We start things off by trying Ni No Kuni for the PS3. The interesting aspect of this game is that the art style was incredible and there is a world map. There were two paths to take, one being the world map and the other being a fortress with a boss inside and I decided to go with the World Map. I was a bit intimidated by the size of the world because I forgot what it was like to have a real open world instead of extremely linear experiences that feels like I'm playing a FPS rather than a RPG. Besides the massive world, I wanted to try the battle system. The battle system felt weird at first because I was used to the Kingdom Hearts style of RPG but this game pauses when choosing spells and targeting (FFXII style) which I can see being incredibly annoying to people who are used to real time battle systems. Besides that, I think I've been convinced enough to buy the game when it comes out on January 22, 2013.
Here are some pictures of me playing it:
Another title we tried was Playstation All Stars Battle Royale which is Sony's answer to Smash Bros. This game plays exactly like Smash Bros. but with meter to do special attacks. Most people are probably wondering at this point if the PS3 game is truly 1:1 with the Vita in cross platform play and the answer is yes. Cross platform play had absolutely zero lag and was a true 1:1 experience. Vita users can look at their screens or look at the TV with PS3 users. I probably would not buy it but it was fun to play.
Street Fighter x Tekken on the Vita was a decent experience. Game play was not a problem but the issues with theconnection in online play really killed the experience for me. If you already have the game, it's the same thing people have been playing for awhile now. There was not anything of note other than being able to play while waiting for that game on Steam to download.
After getting some thermos at Sony's Desk, my friend wanted to try Counter Strike: Global Offensive for consoles and we ended up playing. I had the beta on Steam for awhile but never got around to playing it so I decided to play with my friend on the PS3 version. If you loved Dust 1, they redid some parts of the map for balance issues but the map is still played the same. They need to work on the game more because the hit boxes feels like Source rather than another game. Another thing I hated was the radar because it makes the game way too easy. I can literally shoot the wall and I know the bullets will hit. It has nice graphics and the detail on the character models are a lot better. The game will release this year on PC, Mac, 360, and PS3. Also, no one asks for beta keys, the guy had a million to give out so I'm going to go back to get more beta keys. The voucher also looks really nice and they gave out a free month of Playstation Plus.
Here are some shots of me playing:
The next booth we go to is Nintendo's and I want to say that they should have announced this game and confirmed Fire Emblem for North America instead of spending an eternity on mini games. This game will make you sweat more than the motion fitness stuff that Nintendo is pushing. This will be the feature for....
I got to try the demo on the WiiU system and I want to specifically go into the game play of Project P100. The game is very different from anything anyone has ever tried because of how the game is played and how the WiiU is used. Most WiiU titles have some functionality where the WiiU is used as a storage unit. If I wanted to have a storage unit, I would rent one out at a Public Storage rather than spend a bunch of money on this game system. To describe the game play, it's like using the WiiMote , playing Pikmin and Viewtiful Joe combined, and trying to keep track of everything on the screen. It was hard for me to get into the game at first because it was difficult trying to get a grasp on how the controls worked. For the demo, I could draw a straight line on the WiiU and hit "A" to simulate a sword, I could draw 75% of a circle to unite all the soldiers in my army for a punishing strike, and I could draw a gun and be able to use it in game. Drawing a half circle and full will allow me to recruit people on team "Hop in Geno's Backpack" and cause mayhem everywhere. It was an interesting demo because of how much action could occur at one time and how using the full functionality of the WiiU was used.
The WiiU's screen is actually useful in this game because once your character enters a building, the eyes have to be on the WiiU to solve puzzles and to navigate the character to go back outside where the eyes should be looking at the TV screen. In-game battery power also determines how useful your soldiers will be when fighting enemies so players have to tap their X-button to recharge battery and use the right analog stick to help form a sword for a united attack or to attack the enemy by mobbing up and ganging up on it. The controls will need getting used to but other than that, the game is really good for a WiiU exclusive title. The graphics going from the TV to the WiiU were similar but what was remarkable was that there was no loading in game play. It was easy to just jump back in to the action. I need to see the game more to see if it is worth buying on Day One but it is looking real good.
Here's some footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzLFxre-PyU
2K's booth was next. The meeting room is a sports bar and they had a soccer game playing because it was in the middle of the afternoon. Borderlands 2 was what we were waiting for and we got a t-shirt and some voucher to redeem for loot. The Media's demo was different from the one people lined up for three hours for and we got to try the other two characters not previously revealed.
Playing the game was fun and the one thing I noticed while playing the demo was that the setting was not in a desert and instead it was in a city. The system that was being used for the demo was the 360 so I had to make the adjustments for console since I played the first one on PC. One thing that I already hated was the amount of menus I had to go through just to switch weapons.
The game play has not changed but the missions have a wider variety instead of "go here, kill this, repeat". Media personnel got to try escorting the robot cutter to destroy statues while the attendees got to try a mission to save someone. Characters are different along with the skill trees to keep the game fresh. In Borderlands 1, the level difference was punishing but beatable and in Borderlands 2, the level difference is a little bit more punishing because they send more enemies.
Graphically, it's the same as the first one for the characters but the environment seems to have gotten better with the lighting. It was fun to play for the half hour we had to try it and it was better to know that we did not have to wait three hours. I think I might buy it day one of release.
After playing and running around and collecting loot, my friend and I went to our meeting with Gaikai. Basically, they announced that they have single handed made Samsung a new contender in the home console market and that the rumors of them getting acquired by Sony were false. The CEO was talking about how he was going to evolve Cloud Gaming by making games accessible from your Facebook, the Twitters, and anything else that gamers frequently roam. Basically, games like Bioshock and Darksiders will be accessible from Facebook without having to go to another tab. He talked about how game demos play the final role in a person buying a video game rather than millions being spent on advertising that does not do anything. It was an interesting meeting but there were a lot of questions to be answered. It was time to head home after the meeting, it was an exhausting but great day.
It was fun to try all the things that some people requested while others were impossible to the point where the booths themselves were just swamped with people. Tomorrow, I will try a few more games and write about it but it will mostly be a show case of photos and products that were missed. Shoutouts will also happen but I haven't thought of a way to do them yet, I'm thinking of doing a slide show with them.
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