Microsoft
The Xbox 360 Media Briefing was quite the spectacle this year, despite no new console reveal. Rumors have been swirling around for months about the next generation Xbox, but it made no appearance here. Then again, is it possible that was a good thing? Are gamers really ready for a new console? Perhaps it was just backlash from the way the core gaming community felt they had been abandoned at last year’s E3. Today, Microsoft wanted to remind you that they haven’t forgotten about their roots, but also showed off they want to blend the best of both worlds when it comes to casual and hardcore gaming; and maybe blur the lines between a few other worlds as well.
This year, Microsoft did something all new by making a stream of the conference available to anyone with an Xbox 360. There were a few technical hiccups along the way, but nothing as severe as the Diablo III launch. If you missed out on the event, the streams are going to be available on the Xbox 360 as well as Xbox.com
The Xbox 360 Media briefing kicked off with a beautiful live action trailer for “Halo 4” which seamlessly transitioned into a campaign gameplay demo showing off an amazing looking game. Master Chief is going to be battling the Forerunners and battling with losing his A.I. counterpart Cortana. Everything has been upgraded, including Master Chief’s armor, the game’s graphics, and a lot of weapons. The demo started off feeling very reminiscent of Halo 3’s campaign, but suddenly the jungle environment felt incredibly unfamiliar when new glowing enemies showed up. Despite the many changes, it’s clear that Halo hasn’t lost itself, and it will be exciting to see what else 343 has planned for the all new trilogy.
Sam Fisher is also back with “Splinter Cell: Blacklist”. Gameplay looks very similar to “Splinter Cell: Conviction”, although the presentation, as well as Sam’s gear, has taken a step back to the older games. Once again, there’s actually a HUD instead of everything being artistically mapped onto the environments. “Splinter Cell: Blacklist” also supports Kinect integration. In the demo, the player called out, “Hey, you!” causing a guard to turn around surprised and confused so Sam could perform an execution. The player was also able to call in an airstrike using only his voice. All the while, everything was being done with the Controller, so much like with the integration in “Mass Effect 3”, it’s not being forced upon you, but could definitely supplement your gameplay nicely.
Following the voice command trend, “Madden 13” was briefly shown off and now features voice commands. Plays can be called verbally, audibles can be called at the line, and of course you can yell “hike!” to start play. All of this was demoed and appeared to work pretty well, although it also did a great job of highlighting Kinect’s limitations. There was a minor delay from command to execution, which will slow down gameplay significantly in comparison to the responsiveness and speed of a controller. Keep in mind, this is just an early build, although it’s highly likely the delay will still exist, at least to some extent, meaning this feature will probably be entertained briefly by all, but only utilized by quarterbacks who know every play and don’t have to wait for the menus to step them through each part of the play calling.
“Fable: The Journey” also made a brief appearance via trailer, although it didn’t actually reveal anything not already known. There was no exciting announcement to go along with it, and it wasn’t hardly even mentioned after the trailer was over. It seems as if it was only present to say “Hey, this game still exists… but it isn’t ready quite yet.” Likewise, “Gears of War: Judgment“ also had a trailer revealed, although it showed little more than a broad release date of 2013.
Next up, the Forza logo flashed on the screen, but surprisingly, it was followed by clips of street racing. Taking a drastic turn for the series, “Forza Horizon” looks a lot like the classic “Need For Speed” games meeting the ever-popular “Foza” series. It sported all of the neon lights and mountainscapes that have made appearances in past “Need for Speed” games, but also brought in the smooth gameplay, realistic physics, and unbelievably gorgeous car models Forza fans know and love. Also, it releases October 23, 2012.
Taking a break from games, Microsoft wanted to show off one of Bing’s new search features: the ability to search movies by genre. Additionally, Bing is being expanded to 12 new countries and will support more languages. To go with this, Microsoft plans to double the amount of entertainment apps in the following year. Partnership with Nickelodeon, Paramount Movies, Machinima, and Univision were all announced. NBA League Pass and NHL Gamecenter are also joining the lineup in the sports category. ESPN on Xbox is going to have live programing 24/7. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, and ESPNU will all be available in HD.
Next up was the announcement of “Xbox Music”. With a library of over 30 Million music tracks, it appears as if this is Microsoft’s new direction with Zune. It’ll be available across Windows 8 PCs, Tablets, Phones and of course, the Xbox. From the looks of things, it appears as if Zune is no more, and has simply been morphed into Xbox Music. Although this hasn’t been confirmed, things such as the appearance of Smart DJ, the hint of Xbox Music being a music subscription service, and the announcement by Microsoft to discontinue their Zune MP3 players a while back make this seem like a highly likely turn of events.
Nike+ and Xbox now have a partnership, and are working to bring you “Nike+ Kinect Training”. It offers personalized training and feedback and even has mobile reminders to work out. The plan is to bring the massive Xbox Live community together with the massive Nike+ community. It will be fully integrated with everything Nike+ already has to offer, and its coming Holiday 2012.
Arguably the biggest reveal of the show was “Xbox SmartGlass”. It works across Windows Phone, iOS, and Android. This service looks to offer supplementary information to what you’re viewing on your big screen, and wants to put it all in the palm of your hand. Everything from background information on actors in movies to maps showing your where characters for TV shows are at within their universe. That’s just everything for the entertainment front.
Xbox SmartGlass also works with games. A little preview video showed off the gaming capabilities, and from the looks of things you can use it as a controller for Madden to draw up plays and actually run them as well. For Halo 4, it will have full WayPoint integration, which isn’t very surprising. It’s likely most other games will have features similar to that. SmartGlass also works like a touch-remote for Xbox, you can navigate it completely with your touchscreen, similar to how you already can with the Kinect.
The most exciting breakthrough SmartGlass offers, is the ability to finally browse the web on the Xbox 360 through Internet Explorer. SmartGlass will allow you to use your phone or tablet like a laptop’s touchpad for your Xbox 360. You can drag around with your finger as a cursor and fully manipulate the web on your TV. It will also support Kinect, giving you full control of the web with your voice. It launches worldwide sometime this fall.
Also making a repeat appearance from last year’s E3 was “Tomb Raider”. New gameplay shown was shown and the game looks great. Much like the first gameplay demo, this one reaffirmed the much more mature tone the game is taking on, and it seems like an excellent turn for the series. Also announced was that the first DLC package will be available first on Xbox 360, following suit with the Call of Duty series
Microsoft had three world exclusive premiers up their sleeves for games that will all launch in 2013. They weren’t much more than incredibly brief teaser trailers, but they certainly sparked lots of interest. First up was a new game from Signal Studios, the team behind the popular “Toy Soldiers” series. There new game is called “Ascend: New Gods” which can be played across both the Xbox 360 and Windows phone. It looks like it could be Xbox Arcade’s attempt at a “Shadow of the Colossus” game?
The brilliant minds at Twisted Pixel, Microsoft’s latest acquisition, showed a very vague glimpse of their next project, titled “LocoCycle”. A voice described a futuristic, super powerful motorcycle that looked like something straight out of “Tron”. First assumptions would be a sci-fi racing game, but then again, with Twisted Pixel at the helm of the project, you really can’t know what to expect.
Last for the exclusive reveals was “Matter” for Kinect. Not much was shown here either. All that could be gathered from the trailer was that it might possibly be a futuristic puzzle game, although not even that is certain. The glowing blue and orange eyes of the two silver sphere-shaped characters shown are very reminiscent of “Portal”, although no connection was confirmed.
“Resident Evil 6” had some gameplay to show off, and it clearly sported many improvements over its predecessor; the most notable of which is the ability to shoot and move at the same time. There were lots of real time events, a nice blend of shooting and hand-to-hand combat, and some pretty crazy action sequences. Many fans are expecting this to be the best of the Resident Evil series yet, and it does look to be shaping up that way.
Going back to Kinect was another brief mention, “Wreckateer”. It’s going to be exclusive to Xbox Live. The gameplay demo made it basically like the classic internet sensation, “Crush the Castle” for Kinect. A massive catapult is loaded with many different types of ammunition you can control and manipulate in the air. Points were awarded for destroying parts of castles, but the player was limited to just three shots in the one level shown in the demo. It’s likely they’re trying to hop in with the “Angry Birds” craze by bringing it to Xbox. “Wreckateer” launches on Xbox Live sometime this summer.
South Park is back and just as obscene, vulgar, and hilarious as ever. Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to put yourself in an episode of South Park? Now you can find out because you star in “South Park: The Stick of Truth” created by Obsidian. You’ll get to create your own personal “South Park” character and wander around the town as the new kid in town. Joining you will be Stan, Cartman, Kyle, and Kenny. “South Park: The Stick of Truth” is being written by the show’s creators, and will launch on March 5, 2013 with an exclusive “Mysterion Superhero Pack” for those who preorder it on Xbox 360.
Harmonix is bringing back “Dance Central” for the third time. It looks to be much of the same with a nice blend of new music. Prior to a surprise performance by Usher, he stated that he worked alongside the team at Harmonix to bring his exact choreography for two songs into the game. This could show that Harmonix is trying to bring more artist integration into the series much like they did with their work on the “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” franchises.
Closing out the event was a gameplay demo for the already announced “Call of Duty: Black Ops II”. The game’s presentation had a very familiar blockbuster action movie feel to it, much like the games in the past. The demo did show off some of the exciting new decision making features the game will sport. In the specific mission shown, the player was attempting to protect the president and escort her safely. On the edge of a blown out highway bridge, the player had the choice to rappel down with your group to do work from the ground or stay up top and snipe while your team moves the President below. The demo also showed off a few futuristic weapons, the use of support drones, and a nice section of vehicular combat. “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” will launch on Sept. 13, 2012.
Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he would love to hear from you