Back in the office
Well, I’m back from a two-week vacation that was spent traveling to Los Angeles for E3, a brief diversion in Las Vegas and some time spent at home spent beating F.E.A.R. 2: Prject Origin and playing quite a bit of Left 4 Dead.
I had a great time at E3 this year. I was quite a bit busy with a schedule full of behind-closed-doors interviews and meetings, so I didn’t get a lot of time to actually go to the show floor and play a lot of games, but I did get to do quite a few cool things this year. For starters, I got to play Split/Second, an upcoming racing game from Blackrock Studios – the company that made last year’s surprise hit Pure – that looks spectacular. I also sat down for 15 glorious, geek-filled minutes with Bioware founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk. I’ve played nearly every game that Bioware’s made and having the opportunity to sit down and interview them for Thunderbolt was awesome. I was even more excited when Dr. Muzyka said that he knew of Thunderbolt and proceeded to describe our site’s old logo.
There were quite a few other little surprises at E3:
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii: I got to play it for about 20 minutes on the show floor and I was really surprised. It was a hell of a lot of fun teaming up with (and competing against) three other players as we conquered half a dozen levels from the game. This game should also appeal to hardcore and casual fans alike.
- Tony Hawk: Ride: The new skateboard peripheral (one that you actually stand on and use to control the game) has been getting a lot of buzz, but I just wasn’t convinced. While Guitar Hero and Rock Band can sell plastic instruments and get everyone playing, I just didn’t feel that the skateboarding peripheral felt natural enough that casual gamers will hop on (literally) and give it a shot. I played for about 15 minutes and by the end of my demo, I still didn’t feel very comfortable on it.
- Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crank in Time: I had a hands-on demo of this and, as excited as I was, I just didn’t think it did a whole lot different than the team’s last PS3 adventure. Hopefully I’ll be proved wrong, but I have a feeling that this might be more of the same.
- God of War III: I never actually played it, but the public demo station for the game consistently had the longest lines out of any of the games I saw at E3.
- Mafia II: This has the potential to be one of the best games of 2010. I loved the first Mafia when it came out several years ago, but there were some flaws, particularly with the combat system. Fortunately, the team has implemented new combat mechanics that should be instantly familiar to Grand Theft Auto IV fans and combined this with the meticulous attention to detail that made the first Mafia a hit. I’m always hesitant to say “this game will be good,” but I’m fairly certain that this game will be good.
I definitely enjoyed the show this year and I’m already excited about attending in 2010. What were your thoughts on the show?
