Microsoft E3 Conference Reactions
So for those that have seen Microsoft's E3 press conference, what are your thoughts? What do you think they did right, what could they have improved on, or was their something you were hoping they would showcase and did not? Give us your thoughts!
I personally enjoyed the conference. I thought the gameplay shown for Halo 4 was phenomenal and enjoyed the little Gears of War: Judgment Teaser they had. What really blew me away and I was not expecting it was the new Splinter Cell: Blacklist reveal. Not only did they reveal the game, they had an amazing gameplay demo that blew me away. I was sad to hear that Michael Ironside, the voice of Sam Fisher for the last decade, would not be returning for Blacklist. The reason being is with the new action orientation of the this game, Ubisoft needed someone capable of doing intense motion capture. Being in his 60s, Ironside simply could not meet the needs of Ubisoft for this game, which is a serious loss. Ubi will have a ton of work ahead of themselves in order to make this new guy feel and sound like the old Sam Fisher we have come to know and love.
I was also intrigued by the reveal of Forza: Horizon. It looks like a nice hybrid between the open world gameplay of the Test Drive: Unlimited series, and the realism that is only seen through Turn 10 studios' Forza Motorsport series. I do not have high expectations for this game yet, but we'll see what they showcase in the coming months.
Another demo that really caught my eye was the new Tomb Raider reboot. I never was a HUGE fan of Tomb Raider games, I played them here and there but would get bored eventually. After seeing Lara Croft's reboot in action, it is safe to say that I will be buying this game Day 1 when it releases next year. I think the new mature direction for the series will really do it some good and attract more of the hardcore gaming crowd, especially with the amped-up violence which was showcased by Lara shooting and enemy in the leg with an arrow and then walking up to him and shoving another one in his throat. I am confident that this new Tomb Raider will give the Uncharted series a run for its money and may just dethrone it as the new king, or in Lara's case Queen, of the treasure-hunting game.
The XBLA reveals were interesting with a few new games coming from Twisted Pixel, as well as the dev team behind the Toy Soldiers games. It seemed only fitting that Microsoft's press briefing should end with an in depth-demo of the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops II. From what I saw, it still looks like Call of Duty and that to me is a little bit of a red flag. Sure it played a little different, but it still felt like CoD. This will be another game I will have to wait and see how it unfolds up until its release date in Novemeber (still am likely to pick it up though). Although it was not part of Microsoft's conference, I was more impressed with EA's upcoming shooter, Medal of Honor: Warfighter. This gameplay demo blew me away compared to the Black Ops II one. It's safe to say this is going to be the biggest and best year (also into next year) for gaming in history.
