Day 1 of E3 has come to an end, and what a day it was. We got some exclusive inside information just for you guys about some highly anticipated games. What did we find out? Read more and see! Mass Effect 3 We were lucky enough to get into the demo of Mass Effect 3, not many people were allowed. After waiting three hours to get into the expo and then two hours in line (they were very slow about letting people in), we got our first look at what Mass Effect 3 will feel like. Those of you who played Mass Effect 1 or 2, rejoice! It’s the same basic game that you know and love. The game follows Commander Shepard, a Spectre (a sort of commando) who is the galaxy’s one hope for survival. A technologically-based race known as the Reapers are coming to extinguish all life from the galaxy, and only Shepard can stop them. This game may sound like many others, but it comes with a twist. The specific way that the player acts is extremely open-ended. For example, in the demo the player comes across a child while Earth is getting annihilated by the Reapers. Shepard can either ask the child to let Shepard help him (the nice option) or tell the child to get out of a crawlspace (the mean option). The demo only picked the nice option, but it ended with the child (and others) getting killed when a rescue craft is destroyed by one of the Reapers. Those of you familiar with the gameplay know two things. First, the conversation elements of the game were amazing. Yes, many players may find it boring to go into the hours upon hours of dialog that almost every character has, but the game spices things up by making some lines very amusing. This is especially true if the player decides to be a “renegade” (aka evil). The previous two Mass Effect games both allowed Shepard to punch a particularly belligerent television interviewer on camera. These elements and more are back and they run very smoothly. The ability to use Kinect’s voice recognition software to simply say the lines rather than select them is an added bonus. Secondly, the combat in the previous two games was poor at best. It was definitely the series’ worst element. It wasn’t unplayable, but it definitely needed improvement. I can’t say for sure (I didn’t actually get to play the demo, only watch it), but it looks like the combat has improved greatly. Melee is a much smoother element, so if an enemy gets too close you can simply stab him with the new omni-blade. You can flank enemies much more easily and giving commands to squadmates seems to be smoother. One noticeable difference is that the game now includes a command wheel. Previously, the commands would be issued from a bar at the bottom of the screen. Now, the game has a much easier and more logical wheel-based system for all commands and powers. THE VERDICT FOR PARENTS: This game is going to be intended for a more mature audience. We’ll go into more detail in our preview that will get posted soon, but the violence in this game is not bad. There is blood, but very little and there is almost no gore. The game will also teach players that being evil isn’t very good, but being good doesn’t always mean that everything goes your way. It’s an excellent lesson to teach young adults. All actions have consequences, and there isn’t always a 100% clearly defined right and wrong. Sometimes there is simply a “better” choice, even if we don’t see it at the time. Need for Speed: The Run I was somewhat skeptical of this game when I first saw it, and I have a feeling most of the gaming community agrees with me. The line for the demo of this game was very short, but fortunately I not only managed to ask some questions and watch a preview but actually play the demo for the game. One thing that is noticeably different about this game from other racing games is that there is a storyline. The player (a man named “Jack”) is being chased by some people that clearly want him dead. The only way to prevent himself from getting killed is by going on an elicit high-stakes “cannonball”. For those of you who don’t know street-racing lingo, cannonballing is when someone tries to go from one coast of the United States to the other in as short of a time as possible. It’s a high-speed endurance race. I couldn’t get specifics from the developers, but I did manage to work out a few details. First, the mafia definitely doesn’t like Jack. They were present in the game’s Chicago scene. Secondly, the cops want Jack dead under no uncertain circumstances. They want him dead so badly that they arm a police helicopter and actually shoot at his car with automatic weapons. Not only that, but they are willing to shoot and destroy civilian cars just to try and stop Jack. There didn’t seem to be people in these cars (even though they were moving), but the message was clear: Kill Jack no matter what. The gameplay felt smooth. It was different than Hot Pursuit in that damage was a serious factor. The cars handled more realistically as well, so you have to try and balance acceleration with control. It takes a very light touch. It’s not as realistic as the Need for Speed: Shift games, but it’s definitely more realistic than Hot Pursuit. THE VERDICT FOR PARENTS: This game is a racing game, so the violence is relatively minimal. However, there is definitely violence in this game. Anti-law is also a serious factor, since not only is the player trying to escape the law but he also beats up a cop and steals a cop car in the demo that I played. I don’t expect things to get much worse than that, though. Fable: The Journey When I first saw this demoed during the Xbox Press Conference on Monday, I was skeptical. It seemed a lot like those VirtuaCop games where you hold a gun and the game moves you while you shoot enemies on the screen. The demo showed a bit like that but with some twists that I think will make things more interesting. Allow me to explain. The game is a first-person Fable game. The Fable series is set in a medieval fantasy world with magic, knights, and lots of magical creatures. Your character and your companion horse are on a journey when you’re joined by a woman who is getting chased by an evil power that you must fight in order to save the land (and yourself). What is particularly interesting is that this game is entirely Kinect-based. Players don’t use a controller, they use their hands. When the player is controlling the horse, they hold onto “reins” and whip the reins to make the horse go faster or pull on the reins to make the horse stop. The game also allows for some minor voice commands (mostly for the horse). So if the player says “Yah!” the horse will respond by going faster. Here’s the catch: there’s no weapons. The player uses magic to attack enemies, but the magic isn’t really fixed. There are lots of different spells that the player can use against enemies, but a lot of it will come down to imagination and ingenuity. Players can shoot spell rings, shoot spells forward then swipe the attacks to the side, shoot exploding balls of fire, etc. The player can, however, form weapons using the magic, such as a magical spear or magical shield. Those can be used against any enemy, but aren’t the only way to kill them. The other extra tidbits we found were that the developers, especially on the hardware side, are working on ways to reduce the lag for the Kinect. The game has some inherent lag-reduction coding built into the way that it plays, but it should get better. I saw no real problems during the demonstration and the game was clearly still in production. THE VERDICT FOR PARENTS: This game should be an excellent game for kids of all ages. It’s pretty awesome to see a Kinect game that even the more hardcore gamers can enjoy. It may get slightly repetitive after a while, but it’s definitely a nice change of pace from Kinect Sports and Dance Central. The violence will be minimal at best and, aside from magic, this game should score low in all other “mature content” categories. Prototype 2 We were lucky enough to have a few questions answered about this game despite the fact that it’s still in its pre-alpha stage. It’s not even scheduled for release until 2012. So here’s what we managed to find out. For those of you unfamiliar with Prototype, the game centers on some sort of virus. The virus causes people to mutate in horrible but awesome ways. The player is able to control the mutation and through that control develop supernatural powers. Prototype 2 follows the main character “Heller” whose wife and daughter are killed by the virus. Heller blames a man named “Alex Mercer” for their deaths and goes on a hunt to find and kill Mercer. The game takes place in New York City, which has been divided into three main sections due to the outbreak. The Red Zone is the area where the outbreak is rampant, the yellow zone is a quarantined area, and the green zone is supposed to be military-controlled safe-zone free of the virus. However, Heller is in the green zone and causing some serious havoc. Combat is a heavy element in this game. The player is able to kill many of the dictatorial (and sometimes genocidal) military personnel as well as many humans who are infected with and mutated by the virus. The mutations are rather gruesome and there may be some nudity involved from the mutated creatures. There are new RPG elements included in the form of “mutations” which give the player extra powers in addition to the normal attacks. For example, some make the player jump higher or fly longer. Visually the mutations don’t seem to do very much, but then again this is just an alpha version. THE VERDICT FOR PARENTS: This game is very bloody and includes lots of gore. After major battles large sections of the floor may be covered in blood. The player has the ability to rip off enemies’ limbs in order to weaken that enemy. The player must also “consume” certain targets in order to gain information vital to forwarding the storyline. Evidently the player can also consume some innocent civilians in order to gain health, but consuming enemy targets is much more common. It’s definitely not the most violent game that I’ve ever seen, but it’s still fairly violent. As I mentioned before, nudity may be an issue with some of the mutated monsters, but I’m not too concerned about it. From what I saw, players will be less likely to say “Look, boobies!” and more likely to say “Look, MONSTER!!!!” Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Warhammer 40k is a well-developed series of games and books, so it’s extremely likely that you or your children will have at least heard of the series. Space Marine is a new third-person shooter that has the player fighting against the other tribes, clans, and races in the Warhammer universe. The demo I tried was relatively short so I wasn’t shown most of the storyline, but the gameplay seemed extremely smooth. It handled a lot like Gears of War except that there was no cover system. The game encourages the player to be in the thick of combat as often as possible. THE VERDICT FOR PARENTS: For the most part the game isn’t particularly bloody. The player will mostly be shooting enemies. There will be blood and some gore (depending on where the player shoots an enemy), but it’s not much worse than the average shooter. The difference comes in the player’s ability to use melee weapons. Warhammer is well known for the chainsaw-sword (which is exactly what it sounds like). The player can use it (and other melee weapons) to hack through hordes of enemies. The game also includes some extremely violent and bloody executions that the player can use to finish off damaged enemies. Trackmania 2 For those with younger kids looking for a quick, simple, fun racing game you may want to look into this. I tested the demo for this game on a number of quick tracks. It’s a fun game to play with friends for 30 minutes. The simplicity definitely keeps players engaged. THE VERDICT FOR PARENTS: This is a very simple game that’s appropriate for all ages. Younger kids may have a problem with the difficulty of the game, but other than that this game should not be an issue. Binary Domain This game was interesting. I hadn’t heard of it before E3, but I tested out the demo and was at least intrigued. It’s a shooter game where the player and his squad are fighting Terminator-like robots. Honestly I’m not sure why the robots are trying to kill everyone, but it’s probably something to do with them becoming self-aware and SkyNet wanting to rule the world. THE VERDICT FOR PARENTS: Despite this game being a shooter, the violence was fairly mild. Since the player was killing robots, there was no blood or gore. However, the demo I played was extremely short so I can’t be very sure as to what the specifics of the game will include. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Tom Clancy is known for making some very realistic shooters. You don’t take clip after clip of bullets like in some other shooters. Future Soldier brings back that aspect as well as the tactical nature of the previous Ghost Recon games but makes it much smoother, simpler, and definitely faster. Players can tell their squadmates to take out certain targets while remaining in the safety of cover. From the demo I played and what I saw at the Xbox 360 Press Conference I was extremely impressed. The integration of Kinect into the weapon customization and the wide variety of options that the player is given in assaulting enemies behind cover definitely make this game fun. THE VERDICT FOR PARENTS: This game will be violent. It shouldn’t be more violent than the average shooter, but since it is a shooter violence is definitely a factor. I don’t expect many other mature elements to come into play in this game. Things that are still on the list (that we’re hoping to get to):
Gears of War 3 The Old Republic Battlefield 3 Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Modern Warfare 3 Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Check back tomorrow and find out more!
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The Legendary Carmine
Andrew Clayton (a.k.a. The Legendary Carmine) is SSG's Executive Editor. He toils at the stone to make sure this site brings its readers valuable content on a daily basis. Like what we do? Want to see more? Donate to the site using the button below!
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