LIVE REPORT:
Brett’s Adventures At E3
Brett is Nukezilla’s eyes and ears at this year’s E3. He’s been given strict instructions not to run and to Live Blog his food. If you want E3 news, head over to the other Live Report. If you want sandwich and shoe-related updates, stay right here.
- After spending Monday at Disneyland Brett is now roaming the show
- Sandwich-related news has begun to come in, with this update arriving yesterday
Live Blog
Time zone: Los Angeles, New York, London
Order: newest first, oldest first (chronological)
One minor non-E3 related tidbit: I've got 32 new podcasts in my iTunes library. I may have to reboot iCringe. "2.0" anyone?
We've made it back home now. Expect those vlogs by tomorrow as well as some tasty hands on coverage throughout the coming week. Thanks for everyone who has been reading this, if anyone has. I've got a poster to ship to Jenny and half of a notebook to go through. Wish me luck!
Head has landed squarely on pillow. Pockets empty. Mind full of good times. Off to sleepyland now. Will post more delayed vlogs on the morrow. Night.
I hung out in Sbucks for a while and talked with a Canadian national entrepreneur and a pair of expo goers. Great chats all and the games played a bunch of games I didn't get time with. They played the new ResiEvil shooter on PS3 as well as SF x Tekken. They really liked the movement and combat of Resi. Not so much on the fighter - laggy input and shallow combat according to both.
oh god. on a scrounge for a suitable dive bar to hang with the videotapes.com crew. that was videogamer lol
From there it was on to Deep Silver to see Dead Island and Risen 2. Somehow I mislabeled the appointment in Google calendar, so we missed out on DI, damnit! They were kind enoughnot to hold a grudge and let us into Risen 2 on time. I have heard good things about the first game on PC and the new game looks very promising. It will be released on PC Xbox and PS3 with equal focus and development consideration. It will be a Sissyphian task to convince those burned by the unplayable Xbox version to re-up, but color me intrigued. Pirate RPG combat in an open world with lots of fucked up monsters and stunning tropical settings is something I would play.
Next up was Serious Sam 3 which is a looker, for sure. If you can dig what they're going for with these games: Doom meets Smash TV, then #3 will be cherished. They were very honest in offering their intention with this follow up was to make a modern engine capable of handling more dense and expansive levels, but aside from some new ways to kill, the formula remains the same. Also, they've really outdone themselves with blood and gore this time. God loves Croatian game developers, apparently.
I missed Indiecade on account of five person packing and the rush to check out. My next appointment was with Nathan Fouts for his Serious Sam game. He has managed to make a true to form sidescrolling shooter with the same personality of Sam crossed with his own quirky style, personality and novel innovations each MBG title becomes known for.
I am hanging out at the nearby Sbucks while I wait for the Videogamer.com crew to tweet a bar location. Jenny is in the air to her next destination and I'm reduced to soft typing on my android phone. So, sorry in advance for typos and autocorrect errors. Another way of looking at this though is as an opportunity for fun! See if you can guess what words I was trying to type!
Showered and ready for Day Three. I made two vlogs, but haven't been in the vicinity of stable or robust enough wifi to upload them to YouTube. The hotel internet access is abysmal and pay-per-day. The Media Room wifi is overtaxed down to dial-up speeds and my VZW phone, which I've modified to allow tethered access won't transmit videos over that file size unless it's connected to a wifi source. *sigh* We've got another day of back-to-back meetings scheduled today, but dare I say it - this is the day I've been waiting for. I'll be heading away from the show floor to check out the Developer Digital suite where Nathan Fouts is showing off his Serious Sam Double D game. Nathan's a great guy to meet with and while the long walk will be far from refreshing, I hope getting some time away from the show floor is therapeutic. Day three is here and I've yet to rub elbows with the Videogamer.com crew. I hope to meet them for drinks and a chat this evening after the show, but the chances are looking pretty slim. I don't think I've mentioned it here, but I bumped into Jim Sterling after the Nintendo conference and exchanged a few polite words that sounded like "tanker". He seemed like a great guy to hang with, but of course everyone here has so much to do, hanging out and making new contacts is reserved for the parties and reader meet-ups, which on account of the family being in town, aren't something I can make time for this year. We will be getting some time with Dead Island this afternoon. So few of our demos have included hands on time with the game, but if that's how our press meeting swings, the game is out on the show floor in a few places I'll just wait in line to play it there. Blacklight: Tango Down is getting a free-to-play sequel developed by Zombie Studios and published by Chinese MMO powerhouse Perfect World. During the demo, we were able to activate the late match bonus items, like flamethrowers, rocket launchers and a "hard suit". I went for the last one and was treated to an ED209 style mech. When I entered the cockpit and started stomping around the level spinning up the chaingun and firing missiles, it pretty much decimated the other team for one or two deaths, but then it was explained that each spawned mech has a random weak point which everyone can see by scanning it. A few seconds later I was dead and my kill streak was over, but what fun. I'll try and find a sold wifi hotspot today so I can upload these daily vlogs. I'll shoot one this morning and follow up with one either tonight or tomorrow if I'm up super late. I hope you've had fun reading all of the news from the show at NZ and other sites. This year's E3 has been a major bummer for me on account of he camera, but I'm trying to stick it out and salvage some good times despite the loss.
I just wrapped three demos from Paradox Interactive. I feel like a stupid console game afterwards. Four-X, 9th century soap opera meets stats management and a mythical battle simulator with dialog trees... I told them this was outside my comfort zone, but boy was I under water. Now onto Witcher 2 on Xbox and a new hack and slash. Finally, we may be getting hands on with la Vita.
What the hell happened to the Liveblog? Well, yesterday was mental running across both halls for back to back meetings. The good news is that most of what we saw looked interesting, but the bad news is I lost my brand new camera. A Nikon DX3100 to be exact. So, yeah I've lost a lot of time between meetings checking yesterday's booths and the two security offices. Jenny and I had drinks after the show. She was drinking some Heavy Rain concoction while I stuck to a pilsner. We got here an hour before the doors opened and used the time to plan and discuss our new opportunites. Jenny has been great at booking new meetings for us while I was able.to squeeze into Mass Effect 3 for their last showing of the day. I just got out of Torchlight II which plays just like the first, with loads of subtle and major improvements. I'll try to post again, but things look hectic for the rest of the day.
Xcom was a bit Mass Effecty with the squad management elements, but the enemy designs are very weak. waiting at Activision to see COD: Elite.
Hanging out in the 2K lounge and chatting with a Senior Producer or Production Manager from Gearbox. I'll be stepping into the XCom demo pretty soon. There's nosh at the sports bar, grapes, potato chips, soda and Starbucks coffee, but I'm sticking to water. It's weird to see so much sports paraphernalia all around. I'm here to see the "hardcore" games, but of course there's more to an industry than one person's tastes. I was late for this appointment by a few minutes on account of the Skyrim demo going late. Todd Howard attacked a dragon to end the demo, but pulled aggro on a second, so it took him ages to kill #2. I'm not sold on that form of combat. Watching it felt dizzying, following a circling beast as it occasionally drops to spew fire and take melee damage. More to follow on Skyrim. Justin McElroy, my games journalist hero came into the theater late and I had an open seat, so I offered it to him and greeted him as, "King McElroy". Rather than try and douche it up, I just handed him my card and offered some praise on the way out of the theater. That was defo a highlight of the day, thus far.
We are finishing lunch and will be heading into back to back meetings starting with Bethesda. Check Twitter for pics.
Careful there Johnny Ric. "Open" in reference to online is a dirty word ever since the PSN-pocalypse. I'm sure EA's excited to repackage their entire current gen library for a "new" audience.
I have a potential use for the Wii U in Warren Spector's next game - one player can control the camera and the other person plays the game. Maybe then we'll be able to have a playable version of Epic Mickey. Fucking garbage.
I've had an epiphany, sitting in this press conference today. I can only play so many Mario games. This is the...what, sixth Mario-related game they've announced today?
Wii U doesn't sound like the name of a tablet controller. It sounds like the name of one of their shovelware party games. Wii Party, Wii Sports, Wii U.
/jaded asshole attitude - I can see my girls (and Gabe in the future) going ape shit over having a controller with a screen. I'm sure I will be first in line when this comes out. Finally, they're getting me excited about Nintendo hardware again. /optimistic consumer
My legs are tingling and I'm starting to get airplane butt. I hope we'll be able to whip up some standing ovation kind of enthusiasm. I would be embarrassed if I was the only person, but more so if I did it when they announced Wii Party 2. Oh, the new controller looks interesting, but where's the new console?
Jenny and I just had eachother in muted chuckles over my StreetPass introduction. My Mii character waves his hands emphatically as he greets a long line of (mostly Japanese) Miis with the introduction, "nukezilla.com". Each Mii offers a thoughtful or personal message, while my little dude only repeats, "nukezilla.com". What an asshole.
Can I just take this moment to get on my soapbox? Perhaps it's a rights issue, but I wonder why, when the theme of this part of the presentation is "you want what you've always wanted, but you want it new", why Nintendo wouldn't revise the Mother series. Yes, it was a financial bomb in the States when it released, but the market is different now, and even if we never get a port of Earthbound, surely there's room -- even if it's just on the (3)DS store -- for Mother 3, or even the GBA compilation cartridge that came out in Japan a few years ago.Sorry to not be humorous, but it occurs to me that while Nintendo is reviving properties that have gone unattended to for a while -- namely Kid Icarus and Starfox -- and are ignoring the one that many fans are crying out for -- even official Nintendo Magazine polls list the series as the #1 game that readers chose to be ported/revived.
I should have known they'd blue ball us on the new home console. Though, a slew of new-ish 3DS titles - namely Luigi's Mansion are a good substitute for heavy petting. Thanks Reggie!
Now, while I love Shiggy - I've never had any love for Iwata. He seems too much like a boss to me. Yes, that kind of boss. Here comes the HD announcement!
I would consider taking my family out to attend The Legend of Zelda: 25th Anniversary Symphony. I just won't be telling them or my wife where we're going.
Shiggy and his American translator - do you think these guys will be going out for beers after today's show or what? After Ubisoft's attempt at comedy yesterday, I can almost believe that this is an elaborate, multi-lingual comedy routine, and what Miyamoto is saying is completely different from what the translator is saying. At least, that would be funnier; it doesn't matter much, because once the translator starts talking, no one can hear Miyamoto speak. The orchestra just went into a dissident train wreck trying to play the "item music" and "faerie" music at the same time. I may never be the same. Oh the horror. The horror.
The show begins and we're being treated to an orchestral and choral tribute to The Legend of Zelda. Yes, I have goosebumps. Zelda was the first game I lost my soul to as a kid. Don't worry though, Jenny has brought tissues for me if I start to weep with nerd tears. He lies, of course. I will relish the pain and let it nourish my own soul.
We're chatting it up about the 3DS and how it is married to the 3D features on account of the name and the marketing. As parents we both agree that we don't feel safe allowing our children to view and play 3D content. I am still on the fence with device, but it won't be a children's system in my household.
We're seated next to a wonderful Producer from Ubisoft-Montreal. He can't talk about his game, but we're having a great chat about the industry and what we expect to see from Nintendo this morning. Also, I'm hungry.
Jenny and I are finally seated at the Nokia Theater in the Orange blogger section of seating. This year we're shunted to the extreme left side of the house, but I've got my creepy glasses on so I'll have a nice view of the potential HD reveals. We shared Starbucks and I can tell you now for certain, Jenny smokes Camel Blues. Nice taste, but with a mellow finish. Oh shit! She's grabbing the laptop from me now... Hey! I'm not so sure I want that kind of information floating out there on the internet! And you're one to talk, Mr. "my glasses make me look like a child molester". And I bought your froo-froo coffee this morning, so you'd better be nice to me!
It's already tomorrow and this liveblog didn't get much love today. Most of my updates were via Twitter 'cause it was that much easier while strolling my children through California Adventure-land. The day started out horribly, but we salvaged it with help from my parents and the amazing weather. It was hot, with a cool breeze and clear as a bell. We've suffered so many lousy weather days for family events lately, today was that much sweeter. Getting caught up on today's news meant scanning 300+ articles via Google Reader. Nothing really bowled me over, but Ryse is something I would like to know more about and Sony continues to win their smaller coups (Bioshock treats for PS3 and Dust exclusivity). A semi-affordable PSP2 (no, I'm not calling it Vita) is helpful. All I know is that Nintendo's conference looks to be the clear winner out of the gate. Nothing seems to have caused the gaming press to collectively lose their bowels on Twitter or IRL. Tomorrow will be great. Jenny and I are going to caffeinate at Starbucks before stepping into line at the Nintendo Press Conference line around 7:20am or so. With travel and all of the other usual morning preparations, that gives me about 4 and a half hours to sleep, so I better get to it.
Will be paying top dollar for an Italian dinner at the park with prime seats to World of Color. Expect a review tonight.
Another downer of the PSN debacle: our Disney passes were on my cancelled debit card, so we had to pay cash to get in.
Halo 4 and the Halo 1 remake are both now official, pre Microsoft presser? Too much post-Bungie fun for my tastes. I'm more interested in what those dudes have up their sleeves. Am I alone?
I'm intrigued by this morning's rumors that the next Nintendo console will be titled just, "Nintendo" or "Nintendo HD". If only they had the cajones for something that bold. I grew up with the NES, but I'm 30 now. My kids know videogames on the television as the Wii, but not necessarily the Nintendo Wii. Time for a reboot?
Last night was interesting... With only 2 hours of sleep we made it to Bakersfield for lunch with friends, then to Buena Park (next to Anaheim aka. Disneyland And Blizzcon City) for dinner with family. The Motel 6 here has been completely remodeled with a 30" LCD TV an Ikea's finest furni. Not bad for $60/night. Their internet access is pay-per-night, so I tinkered with my three wireless access devices that I brought from work, but none of them were being cooperative at 10pm, so y'all get my first substantial update at 7am the next morning.Today's posts will be all about Disneyland. How else could I convince my lovely wife that taking a weeklong vacation to LA was going to be fun for our family? I'll be missing out on the Ubisoft presser, but Jenny will be there and John and Wes will be covering it as part of their E3 Liveblog. I hope you're prepared for Tweeted complaints about long lines, Fast Passes and the high cost of parking. I won't start "covering" E3 proper until tomorrow morning when I'll be standing in line outside of the Nokia Theatre for Nintendo's Press Conference.
Be sure to check out my Twitter feed for pics today and throughout the week. I've had 8 hours of sleep now, so watch the eff out!
My card was recently effed by the PSN hack too! Bank of America just shut it off.
Oddly enough I’m more excited about remastered Halo:CE than Halo 4.
Even though there was enough kinect being jammed down every ones throats to make me puke kinectimal fur, we have some silver lining in some great footage from Skyrim and a release date for Battlefield 3! E3 is a fickle mistress indeed.