Microsoft X'07 Event In Toronto PT. 1Posted on Wednesday August 29th, 2007 at 8:08pm by
|
|
Microsoft X'07 Event In Toronto PT. 1Posted on Wednesday August 29th, 2007 at 8:08pm by
|
|
Well I missed E3 this year and when I asked the boss about sending me to the Tokyo Game Show he only answers "We'll see", luckily however this year’s Microsoft Canada X’07 event was right in my backyard. After spending the day at the event I’m happy to say the expo was even bigger and better than last year, and I don’t just mean the well stocked bar. The event had great representation from just about all of the major video game publishers and developers currently working on or about to release Xbox 360 titles. High Road Communications did an excellent job in putting the event together that not even a blown transformer could spoil. Here's my official report:
Life In The Fast Lane
The fun started even before I really stepped indoors as a man with a clipboard outside taking names for car rides offered me a chance to ride in an Ariel Atom as part of the PGR4 promotion. If you are unfamiliar with the car check out this video:
Ohhh...More Toys!
I decided to start off with the Microsoft area first. For Xbox 360 accessories Microsoft was showing off a few new controller colors including the special Halo 3 editions, the new messenger keypad attachment, and the full Halo 3 Xbox 360 Edition. The Halo 3 controllers looked pretty pimp, great stocking stuffer for the Halo fan. I liked the Messenger Kit for how well it integrated with the controller and ease of use, God what a difference it makes sending messages over Xbox Live! The special Halo 3 Edition Xbox 360 was in a Spartan military green color scheme, it came with similarly colored controllers and wireless headset. Didn’t see any Halo pistols or helmets. Personally I wouldn’t mind a Halo Spartan helmet, but it would have to speak Spanish in a robot voice like the one in Red vs Blue.
Halo 3 Be Thine Name
From the Xbox 360 accessories area I made my way to the Halo 3 multiplayer area which was set up for some 4 on 4 team deathmatch. Halo 3's multiplayer, from what I could tell, is essentially a bigger, better version of Halo 2's multiplayer. The feel is the same as in previous Halo multiplayers but you get a nice graphic upgrade, more weapons, more vehicles and a larger environment to play in. We played on a desert map which kinda reminded me of Tatooine from Star Wars. I really like the new look of the Spartan armor with all the visual upgrades that comes with the next-gen leap. The weapons and vehicles looked really sharp and defined too. I did find the environmental textures to be a tad generic for a next-gen game. Then again this was a beta build and obviously the full game will show a lot more polish. Hmmm...Guess that’s why I got killed so often playing the team deathmatch, I was the only one contemplating the texture of desert rocks on the map. Heh, heh! Of course it's gameplay that matters most and I fully believe Halo 3 will rule the roost for Xbox Live multiplayer for years to come.
Not So Chocolate Rain
From Halo 3 I headed off to play PGR4. I’ll admit I’m not too big a fan of the Project Gotham Racing series. I never really enjoyed the car physics, the way the game encourages you to slide and drift (the antithesis of good driving technique in my books), a little too arcadey for me. I didn’t have enough time to test out PGR4 to make any real judgment call on the overall racing experience at this time, however the game seemed pretty solid and enjoyable from what I played of it. I liked the inclusion of the motorcycle as well as the new track locations like Quebec City which was a lot of fun to race in.
PGR4 will include weather effects for the first time in the series, adding an extra element to the gameplay. The rain and fog I thought were really nicely done for this game. Overall I'd say the graphics of PGR4 look even better than PGR3. Driving in-car view in Quebec City with a light rain beading off the windshield of a TVR race car really felt immersive, near photorealistic in fact.
In The Category of “Why Haven’t I Herd Of This Game Before?”
X’07 was full of surprises, one of which was a first look at a soon to be Microsoft published RPG that has been relatively under the radar till now. I speak of none other than Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom which is the fourth video game in the Kingdom Under Fire series coming exclusively to the Xbox 360. Whereas previous Kingdom Under Fire games were RTS this new installment is pure RPG. The game starts as the heroes from the previous games have thrown themselves into the Dark Dimension to battle...Well, the forces of darkness what else? You get to play one of six characters; Kendal, Regnier, Celine, Curian as an unlockible character later in game, and then there are two mystery characters yet to be revealed. For the demo I chose to play Celine of course because well...I’m a guy and what guy doesn’t want to play as a sexy female Elfin character in an RPG?
Graphically the game looked quite beautiful with lush, detailed environments and nicely rendered characters. The character animation were smooth and lifelike as oppose to the more stiff limbed body movements found in many Japanese RPGs. The combat was all in real time with unique weapons and powers at your disposal. The rep for the game also told me the game will feature randomly generated dungeons and destructible environments. For the short time I got with the demo I was really impressed and I look forward to playing this game when it comes out later this year. Oh did I mention 4 person Co-Op?
In part two of my report I continue my journey through X’07 with a look at EA and Activision games featuring a battle of the skater games: Skate vs Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground.