18 March, 2011

PAX East 2011: Headliner Titles (Part One)


Many high profile publishers were present at PAX East to show off their current and future releases. Let's run through a quick shake down of what THQ, EA, and Valve brought to Show and Tell.


THQ


Title: Red Faction: Armageddon
Publisher: THQ / Syfy Games
Developer: Volition, Inc
Genre: Third Person Action
Drop Date: May 31st, 2011
Rating: (Pending, but probably) Mature
System(s): Xbox 360, PS3, PC

The Good: A strong carry over of the previous title's game mechanics. Same emphasis on destroying damn near everything in your reticule. A different story on the same methodology, you're helping protect colonists from attacking Martians and acting as a glorified exterminator. At least it is a legitimate excuse for destroying as much as you can.

The Bad: The camera angles. They make you want to choke out whomever designed the system.

The Questionable: They switched from open world roaming to a more linear play style. It is said to help the movement of the story, but some people may be let down by the switch. Multiplayer mode sounds redundant and boring.


Electronic Arts


Title: Shift 2: Unleashed
Publisher: EA Games
Developer: Slightly Mad Studios
Genre: Racing
Drop Date: March 31st, 2011
Rating: Everyone 10+
System(s): Xbox 360, PS3, PC

The Good: It's a racing game.

The Bad: It's a racing game.

The Questionable: It's a racing game.

But in all seriousness, it is supposed to be a racing game. Shift 2 features a wide selection of vehicles, new tracks, and supposedly "the most realistic driving experience ever." To be completely honest, I hated the demo I experienced. The handling was awful, the graphics were nice but nothing new for a racing game, and the street racing setting was interesting but not somewhere I'd like to be driving a supercar with the turning radius of a Mercedes SL 65 Black (aka absolutely horrible). If you're looking for a truly awesome racing experienced, I definitely recommend you check out iRacing instead.

Mind you, as a disclaimer, I have a general dislike for most racing games.



Title: Battlefield 3
Publisher: EA Games
Developer: EA Digital Illusions EC
Genre: First Person Shooter, Realistic Modern War
Drop Date: Autumn 2011
Rating: Mature
System(s): Xbox 360, PS3, PC

The Good: Beautiful graphics and 3D sound. New emphasis on single player mode. Hyper realistic modern gameplay.

The Bad: Regenerating health, for the hardcore veteran players who will complain about integrity or some other such realism rubbish.

The Questionable: Not much has been said about the multiplayer, but hopes are high for a system resembling Battlefield 2.

For a more in depth commentary, check out my Top Picks post next week!



Title: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Publisher: EA Games
Developer: BioWare
Genre: MMORPG, Science Fiction
Drop Date: (maybe) some time 2011
Rating: Pending
System(s): PC

The Good: Holy balls, it's a Star Wars MMORPG with an emphasis on storyline (made by masters, BioWare) and legitimate game play. The game is also set during a time frame different from any current interactive IP.

The Bad: Technically, this is just another MMORPG. There have been previous Star Wars related games in this style, and the elephant in the room, WoW has out lasted any and all of the competition. Hopefully BioWare will avoid some of the mistakes made in the precursor Knights of the Old Republic.

The Questionable: They're trying some new tricks from the usual recipe by allowing characters to be flexible to fit multiple roles. This and the ability to make your own party of 'companions' make it sound like you can play an MMO without the 'massive multiplayer' aspect really coming into play (at this point in production). They also make your in-game actions affect your available storylines with NPCs (yes, you can seduce some sexy alien ass).


Valve


Title: Portal 2
Publisher: Valve
Developer: Valve
Genre: First Person Puzzle, Platform, Comedy
Drop Date: April 19th 2011
Rating: Everyone 10+
System(s): Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Mac

The Good: It's Portal. Also, the only major title to officially be Mac compatible.

The Bad: You might have to heavily rely on random kids on the internet who will have your portals send you into directly into the path of lasers and their only form of communication are racial slurs and emoted Knox Cheers.

The Questionable: It has been said that the game is longer, as the first one was depressingly short and lacked in replay value. Even with the addition of a multiplayer storyline, one hopes there will be some free-roam or level creation modes (outside of Garry's Mod).



With so many games being shown at PAX East, they're too big for one post! Keep an eye out for more updates.

No comments:

Post a Comment