s why it’s time we put our foot down as the consumers and let them know we’re not going to support their mistakes before they waste all that development time and money. So without further ado, here is my list of my least-wanted E3 2010 announcements.
Top 10 Announcements We Don’t Want!
10: Killer Instinct Xtreme Beach Volleyball
Yes Rare, we’re fully aware of your desire to continue the Killer Instinct fighting series from your N64 days. You even teased us in Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts with in-game cases for it.
However, please, please, PLEASE don’t take lessons from Tecmo on this one. Sure, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (and its follow-ups Xtreme 2 on the 360 and Paradise on the PSP) may have sold quite well in Japan but that was only because the main focus of the DOA series has been the girls and absurd physics anyway.
Please, just don’t.
9: Activision buys Bungie
I don’t think any of us were expecting it, especially before even the Halo Reach beta began, but Bungie’s 10 year exclusivity deal with Activision makes sense to them as an independent studio.
They get the nice cash injections, but still operate independent of Activision and maintain all ownership of their new IPs.
What would be truly shocking is an announcement that Activision had bought the studio, as we’ve all seen what Activision can do when they have a good studio (Infinity Ward) and a good IP (Call of Duty) in their hands… shudder…..
8: Microsoft announces Halo Kart Racing, Halo Pinball, Halo Party, etc
So Halo Reach is Bungie’s last Halo game, but definitely not the last Halo game we’ll see coming from Microsoft.
Microsoft have set up their newest studio 343 Industries to handle all future expansions of the Halo universe, something fans would be able to tell from the name anyway.
While their first little experiment was setting up the Halo Waypoint system on Xbox Live, the last thing we want them to do is start unnecessarily exploiting the hell out of the franchise.
While I’ve read people complaining that Halo is already being milked, I’d argue that 3 full games and 2 spin-offs (and Reach coming soon) within a decade is hardly milking. At least they haven’t done Halo Reach: Prologue Spec 3 yet.
But I’m not willing to part with my money if Microsoft do go and follow in Mario’s footsteps. If they’re good games, fine. If they’re clearly just a quick grab for cash, they had better be prepared for the backlash – so just don’t do it in the first place Microsoft, mmkay?
7: Grand Theft Auto V to be set in Liberty City
Alright, let’s add them up shall we? GTA I, GTA II, GTAIII, GTA: Liberty City Stories, GTA IV, GTA IV: Lost and Damned, GTA IV: Ballad of Gay Tony. Enough already!
We get the point that you like New York…. I mean Liberty City as a setting, but there’s a reason Vice City is often cited as the best of the series.
We’ve got enough modern city-based action sandbox games, and quite frankly it’s all starting to seem the same. That’s precisely why Vice City was such a memorable game: a different time period, a different setting and atmosphere, and most of all a sense of humour about it all.
The laughs came from being able to reflect on a decade in hindsight and see the hilarity of what was the norm back then, something not nearly as effective when attempting to parody the present.
So please Rockstar, try something different than another simple update to Liberty City, otherwise your rivals may well leave you in the dust.
6: New motion controller launch titles: Natal Yoga, Move Tai Chi
This one is probably inevitable with the runaway success that was Wii Fit, but I’m just hoping Microsoft and Sony don’t fall into simply following in the Wii’s footsteps.
There’s no denying that there is a massive market for these casual ‘non-games’ as they’re known, but as long as we have a balance between casual and ‘hardcore’ games we should be fine.
Xbox Live Arcade could prove to be one of the major players in the Natal game, providing tons of different experiences without the massive development costs (and huge financial risks) of innovative motion games that disc-based publishers have to deal with.
5: Microsoft and Sony announce the PlayBox 3-60
This isn’t a shot at Sony.
There’s a very good reason I believe a merger between Microsoft and Sony would be a bad thing for the industry and gamers.
It all comes back to the simple, proven fact that competition drives innovation – without a major competitior to worry about, companies can become complacent and just rely on what they’ve already got since consumers don’t have an alternative.
With Nintendo out of the picture tackling a different market, we’ve seen some of the greatest games ever this generation as Microsoft and Sony butt heads, helped by the very close sales numbers that force each of them to try and have the next big thing.
From improving online services (face it, PSN wouldn’t have developed as much as it has since the PS2 days if Live wasn’t striding out ahead) to console price slashing, we’ve seen both companies having to up their game to stay in the running.
Hopefully the next generation will be just as competitive and give us a genuinely tricky decision in what to buy.
I seriously doubt a combined console would ever happen, but getting my thoughts out there just in case.
4: Uwe Boll to direct Halo movie
My worst nightmare. The universe is too well-constructed to be tarnished by the infamous destroyer of game-movies, or any movie for that matter.
For any who don’t know, Uwe Boll’s credits include Bloodrayne, FarCry, Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead, Postal…basically all the movies you should be avoiding like the plague lest they ruin your precious memories of the games.
The worst part is he can’t seem to understand he has room for improvement – instead of reading the criticism and trying to fix it, he instead claimed every critic is wrong and challenged them to a boxing match (because the best way to demonstrate your film-making skills is by boxing…).
Hideo Kojima has even stated that he would never let Uwe near Metal Gear Solid. So please, even though we know the Halo movie has gone through many many rough patches in trying to secure its production, don’t sink so low as to consider Mr Boll. Please.
3: All future 360 and PS3 games to be 3D
I’m not against 3D is the slightest – from the beautiful forests of Pandora to the awe-inspiring flights in How To Train Your Dragon, 3D has done a lot for film.
But that’s the easy part, since films are pre-rendered and can look just as good (if not better) when converted to 3D. Games do not have the same luxury.
We’re seeing more and more games forego split-screen multiplayer in favour of more detailed graphics due to the increased processing and RAM needed to be rendering almost twice the information, which is mostly our fault for being so demanding that each new game be the best-looking thing ever.
3D is a similar story – each frame needs to be rendered twice from slightly different camera perspectives so one can be displayed to each eye, so already that’s twice the processing.
Then there’s the increase in observed motion ‘judder’ from 3D, where lower framerates that are still fine in 2D display very obvious shuddering when the camera is moving (which is most of the time in games), making 60fps a necessity. So all up, that 2 x 60fps = 120 frames needing to be rendered each second.
Uncharted 2 runs at 30fps in 720p, so try to imagine how it would look if the developers were needing it to be able to run at 120fps on the PS3 at the same resolution. That’s a heck of a lot of compromises that would need to be made for the select few who own a 3D-capable TV.
While I’m sure it will be nice and dandy with some new ways to save power when doing 3D in the next generation, for now I’d rather stick with detailed 2D than bland 3D in games. (2IC Editor: Amen! and bring back the split screen too!)
2: Xbox 360 Slim announced, suffers from RRoD
I’m sure everyone would be glad to hear of a 360 slim to encourage new 360 owners and use less power and improve the hardware a bit (slot-loading DVD drive please!), but the main reason would be the removal of the infamous Red Ring of Death problem.
While the Jasper 360s (look on the sticker under the external power supply brick; if it says 250W power rating instead of 275W you have a Jasper) went a long way towards improving this, entirely new hardware should allow Microsoft to learn from their mistakes and start anew.
However, if the same issues crop up in a new model the backlash could be even greater. So simply put, slim 360 is awesome, RRoD on slim 360 would be publicity suicide. [EiC: After speaking with MS execs recently, it seems my predictions of the much vaulted Valhalla is not that far away, so expect a huge change in the motherboard department - yes, everything will still run the same re game]
1: Regular controllers to be phased out in favour of Natal
I have faith in Natal.
It genuinely looks like it could provide the experiences we were promised when the Revolution (aka: Wii) was announced, while using Microsoft’s experience with games for gamers.
What I don’t want is the use of the traditional controller to be abolished.
There are many genres that may see substantial improvement through Natal integration, but there are also others that are simply more suited to the speed and precision a controller provides.
Not to mention relieving us of constant arm flailing in extended competitive multiplayer games. [EiC: there is no way Natal can do all the things a controller or keyboard can do with regards to such genres as FPS, Racing (true sims) or many TPS (third person shooter/action) games that are out today. imagine Red Dead: Redemption via Natal . . . . ooeeeeww]
No comments:
Post a Comment