Four Player Co-Op 6.17.09: The Three E's From Seven Different POVs

Posted by John De Large on 06.17.2009

Two weeks later, JDL and six 411 co-writers take a look back at the best and worst of E3!



John De Large has joined the game
Sean Garmer has joined the game
Mark Salmela has joined the game
Ramon Aranda has joined the game
Jacob Lopez has joined the game
Tommy Coloma has joined the game
Jeffrey Harris has joined the game


L to R: Sean Garmer, Mark Salmela, John De Large, Tommy Coloma, Ramon Aranda and Jacob Lopez. (Not pictured) Jeffrey Harris.

---

1. What game at E3 was your favorite?

John De Large: Well, we got a three way tie here!

Dissidia was off the charts with it's constant action, great graphics and pick up and play controls. It's a little like Kingdom Hearts knocked up Power Stone and had a kid who was smarter than the rest of the class.

Yeah, Dissidia kicks ass.

Left 4 Dead 2 was so great I nominated it for best PC game. It might seem like more of same with a makeover, but with new zombies, new weapons and more insourmountable odds (or odds that seem harder to overcome) this is a whole new ballgame.

Raven Squad is the third game I need to mention, the only description that will do it justice is "the tits." I'm glad I suggested them for Best Strategy Game at E3! You can be Patton one minute with all the micromanagement that the Real Time Strategy Mode offers and then you can be Rambo and blast someone's face-off from behind your assault rifle in the FPS mode.

Sean Garmer: Actually, John went with me to this behind closed doors meeting of Beatles: Rockband. If you've seen me on some collaborative thing I always talk about how much I love playing Rockband. I'm not the biggest fan of the Beatles around, but I do enjoy their music. I liked the way the game looked with the Beatles all the different stadiums, and the instruments are modeled after the Beatles real stuff so that added to the whole thing. Harmonix has done nothing but deliver since they started this thing, and it looks like that's what they are going to keep on doing.

I also think Muramasa: Demon Blade deserves a shout because the art and fighting in the game is top notch, plus it is on the Wii, and that is good for all the Wii owners to get something a little out of the ordinary, yet simple enough to where they can get it.

Another small shout to Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, it won 411's Best DS Game at the show for a reason. Mainly because Square-Enix finally got it right with the gameplay, we now have a portable version of the PS2 games we all love, and that makes for one killer title on the small system.

Mark Salmela: Uncharted 2. I loved the single player, I loved the story, I loved the co-op, I loved the graphics, I loved the multiplayer, and I loved the voice acting. There wasn't anything wrong with Uncharted 2. While God of War 3 was just as much fun to play, it didn't have nearly the variety Uncharted 2 did. September is going to be an awesome month thanks to Uncharted 2. Oh, and sitting down with the co-president of Naughty Dog was amazing. We got to talk about all sorts of cool games from their history like Crash Team Racing and the original Crash Bandicoots.

Ramon Aranda: Mass Effect 2. It just blew me away with presentation, the storyline and even the somewhat spoiler cliff-hanger towards the end. Just wow. This game is going to kick some serious ass folks, I guarantee it. Just for the sake of giving some props, other games that impressed me were Dante's Inferno, Left 4 Dead 2, Dead Space Extraction, Star Wars: The Old Repubic, Modern Warfare 2 and Uncharted 2.

Jacob Lopez: Man, there were too many to name. But as far as playable, I was really big on Sin & Punishment 2 for the Wii. Just a good ol' fast-paced shooter on an awesome rocket pack thing.

I am also very excited for Brink, the upcoming project from Bethesda and Splash Damage. It looks beautiful.

Tommy Coloma: I came in knowing that Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom were good since I own the imports. If that wasn't the case, they might have been contenders. Cave Story on the Wii was nice to see, but honestly, it's just Cave Story HD Remix (which isn't a bad thing). I was actually impressed with Bayonetta's control scheme, so that game deserves some props as well. The same thing goes for Sin and Punishment 2. In the end, the game that I went back to play more often was The King of Fighters XII. Even though I kept getting my ass kicked, I still had a lot of fun playing KOF against real people right next to me as opposed to online on Xbox LIVE and GGPO.

Jeffrey Harris: Without question Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. So I now have to dig up some money to a buy a Wii, the Wii arcade joystick, and the game. Exccelent graphics, classic 2-D fighter gameplay, and badass combos. Plus one of the most awesome fighter lineups ever including Ryu, Casshan, Ken Washio The Eagle, Jun The Swan, KARAS(!), and Chun-Li. This is going to be a great year for fighters with KOF XII, Samurai Showdown: Edge of Destiny, and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.

---

2. What game at E3 looked the best/Which game that you didn't actually play looked best? (Preview that looked good, game you just didn't have time for, had the best graphics, etc.)

John De Large: The new Castlevania looks like some God of War stuff and Metal Gear Peace Walker has me colored interested, but nothing looked funner than Just Cause 2. One minute you'll be free-falling and parachuting, firing grappling hooks into torsos, and ending with some high speed chases/gunfights that involving jumping from car to car and shooting people while hanging off the trunk of their own car!

Sean Garmer: I think probably easily as far as looks go it has to go Uncharted 2. The beauty of this game astounds me every time I see it. I'm just thankful I know someone with a PS3 so I can play it when it releases. You want to talk about the power of the PS3, that game alone showcases it. Not to mention it is a damn fun game to play as well. The video we saw of Final Fantasy XIII just made my mouth water at how beautiful the guys at Square-Enix can make a game look. This is one of those games that I could put on in my house and non-gamers would think I'm watching a CG film, that's how good it looks.

Mark Salmela: I know it's a copout but I really can't decide. Splintercell: Conviction looked awesome, Halo: ODST looked cool, Super Mario Galaxy 2 looked incredible, The Last Guardian looked awesome, and Mod Nation Racers looked awesome. I didn't get to play any of those and to be honest I'm not sure if I can pick between any of those. So I guess that means Target Terror 2 wins!


BULLSHIT Salmela! You didn't get to play Target Terror 2. And only one mamacita even knew what it was at Konami's booth!

But she was a fox, you can't deny that.

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

Amen brother. Only LA's finest know about Target Terror.

Ramon Aranda: The best looking one that I didn't get to literally play was probably Modern Warfare 2. Incredibly great looking game and I can't wait to get my hands on it soon. Dante's Inferno and Assassin's Creed 2 had to be right up there too. In terms of a game I actually played, I'd say Fight Night Round 4, Halo 3: ODST, Bayonetta and Aliens vs. Predator.

Jacob Lopez: Going back to Brink for this one. I love the combination of shooter and RPG elements. The character design rocks, and the areas in the game look gorgeous.

Tommy Coloma: Of the games that I played, Muramasa definitely wins in the 2D department. Of course, The King of Fighters XII was up there, but I gave the edge to Muramasa since KOFXII was pixelly despite being high res.

As far as 3D goes, Bayonetta wins hands down. At last year's E3 it looked like just another Devil May Cry clone except that it featured some creepy-looking woman (yeah, I know the creator of the original DMC is involved with this game), but seeing it up close and being in control of the action showed me that it is much more than that. Sure, some of the animations and attacks that make us go "oh shit!" will probably get old after a little while, but for now, it's quite impressive.

When it comes to games that I didn't get to play, the one that impressed me the most was Metroid: Other M. When the trailer showed it raining at sea, I thought - "cool, they got Team Ninja to help them out." It isn't the Team Ninja we all know and love, but it's better than nothing. Then when it said "Project M presents" I thought - "alright, after all these years, maybe we'll finally get a 2D Metroid game." A 2D Metroid on a console was wishful thinking, mostly because I don't think that anyone at Nintendo has the balls to fully support such a thing, but you never know. Once the trailer started showing regular-looking people I gave up on the idea until it showed Samus in her Zero Suit for a split second, after which I knew we were seeing something special. What followed was pretty much every Metroid fan's wet dream. It could be a 2.5D game or maybe it'll be Metroid Gaiden. At this point it doesn't matter. In the eyes of many, myself included, that was the announcement of the convention; it's been a week since then and I'm still thinking about it. They'd better deliver!

I'll also give an honorable mention to The Last Guardian. I've never watched a trailer that has done a better job at making me dread the death of one of the main characters. I'm both depressed and impressed at the same time.

Jeffrey Harris: To my disappointment, I did not get to play the God of War III demo, but it looked awesome. Invading Olympus looked great as well as the mini-boss battles. A preview I thought looked especially good was Just Cause II. Also most definitely Marvel: Ultimate Alliance II, and I can't wait to try out the fusion system attacks.

---

3. What game at E3 was your least favorite?

John De Large: I didn't play a single game I disliked at E3!

Actually, that's not true. I tried Silent Scope for the iPod Touch and I couldn't figure it out. I got so mad I wanted to shove the phone into someone's.... suggestion box (how's that for censorship?).... with a note telling them what I didn't like about the game.

Sean Garmer: I hate to say anything bad about Atlus, but their first foray onto the next-gen systems does not look that great. Demon Souls intrigued me when I picked it up, but quickly I found myself dead. So I tried it a few more times and the blocking system is clunky, the enemies hoarde around you and it makes it even harder to defend yourself as well. The PR person said its very unforgiving, well I don't know if that should be the big hint if you've never made a next-gen game before. I enjoyed all the other games they had on offer at the booth, its just that one game didn't do it for me. I'm not gonna dog them on the graphics because the PS3 does have a steep learning curve to that, I still wouldn't be surprised to see the loyal Atlus folks pick it up, I just wouldn't psyche myself up about it.

Mark Salmela: If you're talking the least favorite game that I played at E3 than it had to be Zephyr: Rise of the Elements for the PS3. That thing was a piece of poop in my hands, and even the Konami PR guy looked embarrassed while telling me about the game.

Ramon Aranda: Well, I guess I'll say that any tween game qualifies.

Jacob Lopez: I am not a huge fan of sports games, aside from boxing, so I guess anything Madden just ain't my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, I know that they are well-made games with a huge following, but you won't find me playing them.

Tommy Coloma: Despite the fact that I always pay attention to fighting game-related news, I had no idea that Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny was already out in arcades in Japan until today, and the only reason I found out was because I looked it up on Google so that I could get its full name. I'm willing to bet that the reason nobody is talking about the game is because it really isn't worth talking about. The main problem - Edge of Destiny doesn't play like any of the 2D Samurai Shodown games; the whole button scheme is fucked up and many of the attacks and specials no longer work the way we remember. Didn't SNK Playmore learn its lesson from the previous craptacular 3D Samurai Shodown games?

Jeffrey Harris: Smackdown vs. RAW 2010. I've just kind of had it and lost interest in this series, and I really don't care to see it anymore. I really feel its gotten stale, and while I've enjoyed some of this series, it doesn't really impress me any longer.

---

4. What is your favorite memory from E3?

John De Large: While playing Brutal Legend, I ran into Michael Bower (Donkey Lips from Nickelodeon's Salute Your Shorts) who was super nice to me. The picture of us is coveted by just about all my friends.

Getting into the Capcom booth just by mentioning Ramon's name and drinking 4 Heinkens felt pretty cool. Playing Left 4 Dead 2 for a whole hour was awesome and playing Final Countdown with Ramon and Sean ranks pretty high too.

Sean Garmer: My favorite from the actual show (aside from seeing the greatest soccer player ever step out onto the floor at the Ubisoft Presser) has to be getting to go to all the press conferences that I wasn't supposed to get into. It made me feel a little bit lucky and I actually enjoyed doing the recaps a bit more than I probably would have, because I got in and was able to make the most of it. I was worried the day before each one that I was going to have to wait outside for two hours and wonder what I was missing, but thankfully I didn't have to do that.

Also, getting to drop Ramon's name to get free stuff was kinda awesome too.

The one that stands out to me the most though was the look on the Disney Interactive PR persons' face when I handed him the award for Best Racing Game. He looked at me in total shock and I swear he was about to start jumping up and down. That was priceless and gave me a warm feeling inside that I have such a great opportunity to be with 411.

Mark Salmela: The first time I saw John De Douche.

Zing! Ten points Mr Vote.

But seriously, it had to have been the Sony motion controller. That thing was retarded. It was great pretending to like the Hamster game and Hanna Montana PSP bundles during Sony's press conference, but the motion controller took it too far.

Ramon Aranda: I have to go with interviewing Sugar Ray Leonard. He's a boxing legend and I had the chance to talk to him after a brief Fight Night Round 4 demonstration. The guy was a class act and given that I was the only actual boxing writer, we got to talk about him being in other boxing games, as well as The Contender series which he's very fond of.

Jacob Lopez: Shaking hands with Shigeru Miyamoto. I was almost speechless. It was kind of embarrassing from a reporter's standpoint, because for just that few seconds, I was a freakin' giddy kid again.

Tommy Coloma: Besides playing some awesome games that won't be around for a little while, I'll always remember conducting my follow-up interview with Yoshiro Kimura, the director of Little King's Story. He provided me with one of the more interesting interviews that I gave at TGS last year, and unsurprisingly, he did the same at E3 this year. That interview should be up soon, so check it out when you have a chance.

Jeffrey Harris: Its hard to really boil it down to one memory. But I just loved walking around the convention hall floor and getting to try everything out. Just day in and out of playing new games, and I loved every minute of it. Some people would say you might get tired of games, but between work and everything this was the most gaming I've been able to do at a time in a long while.

---

5. What is your favorite memory that happened outside of E3?

John De Large: Going to the Windows party. We rode there in a limo and once inside, we got free food, a free OS, more alcohol and I got hit on by an older woman who wants to get me some freelance work. The limo driver who took us there was awesome, but I'll let Jacob tell you about him ;)

Meeting the 411 staff was memorable too! I found out that I have the best (albiet shortest) boss ever and I've decided that every single one of you is cool in my book, even Tommy who I didn't get to chill with much (or rather especially Tommy, since he's been patient with the money I owe him). If any of you ever find yourselves in NYC or LI, hit me up and I'll show you around my city!

Sean Garmer: That whole trip (EXPLETIVE USED IN A POSTIVE WAY DELETED), if I can steal a line from Mark. I think I enjoyed probably the Windows party the most cause I got free drinks, took some pictures with some women, and hung out with the guys. I got to experience a little taste of what it could be like if we make it in this industry. If we get to eat Kobe Sliders, drink, and have fun that is not a bad deal. I just enjoyed getting to put faces with the names of 411 writers and hanging out with some of the guys I share a section with here at 411 mostly. They made the trip a lot more fun, and you can't beat that.

Mark Salmela: What the hell? I didn't say or do anything out of line. In fact I kept my mouth shut like a little Asian boy. But my favorite moment outside of E3 had to have been the street performer on City Walk. I demand those pictures De Douche, that 80's robotic street dancer was amazing.
See the video below for more proof

Ramon Aranda: Hmmm...that's kind of a tough one but I'll say getting hammered at the Windows 7 party with the staff. We had some damn good drinks, the food was hella good and seeing the guys drink up was too funny. We'll definitely do more of it next year though I promised the staff a trip to Las Vegas after the show so that might take the cake in 2010!

Jacob Lopez: Several moments come to mind.

1) The limo ride as a whole.
a) At one point, Tommy started playing with some switches and shut off all of the lights inside the Microsoft limo. The driver stopped and asked who had messed with the lights.
b) When it was time to head back to our cars on the limo, some dude with his cameraman appeared out of nowhere and started filming. He said something about being at E3 then got into the limo.
At that point, the limo driver came and told him it was going to cost him. The dude said he didn't have any cash, and the limo driver said, "I take credit," and pulled the reader out of his car, the thing sounded like a gun cocking. The driver also asked the other dude why he got in his car and said something to the effect of, "Why you get in my car? I don't into your house, put on your bathrobe, f**k your wife and ask her how she likes it. Do I?"

They were sweatin' bullets, while the 411 staff laughed their asses off.

2) Hangin' out at the Universal City Walk and seeing Flat Top:



3) And lastly, having a kick-ass time with some kick ass friends who are more than just fellow writers.

Tommy Coloma: I'd say that the wait for a limo at Microsoft's Windows 7 party provided me with my favorite memory - basically, some guy had his camera crew record him getting into our limo while the limo driver was away. He was just having some harmless fun, making like he had his own personal limo to and from the event, when suddenly the driver comes up and starts getting in his face about disrespecting him while demanding compensation. When Mr. Fun indicated that he only had a credit card, the driver reached into the limo and brought out one of those manual credit card imprinters and cocked it like a gun. He looked pretty serious and pissed off, but after a few seconds, he admitted that he was just playing around and that he was an aspiring actor or something along those lines. He had me convinced....

Jeffrey Harris: The King of Fighters XII Tournament party was pretty badass with all the free swag we got plus the almost unlimited play of the PS3 version of the game. Also all the food, snacks, and drinks you could want. Plus tons of hot babes in nurse's outfits and bloody makeup. Just a sidenote, but I also really enjoyed meeting my fellow writers for the first time and chatting with them after the floor was closed.

---

6. Provided you have the money, are you going to go again next year?!

John De Large: Hell yeah! There's going to be a trip to Vegas next year following E3 and I refuse to miss out on drinking, gambling, stripper ogling and best of all, Sam's Town buffet. Tack that onto E3 and you've got a recipe for Good Times And Great Memories!

Sean Garmer: I don't know, I just found out I'm gonna have to pay for some of my tuition that I thought was taken care of, but since I'm graduating before E3 next year, maybe I'll get a break and my family will help me out as a graduation present. I wanna go so bad, just because Ramon announced he would take us to Vegas next year.

Mark Salmela: Maybe. While I had a blast I'm not sure if I want to do it again. As a college student I just don't have a ton of money to throw around. And just like Mardi Gras E3 might be something that I want to go to once but never again. I'd rather take a trip with friends to Las Vegas to get wasted and take on poker dealers who don't cheat. SCREW YOU DEALER DAVE!

Ramon Aranda: Hell yes! I haven't missed an E3 since my first one in 2001!

Jacob Lopez: (from a text message sent directly to me) Hell yeah! I am hoping that I can make this a yearly thing. I am already saving up my hard earned money in hopes of not being totally poor after E3 2010.

Tommy Coloma: As long as the ESA doesn't screw up my registration again, why not?

Jeffrey Harris: Wild horses won't stop me!

---

And there it is! You have been shown who is the boss! Tune in next week for more opinionated talk hosted by me, JDL!

Peace!