Achievement Unlocked 7.11.08 The E3 Prelude

Posted by Rod Oracheski on 07.11.2008

With E3 just around the corner, we've got all kinds of leaks and rumours to take a look at.



I'm not sure what to blame it on, whether it was checking out all the rumours about E3, my new-found crippling addiction to Civiliation Revolution, or just being swamped by work, but I totally forgot to get my column ready for this week.

Let's see what we can throw together at the last minute, shall we?

First off, let's talk Civ Rev (as it's apparently shortened). I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, being designed for the consoles and a more casual crowd, but it's been a real blast to get into.

I know the PC-only guys will be rolling their eyes at a "strategy" game on a console, but with over a dozen civilizations, each with their own bonuses to consider, there's still a good degree of strategy here. There's also that slow period in the middle, when you're building and not much is happening - but that's largely kept to a minimum.

The Achievements aren't amazing, but they're consistently well named and that adds a bit to the game. It would have been nice to see the Achievements for beating the game with each civiliation replaced by something more interesting - beating a unit 5 levels higher than yourself, for example.

What's there is still decent, but there aren't going to be many regular gamers who get 1,000/1,000 on this one without putting in a punishing amount of time.

Also in that vein of Achievement-style is Unreal Tournament 3. The Achievements have good names - sometimes great...but they're not very inspired. There's one that requires you to play the game, getting 200 kills each day, on 50 days. It appears that Achievement, along with a slew of others, are multiplayer only - though it's not clear if that means online-only as well. I've played a lot of splitscreen offline matches with my wife, but I haven't seen any multiplayer-only Achievements pop - so I'm guessing it has to be online.

In E3 news, the 'oh so secret' price drop of the 360's 20 GB unit to $299 was confirmed once again, this time by the Wall Street Journal. Seems like everyone is confirming it except for Microsoft, but nobody has any information on whether the other SKU will also drop in price or not. I imagine we'll find out at Microsoft's press conference.

If you don't check out coverage of the conference online, you'll be able to once again check it out from the comfort of your couch as Microsoft is running its 'Bringing It Home' promotion. Each day you'll be able to download new interviews, trailers, and demos - including a Too Human demo, the first one to be confirmed. It would be interesting to see them actually announce something via the service, and see how fast that news spread.

Sony hasn't said that they'll be doing anything with E3, but I'd imagine they'll at least do the same thing as last year - a slew of trailers and assorted promotional materials. Maybe they'll do a surprise release of HOME and have E3 within it, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Springing something like that always sounds like a great idea, up until everyone starts hammering the server and everything comes crashing down.

It's very unlikely that Nintendo will do anything on their 'online system' for E3. They did a bit of promoting for Metroid Prime using channels though, so maybe they'll prove me wrong. I'd be more than willing to get proven wrong on that one, as it'd show Nintendo is actually thinking about the online space.

You'd probably still have to get E3's friend code though.

There's been all kinds of speculation on what's going to be shown, with all kinds of proof. Mega Man 9 was coming to the 360 and PS3, then it wasn't...and now it is again. The new trailer shows XBLA and PSN, so does it get more official than that?

It's a bit more of a stretch, but recent video of the new Banjo Kazooie game, with Ken Lobb narrating, had what some are calling proof of a new motion controller for the 360. At one point Lobb references 'twisting' the controller, though he could also mean turning the analog stick I suppose. Only one way to find out on that one - wait for the conference.

Those conferences, if you've forgotten, start thusly:

Monday, July 14

• Microsoft - 1:30 pm ET
• Electronic Arts - 6:00 pm ET

Tuesday, July 15

• Nintendo - 12:00 pm ET
• Sony - 1:30 pm ET
• Ubisoft - 5:30 pm ET
• Capcom - 7:30 pm ET

Wednesday, July 16

• Texas Governor Rick Perry - 12:15 pm ET
• Take-Two - 1:45 pm ET
• ESA CEO Mike Gallagher - 4:00 pm ET
• Konami - 5:30 pm ET

Keep in mind that Activision, not a part of the E3 proceedings this year, will have their own conference at 10:00 pm ET on Tuesday.

As for what I'd like to see at E3 - how about something on a game we don't know about ahead of time? A surprise unveiling would be a nice change of pace for the show. I guess that pins my hopes largely on Dragon Age: Origins - the trailer for which is supposedly going to be on Spike at 1:00 a.m. on Friday, a timeslot that makes no sense even BEFORE they deign to provide a time zone.



Call me crazy, but Achievements in recent games just haven't been cutting the mustard. Developers haven't really been taking those 'next steps' to make their Achievement list different from the rest.

Don't get me wrong, lists are stronger now than they ever have been. They're well thought out, with solid names and good challenge - but they don't have that next step that games like Mass Effect or Universe At War: Earth Assault had. I'm not saying that every game needs to have in-game bonuses tied to Achievements - but make that extra effort. Everyone has a good list now, if you want to stand out you'll have to try harder.

Some aren't even trying at all. Why is the list for Beijing 2008, a title that didn't have a huge budget, better - by far - than the list for NFL Head Coach 2008? SEGA took the fun part of the game - smashing real-world records - and made Achievements out of that.

Lazy Achievement lists just don't cut it these days, guys.

Until next week, I'm out.