E3:09 Highlights

Here are some of the not so French tickles that I caught while spending a little too much time staring at Olivia Munn and the rest of the G4 gang.  

EA - Besides the typical sports games of yore here's a look at what I hope is not just Star Wars Galaxies 2.  Yes, a new MMO set in the Scifi universe that all Scifi fans know:  Star Wars the Old Republic.  Since it is made by the creators of KOTOR, the big push for this game is the storyline and questlines touting consequences for every choice made.  Also a reminder that Mass Effect 2 is on the way and what looks like all the unenjoyable portions have been removed.

Ubisoft - By first starting off on the right foot having Joel McHale initially introduce the Ubi conference, CEO Yves Guillemot spent just a handful of time on information for all of the Tom Clancy hits, Assassin's Creed 2, Red Steel 2, etc.  Instead almost all of the talk was over their new direction which is taking a vested interest in all aspects of entertainment beyond gaming.  Their first large branch-off is a 3-D game/movie combo called Avatar.  The 4 year running production is directed by James Cameron and was a project he originally had created over a decade ago but the technology was not up to his vision. Thankfully this was not a forced project made during the Deep Blue Sea era of CGI.  And for the first time in a while I will probably buy another Splinter Cell game.

Sony - Big PSP push for them with all sorts of ports and similar versions of big hits.  New Metal Gear Solid game for PS3 (exclusive one for Xbox360 too), some more Final Fantasy videos but overall the only half thrill I got was watching some God of War 3 gameplay.  It looked smooth, brutal, and visually amazing.  

Nintendo - One big surprise was a new 4 person co-op 2D Mario Bros. game for the Wii.  It plays out much like the gamecube/DS game Zelda 4 Swords.   Interesting but this again is another example of a Wii game needing more than just yourself to please you and others.  The one surprise was a short video of the next upcoming Metroid game due out in 2010.  This shows a bit more of the old 3rd person viewpoint that fans enjoy.

Microsoft - Modern Warfare 2 as well as Mass Effect 2 were a few of the 360 delights.  Both were large improvements over their originals and hopefully will both be released before I make out a Christmas wish list.  The one big showoff Microsoft accomplished which was above and beyond any other of the console press conferences was Project Natal.  Natal is an additional little device that resembles a web cam and microphone combined.  It doesn't seem like it would be that interesting until it is understood that it is a gaming device requiring no controller but your body.  Some amazing features of Natal are voice AND facial recognition, video conferencing, dashboard browsing controlled by your body motions, etc.  Here is an example of what looks like a game of sorts called Milo which is a little interactive AI program.  

DeBlob: I see people turn their heads and quickly look away, like a new born baby it just happens every day

Not THE Blob

Released for the Wii by the company THQ, Deblob is a game involving humor, creativity, and a general abundance of color violence. Best described as a platformer, DeBlob takes you into the heart of a fantasy world called Chroma City. The evil black and white I.N.K.T. Corporation (notice that it's not called Empire, Army, or other military synonyms) enter into Chroma and start stealing the colors away from everything and begin enslaving the "colorless" citizens. Enter Blob, the round hero with his rag tag bunch of friends to save all of Chroma City from its lack of triumphant true diversity by running around and painting the town red.... and yellow, blue, orange and every other color of the ROYGBIV universe allows unless you have the good old fashioned color-blindness handicap.

DeBlob is quite a fascinating game in its delivery, simple enjoyment, with a buffet of visual and musical dishes. The controls are simple to pick up and respond quite well but the game has very minor typical camera issues found with all three dimensional games. There are simple instructions for available actions and abilities and extra quests/achievements are easily explained and plentiful. The main actions of the game are accomplished by first acquiring a color from an enemy and then roaming around applying that color to everything in sight.

The idea seems cheap and pointless for hardcore gamers, and that reason will keep this game low on the priority list next to shaving, bathing, and soaking up UV rays. For those that take a chance and play this game will find themselves enjoying quite near everything about it. The musical portion alone is done in a manner to keep repetitive sounds from being annoyances and the visuals also stay away from the little sister poking you in the eyes over and over.

The game really helps you reminisce about finger painting. The good old days of putting on a smock, and saying no to using a brush because it already took you five minutes to take your snow pants and galoshes off so you'll be damned if you aren't going to enjoy yourself before you've got to put it all back on again. Ok, if it doesn't do that it at least gives you an electronic mimicry that Jackson Pollock would be proud of.

Overall, if you want a hardcore, violent, difficult challenge of a game, DeBlob isn't for you. If you want to play a simple yet creatively made game, give DeBlob a chance as you'll be pleasantly surprised at how fun the color wheel and painting the town red can be.

Rating: 4 {-10 to 10 scale, 5+ being a must play}

NPPL 2009: lit only by the glow from hope you buried deep, to see what it would grow

Ok so it's a picture of PSP and not the NPPL...

D   Y   N   A   S   T    Why?  Because you love the game of paintball so much that's why.  Brought to us by Activision, NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 is the first paintball game in over three years since the release of Greg Hasting's game for the earlier console generation of xbox and playstation.  Well, OK, there really weren't any before that either.  And that's the focus for this review.

So most people that play FPS games really focus on the controls, AI, and hopefully minimal repetitiveness.  Trying to imagine those that would play this game is a simple task to do.  They are the ones that spend much of their good weather days dodging little balls, praying that none land in sensitive areas that already house a couple.  Everyone else has enough common sense to stay off the fields of war and within the safety of distance, will also distance themselves from this game.  I myself have spent dollar after dollar on cases of paint and FPSs alike, and even I have trouble turning a blind eye to the factors that will keep most from experiencing this game at all.

Comparing to the only other major paintball game, NPPL 2009 is an improvement graphically.  There is a better array of ingame equipment to choose from because of additional sponsorships obtained versus Greg Hastings Paintball.  The feel of tournament play is somewhat similar to what actual paintball feels like.  But sadly this is where all the positives begin to dissipate.  It is a paintball game and if paintball is something you enjoy then there's somewhat of a chance this recreation will be enjoyable.  This is not by any means a typical FPS for those expecting it to help a newbie begin to embrace the sport.  A person who has never set foot on a paintball field will really zone in on the aspects that make this a video game and not the pieces that help mimic the sport and in doing so can really jab you in the eyes.

The problems start to occur with a lot of repetitiveness.  There are a lot of loading screens and some do not seem like they would be even necessary.  Handfuls of them occur after only about thirty seconds of gameplay and you tend to find yourself sitting on an imaginary bench with nothing to think about.  The music is the expected soundtrack of paintball especially if you have ever watched any Derder type films about the sport.  The issue with the music is menu screens tend to play the same song every time you reach them between rounds, new tournaments, equipment screens, etc.  

Controls are somewhat good (2 right buttons acting like a double-finger trigger) but the default stick for aiming is the right one which is a lot of precision aiming matched on the same hand as the speedy busy fingers.  The bunker leaning is not as good as what it was in Greg Hastings as you can not hold a full lean and strafe without breaking a lean causing a lot of jerky movements.  Diving or sliding into bunkers can be somewhat tricky and prone position snake play is unbearable.    

The AI and tournament play may be a little more on par with what real tournaments feel like but the speed of some rounds is so fast that off the break, more than half of the opposing side or yours will can be eliminated and barely any paint down open lanes is found.  Greg Hastings did an excellent job of utilizing lane shooters while mixing other teammates for hopping from bunker to bunker on the field.  NPPL 2009 has all players aggressively moving the entire time barely letting you get to a bunker to use one full hopper of paint.  This is where loading screens become a constant greeter as you are slapped in the face with them even between multiple rounds against the same team on the same field (for example best 2/3 rounds).  

Overall, NPPL 2009 is a great and wonderful reminder of one of the greatest games that people can go out and experience.  Trying to describe the adrenaline rush of diving behind a bunker with the sound of paint coming inches from your noggin probably can never be recreated with just a video game so go balls out, get a facefull of paint, and save your money before you decide to even think about picking up this game.  

Rating: 2.5 {-10 to 10 scale, 5+ being a must play}