Changing culture, one gamerscore at a time.

E3 is beginning to simmer down, and GamerNode is finally working, as you can tell by the mental amount of content Jason, Eddie, myself and others have been uploading over the last few days. It also marks the return of my column on gaming narrative, Plot Wholes, the latest of which you can find here.

So… thoughts on various different bits.

Natal is revolutionary, and not only because it looks like something that came straight out of Minority Report. Milo, the game interactivity, christ, even the water was incredible, and I can’t believe it came from a peripheral that, right up until five seconds before they announced it, we’d basically passed off as another EyeToy. I was always jealous, as a 360 owner, of the Wii’s sensor bar, but now it seems slightly out-dated. I think Molyneux’s appearance during the Natal reveal had more to it than they’re letting on, and I think we might even see a Black and White title with the controls coming from you, the player, as it would fit so well into the hand-waving mouse-based concepts brought into the light by Lionhead’s previous two iterations of the franchise.

The PSP Go! is an amazing piece of kit, and I can’t wait to play the various different games on it, let alone simply just own one of the damn things. But, at the same time… I can’t help feeling like it’s seriously overpriced. At two hundred and fifty big ones, regardless of whether you trade in Euros or USD, it’s mad. I’m a pound sterling man myself, but let’s be honest, unless they’re taking off the region lock on that sleek little number, I won’t be getting my hands on one for anywhere near the same price as a DSi. Just when the pound to dollar rate finally swings our way, bam, two amazing consoles region locked and taunting us with it. As for Gran Turismo, I’m not that interested, though LittleBigPlanet PSP looks fantastic and something that would be hours of fun on a long plane ride until the loud child near you notices you’re God made out of felt.

The whole time Nintendo’s conference was in session (ooh, it sounds so much more stern now, doesn’t it?) I was hoping for a Metroid title. Then, not only was it announced, but it’s practically Metroid Gaiden thanks to Team Ninja’s involvement in the project. I can’t actually wrap my head around how amazing an idea that was, and how in the name of all that is holy and orange robot-suited they kept that under wraps. Team Ninja did a lot for Halo 3, and I can see them doing a lot for the Metroid franchise, so long as Ridley isn’t suddenly wearing a lot of dodgy leather and talking about honour.

Speaking of Halo 3, I was wowed by Halo 3: ODST, but not anywhere near as much as the revelation that Halo: Reach was real and actually being developed. To think that we’re actually going to see John’s origin story is mindblowing, as I’m sure anyone who read The Fall of Reach can testify. To think we’re finally going to see the process that turned Master Chief into who he is now, to see him as a child, and most importantly, without a mask, is something I’ve been crying out for since I played the progenitor to the whole Halo universe. I like the games, don’t get me wrong, but would giving Master Chief a little more humanity have harmed him so much as the faceless space marine we’ve all come to know (and for some, love)? Look what revealing Samus’ face did to the videogame community: she was the true woman of video game characters, and you can shove your Lara Croft, chauvanistic tight clothing and all. Samus was so terrifyingly cold, efficient and Nintendo rockstar-esque that we never thought it’d be a chick, and you know what? If anyone did females justice in the realm of sci-fi videogame escapism, it was her.

Is anyone else disappointed that FFXIV is an MMO title? I literally couldn’t speak for a long, long time after that announcement, and I think the shocked noises made by five thousand people in the audience probably underlined that a fair bit. But to see that amazing trailer, to see a handful of people fighting for their lives on a storm-tossed boat in front of a huge dragon-serpent coiling around them out of the waves, and then to know it was a god-damn MMO is something of a kick in the nuts. I’ve seen boats in MMO titles, and all they make me think of is World of Warcraft’s loading screen and ganking, though if you’re a gnome and his mate, irritating the big stupid Tauren in tier five armour was probably pretty damn tempting. I still feel that while FFXIII looks stunning and fun to play, that we’ve covered the whole technological era of the FF universe. For me, no industrial-tech game will ever come close to Midgar in FFVII, though the announcement that that came out on PS3 (and therefore the PSP) yesterday has basically sold the PS3 to me as a console, which is shocking when you consider some of the amazing titles coming out. Mod Nation Racers probably being my favourite, as that’s my sort of deal, being a child of Nintendo upbringing for the most part.

Sony’s answer to Natal and the MotionPlus was a little ridiculous. I liked how funny the presentation was, but the actual tech just didn’t do it for me that well. For one, the wand looked like something you’d find in an Amsterdam massage parlour, and secondly after seeing someone have a real-time conversation with a boy who was upset because the player was telling him off for not doing his homework really did blur the cool images being beamed into my head by Sony yesterday.

Final thought: E3 doesn’t need big names and celebrities, though the one person who should’ve shown up was Hannah “aim for the head lest she reincarnate as a greater daemon of the fifth hell” Montana, considering the amount of times her games popped up in conferences all through the weekend. That and Paul McCartney starting off Microsoft’s conference with “who thought we’d ever end up as androids” was a clear sign that arrogant, talentless (it was all John and George, you know it, I know it) musicians have no place on the stage. However, James Cameron does, and I’m at a loss as to everyone going on and on about him spoiling the film. He states, so clearly, the premise for the film, but not the end. Does a paraplegic getting to walk again sound like a spoiler? No, it sounds like the opening paragraph outlining a protagonist’s plight and motivation for success. The sort you find on DVD boxes. Oh, and Shepherd’s still alive, but apparently we can accidentally kill him prior to the final game in the (current, hopefully) timeline in various different ways. Permanently. Bioware, you’re sick.