Microsoft Press Conference details
July 15th, 2008 Posted in GamesOK, here goes. There was a lot of info in this press conference — as always — and I tried to cover it all… But then my connection died and I couldn’t watch the last 20 minutes… So here is MOST of the details from the Microsoft Presser!
<Click here for links to Microsoft presser (download/streaming)>
- Resident Evil 5 live demo! Sweet! This looks great! They demo’d online co-op as well. The graphics are really crisp, and the ‘zombies’ move in much the same way as in Resi4, rather than the previous titles… It’s gorgeous to watch - you can also watch a video here.
- Fable 2 demo: This game looks really fun. It was also announced that you can play with friends — you can actually invite them into your game online… Not sure how this would affect your game, but it’s a great idea. There seems to be an emphasis on lots of freedom — including the dog, and a partner you can choose from any npc. Set for release Oct ‘08.
- Gears of War 2 live demo: Again, this looks ace, check out the video in this post and make up your own mind! - Wordwide release Nov 7.
- Xbox Live update: Coming next season (Spring in oz). The layout is now extremely simplified, which looks pretty good, but kind of bare. Now with avatars- these are cartoonish representations of yourself (or whatever you want), but much more realistic than Nintendo’s Miis… Avatars may also be imported into games, and will be made available for use in as many aspects of Xbox Live as possible. Also announced:
-Live Party: wherein up to 8 friends can get together and do all sorts of crazy shit- play games, share photos, watch movies, whatever — all while chatting. Great idea. Can see painful ‘Holiday slides nights’ coming soon… Sigh… Glad I’m a drinker.
-Primetime: a gameshow channel? Here, players can, of course, play games - such as 1vs100 and so on, online and apparently for real prizes. Great idea, and sounds like a bit of fun! Details to come, I guess.
- Uno Rush: looks like Uno with avatars.. No changes to the original XBLA Uno are evident in the video that was shown…
-XBLA: Geometry Wars 2: Looks like more of the same, covered in E3 daily post in a little more detail.
-Galaga Legions: Looks GREAT, to be honest, and is made by the same folks that brought us PacMan Championship Edition, which was one of the best XBLA games around. Might keep an eye on that one. If they can do with Galaga what they did with PacMan, this will be a must buy.
-Portal: Still Alive: coming to XBLA… not much info, just new levels, etc., it seems. More details when they come to hand, because Portal is worth getting excited about, especially if it’s gonna be cheap(er than a full-priced game)!
-South Park… Cool! I love South Park… but NO DETAILS at all… hmmm… Possibly a good reason to worry, but we shall see… Better be voiced and written by the boys themselves, or I will be a sad panda.
-Netflix… As a netflix subscriber, you will be able to use netflix through Xbox Live at no additional cost (that is, use netflix for the cost of netflix subscription, only available for Gold XBL subscribers) - Interestingly, you can also watch netflix shows with your Live Party… Wow, this is a great idea… Pity netflix is only available to US citizens at them moment… Lame… Need to make some American friends so I can watch their movies — if it allows region-free Live Party netflix watching. Try saying that three times fast. - Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts: looks like a lot of fun… I have LOTS of great memories of the first Banjo game, so I’m looking forward to it. Banjo Kazooie came at a really important time of my life, andI played it’s nuts off. And now Rare have brought me nuts and bolts. Fnar-fnar.
- Viva Pináta: Trouble in Paradise: The first VP was not so bad, but I’m not so sure I could be bothered doing it all again… For me, Viva Pináta was interesting because it was new… Still, it does look like more fun…
- Scene It: Box Office Smash: Looks fun, but I’ll stick with Buzz… Maybe.. Still don’t have Buzz, to be honest… But we aren’t really interested in Trivia games… yet…
- You’re in the Movies: New title announced, which looks like another casual game. Players play simple games using the Xbox Live Vision camera. Looks like a bit of fun, I guess — reminiscent of EyeToy games. The nifty feature here, however, is once you’ve played your little games, the title turns the actions it filmed you doing, and inserts you into a faux-’movie trailer’… Difficult to explain, but still not something I will be spending my dollars on, I think…
- Guitar Hero World Tour: No major announcements here… Think I’ve covered it enough… Although Van Halen and Eagles are GH only, and Metallica’s new album will be available as DLC in full on it’s release (the album’s release, that is, the game should be out before then).
- Lips: Nothing much new here, demo showed the wireless mikes, and iPod connectivity to download your own tracks… Not sure exactly how that will work (guess you gotta know the words), but… It’s a great idea… Damn… SingStar better copy this idea.
- Rock Band 2: Damn, so much fucking news about this and GHWT, I’m starting to get tired of hearing about it all…. Anyway, not much new announced here either, other than the tracklist — some good tracks, but… Meh. Not gonna get excited now until they are both released and stop the crap. AC/DC was announced to be exclusive to RB2. Stop it with the exclusives! Jerks.
Unfortunately, at this point, I was disconnected from the stream, and didn’t have the time — nor the willpower — to wait until it was at the same point, as I had to reload and watch from the beginning. Anyway, by now, it was already WAY past my bedtime… Hehe… Still, I have that feeling I missed an important announcement… No time to scour the news, because Sony and Nintendo press conferences tomorrow! Please forgive me if I only cover one tomorrow, and one the following day… Tonight hurt enough, and it was only one presser — not sure if I can do the two!!
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