With E3 done and dusted for another year, lets have a look at what caught my eye (hint = NINTENDO!!)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii - Release: 2011)
I love me some Zelda. Absolutely love the franchise. As such, I was SO looking forward to seeing the new Zelda title. So Nintendo delivered a playable demo - and it's Wii Motion Plus compatible (compulsory), and has a water-colour-ish graphical style.
The demo focussed on the controls - and I'm not impressed. I really don't want to be swinging around like a madman (ala Red Steel 2) for a 40+ hour adventure. Also I hate the idea of the 3D mouse to select your item. Just use the damn pointer.
Speaking of items, what the hell is up with only having 8 slots? Seriously, 8 items? 2 of those are the Slingshot and the Bow. What is the point? Nobody uses the Slingshot after they've acquired the Bow. Nobody!
Also the controls for the items look rubbish and gimmicky. Wii Sports Resort archery is cool, but in a combat situation (aka Zelda) - no dice. Give me pointer controls (ala Twilight Princess).
Anyway, apparently the playable demo from E3 isn't actually part of the game, so we can't really read too much into that. Let's just hope that we get a whole bunch of clever puzzles, some amazing dungeon designs, a re-thought system of game progression, and most importantly I want the controls to work.
Total Hype = B-
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii - Release: 2010)
Let me get this out of the way - I don't really like the original Donkey Kong Country titles. I find the level design boring, and the controls unresponsive. I liked Donkey Kong 64 - although it has aged terribly. I LOVED Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. That game was amazing. The level design, the gameplay hook, the sound. Fantastic stuff. Now with Retro Studios at the helm, I am VERY excited about DKCR. Retro Studios are all about level design, ambience, sound engineering etc.
Just looking at some of the stuff that they showed off in their trailer it just looks off the freaking hook. The sillhouette style of some levels, the tag-team moves - man, can't wait.
Total Hype = A+
Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii - Release: 2010)
I've never played a Kirby game, but Epic Yarn is my kind of game I think. The artstyle is beautiful, and the way it's linked to the core gameplay mechanic is beyond brilliant. Reminds me oh so much of the Paper Mario titles - and that my friends is one of the biggest compliments I can give.
Now we don't know too much about how the game actually plays, or progresses etc, but I have faith in Sora and Nintendo. Sure it may seem kiddy - but fuck it, I'm comfortable with who I am.
Total Hype = A-
Mortal Kombat (Xbox360 & PS3 - Release: 2011)
I love the original Mortal Kombat Trilogy. I spend many months hammering MK3 with my mate Big Bear. We had every move, combo, fatality, friendship, and animality down for every character. It was amazing. And while I've still kept up with the cannon of Mortal Kombat since then, I really didn't get into the games much after that (MK as a 3D fighter was a BAD idea).
Anyway, this new Mortal Kombat looks immense. Now a 2D fighter (with 3D models), going back to the original characters from the Trilogy, and bringing back the gore, in a big, BIG way. So much so that I doubt this game will pass the Australia censors - but alas, that's another blog entry. The inclusion of Reptile, Nightwolf and Kung Loa means that this game is a Day 1 purchase!
Total Hype = A
Metroid: Other M (Wii - Release: 2010)
As a relative newbie to the Metroid-verse. Metroid Prime broke my cherry (best game ever BTW). Metroid: Other M is going to be excellent. It looks amazing, I love the setting, I love the control scheme and the auto-aim, hell I even love the idea of a deeper narrative.
I see alot of complaints about 'it's not Metroid because you need to be authorised to use certain weapons'. What a load of horse shit. That may be the case for the intro level (which is all anyone has played mind you), but that won't be the case for the rest of the game. The dude with the authority, Adam Malkovich, dies sometime between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion - the exact time that Other M covers. He is dying early in this game. No doubt. Once that occurs, its gonna be old school Metroid - but better.
August cannot come fast enough. Bring it!
Total Hype = A+
Nintendo 3DS
I'm not a big handheld gamer. Sure I own a GBA-SP and a DSLite, but I don't own many games. I'm also not interested in stereoscopic 3D. But the 3DS has such an amazing looking lineup that I just cannot ignore it.
All new Kid Icarus, all new Pilotwings, all new Paper Mario - 3 awesome, AWESOME franchises. Plus we have Lylat Wars (Star Fox 64) and Ocarina of Time remakes. Fuck yes.
While I am heart broken that Kid Icarus, Pilotwings and Paper Mario aren't coming to Wii, I understand that they are PERFECT games to showcase the 3DS technology. The missus expecially is upset about Paper Mario, she loves those games just as much as me.
But the 3DS hardware is truly amazing. Stereoscopic 3D without glasses - check. Gyroscopic control - check. Media player - check. Powerful as a mofo - check. 3rd party support including Metal Gear Solid, Assassins Creed, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Splinter Cell, Dead or Alive and Saints Row. Holy fuck. That is more 3rd party support than the Wii and Gamecube have had COMBINED.
Total Hype = A
Now to the disappointments - No Pikmin shown. Lame. Fuck I love Pikmin. Just give it to me already. I don't even want any real improvments. Just 100 Pikmin on screen, the same 5 species, some different enemies, some new types of puzzles, and some hard-ass randomly generated dungeons. Sold. Take my money.
Also, no F-Zero. I need a new F-Zero. Monster Games (the team behind the awesome ExciteTrucks and ExciteBots) would be a perfect fit for this. They already have the motion controls, the sense of speed and the actual game mechanics in place. Just slap in the 30+ racers of the F-Zero universe, create some fantastically over the top tracks and we're done. It will be brilliant.
Finally, Star Fox. Treasure must make this. Sure, Namco screwed around with Star Fox on the Gamecube, but Treasure are shooter specialists. They know how to make intense, laser flying action. Just look at Sin and Punishment and Ikaruga. Hell, make it a joint effort between Treasure and ex-Factor 5 guys at White Harvest. Those guys know flying games!
OK, I'm going to finish my rant here. I think we can all safely say that the big loser here is my wallet. It's going to cop an absolute hammering with all these games coming out. Not to mention the games that are already out that I've yet to buy, or games that weren't shown at E3 for some reason. Here's a quick list: No More Heroes 2, Trauma Team, Lego Harry Potter, Batman Arkham Asylum 2, Sin and Punishment 2 and Xenoblade.
I really need to win Lotto and quit my job. Too much awesome gaming to be had, so so little time.
