E3 2010: Microsoft Press Conference Impressions

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Zasalamel

This year, I’ve missed all big events due to having to work and go to class and crap. Thankfully, the good folks at IGN and G4 are streaming and archiving all the industry media conferences. Nintendo even went the extra mile to stream its showcase as well while providing exclusive content on its own E3 website (similar to the not-so-secret E3 media site from last year).

Up first for my series of E3 Impressions is Microsoft. You can watch the press conference for yourself right here courtesy of G4; it is also available on IGN. Overall, Microsoft did what I thought it do, push Natal, now officially Kinect for Xbox 360. The games line up was solid mostly, and there is only one thing I didn’t care for all that much. To find out what keep reading ->.

Impressions after the jump…

1-Up

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Its my understanding that Black Ops isn’t an exclusive title to Xbox 360, but still, Treyarch certainly got my attention with the trailer and subsequent demo. The announcement that all CoD DLC will be released first on XBL for the next 3 years is both huge and ridiculously unimportant at the same time. If you own or plan to own a 360, then this is big, especially if you’re a Call of Duty fan. Otherwise, what difference does this really make?

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

The swordplay looks incredibly awesome. I’m not sure I quite get what “Zan-Datsu” really means in terms of gameplay, but if it means tearing out enemy spines on a regular basis, this could be really cool. Also, it would be awesome if Raiden gets to eat some of the watermelons he will surely be cutting for civilians along the way…

Gears of War 3

I like the four player co-op gameplay. The ability to play via XBL or LAN (I think the demo was via Live) is awesome, though I hope split-screen makes a return. Of course, the new tactical mechanics that four player co-op introduces is much welcome as well: weapon swapping, ammo sharing, revivals, etc. Beast Mode (mentioned, but not unveiled during the Microsoft event) is looking pretty cool as well, allowing players the opportunity to play as any number of the many monstrous baddies the Gears know all too well.

360 Slim

Really, Microsoft, it’s about damn time…

Three Rings

Kinect

While the voice control is pretty slick and Harmonix brought the fire with Dance Central, Kinect for Xbox 360 (the official title for Project Natal) failed miserably to wow me. Quite honestly, we were shown basically the same stuff we saw last year, only in the form of real playable demos as opposed to some silly video. Don’t get me wrong, the tech is amazing and some of the games look like fun, but they all look like rip offs of what Nintendo has been doing with the Wii since day one, except without a controller or balance board and with voice recognition. To me, the lack of a tactile interface disconnects me from the gaming experience with some of those games: I want a steering wheel when I play a racing game, petting a void in space is not as cool as petting a real tiger, and I don’t think apartment complexes are going to want entire families jumping hurdles on their crappy floors disturbing neighbors at dinner time.

I’m not saying Kinect is dumb, in fact I’m interested to see how well it does. I don’t think I would want it however. So, yes, my one true complaint about Microsoft’s press event is, indeed, Kinect. After all, I look stupid enough playing my Wii…