Well E3's come and gone and there's been a ton of hype regarding the new motion controllers from both Sony and Microsoft. In a desperate bid to latch onto the Nintendo bandwagon both companies have developed their own "interactive controller experiences". It seems like now we're in a constant game of stealing technology from out neighbors. Sony's Move controller could not be a larger direct rip off of the Nintendo Wii controller if it tried to. As for Microsoft, their Kinect camera is nothing more than an updated Sony EyeToy. Perhaps with the success Nintendo has had in the casual market (due more to games and cost than hardware) and the amazing sales of the Guitar Hero/Rock Band franchises companies are starting to believe that controller specific gaming has finally matured. I'd much rather see the return of the light gun games of old now that we have big screen TV's but it appears Nintendo may be the only company with existing technology to provide that kind of game play ala Links Crossbow Training.
Much of the hype at this years E3 was geared towards the latest sequels in the major gaming franchises but I wanted to bring to attention some of the "sequels" to some pretty famous old school gaming franchises you might not have heard of.
Bionic Command: Rearmed 2
Many of the great franchises got their start on the only Nintendo and quite a few of them need a reboot with a modern graphics update (Blaster Master anyone?) and fortunately some of them have gotten their chance. In 2008 a little game company called Grin rebooted the side scrolling franchise of Bionic Command almost 20 years after the original game came out. With updated graphics, and improved menu system, and some over the top voice acting Bionic Command Rearmed proved that XBLA gaming could compete with the big boy releases found at your brick and mortar shops. Now Capcom has announced they're making a sequel with Bionic Commando: Reamed 2. I'm pleased to see that despite the poor sales of the 3D version of Bionic Command Capcom hasn't given up on the franchise and is instead returning to it's roots. Not every game needs to be a major production and in full 3D and Bionic Commando: Rearmed proved that. New to this release of the game will be the ability to upgrade and customize Rad Spencer's bionic arm as well as finally including the ability to jump. How these changes will effect game play has yet to be seen but I expect to see more great things now that Capcom's returned this franchise to it's rightful place as a quality side-scroller.
See the trailer here:
Here
X-COM
X-COM was a fantastic strategy series put out by the now defunct MicroProse game studios back in the early 90's in the era where PC gaming was still king. In the game you played the commander of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit or X-COM. You were tasked with combating the rise in UFO attacks and abductions around the globe. Through a combination of turn based squad level combat and resource management style game play X-COM had it's own unique flavor unlike any game at that time. With rendered 3D environments that were fully destructible and randomized, the ability to research and develop new technologies, and the largely open ended game play X-COM gave you the feeling of actually running this top secret military organization.
This series has gone through many "updates" and "restarts" since the last of the traditional style X-COM game Terror From The Deep was released and the franchise has been kicked around from developer to developer for years. It looks like all that is about to change. 2K Games famous for their BioShock series has taken over the helm and is revamping the game into a 1950's era shooter. The look and feel of the game to me is very similar of BioShock itself with Rapture replaced with a 1950's era city and Ayn Rands objectivist philosophies replaced with a 1950's era atomic horror feel.
See the trailer here: X-COM Official Site
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Few games have toped as many Greatest Games of All Time lists as much as Deus Ex has. With it's blending of a deep conspiracy related story line spanning all of human history, flexible game play, and RPG elements Deus Ex struck that perfect balance of gaming greatness not often encountered. The story of J.C. Denton was rich, deep, and thought provoking in a way few games have been but are now starting to approach with games like BioShock. After the poor sales of Deus Ex: Invisible War it seemed doubtful that another installment was ever going to be forthcoming but Eidos Montreal has other things to say.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution acts as a prequel to Deus Ex taking place some 25 years before the events in the first game possibly in an effort to distance itself from DE: IW. The player takes on the roll Adam Jensen, a security consultant for the Seraph Industries at the dawn of the trans-humanist movement into elective cybernetic augmentation. Over the course of the game you will have the chance to choose how much or how little cyber modification you wish Jensen to have. These choices will alter the way the game is played and the NPC's reactions to your character. With a trailer made by Square Enix itself the game is visually stunning and sure to be a game changer on it's release.
See the trailer here:
Here
Fallout: New Vegas
Once upon a time there was a game company called Interplay. Interplay decided to make a true role-playing game for the PC in the age when games like Final Fantasy VII were changing how console RPGs were going to be played. They created Fallout, and it was good. It was so good that many gaming magazines gave it their RPG of the year despite it being a PC exclusive game. With it's blend of 1950's cold war sci-fi retro-futurism, and engaging story, and a twisted sense of dark humor usually only found in a Tarantino film Fallout became an instant success spawning several squeals and spin-off's. One of these was to be Fallout 3, code named Van Buren after the famous 1950's scientist who propelled America into space. Written by Chris Chris Avellone (Alpha Protocol, Fallout 2) and designed J.E. Sawyer (Baulders Gate: Dark Alliance, Icewind Dale) the game was unfortunately scrapped mere months from being ready for public testing when Interplay went bankrupt.
With the spectacular relaunch of the Fallout franchise by gaming powerhouse Bethesda Softworks Van Buren seems likely to get it's launch after all with Fallout: New Vegas. Returning the Fallout franchise to it's west coast origins New Vegas puts the players in the roll of The Courier in the area of Las Vegas, NV. Many elements from the original Van Buren project show through such as the presence of Caesar's Legion, The New California Republic, and the Hoover Dam. Given that Bethesda has hired many of Van Buren's original developers it's possible much of the original storyline may be intact which should set any Fallout fan's Geiger counter a clicking.
See the trailer here:
Here