E3 2009: Microsoft Press Conference Awards

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OK, some technical difficulties prevented us from live-blogging the Microsoft conference, but we all took down some notes about our best, worst, and other notable moments from this morning's event.

Shoe:

Best Bit: I'm not a big music-rhythm gamer, unless it's bursting with weird personality (see: Parappa the Rapper, Patapon). But The Beatles: Rock Band stirred up something emotional inside of me. The trailer started with the young Beatles belting out raw tunes inside The Cavern and continued all the way through the band's trippy, psychedelic years. I never wanted the clutter of Guitar Hero and Rock Band in my home before, but now I can't wait to sing, strum, and drum with the Fab Four.

And to top off a great video and demo, the real Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr came out on stage to a roaring crowd, to say a few words about their game. I rarely get star struck, but today, a gaming press conference nearly made me cry.

Worst Bit: Joy Ride. Those character models are damn ugly. Oh wait, they're Xbox 360 Avatars.

Best-Worst Quote: "Some people are not comfortable with their thumbs." -Xbox Senior VP Don Mattrick on why current controllers are too complicated for the casual audience, justifying codename Project Natal. This 3D camera/full-body motion sensor/voice recognition/user interface/scanning device is ready to bring the year 3000 into our living rooms now. It'll sign you in to Xbox Live just by looking at you, take voice commands, scan images in 3D space to use as art in games, and let you live Minority Report in the privacy of your home, free from Tom Cruise.

Scariest Bit: Climbing up a sheer ice wall in Modern Combat 2 looked realistic and scary intense. Alan Wake did a good job of giving us the creeps, too.

Biggest Surprise: Halo Reach multiplayer beta invite with Halo 3: ODST.

Best-Looking Bits: Watching CGI-quality cut-scenes transition straight into live scenes in Final Fantasy 13 and Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Demian:

Best bit: No pie charts, no sales numbers. Just games: Alan Wake, Halo Reach, Forza Motorsport 3, Left 4 Dead 2, Shadow Complex, Metal Gear Solid Rising.

Worst bit: This is tough one; while technically the worst part of the show, it was also the most hilarious -- I'm talking about the promo video for Xbox's new motion-control deal, Project Natal, which was full of families with impossible smiles, looking like they just won the lottery. My favorite part had to be when Dad jumped up from the couch and manned the pneumatic lug nut wrench, excitedly changing the tires during Daughter's pit stop in The Big Race.

This Game Isn't Out Yet Award: Tie: Alan Wake and Final Fantasy 13, both slated for Spring 2010. Maybe?

Best Quote: Paul McCartney on Beatles: Rock Band: "Can't play it...who ever thought we'd end up as androids?"

Second Best Quote: "It is my honor to present the creator of Metal Gill Solid, Hideo Kojima." Don Mattrick, Xbox Senior VP

Greg:

Best bit: Shadow Complex: Epic's Cliff Bleszinski presented this XBLA game (developed by Chair) that utilizes that "Metroidvania" exploration and action mix that so many hardcore gamers are hot for. And it looks great: 3D world but 2D movement (as well as some into-the-background shooting), with lots of the bang-bang. The best-looking item was the foam gun, which you can use to shoot out a stream of foam that can be used as an instant makeshift ramp or just blown up. Things like a hookshot and the ability to shoot down wires to electricute enemies -- as well as a 10-hour playtime -- has me stoked for this one.

Worst bit: This one's a toss-up. First we have Joy Ride, an avatar-using kart-racing XBLA game that stresses grabbing big air. It might be fun, but its simple graphical style and (as far as I could tell) power-up-free action kept my excitement down. Points for being free, though!

And then we have Metal Gear Solid Rising. This is huge news that I find pretty exciting; no doubt it's a great get by Microsoft (and hey, whiney-boy Raiden is back!). It's just the tagline: Seriously, what the hell does "lightning bolt action" mean? Sounds like it'll have all the excitement of a weather.com Flash game.

Best Tease (tie): Crackdown 2 and Halo Reach. I'm superpsyched about both games on principle, but neither teaser trailer showed any juicy info (yeah, I know, but still...). The best nugget I could discern was that in Crackdown 2, it looks like you'll finally be taking on superpowered enemies. Can't have a Superman without his Zod.

Best Display of Athleticism: Microsoft demo lady Abby, who stretched, kicked, and punched virtual balls in the motion-sensing Richochet game, which looks simple but will undoubtly be fun in that Wii Sports way. She made those guys demoing with controllers and thumbs look archaic in comparison.

Best "Huh?" Moment: In describing Tony Hawk Ride, the Bird Man said something about "social-physical gaming"... Wha-?

Michael:

Best Bit: Left 4 Dead 2 trailer keeps my love for the undead alive. All this game needs to be the best zombie game ever? Plants.

Worst Bit: Project Natal negates Tony Hawk Ride. After pro skater Tony Hawk pimps his new skateboarding doohickey, Microsoft one-ups the Bird Man with its own skateboarding game that uses an even better controller: you...pretending to skate on your carpet.

Shut your Windows: Facebook? Twitter? Last.fm? Guess I don't have to use my computer anymore -- anyone need a new Macbook?

Pedophilic Boy of the Show: Milo. The digital lad created by Fable developers Lionhead Studios allows everyone to converse with underage children without having to hear the infamous, "Why don't you take a sear over there?"

The Most Definitive Quote of This Generation: "Forza Motorsport 3 is the most definitive racer of this generation." In case we weren't aware from the graphics, choice of cars, or cool community features, the Forza Motorsport 3 definitively let us know via repetition just how good his game is...compared to other racers this generation, that is.

For more discussion on these and plenty more E3 topics, check out our Mobcasts this week.

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Shalamar Cammorto

June 01, 2009

Splinter Cell: Conviction and Alan Wake were the high points for me. Low points? ...facebook/twitter. Facebook intergration is cool I guess, but twitter? I'm all for socializing, just not 'on' my console.. do we even still call them that? And yeah, about Natal.. nice tech demo?

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Nick Gates

I'm a little sketchy on if Project Natal will work correctly and to the extent that Microsoft will display. I think that it could be very cool for basic interactions and navigation as well. I just feel that it would never work to the extent of replacing my controller in any way And I hope not. Very cool concept though and I'm glad to see Microsoft is innovating with new technology and providing more user experiences, even if it is mainly to steal some of the Wii's thunder. And Milo was a little weird, not convinced. I want Crackdown 2...

Omg, I keep forgetting about Crackdown 2. Very excited about that one. You know, I've never listened/heard a Beatles song/album/anything before.

Mark Sutton

As excited as I am for Left 4 Dead 2, I was really hoping to hear something about Half Life 2: Episode 3 at either the Microsoft or EA press conference. The Beatles Rock Band must have every chorus kid in the nation wetting themselves over the prospect of three-part harmony, and those new instruments actually look pretty swank. Well played, Microsoft...well played indeed..

Christopher Ervin

As soon as I heard "Zune," apropos of nothing, I was hoping to God J Allard was waiting in the green room, waxing his snowboard.

Michael Burridge

As far as excitement goes, I couldn't have been happier when they showed the Left 4 Dead 2 trailer. I loved the first game, and I never even thought about a sequel, let alone one so soon. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I almost cried from embarrassment/laughter when they showed those Brady Bunch-esque families playing with Natal. Reminded me of the Wii in more ways than one. On a side note, I really liked the way Halo: ODST, and Splintercell: Conviction were coming along. Halo looked a bit like Call of Duty with that sense of a battlefield (something I thought Halo always lacked). And Conviction looks a lot more exciting than a typical stealth-game. The conference was a lot better than it was last year. Though that whole casual-gaming segment did make me want to puke.

wayne a. lee

it's true, the footage of the (mostly very white) families playing simulated project naTAL (strange pronunciation :P) games were soooo dorky. while the possibilities are definitely exciting, it's hard to know at this point whether it'll amount to much more than just the next generation of eyetoy-type games.

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Derek Lavigne

While we all may have different tastes in gaming, in clothing, in chosen careers, I find it amazing that the gaming community most definitely agrees that Milo falls somewhere between a pedophile's dream and Seaman 2.0

Duncan Hamilton

BUT I DONT WANT LEFT 4 DEAD 2!!!!!! WHY DID VALVE JUST COMPLETELY ABANDON THE ORIGINAL L4D????? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD IN WHICH VALVE DOESN'T SUPPORT ITS OWN GAMES??????

Jordan Naylor

Not to sure about the whole "Project Natal" Camera. What if my dog runs by me?, Would that switch menus? haha. Also, the dude who presented Project Natal looked like a 'wanna-be' Ali-G on doughnuts. He just left a bad taste in my mouth i suppose. Come to think of it, if we're going to act out how we play video games infront of a camera (I.E, Skateboarding) Why dont we just get the fuck outside and skateboard?, And unless that paint throwing shit was a attempt to stop graffiti across North America, i cant see that being fun for more then 10 minutes. I know they're targeting the wii audience but still, The Wii isnt nearly as active... for better or for worse.

Ward Huypens

L4D2 sounds nice but it would make more sense if Valve still planned on supporting the original with new weapons/campaigns/characters like they promised they would do (in TF2 PC style). It's just that leaving Francis, Zoey, Lewis and Bill left for dead like this would be a big shame.:( Funniest bit of MS conference: Don Mattrick trying to get everyone to clap in their hands every time. Same as last year, hilarious sight with that big smile on his face.