PittsburghAfterDark
10-15-2005, 01:32 AM
Please note, this was written by a Gamespot editor, not myself. So if there are any questions this was posted on their message boards and he is taking questions from users. The link to the thread is below. I don't normally think threads on other message boards are newsworthy but this is an exception. What follows is the best write up and hands on with 360 games and likely launch titles I've s een.
Eight hours with the Xbox 360 (http://www.gamespot.com/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=23856490)
I recently had the chance to spend some time playing the Xbox 360 at a special event hosted by Microsoft. Peter Moore and several of the developers were there to assist. As VIPs at this event, seven others and myself were granted our own consoles and about eight hours to play several games. We came from all over the country, and represented several gaming sites, including Gamespot, IGN, Xboxaddict, xbox365, Gamespy, Playstation, and Nintendo.
Other than about six Xbox Live parlor games (including the return of fan favorite Geometry Wars and a cool looking billiards [and about 4 others]), the available games were Kameo: Elements of Power, Project Gotham Racing 3, Call of Duty 2, Perfect Dark Zero, Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, NBA Live 06, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Dead or Alive 4, and Condemned: Criminal Origins. I spent lots of time with the games, and the following are my thoughts on the console and each game.
XBOX 360
A few of the developers that were present informed us that the Xbox 360s we were playing, while close to the final build, were not optimized to function at 100%. It was still a great machine. The controller is everything you’ve dreamed it would be. It’s comfortable and light. It’s smaller than the Controller S, and it’s thinner. The triggers are still pressure sensitive (a senseless rumor said they were not), and the bumpers that replaced the black/white buttons are surprisingly responsive. I was happy to find out they weren’t quite as “loose” as the Playstation shoulder buttons, and I pleasantly had to apply a little more force to press them down. Don’t worry about hitting the Start button while aiming for X. It won’t be a problem. Also, the rumble feature seems to be a little more under control and subtle than the current generation, which is nice. One minor complaint: A few times I pressed the left bumper unintentionally. However, this may have more to do with the way I hold the controller, and less with the design.
It’s much more user friendly than the original Xbox. If it had an option to “take game disc from box and place in drive,” you’d never ever have to leave your seat. The Xbox 360 is certainly built with today’s lazy consumer in mind. The console can be turned on and off from the controller. The disc drive can also be opened in this manner as well. The user control panel (accessed by pressing that Xbox 360 button in the center of the controller) is very easy to use. There are blades (interactive dashboards) for Xbox Live(marketplace/user account), games, music/media, and console controls (parental control, etc.). (Even Xbox Live Silver members will be able to chat with friends and use the marketplace).
Each game will be able to contribute up to 1000 points to your gamerscore (for example, unlocking a playable character in the main story of Kameo gave us 20 points), and matchmaking will take advantage of these scores so the “noobs don’t get pwned” by the hard core players. Also, the feedback system is very much improved. If you rate someone negatively, the chances that you will ever see them again in a match is almost zero. Now, in the rare case that it does happen, (say you are in a multiplayer game where you are on one team of 16 players, and your hated enemy is on the other) Live will not boot either of you from the game, which is practical. Sending and receiving messages is also 50 times easier now. You don’t have to go through ten screens just to get to your message; all you do is press the Xbox 360 button, and you’re there. We also got to try out the streaming music feature. It worked well. I plugged in an iPod Nano that they provided, and after searching through the available albums (such as Eminem, 50 Cent, no thanks) I had some AC/DC going while I was shooting some 8-ball on the billiards game. It took about 5-8 seconds to plug it in and choose my tunes and then I was back to the game. One thing I did notice (at the end of the day) is that the Xbox 360 was running a little hot. However, this is understandable when you consider that it has top-of-the-line hardware, and the consoles were running non-stop all day. But enough about the console, I’m sure you want to hear about the games. And they are…
(Disclaimer: Please remember that none of these games were final builds, so form your opinions accordingly. Also, while I will give the most complete descriptions I can, believe me when I say I am barely scratching the surface of what I could be telling you, so feel free to ask questions, because I’m leaving a lot out. Also, I can’t give great impressions of the sound (some games were without headphones), because of the blaring techno music in the room. Also, each 360 was set up with a Samsung flat screen LCD HD-TV, so the picture was great. Also, this is the honest truth; the good and the bad. No one is making me say or do any of this).
KAMEO: ELEMENTS OF POWER
I start with this game for two reasons. 1) Microsoft chose this game to show us during our initiation with the console, so this was the first 360 game I played; and 2) This is the “killer app” for the Xbox 360. In case you missed it, read that last sentence again. Don’t believe me? Well, when Peter Moore spoke to us, he had more confidence in this game than any other. He even uttered the words “killer app” when talking about it. This game is the one that proves that the 360 is the beginning of the next generation of gaming. It is remarkably detailed and beautiful. For example, I think it’s safe to say that it has the best water effects ever seen in a game. According to the dev, the water is “mathematically correct.” I was always terrible at math, so I wouldn’t be able to tell if it wasn’t, but it looks breath-taking. It reacts realistically to movements from other objects and itself. For example, if you throw a rock in the water, it will splash and the rings will move out from the point of impact. Then, if you jump in, it will splash and the little waves you caused will react to the rings moving away from the rock. It’s all very cool stuff.
It’s difficult to describe what this game plays like. It’s very original, but those that are familiar with adventure games will feel right at home. I suppose if I had to make comparisons, if you were to throw Ocarina of Time, Fable, and Banjo-Kazooie into a blender, the result would be something like Kameo. It takes some of the great things about those games, and throws in some freshness. Kameo herself seems like a good main character. She’s fairy-like, and while this is cute, it also is a gameplay mechanic. She can walk and run, but if you really want to fast travel, she has fairy wings, so you can fly there much more quickly than running. Positively, there didn’t seem to be a limit to the distance you could fly either.
The ability to play as ten different elemental warriors was great. Each has their own personality and skill set. It’s also great that the characters get upgraded throughout the game. They get more powerful (and visually impressive moves) as the game goes on. I only got to play as three of them. The first was a rock-like armadillo creature whose name eludes me. He’s cute, but he has this awesome move where he can roll into a ball, charge up, and rocket around the level or take out enemies (think of Metroid Prime). He also does a beserker move when he spins like a top and just bounces the baddies around like bowling pins. It’s easy to rack up hit points like this, and when enough combos have been strung together, the action enters a slow-mo view where you can string some even better combos together (switching between warriors is awesome).
There’s also a big ice gorilla name Chilla. He can throw ice shards. And he’s good at scaling things. He’s more of a brute character. He can actually collect trolls on his spikey back, or even grab a troll and use him as a melee weapon against other trolls. I found it harder to string together combos with Chilla, but perhaps more time with the game would reveal some better fighting techniques.
The last character I had some time with (and my favorite one of the three, by far) was Pummel Weed. He’s a plant-based lifeform that looks sort of like the character from Little Shop of Horrors, except he’s equipped with boxing gloves. During our initiation with the 360, we played a level in which we must defeat a shadow troll (or something) in order to be able to unlock Pummel Weed for use. It was fun, because it seems like the boss fights will take different methods to be beat, so each elemental warrior will have strengths and weaknesses that you will use. Pummel Weed was fun because can do these speed punches that rack up hit points quickly. Pulling both triggers puts him in his creep mode, where he burrows into the ground, and can sneak up and uppercut the hell out of unsuspecting enemies. This is also a cool method for getting by some obstacles.
This game was originally scheduled for the Gamecube and then the Xbox. However, it’s found it’s true home here on the 360. There were a couple of times where we stated, “C’mon, Rare is just showing off now!” Examples include areas with massive amounts of characters on screen (think 5000). The camera shot where we said the above quote was when the Badlands were first revealed and we see all the trolls for the first time. (If you’ve seen the movie The Two Towers, the camera movement was nearly exactly the same as the shot that comes around Aragorn, and Theoden as they ride out from Helm’s Deep into thousands of orcs. Perhaps Rare did this intentionally).
And the impressive thing was there was no frame rate problem at all. This was certainly the smoothest running game there. [One cool AI related note here: Kameo got off her horse to battle some of the trolls. She was quickly getting overwhelmed, so she was heading back to the horse to retreat quickly. A troll saw this, beat her to the horse, and stole it. It was one of the surprises that made me laugh aloud]. All the extra time that Rare has had with this game really shows. It’s not a short game (20+ hours for the main quest) and it is highly polished and will be ready on Day One of the Xbox 360 launch.
I predict this will be the most critically acclaimed game for the Xbox 360 (highest rated). However, this is a cruel world, and since adventure games don’t sell like sports games or shooters, (and since some claim this looks too “kiddie”), it won’t sell as well as it should (Psychonauts, I’m looking at you). However, being a console launch title should help it some. But at least give this thing a rental, because I promise you, if you play it, you’ll want to own it. People always argue over whether graphics or gameplay make a great game. Well, you get both with Kameo, in spades.
I didn’t mention it (because I didn’t see it in action), but Kameo also has a co-op mode that I hear brings back memories of fighters like Double Dragon, where you’re working together to take on large amounts of foes. With the available warriors in the game, and their differing fighting styles, that could be rather impressive.
PROJECT GOTHAM RACING 3
The other game that Microsoft introduced us to before letting us cut loose on whatever games we wanted was PGR3. One of the lead devs spoke to us about many of the features in the game. Honestly, I’m not the biggest racing fan, so I probably missed a lot of points that some people would like to know. However, races over Live sound like they will be a blast. There’s that real-time ticker thing at the bottom of the screen, and it will update people in real time. So if the two best racers in the world are going at it for the championship, you should be able to tune in or something.
This game is also gorgeous. What was cool was that they ran us through some of the New York level. It was crazy, because many of the landmarks that I just saw while driving to the event were in the game, down to trivial things like store fronts. In fact, the backgrounds are probably too detailed. For example, the Brooklyn bridge itself is more detailed than any one level from PGR2. You’ll never notice half of the stuff unless you actually stop to see it (which many of us did). The crowds seemed to react to the action too, to a certain extent.
Those familiar with the PGR series should like this game. The cars are great. They are really fast. The sounds in this game were great. Each engine was recorded for the car it was representing, and you can actually tell the differences. When we were starting out, they only let us use Class C cars, because they didn’t think we could handle anything higher (I tried later, they were pretty much right).
We played some system link games, and the game seemed to run as smoothly as the singleplayer version. The one thing that I was most happy to see is that the “inside the car” view is more than just some cosmetic add-on. Out of all the camera angles (I think there were 5-6, but don’t quote me) I could actually drive the best from inside the car. Perhaps that’s because it’s the most like driving a real car. I honestly don’t know, but in the other views, I was having considerably more trouble timing the braking. The interior models were well done, and it was cool to see the effects on the windshields like cracking when crashing, or just grime building up over time. By using the right thumbstick, you can also look side to side in the car (while pressing Y shows you what’s behind you).
People might complain about this being a little too similar to PGR2, and that’s sort of right. They may also say it’s only a graphical upgrade (granted, a MAJOR upgrade). However, make no mistake, this is the best racing game that going to be available for the Xbox 360.
CALL OF DUTY 2:
I spent a lot time with this game. Why? Because out of all the games there, this one seems closest to a “complete game” that was 100% ready for launch. In fact, don’t take my word for it. According to the dev (the Lead Dev, I think), they are simply waiting for Microsoft to certify the game so it can go Gold and they can start making copies. He said there really hasn’t been any changes to the game in three weeks. In other words, this is also a Day One launch title.
If you played the original COD for PC, you’ll have the basic idea of what to expect from this title. It’s not trying to surprise anyone. If it’s not broke don’t fix it. This was one game where there were headphones provided for the entire evening, so I really got to admire the sound design. And that’s one of the bright spots of this game. The sounds of war really seemed to be captured here. There’s constant gunfire from many different sounding weapons. Plus there’s this whole thing called the battle-chatter system that Infinity Ward put in the game. I guess it’s a testament to the effectiveness of the feature, but it didn’t seem like a “feature” at all. When there’s a sniper in the second floor of an adjacent building, that seems like something my men would yell out to me. So this was really integrated into the overall game very well. It didn’t feel gimmicky.
I played some of the British Campaign in North Africa, in the level that most people have played in the demo. However, I played a bit beyond that, and INTENSE is the word to describe this. The action and sound meld together well in this title to create an experience that you feel actually exhausts you a bit. After playing this for a while, I actually had to take a break and have a drink or two to calm my nerves. The Russian campaign was even better. You played as Vasili, the soldier made famous by Jude Law in the film Enemy at the Gates. There are a few sniping missions, and they are always fun. The bullet strikes on the enemies is much better than what we’ve seen in shooters thus far.
Right trigger fires, left trigger brings up iron sights aiming/sniping (clicking the left stick holds your breath/steadies your aim). Left bumper is smoke grenades, and right bumper is the frags. Jumping/mantling is A, B adjusts your stance (hold to go prone), X reloads, and Y changes weapons. The game controlled well, and, like Kameo, this game ran at a high, smooth frame rate (although maybe not as high as Kameo). I accidentally threw a few smoke grenades by hitting the LB accidentally (the smoke visuals are probably the best visual effect in the game). However, it was good to see that the smoke is more than just some cosmetic effect. It actually affects the gameplay. For example, I was having trouble sniping at men who were dug in behind a wall. The Dev suggested that I try to smoke them and use a direct charge. Wanting to try out different aspects of the game, I did, and I was successful. However, on a couple of my accidental smoke throws, it adversely affected my allies (they couldn’t see the enemy coming, and I had trouble as well—realistic at least).
The AI in COD2 was perhaps the best AI on display at the event. The enemies and allies seemed to maneuver intelligently. Also, if they’re being fired upon, they didn’t just stand there and take it. Also, enemies will work together (sometimes overwhelmingly). It’s good to see that you aren’t fighting a whole bunch of armies-of-one. The team-work, while maybe not the best aspect of the game, helps. Plus, the most pleasant thing was that when faced with close quarters, the enemy often utilized the melee attack to maximum affect. And it is quite effective. That melee will kill you just as quickly as a gun shot. It makes the fighting feel very visceral. Also, there’s no more health packs. This changes the dynamic a bit, but I quite liked it. It may have made the game a little more “run and gun,” and perhaps forfeited a bit of the realism (it is a game after all), but it aids that sense of intensity for which the whole game is striving.
One complaint: I’m not sure if you can turn the option off or not, (or maybe it was because of higher difficulty), but having to restart from the last checkpoint because an ally just ran into my line of fire and caught a round in the back of the skull (and then having the game tell me that I’m “a disgrace to the motherland,”) was annoying. I hope that’s somehow different when November 22 rolls around. I had other games preordered, but thanks to this Xbox 360 preview event, COD2 worked its way back onto my list of must-have games (perhaps bumping some others off). This looks like the best shooter available for the Xbox 360.
PEFECT DARK: ZERO
Well, if you read that last line about COD2, you may be scratching your head now. In fact, you may have started scratching when you read that Kameo is going to be the killer app for the Xbox 360. I’m sorry, but PDZ isn’t the Xbox 360 killer app. Many people are expecting so much from this game that it’s almost unfair. There’s no way it can live up to expectations. People are comparing it unfairly to Halo. Other than being shooters, they are completely different. People expect it to be nearly perfect because of how extraordinary the original Perfect Dark was for the N64. Well, this is a new game for a new system. Everyone’s expectations are so high, I think they are going to hurt this game in the end. Perhaps that’s why I was so disappointed in this game.
Yes, I was disappointed by PDZ. It seems like it has the potential to be a great game, but something’s a little off. This game feels like it could really benefit from another six months to a year of development, but I seriously doubt that will happen. Overall, the game looks nice. Rare is good at pulling off art styles that aren’t realistic, but they look great. Kameo and PDZ both do this. However, it must be stated again that Kameo looks far better, with a much better frame rate. The frame rate wasn’t the worst at the event, but it wasn’t good. The AI wasn’t terrible, but it was nothing to call home about. There were also some balance inconsistencies. For example, there were a couple times where the game seemed to assume you knew exactly what to do, when it wasn’t so clear. And other times it lit a clear path for you using these glowing beacon things. I’m not sure which I disliked more, being lost or having something pointed out to me so blatantly. Perhaps these things are clearer in the context of playing the game as a whole, so that’s hard to judge.
The physics also seem a little off. When you shoot the characters, while they’re not flying around like weightless objects like in the infamous E3 video, but the physics do appear to be off or something. I’m hoping that small tweaks can alleviate these problems.
Although there was disappointment, there were also some positives. The weapons were great. They all seemed to be unique, and like the original game, they fit the world well. Plus, all the secondary and tertiary functions seem to add to the gameplay. Also, Rare are masters of the context-sensitive action. For example, standing in a certain spot will allow Joanna to perform an action she would not normally be able to do, like looking/shooting around corners or zip-lining across the level. Surprisingly, the little combat roll that pulls the camera from 1st person to 3rd is not distracting at all. It’s rather well implemented. There are also fun little “spy” type things that separate this game from other “action” shooters. Controlling a bomb through a series of air ducts and having to E.M.P. laser-grids was pretty fun.
The voice acting in the game seems like it’s pretty good. However, knowing that Rare is a British company, hearing a distinctly American accent coming from Joanna’s mouth seemed wrong. It wasn’t a bad acting job, it just wasn’t what I was expecting.
All these impressions are from the single-player portion of the game. They set up a multi-player, and I went to check it out and was planning on playing, so I watched for a little while, but it looked like more of the same that I’d just trudged through (although the multiplayer levels looked great, with lots of foliage), and I wanted to get to a few of the other games, so I passed. Perhaps a real multiplayer battle with several enemies will be what I need to get my juices flowing about this game. At least it has bots, and that’s one thing I’ve been waiting on in a shooter for a while.
I was waiting for this game to stand up and kick me in my nuts and blow me away. It just never happened. Again, I keep reminding myself that this was not the final build of the game, so hopefully some of the flaws can be improved upon. The game looks like it will be solid, but it won’t be the second coming that everyone was expecting based on the amazing original game, and I suppose (unfairly) that’s my biggest gripe. I had this on pre-order, but I think I might be changing that pre-order to COD2, and waiting for the reviews for PDZ to see if they ironed out a few of my dislikes. And either way you take it, it is NOT Halo.
Eight hours with the Xbox 360 (http://www.gamespot.com/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=23856490)
I recently had the chance to spend some time playing the Xbox 360 at a special event hosted by Microsoft. Peter Moore and several of the developers were there to assist. As VIPs at this event, seven others and myself were granted our own consoles and about eight hours to play several games. We came from all over the country, and represented several gaming sites, including Gamespot, IGN, Xboxaddict, xbox365, Gamespy, Playstation, and Nintendo.
Other than about six Xbox Live parlor games (including the return of fan favorite Geometry Wars and a cool looking billiards [and about 4 others]), the available games were Kameo: Elements of Power, Project Gotham Racing 3, Call of Duty 2, Perfect Dark Zero, Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, NBA Live 06, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Dead or Alive 4, and Condemned: Criminal Origins. I spent lots of time with the games, and the following are my thoughts on the console and each game.
XBOX 360
A few of the developers that were present informed us that the Xbox 360s we were playing, while close to the final build, were not optimized to function at 100%. It was still a great machine. The controller is everything you’ve dreamed it would be. It’s comfortable and light. It’s smaller than the Controller S, and it’s thinner. The triggers are still pressure sensitive (a senseless rumor said they were not), and the bumpers that replaced the black/white buttons are surprisingly responsive. I was happy to find out they weren’t quite as “loose” as the Playstation shoulder buttons, and I pleasantly had to apply a little more force to press them down. Don’t worry about hitting the Start button while aiming for X. It won’t be a problem. Also, the rumble feature seems to be a little more under control and subtle than the current generation, which is nice. One minor complaint: A few times I pressed the left bumper unintentionally. However, this may have more to do with the way I hold the controller, and less with the design.
It’s much more user friendly than the original Xbox. If it had an option to “take game disc from box and place in drive,” you’d never ever have to leave your seat. The Xbox 360 is certainly built with today’s lazy consumer in mind. The console can be turned on and off from the controller. The disc drive can also be opened in this manner as well. The user control panel (accessed by pressing that Xbox 360 button in the center of the controller) is very easy to use. There are blades (interactive dashboards) for Xbox Live(marketplace/user account), games, music/media, and console controls (parental control, etc.). (Even Xbox Live Silver members will be able to chat with friends and use the marketplace).
Each game will be able to contribute up to 1000 points to your gamerscore (for example, unlocking a playable character in the main story of Kameo gave us 20 points), and matchmaking will take advantage of these scores so the “noobs don’t get pwned” by the hard core players. Also, the feedback system is very much improved. If you rate someone negatively, the chances that you will ever see them again in a match is almost zero. Now, in the rare case that it does happen, (say you are in a multiplayer game where you are on one team of 16 players, and your hated enemy is on the other) Live will not boot either of you from the game, which is practical. Sending and receiving messages is also 50 times easier now. You don’t have to go through ten screens just to get to your message; all you do is press the Xbox 360 button, and you’re there. We also got to try out the streaming music feature. It worked well. I plugged in an iPod Nano that they provided, and after searching through the available albums (such as Eminem, 50 Cent, no thanks) I had some AC/DC going while I was shooting some 8-ball on the billiards game. It took about 5-8 seconds to plug it in and choose my tunes and then I was back to the game. One thing I did notice (at the end of the day) is that the Xbox 360 was running a little hot. However, this is understandable when you consider that it has top-of-the-line hardware, and the consoles were running non-stop all day. But enough about the console, I’m sure you want to hear about the games. And they are…
(Disclaimer: Please remember that none of these games were final builds, so form your opinions accordingly. Also, while I will give the most complete descriptions I can, believe me when I say I am barely scratching the surface of what I could be telling you, so feel free to ask questions, because I’m leaving a lot out. Also, I can’t give great impressions of the sound (some games were without headphones), because of the blaring techno music in the room. Also, each 360 was set up with a Samsung flat screen LCD HD-TV, so the picture was great. Also, this is the honest truth; the good and the bad. No one is making me say or do any of this).
KAMEO: ELEMENTS OF POWER
I start with this game for two reasons. 1) Microsoft chose this game to show us during our initiation with the console, so this was the first 360 game I played; and 2) This is the “killer app” for the Xbox 360. In case you missed it, read that last sentence again. Don’t believe me? Well, when Peter Moore spoke to us, he had more confidence in this game than any other. He even uttered the words “killer app” when talking about it. This game is the one that proves that the 360 is the beginning of the next generation of gaming. It is remarkably detailed and beautiful. For example, I think it’s safe to say that it has the best water effects ever seen in a game. According to the dev, the water is “mathematically correct.” I was always terrible at math, so I wouldn’t be able to tell if it wasn’t, but it looks breath-taking. It reacts realistically to movements from other objects and itself. For example, if you throw a rock in the water, it will splash and the rings will move out from the point of impact. Then, if you jump in, it will splash and the little waves you caused will react to the rings moving away from the rock. It’s all very cool stuff.
It’s difficult to describe what this game plays like. It’s very original, but those that are familiar with adventure games will feel right at home. I suppose if I had to make comparisons, if you were to throw Ocarina of Time, Fable, and Banjo-Kazooie into a blender, the result would be something like Kameo. It takes some of the great things about those games, and throws in some freshness. Kameo herself seems like a good main character. She’s fairy-like, and while this is cute, it also is a gameplay mechanic. She can walk and run, but if you really want to fast travel, she has fairy wings, so you can fly there much more quickly than running. Positively, there didn’t seem to be a limit to the distance you could fly either.
The ability to play as ten different elemental warriors was great. Each has their own personality and skill set. It’s also great that the characters get upgraded throughout the game. They get more powerful (and visually impressive moves) as the game goes on. I only got to play as three of them. The first was a rock-like armadillo creature whose name eludes me. He’s cute, but he has this awesome move where he can roll into a ball, charge up, and rocket around the level or take out enemies (think of Metroid Prime). He also does a beserker move when he spins like a top and just bounces the baddies around like bowling pins. It’s easy to rack up hit points like this, and when enough combos have been strung together, the action enters a slow-mo view where you can string some even better combos together (switching between warriors is awesome).
There’s also a big ice gorilla name Chilla. He can throw ice shards. And he’s good at scaling things. He’s more of a brute character. He can actually collect trolls on his spikey back, or even grab a troll and use him as a melee weapon against other trolls. I found it harder to string together combos with Chilla, but perhaps more time with the game would reveal some better fighting techniques.
The last character I had some time with (and my favorite one of the three, by far) was Pummel Weed. He’s a plant-based lifeform that looks sort of like the character from Little Shop of Horrors, except he’s equipped with boxing gloves. During our initiation with the 360, we played a level in which we must defeat a shadow troll (or something) in order to be able to unlock Pummel Weed for use. It was fun, because it seems like the boss fights will take different methods to be beat, so each elemental warrior will have strengths and weaknesses that you will use. Pummel Weed was fun because can do these speed punches that rack up hit points quickly. Pulling both triggers puts him in his creep mode, where he burrows into the ground, and can sneak up and uppercut the hell out of unsuspecting enemies. This is also a cool method for getting by some obstacles.
This game was originally scheduled for the Gamecube and then the Xbox. However, it’s found it’s true home here on the 360. There were a couple of times where we stated, “C’mon, Rare is just showing off now!” Examples include areas with massive amounts of characters on screen (think 5000). The camera shot where we said the above quote was when the Badlands were first revealed and we see all the trolls for the first time. (If you’ve seen the movie The Two Towers, the camera movement was nearly exactly the same as the shot that comes around Aragorn, and Theoden as they ride out from Helm’s Deep into thousands of orcs. Perhaps Rare did this intentionally).
And the impressive thing was there was no frame rate problem at all. This was certainly the smoothest running game there. [One cool AI related note here: Kameo got off her horse to battle some of the trolls. She was quickly getting overwhelmed, so she was heading back to the horse to retreat quickly. A troll saw this, beat her to the horse, and stole it. It was one of the surprises that made me laugh aloud]. All the extra time that Rare has had with this game really shows. It’s not a short game (20+ hours for the main quest) and it is highly polished and will be ready on Day One of the Xbox 360 launch.
I predict this will be the most critically acclaimed game for the Xbox 360 (highest rated). However, this is a cruel world, and since adventure games don’t sell like sports games or shooters, (and since some claim this looks too “kiddie”), it won’t sell as well as it should (Psychonauts, I’m looking at you). However, being a console launch title should help it some. But at least give this thing a rental, because I promise you, if you play it, you’ll want to own it. People always argue over whether graphics or gameplay make a great game. Well, you get both with Kameo, in spades.
I didn’t mention it (because I didn’t see it in action), but Kameo also has a co-op mode that I hear brings back memories of fighters like Double Dragon, where you’re working together to take on large amounts of foes. With the available warriors in the game, and their differing fighting styles, that could be rather impressive.
PROJECT GOTHAM RACING 3
The other game that Microsoft introduced us to before letting us cut loose on whatever games we wanted was PGR3. One of the lead devs spoke to us about many of the features in the game. Honestly, I’m not the biggest racing fan, so I probably missed a lot of points that some people would like to know. However, races over Live sound like they will be a blast. There’s that real-time ticker thing at the bottom of the screen, and it will update people in real time. So if the two best racers in the world are going at it for the championship, you should be able to tune in or something.
This game is also gorgeous. What was cool was that they ran us through some of the New York level. It was crazy, because many of the landmarks that I just saw while driving to the event were in the game, down to trivial things like store fronts. In fact, the backgrounds are probably too detailed. For example, the Brooklyn bridge itself is more detailed than any one level from PGR2. You’ll never notice half of the stuff unless you actually stop to see it (which many of us did). The crowds seemed to react to the action too, to a certain extent.
Those familiar with the PGR series should like this game. The cars are great. They are really fast. The sounds in this game were great. Each engine was recorded for the car it was representing, and you can actually tell the differences. When we were starting out, they only let us use Class C cars, because they didn’t think we could handle anything higher (I tried later, they were pretty much right).
We played some system link games, and the game seemed to run as smoothly as the singleplayer version. The one thing that I was most happy to see is that the “inside the car” view is more than just some cosmetic add-on. Out of all the camera angles (I think there were 5-6, but don’t quote me) I could actually drive the best from inside the car. Perhaps that’s because it’s the most like driving a real car. I honestly don’t know, but in the other views, I was having considerably more trouble timing the braking. The interior models were well done, and it was cool to see the effects on the windshields like cracking when crashing, or just grime building up over time. By using the right thumbstick, you can also look side to side in the car (while pressing Y shows you what’s behind you).
People might complain about this being a little too similar to PGR2, and that’s sort of right. They may also say it’s only a graphical upgrade (granted, a MAJOR upgrade). However, make no mistake, this is the best racing game that going to be available for the Xbox 360.
CALL OF DUTY 2:
I spent a lot time with this game. Why? Because out of all the games there, this one seems closest to a “complete game” that was 100% ready for launch. In fact, don’t take my word for it. According to the dev (the Lead Dev, I think), they are simply waiting for Microsoft to certify the game so it can go Gold and they can start making copies. He said there really hasn’t been any changes to the game in three weeks. In other words, this is also a Day One launch title.
If you played the original COD for PC, you’ll have the basic idea of what to expect from this title. It’s not trying to surprise anyone. If it’s not broke don’t fix it. This was one game where there were headphones provided for the entire evening, so I really got to admire the sound design. And that’s one of the bright spots of this game. The sounds of war really seemed to be captured here. There’s constant gunfire from many different sounding weapons. Plus there’s this whole thing called the battle-chatter system that Infinity Ward put in the game. I guess it’s a testament to the effectiveness of the feature, but it didn’t seem like a “feature” at all. When there’s a sniper in the second floor of an adjacent building, that seems like something my men would yell out to me. So this was really integrated into the overall game very well. It didn’t feel gimmicky.
I played some of the British Campaign in North Africa, in the level that most people have played in the demo. However, I played a bit beyond that, and INTENSE is the word to describe this. The action and sound meld together well in this title to create an experience that you feel actually exhausts you a bit. After playing this for a while, I actually had to take a break and have a drink or two to calm my nerves. The Russian campaign was even better. You played as Vasili, the soldier made famous by Jude Law in the film Enemy at the Gates. There are a few sniping missions, and they are always fun. The bullet strikes on the enemies is much better than what we’ve seen in shooters thus far.
Right trigger fires, left trigger brings up iron sights aiming/sniping (clicking the left stick holds your breath/steadies your aim). Left bumper is smoke grenades, and right bumper is the frags. Jumping/mantling is A, B adjusts your stance (hold to go prone), X reloads, and Y changes weapons. The game controlled well, and, like Kameo, this game ran at a high, smooth frame rate (although maybe not as high as Kameo). I accidentally threw a few smoke grenades by hitting the LB accidentally (the smoke visuals are probably the best visual effect in the game). However, it was good to see that the smoke is more than just some cosmetic effect. It actually affects the gameplay. For example, I was having trouble sniping at men who were dug in behind a wall. The Dev suggested that I try to smoke them and use a direct charge. Wanting to try out different aspects of the game, I did, and I was successful. However, on a couple of my accidental smoke throws, it adversely affected my allies (they couldn’t see the enemy coming, and I had trouble as well—realistic at least).
The AI in COD2 was perhaps the best AI on display at the event. The enemies and allies seemed to maneuver intelligently. Also, if they’re being fired upon, they didn’t just stand there and take it. Also, enemies will work together (sometimes overwhelmingly). It’s good to see that you aren’t fighting a whole bunch of armies-of-one. The team-work, while maybe not the best aspect of the game, helps. Plus, the most pleasant thing was that when faced with close quarters, the enemy often utilized the melee attack to maximum affect. And it is quite effective. That melee will kill you just as quickly as a gun shot. It makes the fighting feel very visceral. Also, there’s no more health packs. This changes the dynamic a bit, but I quite liked it. It may have made the game a little more “run and gun,” and perhaps forfeited a bit of the realism (it is a game after all), but it aids that sense of intensity for which the whole game is striving.
One complaint: I’m not sure if you can turn the option off or not, (or maybe it was because of higher difficulty), but having to restart from the last checkpoint because an ally just ran into my line of fire and caught a round in the back of the skull (and then having the game tell me that I’m “a disgrace to the motherland,”) was annoying. I hope that’s somehow different when November 22 rolls around. I had other games preordered, but thanks to this Xbox 360 preview event, COD2 worked its way back onto my list of must-have games (perhaps bumping some others off). This looks like the best shooter available for the Xbox 360.
PEFECT DARK: ZERO
Well, if you read that last line about COD2, you may be scratching your head now. In fact, you may have started scratching when you read that Kameo is going to be the killer app for the Xbox 360. I’m sorry, but PDZ isn’t the Xbox 360 killer app. Many people are expecting so much from this game that it’s almost unfair. There’s no way it can live up to expectations. People are comparing it unfairly to Halo. Other than being shooters, they are completely different. People expect it to be nearly perfect because of how extraordinary the original Perfect Dark was for the N64. Well, this is a new game for a new system. Everyone’s expectations are so high, I think they are going to hurt this game in the end. Perhaps that’s why I was so disappointed in this game.
Yes, I was disappointed by PDZ. It seems like it has the potential to be a great game, but something’s a little off. This game feels like it could really benefit from another six months to a year of development, but I seriously doubt that will happen. Overall, the game looks nice. Rare is good at pulling off art styles that aren’t realistic, but they look great. Kameo and PDZ both do this. However, it must be stated again that Kameo looks far better, with a much better frame rate. The frame rate wasn’t the worst at the event, but it wasn’t good. The AI wasn’t terrible, but it was nothing to call home about. There were also some balance inconsistencies. For example, there were a couple times where the game seemed to assume you knew exactly what to do, when it wasn’t so clear. And other times it lit a clear path for you using these glowing beacon things. I’m not sure which I disliked more, being lost or having something pointed out to me so blatantly. Perhaps these things are clearer in the context of playing the game as a whole, so that’s hard to judge.
The physics also seem a little off. When you shoot the characters, while they’re not flying around like weightless objects like in the infamous E3 video, but the physics do appear to be off or something. I’m hoping that small tweaks can alleviate these problems.
Although there was disappointment, there were also some positives. The weapons were great. They all seemed to be unique, and like the original game, they fit the world well. Plus, all the secondary and tertiary functions seem to add to the gameplay. Also, Rare are masters of the context-sensitive action. For example, standing in a certain spot will allow Joanna to perform an action she would not normally be able to do, like looking/shooting around corners or zip-lining across the level. Surprisingly, the little combat roll that pulls the camera from 1st person to 3rd is not distracting at all. It’s rather well implemented. There are also fun little “spy” type things that separate this game from other “action” shooters. Controlling a bomb through a series of air ducts and having to E.M.P. laser-grids was pretty fun.
The voice acting in the game seems like it’s pretty good. However, knowing that Rare is a British company, hearing a distinctly American accent coming from Joanna’s mouth seemed wrong. It wasn’t a bad acting job, it just wasn’t what I was expecting.
All these impressions are from the single-player portion of the game. They set up a multi-player, and I went to check it out and was planning on playing, so I watched for a little while, but it looked like more of the same that I’d just trudged through (although the multiplayer levels looked great, with lots of foliage), and I wanted to get to a few of the other games, so I passed. Perhaps a real multiplayer battle with several enemies will be what I need to get my juices flowing about this game. At least it has bots, and that’s one thing I’ve been waiting on in a shooter for a while.
I was waiting for this game to stand up and kick me in my nuts and blow me away. It just never happened. Again, I keep reminding myself that this was not the final build of the game, so hopefully some of the flaws can be improved upon. The game looks like it will be solid, but it won’t be the second coming that everyone was expecting based on the amazing original game, and I suppose (unfairly) that’s my biggest gripe. I had this on pre-order, but I think I might be changing that pre-order to COD2, and waiting for the reviews for PDZ to see if they ironed out a few of my dislikes. And either way you take it, it is NOT Halo.