I'm going to jump right into it here and let you know right up front that this year's theme was very Kinect-centric.
First up is Gears of War 3. This game features some breath-taking action sequences and fantastic graphics that brings the new "pissed" sea creature known as the Leviathan right into your living room. Demoed by Cliff Bleszinski and Ice-T in front of the live audience, GW3 promises to be the action-packed, concentration testing, tour de force we've come to expect from this system exclusive and I know that I'm personally excited to send the Leviathan back to the depths of the ocean.
Next on the list of exciting releases is the Kinect-enabled Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. The trailer for this game shown at the conference eludes to some very interesting new features including in-game partial invisibility, better sounds, better visuals, and better environmental interactivity than it's predecessors. Introduced by Yves Guillemot, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will use the Kinect for it's Gunsmith application using gestures or your voice and all weapons are customizable right down to the smallest parts. Kinect is also leveraged to be used for aiming and shooting as if you were holding the gun in your hands. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier looks like it's going to be a ground breaker for the long running franchise and it may breathe new life into a very enjoyable game that has unfortunately been overlooked in the past few years due to an over-saturated market.
Speaking of saturated markets, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been announced to be released on November 8th, 2011. With some new graphics and a new story line, this game seems to fail to travel far beyond the beaten trail which is perhaps why this franchise has done so well. One thing to note is that Microsoft has revealed that the 360 will again get the map packs earlier than any other console which seems to have a struck a cord with many gamers who are upset at the extra cost of DLC that is announced pre-release when it might have been incorporated in the game.
In what looks to be a very well thought out and very action filled puzzle game, Tomb Raider (scheduled for release if fall of 2012) seems as if it will breathe new life to a series that has had disappointing sequels, one after another. The game play looks phenomenal and the environmental graphics are above par. The story follows Lara Croft as she grows from being a young 21 year old explorer to the hardened treasure hunter that the first game of the series portrayed. Introduced by Daniel Neuberger and Darrell Gallagher this game looks very solid and hopefully it will mean success for a long running contender.
Either I wasn't paying attention or there was no explanation for this game but the trailer for Ryse looked quite phenomenal. It's not often you see a game that has decent graphics when it's mixed with motion controls but this game looks like it does a good job integrating the two together. It comes at a time when elite gamers are getting tired of button mashers, RPGs or first person shooters and are looking at alternatives but are unwilling to sacrifice graphics for ingenuity. Definitely a bonus for Kinect if future games are headed in this direction.
Forza Motorsports 4 is announced to be released on October 11th 2011 and the gameplay looks jaw dropping. For those into racing simulation games Forza has been at the top for their realism and graphics and this year they are not looking to disappoint. Being "better with Kinect" we can expect to see some awesome customizations headed our way along with a social aspect to connect real world gear heads and racers alike.
One of the smaller announcement of the show is that Minecraft, an indie dev, will be released on the 360 and that it will be Kinect compatible which will add just that much more interactivity to a game that requires user input.
My personal favourite of the show and the game I'm probably most excited for is Fable: The Journey. As far as I am concerned (and I am slightly biased) Lionhead takes the Kinect to a whole other level. You play the role of a young man in a time where there are no heroes left in Albion. You run into the seeress Theresa who is running from something and your destiny starts there. What interests me the most is the seamless use of the Kinect to manipulate your spells and to move your cart, as always with the Fable franchise the dark and menacing landscapes are just that when they need to be and graphically Fable has always been a bit cartoon-ish but the environment and the people are delightfully scripted and animated.
Microsoft also showcased a small line of child-based Kinect games that included Disney and Sesame street characters and while not appealing to the elite gamer in me, I concluded that as a child I would have found these games most enjoyable and more than likely indiscreetly educational which is what these games are all about.
One of the biggest announcements that will resonate around the gaming community for the coming year and a half is that Halo 4 will be released which will be the first of a trilogy of games. Technical aspects were not mentioned but being one of the most successful series of games in the history of gaming this is very big news for gamers everywhere and we're all very excited for what lay ahead in the future in those regards.
So basically I didn't pay enough attention to the rest of the show or I'm too lazy to write anymore, I hope you enjoyed reading through my first post. I know I didn't critique anything yet but eventually it'll come to me... I'm just honeymooning on the excitement. So make sure you subscribe so you can see the harrowing things I will say about your favourite games that will make you want to punch me in the face!
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