5 things you should look out for at E3 2011

We’re only a few days (hours?) away from this year’s E3 so it’s good to know what to look out for beforehand. Last year was all about motion controls, what will be this year?

1. Nintendo’s Project Café

A Project Café controller mockup by IGN

What is it?

Nintendo’s new home console due out in early to mid 2012. Until now only its codename (Project Café), and a few rumors concerning its specs have come out, but nothing official. Café is said to be as powerful as current generation Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, include touch screen controllers and built in cameras for augmented reality.

Why is it cool?

Nintendo is the video game market leader and had us blown away 5 years ago with the Wii. There’s no doubt Project Café will include innovative hardware and be supported by great software (at least from Nintendo).

What do we want to know?

Well everything really: technical specs, the hardware, the controllers, the games…and if Nintendo will stick to motion control or come back to something more gamer oriented. Wait and see…

 

2. Sony’s new handheld: Playstation Vita

The Playstation Vita

What is it?

The PSP didn’t turn out to be what Sony called “the Walkman of the 21st century” but a core gamer console for those who wished to replay Playsation 1 and 2 games on a small screen. For the PSP’s successor, Sony wishes to push things further and provide both casual and core gamers with a very powerful handheld with built in touch surfaces, gyroscope and cameras.  The console was codenamed NGP by Sony during the revealing but has since been known as Playstation Vita.

Why is it cool?

With the the PS Vita Sony is trying to build upon its past experience and take the casual/gadget elements from the Nintendo DS (touch screen, camera) which lacked the PSP. Gamers will be able to have the equivalent of a PS3 in their pocket and this time it’s for real: awesome graphics, dual analog sticks and a real online gaming network. Blockbuster franchises have already been announced on Vita: Uncharted, Call of Duty, Metal Gear Solid…

What do we want to know?

The console’s and games’ prices, the games, the graphics, how it compares to Nintendo 3DS, the augmented reality applications, special functionalities?

 

3. Co-op Games

Gorgeous looking Rayman Origins is said to include co-op

What is it?

New Super Mario, Donkey Kong Country returns, Kane And Lynch, Two Men Army, Gears of War and most recently Portal 2; co-op games have made a breakthrough in the last few years. It’s pretty clear why: parents wanting to spend time with their children, couples and friends playing together rather than one watching the other and online habits gaming making it natural for friends to play and chat over the network (yes, when it works).

Dozen of new games should give you the possibility to complete them in cooperation modes: platformers (Rayman Origins), shooters (Gears of War 3), Adventure and action (Ratchet and Clank)…

Why is it cool?

She doesn’t have to just watch you play and criticize, she can actually help you out now.

What do we want to know?

Which games/franchises? How to they play? Has new gameplay been built upon co-op modes?

 

4. “Modern Warfare-like” Shooters

Battlefield 3, the Call of Duty Modern Warfare killer?

What is it?

For the last couple of years, Activision’s Call of Duty franchise has changed the console shooter landscape. Awesome graphics, great online experience, easy to take on but hard to master gameplay and a very cinematic solo carrier mode have turned Call of Duty into a new reference for shooters. Great games means big sales and big money. Guess who wants to create the next generation shooter? Everyone

Why is it cool?

Just take a look at the trailers that have been released out lately: Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3. Both games look amazing, great locations and should bring many innovations gameplay wise.

What do we want to know?

So which is best? Will the shooter reference shift? Any unexpected contestants? (Rainbow Six? Medal of Honour?)

 

5. “Free to play” games

Recently announced Ghost Recon Online will be free to play

What is it?

Game editors are trying to figure out new business models to make money on games. The increasing numbers of smartphones and social network users appear as new markets where a lot of money can be made (ask the Guys who made Angry Birds and Farmville, they should know). So why not give out an AAA game for free, get gamers hooked on it and only then ask them to pay to get more content. Smart, isn’t?

Why is it cool?

You and your friends could be playing great games for free using your computer, web browser or smartphone for free.

What do we want to know?

Some big game franchises are rumored to go on the “Free to play” market (Ghost Recon, Call of Duty…). Which editors will step in? Which games?

Dexter-ish Photoshoot Session

Haven’t blogged for a few month but I thought this original photoshoot session and the upcoming E3 expo would bring me back to my depressive web journal.

So here’s the story behind the shooting: Martin and I were having a few drinks at his place last night. His flat is undergoing some renovations so a few rooms are empty and doors covered with large plastic sheets to prevent the dust and grit from spreading in the rest of flat. An almost instant image would pop up to our minds when we walked in the dark, empty and echoing rooms: the Dexter series. Martin faked to strangulate me as soon as I entered his flat earlier that night and around 2 am I suggested to do a Dexter-ish photo shoot.

What started as a joke ended up being a very seriously executed project. 120 shots later and a few hours of editing and here’s the final result:

Working your way up in a pixel company

Corporate Climber is the latest Flash Game developped by Adult Swim Games (known for their previous game: Robot Unicorn Attack). The game is a fairly straight forward platformer in 8 bit graphics. The objective is to get past the different levels in order to move up in the building and get promoted and to finally become CEO. Not only is the game fun to play and look at, but the satirical tone given throughout the game reminds us of the humor only low res 2D games could carry out. The game is relatively hard and nerve racking but the short levels and unlimited lives make it enjoyable as you’ll keep playing to discover what comes next.

Paris Games Week: France finally has its Gaming Convention

After many years of fans and developers complaining about not having one big and unique gaming convention in Paris, video games publishers’ union SELL decided to launch the first edition of the Paris Games Week (PGW) from the 27th til the 31st of October 2010. Many feared this would be another phoney convention with already released products and not much eye candy for game lovers. They were wrong.

All the industry’s main players were at PGW strating with the massive booths of console manufacturers Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony showing off their new hardware add ons and softwares. The largest game third party publishers were also letting us play their latest announced titles: EA, Ubisoft, Sega, Capcom, Activision…it’s always a great feeling to be playing a game demo dubbed “E3″ or “TGS”. Amongst the highly anticipated playable titles were: Gears of War 3, Michael Jackson the Experience, Capcom VS Marvel 3, Virtua Tennis 4, Dead Space 2, Donkey Country returns, The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword and many, many more.

But in a gaming convention, it’s not only about the hardware and the games, its all about the atmosphere. And yes, they nailed it this time: the noise, impressive booths, babes, goodies, and even a few VIPs such as Warren Spector, (Deus Ex, Epic Mickey), Peter Molyneux (Fable 3) and David Cage (Heavy Rain).

The only regret we may have is that no exclusive announcement was made during the convention which would have concentrated the gaming world’s attention on Paris for a minute, and guaranteed PGW to become the annual French gaming “rendez-vous”. No doubt the Paris Games Week will be back next year and hopefully even bigger.

MMO players to be sent out into the Jungle

Earlier today, Panasonic announced the release of a new portable gaming device dedicated to MMO games: The Jungle. It’s been almost 20 years since the firm released their latest gaming hardware (3DO) but this new product announcement seems to be coming out from nowhere.

The jungle consists of a large display, a few dedicated gaming buttons (including shoulder buttons), a D pad, a touchpad, an SD card slot and a full QWERTY keyboard, all in a black glossy and rugged plastic clamshell case.

The device is rumored to include an HDMI port, WiFi and even 3G connectivity for outdoor gaming. The happy few, that got to actually see the machine, have reported that the display and screen resolution are simply amazing. The device is said to be running on Linux. There’s no price tag yet on this gaming UFO.

Franckly, I don’t really see this taking off unless it’s affordable, battery efficient and supports many online games (and not only Battlestar Galactica Online as the ad suggests!). But even then, would online gamers be ready to step outside and start playing long gaming sessions on the run?

Be sure to check out the Jungle’s website for more info.

8bit Bot’Ox beat

Just came across the latest ad for Peugeot’s 207 compact sized car. Aside from the sleek CG  (but we’re now getting used to these, aren’t we?), the ad features a very cool 8bit sounding tune.

As usual, my little “know it all” friend Google told me the band behind this song is Bot’Ox from the I’m a cliché french label.

Turns out, the song also has a good looking slow-mo video to go with it.

Digital Arts expo at Le Cube

Last saturday was the perfect rainy day to spend a few hours in a Arty/Geeky expo. Le Cube, a cultural center dedicated to digital arts in the Parisian suburbs (Issy les Moulineaux) is the French reference in terms of new interactive arts. Every year since 2006, Le Cube organizes “L’art Numérique Aujourd’hui” (Digital Arts today), a temporary exposition lasting 12 days for everyone to come and discover a few innovative works from famous and young digital artitists. The show attracts not only geeks and tech savy guys but also families and young kids as most of the pieces exposed are interactive and fun to watch.

Just as in any exposition of this type some stuff just seems overrated, but a few works of art are trully mindblowing and make you wish you could bring them back home (the Sonic Bed _London of Kaffe Matthews is just one of them).

The exposition lasts till October 3rd 2010 and is really worth visiting if you’re in or around Paris.

Epic Games bringing HD gaming to Apple handhelds

In Apple’s latest keynote, Steve Jobs invited on stage two developers from Epic Games studios (Gears of War) to present their lastest creation: Unreal Engine 3 running on iOS.

The rendering is simply amazing and is suprinsingly close to the current generation of console graphics.

The best part is, this tech demo is available on the Apple App Store and you can download for free the Epic Citadel app.

Games running on this graphics engine should be released in a few months and include Doom creator, John Carmack’s lastest shooter: RAGE.

Nintendo and Sony might want to rethink their future handheld strategy…

Red Dead Redemption’s epic arrival in Mexico

If you’ve been looking out for good games lately you’ve probably run into Red Dead Redemption a few times. Grand Theft Auto’s creators, Rockstar, have applied the crime simulation formula to a new environment: the American far west in the 1910′s. As all creations from Rockstar, Red Dead Redemption is strongly inspired by cult references such as Clint Eastwood’s western movies and film scores from Ennio Morricone.

The game is great and goes much beyond the basic mechanics of previous GTA games. The open world you’ll go through feels huge and its wildlife, random encounters and numerous activities give it a very realistic feel.

Visual and audio elements blend perfectly as the music and instruments playing changes relate directly to the action on-screen. Jump on and ride your horse and you’ll hear a cool bass riff kicking in.

Rockstar has produced a new masterpiece with its own epic sequences. The arrival in Mexico is one of these unique gaming experiences where the player sits back, after some rough gun fight scenes, and enjoys a horse ride in the newly unlocked Mexican desert. Add to this a beautiful sunset and José Gonzales’s Far Away song and you’ll get the chills.

X-rated music video promotes an iphone game

Iphone game developer Mobigames sure knows how to get male gamers’ attention. Trendy electro pop music, old school graphics and x-rated content are all in one great music video to promote their latest iphone game: Truckers Delight. The video is great and so is the episodic game.

I wonder how this game got through Apple’s severe censoring…