Microsoft E3 Press Conference / Keynote

Microsoft was kind enough to invite me to their E3 Press Conference, so I figured I’d be kind enough to share my experience. The place was packed and the parking was insane, not even the 50 man valet team could keep up with the parking. They practically kick you out of your car so they can move to the next one. You then move your way through a bunker to a giant snake line. This line reminded me of the Blizzcon line, I’m sure some of you know what I mean. After waiting in line for 30 minutes they finally started letting us in, it feels like you are going to a concert there are so many darn people, and there are assigned seating levels! This thing is huge. Enough about that, lets move onto the show.

Rock Band Beatles

Doesn’t the world know, the rock band fad is fading out. I think the games are great, but all these branded rock bands are getting old. There should be one rock band, and downloadable updates and songs for new features, we don’t need a new release every six months, nobody can afford it. Bringing out the former Beatles and Yoko Ono, while cool, doesn’t help sell more. Next time, try to inform them what they are coming on stage for, they seemed a bit confused.

Tony Hawk: Ride

Activision skipped a year of Tony Hawk releases to develop this new skate board / game combo, and I think it paid off. It’s literally a full size skateboard controller without the wheels, it looks like a lot of fun. The only issue I see is you will need a good amount of room, and It costs $129. When It drops below a $100 I think it will be much more worth checking out.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Looks awesome, didn’t play the first one, but after seeing the trailer and game demo, I want to!

Final Fantasy 13

Looks awesome, I haven’t played a Final Fantasy since 10 because they haven’t interested me, this one is definitely peeking my interest. Not only that, but the first one available on the xbox.

Shadow Complex

Cliffy B’s new game is part contra part something else. Looks like good fun. Will be a blast for an XBLA game.

Joyride

What appears to be an XBOX Version of mario kart. I am not feeling it. I will pass.

Crackdown 2

The first Crackdown was a fun game, but no where near a great game in my book. Collecting orbs was a pain in the butt, and the bosses are to similiar and boring. The co-op play really made the original stand out, but solo, I thought was really boring. I don’t have too high of hopes for this one.

Left 4 Dead 2

I have played the first left for dead, and I was hoping for more of a Counter-Strike zombie experience. What you get is something where you aren’t that scared of dying and I just don’t feel on edge. I am hoping Left 4 Dead 2 can get over the humps of making you feel more like a team, and less like playing Quake with zombies.

Splinter Cell: Conviction

I never liked the other Splinter Cell games, The idea of sneaking around trying to be stealthy is annoying and frustrating. I just want to go around shooting things. However, this game looks like a ton of fun. Maybe they are turning things around a bit.

Forza Motorsport 3

Boring!! I don’t understand the fun in playing realistic driving games, if I wanted a realistic driving experience I would drive to work.

Halo: ODST

This game looks awesome. The company that no longer exists sure has a lot of Halo games coming out. This one looks exceptional, can’t wait to play it this fall!

Halo: Reach

Is this like Halo 4 or what? Or another spin off like ODST. Either way exciting, the Halo franchise is excellent for the mid-core gamer.

Alan Wake

We haven’t seen anything about Alan Wake in about a year, everyone wondered if it was dead. Indeed it still lives, and the game looks awesome. The physics and the stay in the light mechanics look like a lot of fun. Engrossing story helps too!

Netflix, Twitter, Last.FM, Facebook

New Netflix features such as browsing and adding, cool! Twitter support? Really? Cool, bizarre, who knows what to expect. Last.FM support is awesome, I hated turning on my media center pc to listen to my last.fm. Facebook seems like a bad idea, now everyone can turn on your Xbox and browse your things, fun, but not a good idea!

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

Finally! Metal Gear coming to the 360. About darn time. When are we getting the Metal Gear Solid 4 port?

Project Natal

This new camera, 3d technology that can detect your entire body movements and facial expressions looks amazing. I did think “Your in the Movies” was a cool game, but the camera sensors don’t work very well. If they can iron out those features in Project Natal, I think its going to be the coolest thing since Microsoft Surface. I am super excited. It’s definitely better then anything the Wii can provide, seeing as it goes within the full 3-dimensional realm.