Konami’s Pre E3 Lineup
Konami’s E3 Lineup
Konami launched its first annual pre E3 event. Developers have to come out with guns blazing this time of year, but while there was plenty of that, they snuck in a few surprises as well. Namely Metal Gear Collection, an HD remastering of MGS 2, 3 and Peace Walker. And finally, after years of waiting… a new Zone of the Enders! Oh wait, this is a collection too? Oh well, it’s better than nothing. Well surely Silent Hill has a new title. Downpour looks gorgeous, but alongside it is… Silent Hill Collection? I think I’m sensing a trend.
Obviously, collections aren’t all that were announced. Details on Metal Gear 3DS were unveiled, most importantly, the ability to make custom camouflage by taking pictures of the environment. As in IRL environment. Updates to the Pro Evolution Soccer series promises more focus on the off the ball characters, better defense and improved 1 on 1. Silent Hill Book of Memories was briefly mentioned for NGP and a new IP, Never Dead, will hit current consoles later this year. Having the ability to control an immortal character who can use dismemberment to his advantage sounds awesome, but please stop saying this is the first time an immortal character can be manipulated for gameplay. Games like Wario Land and Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy might take issue with that.
But the biggest announcement was Hideo Kojima’s newest advancement, the Transfarring system. Yeah, Transfarring…
Debuting with the PS3 version of the Metal Gear Collection, players will be able to go to their Peace Walker save and move it to the PSP. ZOE is supposed to feature this as well, but not in what capacity. The most interesting part of the announcement is that Kojima said he wants to take it “globally,” within the next few years. In the context he said it in, it sounds like he wants it to be multiplatform… but how would that work if Xbox doesn’t have a handheld? Will they get one? Will Kojima integrate it into the Apple products he seems to love so much? The plot thickens…
But why listen to my ramblings when you can watch it yourself? Speaking of which, I recognize that logo at the very end. Wonder what that means.
Sadly, none of these games were at the event, but they did feature some of their upcoming downloadable games at the event. Below are what to you’ll be dropping your digital points on in the near future:
Puddle:
Have you played Locoroco or Fluidity? Well then, you’ve pretty much played Puddle. The title puts you in control of a… well… puddle, that you have to guide to the goal at the end of each stage. Realistic physics makes it so solving puzzles forces you to keep the water together and keep it from evaporating. Look for it on Xbox and PS3, (with Move and SixAxis support, remember that thing?) later this year.
Skull Girls:
Anime lolita fanboys should take notice. Along the same lines of Marvel vs Capcom 2 and 3, Skull Girls puts you in control of three fighters that can tag in and out at any point during the fight. And the fights can get kind of weird… just check out that girl with the arms on her head. While it’s much slower paced than what I’m used to in a tag fighter, it seemed to have a strong combo system. Did I mention that the comic book art style is gorgous? We’ll have to see where this one goes with more time poured into it.
Burger Time World Tour:
I was genuinely surprised to see this old friend in the house. Burger Time was an 80’s arcade game where a chef avoided evil food and dropped giant hamburger toppings on them until the burger was complete. This new version takes the 2D gameplay to a 3D realm, with new powers, areas, abilities and ways to score while trying to stack those delicious heart attacks.
Jimmie Johnson’s Anything with an Engine:
Like Mario Kart meets Nascar if Jimmie Johnson was the only real driver and everyone else rode on couches and lawnmowers. Anything with an Engine is a straightforward kart racing game with everything you would expect. Weapons? Check. Over the top characters, (with a redneck stereotype slant?) Check. Short cuts that open up to last place racers? Well… that’s new. A nice change from the blue shell at least. Promising more than just racing, maybe it has more to offer than it first seems?
Red Bull X-Fighters:
Contrary to what the title says, the game has nothing that fights in it. Instead, the game is a straightforward stunt bike game where you pull off as many tricks and score as many points as possible before you reach the end of the track, (or the time limit.) Kind of reminds me of those Dorrito games that come out every year or so.
MLB Bobblehead Pros:
Probably the creepiest thing I’ve seen in a while. It’s baseball, but with bobblehead players that eerily wiggle with the slightest bit of movement. *shudders* I seemed to drop the ball a lot in the outfield, but the iffy controls got better when batting or pitching by trying to psyche out your opponent with quick cursor movements. Will it replace the big MLB games? Probably not, but it’s sure to appeal to the families out there.
Look for more information on Never Dead, Silent Hill and the surprising lack of Metal Gear Rising as it crops up during E3. Until then Geekscapists!
