The State of Gaming: E3 2011 Predictions

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 as it is known to most, officially kicks off next week, running from June 6th until June 9th (technically the 7th, but there is at least one major press conference on that Monday) at the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 is an industry-only event, meaning only game developers and members of the gaming press, where companies debut new footage of their games, announce projects they are working on, and unveil which products will effectively dominate the entertainment markets over the next year. The unveiling and/or demonstrating of some games goes without saying at E3, such as a new Call of Duty title showing off its first gameplay, but not all developers are as predictable. Featured below is my list of things to look for, or not to look for, at this year's E3:

Confirmed

-The first showing and demonstration of gameplay from the upcoming Call of Duty game Modern Warfare 3 (even more likely given the unveiling of the first Modern Warfare 3 trailer during the NBA Finals.
-Nintendo's next console, codenamed "Project Cafe" will be officially announced, and playable for the press, at the show - get excited, people; this system is rumored to have graphics capabilities that surpass both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. Looks like Nintendo is finally ready to step up to the table!
-More information on the NGP, Sony's new handheld game system that is said to rival the graphics currently seen on the Playstation 3, will be released, including (likely) its release date, which is said to be sometime in 2011.
-Minecraft for Android will be shown to the public; for those of you who don't know, Minecraft was a huge indie hit that brought itself several million downloads. This is Minecraft.

Likely To Be At E3 2011

-Gameplay demoes for any and all games coming out in the second half of 2011 and the first half of 2012, including (but not limited to) Bioshock Infinite, Battlefield 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, Batman: Arkham City, and Uncharted 3
-The line-up of titles scheduled to be released to coincide with the launch of Project Cafe/Wii 2
-The announcement of a release date for the upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, as well as a new cinematic trailer (if the past two E3's have been any indication)
-More information on Team ICO's game The Last Guardian, including a possible release date
-Information on Respawn Entertainment's first game; for those who don't know, Respawn Entertainment is the studio formed by the former president and CEO of Infinity Ward, Jason West and Vince Zampella respectively, and 38 of the 46 Infinity Ward employees who quit en masse after West and Zampella were fired by Activision for insubordination and breach of contract (West and Zampella allege that Infinity Ward fired them as a result of unpaid royalties owed to them after the success of Modern Warfare 2)

Not Likely To Be at E3 2011

-Information from Valve Software on Half-Life: Episode 3, the long-gestating continuation of the Half-Life series, which saw its last release four years ago as part of The Orange Box. In fact, there will be no Valve games of any kind at this year's E3.
-No new information on a potential sequel/prequel? to Metal Gear Sold 4, as Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Solid's creator, will be sitting out of this year's E3
-Sony's announcement of their new console, which is currently in development but is not ready for public demonstration yet
-A first look at what new project Bungie is working on since it finished with the Halo series; they are reported as not having an official presence at this year's show

Things I Am Most Excited For

-The unveiling of Nintendo's next console - I can't wait to see what they have planned for this system to follow up on the success of the Wii, which continues to beat out the competition in sales numbers 
-A Bioshock Infinite gameplay demonstration, this one set to focus on the Vox Populi, the other warring faction featured in the game (the first focusing on the group known as the Founding Fathers)
-Finally knowing the release date for The Old Republic (I have patiently waited for so long!)
-The first gameplay of the next SSX game; I have powerful feelings of nostalgia for SSX Tricky... I loved that game.
-More information about Link's next outing, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Games To Look For at E3 2011 (in no particular order)

-Bioshock Infinite
-Battlefield 3
-Batman: Arkham City
-Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
-Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
-The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
-Rage
-Star Wars: The Old Republic
-The Last Guardian
-SSX
-Mass Effect 3
-Prey 2
-Dead Island
-The Darkness 2
-Max Payne 3
-Gears of War 3
-DmC (Devil May Cry)
-Uncharted 3
-Resistance 3
-Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Video: Infamous 2 - "The Beast Is Coming"

Wow... While I am not in love with the 2 seconds of game/5 seconds of black ratio in the trailer, it is nothing if not stylish. I admit, when I first saw an image of The Beast at the end of Infamous 1, I did not expect him to be very big, just the size of a man, possibly with superpowers. But after seeing this trailer... wow, he is going to be one hell of a formidable foe; did you see the size of that hand?! I am especially loving the new cinematic aspect of this game, as it seems to have taken a step back from the cartoon-y aspect of last game's "cutscenes" (read - not the graphic novel-style ones). Makes the character feel a little more alive, and not just like some comic book character who you just happen to be playing as.

 The Beast

As the game is due to be released two weeks from today, this is likely the last trailer Sony and Sucker Punch will release for this title. However, there is likely to be plenty of leaked footage from the game and the beta over the next couple weeks - check on Youtube or gaming message boards for 'em!

Infamous 2 is due out on June 7th, 2011 exclusively for the Playstation 3. For those of you Uncharted fans, like myself, picking up a copy of this gets you early access to the Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta that will be occurring in late June.

Video: Modern Warfare 3 Reveal Trailer

This trailer, which aired last night during the NBA Conference Finals, is the first demonstration at what Modern Warfare 3 will look like when it is released to the public in November this fall. The video, while short, does give you a taste for the kind of action you'll be seeing in this game: guns, running, and lots of explosions (all good things).

The game is still running on the IW Engine used in the past four Call of Duty games, but tweaks have been made to it to make the visuals that much better. Explosions are still crisp and the action dynamic, and there are some very interesting motion blur being used during the "car over a man's head" scene.

The release of this video during the Finals indicates something very important - video games are finally becoming mainstream. Call of Duty, having celebrated several record-breaking launches over the last five years, has emerged in the public eye and appeals to people not just a part of the "core gamer" fan base the series used to boast.

This trailer is just a taste of what is to come soon; if past years are any indication, E3 will debut the first gameplay, extensive or otherwise, of this game to the world, likely with an on-stage gameplay demonstration by one of the game's designers. And, if history repeats itself, the demonstration will be absolutely awesome (anyone remember that breathtaking cliffjumper demonstration at E3 2009?).

Keep your eyes posted to the blog over the next couple weeks for my reviews of Brink and LA Noire, as well as information on the PSN hacking/outage and my pre-E3 2011 coverage!

Review: Portal 2

After a two-week hiatus, The State of Gaming is back in business! Check back frequently, as there will be several big updates, including leaked information on the next Call of Duty game, the hacking of the Playstation Network, and my review of the team-based first person shooter Brink. Without further ado, however, here is my review of Portal 2:

 

Portal 2 is a puzzle game masquerading as a first person shooter (that gun-like object your silent protagonist is totting shoots portals, not rockets), made by the company responsible for the Counter Strike, Half-Life, and Team Fortress games: Valve. Just in case you have never heard of them. Which I sincerely doubt, as these are some of the biggest titles on the planet. Portal 2 picks up many years after the end of the first, with the main character awakened from stasis by an AI named Wheatley (whose voice actor you may recognize from the Ricky Gervais show) desperately trying to escape the dilapidated facility and unwittingly awakening GLaDOS in the process. As GLaDOS was your main nemesis in the last game, a sociopathic computer with an addiction to testing, this is bad. You spend the rest of the game trying to escape the facility, and to survive the testing you are forced to do.

The Good:

The Writing - This game is funny. Not "weak chuckle" funny, but "I'm crying and I can't breathe from laughing all at the same time" funny. The writing is absolutely superb, and never gets stale, and JK Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson from Spider-Man) is especially funny as the CEO of Aperture Science, the company for whom you are doing your testing. Notable funny moments in the game: GLaDOS' opinions on your parents abandoning you at birth, and when you discover more about Wheatley's past and purpose.

The Mechanics - The first game was excellent, and this one is as well. Fixing what was broken, keeping what wasn't, and adding only sparingly to the dynamics of the first game, there really are no flaws in the set-up of the game. Jump in portal, jump out of portal, get to end. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. Some of the puzzles will frustrate you, and then further make you angry when you figure out how simple the solution was. On the other side of the coin, you will feel like a genius when you are on a roll. But really, you're not. Or you are, I have no idea.

The Pacing - Never at any point in this game do you feel like you are spinning your wheels and accomplishing nothing; you're always running, subverting, or avoiding a threat. For the approximately 12 hours I got out of the single-player campaign, it was interesting from start to finish.

Two Campaigns - Enough said; there is a cooperative campaign for two players, either split-screen or online, and the single player campaign. That's a lot of portals, and the more the merrier, I say!

Co-op Campaign - This is a totally different storyline, set after the end of the single-player campaign, and it is equally as fun; P-Body and Atlas, the two playable characters, look like they belong in a Pixar movie (I'd watch it if they were!). Figuring out puzzles with friends is a lot of fun, and there is an entire gesture and marking system to curb the difficulty a little, mostly because screaming "OVER THERE YOU IDIOT" generally is not terribly effective or informative.

The Bad/The "Why?":

Co-op Campaign - Because face it, other people are idiots.

The Engine - Still running on Valve's Source Engine, the same one they have been using since 2004's Half-Life 2, the visuals of Portal are beginning to show their age. While still looking pretty good running on a seven year-old engine, some textures and particle effects are fairly low-res. This is an issue with several developers currently; many do not wish to update their engines due to high sales in their products (namely the developers of Portal and Call of Duty).

Replayability - Unless you REALLY wanted to go back and play everything again, once you finish the game, you are done. In a market with games that are often $60 a pop, you want a game you can play multiple times. While this is not one of those games, you do have two fairly lengthy campaigns to play through, definitely giving you your money's worth.

My Score: 9.5/10
This game is absolutely brilliant. The often-dark humor will have laughing so hard you're gasping for breath and yelling for your roommate to "get out here" to listen to the next bit of funny dialogue from the various computer AI's and from the Aperture CEO. With puzzles that are as inspired as they are difficult, and a well-paced story that throws a couple semi-unexpected curve balls, Portal 2 is a hilariously fun and challenging game, whose quality should come as no surprise to anyone who has played a Valve game before.

My recommendation: Buy it.