ArtisticallyChill

Last night, Stephen Colbert, on The Colbert Report, talked about Microsoft’s Project Natal in a segment call “Bears and Balls”. In this segment, Stephen gives advice as to whether or not you should invest in the companies he talks about. After restarting his button, Stephen suggests that yes it is time to invest in Microsoft, but not for Project Natal, but for the “Next-Next-Gen” console he introduces to the audience. LOL

~ LoneWolf

In case you missed it yesterday, GameSpot now has a video of Microsoft’s Press Conference for you to watch, share, and comment on. Or you could just watch it below:

So far, GameSpot has been really good with their video content so be sure to check out their video section for demos and trailers not seen in any of the press conferences this week.

~ LoneWolf

Microsoft definitely had several aces up their sleeves with their E3 press conference today. From improvements and new features for Xbox LIVE, to jaw-dropping demos, to out-of-nowhere announcements, I think this was the best conference by Microsoft I’ve seen since their first E3 where they announced the Original Xbox. On the Xbox LIVE front, Xbox 360 announced today that you’ll soon be able to queue the movies you wanna watch on your Netflix account from the dashboard. On top of that, you will be able to watch movies instantly streamed from Netflix and share in a party with up to seven friends, no matter where they are, with Netflix on Xbox LIVE. It’ll be like having your own episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 right in your living room.

There were several exclusive titles announced and to me, those that stood out were:

• Alan Wake (Remedy/Microsoft Game Studios): Alan Wake is the all-new psychological action thriller from the renowned creators of the Max Payne franchise. Coming in spring 2010 and exclusive to Xbox 360, Alan Wake will immerse players in an intense cinematic thrill ride of dreams and reality, where light is the only ally.
• Crackdown 2 (Ruffian Games/Microsoft Game Studios): The sequel to the award-winning Crackdown, Crackdown 2 is the premier open-ended action experience that lets you be judge, jury and executioner for a vast city. Coming exclusively to Xbox 360 in 2010, Crackdown 2 will take multiplayer gaming to unprecedented levels for the ultimate cooperative and competitive multiplayer experience, providing you and your friends with the complete freedom to explore, destroy and play as you return to restore justice and peace to Pacific City—by any means necessary.
• Halo 3: ODST (Bungie): Launching September 22, Halo 3: ODST is a new game in the landmark Halo saga that lets you experience the events leading up to the epic story told in Halo 3 through the eyes of a special forces ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper). In addition to an all-new campaign, ODST includes three new Halo 3 multiplayer maps and the complete, stand-alone Halo 3 multiplayer experience.** The game also introduces Firefight, an exciting new cooperative multiplayer mode that pits up to four players against increasingly challenging waves of enemies. As a special bonus, Halo 3: ODST also includes an invitation to the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta on Xbox LIVE. Also, launching on the same date with Halo 3: ODST is the Halo 3: ODST Collector’s Pack, which offers Halo fans a new and exclusive wireless controller and the game title in one package at a great price.
• Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve): Left 4 Dead 2 is the sequel to the best-selling and critically acclaimed cooperative multiplayer smash from Valve, creators of Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress and Counter-Strike. Introducing melee weapons and new enemies to the original’s award-winning gameplay, L4D2 casts players as one of four new Survivors battling zombie hordes as they travel from Savannah, Ga., through New Orleans’ French Quarter.
• Shadow Complex (Epic Games Inc. and Chair Entertainment Group/Microsoft Game Studios): New from Epic Games and Chair Entertainment, Shadow Complex combines the best of old-school side-scroller design with modern, cutting-edge gameplay and incredible high-definition graphics. Collect power-ups, discover new abilities and evolve your character into a force of destruction as you explore an original story set in the world of Orson Scott Card’s best-selling novel, Empire. Shadow Complex marries the quality and depth of a full retail title with the accessibility you love, exclusively on Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE Arcade.
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction (Ubisoft): Coming exclusively to Xbox 360 this fall, unleash the ferocious skills of renegade agent Sam Fisher and uncover a deadly terrorist plot in Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction. Completely reinvented and revolutionized, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction ushers in a new breed of action gameplay leaving you fully immersed in the life of the world’s most dangerous spy. Take full advantage of the 20 million member Xbox LIVE community in this latest installment of the award-winning Splinter Cell franchise.

Info provided by Xbox.com

I am most excited about Splinter Cell: Conviction. I remember when the game was announced months ago and I was impressed by the initial screens. After that, I didn’t hear much about the game’s development. I was afraid that it had gone into limbo development. But when E3 news started hitting the Internets about a teaser site and viral site for the game, I was relieved to see that Ubisoft had been hard at work with Sam Fisher’s new adventure and was surprised that they were able to keep so much under wraps til E3. Seeing the new gameplay mechanics just was jaw-dropping. From ‘mark and execute’ to the violent, Jack Bauer style interrogations using the environment, Splinter Cell: Conviction is one title I will eagerly be anticipating.

Left 4 Dead 2 definitely caught me off guard. I’m definitely keen on a new set of campaigns in new locales. What stood out in the video is that it looks like some of the campaigns will be in broad daylight. Another thing I noticed from the trailer is the use of melee weapons like a chainsaw. Hopefully, Valve will continue the raise the bar for this franchise much like they do with Team Fortress 2. Speaking of, I was kinda disappointed that there wasn’t a Valve rep there to announce a massive TF2 update for the Xbox 360 version of their popular online MP shooter.

Halo 3: ODST was presented with a demo, showing off how it was a bit different from Halo 3. You’re definitely not Master Chief, nor will you become a Spartan by the end of this stand alone campaign. One cool thing is that the pistol from Halo 1 is back! SWEET! I like the way the story is told, through different perspectives as you find out what happened to you and your squad on New Mombasa. There was a surprise by Bungie. They announced that they are working on another Halo title called Halo Reach. We were only shown a teaser trailer but they also said that there’s an Xbox LIVE multiplayer beta coming, which you can access straight from your Halo 3: ODST disc. My guess: A squad-based shooter with Spartans. Here’s the teaser video:

At last year’s conference we were treated to an awesome announcement that Final Fantasy XIII would be making it’s way to the Xbox 360. Sony loses another exclusive that every fanboy said would never happen. Today, we were treated to an actual demo, fully translated with English voice-overs and English text on the HUD. The game played nicely and the graphics were just as good, and will probably be better than it’s Sony counterpart.

If last year’s loss of Final Fantasy exclusivity was last year’s shocker of an announcement, this year it’s Metal Gear Solid. That’s right, Hideo Kojima showed up and announced that the Metal Gear Solid franchise will be making it’s way to the Xbox 360 with a new game entitled, Metal Gear Rising. This new original game will feature the character of Raiden from the previous Metal Gear Solid installments. Sure, it’s not MGS4, but it’s still MGS and it’s no longer a Sony exclusive. Suck it Sony! Now the fanboys can’t wave Metal Gear Solid in front of the Xbox Nation any more!

Probably the most surprising announcement was the one that came towards the end of the conference. There had been tons of rumors that Microsoft would be jumping onto the motion-control bandwagon set forth by the Nintendo Wii. But I think no one would have thought it would be Project Natal. Basically, it’s an accessory for the Xbox 360 that will allow you to play games using full motion of your body. There’s no other controller needed, no board to stand on. This blows away away Nintendo’s announcement of the Wii with it’s innovative motion controls. I was just jaw-dropped as I watched the video and then the live demonstration on the stage. Rather than list all the cool possibilities in development under Project Natal, here’s the video:

Crazy right?! You haven’t seen nothing yet til you’ve seen the Milo demo video. Peter Molyneaux introduced us to a very real possibility with Project Natal by showing us, Milo:

Now that was just awesome, but at the same time a bit creepy. But as you can see, the Milo demo shows us one real possibility of how Project Natal will take us on that next level of immersive gaming. Imagine playing an RPG, let’s say the next Elder Scrolls or Fallout, and having to interact with NPCs in that same fashion seen in Milo. Every NPC would react to you and respond to you based on previous interactions with you and how you currently act to them.

Overall, Microsoft is definitely headed in the right direction. With Xbox LIVE evolving to becoming more robust, the line-up of exclusive titles, pulling the rug from under Sony with Metal Gear Solid: Rising, Project Natal and Milo, the rest of of 2009 and beyond is looking pretty LEGENDARY for Microsoft and the Xbox 360.

~ LoneWolf