** Official E3 Coverage Thread **

[Gaim Mastr]

This is it !!
The single greatest gaming convention of the year is upon us. There are none bigger or more important for game developers and publishers alike.


And 3D Gamers has not one, but two people attending the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (http://www.e3expo.com/e3expo/) (E3) at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 12 through 14 !! :cheer:


Our very own Kapi and Frans are busy hounding the game devs for the most juicy, worthwhile information on the future of gaming goodness. :cheers:


The best place to keep up on what's going on is to visit the dedicated E3 section (http://www.3dgamers.com/specials/2004/e3/) of our website. :deal:


They already have provided an excellent Prelude (http://www.3dgamers.com/specials/2004/e3/prelude.html) for what's going to be happening at the show. Loads of venders and their products are listed here. Click any of the many links for more information on the various listed games. :D:


Everything from First Person Shooters... :gun3:

... to Role Playing Games. :magic:

And even a few others that are really......... out there. :alien2:


Personally, I'm interested in The Bard's Tale (http://www.3dgamers.com/games/bardstale/) by inXile Entertainment, among a great many other games and game devs. :yes:


If you haven't checked out the Flash menu of inXile's home page (http://www.inxile-entertainment.com/), go for it now. If it's any clue to the humor and ingenuity of the game, it's going to be a must-have. :lol:


We'll try to keep this thread updated with the news and info that pours in from Kapi & Frans. But the best place to get the best coverage is going to be through the 3D Gamers (http://www.3dgamers.com/) website.


Looking there already, I see that they have several E3 movies for various games already for download and viewing !!


So visit the website at least twice each day to try and keep up all the great stuff. Then, come on back here to discuss what you think is hot, not, and exciting !!
:group:

[DanTheManPR]

Too bad they probably wont look at Halo 2 :(:

[Nova]

While I'm curious about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Dragon Age, I'm especially looking forward to hearing about the games that haven't been revealed yet.

[Ojnod]

Guild wars!!!

[Terry Penrod]

.

So many good ones coming up in the action, strategy and RPG categories - especially if you count all hybrids on all systems. A few good classic-style adventures still on the horizon too and an ever growing stream of new MP / MMO games.

I can't wait to learn more about BioWare's latest offerings, more on Fallout 3, The Bard's Tale, KOTOR 2 and others. But I also want to learn more about the latest, greatest shooters - which we seem to have an endless supply of, along with new engines that keep upping the ante.

Cheers, Terry

.

[Kalbrecht]

To heck with the HL2 circus, STALKER, booth babes, Molyneux and the rest!

It's all about Infinium Labs this year, people!!!

;)

[Circlebreaker]

I hope they take a look at Vampire: The Masquerade. The more I hear about it, the more awesome it starts to look.

Then there's everything Bioware has to show and Rome: Total War, Codename: Panzers, STALKER, Star Wars Republic Commando and KOTOR II, Dungeon Siege II and Ground Control II: Operation Exodus. :D: Yes, I'm being greedy. There are a lot of great looking games planned in allmost all different genres, and that's something that can really excite me.

[Gaim Mastr]

Interesting that Turbine (http://www.turbinegames.com/) may not be there to show off a little Middle-Earth Online (http://www.turbinegames.com/index.php?page_id=65), which is slatted for a late 2004 release. I've been reading a lot of anticipation for this MMORPG on various forums.

Plus their 2005 release of Dungeons & Dragons Online (http://www.turbinegames.com/index.php?page_id=64) MMORPG. I did read that Wizards of the Coast (http://www.wizards.com/) was going to have a larger booth there this year. Though apparently a lot of it will have to do with live competitions for their Magic the Gathering (http://www.wizards.com/magic/) game.

[Kalbrecht]

The new Nintendo handheld - the DS - looks awesome.

[Nova]

The Sony PSP and Nintendo DS look really interesting.

Also, check out the new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video. It's amazing :yes:

[DanTheManPR]

Halo 2, Half-Life 2, and the two handhelds look awfully promising.

And the phantom? I'm sorry, no matter how cool the concept is, its doomed to failure.

[Nova]

This keeps getting better and better. I was stuck home all day typing my last essay of the semester, so I periodically checked out updates and videos. Next year will be amazing for gaming.

[Kalbrecht]

And the phantom? I'm sorry, no matter how cool the concept is, its doomed to failure.

hey, it's not their fault they couldn't get a broadband connection at E3 so you can actually PLAY games on it! It's...uh...it's...uh...it's the HL2 HACKER! OMG HE'S AFTER THE PHANTOM!

[Fzoulcmbyl]

Fileplanet has a new 30 min E3 Half-Life 2 movie. Coming in at 660Mb.

I'm waiting in line while I watch the game, so I'll chcek it out later on.

http://www2.fileplanet.com/images/140000/140589fil.jpg



Fzoul

[Kalbrecht]

A site for files is

http://games.bigpond.com/

Australian based, requires registration (takes about 5-10 minutes to email through a password to you and register). COuld just be me, but the d/l is going nicely at 150k/s.

Go to the menu on the left and files - newest files. They seem to have a few things.

[kapi]

Hi all,

There is soooo much new cool stuff coming out its really hard to believe. Those of you who have been around for a while will know that this show grows every year. This year is no exception trying to see all the new products is a challange for the largest news organizations there.

Bard's Tale ... planning to get details on it tomorrow. We have not gone to Halo 2 yet.

We did get a Vampire: The Masquerade and it does indeed look awsome. The number and types of 'modes' of game of play is very impresive indeed.

Over the next few days we will get you more information. Lots of new official materials have been released including HL2 movies and I know everyone is waiting (or not) for us to make it available so you dont have to wait in line.

... and yes we did drop by Infinium Labs ... and yes it looking very promissing. I am not sure I agree with the rest of 'the heck with' comments Kalbrecht made ;-)

Wish you all could be here.

-Kapi

[Fzoulcmbyl]

OWNED



:lol2:



Fzoul

[Kalbrecht]

... and yes we did drop by Infinium Labs ... and yes it looking very promissing. I am not sure I agree with the rest of 'the heck with' comments Kalbrecht made ;-)

*whistles innocently* :)

Okay - so no sarcasm now - it does look promising?

How's the control system? Especially the tilt keyboard?

[Nova]

Wish you all could be here.

Hehe :D:

Don't wait in the insane line at Fileplanet for the Half-Life 2 videos. You can just subscribe to GameSpot basic and stream them without having to wait, in the meantime anyways. I'll probably download them from 3DG when they are up.

Yes, they're all pretty good, and they're gameplay videos too.

[O'C]

Things are looking good.

Bard's Tale is definitely moving its way up my must have list. Come on, how can you pass up a game that is 50% more funny, uses more pixels than ever before, and has graphics so intense you need a screen. :lol:

I also think it's funny that Gordon Freeman / young Leonard Nimoy can be dressed up in that snazzy space suit thing, but can't get his hands on anything more advanced than a crowbar.

[Mr. Natural]

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2004--Today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Blizzard Entertainment(R) showcased "World of Warcraft(TM)," its upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in the rich fiction of the "Warcraft(R)" universe. Additionally, visitors to the show had the opportunity to play the critically acclaimed closed-beta version of the game and experience the vibrant world of Azeroth firsthand.

In "World of Warcraft," players assume the roles of legendary Heroes and interact with thousands of other players online as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. Whether journeying together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory. Scheduled for simultaneous release in both the United States and Korea at the end of 2004, the game is currently undergoing closed beta testing in both regions.

"We're pleased to announce that `World of Warcraft' is nearing completion," said Mike Morhaime, Blizzard Entertainment president and co-founder. "When we set out to create a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, our goal was to give players an incredibly dynamic online gaming experience filled with endless possibilities while expanding the scope of the `Warcraft' universe. We look forward to accomplishing this goal with the release of `World of Warcraft' later this year."

Building on the success of the Warcraft series, Blizzard plans to expand the MMORPG genre by offering a deep, immersive, user-friendly experience that will appeal to both veteran gamers and casual players alike.

Key features in the game include:

-- Immense, detailed world spanning miles of terrain and featuring hundreds of familiar locations throughout the rich "Warcraft" universe, as well as all-new, uncharted territories.

-- Thousands of quests that drive gameplay and provide countless opportunities for adventure and heroism.

-- Regular content updates created by an ongoing live development team that continuously designs new lands, quests, and monsters.

-- Thousands of items, including rare and unique weapons and armor with which to customize your character's appearance and abilities.

-- Numerous character classes, each with its own distinctive style of play and multiple paths for development.

-- A revolutionary secondary-skill system that allows players to create truly original characters with unique combinations of abilities.

-- Multiple races to choose from, including Night Elves, Humans, Orcs, Tauren, Dwarves, Undead, Trolls, and Gnomes.

-- Several personal modes of transportation, including horses, wolves, and more.

-- Quick and easy travel throughout the world aboard Gryphons, Wyverns, Ships, and Zeppelins.

-- Instanced zones that create personal combat and adventure experiences for you and your companions.

"World of Warcraft" takes place three years following the aftermath of "Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne(TM)," when a great tension has settled over the ravaged world of Azeroth. As the various races begin to rebuild their shattered kingdoms, new threats, both ancient and terrifying, have arisen to plague the world once again. Players must explore the lands of Azeroth, forge fellowships with other players, and build their strength in order to prevail.

[Mr. Natural]

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2004--Today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Blizzard Entertainment(R) unveiled several new levels for "StarCraft: Ghost(TM)," its tactical-action console game set in the epic "StarCraft(R)" universe. Also, for the first time ever, show attendees had the chance to play the game on the PlayStation(R) 2 computer entertainment system and Nintendo GameCube(TM), in addition to the Xbox(R) video game system from Microsoft.

The hands-on E3 presentation shows off the gritty sci-fi universe in great detail and features notable advancements to the dynamic "StarCraft" series, including new characters, weapons, and planetary settings. In the game's diverse new environments, players will explore uncharted terrain and encounter menacing adversaries never before seen by followers of the "StarCraft" franchise.

"We've really enjoyed our return to both console development and the `StarCraft' universe," stated Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're very proud of what we've accomplished with this game so far, and we look forward to hearing everyone's feedback during the show."

In "StarCraft: Ghost," players take part in the struggle for galactic domination as Nova, a deadly Ghost operative in the employ of the Dominion. Twenty years of ruthless physical conditioning and techno-psychological instruction have transformed Nova into a being of terrifying potential. As she progresses through a series of story-driven missions, Nova is required to engage in a number of dangerous infiltration operations and deadly planetary battles. To complete Nova's mission objectives, players must execute intelligent tactical decisions while mastering an advanced arsenal of sophisticated weaponry and Nova's own psionic abilities.

In addition to utilizing Nova's special abilities to carry out covert operations, players can call in offsite support ranging from sophisticated identification sweeps to all-out tactical nuclear strikes. As they advance through the game, players will also have the ability to operate a number of vehicles unique to the "StarCraft" universe, including Goliath Combat Walkers and Arclite siege tanks. Also, to aid them in combat, players can go into a zoomed-in sniper mode from anywhere in any level, using Nova's modified C-20A canister rifle.

"StarCraft: Ghost" features highly stylized character models, over-the-top special effects, and immersive 3D environments that reward creative exploration. The game's deeply evolving story line takes full advantage of Blizzard's "StarCraft" universe and refines the epic experience to the level of the individual soldier. Co-developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Nihilistic Software, Inc.(TM), "StarCraft: Ghost" is expected to release in late 2004.

[Mr. Natural]

Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:MVL), a leading global character-based entertainment licensing company, announced today at the world's largest video game convention, Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), that partners have sold more than 14.5 million units of Marvel-branded video games in 2002 and 2003 alone, making Marvel a leading player in this growing industry. Based on its current pipeline, Marvel believes cumulative unit sales will exceed 30 million through the end of 2005. There are currently three video game franchises based on Marvel characters each having sales of over two million units, indicating the strength of the Marvel brand in this important consumer product category.

Seven Marvel character-branded video games are scheduled for release through December 2005 under video game license agreements with Activision, Encore, Universal Games, THQ and EA. One of the most highly anticipated releases of 2004 is the Spider-Man 2 movie game, which is being developed by Activision and is scheduled to be released in June prior to the movie's theatrical release. The next title in the popular Spider-Man movie game franchise builds upon impressive sales of the original offering, which has sold more than six million units since May 2002. Other scheduled video game releases in 2004 include X-Men Legends, building upon the successful X-Men franchise, which is also being developed by Activision.

"The performance of the Marvel brand in the interactive market is extremely impressive. As Marvel's video game pipeline continues to expand, we believe that the marketing power of this influential product category will fuel higher licensing income and consumer exposure for Marvel," said Gui Karyo, Marvel's President of Publishing.

Marvel's newly created in-house video game division will work with leading developers and publishers to create future titles. Video game titles previously released or scheduled for release over the next several years include:

Marvel Character Video Game Line-Up
(Release dates are controlled by licensing partners)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Spider-Man The Movie Activision Spring 2002
----------------------------------------------------------------------
X-Men: Next Dimension Activision Fall 2002
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Blade Activision Fall 2002
----------------------------------------------------------------------
X2: Wolverine's Revenge Activision Spring 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hulk Vivendi-Universal Summer 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Daredevil Encore Spring 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Spider-Man 2 Movie Activision Summer 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
X-Men Legends Activision Fall 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Punisher THQ 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fantastic Four Activision 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Iron Man Activision 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hulk 2 Vivendi-Universal 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Marvel and EA Super Heroes EA 2005
(Working Title)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Marvel Universe MMP Vivendi-Universal TBA
----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Mr. Natural]

New E3 2004 movie and screenshots here (http://www.3dgamers.com/games/halflife2/#filelist) at 3D Gamers.

[Mr. Natural]

Warhammer online E3 movie here. (http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1084458597/)

[Kalbrecht]

So many movies to go through.

Of the movies I've downloaded, Fable is by far the most impressive so far. HL2 (standard trailer) was good, and Ghost looked okay.

The big Sega announcement has turned out to be a complete dud! Publishing Matrix Online? Whoop-de-doo. They've been completely overshadowed by Nintendo's awesome stuff.

[Frans]

Hi all, nice thread going on here.

Like Kapi mentioned yesterday, E3 is huge and there's an overwhelming amount of cool stuff to see and try out. Yesterday we focused on a couple of business appointments and got back to the hotel really late, hence were too burned out to post more impressions. So let's see if we can catch up a little tonight.

By popular demand :): Kapi managed to sneak us into the appointment schedule for inXile's The Bard's Tale today. This is looking a lot of fun indeed, and the presentation by president Matt Findley was one of the most enthusiastic of the entire show.

The Bard's Tale is a top-down 3D action-oriented role-playing game, sort of a remake of the original game for the new millennium. The game aims to wipe the floor with many of the genre's cliches, as it features a sarcastic lead character ('hero' just doesn't seem the right word :wink: ) that is completely fed up with all the things heroes have had to go through in so many fantasy RPG's. Like a dark comic, it oozes with a more mature, tongue-in-cheek type of humor.

In one of the demo levels the player encountered an over-endowed damsel in distress that sent him on a quest to defeat a giant rat in a basement dungeon, but after returning unsuccessfully and torched (from the rat's firy breath) to the tavern, everyone's just laughing at him, and the quest turns out to be some kind of set up. But after beating the rat on another go, the lady offers the hero a room for the night, right next to hers (nudge nudge, say no more... :shades:) That should give you an idea of the more adult tone inXile is aiming for.

Another twist is in the dialog system, where the player can't use from the usual 3 or 4 options to traverse (or loop around) a given dialog tree, but can simply choose between snarky and nice replies - which can have interesting results. :):

inXile also tries to streamline many of the tried and beaten-to-death gameplay mechanism in role-playing games. For instance when collecting items, there's no need to carry them all around, manually swap your weak sword for the stronger one you just picked up (it's swapped immediately), or haul all the gear back to a shop in town to sell it (anything you can't really use is automatically converted to silver already). There's also an overhead map that allows you to move from one town or area to another, and it features random monster encounters, but you can just run away from it if you don't feel like engaging.

The Bard's Tale runs on a modified engine that was also used for EverQuest: Champions of Norrath, and while the console versions are due to be released this October, the PC port is expected next year.

[Frans]

Yesterday at Activision we saw brief demos of Vampires: the Masquerade - Bloodlines, Rome: Total War, The Movies, and Call of Duty: United Offensive.

Vampires has come a long way since we first saw it at E3 last year, and according to Troika it is on track for a Fall 2004 release (rather than Spring 2005 as previously indicated). The game is structured into 4 hubs set in a gothic punk Los Angeles (not much different from contemporary L.A., then :p:), and uses Valve's Source engine to great effect. We were given a brief demo of how you can choose your character and assign atrributes and abilities, whereafter this character was taken on a quick quest to meet an arms dealer. This included a nice display of the capabilities of Source's facial animation system.

Other demo bits showed the player character - a vampire, after all - feed on a bystander, but not drain her completely as that affects the player's humanity attribute. We also saw impressive spell effects like celerity and bloodboil (does what it says on the can :): ) demonstrated.

As far as strategy games go, few can match the scale and impressive graphics of Rome: TW. A couple of enhancements over the previous Total War games we witnessed are the new advisors that help the player decide what to do and how to approach a situation, and the deployment mode where the player can position his troops and weaponry before engaging a battle. Also, the turn-based strategy mode is now fully 3D, which looks neat in its own right. The game's currently slated for a Fall 2004 release.

Right during our scheduled appointment, Lionhead's Peter Molyneux gave a presentation on The Movies, which is still on a "when it's ready" release schedule. The demo included various aspects of the game, like the controls available to the player to determine how a particular scene comes out on film, nurturing your (spoiled) star actors, the effects of critics on a movie's reception, and more. Several short movies created through the game rounded off this presentation by the always well-articulated Molyneux.

Call of Duty: United Offensive is the official expansion pack to the acclaimed first-person shooter, and it looks to continue that game's reknowned intense and immersive settings and setpieces. Ten new missions are distributed across the same three playable sides (US, UK and Russian) as before, and new weapons, vehicules, and multiplayer features round off this package. One impressive mission on display was the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle during World War II, while another took place inside a B-17 bomber with the player taking various gun stations (much like Wayward Design's B-17 Flying Fortress: the Mighty Eighth) to defend the plane against enemy fighters, which often crash down in flames harrowingly close.

Comments, questions - let us know.

[Kalbrecht]

Bard's Tale:
In one of the demo levels the player encountered an over-endowed damsel in distress that sent him on a quest to defeat a giant rat in a basement dungeon, but after returning unsuccessfully and torched (from the rat's firy breath) to the tavern, everyone's just laughing at him, and the quest turns out to be some kind of set up. But after beating the rat on another go, the lady offers the hero a room for the night, right next to hers (nudge nudge, say no more... :shades:) That should give you an idea of the more adult tone inXile is aiming for.

Hilarious take on Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance!

Vampires sounds good - any word on how 'finished' it is at the moment?

How was The Movies' interface? It's sounding very interesting...

[Frans]

Digital Extremes, who together with Epic Games created much of the Unreal franchise, is working on Pariah, a futuristic first-person shooter that is naturally based on a modified and enhanced UT2003/4 engine. The player is put into the role of an outcast character, in the prison break demo level caught in the crossfire between escaping prisoners and their guards. The special effects produced by the graphics engine are very impressive, such as a kind of time-distortion effect resulting from grenade explosions, and rippling water in one area.

The game includes both a single-player campaign and a variety of multiplayer features that besides the standard deathmatch and CTF variants also adds Digital Extremes' new Front Line Assault mode. Add multi-purpose and upgradable weapons, multiplayer bots and more, and there will be plenty of content on offer. How well the gameplay can distinguish itself from many other FPSes is not yet clear, but at least visually this is a title to keep an eye (or both) on.

[Frans]

Vampires sounds good - any word on how 'finished' it is at the moment? It actually looked pretty solid but then again companies rarely show unfinished areas at E3. :wink: They are pretty confident they'll make the mentioned release period though.

How was The Movies' interface? It's sounding very interesting... Hard to say as I was standing pretty far off and only a few features were being demonstrated, but one important feature are the slider controls that define how a scene is played out. The example used was a car coming around the corner into a street towards the camera, and the slider went from (paraphrased) sedate to high-speed pursuit, which caused the car to take the corner gently and drive straight down the street, all the way to breaking around the corner with screaming tires, and swerving across the street unable to keep the right lane before crashing into something on the side of the road.

[Mr. Natural]

The Roots combines a classic RPG with dynamic gameplay and the fast paced plot characteristic of action-adventure games. The Roots has a complex, multi-threaded storyline and a vast world, which the player discovers whilst traveling with his party, fighting various monsters and living through great adventures.

The land of Lorath, which the game heroes traverse, is divided into over 24 regions. During their adventure players meet over 120 non-playing characters (NPC), with over 400 different items and 70 spells to fight off up to 100 monsters and human aggressors on over 70 battle arenas.

The player becomes involved in a mysterious world, which eventually develops into an adventure full of intrigue, unexpected events and sudden plot twists where an ancient evil has just started to awake.

Within the games' rich and dynamically interactive environment, interesting foreigners join our hero`s quest by adding power and strength through offering new weapons, intellect and tools.

The Roots will offer two mini-games, including Ballooncraft Race - a fast paced, spectacular arcade game, which gives players the ability to fly in a sky race, and Trion, an original logic game.

Linkage (http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1084544424/)

[Mr. Natural]

3D Gamers has an E3 movie of Star Wars Republic commando.
Linkage (http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1084545303/)
Also more images added to the gallery. :thumbup:

http://images.3dgamers.com/screenimages/games/swrepubliccommando/rc_pc_11.jpg

[Mr. Natural]

New movie of Spiderman 2 with screenshots here. (http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1084545849/)

[Mr. Natural]

E3 movie and screenshots here. (http://www.3dgamers.com/games/swbattlefront/#filelist)

[Fzoulcmbyl]

Slowplanet has the new Unreal 3 Demo movie, coming in at just over 161 mb.

I have looked around, and it seems they are the only one's to post it at this time.

However, the Mega HL2 movie is now on FileFront, which was giving me 151K on the download.
The HL2 movie is approx. 30min long and contains a ton of new content and some small spoilers...for me, it was worth the time to download, but I'm still one that's excited about the game.


HL2 (http://files.filefront.com/2964748)


Fzoul

[Circlebreaker]

I wasn't really excited about HL2 anymore after all the drama surrounding it, untill I saw that full movie. That managed to really spark my interest again, it's definitely worth the download. Maybe HL2 won't be as revolutionary anymore with games like Far Cry already released, but it still looks very amazing. :eek:

[Nova]

I also lost interest in HL2, but when I saw the new movie I got swept in the hype again :):

I'm still looking forward to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. more though (this thing is annoying to type).

Vampire is looking good as well...

[Rafal Dudek]

This new F.E.A.R. game looks really really good

[Kalbrecht]

It actually looked pretty solid but then again companies rarely show unfinished areas at E3. :wink: They are pretty confident they'll make the mentioned release period though.

Hard to say as I was standing pretty far off and only a few features were being demonstrated, but one important feature are the slider controls that define how a scene is played out. The example used was a car coming around the corner into a street towards the camera, and the slider went from (paraphrased) sedate to high-speed pursuit, which caused the car to take the corner gently and drive straight down the street, all the way to breaking around the corner with screaming tires, and swerving across the street unable to keep the right lane before crashing into something on the side of the road.

Wow. Sounds good. For BOTH! Yeeha!

The Republic Commando video looked good, although I can't help but wonder why Star Wars commandos talk like 20th Century soldiers...hmmm...

[Frans]

I made it back across the pond, so here's a few more things I typed up at LAX. :):

Empire Interactive unveiled Ford Racing 3 at the show, the third installment in the single-branded racing series by Elite Systems. The arcade-oriented game doesn’t offer anything radically new but does improve over its predecessor with new features like a boost mode, and twice the amount of content. It’s on track for an October release. I have little to say about FlatOut other than that its physics engine is among the most impressive we’ve seen for a driving game, while unfortunately Starship Troopers was only present as a movie trailer and not a playable demo.

[Frans]

French company Monte Cristo is both developing games internally on their Builder engine, and publishing titles by external developers. One of the latter is D-Day, a 3D tactical strategy game by Digital Reality. The title aims to portray this eponymous pivotal operation in World War II with a great deal of historical accuracy, to which end they’ve enlisted the assistance of a veteran’s organization. The game will include 12 multiplayer maps next to its single-player campaign, and with a smooth 3D engine and great tactical depth, this is one title that strategy buffs may want to keep a closer eye on towards its August release.

Medieval Lords is a recently unveiled 3D city building strategy game in the works at Monte Cristo itself. Their Builder engine generates a detailed and dynamic city with an unobtrusive interface. The story puts the player in charge of one small settlement in an area with competing, AI-controlled cities, and the goal is to grow your city such that you can retake the entire area. This game is also slated for August.

The third game we saw is called Fire Captain, which is sort of a sequel to Fire Department (a.k.a. Emergency Fire Response). Improvements include fully simulated fires and smoke, enhanced unit accuracy, easier accessibility, and co-op multiplayer missions. The game will now offer map layouts inspired by US cities, and also recreate historical fires and disasters, such as a highway destroyed by an earthquake, and a burning fireworks plant. Fire Captain is due for October.

[Frans]

We saw the new Half-Life 2 presentation at Vivendi’s booth, where Valve’s Gabe Newell talked us through a new series of movie trailers. The movies showed the gentle introduction of the player into the City 17 game world, similar to the original game’s ride into the Black Mesa complex, along with several more action-packed sequences, but while looking cool and immersive they somehow didn’t have quite the impact as last year’s E3 presentation. The final segment in the presentation showed how the multiplayer component of Half-Life 2 comprises a version of Counter-Strike ported to the Source engine.

Hopefully the demonstration movies will be officially released online this Summer, just like last year's clips, and while the above impressions may not sound as raving as you may have seen elsewhere, the game remains firmly at the top of our wanted list.

[Frans]

Dutch publisher HD Interactive demonstrated two titles at the show. Nexus - the Jupiter Incident is a 3D space combat strategy game by Mithis Games that used to be known as Imperium Galactica III (with a strategy emphasis) and Galaxy Andromeda (with an action angle). The current game returns to the strategy roots, starting the player off in our solar system while other star systems become accessible later in the game after deploying wormhole technology. The story spans 30 missions and starts you off with one ship, but your fleet can eventually grow to 10 vessels. The game offers a lot of detailed management options, such as the ability to target individual devices on enemy ships to e.g. take out the shield generator before attacking the ship proper, and graphics-wise it's looking pretty sharp. Nexus is slated to go alpha next week, and is expected to be released in October.

Blood Magic is a fantasy 3D action role-playing game by SkyFallen Entertainment that used to be known as Bloody Magic (a title that was considered to be less marketable). An interesting aspect is the great extent to which the player character’s appearance is affected by acquiring and distributing experience points among many different skills and attributes. The in-house engine generates some impressive graphics and special effects which can be easily viewed thanks to a freely controllable camera. The game has come quite a way since we saw it at E3 last year, but more work will still go into it as it’s not due until Q1 2005.

[Rafal Dudek]

Medieval Lords is a recently unveiled 3D city building strategy game in the works at Monte Cristo itself. Their Builder engine generates a detailed and dynamic city with an unobtrusive interface. The story puts the player in charge of one small settlement in an area with competing, AI-controlled cities, and the goal is to grow your city such that you can retake the entire area. This game is also slated for August.

yea, this looks really fun. Europa 1400: The Guild is similar but you run a business rather then manage a city.

My only concern is that this is Monte Cristo we're talking here. They can take a really good idea and screw it up along the way. Start-Up 2000 is a good example. The game is very good but a few lacking features offset this game bigtime as the bigger your business was, the harder it was to manage it. Like every month increasing your workers salaries because they get mad and leave. Unfortunately there is no automated way and clicking 50+ employees is a tough thing to do.

btw Frans, any impressions of Medieval Lords?

[Kalbrecht]

Just watched the Dawn of War video from E3.

Got sent the link: http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=26784

Holy guacamole. This thing is incredible. The amount of fun detail in it is awesome, and the units are first rate. Very authentic and true to the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

[Frans]

yea, this looks really fun. Europa 1400: The Guild is similar but you run a business rather then manage a city. I'm not very familiar with Europa 1400 and never played it (as there's no demo), but they might be similar indeed. Europa 1400 does seem to be played more from ground level (first-person?) though, and I didn't see that option in Medieval Lords.

btw Frans, any impressions of Medieval Lords? See the original post. :wink: I don't have more to add really, not being well-versed in the subject matter, although I can say that the graphics engine makes the game look better than most city management games.

[Rafal Dudek]

I'm not very familiar with Europa 1400 and never played it (as there's no demo), but they might be similar indeed. Europa 1400 does seem to be played more from ground level (first-person?) though, and I didn't see that option in Medieval Lords.

There really is no first or even third person views. The screenshots cant make the game appear as it really is. The game is full 3D. You have a living, breathing town where you settle your houses and businesses. You can zoom in and zoom out. Graphics of the town are really beautiful I must say. Here you double click on the buildings you wish to enter like your house, markets, and businesses. If you send a cart to the market and businesses, you can load it up with goods and resources to bring it back to your places of business (if expensive stuff, bring guards with ya coz robbers might steal it =P. You run your business inside the building. You hire workers, manage production and such. You can also buy upgrades outside and inside the buildings that increase production, safety, crime prevention and stuff. In your house you can host parties, learn skills, plan some evil things (heheheh). and if you have a castle palace thing, the fully upgraded one (and hell of an expensive one... will take ya about 60 years or so to afford this and thats if you're lucky you're son will take over it as this thing takes about 16 years to build =P. But the upgraded one has a cannon on top which you can use to shoot at your competitiors businesses =P (this building is actualy part of the expansion)

The game offers bunch of proffesions to play (perfumer, lender, landlord, smith, guard, thief, priest, and bunch of others). Each one is pretty unique. Then there are town laws and you can even run for office =P

Its a really unique game and fun to play. The Gold Edition of the game includes the expansions which adds tons of new features to the game. Too bad this game was never popular here in US. You can still find a copy for about 20 bucks or less nowadays. The music is some of the best I've heard in any game. Fits so perfectly with the mood of the game that I even have a recorded CD with the mp3's from the game =]

The game also comes with a well done tutorial and is very easy to get into =]

[Frans]

Monolith Production's William Westwater and Geoffrey Zatkin presented The Matrix Online to us. The game is a continuation of the story from the movies, which [spoiler alert] end in a fragile truce between the humans and the machines.[/alert] You, the player, enter the game by taking the 'red pill' to be liberated from The Matrix, and while you're initially a free character, each of the three factions (Humans, Machines, and Merovingian) wants you to join them.

Character abilities can be acquired and enhanced through modules, like Neo learns Kungfu in the first movie, and abilities/modules can be traded with other players. A character's appearance can be customized to a very high degree and allows for a very individual look which is not tied to your abilities.

The fighting system allows for a wide variety of combat moves, but the nature of an MMO game means that it doesn't appear to offer the cool slow-motion aspects of the movies. Similarly, the graphics engine doesn't look cutting-edge, but is certainly up to the task of rendering a convincing city, with seamless indoor/outdoor transitions.

The game features a flexible mission (quest, if you will) system, and new players are eased into the game by an extensive tutorial and an in-game help system. While the hype surrounding the movies has long died down, The Matrix Online looks to offer enough to MMO players to stand on its own, especially if you're grown a little tired of the oh-so-common fantasy setting.

[Mr. Natural]

Even though E3 is done, we're still getting E3 stuff on the web site.
Dungeon Lords is a real-time 3D full freedom 3rd person perspective fantasy role-playing and action game. It comprises a unique offering of Personal Character (PC) development in a world filled with NPC interactive characters and game quests, as the player journeys through an enchanted land of ancient castles and dungeon lairs to engage in real-time tactical combat action against a variety of deadly foes, from monstrous creatures to powerful wizards, from undead lords to greater demons. Dungeon Lords can be played either single-player stand alone, or in multi-player group sessions.

Movie here. (http://www.3dgamers.com/games/dungeonlords/#filelist)
Don't forget to check out the screenshots. (http://www.3dgamers.com/screenshots/games/dungeonlords/)

[Mr. Natural]

Screenshots and E3 movie here. (http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1084828429/)

[Mr. Natural]

Activision has released the E3 movie trailer for Call of Duty: United Offensive, revealing more from this upcoming World War II first-person shooter expansion by Gray Matter Studios. This movie illustrate the add-on's premise and features in a minute and a half of action-packed, in-engine cutscene footage.

Linkage (http://www.3dgamers.com/games/callofduty/#filelist)

[Frans]

Even though E3 is done, we're still getting E3 stuff on the web site. Well, I brought a huge stack of press disks back from the show, and since I hardly had time to post stuff during the show, you'll be seeing tons more E3 materials going up on the site for the next few weeks until I'm fully caught up. Just a warning. :p:

[Mr. Natural]

Yes more E3 stuff is on the main web site every day. Be sure to check the main web site daily because I can't keep up with all of it. Currently there is a BloodRayne 2 E3 movie and screenshots here. (http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1085407775/)

[Mr. Natural]

Rome Total War E3 screenshots and movie here. (http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1085404865/)