Quick Update [UPDATED]

[ChaseB]

-- Story has been updated --

Alright so I've been in meetings most of the morning into the afternoon, and also saw some more EA products then I thought I would, so hence why I've left you in the dark the last few hours.

I don't have time right now to get into most of the games, so here's just a few words on some of the games I've seen. Check back later for more fleshed out thoughts, but I have the Ubisoft press conference in a few minutes, and then I have more meetings after that.

NHL 2K9 - Saw just the Wii version, no hands-on time. Their main goal is make it "fun" again, since Visual Concepts has now taken over and they want to do away with the convoluted controls from last year.

NBA 2K9 - Saw (aka didn't touch controller) just a two-minute quarter, but it graphically looks even better, and they definitely are pushing the presentation a bit harder from what I can tell. The main focus with 2K9 is put you in the moment from start to finish essentially.

Madden + Tiger Woods Wii - All-Play was in full effect for this title, though I did play some of Tiger Woods with non-All-Play intact. I don't have any prior experience with Tiger Woods Wii but it was surprisingly responsive, though I want to see how more high-level stuff (fades and draws) controls before getting too excited. With Madden, basically All-Play has refined some of the controls, which is mostly for the better, though I do have one or two doubts that I'll get into later as well.

Facebreaker (Wii + PS3) - My personal favorite from all the games I've played so far. I especially enjoyed the PS3 version, and there's certainly some things, gameplay mechanics-wise, which differentiate the two versions -- perhaps not for the better. It's definitely more fighting game than boxing game, but that's only a negative depending on how you look at it. As a fighting game it's simple but nuanced in the right ways from what I can tell.

Skate It (DS + Wii) - Probably the sketchiest game I've seen to this point. I want to like it being a big Skate fan, but I'm not sure if I will want to put in the time to learn everything, only to still not feel fully in control due to the hardware. This might be more a Nintendo problem than an EA problem, but it still negatively changes the experience. I'll get more into that later as well.

Sorry that's all for now guys. Stay tuned for the Ubisoft live blog (starting at 2:30 p.m. PST). Hopefully they talk about Shaun White Snowboarding, or reveal some other type of new game that will excite you all.


*UPDATE* - Since Ubisoft is a public press conference, unlike Take-Two or EA for example, means there's a serious line, and since I didn't get there early (since I was writing that update) that means I have about zero chance of finding a spot to blog.

So what that means is I'm going to head back and check out the rest of EA's stuff (namely NBA Live and I believe Madden is there as well) and perhaps check out some of the other stuff in the showcase pavilion from other publishers/developers.

So apologies, but my guess is at most they touch on Shaun White Snowboarding, otherwise it will be about Prince of Persia, Brothers in Arms, and Beyond Good & Evil (among others I would guess). Awesome stuff don't get me wrong, but just not our department.

[Jano]

Do you know if you will be able to get any actual play time with the 2k titles?

[Shakedowncapo]

He just told me there will be a 2k event in a few weeks showcasing the games.

[bateman11]

Hmmm. Put you in the moment. Sounds interesting. Better be, actually.

[Jano]

Dang if thats the case I hope we can at least get a trailer this week so we can have something look at other than just the eyes on previews.

[Shakedowncapo]

A trailer would be nice...Since the game isn't playable at the show.

[ChaseB]

Yea no hands-on at E3. And put you in the moment aren't the exact words, but basically just NBA 2K9 is about just being awesome from start to finish, no downtime.

Don't know about a trailer, I would guess not. They did show a 360/PS3 trailer for NHL 2K9 and NBA 2K9 to me though, so it's possible. I just guess since it's behind closed doors that they aren't ready to show tons of media from it etc. yet.

[Jano]

Well I hope you can get some hands on time with Live then.

[Shakedowncapo]

Anything stand out to you gameplay wise? Are the graphics a leap or yearly update type...I know it was only 2mins so I'm not sure how much you could take in.

[ChaseB]

Yea don't want to make any snap judgments obviously. They're improved, and the framerate seems to be locked at a solid 60 fps though.