Coming Attractions 7.20.08: E3 Breakdown

Posted by Drew Robbins on 07.20.2008

411 Columnist Drew Robbins breaks down next week's releases, from Izuna 2 to Final Fantasy IV, and tells you whether they are worth the cash. After the usual previews, he gives his insights on the "Big 3" press conferences at E3.

Welcome to Coming Attractions, your look at all games coming out in the next week. This week should be a little longer than last week, as I'm going to be breaking down the conferences from E3 after the previews. That should be fun.

- When I wasn't having my eye glued to the computer screen during E3, I was playing Mario Galaxy. I usually don't go back and play games I've beaten but…crap this game is AWESOME!

- As I type this we are in the waning hours of E3. Also as I type this, Left 4 Dead is on the Gamespot live feed, yay! I was waiting for news on that game….so yeah hold on so I can give my thoughts. GREAT! I just finished writing the 10th Hour and am now filled with rage that I didn't include this game on the top ten list, nice timing Gamespot! So…back to E3. I'm still a little mad at the "hardcore Nintendo fan" reaction to the conference. It can't be great every year, every company has an off year. Even though it was a bad conference, it wasn't near as bad as 2006 Sony conference. (Its Ridge Racer. Riiiiidge Racer!!)


Reader Feedback

I got 10 more comments than I expected….though to be fair 3 of them were me, so lets take a look at the ones that are capable of being responded to.

Derek Robbins can't read…

Four stars on Guitar Hero 3? Drew, jeeesh, step your game up.

I would never, not even under the influence of drugs, give Guitar Hero 3 four stars. That game is garbage.

David Redkey recognizes genius..

Now, we know who has ALL the intelligence out of the Robbins brothers......

Wow....

Ahem! Good artilcle, [Drew].

I'm glad some people on 411 recognize true greatness!

Alice hates Nancy Drew…who doesn't?

Great review on the Nancy Drew game. Even IF the game sucks, your stellar comment regarding the books speaks volumes. (I'm aware of the pun).

Puns deserve recognition, so I figured that I should definitely post this comment.

Chris Vicari makes bad decisions…

After reading your thoughts on 1701 A.D and then realizing that I picked the game to review it, I am now sad in my pants.

Well, hey, it can't be all that bad. You didn't pay for it. Maybe if you're lucky you can form an opinion on it relatively quick into the game. Maybe its good…its just a preview…but I doubt it.



Coming Attractions – Week 2

Well, I thought it was Soul Calibur week, but I guess I was off a week. Next edition of Coming Attractions will feature the tale of Souls and Swords…..ETERNALLY RETOLD. As well as a look back at the first three Soul Calibur games. Well, enough plugging myself, lets take a look at the games!

SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 (Wii) - SNK is a legend in the arcade business. From King of Fighters to Metal Slug, they created some of the finest games in the history of arcades. As far as I can tell (I can't find a listing of games on the disc), the compilation will have Metal Slug and will more than likely feature one of the many editions of King of Fighters. The only problem with this is the fact that these games have been re-released so many times that odds are you probably have a lot of these games if you like SNK. I have Metal Slug Anthology, so I don't need this for my Metal Slug fix. You can even play King of Fighters or Fatal Fury on the free version of Gametap! So why pay $30 for something you either have or could play for free. It doesn't make sense. However, if your computer can't run Gametap and you don't have the compilations, and are a big time SNK supporter, then I suppose this is a reasonable purchase.
My Rating: Ehhh Due to the extreme odds that you already have access to a lot of these classic arcade games, I can't give this game anything more than the purgatory thumb.

- Are you Okaaaaaayyy?!

Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja 2 (DS) - I'm pretty sure that this game was well liked with a group of people…maybe I'm thinking of a different game. I'll tell you what the plot is about but, be warned, it is reaching extreme levels of ridiculousness. Izuna is an unemployed ninja (duh) who is on her way to a wedding to find her friend Shino. On her way to the wedding, she angers the Pantheon of gods…how does she do that? Do the gods not like her ways of trying to find her sister? Do they have something against weddings? Well, the description calls the game "zany" so I suppose it doesn't need to make sense. Now, the gameplay, here is what I'm talking about! Dungeon crawling! You can use cooperative tactics to take Izuna and Shino through many randomly generated dungeons with loots (its like I'm really playing WoW…with randomly generated dungeons). Much like the Witcher, Monster Hunter Freedom 2, or Oblivion, this game is trying to be a game that is kind of like an offline MMO. I don't care for those kind of games, but I know they have a lot of supporters.
My Rating: Thumbs Up The game, despite its stupid sounding story, sounds fun. If you like anime (which is where I stopped caring) and you need a game to last you a while, this sounds like a game that will satisfy that need.

- *groan* Anime….bleck

Just a note…no games for 360 or PS3 or PSP this week? What the heck!

Come on PC, help me out!

ANOTHER NOTE: I just heard about the KOTOR MMO, WOO…in before Blizzard releases World of Starcraft to compete with it for top sci-fi MMO.

Baseball Mogul 2008 (PC) - I will express right now that I am ridiculously far out of this game's target audience. My brother Derek enjoys these games…these games where you play with menus, I guess that's why he likes RPGs! (Yeah I probably didn't earn any fans with that statement) So Baseball Mogul is a game where you play the role of a manager in a baseball organization. You play with menus, its game time! You have to surf more menus..then you go up to the luxury box and WATCH the game? What the heck, this is a game? I don't know how people like it, but I know it's a fairly popular franchise. Maybe if I didn't hate baseball so much this wouldn't seem like such a horrible game. If I wanted to watch a game I'd just watch Metal Gear Solid 4 (..yet again, not doing myself any favors). I told myself when I started this column that if the game wasn't targeted towards me, I wouldn't preview it based on my opinion, because it would be two thumbs down in most cases. I have to give it a rating based on the likelihood that it would be fun to its target audience.
My Rating: Thumbs up Fantasy baseball is pretty popular and the people into that are clearly the target audience. Baseball Mogul is your only ‘game' that offers complete managerial control over a team (on second thought..I think MVP 2005 had that feature. Even I liked that game.)

- If this excites you, then you will like Baseball Mogul. If just looking at it makes you bored, then you are just like me…

Fate: Undiscovered Realms (PC) - Usually the games I write about in these columns are unfamiliar…but this one, I have played Fate. Have you ever played Diablo II? This is what Diablo would look like in a more kiddy environment (or if you're an idiot, this is what Diablo 3 looks like….and if you say that…YES YOU ARE AN IDIOT). I've played the game and can honestly say that it isn't bad. In fact its actually somewhat decent. However, the average age of 411 readers on this site is probably over 15, and if you are in the age group of 15 to whatever, then I recommend just buying Diablo II. They are the same price, and Diablo probably lasts longer as well. Also, not sure if Fate has online multiplayer…but it probably does considering its just Diablo II copy and pasted into a light-hearted environment. If you want to start your kids out on a game like Diablo, then this is your best bet….because it IS Diablo II.
My Rating: Thumbs Down - If this were a preview in Nintendo Power or another magazine like that (though that's impossible, Nintendo Power doesn't have anything about the PC….does it?) then this game would likely get a thumbs up. However, 411 is more for the adult crowd, so I think if you want a game of this ilk you should just get Diablo II. Heck, you probably already have it.

- Hey look its Dia---Fate.

This Week's #1 Pick

Final Fantasy IV (DS) - This game, the fourth in the world's most oversaturated RPG, is one of the most overrated games of all time. However, that's just my opinion, and my opinion is in the minority. Many fans of Final Fantasy hale it as not only one of the best Final Fantasy games, but as one of the best RPGs of all time. Square Enix has resurrected the game for the DS, and unlike Chrono Trigger, have given it a complete makeover! This remake features updated graphics (like in Final Fantasy 3) and voice acting (like in Mega Man 8…well, I've heard they are bad…so I'm going to exaggerate with the worst possible example). If you've played any Final Fantasy then you'll know the drill here. Random battles, picking an action, turn based excitement ~! This week is awful, I'm out of the target radius for every one of these stinking games…I wish Soul Calibur IV was out this week…darn you Namco.
My Rating: Two Thumbs Up Final Fantasy games are extremely popular, and many people hold this one in high regard, many people can't be wrong can they?

- I hope you like text!

The Console War Scoreboard

This week we actually had a winner! So let the score keeping begin!

Nintendo DS 1
Everything Else 0

Well that's pretty one sided, can't wait to see how this shapes up as the year goes on.

Yesterday's Attractions

MVP Baseball 2005 - The victim of the baseball exclusivity deal, MVP Baseball 2005 was the last EA produced Baseball game. Just like with the NFL 2K series, the better game series was the one that ended up getting cut. Baseball Mogul is a menu browsing game where you watch baseball, but MVP had a mode where you could do the menu browsing…and then PLAY baseball! Holy crap what a sensational idea, it's like it's an actual game. I actually can't remember too many specifics about the game, aside from the fact that it was great. The franchise mode was addicting, and the defensive gameplay (which in my opinion is the best part of baseball games) was perfected here. You may not know this, but EA had the best pitching system EVER. Anyone who disagrees has never played a good baseball game, clearly. Newer baseball games seem to be style over substance, but EA actually put gameplay first (weird I know).
Related To - Baseball Mogul 2008
My Rating *** ½ out of 5

- Do you remember good baseball games? Oh wait…Mario Baseball was good.

Street Fighter Anniversary Collection - I almost did a look back at Metal Slug Anthology, but I decided to go old school Capcom vs. SNK with the compilation battles. Street Fighter is and will always be infinitely better than the King of Fighters series. No fighting game in this day and age could ever dream of being as successful as the original Street Fighter series. I remember going to arcades and seeing hordes of people around the Street Fighter II machine. Do you remember actually caring about the initials scrolling down the machine after you finished off (or got destroyed) by M. Bison? Those were the days. I went back and played Fatal Fury on Gametap the other day and it wasn't really that great or as fun as I remembered. On the other hand, I went back and played Street Fighter III and it was still awesome. Street Fighter IV is easily my most anticipated fighting game of all time, and it combined with Mega Man 9 are the reason that I love Capcom. Seriously, I love Capcom. They are my valentine next year, not yours! Back OFF!!
Related To: SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
My Rating: ***** out of 5. Absolutely perfect.

- Much like Pikmin 3, this is proof that there is a God. Also, Chun-Li picture, I think that's 2 weeks in a row, maybe it will be my Earthbound…eh, probably not.

E3 Conferences

Microsoft - The problem I have with Microsoft as a gaming company is their lack of identity. Nintendo is the company that offers family-friendly experiences and first-party exclusives that are consistently great, Sony is the high-tech company with a focus on more hardcore games, and Microsoft is a company for families…and also hardcore gamers…and casuals…and what the heck? The avatars are ridiculous, the new interface looked pretty sleek, but the avatars just ruined everything for me. Now onto what I actually care about…the games! Two games from this conference really impressed me. Resident Evil 5 and Fable 2 looked like pretty great games, while everything else just didn't stand out to me. A lot of people liked this conference the best but I attributed that to the fact that they actually showed a lot of their games. Microsoft's big announcement was FF13, which is pretty big. But I don't know how to feel about it. I think if Square knew it was bringing this game to the 360, they should've announced it before Sony had already promoted it as a big time exclusive. Now there are some people who bought a PS3 only for FF13, when they had a 360, and they JUST NOW announce it. Its not a bad move, I'm not stupid, I just think it was low. Another thing I'd like to point out is that after the six Nintendo FF games, they moved to Sony. Six games later and it looks like they could be moving over to Microsoft.
My Rating: Thumbs Up - I said earlier only two games I cared about, but those games did look pretty good, even though only one is exclusive.

Nintendo - One thing I'm sick of is the "hardcore Nintendo fan" flipping out over this ONE E3. Alright, first of all, hardcore Nintendo fans stuck through the Gamecube, and this is pretty minor compared to the five or six years of the Gamecube. Well, to most people at least, I loved the Gamecube. So they didn't announce any big hardcore games (though they did announce Pikmin 3 yesterday…that is pretty awesome). Do you remember 2006, at the Sony press conference? How many hardcore games did they announce for that holiday line up. I'll tell you how many, none. All they announced was Riiiiidge Racer and Resistance. Alright, now onto the actual conference. It started out bad, because the first speaker was not Reggie.
The first speaker is what a lot of people really hated about this conference, she represented the "dreaded" casuals. So first up is Shaun White Snowboarding which, while not my cup of tea, looked pretty fun. This was the kind of game the balance board was made for and its good to see it being put to such a use. We next get a video montage of Animal Crossing…Animal Crossing Wii! Awesome! This was a great announcement, and this was clearly what they meant by big holiday seller, so stop acting like they failed to live up to their promise. From all I've read, the game sounds great, and will provide lots of fun for fans of the original on the Gamecube and the sequel on the DS.
Next up, number stroking. Iwata, move over, let the professional do the number stroking…that's right, its Reggie Fils-Aime. Reggie number strokes like no other, he even bragged that it was Nintendo vs. Nintendo for the top of the sales chart. That is how you promote your company. Next out, I think, is the casual lady about the DS. Grand Theft Auto DS is coming out, another game that should please the "hardcore." Stop whining. Next is where the conference, to some, fell apart. Wii Sports Resort, which at first made me kind of mad. So I went back and watched it and, well, it looked fun. Sword fighting looks great as does the wave racing game. What is the matter ‘hardcore,' too FUN for you?
Now its Wii Music, a game that isn't for you. ITS NOT FOR YOU!! They announced Animal Crossing and GTA, Reggie was right, what do you have to complain about. It's called third parties and they are, in fact, putting good stuff out on the Wii this year. Wii Music is a kid's rhythm game, where it doesn't tell you that you suck when you do horrible, and just lets them play around. Miyamoto admitted that it's just a toy. Kids like to have fun, why is it a bad thing that they get a game just for them? My little brother (he is 8) likes Rock Band and Guitar Hero but when he does bad he gets so upset. Wii Music is for kids, you pretentious ‘hardcore' fans, stop whining about a game Nintendo never expected you to like.
My Rating: Ehh The conference wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. Like it or not, this is the direction games are going, so get over it and learn to enjoy some of the lighter stuff. Miyamoto, during the Developer conference, said that a core gamer is someone that plays many different types of games. He was absolutely right, not everything needs to be a "deep" experience (and nothing really is), sometimes you just need to sit back and have simple fun.


Hmm…that was pretty long winded, let's get on to Sony. Sorry if that last Nintendo rant hurt you ‘hardcore' Nintendo fans, does the truth hurt?


Sony Conference - Sony did well this year. They announced a variety of games that looked good, and that's really all you can ask for. First up is Resistance 2, which I think looks pretty decent, nothing special, just a decent shooter. This is likely their big holiday seller, so I'm a little surprised they talked about it first. Next is number stroking with the assistance of Little Big Planet. Let me tell you, this is the single best presentation of a game I have EVER seen at E3. If you want to make people realize the potential of a new product, show it off to make normally boring number stroking interesting. I applaud Sony for that segment; it made me happy during a day where I was so pessimistic due to the internet reaction to the "Hardcore vs. Casuals." Next up is…crap where am I, I think next is the new Ratchet and Clank. Four hours of top notch platforming with humorous cut scenes is fine by me. I don't remember too much about the PSP, except I think they announced Resistance for the PSP. I trust Insomniac so I assume this will be a good game. That's good to hear, I was worried Sony was starting to ignore the PSP, which would be a shame considering it and the DS are probably the best systems this generation. I'm skipping past the PS2 stuff, so now we are at God of War III. We all knew it was coming, but nonetheless, I'm excited. I really liked the last God of War and this one will likely be more of the same. Now onto something I really wanted to see, INFAMOUS!! This is the kind of exclusive Sony needed, this game looks great, I can't wait to play it next year. The big announcement…………………MAG? What the heck? I don't know how I can trust a studio that can't even think up a good name with making a good 256 player game. Another detractor, its army related. So original.
My Rating: Thumbs Up I think Sony won this year, personally, because the games they showed looked good, Infamous and Little Big Planet look great.

The 411

I linked to some articles in the 10th Hour I wrote just about two hours ago, so here is the second half of links that I left out.

John Curry asks if POD-6 will make Guitar Hero fresh again. Is POD-6 a miracle worker?

This week in Fact or Fiction, Mark Salmela takes on Jordan Williams. I don't appreciate the dig on Rock Band Wii owners Mark! I'm one of them!

George Frasier brings us a special E3 edition of the Nintendophiles. You know, if you look at the Wii's lineup for later this year, it isn't that bad.

That's it for Coming Attractions this week, next week is Soul Calibur IV, I'm for sure this time. I'll be gone next week so I'm writing it after I finish this up. If you have any feedback send it to [e-mail] or comment below. I'll respond to all comments and emails when I get back.