Little Big Planet
Lately I have been getting quite interested in Little Big Planet and during the big breakout session on Thursday, Media Molecule's Alex Evans walked people through the game, pointing out all sorts of fun facts. Including? The game is confirmed to be featuring trophies, if two players of different levels play co-op together and one falls behind, that player will instantly die and re-spawn so the two players can keep up. There are over 60 tutorials that focus on creating and because the Sony E3 press conference showed it was possible to embed text on objects, it will now be possible to do that in game. (Media Molecule wants to make sure everything it's now showing with Little Big Planet is actually possible for users to make.

Other new facts about the game include that originally, they planned to give players complete freedom of depth, but found that a richer experience could be gotten with only three layers of depth, if you use voice chat, Sack Boy will be lip-synched to your speech. The tags used to label level you create are pre-selected and were initially from LOL Cats; this has since been changed. Another new fact is that Stephen Fry does voice over work for create mode, but it hasn't been announced if you can import your own music into the game. Says Evans, "There's no reason technically why not."

KillZone 2
Another game I have been waiting for is Killzone 2 for the Sony PlayStation 3, even though the game isn't due until 2009 Guerilla Games decided to appear at E3 2008 to show off the game anyway. It all started to go wrong immediately with a slight delay due to internet issues in the prior presentation but then a pack of media people shuffled into a little room to hear all about the game.

It was explained that Killzone 2 online multiplayer would feature unique features and mechanics. A nice video was shown ... featuring fast action, and lots of explosions! Boltjes underscored the fact that everything seen was shot in real time on the PS3, and everything still looked nice even with 32 players in a game.

The quick join feature will ensure that players can just hop into a game suitable for their ability level, but pickier players will be able to search for specific criteria before joining a game. The game will feature a 'slow introduction,' working up to advanced features; the advanced features will hopefully keep the hardcore audience chipper while not demoralizing those who aren't ready for a really steep learning curve.

Along with that, there will be transparency in the progression of the game, with twelve military ranks to progress through as you play the game (unlocking more features along the way, kind of like Call of Duty 4 Online). With an additional 46 badges and medals to be won for completing specific goals. Stats junkies will also be able to track 'over 100 statistics' regarding their progress and performance.

Boltjes seemed very proud of the 'play just the way you like it' features, which meant customize, customize, customize (within reason). Players will be able to select from six badges; each badge has a primary and a secondary ability. Decide you're really more of a medic-engineer than just a medic? Combine the two to take the medic's primary badge and the engineer's secondary badge (and vice versa if you decide to play as an engineer-medic). Custom games will allow players to select everything from the maps played, types of missions, weapons available, types of badges allowed, and variable settings (how long it takes to revive a player, how long it takes to set/defuse an explosive, etc.)

Under 'inspiring team play,' Boltjes discussed the benefits of having a squad, including the ability to see the stats of other squad members, a squad-only headset channel, and a 'spawn on squad leader' feature. Also under the spawning mechanics is the ability to cycle through available spawn points and check out what's going on in real time. Dynamic missions will also allow several missions to be selected for a game, with another mission starting after one objective has been won (there is also the option to switch in the middle of a round). There can be four members per squad and eight squads per faction.

Boltjes finished up by discussing the clan system and how they want to 'create community beyond the game.' Clans can support up to 64 players, and clan vs. clan matches can handle 16 on each side. Clan matchups will feature a 'valor' betting system, with winner takes the entire predetermined 'valor' bet. It is possible to run out of valor, but by participating in entry fee-free competitions, clans can rebound from a lack of valor. Clan tournaments can be set up in a tier-based system, with a maximum of 256 clans. On the issue of community more broadly, Boltjes talked about the leaderboards — including individuals, friends, clans, and clan member stats — that can be sorted on an all-time, daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The Killzone 2 website was also brought out as a more in-depth companion to everything available in game.

During the Q&A, a few more things came up no, graphics were not downsized for multiplayer (and the game did look nice). A public beta will be open later this year, and they will be closely monitoring for exploits and vulnerabilities. Killzone 2 will also be functioning on a global server system. Further, more single player news will be out later this year, and while they have some interesting ideas to go with Sony's Home, "we're not discussing it right now."

Wii Sports Resort
When I buy a Wii later in the year this is easily going to be one of the games I will buy as it looks like a lot of fun, that's right it's Wii Sports Resort. When the game ships it will come with a single Wii Motion Plus add-on and a disc with ten or so games. They haven't made the final decision on which and how many games will be in the final product, Nintendo's David Young told me.

Wii Sport Resort, which will include single player and two player mini-games, will not work without the Wii Motion Plus, so those people who want to play the two-player games will have to buy an extra Wii Motion Plus add-on separately.

Nintendo had only three games on display at the show this week: Disc Dog, Power Cruising and Swordplay.

The first game is called Disc Dog, in this game you throw a Frisbee out into a field for a dog to catch. The object of the game is to have it land as close to a marker as possible. The closer you get it, the higher your score. You control where the disc lands by the angle and speed of your throw. I found the game's precision quite impressive. Twisting the remote with its Wii Motion Plus add-on right and left made my Mii twist their hand with the frisbee in real time and it seemed incredibly precise.

The game was a bit of fun to play, but felt more like something you're going to play around with for 30 minutes or so and forget about. It also only supported single-player gaming.

Power Cruising was the second game and it gets you zipping around the rolling waves of a water racecourse on a Jet Ski, using the remote and nunchuk to steer. Holding in the trigger on the remote operated the gas and kick in a short turbo by twisting the remote. It was a workable game, but not quite as fun as Disc Dog. Again there was no head-to-head racing, which is quite a shame.

The third game was Swordplay, which has you wielding a two-handed sword in bouts to knock either an AI-controlled mii or a friend off the raised platform you're fighting on.

The precision of the controls was, in a word, astounding. And the guys at Kotaku found that they could move the tip of the sword around in tight figure eights, an old training exercise from my fencing days. They also didn't have to rely on broad swings from either side and above to hit my opponent. The controller was able to sense thrusts as well.

The game itself had you attacking and parrying with swings of your two-handed sword. Attacks were performed with thrusts or slices, while you parried by holding a button and holding the remote in the proper position. It actually seemed to have some sloppy representations of the three basic saber parries built into it.

The game had a little trouble keeping up with fast attacks, but if you slowed your attacks down a bit it was easy to direct and land attacks and parries. The best two-out-of-three matches left you thirsting for more. You can see this being the top game of the pack unless they drop something just as spectacular in the remainder of the games.

Overall holding the now longer remote seemed fairly comfortable. It is a bit heavier, but not so much heavier as to be distracting.

Resident Evil 5
One of the most anticipated games of the show was Resident Evil 5. This is an eagerly awaited game awash in a sea of racial controversy. So Capcom's showed off a demo at E3 for the game sullied by conflict.

Kotaku wrote this part of the text, as I haven't actually played the demo myself. The demo starts off with my character (Chris) holed up in a shack with Rosario Dawson.

Okay, so she isn't Rosario Dawson, but the South African B.S.A.A. member Sheva Alomar bears a striking resemblance to the Clerks II actress. In fact, throughout the demo I could be overheard mumbling, "out of the way, Rosario" or "I'll save you Dawson!" Perhaps an unintentional likeness, but I'd like to think that if I found myself in the middle of a zombie holocaust Rosie would be nearby, just in case.

Chris and Rosie are holed up in a shack, peering out the window as a big boss baddy has a character executed by a bulky figure with an axe, much like RE4's giant guy with chainsaw. Of course we all know what happens when you peek. The bad guy sees Chris through the dirty window and orders his minions to attack.

You're in a dirty shack in a small African town and zombies surround you. What do you do? You and Rosario Dawson open fire, of course. The controls are very similar to RE4 right now, though of course that's subject to change. Hold down the right trigger to pull your gun, aim with the stick, fire with one button, and reload with another. Pull up the menu to switch weapons, left trigger does a melee attack with your knife.

These new zombie-ish enemies begin pouring in, crawling over obstacles, coming through windows, or using the door like polite diseased madmen. Killing them is extremely enjoyable. Shoot them in the head and it could blow off, revealing a strange tentacle creature sprouting out of their necks. The enemies react to where you shoot them, which is even more enjoyable when you switch to the shotgun and start shooting them...well, everywhere.

From time to time you'll be forced to do the old left-stick waggle out of a grapple trick, or you'll get the opportunity to deliver a special attack with a button push in certain situations. Rosie gets into a lot of trouble with the zombies required you to rush to her aid, brutally brushing off her attackers. She also returns the favor, responding to your calls for help when things look most dire.

Your enemies keep coming in relentless waves, as the whole point of the demo is to survive until your support opens an escape route via missile strike. The game looks slick, though there are a few places where nitpicking can be applied. At one point I took cover against a wall and could see the zombies on the other side clipping through as they lined up to scale the surface and take us out. Other time's enemies reacted strangely, such as the executioner from earlier, who would take a swing at me and then just stand there with his back turned until I did damage to him. Of course an E3 demo isn't the full game, and I am sure they'll get that cleaned up in post.

While I am not the biggest fan of the Resident Evil series, I have stuck with the series over the years and am happy with the evolutionary steps the franchise has taken. Resident Evil 4 wowed me when it debuted on the GameCube, with graphics unlike anything we had seen on the system and new gameplay mechanics. Resident Evil 5 isn't as much of a leap. It looks great, but aside from a few mechanics (you crouch to pick up items) it feels the same as the last one. That fact bothered me for a moment, and then I pulled out the shotgun and took out six of the crazy bastards at once. Not too big of a leap, but when your starting point is as excellent as 4 were anything above that is icing on the cake.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
EA confirmed at E3 that the next Knights of the Old Republic game is going to be a MMO. From Portfolio.com said:

"We've got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development," said Riccitiello. The first title, based on the Warhammer property, will launch soon. "And the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about — in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it."

Does Riccitiello mean the oft-rumored Knights of the Old Republic Online? "Yes," he said.

Sonic Unleashed
The last highly anticipated game of the day came from Sega in the Shape of Sonic Unleashed. On one hand you have the daylight gameplay, which features Sonic racing across levels inspired by real-world locations such as Greece and China, alternating between the 3D platforming we know from Sonic Adventure and the 2D perspective from classic Sonic titles.

The sense of speed in the daylight sections is completely amazing. The Sega rep informed people that once Sonic fills up his ring power and boosts he could reach the real-world equivalent of 300 miles per hour. Watching Sonic speed through the levels made people want to get their hands on the controller.

Then the evening comes. Sonic Unleashed begins with Dr. Eggman using the chaos emeralds on Sonic, cursing him to evenings filled with beat-em up platforming and fuzzy, implausibly stretchy arms. Yes, Sonic becomes a were-hog, a hulking beast that runs slowly on all fours, beats up hordes of enemies at a time with his giant fists, and uses his elastic arms to help him navigate some traditional platforming segments.

The difference between gameplay neatly parallels the shifting of my emotions while watching the demo in action. The daylight portions had me grinning from ear-to-ear, bringing to mind the magic of Sonic games long since past. Why does Sega then shift gears and give us a beat-em-up, with gameplay elements that have nothing to do with the original premise of the franchise?

Imagine the idea men at Sega are as split as Sonic is over this next game. A part of them realizes that fans want gameplay similar to the 2D platformers of the past, while another portion believes they are keeping the franchise fresh and new by adding these new concepts. With 50% of the game night and 50% of the game day, Sega has effectively halved people's interest in the title.

This effectively ended E3 for another year and I must say you were fun in parts, confusing in others and disappointing in many parts. Actually, disappointing in most. Few important announcements almost zero new game announcements and a pair of very miserable keynote addresses will see this go down as one of the "worst" E3s in memory.

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