Ben's Week In Review: June 12
View Large ImageI assume you're all E3'd out so I'm avoiding that for this update. But if you want to catch up, feel free to check out our Sony conference impressions, and don't forget about our mammoth E3 video update.
Demos are great, but OLD demos...not so much
While I'm not the biggest fan of all the changes and advancements this generation, I have to say that demos are great. The idea of being able to play a title before it releases has been a dream of gamers for a very long time. And for the most part, play samples are a good indication of the final product, especially when the demo comes out the week before the game's release. But putting a demo up too early typically means we're dealing with old code or an old build, which immediately causes negative feedback to circulate. This apparently happened with the Duke Nukem Forever demo and same goes for the Resistance 3 sample that briefly appeared on the Asian PSN this past week. Why bother doing such a thing?
All you manage to do is turn people off ahead of time. It's all the more tragic when that demo isn't even accurate; i.e., it's old and inferior to what the final game will be. Then everyone has the wrong idea and any early "buzz" is negative or at the very least, skeptical. Look, I know Resistance 3 won't set the graphics bar but I'm fairly convinced it'll be great. I have my reservations about DNF but the point is, don't bother with demos unless they're accurate.
Itagaki, you can never go home again
While many Japanese game designers and executives have called out the country's apparent decline in the video game industry, Tomonobu Itagaki may be the first to say Japan's developers "don't know how to make games." Now, I have to say, while I don't agree that all Western studios are now superior to Japanese teams, I will say this- the bottom line is that the majority of games I own this generation are of Western origin. This has nothing to do with any allegiance; let's not forget that I'm a die-hard JRPG fan (or at least, I was). But the difference is obvious- while nearly all games in my PS1 collection come from Japanese developers, nearly all titles in my PS3 collection come from Western studios. That means something.
I still say if Japanese developers had stuck with what brought them their fans in the first place... You know what I mean. I used to be able to count on Square but no more; now even Metal Gear Solid isn't immune to this desperate "appeal to Western tastes" mentality. What is Rising, again? I have faith in Japanese talent. But what can I say? The best games every year are rarely from the East and that's that.
Personal gaming update
So I finally got around to finishing L.A. Noire and I've posted my final thoughts and reflections. It's a must-play for just about everyone, I say. My brother thinks it's funny that I really like Elsa's German accent, though; mainly because I've often said I really despise that accent. ...now I have to eat my words. I still say it's more Austrian than German, though! Anyway, I've moved on to inFamous 2, obviously. The game rules. I know some of you weren't too happy with my review but I'm sticking by it.
By the way, for those who don't see the stickiness I speak of, here's a test: jump off a building and pan the camera down so you can see how far away from the building you are. Gauge how far away you have to be so Cole just falls straight down without adhering to a part of the wall. You might be surprised how far away you really have to be... But the game is addictive and great, so I won't harp on that. :)
And by the way, this should be the week. June 16 is near and I'm hoping we can finally lift the lid on our big announcement. And I hope you'll all like it!
6/11/2011 Ben Dutka
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Comments (97 posts)
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:04:37 PM
Truth.
9 up, 0 down
PorkChopGamer
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:21:15 PM
2 up, 4 down
PorkChopGamer
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:23:25 PM
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:38:07 PM
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Temjin001
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:38:10 PM
1 up, 0 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:39:20 PM
But it just doesn't compete with Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet, Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Portal 2, Heavy Rain, God of War III, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Mass Effect, Gears of War, Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed, Killzone, Dead Space, L.A. Noire, Battlfield, Burnout, Bioshock, Resistance, inFamous, Crysis 2, etc.
I'm sorry, but it doesn't. It really isn't even close.
10 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:56:06 PM
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PorkChopGamer
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:06:35 PM
Come on, sir. I was just being succinct. Do I need to sugarcoat everything? Did you read some of those comments in the Nintendo editorial? Haha.
@Ben
That's an awesome list. I understand you. It's definitely a big qap quantity-wise. But I think that if a great Japanese developer put therie mind to rival Uncharted, they could.
4 up, 0 down
Claire C
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:06:41 PM
I agree with you that Infamous 2 is a superior sequel. I played quite a bit of it the last few days and I can't think of an area where I like the first as much. Infamous 2 is a GREAT game! =)
3 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:35:31 PM
4 up, 0 down
Highlander
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:54:54 PM
Porkchop, you are really getting on my nerves, and to be honest I think you know you're getting on people's nerves with comments like that. We don't need flamebait here, thanks.
8 up, 1 down
PorkChopGamer
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 12:50:56 AM
Do you know what the heck gets on my nerves?
Block parties. Schmoozing with the new folks.
'You play video games? I really like playing Mafia Wars and Farmville.'
'Get off of my property.'
6 up, 4 down
Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 12:53:35 AM
3 up, 1 down
PorkChopGamer
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:18:46 AM
And I need someone with a distinct voice, too. Sean Connery, Patrick Stewart, Christopher Lee, or James Earl Jones would do just fine.
I'd even settle for the movie version. As long as it doesn't have Shia Labeouf in it.
Last edited by PorkChopGamer on 6/12/2011 1:19:03 AM
7 up, 2 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:35:14 AM
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Beamboom
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 8:59:57 AM
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/12/2011 9:00:29 AM
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Temjin001
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 11:29:12 AM
I do know who that Leboff Transformers guy is, though =p Only because he runs around with that good looking gal.
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Lawless SXE
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:02:51 PM
Reply
I think that demos really should be indicative of, or better than the majority of the final product. Why do I say this? They're likened to trailers for films. Trailers are all about the flashbang and offering the viewer the best parts of the film (a horrendous mistake IMO) in order to draw an audience. Similarly, a game demo should be about making a player sit back and go, "WOW! I need more of that!" So lacklustre demos obviously make the games a harder sell. They need to be current, and they need to represent what we'll be playing come release day. As for R3, I care not for negative press, as I've mentioned several times.
The whole westernisation thing is a pain. I mean, how sad is it to hear of the Yakuza team working on Binary Domain, a squad-based TPS... Damnit, I want titles like Yakuza, WKC and Valk Chronicles. I want the off the wall ideas like those that come from Sony Japan, and I want the unique atmospheres presented by Team ICO. I don't want muscle-bound roidheads like Chris in Resident Evil, I want the Japanese idea of horror. I don't need attempts at tackling the Western cliches as in Vanquish. I want differences, damnit.
Peronal Update:
Breezed through Breakfast at Tiffany's. Refreshing to read something purely narrative after trying to wade through the allegory of Commedia, but I still have to go back to Paradise... Not yet. I've moved onto the Complete Novels of Jane Austen, starting with Emma. I'm not reading them in order, as I want to save Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion for last.
Picked up inFamous 2 and WKCII yesterday and started playing the latter. All I can say is that it is exactly what a sequel should be, but that's not a good thing for people that didn't play the first. EVERYTHING is open to you from the beginning. It could be liberating, but it is instead overwhelming. Sheer madness, but I've adjusted to it quickly enough. I have two cases left of L.A. Noire that I'll go back to after I've played a bit more WKC, then it'll be on to iF2, while WKC sits on the backburner. Not because I want it to, but because it must. I'll be wanting to delve into the original before continuing with the second again.
Also managed to pick up Killzone: Liberation for $6 yesterday, which means that it'll be occupying my PSP time while I play WKC so that I'm not trying to follow two epic RPG storylines simultaneously.
That's about all.
Peace.
2 up, 0 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:05:21 PM
And this update went up at about the normal time. :)
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Lawless SXE
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:13:41 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:35:53 PM
2 up, 0 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:41:01 PM
I'm not all that thrilled with The Brothers Karamazov right now, though. I think Dostoyevsky was clearly NUTS. I'm about 300 pages in and I can't see putting him in the same universe as Tolstoy, who is just greatly superior in terms of writing quality, IMO.
I'll get to the second volume of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past at some point. Six volumes...it'll take a while. ;)
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 6/11/2011 10:41:29 PM
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Temjin001
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:48:54 PM
I also grabbed KZ Liberation for PSP, and, once again, LBP. I figured maybe one day my daughter will inherit my PSP and she might like LBP.
3 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:51:30 PM
Hey World, if you really want, I could ship it over to you. I'd have to check the postage costs, just in case it is a bit out of my range, but I don't really see that being an issue. As for us getting it early... the only times we seem to is when we get them really early. WKC2, Motorstorm 3... but then you get everything else, so just consider it retaliation for making us wait for Demon's Souls.
4 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:38:27 PM
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Lawless SXE
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 12:46:45 AM
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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 7:30:25 PM
It just lacks the subtlety and description of Tolstoy, and all Dostoyevsky's characters are INSANE. They're just bonkers. Only one of the brothers seems normal and everyone else is nuts. It's so out of control it's almost like a comedy, even though it really isn't.
1 up, 0 down
Temjin001
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:06:38 PM
Reply
I like Infamous 2 a ton also. By PSXe's rating system I'd have given it an 8.8 myself but hey, that's me. I just can't put it up there in the 9+ range because frankly it has a ton of bugs and sub story telling values.
PGU: Aside from the Infamous 2 detour I'm a deep way into Heavy Rain. Which as everyone knows is an engaging innovative way to interact with the visual medium of story telling. I really can't think of it as a game in the traditional sense. On the onset I kept asking myself if the QTE's and doing things like opening random cupboard doors was necessary or relevant. But in time I began to recognize the purpose of such conventions and the fascinating way the game has you assume the role of the protagonist within the extremely focused story. The game creates the setting and premise for you and you're right there holding the character's hand as you experience the events together. It's quite ingenious actually. While you, the player, doesn't actually physically move as the game world character does you are asked to create the synaptic response a character in the game does. It's quite compelling because it draws you that much nearer to the reality of events the story is trying to suspend you within. And you are perfectly synchronized in the passage of time in which the events unfold.
2 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:43:16 PM
I just wish SOMEONE was doing DOA. Any chance I missed the announcement of a new one?
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Lawless SXE
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:58:33 PM
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Temjin001
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:13:34 PM
I've pretty much lost faith in Tecmo and Team Ninja going forward. I know it seems pre-mature as I haven't even given NG3 a chance yet. I just don't like the "new" about NG3. Everything I'm reading, hearing or seeing doesn't jive with my expectations or my belief in how the series should progress.
I'm all for ending a series if it's run it's course and has done all it can do with the hardware we have in place. I feel that way right now with NG. I'll no doubt check it out when it finally arrives, and I'm sure there will be many parts of it for me to like, but to wholly like it as I do the first two games is looking improbable.
3 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:44:14 PM
1 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 12:47:55 AM
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Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:20:45 AM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:36:46 AM
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Kevin555
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 3:28:18 AM
I'd love a new DOA for consoles. DOA4 on the 360 was a top notch fighting game & the counter system was great too. My only complaint about the game was the cheap bosses. That Alpha-152 clone defined cheap.
The game was pretty challenging too, i certainly wouldn't call it instantly accessible for newcomers or an easy pick up & play fighter, hell they didn't even include an easy difficulty setting, Normal mode was the easiest setting.
Now that Mr "i wear my sunglasses at night" has left the building (& hopefully left his female staff members alone too), we will see a new DOA for consoles soon. Itegaki's vision was that their was no reason to take DOA any further, now that he has gone leads me to believe that this series isn't dead yet. The release of DOA Dimensions is proof of that already.
Their were some rumblings over at DOAcentral about DOA5 appearing at E3 2011 or TGS later in the year. So maybe we will see something at the TGS.
Hopefully we see a certain VF5:FS announcement too with version A already getting tweaks as we speak.
DOA5 & VF5:FS for TGS. No bets. ;)
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Temjin001
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 10:40:37 AM
Yeah, Kevin, DOA4 was good. DOA always struggled to maintain a hardcore identity in the tourney competitive scene, but DOA4 managed to get it there. Before DOAcentral came about, myself, and DOA fans met on the DOA3 gameFaqs thread. We discussed philosophies of fighting game depth and how they stacked up against each other. We built up a pretty loyal community there, meeting night after night to discuss DOA3 and explore all of it's intricacies of play. Then the idea of starting a hardcore DOA website began to materialize from within there, where the founders Dahlsim, Virtua Pai and others launched the site successfully and managed to enlist the support of the worldwide DOA champ "Master." They succeeded in interviews with Itagaki himself etc. And they orchestrated EVO representation for DOA and other DOA tourney's in general.
Just before the site went live I got into major pride arguments with Dahlsim and VirtuaPai (who me? =p ) I ended up shaming myself and leaving the community altogether.. well, sort of, other stuff was going on in my life too so I just felt it was time I left the DOA scene alone.
Anyway, I want a new full featured DOA on consoles. And yeah, Sony fans still needed to get a VF online as well.
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Qubex
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:30:05 PM
Reply
Popping in here, at PsXeXtreme, to catch up with everything has been great. I headed over to the store and downloaded the Sony presentation to see it in full. I had only managed to see drips and draps of all the presentations over the 3 show days and I stand by my opinion that they were not overly great, but they did the job.
I loved Uncharted 3 and what Sony had to offer generally. I think we have a good few years of life yet in the PS3 with some stella titles coming out. My two most anticipated games are Battlefield 3 and Uncharted 3. I really cannot wait for those and they will be this years day 1 purchases for me...
Other than this I have been downloading all the free stauff Sony has been giving us due to the PSN breach. Everything I can from the free games to the Playstation Plus mini's on offer etc. There is a lot of great content there. Funnily enough I have been playing Lilo and Stitch. Love the old school "Crash Bandicoot" style games. Showed how good PS1 was in its day.
I have a US, UK and ASIAN PSN accounts, and each account permitted me to download the full gammit from each region; that is a lot of free stuff, kinda made my year...
Other than that I have InFamous 1 to play. Tinkering with Dead Nation was cool. Housmarque did a good job as usually. Its all good fun anyway...
Got a bit of traveling to do in Asia in the upcoming 2 weeks. Other than that life is good at the moment. What more can one ask for... a PS4 maybe?
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Last edited by Qubex on 6/11/2011 10:30:50 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:46:49 PM
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Qubex
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 3:12:33 AM
You should come over, Singapore is a great place, but wives can be had easily in Thailand or Vietnam. Once you marry though, you marry into the larger family... and you will quickly realise that you don't have any more money for games... it goes to the in-laws. Amongst expats here, this is the greatest complaint...
Remember, a man always ends up paying for certain pleasures in life, nothing is free, even though it would be great if it were...
What ever happens... the World will still end with you, and that is as final as it can get really :)
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Last edited by Qubex on 6/12/2011 3:12:48 AM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 3:36:56 AM
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Claire C
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:54:49 PM
Reply
6 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:01:21 PM
2 up, 0 down
Claire C
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:12:57 PM
4 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:47:16 PM
2 up, 3 down
Claire C
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:52:45 PM
5 up, 0 down
Alienange
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:31:51 PM
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And what about this "towns are so hard to include in an HD rpg" comment? Do we not have games like GTAIV, Red Dead Redemption, LA Noire, every Assassin's Creed, Fallout and Elder Scrolls that basically prove that towns are not only possible, but very very fun to have included? I've never heard such rubbish from a dev in all my gaming life.
We KNOW they can make good games. They've DONE it. So why the mismanagement now? Now, when gaming's at an all-time peak?
4 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:50:45 PM
Maybe the Itagaki dude is right and the devs can't keep up with the tech, I dunno.
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Geobaldi
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 11:59:41 PM
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And as far as demos go, usually I don't let a demo influence my buying decisions very often due to the fact that they are usually out of date compared to what the actual product will be, as in missing features, dialogue, descriptions, items, whatever the case may be. It's not complete is the point I suppose. With that said, the current Dungeon Siege 3 demo was just so horrible that I didn't even bother to finish it and I have since canceled my pre-order for it. It has very little resemblance to the previous two games of the series and plays terribly and is boring as all heck. S-E has destroyed that game for any fan of the originals. But I suppose those that never played the previous ones may like it to some extent.
Last edited by Geobaldi on 6/12/2011 12:00:08 AM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 12:13:52 AM
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CharlesD
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 12:16:42 AM
Reply
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Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:23:14 AM
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SayWord
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 12:30:39 AM
Reply
0 up, 1 down
Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:23:37 AM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:37:36 AM
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Beamboom
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 8:28:42 AM
I'm not asking for a new Facebook, but some new features would be neat. Like an easy way to jump to new replies after your posts across the site, or the amount of new comments to an article after your last visit. And a simple PM service. Stuff like that.
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/12/2011 8:30:13 AM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:25:53 PM
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LittleBigMidget
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:06:14 AM
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Also, a friend of mine who works at Gamestop has gotten Duke Nukem Forever before street date. I went over and played it and wow........The game is just awful. Story is meh, graphics are ugly, gameplay feels dated, the humor is awful and is nothing like the humor in Duke Nukem 3D. After a full decade, I expected more from this game.
3 up, 1 down
Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:24:26 AM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:38:24 AM
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Shams
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 3:52:45 PM
Everyone's score/opinion is going to be a reflection of their preferences, more or less. For example, Ben loves Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood. And he ranked both of those games higher, even though, in my opinion, inFamous 2 is graphically, production values-wise, and in terms of fun and replayabilty, far superior to all AC's. But I still can't blame him. Because maybe in the end (presuming he played through at least one of the games endings), inFamous 2 didn't do it for him, But AC:Brotherhood did. In the end, we'd at least agree they're both worth checking out, though I'm sure there are plenty of people who wouldn't want to check out either of them.
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Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:18:39 AM
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Microsoft is all about Kinect...except of course for Halo & Gears of War. MS hasn't really got a clue what else to do, except mess around with pointless UI tricks with Kinect. Voice control of your 360 is *not* a ground breaking feature Integrating Bing into Xbox might suit their corporate goals, but all it does is waste time.
Sony is still trying to put some distance between itself and the troubles from April/May - of course. They have awesome games coming up and as far as home consoles go, 3D is their big focus as the new 3D screen bundle and 3D glasses showed. Although Sony is baking Move into many games, the games don't seem to be predicated by it - in contrast to Kinect. Of course Vita was their big thing, with lots of working ones on stage and to try real games on after the show.Vita arrives this year, and Sony is pushing hard to make it a success. The integration features with PSN and PS3 look intriguing. But the device itself looks like a tech geek's dream.
Nintendo....*sigh* Nintendo lost their way. To their favor they are all about games unlike Microsoft who seem to want to take Xbox to places other than gaming. But, so many of their games are retreads of existing IPs. New story elements and play modes perhaps, but these are the same characters we've played with for nearly 25 years now - longer if you count arcade games. As fun as these games are, they are no longer the fresh IPs that they once were. The 3DS get's some remakes of it's own, matching Sony's re-use of PS2 titles in HD remakes of games. But what should have been their high point was for me a terrible low. The WiiU. I honestly wish that they'd simply said that the new console was still more than a year away, but that it would be HD, and left it at that. Instead they indulged in a lengthy smoke and mirrors feature that made some people think that the controller itself was the WiiU. I've already said my harsh words over the WiiU and won't repeat them. Nintendo's presser was - IMHO better that Microsoft's because they were focused on games, fun and gamers. I don't know where Microsoft's focus is anymore. I wish Nintendo hadn't sewn so much confusion with the WiiU presentation though, because overall, I have no idea where they think they're going long term. Sony's presentation distilled down to games, PS3 accessories and the Vita. The Vita arrives in about 5-6 months, so they talked it up.
Other than that SE seems to have let everyone down, I don't remember hearing much at all from EA or anyone really except Ubisoft. As much as we try to talk it up like these other companies matter as much, they don't. It really does come down to the 'big 3'. This year I felt that we saw a shift back to the dual axis of Sony and Nintendo. Microsoft seemed - to me - to continue the coasting they indulged in last year, leaving Sony and Nintendo to drive things forwards. Relative positions of the big 3? Sony bested Nintendo and Microsoft, Nintendo was stronger than Microsoft.
PGU - inFamous2... In short, the game rocks. It's better than the first one, and although I see the reasons for the criticism it's received, I don't think that the flaws that are there are sufficient to merit negativity at all. So far, I think it merits the score it got here, perhaps a little more just pushing it past the 90/100, but only just.
3 up, 2 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:41:33 AM
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Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 5:39:42 AM
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/11/7-things-didnt-know-about-nintendo-wii-u/?test=faces
I guess the eighth thing you don't know is when towards the end of 2012 you can order the thing, and the 9th would be the price. I particularly like the way that the author's opinion is stated as fact. No attempt at analysis either.
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Beamboom
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 8:50:48 AM
At this stage of the current generation it's all about the software, the games. And I know I've mentioned it a couple of times earlier, but UBISoft was *the* headliner for me this E3. That lineup was *good*, and their enthusiasm was encouraging. I got charmed by them, no less.
Personally I loved the Mass Effect demo too of course, but since last year I have become no less than a fanboy of BioWare so I try to restrain myself when it comes to comment on their stuff. I'll buy anything with their name on, regardless. :)
But all in all I think it's a bit unfair to all the rest that most focus seems to be on the hardware manufacturers, "the big three".
Most all of you has agreed on that none of them had much truly *new* to tell, so why not give the others some time in the spotlight this year?
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/12/2011 8:56:04 AM
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Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 9:06:45 PM
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Beamboom
Monday, June 13, 2011 @ 11:37:57 AM
But I thought you meant that they "mattered as much" to *us*, not the media coverage.
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/13/2011 11:39:46 AM
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Highlander
Monday, June 13, 2011 @ 9:38:39 PM
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LittleBigMidget
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:25:54 AM
Reply
5 up, 1 down
Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:31:32 AM
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Kevin555
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 2:14:33 AM
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L.A Noire to me, felt like a modern realisation of some of those classics, which is why i liked it so much. Plus, it gives Aussie development a good name when they're creating face tech as realistic as they're in L.A Noire. Hopefully this means a better future for games development in the country instead of relying too heavily on Indie games.
I've also been playing some old classics like MGS3 Snake Eater, & the sooner this gem gets the HD shower, the better. That battle with The End is still the pinnacle of boss encounters imo.
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___________
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 2:34:09 AM
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got to understand demos are always from older code because they dont have time to take final code and make sure its working properly, there too busy prepping the final game and getting it through certification, different ratings boards, and getting out review copies.
people just need to learn they cant judge a game off its demo, if i had a nickle for every time a demo was so different from the final game id be a multimillionaire by now!
look at the crysis 2 demo, it had SO much lag, the graphics were crap compare to the 360 version, but come release they looked almost identical!
theres no asian styled games anymore because they got greedy!
the millions of fans $E and crapcom had licking there heels was not enough, they wanted more.
so they reached out to different fans, but what they cant realize is by reaching out to newer fans there giving the finger to there old ones!
as the saying goes, you never realize what you have till you loose it!
now there sitting back asking hey why do so many people hate us?
why are we bleeding money?
oh you have to be f*cking kidding me!
not even $E could be that dam blind!
im HATING DNF!
cant believe i said that, after 14 freaking years in development, 14 freaking years of playing 3D, 14 freaking years trying to imagine what duke in HD would be like!
oh gearbox, randy, after working on the original, how could you do this to your own creation?
how could you let a massive part of your life out to the world in the shape this is?
buggy as hell, graphics like a freaking early ps3 game!
frustrating as hell too!
the boss battles are hard as f*ck, and if you get a bosses health totally depleted you just now need to do the finisher but get killed by another enemy thats it 30 minutes down the drain start all over again!
jesus tap dancing christ, i dont think ive EVER played a game that pisses me off this much!
my throat is horse from swearing my head off, and its a miracle my ps3, controller and TV are still in one piece!
sometimes things are just better left in memory, i was hoping this would not be one of those cases.
:(
14 freaking years and they cant even get the bugs polished out!
1 up, 1 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 3:35:16 AM
Reply
It isn't the greatest picture but I had to snap one:
http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww19/TheWorldEndsWithMe/stretch.jpg
Stretch Armstrong anybody?
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 6/12/2011 3:49:50 AM
5 up, 1 down
godsdream
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 4:38:35 AM
0 up, 1 down
Beamboom
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 8:36:38 AM
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/12/2011 8:39:00 AM
1 up, 0 down
Shams
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 4:50:45 PM
0 up, 0 down
Shams
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 11:27:51 PM
1 up, 0 down
Excelsior1
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 5:51:08 AM
Reply
dragon's dogma looks pretty amazing.i have very high hopes for that game. resistance 3 does not look very good at all. i liked the 1st game, but hated the 2nd one. you would think insomiac would have the abilty to really push thre ps3, but they sure don't seem to know how to do that with r3. that game is going to flop big time. it has 0 buzz or hype going for it. crappy demo will hurt them too.
downloaded lbp and dead nation. pretty fun games. i guess i'm going to try to create a uk account so i can get more games. looking forward to psextreme's announcement,,. i bet it's ps home related. zzz...
1 up, 0 down
Danny007
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 9:39:30 AM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
tes37
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 10:08:50 AM
Reply
Just showing a little love for MS.
I really like how Sucker Punch lived up to their name with that one. inFamous 2 is awesome btw.
6 up, 1 down
Excelsior1
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 11:28:23 AM
if i were sony i would take a hard look at where this bias is coming from, and try to think of ways of overcoming it. it needs to be addressed. killer exclusive line up, but ps3 is always in last place. something is wrong. they must do better in na or their always going to be facing an uphill battle in the console war.
8 up, 1 down
tes37
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 12:05:20 PM
4 up, 2 down
tes37
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:03:48 PM
1 up, 1 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:28:36 PM
2 up, 0 down
Excelsior1
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 3:25:16 PM
it's definitely not racism becuase the ps1, and ps2 were big hits. i think it's a combination of the view that live is so superior to psn, and hangover left from the ps3's poor luanch. the battle was really lost that fiirst year the ps3 was out at $600 with no games. poor multiplat games really hurt the ps3 as well. a lot of people jumped ship, and did not look back. it's that group in particular that won't give sony a second chance. they still have a grudge against sony for some reason. boy, they love their 360's though.
i am a big time sony fan, and it kills me that the 360 has managed to dominate here with hardly any games at all. the ps3 should be doing better in na with its killer exclusive line uip. i keep telling myself wait til kz3 drops, that'll close the gap on the 360. kz3 arrives, but no effect on console sales. another win for 360. the squat redesign has been a big hit for ms. over half of the 360 sales have been kinect bundles so that's worked out well for ms, too.
i often dream of ways sony could do better in na. it's definitely a perception problem concerning the ps3. it needs to be addressed, somehow. that's why first impressions are so important in the console war. once negativity sets in against a company, it is really difficult to overcome. i can't believe the resistance i get from my friends when i try to get them to buy a ps3. it's too hard to get a game together on psn. the online sucks is what i get told.
the only thing missing is cross game chat. i understand people liking that feature and i have no idea why sony has not put it in psn yet. the vita will have it, but not the ps3. strange move on sony's part. if i were sony i'd add cross game chat, and pack a headset with every ps3. don't underestimate the importance of the social aspect of online gaming. i think that is a big factor in why the 360 is winning here.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 6/12/2011 3:28:40 PM
2 up, 0 down
Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 3:59:49 PM
As for the theory that Somehow people resent the PS3 because of it's launch, sorry, I really feel that's total BS and an excuse. People don't hold a grudge because a product was expensive at launch, they simply defer their purchase. People normally hold a grudge against a company who's products repeatedly fail due to horrible design, but they appear to be unwilling to hold Microsoft even partially responsible for that failing. So, the whole situation is counter intuitive to me. I'll never understand the incredibly immature negative sentiment that has surrounded the PS3 since before it's launch.
I do remember that some of it came from the heavily partisan 'fight' between HD-DVD and BluRay. Microsoft aligned with HD-DVD also, remember, so there was an element of MS vs Sony even then. If I wasn't trying to be very balanced, I might draw some conclusions about Microsoft and the media campaign and astroturfing. But I'm being balanced, so I'll let the reader draw their own conclusions.
Finally, I have to say, there is no way on this God's green earth that cross game chat is a sufficiently important feature to all but a miniscule minority to explain *any* of the success of the 360 vs the superior PS3. Sorry, but I consider that to be a BS excuse as well, and if that sounds parental, it probably is, but I've heard all sorts of excuses from my son, and that has the ring of one of his.
Last edited by Highlander on 6/12/2011 4:01:33 PM
4 up, 0 down
Shams
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 5:01:57 PM
1 up, 0 down
Excelsior1
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 5:57:00 PM
there still is negativity against ps3 from its luanch. i've directly observed it, and encountered it many times. those people did not defer their purchase. they just left sony period. you would think people would be over it, but there are people that still hold that against sony. people have told me directly they still hold it against sony. they could be lying, but why would they? they all owned ps1's and ps2's, but now they're happy 360 owners that have zero interest in a ps3. 9/11 has zero to do with this. sony dominatated that entire period up until the ps3. there is just too many gamers that simply think the 360 is a better game machine for various reasons.
as for cross game chat. i think it would be great if sony added that. it's constantly mentioned by my friends as a reason they won't touch a ps3. if you were a big online gamer you would understand. get dropped out of a game, you can instantly organise with your friends and recover. on psn, it is harder. i can see that and i don't even own a 360. plus, it's a feature that's been requested on the psn blog over 3 million times.. why would anyone oppose it? why hasn't it been added? all sony has said is they're researching it. if the vita can have it, why not the ps3?
at this point, i know this much about the console war in na. 1. there is strong antisony sentiments out there with many gamers in na. it seems to have started during the ps3's luanch and it hasn't completly gone away. 2. i think the perception about live being so superior is a big factor. i know it's a factor with my friends, and family. that's the only reason i bring up cross game chat, and live. i think sony has an image problem concerning the ps3 in na. i know i'm not the only one here that feels that way. there really is no other logical explanation when you consider the ps3's library, pricepoint, and sony's past success with its consoles here in na. something's changed, and until sony truely deals with that it will never retake it's top spot let alone second place. i wish things were different but they aren't. again, i say don't underestimate the importance of the social aspect of online gaming. i think that is a huge factor in why the 360 has been so successful here. especially with younger hardcore gamers. that's exactly where sony is loosing the battle here in na.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 6/12/2011 6:18:59 PM
2 up, 0 down
Highlander
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 6:44:13 PM
I don't think Sony underestimates the importance of social gaming, I think you and others vastly overestimate the importance of cross game chat. For a start less than 40% of people with an Xbox have a gold Xbox Live membership. Those are the only ones on Xbox playing online and enjoying this social aspect you refer to. That's a far lower % than play online on the PS3, and let's face it, it also does not explain the disparity between Sony and MS in NA nor does it explain the anti-Sony sentiment.
Last edited by Highlander on 6/12/2011 6:46:48 PM
1 up, 0 down
Excelsior1
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 8:17:37 PM
all i can say is that i think it starts with those hardcore 360 online gamers. i don't think the 360 would've been nearly as successful without them. they put a lot of pressure on their friends to get 360's. i still think cross game chat would be a gread addition to psn. match the competition feature for feature.
the backlash against sony was pretty tremendous. never seen anything like it either, really. i remember that egm issue with a ps3 on front splattered with a tomato. there wasn't any media outlet that was not taking shots at sony. that had a real effect on gamers mindsets, for sure. i think it was a combination of the pricepoint, and a lack of games. muliplats that somehow looked worse on the ps3 did a lot of damage, too. bad luanch, bad impression made by ps3. it's weird how once people get a negative view of something. it's just hard to reverse. i encounter it all the time, and it can be discouraging. it was years ago. there must be some intangible factor out there i can't measure that make people biased against sony and unable to give them a second chance. it's puzzling for sure. that does not mean it can't be changed. maybe not this gen, but next.
2 up, 0 down
sunspider13
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 5:20:29 PM
Reply
Gotta love Itagaki, the man speaks his mind and I respect that, for good or ill. He's a hoot.
PGU
inFamous 2 has it share of minor faults, but the game presentation, story, and just overall fun factor makes this game tops in my book. I have to force myself to put it down. I completed the good play through and I'm now in the middle of the evil play through. The minor touches, the movie house marques, the varying comments from the people on the street, the bullets knocking off trash can lids is just amazing. Sucker Punch I love you guys.
Hey Ben, would it be possible to get some after thoughts from someone from Sucker Punch? That would be really cool if you could. After I beat I2 again I'll go back to C:LoS. I'm on chapter six and I'm pretty impressed with the game so far. Oh and if anyone is interested in doing some Dead Nation co-op friend me please, PSN id is same as my name. Happy gaming people.
Last edited by sunspider13 on 6/12/2011 5:21:30 PM
0 up, 0 down
Excelsior1
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 6:34:32 PM
i can't say enough good things about clos. a truely epic game that just gets bettter, and better as you play it. it has the best ending i have seen in a videogame period. awesome twist at the end...make sure you hang around until after the credits to see that awesome twist on the ending. my jaw literally hit the floor. flips the entire history of castlevannia on its head in an awesome way. where they take the next game is going to be awesome. again, clos is just a beautiful game. loved every minute of it.
i'd be happy to do some deadnation coop. my psn id is jamiecolts.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 6/12/2011 7:02:10 PM
0 up, 0 down
JDC80
Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 8:02:35 PM
Reply
PGU: I got my copy of "InFamous 2" from Gamefly the other day and man that game is a blast and I'm continuing to play the hero(it seems more rewarding that way for me). And I'm thinking about once I beat it I'm going to play one and two back to back. I'm heading towards the playoffs in both NHL 11 and NBA 2k11 here's hoping EA put those Stanley cup patches on the players jerseys.
0 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Reply
Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 10:00:50 PM
I can iron out Itagaki's statement into truth easily: change it to this "Japanese developers don't know how to make western games." There, now it makes sense. They should stick to Japanese creativity, ingenuity, and the old style like Ben says.
I beat L.A. Noire too, I was a little disappointed that you spoiled the ending for me though Ben. Tsk Tsk. Great game, I would change just a few little things for the next one.
As far as Coles stickiness goes, of course it's there it has to be, but if you pop inFamous 1 in you'll see just how much it has been lessened. The key is to use the mechanic in your favor and constantly be moving, if you know he will clasp onto a wire from 3 feet out have the O button pressed in time to fall off it. I have the same problem with stealth games, I'm always fighting the mechanics with what SHOULD work but doesn't.