I'm making a thread so we can have one place to refer to everything we've seen at E3 so far for the Wii and the DS. Unlike the last thread, I won't be covering all the games (lesson learned), so if I haven't included a game you're interested let me know and I'll consider including it. This list will go by system and publisher. It'll also be updating slowly throughout the week.
Wii
NINTENDO
Hands on impressions: IGN, 1up
"The core experience in Animal Crossing: City Folk is basically a mash-up between the DS and GCN designs. Once again you'll start with an empty town, select your house, name your village, and begin the sim Nintendo lifestyle. Just like its predecessors, City Folk works on a real-time clock, so if it's 1:30 PM in real life, it's 1:30PM in City Folk.
As for the changes -- which is what everyone's curious about anyways -- Animal Crossing combines the classic "town play" of the original games, with the new aspects of "city life," adding another, smaller town (similar to the GBA island of the GCN game) where you can check out a quick stand-up act, change your hair style or replace your face with a Mii face, put things up for auction at a local hall, or meet up with other characters that normally just drift in from time to time in the previous games."
My take: Seems like more of the same. Which is good if you're already into the series and haven't tired of it, but bad if one or both of those doesn't apply to you.
Hands on impressions: IGN, 1up
"But does anyone really want to play a sequel to a portable title on a console? In this case, they should -- Wario Land: Shake It! is quality stuff. It's sort of the polar opposite of Mega Man 9, an example of what can be done at the higher end of traditional 2D technology rather than a deliberately regressive creation. The game sprites are beautifully high-resolution and animate well, having been drawn by Production I.G., the animation studio responsible for the game's intro trailer -- making for a pleasantly consistent visual experience. In light of Nintendo's rather lightweight offerings today, Wario Land is a sign that the company still remembers how to make the kind of game that put it on the map in the first place."
My take: It looks beautiful, and 2D platformers are always welcome in my book. I'm a bit disappointed that it didn't return to the invincilbe Wario of 2 and 3, but 4 was still pretty fun, so I'm sure it'll all work out in the end.
Hands-on impressions: IGN, 1up
"MotionPlus will come bundled with Nintendo's newly announced WIi Sports Resort, which ships next spring. No price point has been announced. The Big N pulled back the curtain on three games featured in the soon-to-be-gatrillion-seller, including Power Cruising (racing a jet ski a la Wave Race), Disc Dog, in which you throw a frisbee to a canine, and Sword Play, a sword-dueling component that has us excited for the future of the Zelda franchise. In short, MotionPlus is no joke and it's going to dramatically change the way Wii games are played. As an aside, Shigeru Miyamoto has already hinted that MotionPlus may be packed with all Wii remotes in the future...Wii Sports Resort is already shaping up to be an excellent addition to the WIi library. More importantly, it has with three simple mini-game-style offerings proved that Nintendo's add-on is a resounding success. Only good things can come of it. And frankly, we can't wait to see what lies ahead."
My take: I know some of you are disappointed with Nintendo's showing so far. Personally though, this game alone makes the whole thing worthwhile for me. Finally, the promises made in '06 are coming true, and I can't wait. On a sad note, though, the inclusion of jet skis essentially kills off Wii Motorsports.
Hands-on impressions: IGN, 1up
"So far, Wii Music seems like it'll be a fun bit of software to play around with -- especially in the free-play mode with the surprisingly complex drums -- at least for a little while. Crazily beating on the cymbals while playing the drums to hype up the audience (made up from your Mii Parade participants) is novel, though the audience jumps stiffly in unison, so it looks a bit like someone shaking a cardboard cutout of admirers. But most of the instruments seem to involve nothing more than repeating the same gesture in what you feel is the "correct" rhythm. With no skill or challenge involved -- and no discernable objectives -- we're not sure how long even the most desperate of music lovers who lack musical talent will stay interested."
My take: This is probably the first Wii ___ title that I'm not interested in. I was intrigued earlier, but it seems like the game just isn't that fun for too long. Hopefully, it's one of those games you really have to play to get.
Pikmin was announced yesterday, in a manner which makes it seem like Miyamoto was getting as annoyed with gaming journalists as they are with him. No other details have yet been announced. Watch this space.
SEGA
"We had a couple sensitivity issues when it came to hitting the middle notes, but this seemed more likely due to the odd arrangement of the demo setup (the sensor bar was both above our heads and right of center) than any deficiencies of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk....
Samba de Amigo will include some 40 songs, with half drawn from the previous series entries (including Ver. 2000), and half completely new to the franchise. Before we had a chance to play the game today, Sega announced the first pack of downloadable master tracks for the game, which will include "Mambo Mambo" by Lou Bega, "I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow, and "Are You Gonna be My Girl?" from Jet for an unspecified price. We spotted the songs in the demo lineup and asked whether we'd actually be downloading files or just paying to unlock content stored on the disc. Luckily, Sega confirmed that you'll actually be downloading tracks to the Wii hard drive, and that additional content will follow after the first pack. Not-so-hot news for Wii owners watching their paltry hard drives fill up, but it's nice for those of us not looking to be charged for stuff already in the game."
My take: The first game was pretty fun, even if it made you look like an idiot, and it sounds like this one's set to follow in its footsteps. Plus, maraca shells!
"As Jack walks through the gritty locales filed with bulky goons, rotting cars, flaming trash cans and spiked walls, two commentators drop crude, vulgar one-liners in tune to his actions. For instance, after Jack stabs not one, but two street signs through an enemy's head, one commentator says, "Oh, he should have seen the signs!" and the other responds, "Do you have a big book of sh!tty puns?" To this, the first advises, "F$@!k off." After Jack crams some S&M-geared gimp into a flaming trash can, a commentator screams, "I love the smell of sizzling dipsh!t in the morning!"...We asked if Platinum Games might be using Nintendo's newly announced MotionPlus for extra precise groin mutilations and sorry, you sadists, but that's a negative. The actions that Jack is able to perform seem highly context sensitive. So if he knocks a character to the ground, you might be prompted to motion downward with the nunchuk and Wii remote and if you execute successfully, the action will slow down and zoom in on the anti-hero's foot as he slams it down hard and explodes someone's head. In another scene, Jack picks up a thug and begins twirling him around -- a mechanic controlled by likewise twirling the Wii remote around. From what we can tell, Jack is able to hurl the enemy in front of speeding subway."
My take: Over the top violence will always have its proponents in gaming. I like the artstyle, and the on-the-fly commentary sounds hilarious, but gorefests aren't for me, so I'll probably be skipping it.
"In a way, the daytime segments of Sonic Unleashed look to combine the best elements of Sonic Adventure and Sonic and the Secret Rings (with a hint of Sonic Riders) to create an experience that might finally nail the combination of speed and playability that has evaded so many recent Sonic games.
And then the werewolf transformation took place, and we couldn't help but think, "Why?" As in: "Why is this necessary?" and "Why does Sonic keep making this same mistake?" At night, Sonic Unleashed looks to be a mindless beat-em-up, where Sonic walks around and uses his stretchable arms (a trait common to werewolves, apparently) to slash heaps of small foes and climb up to high platforms. The action is presented in an over-the-top manner, and we can't say with any certainty that these portions of the game will actually be unenjoyable or poorly executed, but it left a bad taste in our mouths. Walking around open settings and beating up creatures in no way feels like what we know and love about the character and his more successful exploits, and the addition of such mechanics makes us think that Sonic Unleashed will be a tale of two games."
My take: It looks like Sonic's umpteenth return to form will fall short again. At this point, I have to wonder why Sonic Team hasn't been completely disbanded yet.
CAPCOM
"We got to spend some more time with the Neopets-skinned edition of Puzzle Quest (PQ) and it doesn't look like PQ fans need to worry about the Nickelodeon license. Although Neopets is aimed at a younger audience, the Othello-based conflicts last longer and require more brain power than the Bejewelled battles of Puzzle Quest. Developer Infinite Interactive has added a couple new features since we saw it last. The nature of Puzzle Quest led to "happy accidents" as players made jewel matches that sometimes created massive combos. These accidents don't occur naturally in Othello, so the developers are adding in some of their own. If you can flip over enough chips you'll cause a shockwave that turns over even more chips around the board randomly."
My take: It's Puzzle Quest. This can't help but be good.
"You know how early reports have indicated that Mega Man 9 is super hard? Those are not exaggerations. This game is unrelentingly difficult, much more so than the classic NES titles from which it takes its inspiration -- I've been playing them lately and breezing through them, but MM9 is downright vicious. In a good way!
There are two factors behind MM9's challenge. First, Mega Man's skill set, which expanded over the years, has been severely reduced. He's back to jumping, running and shooting, and begins the game with nothing but his Rock Buster arm cannon and the Rush Coil device. No sliding, which would come in handy in several areas. No charge shots, which would be a huge help against certain "miniboss" type foes. But while Mega Man himself has been knocked back down to his Mega Man 2 abilities, the game itself features enemies and level designs reminiscent of the later NES sequels. This combination of boosted challenges and fewer abilities makes MM9 feel like a true test of skills.
The second factor is that the developers at Inti Creates don't feel compelled to play nice. They've made this game with long-time Mega Man fans in mind -- that is to say, they expect players to be familiar with the series' tricks and gimmicks and strategies, and they're not afraid to throw you for a loop."
My take: I've got to applaud Capcom for being gutsy enough to release this game. Sure, it was probably dirt cheap to make, but an 8-bit game in the modern era is not something I saw coming. I'm looking forward to having it kick my @$$ later this year.
