E3 Thread

[fingersman]

Ok post the stuff you want to know about guys whenever your ready. :D

[Bond]

CONKER PLAYABLE AT E3!

CONKER PLAYABLE AT E3!

PLEASE POST!

PLEASE POST!

THANK YOU!

THANK YOU!

[fingersman]

Your wish is my command. :D


There's a wonderful thing with the coming of E3. Games are announced, companies are bought, and many, many surprises come forth. Wandering around the show floor as it was being set up, your lovely Xbox editors caught sight of some real jaw-dropping surprises. Here's just a quick and dirty list of the games we saw being set up. Of course, we'll have more details on all of the games during E3.

Conker, Kameo, Grabbed by the Ghoulies playable at E3!
That's right, there's an entire Rare section in the Microsoft booth. One set of kiosk's has a stand-up of Kameo, another has a giant poster of a new Rare game called Grabbed by the Ghoulies, featuring an assortment of odd characters, and last is an empty set of kiosks with a little sticky note that says, "Conker's LB". Who knows what the "LB" stands for, but we sure as hell know who Conker is. It's on Xbox, and it's going to be playable on Wednesday.

Shaq new Inside Drive Coverboy?
A giant poster for Microsoft's sports line-up hangs against the back wall of their booth. On it is Sergio Garcia (coverboy for Links 2004, Lleyton Hewitt (coverboy for Top Spin, Anna Kournikova (for good measure), Peyton Manning (coverboy for NFL Fever 2004, and in the middle, the Big Daddy Shaquille O'Neil... coverboy for Inside Drive 2004?

No Psychonauts??!
Sneaking around Microsoft's booth, we saw a lot of the big games of the year marked out on silent kiosks, but one game we didn't spot was Psychonauts. Tim Schafer's cooler than cool platform adventure was nowhere in sight. Sigh.

Activision's T.H.U.G.
There are signs around the convention center, featuring concrete and blood, with just one icon stamped across them: T.H.U.G. The "check it out at this booth" indicator lead us to Activision's booth. While it was still being set up, there was one noticeable franchise missing -- Tony Hawk. However, our hope is T.H.U.G. is the Tupac game we've all been waiting for.

Surprising playables
There were many playables we knew about, but a few caught us by surprise: Starcraft: Ghost, Shadow Ops, and James Bond: Everything or Nothing. There's also a big sign at Activision for Spider-Man 2, but we're not sure if it's playable or not.

We'll have more from E3 sooner, rather than later


NEXTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

[GameMaster]

Pokémon on Gamecube!

Pokémon on Gamecube!

Please post!

Please post!

Thank you!

Thank you!

[Bond]

You forgot all caps. :D

[fingersman]

Originally posted by GameMaster
Pokémon on Gamecube!

Pokémon on Gamecube!

Please post!

Please post!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Errrrrrrr I don't see it man or are you calling in your order early?

[GameMaster]

Hmm? I guess it will be showed later. Oh well. Yeah, let's call it an early order. :D

[BreakABone]

I want to see the Sonic Hero movie?

Maybe some news on Gothca Force?

Anything of interest at IGnfilm?

[fingersman]

Originally posted by BreakABone
I want to see the Sonic Hero movie?

Maybe some news on Gothca Force?

Anything of interest at IGnfilm?

Don't you have insider? USE IT!!!:D

[GameMaster]

Tell me everything about StarFox Armada!

[BreakABone]

Originally posted by GameMaster
Pokémon on Gamecube!

Pokémon on Gamecube!

Please post!

Please post!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Since Fingersman wasn't nice enough to show you

http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~nanko/images/9907.jpg

PokeMon Colissuem and PokeMon Pikachu Channel or something.

[fingersman]

This is for GM about Starfox.

Just prior to the start of E3, the latest issue of Japan's Coro Coro Comics magazine contains the first look at the Nintendo/Namco co-developed Star Fox title for the GameCube home and Triforce arcade platforms.
The magazine reveals little on the game, merely stating that Fox must switch off between numerous vehicles along the way. In fact, the only reason we know this is the Namco developed Star Fox Nintendo's been talking about for some time now is because of the Namco name listed in the copyrights at the bottom of the page.

Star Fox, still tentatively titled, is listed with a TBA release date. Check back for more on the game from E3.



http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/starfox_030510_pic1.jpg

[Joeiss]

Can you put the news about Socom2 or GT4... Or any big Sony stuff, lol.


I think it would be easier if you guys just gave us your passwords.. lol.. But I'm not complaining. :D

[fingersman]

http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/socom2_050903_3med.jpg

http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/socom2_050903_1med.jpg

Oh yeah i would give out the account but a certain person's account kept getting changed cause someone let too many people on the account.

[Joeiss]

Woah! Sweet info... I have heard some of it before, but some of it was new too! Any screens?




EDIT ~ Cool screens!

[fingersman]

Originally posted by Joeiss
Woah! Sweet info... I have heard some of it before, but some of it was new too! Any screens?




EDIT ~ Cool screens!

I think it is open to the public
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/401/401665p1.html
there's the link...... I didn't look at properly before I clicked

[Jason1]

Any mario 128 info yet? Or Resident Evil 4? Im probably way ahead of myself...

[fingersman]

Not that I know of.......Nintendo will probadly announce Mario 128, there is an Re4 trailer that Ign might post later but that's all I know.

Here are someStarfox Pics for GM



edit: the pics no longer work so I deleted them. :(

[Jason1]

Only one of those pics work...the rest ask me to log into the Nintendo Media Area with a password or something...strange...

[fingersman]

try this link http://www.nintendo.com/media/e32k3/presskits/presskit_e3-2003.html

and type Nintendo for the name and Media for the password and they have a whole set of pics in there, including Pokemon , 1080, etccc

[Jason1]

Originally posted by fingersman
try this link http://www.nintendo.com/media/e32k3/presskits/presskit_e3-2003.html

and type Nintendo for the name and Media for the password and they have a whole set of pics in there, including Pokemon , 1080, etccc

Everybody be sure to check that out...nice stuff in there...

[Joeiss]

It doesn't seem to work for me.

:(

[BlueFire]

no caps on the username or password, joeiss

[DarkMaster]

it doesnt work for me, even though it worked before and I entered the stuff correctly...

[GameMaster]

Link isn't working for me.

But thank you fingersmen for the earlier screenshot of StarFox!

And thank you BreakABone for the Pokémon Colusseum pictures!

[fingersman]

Looks like they changed the pass.......heh.......too much people were probadly loggin on that site
I should have saved it and post them as attachments...... oh well live and learn......but Ign has most of these screen shots up .......i think you guys should look at them before they get locked or something. :unsure:

[One Winged Angel]

I can get in there without using a password or anything. Neways if anyone wants me to post pics from the site just ask me.

[fingersman]

Here's impression on conker


Outside the eight-minute demo of Halo 2, the biggest surprise at Microsoft's E3 press conference was the blink-and-you'll-miss-it announcement of Conker: Live and Uncut. The uncensored and graphically revamped re-telling of Rare's stellar N64 game was not only announced at the press conference -- it's playable on the show floor!
The brand new Xbox Live-enabled multiplayer was on disable in eight connected kiosks. Using superior sneakery skills, I managed to slip into the Microsoft booth a day early to get a first taste of Conker against several unsuspecting Microsoft employees. I'll admit that I was desperately jonesing to play the unavailable single-player game, but MS wants to push the Xbox Live aspects of the game. The results -- a mixed bag of nuts.

Conker, everyone's favorite miscreant, is one of several playable skills. The Live arena in which I played against seven other victims, err competitors, was a relatively small map. However, the map features a lot of vertical movement, which makes for some interesting sniping moments.

Controls are as simple as humanly possible. You can jump if you are unarmed or are only holding a grenade with the X button, while Y cycles through your three available weapons, the left trigger hurls a grenade, and right trigger fires. Along with a wide assortment of killing devices, power-ups in the form of glowing energy horseshoes can be run over to give you an extra kick.

One of the power-ups is a weapon enhancer, so that each of your weapons takes on a new level of power. I nabbed this and turned my normal bazooka into a guided missile launcher.

Weapons include pistols, mahcineguns, uzis, grenades, sniper rifles, and bazookas. Respawning in a weapons room filled with available goodies doesn't hurt, but you can only hold three weapons at a time. Go over the limit and you'll drop your current weapon and replace it with the new one.

The raw humor and blood that permeated the N64 classic are evident in just about every moment of Conker: Live and Uncut. The gruesome explosive deaths where bloody bits fall scattered on the ground are back and pretty much identical to the original. New voices have been added, though, that add quite a bit. All the little furry bastards grumble and offer quips as they ace enemies or get blasted themselves.

Beyond your standard furries capping each other, the level featured a helicopter for each team which could lift off and fire down on enemies from above. But nail one of these with a couple of bazooka blasts and they're only so much charged death.

Conker online plays like a very simplified online shooter. It's relatively easy to aim and shoot down enemies with a slow moving reticle that doesn't require precise aiming. The movement and control of your character, however, isn't quite as fluid as it could be. There are times when navigating the terrain isn't easy, simply because the control over the character just isn't as exact as it needs to be. It's not terrible, but it feels slightly off, something that will hopefully be fixed before Conker's release -- whenever that might be.

The team deathmatch I played was pretty standard in set-up, though it was nice to see people could jump in and out of the never-ending deathmatch at their leisure. Any other online modes (and there certainly are more hiding out there) weren't revealed tonight, but with luck, MS will unveal more of Conker during E3... which is just half a day away.

One of the things Rare and Microsoft promised with Conker: Live and Uncut was updated graphics. If the Xbox Live version is any indication, the graphics are certainly above those found in the N64. The textures are a lot better and the game looks sharper. The greater detail certainly helps. But the game, as it stands, is considerably choppy in many moments. While it certainly looks next-gen, it's not really cutting-edge Xbox graphics. Still, I'll take a sly mouth over smooth graphics any day of the week.

Outlook
The Live play of Conker seems fun. The overall goal, as it's been described to me is Conker meets Counter-Strike. If the other game modes have the Conker flare with some C-S style objectives, then maybe Conker-Strike will be a reality. It's fun, but I think the Live play has a ways to go. Now, where the hell is my poo gun?

-- Hilary Goldstein

[fingersman]

I know some people must be interested in FF.CC so I decided to post it. But first here is a few pics.

http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/finalfantasycc_051403_gcn_in01.jpg

http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/finalfantasycc_051403_gcn_in02.jpg


We know it's hard to believe, but we've seen and played the proof for ourselves: Square is finally developing for a Nintendo home console once again. Well, Square Enix, that is -- whatever. The renowned RPG videogame publisher hasn't been seen on a Nintendo home console (not including the Game Boy handheld units) since the late SNES days nearly 10 years ago. Now, here at the massive E3 2003 event in sunny Los Angeles, CA, the respected Japanese studio is offering exhibit A in its reformed testimony for Nintendo support: Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles.
As many have recently learned from our anxious coverage of the GameCube-exclusive title, this next instillment in the Final Fantasy series isn't going to be the standard turn-based, menu-driven role playing adventure that die-hard Square fans have come to expect. In fact, the game really isn't even going to hit players with the same level of Hollywood-quality cinematics and story production. Instead, Square Enix is taking a new direction with Crystal Chronicles that it considers to be more custom tailored to the GameCube system and its audience. As you know, this means that the new GameCube RPG adventure will rely heavily on GBA connectivity, real-time action, and multiplayer interaction as opposed to a rich single-player, turn-based experience.

Until now, the most informative details on how the game plays have been limited to translations of Japanese interviews held with the game's designers. But now that the U.S. version of the game is finally playable here in the States at E3, we're able to tinker with the creative yet baffling project for ourselves and attempt to understand exactly how it plays and where the potential for fun and excitement sits.

For readers still trying to grasp the concept behind Square's Cube-exclusive RPG, here's a fair analogy: imagine gameplay mechanics and pacing similar to Phantasy Star Online, but instead of split screen action, all four players exist in the same onscreen space and stick closely together as they travel the fantasy-based worlds. In the limited E3 demo we played, this closeness was encouraged by one player carrying a crystal that projects a circular force field around the group to protect it from the poisonous gasses outside. Players who don't keep up with the group and slip outside of its circumference begin to take damage and eventually die, so paying attention and communicating with your teammates is key. No details were given on whether or not this crystal-generated force field would be a key gameplay component throughout the entire final game.

The reason for the Phantasy Star Online comparison is that Crystal Chronicles' combat pacing is not terribly different. Attacks are very deliberate and walk a fine line between being action oriented and menu driven. Players use the L and R buttons to scroll through and select one of six possible actions and then press the A button to perform it in real-time. In the case of attack-based actions, players must be facing and within range of their targets to land the hit, but other spells and abilities (such as "cure") can be performed from anywhere with a simple hit of the A button. The B button is used for picking up items, which can sometimes grant players added abilities and more powerful attacks. Remember, we're using the GBA as a controller here, so button functionality has been reduced and won't include the standard GCN C stick or Y, X, and Z buttons.


Although we didn't witness any complicated combo attacks in this E3 version, players can also charge their attacks by holding down the A button for a more time-consuming and powerful blow. Charging takes roughly a couple of seconds, at which point a circular cursor appears below your character that functions as a targeting reticle. Control now switches to this cursor on the ground while your character remains still. Players move the cursor to select a specific target and hit the A button again to dish out the charged attack. When used with healing abilities such as cure or Phoenix Down, the charge move lets players heal other members in their party. There are even combined attacks that take place when multiple players carefully execute specific abilities in sync. Again, all of this happens in real-time, so you'll have to get comfortable with the controls and pay close attention to the constant onscreen action to pull it off.
Though little detail on the story behind this new Final Fantasy outing is being offered here at E3, we have learned a bit more on its gameplay structure. The quest will take our heroic party through level-based "missions" instead of the typical overworld wandering found in most RPGs. In the first level we played, our group wandered through a thin forest path collecting items and fighting a handful of scattered creatures before making our way to a large and frightening boss. This arena provided a bit more room for maneuvering, but because the player carrying the protective crystal cannot attack, it must be placed on the ground and then picked up and moved should the party need to regroup. The battle was a tough one, and several teammates were slain in the process. (Fortunately, they were also revived thanks to our Nintendo rep's generous use of his Phoenix Down ability.) Once victorious, the party wandered on its way to the next area. This linear design is understood to be Crystal Chronicles' primary style, though it remains to be seen if the game will offer any branching paths later in the game.

The three selectable areas within the E3 demo are titled "Tida Village," "River Belle Path," and "Veo Lu Sluice" -- don't ask us what that last one means. The four playable characters shown are named Ciaron, Lu'ge, Cyadd, and Hias, and each is styled in that classic childlike adult fashion that Square has used in other titles such as FF IX on the PSX. The style is very artistic, very cool, and quite unlike anything on the GameCube at this point. Credit must be given to Square and its talented team of artists and designers for bringing such a vivid fantasy world to life as only it can. Environments and creatures are equally stylish, though fairly simple in geometry at this point. The style should win major points with fantasy gamers, as we must admit that it's very colorful and appealing.

The version playable here at E3 strictly demonstrates the four-player gameplay that the title has to offer and does not allow single-players to hit the quest alone, though Square states that both adventures will be essentially the same. Kiosks are set up with four GBA SP systems connected, allowing up to four people to join the action at any time. One thing in particular must be cleared up: players are not required to use a GBA system to play Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles in its current form. In the private hands-on playtest that we experienced, only three GBA SP systems were available, thus a Nintendo representative was forced to plug in a standard GCN controller to join the party. The previously mentioned Japanese interview had caused quite a stir among Nintendo fans during the past week in regards to whether four GBA systems were required for multiplayer action, but we can confirm that this is not the case in the version we played. Whether or not this will change for its final release remains to be determined, but we consider it unlikely

So if players can opt for either the GCN pad or GBA system to control the onscreen action, what's the difference? After having compared the gameplay using both methods, we must admit that players truly do need their own handheld GBAs connected to the Cube to get the most out of their Crystal Chronicles experience.
First, the small, handheld screen allows players to view overhead maps and get information about their characters that they can't otherwise access in a multiplayer session (this information should be available to a lone gamer in single-player mode, however). Square's creative talent says that players can choose whether or not they want to share this information, but there's really no advantage in keeping it to themselves -- it's really more a matter of apathy or laziness than anything else. The first player gets the most detailed map of all, while the rest can only see key icons indicating teammates and other important objects. Thus the first player typically takes on the role of the leader by default and must attempt to keep everyone together and headed in the right direction.

This map screen is displayed on the GBA by default during gameplay, but hitting the Select button will bring up the second and perhaps most important GBA function: ability management. As mentioned, each player has six slots (perhaps more later in the game?) to which they can assign specific abilities such as "attack," "cure," or "Phoenix Down." (These are the three we used most often in the demo, but there were at least 20 more standard RPG abilities from which to choose.) After hitting select, your character will automatically follow along with the group as if on autopilot, thus allowing you to focus your attention on the ability management screen alone. Once the six slots have been filled, pressing Select again will resume control of your character and you'll be ready to hit the L and R buttons to choose from your newly selected abilities (now displayed on the Cube screen) and dish them out with the A button. Considering the multi-player focus of the game, the use of the GBA as a personalized screen for managing abilities is a clever means to keep the action flowing without constant pausing from your buddies.

But as one might guess, playing without a GBA in multi-player could prove very tricky and even painful. In addition to losing your map and intel, Square's current solution to the "ability management" problem involves simply removing it altogether. When players without GBAs grab an item, the new ability will be automatically slotted in one of the six spots without any input from the player. Sounds pretty annoying, yes? Now we see why the company is placing so much emphasis on all players taking advantage of the GBA connectivity.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles looks to be a great multiplayer adventure for a group of four likeminded Nintendo RPG fans that each own a GBA system (preferably an SP) and can commit to sharing a 30+ hour gameplay experience. Will this Nintendo/Square collaboration be too niche for its own good? We'll have to wait and see exactly how well the single-player aspect stands up before we're convinced, but at the very least, Crystal Chronicles is certainly a unique and welcome addition to the slim GameCube fantasy-RPG catalog. We'll be hitting the show floor very soon to snag some footage of both the Cube and GBA screens in action, so stay tuned, Square fans

[Bond]

Thank you fingersman!

:bowdown:

[fingersman]

another hands on

When Microsoft acquired Rare, speculation on which Rare games would be hitting Xbox ran rampant. One Rare title, though, has always been known. Kameo, long in development for Nintendo, was so near completion for the GameCube one could almost taste its release date. And so it was no surprise when Microsoft announced that Kameo would be among Rare's first Xbox titles. Coming spring 2004, Kameo should see more of an MS push by early next year.
I knew what to expect from Kameo, having read all of the IGNCube coverage. But, I wasn't sure how "Xbox-ed" the game might have become. After playing through two levels of Kameo, I can assure you the only Xboxing going on here is with the graphics. This game screens GameCube, which isn't a bad thing at all.

As the lead character Kameo, you capture different creatures and slip them into your trusty pouch of holding. Then, at any time, you can turn into one of these creatures by pressing the corresponding face button (there's a constant icon diagram in the top right of the screen). Switching is instant and there's no limit to how often you change shape. Of course, each creature has a different set of abilities and their own advantages.

The first mission I played was, essentially, a training mission. My goal was to grab a specific creature hiding among a group of rocks. Tip-toeing around (the analogue sensitivity is spot-on) Kameo must grab her compatriot (an odd little blue creature) and fling him at the target to nab him for her knapsack of goodness.

The creature in hiding does some funny little animations -- An eyeball rising from behind the rock, tenuous steps out into the open. After nabbing him, the level continues, instructing on how to use Kameo's abilities in a variety of ways.

Kameo can fly, use her blue friend to attack (she can grab or drop him at any time) and, of course, she can change into different forms. These forms offer very simple controls. Should you ever be in doubt as to what to do, the icons in the top right display every command, including attacks and jumps with the triggers. The controls are simple and so far the gameplay in the demo is a bit basic.

One form lets you turn into a rock creature who can roll around in a ball another has you changing into a big bruiser. There are no doubt some interesting traps that require specific skills from the different forms, but what I played in the demo was a bit more of the "smash and run" variety of gameplay.

Outlook
Kameo is an interesting title that was clearly designed for the Nintendo audience. It should translate just fine onto Xbox, but more of the game needs to be seen to see just how deep the gameplay gets. If anything, Rare is known for making fun and addictive games. Kameo certainly seems like it could fit the bill

[fingersman]

I got some more info for you Joesis.
I hope you like Jak and Daxter. :D

Naughty Dog presented Jak II to the E3-going public today in a well-constructed and beautiful set of levels, giving people other than the press a chance to jump, smack and shoot their way across the City and outer-lying environments.

The sequel to Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, the simply named Jak II gives players a wide open, GTA-style action-platforming experience, and most importantly, it gives players guns, lots of guns.

The fact that Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin was a fan of Doom appears to have had an affect on Jak II. While the guns weren't available in the street level of the demo we played in April (at Naughty Dogs' Santa Monica HQ), this level instantly gives players the chance to pull out a shotgun-like pulse gun and literally blow enemies away. They react with a fierce shot that pushes them back into air.

By pressing R1, players quickly pull out their weapons and blast away at enemies, and by golly, it's damn fun. The power of the weapon is excellent, and the use and handling of each weapon also feels superb. Ahhh, lovely Doom.

Jak II offers numerous additions over the original. It's nearly twice as big in size and scope, it features living, breathing cities with citizens walking around and reacting to one another; moving traffic -- filled with hovering vehicles, all of which can be driven -- and a dark, brooding story that reveals the nature of the black eco experiments the Baron has done to Jak.

The graphics and animation are superb. There are more reflections, higher polygon count characters -- Jak and Daxter look incredible -- and the combination of a 60 FPS set of levels and the smooth, fluid animation is just impeccable.

Honestly, this demo was very nice to see and play, but it wasn't nearly as extensive as the levels we played in April. Check our first impressions for a more complete set of impressions there.

[Xantar]

Coming spring 2004, Kameo should see more of an MS push by early next year.


Wait a second.

*takes off his glasses and rubs them*
*puts them back on*

Spring 2004?!?

This game has been in development since before the GameCube was launched. And yet, Rareware isn't going to be able to put out the game this year? At this rate, how does Microsoft expect to have 5 Rareware games out by Winter 2004?

[BlueFire]

Good ol' Rare ;)

[DarkMaster]

Rare hasn't changed a bit

[One Winged Angel]

I actually don't give a **** about Rare anymore. I haven't seen any games that have amused me. I never really liked Perfect Dark, so meh.

Wasn't Kameo playable at E3 2001?

[Yoda9864]

Seriously, if it takes this long for Rare to get Kameo out in stores, that's pretty pathetic. Has Nintendo lost anything by dropping Rare so far?

[Joeiss]

Well, I think that if Rare releases some quality games for Xbox, then obviously Nintendo will have lost something... But so far, Nintendo hasn't lost anything by dropping Rare.

[Jason1]

If anything, they have gained...how much did they sell them for anyways? It was a helluva lot of money, if I remember correctly.