E3 Day 1: The Big 3's Big Sells

After a bit of hiatus I'm back for possibly my favorite week of the year, a week I look forward to more than Christmas or birthdays, the Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3.

Although E3 didn't officially begin until today, there were already plenty of press conferences and announcements on Monday. Although a majority of the week is filled with updates and suprises on new games, each year the Big 3 of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony are always the most anticipated. It's the console developers that ultimately shape the future of the industry. Usually at this point we'd be seeing announcements of new consoles in development, but with the state of the economy and the price of current systems, nobody expected to see that. The current generation is finally becoming affordable and Blu-ray is just becoming the mainstream standard. So with no new consoles, what did they have to show?

The simple answer: HARDWARE

MICROSOFT

The big announcement from the Xbox 360s proud parent is was already announced last year, but this time around it had a new name and more to show for it. Project Natal is now known as Kinect and shows promise to be the next phase in gaming. Kinect's motion capture camera allows stronger interaction with gaming by making the player the controller. Showcased this year was new titles featuring the hardwares ability to recognize different actions and its possible implementation. I think Kinect is what Nintendo wanted the Wii to be, that fully immersive gaming experience. Personally, I hope they can achieve more than a collection of crappy carnival games. There's plenty of promise for Kinect to reshape gaming but ultimately it's up to developers to create something people will enjoy.

The other big announcement in hardware was the new Xbox 360 Elite with a 250GB hard drive with included wireless internet. Honestly, I can't believe it took this long. There's been more rumors flying around about an HD Wii being in the works than the 360 having wireless included yet you'd think once the PS3 came out as wireless, it would have been the first hardware change to implement. But then again, they did have that whole overheating problem to work out.

NINTENDO

Oh Reggie Fils-Aime, where do you get your ideas? I'm not saying the President of Nintendo of America is a creative developer, but more of a creative salesman. I've long had a real disdain for Reggie because of how he comes off when selling the Nintendo brand. Sony and Microsoft give the others credit for what they do and show some honesty, but I've never really noticed Reggie really acknowledging successes of the other two or Nintendo's own short comings. What has me so riled up this year is his statement that NPD data shows the Wii is the most played system by its owners over any other system. Anybody I know who has a Wii has it collecting dust. Now I'm not saying Nintendo is lying, but just being creative with statistics. I've got a background with conducting studies and experiments so the first explanation that came to mind was who owns a Wii. I give them credit for having a huge install base, but I think that skews the data. How many grannies and college girls actually own a PS3 or 360? I want to see a study done by people who do own more than one system and see what that data says.

But anyway, on to their big sell. This year it was about returning favorites from Nintendo's classic games, including Kid Icarus, but their main feature was on the next handheld, the 3DS. The promise from Nintendo is the 3DS will offer 3D gaming in the palm of your hands. I've already expressed my opinion on 3D as being the wrong direction for entertainment but the 3DS comes off as even more of a gimmick. The inclusion of a camera in the DSi seemed a little unnecessary for me since I already have that with a phone, but the 3DS claims to be able to take 3D pictures. Ultimately, I'm not against Nintendo handhelds. I enjoy my DS for it offering a solid experience in 2D gaming but I don't see the need for 3D. How immersive of an experience can you have when it's on a small screen between your hands? Nintendo also has the difficulty of trying to impress people without actually being able to show them something. The 3DS is something that needs to be experienced in person and I can see it being a challenge to convince cautious consumers. However, if 3D is the future, I think the 3DS is the way to go with technology offering an experience without headache inducing glasses.

SONY

Sony didn't really bring anything new as far as their main feature this year, not even a new name. The Playstation Move is a motion controller utilizing the Playstation Eye with a 1:1 movement ratio. Most of their conference was demonstrating the new peripheral with gameplay styles and expressing its potential. Although not earth-shatteringly impressive, it looks like the Playstation Move is what the Wii wanted to be. It has more precise motion control and the lollipop-like light on the end offers new gameplay options on top of just waving your arm around. I don't see the Move having a place in every household, but again, it is up to developers to make software that will define its success.

Another matter of Sony that let me breathe a sigh of relief was the clarifications made of Playstation Plus. Rumors had been circulating about Sony going with a paid system for their PSN services similar to Xbox Live. The concern was much of the paid services of Xbox Live were free for PSN. The question was were these free services suddenly going to have a fee. I was happy to see that the free services were not changing. Instead, premium services will be offered with beta access, faster downloads, and exclusive demos. I'm not sure if I'll go for the Playstation Plus, but I was glad to hear the current services wouldn't be changing.

Oh, and one more thing...

TWISTED METAL!!!!!

A Black Spider-Man? Wasn't That the Third One?

The internet has been roaring with the call for Donald Glover as Spider-Man, but the reason for the attention is when most people picture Spider-Man, I doubt they picture this.

I wasn't a fan of Tobey McGuire but some of the ideas being thrown around by Hollywood are up and coming teen pretty boys like Logan Lerman. However, what can really restore the Spider-Man movie franchise is someone who can really fill the character, not just eye candy.

One of the things that irritated me about Tobey McGuire was his portrayal as Spider-Man. He was great as Peter Parker, the nerdy school boy who couldn't get the girl. He had a certain awkwardness that was comical at times as audiences rooted for the underdog to finally come out on top. However, his costumed Spider-Man was anything but the arrogant jokester fans would expect him to be. His jokes were dry and sounded like they were dubbed in as Mcguire read from a script.

Glover has the potential to do so much more than McGuire as Spider-Man. For starters, he's a comedian. He's already great on Community and could easily adlib some lines in to give the character that witty punch that would capture audiences. One of the things that has made Spider-Man so relatable to audiences is he's a guy that never really wins. The first movie really showed it with the ending where even though the bad guy was beaten, it came with a cost. But it's the light hearted nature the character goes about life that keeps it from being so depressing.

But the likeliness of Glover landing the role is pretty slim, mainly because Peter Parker isn't black. But hey, what better way to tell audiences it's a reboot than to drastically changing the lead role? It's frustrating being the geek who knows a movie is a reboot and having to explain to a non-geek why the previous movie doesn't matter, although I'm sure we can all agree everyone will be better for forgetting Daredevil. For some, Punisher and Punisher: Warzone coming out relatively close to each other created some confusion for the non-geeks. A black Peter Parker would be an easy way to say to audiences "look, this is going to be something brand new." I hope Hollywood is listening because Glover is ready to jump into the blue and red spandex.

But the Glasses Hurt My Brain!

Ever since James Cameron's Avatar set box office record, there's been a new concept flying around. It was one of the bullets that killed the Spider-Man movie franchise, built up interest in PC gaming again, and became a new reason to make TVs expensive again. All of this happened because 3D became cool again.

New movies are being either created or adapted to be in 3D ever since the financial success of Avatar. Clash of the Titans received the update months before its release along with summer blockbusters like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Shrek Forever, and Toy Story 3. It didn't take long to jump the shark though because this summer we'll be seeing Step Up 3D. If there's one thing that will make my life meaningful, it's seeing bad acting like I'm already there. It's the night of local theater I've secretly dreamed of!

But the 3D train wreck doesn't stop there. The Sony has announced the PS3 will be 3D capable by the end of the year and recently Killzone 3 would also have the capability. This follows the Avatar tie-in game featuring 3D, which seemed like a last minute add-on, and 3D graphics cards for computers. CES 2010 was loaded with new 3D televisions and a 3D version of Avatar for Blu-Ray has been promised. ESPN and Discovery channel have already stated their intentions for 3D stations of their programming. With all this steam, 3D has to be the next wave, right?

Too bad it will take too long to be affordable. You just dropped a big chunk of change on a 3D capable TV? I hope you bought the goggles for it too. Those are a couple hundred on top of the TV. Want to share it with friends? Better buy some extra goggles. I find it hard to spend $60 to buy another PS3 controller to have friends join me in LittleBigPlanet, let alone $200 for the one in one hundred game or movie that will be in 3D. Sorry, dudes, but you better bring your own goggles. Movie theaters are struggling to keep up with new summer blockbusters in IMAX and 3D as they were unprepared for the sudden influx. Avatar will be seeing a second release in August because Fox complained Alice in Wonderland 3D kept it from making more money. 3 months in theaters wasn't enough? As the summer rolls on, Iron Man 2 was already pushed out of IMAX by Shrek Forever after only 2 weeks. With the state of the economy and the theaters, the public is not ready to make the transition to 3D as quickly as it is being pushed. This will cause the 3D movement to burn out as little more than a fad... hopefully.

This brings me to the other concern of the 3D push, sacrificing quality for the sake of a gimmick. Sam Raimi struggled with Sony over Spider-Man 4 being in 3D. Raimi's main argument against it was he knew nothing about it and didn't think he'd be able to make a quality movie with it. For the horrid monster that Spider-Man 3 was, Raimi regained some respect from me for showing some integrity. The Avatar game was panned by critics for its unfinished flaws, yet it manages to sell almost 3 million copies. Nintendo has announced their next handheld system will feature 3D, possibly a worse gimmick than motion control turned out to be, and I'm sure will lead to mountains of shovelware in the following months. Unfortunately, 3D brings in quick money and therefore is quickly becoming the new standard. Soon enough we'll be seeing the likes of Frost/Nixon in 3D, and the part of me that appreciates reason will cry itself to sleep at night with Nixon's nose jammed in its face.

It's yet to be seen if I have a prediction or a dream, but I hope for everyone who enjoys a good story and realizes the medium is just as meaningful as the content that 3D is just a fad. Wait until next summer and we'll see how much life it still has left in it.

Friday Reboot: Maniac Mansion

Well, it's a day late, but it's time for the weekly reboot. This time around it's time for a classic favorite of anyone who played a Nintendo Entertainment System beyond Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. In those 8-bit days, very few games fed into the player's creativity. Most games only had the choice of moving left or right and that's as far as they'd go for open-endedness. But in 1987, the company now known as LucasArts put out a game with optional characters, multiple endings, and hidden comedy ranging from pop culture references to exploding hampsters. It's time to go back to the Maniac Mansion.




If Maniac Mansion had anything, it was a high replayability factor. With seven different endings, six characters having different abilities with only two to select for the game, and the capability to interact with almost any object you came across, anyone would have a difficult time playing it the same way twice. But the times have changed and there are even more possibilities for open game styles. This is a title that would need a serious overhaul to be ready for today's market.


CHARACTERS


One of the most memorable aspects of the original was its diverse cast of characters, playable and non. The Edisons, the primary antagonists living in the mansion, were a colorful group besides their blue skin. It was a family consisting of an evil scientist, a militaristic son, an obsessive daughter, and two tentacles. Depending how you played the game, you could turn your enemies into allies. However, Edna could use some more fleshing out beyond the romantic who hung out in the kitchen at the beginning of the game.

The playable characters could transition into a more modern interpretation but it could stand to have them more balanced. Bernard, the do-anything nerd (and possibly a character created as wish fulfillment on behalf of the developers), could be scaled back with a modern interpretation. I also never saw the need for two musicians when neither of them offered anything different. There is also the option to diversify the gameplay with photography and Easter Eggs with radio channels.

GAMEPLAY

Gaming genres have diversified much more since the days of the NES. Thanks to games like Resident Evil, games offer more suspense and terror than most horror movies now. The classic adventure style of gaming has been fading for a while and perhaps the best way for a reboot to succeed would be to follow more of a survival horror style of exploration. Maniac Mansion, with all its goofy humor, still created a feeling of suspense. You didn't know if the next room you were about to explore would be occupied by one of the house's residents or what kind of danger there was to interacting with any given item. They just have to make sure they get the camera right.

STORY

Obviously there would have to be more to the story in a new generation of the game, not only because of hardware ability but because a refreshed version of the old game wouldn't offer much to old fans. A bigger mansion offers more interactions for side stories and character development. But the most important aspect would be more endings. The original Maniac Mansion and similar games like Crono Trigger begged to be played again just to discover what other outcomes there were. Maybe give Edna that romance she was always looking for. Personally, I'd love to see a giant hampster rampage through town after giving it radioactive water.

With the rough economy, many publishers are going to already established IPs rather than risking a new one. LucasArts is still around and I'm sure they wouldn't have any trouble finding a publisher for a reboot. Maniac mansion is one of those classic games that can send a group of 20-somethings reminiscing of hidden jokes and crazy story developments. It was Maniac Mansion that taught this gamer if you have a problem with something, throw it into the trunk of somebody else's car.

What? No Recent Warfare?

There's been a lack of news regarding the Activision/former Infinity Ward employees lawsuit, but recently there have been some developments that might be hinting on the future of the Call of Duty franchise as far as Activision is concerned.

Part of the lawsuit involves contention over the Modern Warfare name, what I consider an important part of moving forward if either party continues with shooter games. Recently though, Activision has registered domain names for possible titles Future Warfare, Space Warfare, Secret Warfare, and Advanced Warfare. Could this be a sign of their intentions or possibly branching off from the franchise? Shooters are a dime a dozen these days and with Activision having projects underway with Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software, and a dismantled but functioning Infinity Ward, it makes me wonder if the Call of Duty title will become the new Guitar Hero, slapped on any piece of shooter shovelware that's pushed out the door.

When the dispute over the Modern Warfare license first broke, the first thing I thought of was the implications if Activision were to lose it. With Call of Duty: World at War's zombie DLC being received fairly well, it's evident Activision could take the franchise into alternative history styles like Wolfenstein or Freedom Fighters, a personal favorite from the PS2. With Future Warfare and Space Warfare, it seems they may be shedding their realistic base and going more into the direction of Halo and other sci-fi shooters, which is interesting considering their new partnership with Bungie. When it comes to space warfare though, a certain Lombax already has that market cornered in my heart.

The titles of Secret Warfare and Advanced Warfare lend themselves to a more traditional interpretation though. Secret Warfare would fit in with the announced Call of Duty: Black Ops, focusing more on a stealth style of gameplay. Advanced Warfare might as well be Recent Warfare. There's tons of interpretations that could be taken from the title, whether it be expanding on strategy and supply drops to a not-quite-future style.

The move into spin-offs for the Call of Duty franchise may be a way for Activision to mitigate damage done to the development cycle. While litigation is pending, it would be unwise to release a Modern Warfare 3 unless they feel comfortable paying out royalty checks. However, if Activision fails to release a new title annually, the fickle minds of the shooter masses will easily forget it. It didn't take long for the bugs of Modern Warfare 2 to send gamers over to Battlefield once it was released. If the new titles end up being garbage software to fill a time table though, it will have seriously damaging effects on the brand of Call of Duty. It's taken a while for the stigma of being a WWII shooter to wear off and right now they run the risk of running the IP into the ground.

Friday Reboot: Ghostbusters

Like many children who grew up in the 80s, I pretended to be a Ghostbuster. I had the proton pack, the trap, the fire house playset... The only toys I had more of were my beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It's funny looking back now to think how we fought over who got to play as one of the nerdy, balding men. But Ghostbusters has been one of those timeless franchises that when watched when you're older, still seems really cool. You can imagine how crushed I was to here Bill Murray say to David Letterman that there will not be a third movie. When the recent video game was announced, rumors started to fly and it all came crashing down.

But thanks to reboots, not all hope is lost. There's still a chance they'd want to pass the torch on, which was rumored to be the plot of the third movie, and let somebody else take over. It's this dream that I share as part of this week's Friday Reboot.

THE CAST

For starters, you're going to need a terrific cast to pull off the character magic that was Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harrold Ramis. With the current trend in Hollywood, things would have to be full of action and in 3D, but my goal is to pay as much homage to the original while updating for current generations.


Bill Murray was able to pull off a charming and somewhat heroic loser in the form of Dr. Peter Venkman. He was always after the girl and never seemed to take the job seriously. However, he was easily recognized as the leader of the group because of his quick wit and confidence. Whoever stepped up to replace Murray would have a big role to fill and have to bring a lot of character to the table. I admit my choice is a bit biased, but the actor I think would be perfect for the roll is...





James Roday. Roday plays the roll of Shawn Spencer for USA Network's Psych, a charismatic slacker able to get by with pop culture jokes yet commanding and confident enough to have you believe he's the hero of the story. It'd be a bit hard to picture his as a professor of paranormal psychology, but how many people actually remember the Ghostbusters working for a university before being kicked out? For the sake of a reboot, I think that's one detail that can be rewritten. Ghost Hunters is big now, why not cast them as paranormal researchers?



Next up is Dr. Raymond Stantz, more professional than Venkman but always seemed to come off as being a bit immature. He always reminded me of the happy-go-lucky chubby kid, like Chunk to the Goonies if you will. The next Ray Stantz would have to be professional enough to be believable as a scientist yet have that oddball quirk to add some comic relief. Honestly, Ray was my favorite Ghostbuster and picking someone was a bit difficult.







I'm not a big Seth Rogan fan, but he's in practically everything already. I think if you get him away from some of the stoner roles he's been cast as, he has the possibility to truly develop into a believable follow-up to Aykroyd. He's capable of the humor yet still able to pull off a more serious tone. I say give him a shot.








Dr. Egon Spengler was the brain of the group, with jokes delivered so dry, anyone without a sense of sarcasm wouldn't realize the humor hidden inside. This was a role, much like with James Roday, where I instantly had someone in mind.



Neil Patrick Harris is known currently for How I Met Your Mother, but he's already played two doctors, which qualify him enough for me. He's someone who can pull off the geek look but still sound sophisticated and confident enough to believe he's the brain of the group. Throw him in a lab coat again and Dr. Horrible would fit right in hunting ghosts.




Winston Zeddmore felt like a convenient plot device for the first movie, the new guy hired in so the rest of the team could explain to him (and the audience) how they captured ghosts and introduce the containment grid. Other than that he didn't offer a whole lot of character for the team. However, I think a reboot would benefit from a more fleshed out character. Rather than playing the straight man to the rest of the team, a role I found Egon fitting perfectly and probably made Winston more forgettable, he would fit better as more of a wild card for the team. Ernie Hudson deserves credit for what he's done, but my pick for Winston would be...


Wyatt Cenac of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It would be the perfect role for him to branch out into film and he has that every-man quality that would help the audience relate to being the new guy on the team. He's got the comedic ability to really make the role shine.




For Louis Tully, the team's future accountant, attorney and dog-man, Rick Moranis was perfect for the role. You don't see too many people become famous playing the role of a nerdy, wimpy guy, but there's one on the way now that Moranis has left the spotlight.






Christopher Mintz-Plasse has played the role before of the nerdy guy who thinks he'll get the hot chick. I don't know how much of an honor it is to say this, but he's this generation's Moranis. Keep an eye out for him if I ever start drudging up a Honey, I Shrunk the Kids reboot somewhere down the line.





Dana Barrett, the damsel of the story, was played by Sigourney Weaver. She's made quite a career of herself but I've never really believed her as the helpless woman who needed to be rescued by another world from within a fridge. Maybe that's because I saw Alien before Ghostbusters, but who knows.



As a replacement for Weaver, I would pick Anne Hathaway. It'd be a step down from leading in romantic comedies, but she has that adorableness to play a haunted musician who turns into a hell hound from another dimension.







The final cast member to need an overhaul to shake the almost 30 years of dust that had piled up is the Ecto-1. What was a refurbished ambulance that fit well into the original movie's setting has always been instantly recognizable. To change this would almost be like changing the van of the A-Team. But because of age, many people confuse it for a hearse. This again is a sign of my own personal bias, but I would love to see a new Ecto-1.



What mode of transport would be more practical than an ice cream truck? Tear out the freezers to put in a charging station for proton packs and give it a new paint job. It already has exterior speakers which would be perfect for an ice-cream truck version of the Ghostbusters theme.





As far as directors, I think the franchise would thrive in the hands of geek favorite Joss Whedon. He's shown with his catalog of TV series that he has what it takes to fill a story with the right amount of action, comedy and whimsy with believable characters. I believe he's someone who would be able to have his own vision for the series but still be able to make fans happy.

In addition, the original cast making cameos, whether as a group of ghosts hanging out together or squeezing them in anywhere like Stan Lee in the Marvel movies, would be an Easter Egg for the fans of the original.

The Story

As far as the story goes, technology has caught up now where I think Aykroyd and Ramis can do what they really wanted to. Some of the early drafts called for the team to be dimension hopping warriors with glowing wands. I say keep the proton packs but who's to say the inside of Dana's fridge couldn't be another world? Have a bunch of fresh faced ghost hunters running around New York City busting phantoms and find a way to tie the original scripts with a remake of the final product.

However, there is one recognizable cast member that wouldn't make the final cut: the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. Nothing against the guy, he was always one of my favorite, but I don't think there's any way they could do the original justice. As part of the re-imagining, a giant stuffed animal, cartoon character, or fast food mascot would work as a great replacement. Shower the citizens below in stuffing or fried chunks of hamburger and it still pays tribute to the original ending.

As timeless as Ghostbusters is, it could use an update for current generations. I lost it when I went around my office finding that at least half of my department hadn't seen this classic film. I think it's a sign that the generation following my own missed out on some of that wonder that made a franchise like Ghostbusters so great. In the right hands with the right parts, a reboot of the series could pay mountains of respect to the original while updating the story while breathing new life into it.

The Final Few

On April 15, 2010, a part of gaming history died, or at least it was supposed to. Microsoft had planned to disband their Xbox Live service for the original Xbox. What they didn't count on was a group of faithful 14 fans of Halo 2. As of May 10th, only 2 remain. Part of me applauds them for keeping the dream of retro gaming alive. I've always been a fan of reverse compatibility because I don't want to have tons of wires hanging out the back of a TV with my entertainment system full of consoles.

But for all the hype surrounding the Final Few, it makes me wonder about them. Were these just people who couldn't let go of their Xboxes? I still bust out my SNES from time to time, but I'm not going to waste the electricity and everything else involved involved with keeping it running. This is really a big commitment to make. These guys are sacrificing internet speed and energy costs just so they can still play Halo 2 together. Al Gore must be pissed.

Why obsess over Halo 2? There's been 2 full games and a beta out now that have made a lot of improvements. It's like playing a Mega Man game after they gave you the slide. You can't go back and play Mega Man 1 again without wishing the Blue Bomber could do that crazy sideways slip. I can appreciate the simplistic fun of playing a less complicated game. That's why I have a DS, but I'm not going to organize a sit-in protest when they discontinue the hand held.

So why have these 14 die-hard gamers dwindled down to 2? For starters, apparently electronics are not meant to constantly run 24/7. I hope they realize the sacrifice they made for Halo 2 that now they'll never be able to play it again, offline or online. Some of them ended up with losing connection and others my always favorite: the internet going out. I can't even imagine how that service call went with some of the language I've heard playing games online. I only hope they had one of those automated "tell me the nature of your problem" systems. I wonder what response it has programmed for "You're a f**king f*ggot, you homos!"

Honestly, I think Microsoft should just pull the plug. Most people couldn't hold it against them with the service being available for years after the Xbox 360 came out. They did their duty and these guys just need to let go. The last 12 were already given Halo: Reach beta codes to get in on the next installment of the game. They've gotten their fame as hero outlaws among gamers. But when it's down to 2 and you're still holding on, it changes from inspirational rebellion to just sadness.

Personally, I wish Xbox Live was being held up by two guys refusing to forfeit a paused game of Madden NFL 2003.