The Official 'E3 2009' Thread

[missvalentine]

OMG, Star Wars: The Old Republic!!

I am so damned excited for this, more than anything else i want this game. Star Wars: TOR trailer was easily the best IMO.

MW2 was also epic i can't wait for that and i love how it still feels like COD4.

Alan Wake looks really good, and the story looks very interesting, I'll be getting it for sure.

L4D2 looks good but i have to get L4D1 first.

AC2 looked ok, and so did the two Halo games but I'm not really interested in them much.

MGSR has to be the biggest letdown though for sure. Hopefully Peace Walker is good.

[Member_of_STARS]

Here we go. Last Tom Clancy title changed into something beyond recognition.

[missvalentine]

Splinter Cell looks ok.

And wow Crackdown 2 looks interesting, did the first game have monsters in it?

APB looks just like a GTA clone with more customization.

But Dante's Inferno looks really good, i want to see more.

I wonder if we will get to see a God of War 3 trailer or a Dead Space 2 trailer soon.

WOW did anyone watch the Saboteur gameplay video? It's looks really good, and it's made by Pandemic the same guys that made, Star Wars battlefront, Destroy All Humans and Mercenaries, so it's gotta be pretty good. Plus i really like the setting of Nazi Occupied France.

HOLY SHIT! That Milo kid thing freaked me out, that was unbelievable.

EDIT:

Dragon Age looks epic, I'm Definitely going to buy it.

OMG a new Ratchet and Clank game!! And Battlefield 1943 looks great, it looks like the old battlefield games, I'm really exited about this, is it a remake?

[Zombie Fred]

Splinter Cell Conviction has defiantly evolved in some areas, but it still grants the player to either go both guns blazing or stealth, but it seems this time the animation is more "faster/fluid" for Sam, but it still allows you to go at any pace you want.

Vass man, this is for you why I am excited (Plus more information to describe the game mechanics)

Part 1
Part 2

The demostration, or Demo for E3, is only just showing a small glimpse of what Splinter Cell will bring. They wanted to show the dynamic play and other areas where stealth has evolved for the player. As from the preview from IGN below, here are a few snippets.

Elsewhere, however, Conviction has undergone a complete makeover, returning to the ideals that first defined the series while pushing towards a more action-oriented game. 'We were thinking about the pace of the gameplay,' says Parizeau of the change, 'and we wanted to bring more to the preparation phase - we wanted to make sure that you were able to control the situation from the shadows.'

Shadows are still a vital role for Sam, and Splinter Cell, but it seems that they have added a more "tensed" pace for the player if caught, listed below.

Sam's supernaturally sharp eyesight isn't the only thing helping to facilitate the shift in tempo, as Conviction adds a number of game-changing tools to his repertoire. Last Known Position places a thin and ghostly outlay at the point where Sam breaks line of sight with his pursuers, giving players a smart visual indicator of where the enemy will go to investigate. Whilst out of sight, it's possible to position Sam to leap from the shadows and attack opponents.

This element helps reinforce the idea of Sam Fisher as a fearsome predator, a concept perhaps lost in Double Agent's more thuggish moments and one that was almost wholly absent from the first glimpses of Conviction. But while the game is restoring what Splinter Cell is all about, it's also redefining that very experience by making Fisher a man of action rather than a man who sulks in the shadows.

Parizeau is confident that this shift is the right move for the series. 'This is what stealth could be if it was more dynamic and not just about waiting,' he enthuses, 'it's about the hero taking charge and imposing his own pace on the enemy. That's something we wanted the player to feel and experience - that's where Mark and Execute came from.'

They are defiantly evolving the gameplay for Splinter Cell, and it seems they wanted to refine the "action" in this title, because to be frank, the past Splinter Cells, for when it come to the action option, was broken and not fun as when it come to stealth. This is not a bad thing, per say, but this is ENTIRELY optional, using the new "execute" option, a mechanic that seemed to be influenced from both Vegas - Highlighting the selected targets and the environment, giving the option to kill them when they look at the commotion you have gave to the target, or just to use the environment to help move around the enemy – and Splinter Cell, replacing the door camera mechanic with a broken glass, as it was seen in the level.

Everything that is iconic to Splinter Cell is in the game, but just as Third Echelon, the enemies of this game (after being an operative within this branch since the first game up to Double agent), it has evolved. Sam Fisher is more ruthless this time around, but this has been a continuous story from Double Agent, with his daughter dead and now seems to be much more than just a hit-and-run, it’s going to allow to give the player more options than just stealh.

Multiple marks can be made, turning combat into a case of positioning Sam rather than his weapon sights as the player gets him in place for a clear shot. In-game objects can also be tagged – thankfully our demo was short on exploding barrels, with the Mark and Execute instead being used to take down a chandelier that hung precariously over a group of enemy soldiers.

The options this time around are more robust than previous Splinter Cell games when it come to either "Action" or "Stealth", and it seems they've been mixing both elements together for the player to use.

'We wanted to make a spy agent that feels real, and I think that Bourne, Bond to a certain extent and Jack Bauer have all influenced how we portray the spy,' says Parizeau. 'Sam Fisher had to be better than these guys – he's the best agent in the world. He should be able to do all the things those guys can do, and you as a player should be empowered to use those skills and be able to do all these things.'

I can agree with UBI Montreal (Splinter Cell team) on wanting to make the player feel as the "super" agent in this game, like how Snake evolved from MGS1 to 4 whcih I know it is a odd take to give but I think you understand what I mean by this.

'The new gameplay and presentation elements all work together to keep the pace dynamic – so narrative tools need to be dynamic,' says Parizeau of Conviction's unique blend, 'They need to work seamlessly within the game, and that's one of the things that works well. It's simple in a way, but the whole interrogation scene in other games could be a cutscene.'

These interactive interrogations will feature several times in the game – though there'll likely be no QTE-fuelled waterboarding or mini-game wherein Sam has to attach a car battery to his subject's testicles. Nevertheless, the scene offers a swift introduction to a new, more brutal Sam Fisher and is just one example of the innovative ways in which Ubisoft Montreal is interweaving the narrative with the main business of skulking in shadows and breaking people's necks.

And to bring more to Sam's character side, the game-play has resolved around this as described blow, and the cinematic trailer to present the "theme" explaining why of Sam's actions.

Cinematic Trailer

But with a shift towards the cinematic, we can't help but fear that the freeform gameplay that's forever been Splinter Cell's stock in trade may suffer. It's a fear that we put to the game's producer. 'No compromise' is Parizeau's blunt response. 'It's more the opposite. The major shift is that we've created a new presentation team, and they go through the levels and it's their job to present the information that the player will need to understand the story.'

While the gameplay remains intact, there's understandably some compromise that comes as a result of Fisher's more direct approach to his adversaries. 'You can avoid certain kills, but finishing a mission without killing anyone, I think is going to be impossible – but you'll be able to do it without ever being detected.'

While the stealth hardcore might balk at the proposition, we're personally grateful for the small sacrifices made by Conviction, as ultimately they serve what's looking to be the best Splinter Cell to date. A run-through of the game's opening level in a Maltese market is both breathless and exhilarating, the very definition of a blockbuster film bought to console.

Starting amidst the market's stalls, Fisher mingles with the crowds, smashing the rear-view mirror of a parked SUV in order to obtain a makeshift snake-cam. The mansion that must be infiltrated lies just beyond the market, and there's a number of ways in - be that shifting along the building's exterior or setting off car alarms to alert the guards, scaring them off their posts and making a sharp dash for the unmanned gates.


Once in, Sam scales a pipe, climbing a ceiling and silently dispatching enemies from above. Going on to deal with several rooms using the remarkably effective Mark and Execute feature, he then moves on to a slick corridor lined with marble pillars, with an enemy lying in wait at its end.

Rolling an EMP grenade across the smooth floor, Fisher uses the confusion from the explosion to rush his enemy, engaging in some brutal hand-to-hand to dispatch him. The game then moves on to display how it deals with a more bravado approach, with Fisher pulling a shotgun on a room full of thugs before finding his mark and again utilising some of the player-controlled interrogation before our demo comes to a close.

It's exciting stuff, and naturally has some interesting repercussions for the online game - details of which are being reserved for some point nearer the game's autumn release. Either way, this is looking like nothing less than a triumphant return for Fisher, back in the shadows and more brutal than ever.

I hope this helps give you a clearer image on the game's direction, but reassured that all his iconic items are still in the game and Splinter Cell is Splinter Cell, and I honestly can't wait for some of the mechanics that have evolved to give me great stealth experiance. And we get to hear more about the online mode later on.

And besides, it's a good old fancy Tom Clancy conspiracy and redemption. This could be Sam Fisher's last game.

[James]

Conviction looks brilliant. Probably the best (playable/actually shown) title to come out of E3 so far. I'm impressed with how the game delivers objectives too. =P

EDIT: New trailer. 1486 Venice, Italy is the setting. That trailer was definitely sick. Hopefully AC2 is a lot less repetitive than the first.

Still disappointed the trailer shows nothing new. We knew it was Venice WAY before >_> I wanna see this stuff in motion (heck, we have screenshots - or do we? >_>)

MW2 looks like the same terrible crap that MW was. YAY!

Oh, and

[Member_of_STARS]

I am well aware of what they are trying to do, which is exactly why Im calling "BS!" on it. Splinter Cell was the last true and proper Tom Clancy title, in this case, which youve obviously forgotten, is about realism.

Splinter Cell Conviction has defiantly evolved in some areas, but it still grants the player to either go both guns blazing or stealth, but it seems this time the animation is more "faster/fluid" for Sam, but it still allows you to go at any pace you want.

The "faster/fluid" Sam also means that if Sam runs near an enemy in the shadow, hes not seen, nor even heard. Probably has "mute" function on his boots and gloves. I wish I had those in my airsoft games, because, quite frankly, the stuff shown in the videos are both far from realistic (what TC´s SC was all about), they are also ridiculous in the sense that theres no work done on AI, even the scripted sequences show the enemies as classic dumb moron cannon fodder.

They could have gone a lot better around it. The firefights were broken in older SC games because there was little attention paid to them, they werent the games primary objective. The easiest way to bump up the excitement in a firefight would be to allow for fluid and free motion, engaging camera angles and weapon animation/sounds, aswell as buffing up the AI, so that if you DO choose weapons and firefights, you wont be slaughtering pigs, which is exactly what Conviction seems to be about.

Vass man, this is for you why I am excited (Plus more information to describe the game mechanics)

I already saw them. Want to guess my reaction?

"God damn, Ubi..."

The demostration, or Demo for E3, is only just showing a small glimpse of what Splinter Cell will bring. They wanted to show the dynamic play and other areas where stealth has evolved for the player. As from the preview from IGN below, here are a few snippets.

What weve been shown, and what we know by Ubis track record, its all the information one needs to make an educated and quite accurate guess. Im not pleased.

Shadows are still a vital role for Sam, and Splinter Cell, but it seems that they have added a more "tensed" pace for the player if caught, listed below.

No its not. Check out the firefights. Theres no penalties for getting a bulletwound, and the insta-double-shot function is just making the game too easy. What happened to snake-cam´ing the room and remembering where the lights were? The old Splinter Cells were all about hard work and puzzle-like approach to the games, and they had their niche. Im glad you enjoy Rainbow Cell: Vegas X.

Everything that is iconic to Splinter Cell is in the game, but just as Third Echelon, the enemies of this game (after being an operative within this branch since the first game up to Double agent), it has evolved.

Nope. Youre wrong. Its not.

I can agree with UBI Montreal (Splinter Cell team) on wanting to make the player feel as the "super" agent in this game, like how Snake evolved from MGS1 to 4 whcih I know it is a odd take to give but I think you understand what I mean by this.

The whole point is that the player was not a super agent, as Sam Fisher has always been a man, not a (super) hero. Hes been saying that time after time. I understand that youre talking about immersion. But this game does it all in a piss-poor, cheap ways that not only take everything *iconic* out of the SC, but make the game a run off the mill action game where "you can climb pipes and sh!t, yo!"

Needless to say, Im not surprised that youre pleased, but I find it odd that you agreed with me on every other Tom Clancy game exploitation by Ubi and now that its SC´s turn, and the changes are significant (without implementing improvements that the technological leap during the last 3 years has given us) you just say "its cool, because, you know, you can now shoot shit up and climb like a hamster!".

Just sayin´, yo! Modern gamer requires less Red Storm Entertainment and more Ubi, which is kind of a contradiction, considering how much one has to work to make Ubis games run in the first place.

Oh well. Scratch one more, I guess I´ll be sticking to the novels then.

[EDIT]

"Part 2" video, at 1:40, had a similar situation this Saturday. A guy was behind a pillar, indoors, and it was quite dark. You know what happened when me and my teammate pinned him down there? As my mate kept him pinned and blinded behind the pillar, I just stormed to the side and popped two to his back. Were not in 1998 anymore.

[Zombie Fred]

It's just a case of agree to disagree with this then

[GuardhouseMusic]

Hmm, I think DJ Hero might be a bit too lazy of a title. It's a great premise, though.

OMFG Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. The enemies stop you from climbing walls (no invincibility frames. Well not as many), dash in all directions, and according to the producer, they flank you, pursue you etc etc. I love the way he described it, something along the lines of "You may be running from 3 enemies, turn around and find only 2, only to turn back and have one right in front of you." I got chills watching it. It looks to me like pure exploration; the only thing I'm weary of is the cell phone function being real-time. A lot of emphasis on puzzles, the "Otherworld" changes looking utterly confining...oh and over the shoulder gameplay (I'm not sure if this was made clear before).

MMM now I want a Wii.

[A-J]

god damn can't wait for a playable Alan Wake demo

[A-J]

nintendo's conference has begun !

oh boy, this should be .. fun ..

[Mesker]

Holy shit the Nintendo's conference is boooorrriing. How's Wii selling so good, with so boring games!?

[Archelon]

It's already better than last year's conference.

[A-J]

wow if it wasn't for Golden Sun 3, this would be the worst conference ever.

[Archelon]

wow if it wasn't for Golden Sun 3, this would be the worst conference ever.

You apparently missed last year's conference.

[A-J]

I saw it, atleast the wii music bit was full of lulz.

this is just plain boring.