I know it's already been a few months since this game has been released. But a game this massive and complex needs some serious play time before it can be fully reviewed. Not to mention that I had to wait for a few patches to update the game before I could truly play it.
So I'm sure by now you've all heard about the excellent reviews Empire Total War has received. Across the board, websites, magazines, and other sources of game news have given this game top scores. Many of these game news outlets are also saying that it is the best game in the series so far.
I'm here to tell you right now that Empire Total War is one of the most over hyped games of all time, right up there with Fable 2 and Spore.
But I'll start out with the positives of Empire Total War before I tear in to it.
More to come. Bear with me, my internet's lagging out because of all the E3 videos of awesomeness at once. Also I WILL NEVER EMBED IGN VIDEOS AGAIN BECAUSE THEY DON'T FREAKING WORK! I had more, but I had to delete them because stupid IGN's code is apparently broken.
Jesus, what a day! I'm worn out from watching press conferences.
First, was Nintendo:
Nintendo's got a crazy new finger sensor thing that measures your pulse. Just what I always dreamed of with my games!
Nintendo is still very casual, but it's nice that they had a section highlighting The Conduit, Resident Evil, and Dead Space for the core gamers.
Wii motion plus is coming... still.
New Golden Sun for the DS and Final Fantasy for the Wii. That's good, right?
This game actually looks good. COP: The Recruit for the DS. Open world and GTA style. Sweet!
New Mario game is... New Super Mario Bros Wii with four player support. Whoohoo.
But wait, there's more Mario! It's... the new Mario and Luigi game. Ok, so it's finally coming to America. That's nice.
What's that you say, more Mario? Oh, it's a new Mario vs. DK game for the DSi download service. It has a level editor.
You can't be serious? Even more Mario!? It couldn't possib- OH. MY. GOD. IT'S MARIO GALAXY 2! That's the first time ever two 3D Mario games will be released on the same console. Strangely, it's also the first time a 3D Mario game has had a direct sequel. I hope it's different enough from the first. Usually, every Mario game since 64 has tried to raise the bar from the last.
Ok, one final announcement. It's a collaboration with 3rd party. Whoa. It's Team Ninja. What is this? Zelda!? No, it's in space now. Star Fox? Holy pumpernickel, it's Metroid! Jesus, it looks awesome!
Nintendo made my day and, quite possibly, the entire show for me!
Next was Sony:
Demo of Uncharted 2. Looks to play like Gears. Also, what the hell is with all these games with characters climbing walls!? Sweet demo, though. Very action-packed. Probably the best one so far.
Lot's of random stats! More PSN content, Home is still depressing.
MAG demoed in real time. Impressive amount of players, but the game doesn't look all that fun. Interesting it'll be out this fall. Wasn't it only announced a year ago?
Oh joy Grand Turismo for PSP. By the way GT5 is still coming... eventually.
PSP Go announced officially. It's going to cost $250!? Seriously!? Why the hell would I buy a stripped down version of a PSP, which has a larger screen, for so much more money. Screw that!
Project Trico shown. Big surprises, people. It's officially called The Last Guardian. Trailer is similar, but updated. New gamplay. Looks sweet. No date.
MGS: Peace Walker (which most certainly was not leaked yesterday) officially announced for the PSP. Long winded trailer shown with lots of Snake creeping about in a crouch. Out next year.
New FFXIII trailer. Wait, what's this? HOLY HELL IT'S FFIVX! Oh wait, it's an MMO. Whatever.
Hm, PS3 motion controller. Looks impressive (though a bit silly) although I don't think it's much different from the Wii motion controls besides having a camera. It'll be out next spring.
Assassin's Creed 2 demo is sweet.
God of War 3 demo is also sweet.
No slim PS3. How dare you lie to me Internets!
Mod Nation Racer looks pretty cool. Let's you build your own everything in a racing game.
New game from Rockstar called Agent. That's about all we know beyond it being exclusive.
It's easier to do these rap-ups than constantly update the site all day long. Microsoft's press event was today and it was big. I was right about this E3 being a big year (well it is so far for Microsoft at least) or, at least, I was thinking it.
Xbox Live will continue to dominate the world with update coming soon incorporating Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, an improved video marketplace, and probably more.
Microsoft has been working on a motion-sensing add on of their own. It's not what you think. It's not what I though. It actually looks quite revolutionary. It does two big things: it lets you control games without a controller and it lets you interact with games like never before in a 3D space. Lionhead showed off something that can only be described as "artificial intelligence" that has you interacting in unseen ways with a character on screen. I guess that was their big announcement.
It turns out Crackdown 2 was the game recently formed Ruffian Games. It was announced and accompanied with a trailer, but that was about it.
Alan Wake lives! It was demoed live and will be available in Spring 2010. It actually looks pretty awesome.
Left 4 Dead 2 will be available on the Xbox and PC November 17th. Trailer was shown. RELOADIN'!
Epic Games releasing a new XBLA game this summer called Shadow Complex. Looks like a Bionic Commando/Metroid mix.
In the midst of gimmicky family fun, one developer seems to be rising to the occasion when it comes to bringing hardcore to the Wii. That company is High Voltage Software, developers of the old Hunter The Reckoning series. They've developed The Conduit, which isn't even out and I already love it, but in the madness that is Pre-E3 they've announced two new Wii-exclusive titles, again targeted at the hardcore.
The first new game is titled Gladiator A.D. and should be out in the first quarter of 2010. According to an interview with the developers, they wanted to design an intense fighting game with customizable gladiators and combat inspired by the movie 300. The game uses HVS' Quantum 3 engine (the same as The Conduit), but looks a little rough around the edges at the moment. For single player, each gladiator will have his own play style and story, but you can also take the fighters online. Combat will be gesture-based and will support Wii Motion Plus.
Even more interesting is Wii's very own Left 4 Dead styled cooperative shooter entitled The Grinder. The Grinder takes place in the American Southwest where four monster hunters have been called back to action because of a recent monster outbreak. The game will indeed include both online and split-screen coop as players take down armies of creatures such as werewolves, vampires, and zombies. Unlike L4D, however, each of the four characters will have their own unique playstyle including a Japanese assassin who may or may not use a Wii Motion Plus controlled sword. In any case, the game looks absolutely fantastic and nothing like a Wii game at all. The Grinder looks to push the Quantum 3 engine past the limits of what anyone thought was possible by allowing 60+ enemies on screen at once and still looking phenomenal. And I can already tell the soundtrack is going to rock. More info here.
On a related note, it seems like there's a growing trend these days with hardcore Wii games. Even if they're ports, they count because it shows that there's a market for those types of games on the Wii. It seemed to start with games like Okami and moved on to No More Heroes (which is soon getting a sequel) and then MadWorld and the Conduit. It's a trend I hope developers keep up or, at least, High Voltage.
