Perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the more prominent themes at E3 was motion control, in the form of Microsoft’s Kinect, and Sony’s Playstation Move. It’s not difficult to understand why. If you consider yourself a gamer and you own a Nintendo Wii, it’s likely your second, or possibly even third console. In terms of graphics and raw power the Wii is lacking, and the motion controls aren’t even that good, yet it was a smash hit. The reason is pretty simple: if you want to blow stuff up, fire up Halo; if you want to get your mum and gran playing tennis on a Sunday afternoon, fire up the Wii. In modern gaming, the big money is in the casual gamer market and Microsoft and Sony are both cashing in.

"Kinect looks like the kind of futuristic technology you see in movies like Minority Report or Iron Man"

Whilst Sony have gone for an upgraded version of the ‘wand’ controller, Microsoft have gone one step further with full motion control, allowing you to control your Xbox 360 by voice and movement alone. Kinect looks like the kind of futuristic technology you see in movies like Minority Report or Iron Man, though it’s unlikely that Tony Stark would be using his high-tech 3D interface to call his mum or watch the trailer for the new Twilight movie. It’s hard to tell whether Kinect is a big gimmick or the future of console hardware, but it’s undeniably an impressive pitch and is bound to be popular with gamers and families alike. One of the biggest crowd responses came from quick preview of an upcoming Star Wars title based around lightsaber combat with the Kinect; if there’s anything that will make people want to look stupid in their living rooms, it’s a lightsaber.

If it seems like Nintendo lost ground in the motion control market, it’s a good bet that they’ve gained a lot more with the 3DS. The DS appealed to a broad market of both hardcore and casual gamers, sold a phenomenal number of units, and trounced the PSP in the handheld gaming market. So how do you improve on a bestselling handheld console? You jump on the current 3D bandwagon and release the 3DS – 3D gaming without the stupid glasses or the pounding headache. Like the Kinect, it’s hard to tell if this is just a gimmick or not, but then Nintendo have made a name for themselves with gimmicks. From what I saw, a lot of the titles for the 3DS are just 3D’d-up versions of existing games, which is a little disappointing, but it will be interesting to see what Nintendo can do with 3D technology whilst it’s still a popular phenomenon.

In terms of the games on show, one of the big buzzwords of E3 2010 was ‘MMO’. For a long time, World of Warcraft has been the MMO to beat, and recent efforts such as Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer Online and Star Trek Online have all failed to topple Blizzard from their icy perch. This may soon change with Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic; if anything is going to bring WOW down, this is it. A host of classes with fully-voiced multiple storylines, combined with the quality you’d expect from Bioware, means that The Old Republic is easily one of the biggest and most anticipated games of recent years. If that wasn’t enough in the MMO stakes, Final Fantasy XIV was given a big demo, and there were even trailers for a Warhammer 40K-based MMO with playable Space Marines. As someone who dislikes MMOs, the thought of donning Power Armour and blowing things up with my boltgun is almost enough to make me say goodbye to my life.

Amongst the other big titles, Deus Ex: Human Revolution stands out as one to really keep an eye on, and for gamers who aren’t interested in shooting everything on sight or being insulted by 12-year-olds online, Civilisation 5 and Shogun: Total War 2 look like games to really get stuck into. Bethesda made a big showing for Fallout: New Vegas, but I have to say I’m personally not all that impressed. Apart from a new setting it doesn’t look much different to the original Fallout 3 release, and the addition of Obsidian to the mix (who produced unfinished and buggy releases of Knights of the Old Republic 2, Neverwinter Nights 2 and Alpha Protocol) doesn’t fill me with confidence.

Many people have said that Nintendo ‘won’ E3 2010 with the 3DS and it’s a strong argument. The 3DS was one of the most sought-after demos on show it will likely be sold out before it’s even released, but for me Microsoft probably had the best all-round pitch. Whether you like motion control or not, it’s hard to deny that Kinetic looks impressive and it will sell. Throw in the redesigned Xbox 360, and exclusivity in games such as Call of Duty, Fable 3, Halo and Gears of War, and Microsoft have a strong hand. Compare that to Sony’s Little Big Planet 2, Gran Turismo 5 and Portal 2, and their finale, Twisted Metal Black – impressive-looking games yes, but hardly deal breakers. Even more telling is that Microsoft are getting a piece of a former Sony-exclusive franchise in Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Any game that makes Raiden actually look cool is enough to impress me, and I have to admit that the sword-based combat looked very, very impressive.

There’s plenty more to see from the E3 2010 coverage, and if you’re interested at all in gaming I’d recommend you go over to Youtube and check out the E3 channel. It’s a guarantee that there’s something in there for everyone, and even as someone who isn’t a console gamer I was impressed by a lot of what was on show. The Kinetic is a definite one to watch, and if The Old Republic doesn’t win more than one ‘Game of the Year Award’ this year, I’ll throw myself on my lightsaber.

Oh, and don’t tell anyone, but the tiger cub from the demo for Kinectimals was almost cute enough to make me go out and buy it. Just saying.

Post from: SciFind

Amy Pond and The Doctor

You know when you’re eating a bag of Maltesers, and there’s always that dodgy one where you bite into it expecting the satisfying crunch of biscuit, but all you get is a disappointing chewy mess that you inevitably spit out? That’s what this season of Doctor Who has been like for me. There’s still the sweet chocolaty taste of both new and classic Who, but it’s lacking the delicious, biscuity core of intelligence and depth that I’d expect from one of the BBC’s greatest institutions.

When Matt Smith was announced as the Eleventh Doctor, I, like many people, was dubious. After four years David Tennant was the Doctor, and I think a lot of people had forgotten that anyone else had ever been the Doctor. How then could this baby-faced, floppy-haired young unknown possibly play the role of a 900-year-old time travelling genius with a penchant for finding trouble and saving the world with nothing but a screwdriver?

For once I was glad to be proved wrong, because Matt Smith has probably been the best thing about this series. From the moment he appeared on screen in ‘The Eleventh Hour’, I immediately thought “He’s the Doctor”. He’s quirky, eccentric, and really comes across as an old head on young shoulders. On a few occasions he veers a little too closely to Tennant’s brash cockiness, and he’s about as graceful in the physical scenes as a Cyberman in a nightclub, but as the series has progressed he’s really developed his own style of bumbling eccentricity. Watch some of the snappy dialogue in ‘Vampires in Venice’ or social awkwardness in ‘The Lodger’ to see Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor at his babbling best.

Karen Gillan, too sexy for Doctor Who?

Then there’s the new assistant Amy Pond, played by Karen Gillan. She begins the series as a kind of feisty, independent heroine in the vein of Rose or Donna, but gradually falls into the same damsel-in-distress role as Martha; she’s more than happy to get herself into trouble, but when she does, all she can do is pout and huff and wait for the Doctor to rescue her. Despite her implied importance, she’s so far not seemed as vital as Rose or Donna did, and it’s not a good sign when she can sit an episode out without the feeling that she’s really missed. See ‘The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone’ and ‘Vincent and the Doctor’ to see Amy at her bravest and most genuinely vulnerable.

So, what about the writing and production? I didn’t expect to be saying this, but as we reach the end of Moffat’s first run as executive producer, I’m actually missing some of Russell T. Davies’ flair. I’ve not really felt blown away by anything I’ve seen so far; perhaps it’s an executive decision to drop the grandeur for something a little lower-key, but I can’t help feeling that it’s lost a little bit of spark for it.

The worst part for me, however, is the handling of the series story arc. One thing that Russell T. Davies did well was foreshadowing; he was good at dropping smaller hints into the series that would suddenly become relevant when we hit the season finale. With series 5, the ‘crack in time’ has been so heavily signposted that it may as well have come with captions – ‘DON’T FORGET THIS, IT’S IMPORTANT’. With all the cleverness of Steven Moffat at the helm, so far all the writers have managed to do is spoon-feed the plot to us. The Pandorica will open. The TARDIS will blow up. Time will be rewritten. I’m hoping that they throw a big surprise in right at the end, but I’m not really holding my breath.

Overall, I’d rather watch these episodes than anything with Martha Jones in it, but I’m sad that the production team have so obviously aimed the show exclusively at a younger audience. The new TARDIS and sonic screwdriver redesigns look like they were specifically made to sell toys, and I may never stop complaining about the Dalek Power Rangers. Having said that, my personal lows, ‘Victory of the Daleks’ and ‘The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood’ were offset by the very good ‘Vampires in Venice’, ‘The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone’ and ‘The Lodger’, and Matt Smith has been a genuinely pleasant surprise as the Doctor.

I’m really not sure what to expect from the season finale this weekend, but whatever happens, I’d say the Smith/Moffat combination will be firmly set for at least another series, if not more. I just hope that season 6 will have some stronger characters, a little more grandeur and a lot more depth. And possibly a nice nougaty centre.

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Post from: SciFind

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