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May 12, 2006
Closing time
The best third day ever.
Finally got my hands on "Gears of War" for the 360. This game is mine. I joined a small crowd of others in a few quick multiplayer games (with yours truly securing one win for his team, bringing honor to the LANG house), and I picked up the controls surprisingly quickly. The most important thing is taking cover -- otherwise you'll probably get your face shot off. The camera has a handheld "jiggle" that you see in war movies, and it adds a cool sense of tense drama. I used a little bit of my "GRAW" training in finding cover, so I didn't look like a complete rookie out there.
Then there's the chainsaw at the end of the assault rifle, which you can use to saw alien enemies in half. Perhaps the most single satisfying gaming act of my day. Believe it.
Also took in "Viva Pinata," which finds a way to turn gardening into an act of gaming innovation. The best way I can explain it is that you are charged with creating a garden from scratch. The better the garden, the more chance you have of attract animated pinata animals to it. As your garden improves, you bring in different pinatas, each with candy names and varying behavior. It's being launched in conjunction with a TV show, and it's definitely one of those games that wants to invite non-gamers to try it out. For what it's worth, it was the cutest game I saw at the show.
To end the day, checked out the antithesis of cute, "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames," in a closed-door meeting with Pandemic Studios. This edition of the game takes place in Venezuela, where there's plenty of stuff to destroy. One of the new wrinkles is the concept of fire -- essentially, if it explodes or can be lit on fire, you can burn it. The demo showed off how one can shoot an oil tanker and light the oil that spills out of it. You can also get creative and use fire to box in enemies. You're also able to recruit other mercenaries and create your own company. But the game also aims to be very open-ended.
"We tell you what to do, but not how to do it. It's totally up to the player," said Andrew Goldman, co-founder of Pandemic.
That was evident aboard a oil rig, where the main character blew up the supports and had to dodge debris as it slowly sunk into the water. The way of escape? A friend in a helicopter. Pandemic has answered the prayers of many by adding co-op multiplayer in the game. Outstanding.
I'm about to evacuate the media room, but I'll have one more post with final words on the day as well as the show. Until then, peace to all.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at May 12, 2006 03:24 PM