Q&A with Dying Light Writer Haris Orkin

An interview that I did with Haris at E3 2013 is available here on the IGDA Perspectives site.

E3 First Impression: Rayman Origins

GAME:
Rayman Origins

DEVELOPER:
Ubisoft Montpellier

PUBLISHER:
Ubisoft

PLATFORM:
PS3 / Xbox 360 / Wii / 3DS / PSVita

RELEASE DATE:
15 November 2011

GENRE:
Single- and multiplayer platformer

DESCRIPTION:
Basically New Super Mario Bros Wii, but Rayman.

THOUGHTS:
The artwork in this game is super awesome. The announcement article in Game Informer made a big deal out of how they hired artists who were specialized in traditional painting methods (as opposed to so-called "digital artists"), and how most of the art in the game is actually scanned oil paintings and what-not. Definitely makes for a cool, distinctive look.

Gameplay-wise, it offers that type of same-screen, drop-in/drop-out, interactive-co-op platforming found in Little Big Planet or New Super Mario Bros Wii. Hence I take it that this game is targeted at the "casual" crowd looking to have "fun" by convincing multiple people to play a video game on the same screen in the same room.

On the one hand, that's great. It's getting back to the arcade roots of gaming, when gaming was a living, social experience. Remember Golden Axe and The Simpsons? Of course, those were brawlers. Come to think of it, I don't remember ever enjoying a platformer in an arcade setting. But whatever.

On the other hand... how often does this sort of group game play actually occur in the real world? Like those ads for Kinect showing a bunch of people all gathered together in the living room and playing Kinect Sports: who really does that? Is that a realistic expectation? Haven't shooters already figured out that sharing a screen isn't as fun as putting on a headset and playing over LAN or online? Of course, shared-screen is totally different from split-screen, but whatever.

Furthermore... there's no getting around the fact that it's a platformer. Even the best platformer of all time would still beg the question of whether or not the world needs another platformer. Another CONSOLE platformer, that is -- because we all know there are about a zillion indie, browser-based, and mobile platformers that still need to be made.

Anyways, I want to like it, at least for the zany art style.

E3 First Impression: Dead Island

GAME:
Dead Island

DEVELOPER:
Techland

PUBLISHER:
Deep Silver

PLATFORM:
PC / PS3 / Xbox 360

RELEASE DATE:
6 September 2011

GENRE:
Open-world 1st-person shooter

DESCRIPTION:
Like Left 4 Dead, but more Walking Dead-ish zombies and mood, with greater emphasis on melee combat, and open-world instead of on rails. Single-player or online co-op.

THOUGHTS:
Seems like this game has been getting a lot of buzz ever since the super-awesome reveal trailer came out. That buzz may as well continue -- the E3 demo did not disappoint.

Visually, Techland's in-house engine looks great. Structure-wise, it's your standard open-world post-outbreak tropical island resort, with a main plotline and optional side missions. Gameplay-wise, it's killin' zombies with whatever you can find lying around (axes, pipes, canoe oars, etc.) Instead of giving the player a gun and making her hunt for ammo, the melee weapons take damage, so the player must constantly keep an eye out for new potential zombie-bashers to replace the old ones.

The writing and voice-acting are top-notch -- almost a mismatch for the rather wooden (by LA Noire standards, at least) character animations. Presentation-wise, I think it's a mistake to force short-attention-span E3 demoers to sit through the lengthy opening cutscene, even if it is backed by the hilarious "Who Do You Voodoo?" rap single.

Overall, I'd have to say this looks like an awesome game, and I am definitely going to buy it and play it.

E3 First Impression: Lord Of The Rings: War In The North

GAME:
Lord Of The Rings: War In The North

DEVELOPER:
Snowblind Studios

PUBLISHER:
WBIE

PLATFORM:
PC / PS3 / Xbox 360

RELEASE DATE:
24 August 2011

GENRE:
RPG

DESCRIPTION:
Licensed-franchise fantasy RPG with optional co-op

THOUGHTS:
The game captures LOTR's epic mood, and the story elements feel compelling. I don't believe there's much room for character customization, but there's plenty of otherwise standard console RPG fare, in terms of leveling, grinding through hordes of orc creeps, item collecting, and so forth.

The focus seems to be on the co-op, which reminds me of partnering up for quests in WoW. I think this co-op focus also means that characters play similarly to one another, e.g. everybody has ranged AND melee attacks, can equip the same items, etc... all of which is fine by me.

There's a super-awesome "eagle power" that summons a gigantic (I mean, HUGIANT) friendly eagle who swoops in, snatches up your enemies in its talons, and then flies away. I couldn't get enough of that -- wish it had a shorter cooldown.

E3 First Impression: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon:Future Soldier

GAME:
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

DEVELOPER:
Ubisoft Paris
Ubisoft Red Storm
Next Level Games (Wii)
Virtuos (PSP)

PUBLISHER:
Ubisoft

PLATFORM:
PC / PS3 / Xbox 360 / Wii / DS / PSP

RELEASE DATE:
March 2012

GENRE:
3rd-person tactical action shooter; single player, multiplayer, co-op

DESCRIPTION:
Another modern military shooter game [sigh] -- but a really well-done one!

THOUGHTS:
The reaction on Giant Bombcast to this title was blasé at best. They cite their "gun fatigue," i.e. being sick of games where you running around shooting a gun. While certainly a valid point, it's not fair to poo-poo a good game (or any piece of media, for that matter) on premise alone. I mean, plenty of great stuff has a lame premise.

GR:FS provides an excellent case in point for why publishers are so desperate to control the flow of information coming re: their games. Like most big titles, this one has been through a series of delays. Per Wikipedia:

The release of Future Soldier was initially targeted for the 2009–2010 fiscal year, however Ubisoft later announced that the release date would be pushed back until the 2010–2011 fiscal year to "strengthen" its video game line-up. In May 2010, Ubisoft announced that the release of Future Soldier would be delayed until the "March quarter of 2011". On November 15, 2010, Ubisoft announced that Future Soldier would be delayed once again for an April 2011 – March 2012 release.

The PR side of marketing can make or break a game just as the advertising side can, and you can't expect journalists to get excited about old news. Furthermore, March 2012 is still a long ways off. I remember getting stoked for GR:FS at last year's E3 (and being disappointed there was no playable demo). That was all before Black Ops had come out. How much more "gun fatigue" will we have after the upcoming "third" installments of MW and Battlefield?

Notwithstanding, this might be my favorite game of the handful I played at E3 this year.

The weapons handle well and sound awesome. All the AR HUD stuff is really cool and looks splendidly future-tastic. The camera is both intuitive and cinematic. The destructible cover is spiffy and I'm a fan of the cover-to-cover mechanics.

They've certainly made good on their promise of a hyper-realistic military "vision," which feels appropriately fleshed-out, not just in terms of the much-hyped, super-cool, "real-future" weapons tech, but even as far as the sound design and dialogue go -- and it's definitely to a game's credit if it can manage to sound good on the noisy expo floor.

What I played of GR:FS feels very polished and well-paced. The seemless single-player in-engine cutscenes enhance the game's flow rather than interrupting it. There's a nice variety of gadgets, features, and mini-scenarios that add variety to the otherwise standard-fare military shooter gameplay. The team- and intel-oriented multiplayer feels both familiar and refreshing.

Overall, GR:FS delivers explosive action without going preposterously over-the-top. I can't find much not to like about this game, aside from the obvious point that, thematically, it's still more of the same military shooter stuff.

Last year's Medal of Honor was rushed to shelves. The single-player campaign especially suffered -- it needed a better story and a lot more time in the QA oven. IMO, that was a mistake, the game was generally received as a disappointment, and sales (and EA's reputation, if any) suffered for it. Even if Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will be arriving a few years late to the party, I'm looking forward to playing it.

E3 First Impression: Wakfu

GAME:
Wakfu

DEVELOPER:
Ankama Studio

PUBLISHER:
Square Enix

PLATFORM:
PC / Mac

RELEASE DATE:
2011

GENRE:
Turn-based tactical MMORPG

DESCRIPTION:
A cute, anime-looking RPG game.

THOUGHTS:
It looks great on the giant iMac screens. I like that the characters are so adorable. Apparently there's an extensive amount of back-story here.

Good tutorial for introducing MMO mechanics to people who may never have played one. Spells level up individually, so you don't have to choose a particular build right out of the gate... that seems to be fashionable nowadays.

I like that you can attack and kill pretty much anything, although, honestly, who wants to kill harmless, innocent forest creatures? [That's a joke. See my recent Flash project.]

No real surprises here -- you probably can tell from the screenshots whether this is your type of game or not.