Ray and Jennifers Excellent E3 Adventure – Article — Part 4
Articles
Ray and Jennifer’s Excellent E3 Adventure
by Ray Ivey & Jennifer Miller
Non-Adventure Wrap-Up
JEN: Now, the winner for the pretty factor is Okami from Clover Studios, the makers of the mind-boggling Viewtiful Joe. It’s all done with an old-fashioned Japanese art style, reminiscent of the ink drawings done on rice paper. You play a wolf that uses the power of art to defeat her foes. I’m itching to get my hands on that one again.
RAY: This game was breathtakingly beautiful. One of the most remarkable-looking games I’ve ever seen. Imagine using calligraphy as a gameplay element!
JEN: Another weird, but cool entry into the Japanese developed game market is Odama, a hybrid of RPG, strategy, and pinball. And it is exactly as it sounds. The developer told us in a seminar that he got the idea from a childhood trauma of seeing a community center being knocked down by a wrecking ball. We all agree this has to be the most creative use of pain that we’ve ever seen.
Heroes of Might and Magic V
RAY: It’s extremely good news for all of fans of the long-running Heroes of Might and Magic high-fantasy turn-based strategy series that when its long-time developer and publisher, 3DO, went belly-up, UbiSoft picked up the rights to the series.
They’ve farmed out the next installment of the series to the Russian studio Nival (of Etherlords and Silent Storm fame).
The game isn’t slated for release until early 2006, but I was blown away by what they were able to show me at E3. The entire game, including the towns, are all now gloriously rendered in 3D. The gameplay seems to stick pretty close to the classic Heroes formula of building towns and armies and exploring a lush environment.
In addition, the new game will take place on an entirely new world, though many of the town and army units will be familiar to players of the series.
I really liked the heavier-than-usual RPG elements in the hero characters in Heroes IV, but I was in a minority. Evidently when it comes to the capabilities and characteristics of the heroes, the new game will use a system that’s a hybrid of Heroes III and Heroes IV.
JEN: Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix has got to be the most welcome sight at E3. I adore DDR and dance quite frequently to the tunes of my PS2. But now I can steal my sister’s Cube and dance out with Mario, Peach, Toad, and all the other Mario world characters. I just didn’t want to embarrass myself at E3. I’ll practice it in the comfort of my own room.
And how can I forget We Love Katamari! for the PS2! Yes! The gods have answered! More Katamari! Easily the most addictive and crack-induced gaming experience I’ve ever had.
Four Games That Ray Will Be Watching For
Spartan: Total Warrior. This arena-style fighting game from Sega looks like lots of stupid fun. Kameo: Elements of Power. We thought it had become vaporware after appearing at one too many E3s, but it turns out this action/adventure is going to be a kick-ass launch title for the XBox 360!
Phantasy Star Universe: You can’t ever count Phantasy Star out, and this new game looks like it might be a winner.
Stubbs the Zombie: You play as a zombie. You kill people. What else could we possibly want to know?
Jen’s Cool Moments
Meeting my unnamed reviewer/TV celebrity Seeing the kids from G4, cause I’m a junkie like that
Getting to put my My Little Pony on the Katamari Ball (and getting a free mousepad for my trouble!)
Meeting Rand Miller of course. That’s a no-brainer.
Seeing Tim Schaefer playing Psychonauts. I know he’s a personality of controversy on JA, but it was neat to see him
RAY: (Actually, Ray bravely went up and SPOKE to Tim Schaefer, who practically pulled a knife on me when he realized where I was from. Not really. But still.)
JEN: Even cooler to see Ted Price playing the new Ratchet and then subsequently getting my assed kicked by him. Lorne Lanning talking like Abe from Oddworld
RAY: His viewpoints were pretty interesting and informative, as well.
JEN: Getting to hear Peter Molyneux, what else needs to be said Myst 5!!!!
The creepy moment when my mom called to tell me she could see me on G4 and she described exactly what I was wearing at that moment. Weird . . . . .
Meeting Ragnar Tornquist
Dinner with the great people from Her Interactive and talking music with them. You all are the best!
Seeing the biggest collective of fanboys one couldn’t see outside of a Comic Con
$21 hamburgers, no joke.
Getting to wear the sorting hat from Harry Potter when I toured Warner Bros. (wasn’t an E3 activity, but still a cool moment.)
The sleep deprivation and sore feet.
