FEATURE: Rabbitc's Massive Summer Gaming Roundup

Hello folks and sorry for the delay.  As with many things, life has commanded my attention away from frequent blogging of late - but I have grabbed a spare moment to report on my thoughts regarding E3 and general gaming news to-date for 2011.  This time around, I have broken this edition into sections by game or topic so that you can zoom into the stuff you care about.  Peace out, Dudes!!

The E3 Report


Another E3, another mixed bag of crap...
OK, it wasn't all bad but...dear oh dear!  Where do I start?  I suppose the logical place is with the one piece of gaming news that no-one wanted to see but everyone expected: Duke Nukem Forever is a stinker!

It's time to kick-ass and chew gum...and my ass has already been kicked

 ...and not just because he's brandishing some token faecal matter to punt through the uprights; more because the game sucks in a balls-of-steel way that will likely seal the fate of the Duke forever. (no pun intended)  It's a real shame but I suppose the track record for these things has never been very good.  I did try the demo and it was OK to be honest, but 'ok' doesn't cut in today's market.  If you've clicked through the link, you'll see that Edge crucified it with an unrelenting '3' and whether you trust Edge or not, that is a certified kill.  I suppose that would be the end of the story if it weren't for the fact that Gearbox is also working on Aliens: Colonial Marines: a game very near and dear to my heart.  We can only hope that they have taken lessons learned and applied them to good use as neither Gearbox nor their publisher on A:CM (Sega) have a great track record lately.

Microsoft asleep at the wheel
I've already blogged on Microsoft's E3 disaster and I'm sorry to say that things haven't improved. The only real outlet for Microsoft news is Major Nelson's blog.  Worthy of note, Larry (Major's real name) recently disappeared for a 'week' holiday which saw his blog remain idle for almost three weeks.  Since returning, the most exciting blog we've seen is an 'accountant's special' 'sale' on gamertag changes (a whole 30% off!).  That's right, a blog-worthy announcement (apparently) that the 'deal of the week' is 30% off the extortionate charge for the simple privilege of changing your gaming name.  Words cannot express the epic facepalm required so please give me ideas of a site or video I could link to.  Quite frankly, I don't even know why Larry bothers any more.  Easy money, perhaps.  Personally, I would be too embarrassed to continue...but that's just me. ;)

Oh yeah...and Gears of War 3 is coming out...and Mass Effect 3...and Forza 4...and some other stuff and we'll probably see a new Halo (not by Bungie - not that I cared anyway) and Kinect, Kinect, Kinect!  (do tell us oh wise Rabbit!)

"Kinect, drop 20 pounds!"

Yes.  It's true.  Kinect will now let you try on a virtual wardrobe!!!





Excited??  No?  I see.............Moving on then.



Sony Delivers
It was not Sony's best conference by far, but there was a decent share of solid gaming and a strong slant on 3D.  While the 3D is a passing novelty (it's really not good for you beyond the average time of a film) the conference did show that Sony is still firmly committed to a solid gaming experience despite the inclusion of Playstation Move.  Heck, even the Move title looked fun!

Award for most money spent on lighting goes to...

We saw some pedigree titles emerge as well as mention of Dust514: a Halo-beating MAG-like space marine game.  We also saw some credible move experiences including NBA 2K11 and a core title called 'Deadmund's Quest'.

Saving the best for last, Sony revealed the name of their new handheld: Vita...and what was shown proved it to be a very capable little machine and well beyond the over-hyped features of Nintendo's rival '3DS.'  Sony also impressed with price-point for the first time in its gaming console history and this did not go unappreciated by the crowd.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing this article, Sony (and Japan) are going through very difficult times due to adverse economic conditions and stagnant performance from their television division.  Sony really needs a quick and big win with Vita as gaming is the only market in growth these days.  Anything less could spell a real threat to Sony's gaming division.  To put things in perspective, if the dark days of the Playstation 3's early years had emerged now rather than back in 2006, Sony would have been forced to axe the entire gaming division and possibly close up shop altogether.  As hard as things are for the world, Japan is fighting the economic battle of its modern existence thanks to the triple-whammy of the economy, the tsunami and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.  I honestly hope that the solid strategies they are planting this year will turn out well for them.  God knows they need it to.


Wii U buy Mii?
Nintendo. (sigh)  Once, they were great.  I mean...really great!  Weren't they?  I suppose you can't fault them for their success with the Wii. (we can curse them though muhaha!)  Having said that, the 3DS is not doing well at all.  Although it hasn't reaped the rewards of a class-action lawsuit for damaged optical nerves (yet) the consumers are voting with their wallet.  Sales are stagnant across the globe and recently, Japan of all places has announced that the shelves are full of used 3DS consoles.  Ironically, the article behind reports this as a 'good thing' but it isn't; this early on, it means that owners are becoming bored with their machines and cashing them in while the getting is still good.  The causes of this are uncertain, but I'd imagine that the value for money just isn't there along with the novelty (and it is a novelty) of 3D gaming fades quickly...or brings you to full-alarm, chunk-blowing status in record time.

So what of the Wii U?  Ok, it's interesting and I think Nintendo is definitely on to something - but the Wii U itself will not be the console to take this forward.  In case you've been living in a closet recently, the Wii U is basically a Nintendo branded 'Xbox 360' (when looking at performance, capability) with one major difference: the controller.

Does it come with a lap-mount?

 Each Wii U controller comes with an integrated touch-screen in the centre.  The potential of this is limitless because it provides developers with the option to create completely customized controls for every game as well as a secondary screen for indicators, gauges or even mini-games.

'So what's the issue?' -you may ask

Size: Firstly, the control is pretty much mandatory.  Much like how the motion controller is required for the Wii, the Wii U is dependent on that touch screen being there and that's where things get icky.  As you can see from the image, it's not exactly the smallest of controllers; in fact, it could be the biggest ever.  The Wii U controller is more like an Apple 'iPad' than a controller and it will certainly feel clunky amongst a large contingent of users.

Intimidation factor: Are you afraid of it?  No, probably not - but I bet your Granny would be and that's where the problem lies.  The Wii was successful largely because of it's unassuming interface which is not much more than a chocolate-bar-sized wand with a few buttons on it.  But this??? Different game entirely.  "Here Grandma.  Hold this small TV with two analog sticks and a myriad with buttons on it..." -no, I doubt it.  She'll probably just let the boys get on with it and make a pot of tea.  End result: Nintendo is at risk of alienating the growth market that brought it success with the first Wii.

Cost:  There's no doubt that having a built-in touch screen is going to jack up your unit cost.  Can you even guess what the buy-in price of 4 home controllers might be with this thing?  Bear in mind that when considering devices such as Sony's 'Vita' or Apple's 'iPad', the majority of the production cost lies with the screen.  It is for this reason that such units are never repaired, only replaced, if the screen malfunctions.  The manufacturing cost of the Wii U remote will be more in line with the Vita than say, the Sixaxis controller.  That means that Nintendo will either have a massive price-point on controllers or will be forced to always sell them at a loss.  If the Wii U's only trick is matching the 360 for power and innovating through its high-priced controller, I think there is serious risk of business default here.  Nintendo should have built the better motion controller first and then offered the touch-pad controller as an optional buy-in for hardcore gamers.  Perhaps they will.  Time will tell but then as the Wii U isn't much to speak of under the hood, what else IS there to talk about?

Hello Vita, it rhymes with Pita
Sony wasted no time in unveiling the official name of the NGP...and what better name for the coolest, most capable handheld than 'Vita'! YEAH! Awesome name! Right?? ....right?  (crickets)

Yes, it even does your groceries.

Ok, so the name ain't exactly a zinger, but the console does seem to be the new handheld that the market was waiting for.  It's price-point, for one thing, is spot-on and that alone will propel the Vita to epic launch heights.  Provided Sony is emerging from their learned-lessons from the PS3 and PSP, we can only hope that the dev-kit is also equally as spot-on as the console itself.  If that's the case, we've got a hands-down K.O. winner to trounce the 3DS despite the head-start.

The exciting part for me is what Sony plans to do with the Vita and the PS3 (and PS4 you can wager).  The Vita has the touch-screen that the PSPGo should have had as well as oodles of buttons.  It will support remote play but more importantly, I am dead certain that Sony will give you the option (R U paying attention Wii U?) of using the Vita as a PS3 controller complete with interactive touch-screen.  Long story short, Sony has provided a handheld that beats the 3DS and clobbers the Wii U in one fell swoop.  Gosh Darn, Sony!  Welcome back to the fight!!!  For the first time ever, I may just consider a handheld console and this is the one.  It would be even MORE cool if Sony also offered similar support for the Xperia, but I won't hold my breath on that one.   Either way, Sony is off to a bloody good start for the next gen.  I hope that they give us some PS4 news sooner rather than later.

The Good, the Bad and the Downright Gorgeous
(The Games)

Featuring RabbitC's 'Hop-O-Meter'
That's not a Rabbit!  That's a Space Station!: It will rock all who play it.
2-Hops-Forward: Exciting enough to warrant attention.  Likely one of the year's top 10 titles.
1-Hop-Forward: Probably worth the time if you can get a good deal on it.  Certainly worth a rental.
Hopping on the Spot: Ok, it does something, makes pretty colours on the screen and some geek may rave about it.  But it's same-old, same-old.
2-hops-back:  'Epic Fail' bad and an insult to gamers around the world.


Rise of Nightmares (Sega, Kinect)
Might as well get this out of the way as the token Kinect announcement.  I like Kinect a lot and I see amazing potential but alas, that has not been realised.  Developers can do great things with Kinect but they must acknowledge its weaknesses first.  Until then, we will probably see more titles like Sega's 'Rise of Nightmares'.  Not only is the game an unapologetic rip-off of the Silent Hill series, it's demonstrated gameplay looks laboured and clumsy (see video behind link).  Watching the footage, RoN reminds me more of a goofy night at the carnival horror house than anything resembling a game.  Gamers are already suggesting that this could be the worst game of 2011.  I suspect they are probably right.
[2-hops-back]


Duke Nukem Forever (Gearbox, 3D Realms)
As you can guess from my thoughts above, it's official: The Duke is Dead.  For a while it really looked like Gearbox was going to pull a rabbit out of the crap-filled hat.  Kudos to them for finishing it off, I suppose.  No one likes vaporware...but on this occassion, I think we would have made an exception.  DNF is vile, technically bad and uninspired.  It reminds me of 'Leisure Suit Larry: Magnum Cum Laude': a weak attempt to create a sequel to Al Lowe's infamous adventure series.  Unfortunately, as with 'Magnum Cum Laude' - Gearbox tried to replicate the jokes without looking at the soul of the game itself and in doing so, they missed the point and have buried the series for all time.  I doubt anyone will try to resurrect it now and perhaps it's for the best.   The Duke can now safely rest in peace...although I wouldn't object to an indie developer resurrecting him in his original 2d platformer glory. (hint, hint)
[2-hops-back]


Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog)
Let's cheer up the place a bit and where better to start that E3's hottest ticket this year.  (yes, I am giving the trophy to a Playstation game, you haters!!!) Uncharted 3 looks gorgeous, fun, engaging and downright epic in every detail.  I am aware of a number of gamers worried about the Uncharted series getting a bit rusty, but looking at the stage demo I can't disagree more.

So real, you can taste the sea salt

Watching Drake battle foes on the decks of a cruise ship rolling the storm, I feel as though Naughty Dog has brought gaming one step closer to cinematic greatness.  Anyone with a solid home theatre setup is in for a solid ride with U3DD and no doubt they will be joined by family and friends happy to just sit and watch.  If Uncharted 3 is half-as-good and a quarter-as-fun as this stage demo looks, it will be a lock for 2011 Game of the Year.
[That's not a Rabbit! That's a Space Station!!]


Gears of War 3 (Epic Games)

I have never been a huge GeOW fan (not to be confused with GOW ;^P ) but I am rather impressed with the demo at E3.  However, where Gears falls down is on the basis of what it is: a bullets-by-the-numbers shooter.  

"Sarge, they're shooting at us again."

This isn't to say that shooters are bad, only that I find myself bored with Gears of Ware after a while.  Mass Effect 2 suffered from this as well.  Sometimes it seems like all you do is shoot, shoot, shoot.  Can't we break for a cookie once in a while?  Gears of War 3 should be a good game and will definitely appeal to fans of the series, but they're unlikely to win any new fans with the third instalment.  For me, it's a simple lack of diversity in game-play although I acknowledge that this subject to opinion.

[1-Hop-Forward]


Forza 4 (Turn 10)
Another series I have a mixed relationship with, Forza is certainly accomplished but where it falls short for me is on immersion.  When I first purchased my console, I jumped on the change to get Forza 2 and experience racing in high-definition, widescreen goodness but instead, found a rather limp title with OK graphics and flat gameplay.  Sure, the cars might travel on the numbers, but that's not what driving games are about...at least, not for me.  As a juxtaposition, I would hold up the Dirt series (notably 2 and 3) as examples of immersion done right in racing.  Dirt 2 was the first racing game that actually made me feel like I was in the car, racing for points and cash against my peers. So what of Forza 4?

'Leaning into the turn' brings on a whole new meaning

Forza 4 has a possible 'King of Hearts' if not an ace-card up its sleeve and that lies in the Kinect support.  Where Forza 4 differs from conventional Kinect support is that it makes no attempt to replace the conventional controller and instead, looks for ways to augment the gaming experience with Kinect's control features.  From in-game head-tracking that moves the vantage point with your own natural body motion (I must at least try it) to the interactive car exploration features and finally, the ability to jump to any part of the game using voice 'shortcuts', it's a step in the right direction to integrate motion control in a logical, natural way rather than discard three decades of established, controller-based history.  If you want the perfect Forza experience, Turn 10 knows that you want will use an actual steering wheel and pedals to control your car as supposed to hold your hands in the air like a bad memory from kindergarten make-believe (although Forza does that too).  Everything that Turn 10 has done for Kinect is from the perspective of usefulness and realistic expectations of the controller's capabilities.  Add to that some greatly improved graphics and Forza 4 could be a really great edition to 2011 and a solid lesson to developers about what Kinect represents to gaming.
[2-Hops-Forward]


Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda)
For me, this was the real gem at E3.  Fresh on the foundation the new 'Creation' engine, Skyrim's stage level easily demonstrates that Bethesda has upped the stakes in RPG gaming.  It's so good, in fact, that even Major Nelson is trying to steal some Xbox glory on the announcement of a collector's edition, even though Microsoft has zip to do with Skyrim or Bethesda (better than talking about virtual wardrobes, I guess).  Back on topic, Skyrim looks good, really good.  In fact, it looks great.  In fact, it looks amazingly great.  Compared to this, it's quite possible that other studios will just give up.

Looking at the stage demo which finishes with an excellent dragon fight, there is just no reason to doubt Skyrim's power to entertain.  It's the type of game where you invite some mates over, break out the munchies, turn out the lights, up the volume and spend the wee hours exploring dark tombs, gaining magical abilities, completing epic quests and battling fierce dragons at every turn.
Bethesda has even attempted to make the third-person perspective more viable but reading between the lines, this is a first-person game in function so don't get your hopes up if you're craving an 'Assassin's Creed' style of game-play.  Never the less, it is quite clear that much blood, sweat and tears have poured into this game.  The least we can do is reward Bethesda for their masterpiece by purchasing a copy.  Day 1 purchase for me.
[That's not a Rabbit!  That's a Space Station!!]




Hitman Absolution (IO Interactive)
There's not a heck of a lot to talk about yet but if cutscenes are anything to go by (which they aren't), the graphics of Hitman are definitely out to impress.  Unfortunately, IO did a lot of talking about the game without much to show in game-play mechanics.  If this video is anything to go by, it looks to be potentially a good title, but I somehow felt as though I was watching game-play footage from last year's 'Splinter Cell: Conviction.'  The Hitman series has never been a runaway success as much as it has been a solid earner.  Unfortunately, I don't see any evidence that this is about to change and so while I'll reserve judgement until Absolution finally hits the shelves, I'll have to assume that there's nothing to see here.  At least, not yet.
[Hopping on the Spot]


Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Ubisoft Montreal)
The 'Creed' series is an odd thing.  Much like Gears of War, it has millions of fans but also a fair share of haters.  For me personally, I think the AC series just gets better and better.  I was not a fan of the first one but have never looked back since ACII.  Brotherhood was also a step in the right direction (if only a baby step) but I wasn't necessarily looking for improvement on ACII, just more of it; Brotherhood delivered.

Picking up more or less where Brotherhood left off, Desmond is now left in a coma and is trapped in the world of Ezio.  In Revelations, you will travel as Ezio to the old stomping grounds of Altair in efforts to find clues to the mysterious origins of the pieces of Eden.  During the campaign, tears in the fabric of the animus projection will allow players to jump between Ezio and Altair and possibly someone else.  In terms of storytelling, Revelations is even more seamless having virtually eliminated the 'cut-scene.'  Instead, cinematic sequences blend in with the action by zooming and panning the 'camera' as required and then releasing control to resume movement.  While this might not sound like a big deal, it certainly is - it means that the graphic quality of Revelations game-play is so good that it no longer requires independently-rendered cut-scenes.  it also means that cinematic events will feel more natural and immersive thus allowing the gamer a feeling of actually playing a role in a living, breathing story.  As Revelations is the last game in the Ezio 'trilogy', everyone will be looking for clues for the upcoming Assassin's Creed III.  If it's going the way I believe it is, Assassin's Creed is going to become the 'Grand Theft Auto' of this decade as there is virtually no limit as to where this series will go.  Revelations contains more game-play innovations both on the combat and multi-player side of things, but more than that, it looks to be a development proving ground for exciting elements yet to appear in the next instalment of the series.  If you were put off by AC1 and never ventured back, I implore you to get AC2 and give it another shot.  Critics will find things to pick apart, but they really do grasp for straws nowadays.  Assassin's Creed is pedigree gaming at its very best and Revelations will be no different.  Not a game changer by any stretch, but certainly a top-ten title in the making and likely a top-five for a good majority of us.
[2-Hops-Forward]


Resistance 3 (Insomniac Games)
Whether you like the Resistance series or not, it certainly has a loyal following.  Resistance is a core Playstation first-person shooter which is often hyped but seldom discussed after release.  Every time a title is inbound, the Internet is awash with comments like "It will destroy all other FPS games" and "It will be THE title to own on PS3" but to date, this has never really materialised.

Didn't I see you in 'Beyond Good and Evil'

During the E3 conference, Sony announced a special bundle featuring Resistance 3 with the PS3 to promote 3D gaming but recently, even this fell by the wayside as Sony announced that the 3DTV package would now feature Motorstorm instead.  This isn't to say that Resistance is bad nor that Resistance 3 will be bad as a result, but it does cast doubt as to whether we should expect anything more from this series than what has already been delivered.  Obviously, insiders at Sony have seen the final product and have decided that it wasn't up to snuff for their 3DTV promotion; not exactly a vote of confidence.  Will we see a solid title emerge?  I suspect we probably will...but with all of the great titles coming out alongside it, Insomniac's track record and the world economy forcing gamers to be more choosy than normal, I'm doubtful as to whether Resistance 3 will have enough 'Je ne said quoi' to stand up against the competition.  Instead, this will be a January bargain-bin purchase and probably well worth it once the price goes down.
[1-Hop-Forward]


Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest (Zindagi Games, Playstation Move)
It wouldn't be fair to talk about Kinect without also talking about PS Move.  Sony is eager to get Move selling after having a less than stellar launch.  To date, the Move titles have been utterly dreadful and that's saying a lot considering that Kinect isn't exactly rolling in great selection either.  However, Kinect did have a great launch and is still selling games (amazingly) so it's Sony's turn to catch up.  That said, Sony is on better  footing than Microsoft if trends speak for anything.  Before the demo for Deadmund's Quest, some Move integration was shown for 2K's upcoming NBA 2K11 ala 'Wii FIFA' style and it looked to be a nice application of the hardware.  So now was the time for a core Move title.

You're not my Mummy!  (get it? Mummy?....nevermind)

While it's appearance may look somewhat cartoonish, the style is intentional and the game-play shown at E3 seemed to be pretty decent; certainly enough to while away a few hours.  It also looks a lot more fun that 'Rise of Nightmares' and features game-play that actually requires a bit of tactical application rather than 'slash-punch-slash.'  Is it good enough to be a hit?  Sadly, to be honest, I doubt it...but it will sell and it's innocent enough to let pre-teens play it which is something that 'Rise of Nightmares' can't boast of.  It's a stocking-stuffer at best and probably not worth the asking price at launch, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Deadmund's Quest is going to end up in many gamer stables without much effort for the simple reasons of being fun, casual and playful.  When it comes to casual gaming, a little 'boo' will do rather than trying to scare the **** out of people.
[1-Hop-Forward]


Tomb Raider [reboot] (Square Enix)
Not willing to let Laura Croft die without a fight, remnants of the Eidos team have put hard efforts into rebooting the Tomb Raider franchise by upping the stakes in cinematic quality and I think they just might pull it off.  Now firmly under the Square Enix branding, the next Tomb Raider will do away with the cartoonishly-large bust of the old Ms. Croft and instead introduce a lean, mean and more believable athletic Laura.  (although they did find a real-world likeness to play the old Laura - Brad is a lucky, lucky boy)

What a dirty, dirty girl you are!

Watching the stage demo, there seems to be some good appeal here.  It's cinematic, it's atmospheric, the voice acting is good, the game-play looks well integrated....I think we could see good things from this reboot.  The last game I played from the series was 'The Angel of Darkness' and I have to say that I really enjoyed that game.  It didn't spend time wallowing in gunfights with bats but instead told a great story and featured classic 'Tomb' gameplay mechanics but offered up a variety of environments.  I'm hoping that Square will do the same in this new version.  For one thing, 360 owners could really do with a title to rival Uncharted and this could possibly be the game. (although it's multi-plat, of course)  Until more game-play footage emerges, it's hard to say which way this game is going to go...but based on what's been shown so far, it looks promising.
[1-Hop-Forward]


Odds and Ends
There's obviously many more games to chat about and please do ask about anything I haven't mentioned as I may include it in a supplementary article or at least, debate it with you in the comments section.  The only other things that linger on the brain-stem are talks of Ubisoft's upcoming Assassin's Creed film.  Having started their own film studio (never before done), it's possible that we may actually see the start of decent game-to-film translations if greedy movie executives are kept out of the way.  Add to that a possible adaptation of 'Beyond Good and Evil', 'Splinter Cell' and 'Driver' and we could see some credible films on the horizon.

It also seems as though 'Thief 4' is still in development and production will be at 110% capacity once Deus Ex goes gold (yes, I realise Deus Ex is missing from this round-up).  Since this is in the capable hands of Eidos Montreal (what do they put in the water there, eh??) we should see some game-play updates some time before Christmas.

As for Deus Ex, I didn't see much to talk about at E3 other than what was already known.  I'm still really on the fence about this title and nothing has jumped out and bit me as yet.  Time will tell.

On that note, I shall rest my wearing typing fingers for now and wish you all well.  It has been a turbulent week in the news, to say the least and I am thankful that we DO have some fun and interesting things to talk about thanks to our mutual passion in gaming.  Take care and God bless (for those of you who believe)...

For the rest of you,
Peace Out.

Yours Sincerely,
The Angry Rabbit.