There was a bunch of fancy hardware on display at this year’s E3. Sony continued aping the Wii with the Playstation Move. Microsoft debuted the motion-capturing Kinect, and Nintendo hopped on the theatrical 3D bandwagon with the 3DS. However, none of this hardware means anything without good software to back it up. Having already hit up the portable and downloadable titles, we’ll close this E3 summary week with console and PC games. Keep in mind that this includes Kirby: Epic Yarn, but somebody already covered that elsewhere. Everything else is here.

Portal 2 (PC)

I make no secret that I’m biased about Portal. It’s the first game I ever reviewed, I like my games short, and the writing is just superb. However, when I say that its sequel is a game to watch, I don’t want you to think it’s out of some misplaced fanboy enthusiasm.

For starters, Valve isn’t pussyfooting with the update. In addition to the familiar portal shenanigans, Valve has made the game cooperative. Two players can now assume the role of a personality core and a turret to collaborate against GlaDOS and her sinister level designs. To coordinate in network play, players will be able to seed flags throughout a level to highlight points of interest. You can even call up a splitscreen view over the network that confers some of the advantages you’d normally get from couch multiplayer. Perhaps best of all, GlaDOS will whisper separately to players over the network, feeding them conflicting information and seeding dissent.

Not that all the seeding in the world would save the game if that magic Portal writing was absent. Players can rest easy Valve will neither toe the line nor stagnate the franchise writing. Said lead writer Eddie Wolpaw, “I’ve had enough cake jokes . . . We didn’t jettison everything, but I absolutely do not want to try and resurrect a three-year-old meme. That seems like it would be kind of sad.”

Good for him. Better for us.

Child of Eden (Xbox 360: Kinect)

There’s no trance vibrator and the music obsession isn’t obvious in the trailer, but Child of Eden succeeds Rez. The abstract shooter motif should give it away, but it shares the same developer and tunnel/reticule shooting mechanics, if that helps seal the deal for you.

It should be obvious from the trailer that the Kinect is a pretty optimal tool for moving a targeting reticule around the screen. However, according to a (quickly redacted) interview with the developer, the Kinect may not be required to play at all.

Either way, this is the sequel Rez fans have waited 8 years for.

Honorable Mention: The Sly Collection (PS3)

This one deserves a shout out for collecting the 3D platforming franchise you most likely skipped during the PS2 generation because you were too busy playing Jak and Daxter or Ratchet and Clank. The Sly Cooper series was on par with its contemporaries, but it included a stealth twist that doomed it to come in third. Now that the glut has passed and it’s getting harder to find a good 3D platformer (present company excepted), this collection is just in time to help tide you over.

Honorable Mention: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)

Skyward Sword also needs some recognition for being the first Zelda game in a decade to forgo the “weak point for massive damage” boss mechanic (let me cite that one for you). The new game replaces it with refined gestural combat supported by the MotionPlus. So instead of the rinse-repeat we’ve come to expect from the franchise, it looks like you can expect more action-oriented gameplay.

Ever since fan backlash over Wind Waker, Nintendo has played conservative with the The Legend of Zelda. The resulting polish has been nice, but we’re overdue for a shakeup.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags:   Child of Eden · E3 · E3 2010 · PC · Portal 2 · ps3 · The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword · The Sly Collection · Wii · Xbox 360No Comments

Trackback to this article.