John’s E3 Report #3: Stalking the show floor

Egad! The man is back, with another report from E3. Things are just starting to hot up, and John Gillooly has the latest news.

There is a certain knowing look that comes over the faces of E3 veterans when you explain you're an event newbie. It's a combination of wistful remembrance of their first time and a darker knowledge that you have no way of preparing for the sensual onslaught that is 'the show'. Then they almost universally say 'Nothing can prepare you for it'.

Today was the first day of E3 proper, and by golly they were right. From the moment the doors open your senses are flooded with the deafening roar of hundreds of games competing to be heard, the flashing lights and gargantuan screens, and the crazily dressed booth babes. On the left Gary Coleman and the Postal 2 chicks are posing for happy snaps, on the right some of the finest game developers on the planet are standing around waiting to show you their wares. It's wild and crazy, but at the heart of it are some amazing titles. From the ones I have seen today, I have worked out a rough top ten -- the games that will blow people's minds. There are some obvious names, and some obscure ones, but keep an eye on them all over the next year or two.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – Oblivion Lost
This first person shooter set in the area around Chernobyl in the not to distant future has the potential to grab the coveted 'better than Half Life' cliché. A lot has already been said about the amazing graphics engine, but it is the advances in AI and the non-linear aspect to the gameplay that makes this title so special. While you run around the 30-square mile area, the computer keeps chugging away, with other characters going about their business, and you occasionally stumbling across the aftermath. Every time you play, the game experience is slightly different. It is still a fair way off, but this game could be huge.

Gran Turismo 4
GT is already at the pinnacle of driving games, with Gran Turismo 3 still one of the finest titles to appear on the PS2. With GT4, Polyphony Digital has gone back to the drawing board, with the first major overhaul of the physics model since the original GT. We got a brief chance to play some multiplayer, and despite the obviously early code, it seems they have it right. The driving model is fantastic and the graphics gorgeous; the small sample of cars showed that Polyphony is going all-out to capture as many cars from as many ages as possible.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
The pairing of Troika games (of Arcanum fame) and Valve's Source engine makes for one of the most exciting 3D role-players yet seen. Smooth, crisp and sexy, Bloodlines not only has the eye candy, but also an amazing roleplaying engine behind it. You can play as any of the Vampire clans, each gives special abilities and has a huge effect on how you are perceived by the world. A quick example we were shown had a vampire using the Animist skill to flood an Italian restaurant with rats to shut it down. This is but a small part of the game, which could very well redefine how we look at PC role-playing games.

T.H.U.G.
Otherwise known as Tony Hawk Underground, this title makes a break from the Pro Skater series in an interesting way. You now have to build up your rep as a skater from scratch, skating city streets and the like as you try to make it into the big leagues. Not much was shown from this title, but we did see some funky new features like the ability to get off your skateboard and run around, climbing and clambering to get extra height for your skating trickery. Some scenes even had you driving cars around with the same freedom THPS has become known for. It is an interesting departure, but if anyone can pull it off, it's Neversoft.

Conker: Live and Uncut
One of Rare's first titles for Xbox marks the return of Conker, the alcoholic fox. While the game will ship with a tweaked up version of the old N64 Conkers Bad Fur Day, its main focus is on very different multiplayer gaming for Xbox Live. It's a third-person shooter with a twist, in the form of the crazy weaponry used and the different game styles employed. Grab a helicopter to get to the opponent's flag -- but watch out for nasty people with sniper rifles and guided rockets that can be steered around the map. It looks amazingly cool, and it will provide a refreshing break from the first person shooters that seem to be appearing at a ridiculous rate for Xbox.

Viewtiful Joe
Don't laugh, but Capcom's old school side-scrolling platformer could well be a breakaway hit for the GameCube. Featuring the best cell-shaded graphics yet seen, this game looks and feels like a cheesy 60s comic book, complete with outlandish outfits and lots of starburst thwacks and bangs. You play as Viewtiful Joe, who has the ability to mess with time (this is the one exception that I liked -- I saw so many bullet time effects in games today I almost screamed). You simply have to see this game to believe it.

Mythica
Microsoft's new massively multiplayer game manages to smash some of the boundaries holding the genre back. The joy of single player gaming is that you get to be the hero, rather than a low-ranking, rat-killing, guild member. Mythica blurs the lines between single and multiplayer by the use of public and private zones. Private zones hold set quests for both yourself and any allies you wish to bring along, while the public zones are similar to your normal massively multiplayer experience. This lets you level up and gain followers in the private zone and then use that experience in the public zones. With so many MMORPGs appearing now, it is a refreshing change.

Halo PC
It's the same fantastic Halo single player experience, with enhanced multiplayer, high resolutions and a keyboard and mouse. Need I say more?

True Crime
Based on the digitally recreated streets of Los Angeles, this epic crime story has you uncovering sinister plots and conspiracies while trying to keep the peace as a plain-clothed cop. It is a gorgeous looking third-person game, with elements of GTA and Max Payne mixing in with some unique touches. One of the best is the fact that failing a mission does not have you reaching for the load button, but rather it effects the direction of the plot. Looking very sexy with a gritty edge, this could well be one of the finest titles to hit the Xbox to date.

Kameo
I saw so many quirky and offbeat platformers today, and of them Rare's Kameo stands right out. It has all the tenants of a great game, with some unique twists on the tried-and-true 'buddy' genre. The main character is a hopeless fighter, so she needs to capture different creatures and feed them up to adulthood. She can then transform into this critter when she needs to fight. With 18 creatures in all there's a lot of potential in Kameo, and hopefully Rare can keep the right balance of compelling gameplay and the very British sense of humour for which they are known.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another update from the show. It is only just starting to get interesting. . .

John Gillooly