E3 Week – Tuesday
E3 2011: Tuesday Lowdown
Sweet, it’s E3 time again. This means we’ll be seeing a whole bunch of new and previously unannounced games hot off the press this week from the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 in Los Angeles.
E3 so far has given us some real game-based gems, such as THIS new trailer for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim…
…and this equally delicious Battlefield 3 TANK BATTLE?!?!
Yeah, it’s an awesome tank battle. You will like it. You WILL buy Battlefield 3. You WILL NOT buy COD MW3. Wait, who cares, buy both. Because when you have money you can like everything. Here’s a trailer for you fanboys and your similar-but-not-the-same-game feuds.
Oh, and don’t forget Ubisoft! (I never really played, or play, Assassin’s Creed, but this looks fun!)
Along with tanks, subs, daggers and dragons, E3 also gave us quite a shock. Just when you thought it was all over, it apparently wasn’t. So Microsoft announced Halo 4. And the world shat collective bricks.
In the video, a sleepy Chief is woken up from what we can only hope was a long session of slumber chiefing by companion/hologram Cortana. The spaceship the Chief was cryogenically napping on, after being cut in half by a closing portal at the end of Halo 3, is now definitely on fire and plummeting towards a large object. The Chief bludgeons his way through the debris to survey the new challenge, but then the ship is promptly engulfed by a hole in the oncoming object, from which emanates a brilliant light.
Halo 4 hopefully won’t be the tale of one man’s struggle against a vehicle-hungry sentient planet, but it does look like Microsoft and Bungie splinter cell 343 Industries aren’t going to make a hash of proceedings. Halo 4 is also confirmed to be the first in a new Halo trilogy following directly on from Halo 3. Whether trusty split-jawed companion The Arbiter will be on board with the new outings hasn’t yet been confirmed, but seeing as he and the Chief became ‘space bros’ during Halo 2 and 3, we’ll miss him enough for a least a cameo, if not a supporting role. What has additionally been confirmed within the Halo franchise at E3 recently is more great news.
On top of Halo 4’s announcement, another Halo title, this one more familiar and fuzzy, is on its way: Halo Anniversary, a straight-up remake of Halo 1 which brings the graphics and features up to date with Halo: Reach. Fight on the Pillar of Autumn… IN HD. Crash-land on Halo… IN HD. Like using a completely overpowered and awesome pistol? NOW YOU CAN USE IT IN HD.
So many remakes recently, along with last week’s Metal Gear Solid and Zone of the Enders HD REMAKE news, Team Ico has also come along and dropped ALL NEW HD REMAKES (IN HD!) of Ico and Shadow of The Colossus, which you may remember from the Playstation 2, which wasn’t HD.
That not good enough for you? There’s also an all new God of War Trilogy remake pack. In HD. In 3D. Both displayed simultaneously: that means AT THE SAME TIME. If your underwear is clean at this point you may consider yourself one stone cold man/beast with monumental capacity for danger.
Q4 2011 = Q4HD.
E3 2011: Hardware
It’s new, it’s here, don’t be frightened Nintendo. You’ll get your revenge tonight. (More later)
Vita. Sounds like a little blue pill you’d take for your… never mind, it’s Sony’s new handheld, previously known as the NGP.
Sony’s Vita, or the PSVita or Playstation Vita, depending on how you look at it, is the long hyped powerhouse handheld from Sony, reputedly boasting rendering hardware designed to rival current-gen consoles.
The little bugger’s got touch screens, cameras, microphones, all that jazz. The main screen is totally touch-sensitive, as it bizarrely the rear panel of the handheld. Dual touch sensitive control systems and dual analogue sticks. Kind of rocks.
The hardware storm is brewing though, as tonight Nintendo are scheduled to unleash their NEXT CONSOLE OH MY GAWD LAWDY LAWDY IS I IN HEVVINS?!
…
Yeah, sorry about that. It’s the first decent Nintendo console since the GameCube. Excitement abounds. By the way it’s apparently IN HD… sorry, sorry. That joke is crap now, I get it.
E3 2011: What You Might’ve Missed
Today’s news contained a couple of more fringe-based titles coming up, nevertheless they are pretty cool.
Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg’s Tintin movie adaptation, Secret of The Unicorn, is shaping up pretty well, so there’s some good news for the upcoming tie-in title. Ubisoft have taken the spot to develop it and here’s what Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer at Ubisoft had to say.
“We’re excited for the opportunity to work with such renowned filmmakers on the iconic Tintin franchise. Our development team in Montpellier has worked very closely with the film team to ensure that players will have the chance to recreate the magical moments of the movie and to experience complete immersion into the Tintin universe.”
Hooray, European developers for a European favourite. Watch for this game around the same time as the movie.
Also, we’re staying in France and Ubisoft for a real quick look at Rayman: Origins, the 2D side scroller successor to, specifically, the original Rayman title.
The game features platformer action featuring Rayman and best bud Globox. The games involves co-op with up to 4 players and characters, although only Rayman and Globox are confirmed.
Artistically, Origins is made up of a myriad of different designs and art schemes. This is because Ubisoft’s art team was made up of a small group of people working their individual talents into the game using some nifty new paper-to-computer art tools known as Ubi Art Framework.
The game is set in the bizarre surrealist world of the original, albeit with themed levels for variety, making great use of Ubisoft’s creative design team. Some levels follow set themes, such as the kitchen and Tetris areas demoed earlier. Could be episodic too by some accounts, check their blog at http://ubi-art.uk.ubi.com/.
The game blends high definition 2D artwork and gorgeously animated characters in a platforming setting. Watch Ubi’s space, it looks lovely.
E3 2011: My Tuesday Hot List
YES:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Battlefield 3
Halo: Anniversary
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
NO:
Street Fighter x Tekken
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Final Fantasy VIII-2
HIDDEN TREASURES:
Rayman Origins
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn
Brothers In Arms: Furious 4
Star Wars Kinect
EXPENSIVE BUT WANT:
Sony PSVita
Xbox Kinect
Playstation 3 Slimline
An Xbox 360 that actually works (Damn overheat/screws/mobo issue. Yuck. Work please.)
CAN’T WAIT:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Battlefield 3
Aliens Versus Predator: Colonial Marines