Controllers: in the end they're all quite pricey!

Many frowned at the announced price for Kinect set at around 149$ but truth be told it isn't much more expensive than Wii controllers or SONY's Move, in fact, if you think about it, it probably is the less pricey.

Don't forget in fact that 1 Kinect will serve everyone using the XBOX360 for any purpose.

Wii and Move controllers on the other hand have to be purchased in pair or even more for multiplayer and not only purposes.

The Move archer sport game, for example featured two sticks, which means 49.99$ (39.99€) + 49.99$ (39.99€) for one player only. If there are multiplayers games where you have to contemporary use two sticks, well, the price rises sensibly and quite easily.
If you put together a Playstation Eye, 2 sticks and the navigator you have reached the Kinect price and surpassed it.

The same can be said for Wii accessories since more or less the prices are the same than Move.

So, of course Kinect seems a tad pricey but it's a one time purchase while the other accessories will likely need to be purchased in multiples but before doing any calculation let's see the first Move releases and the required hardware for playing!

Ivy

An objective take on the E3

Now that Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony conferences are gone we can really look at their take on E3 2010 and, as gamers, rejoice about the months to come since all 3 have shown the audience great things to look forward.

Luckily for us European all 3 conferences were set at good times with Microsoft and Sony in the evening and Nintendo in the afternoon. (EA was in the evening too even if a bit late while Ubisoft and Activision ones were at late night for us in the EU).

I think that all in all they all showed something interesting for their user bases and with a good range of games and styles.

Microsoft (6):
MS's conference was probably the less "exciting" because we already knew about the exclusives Halo Reach, due in a few months, Gears Of War 3 and Fable III and the "usual" sport games were also quite predictable.

All these games are certainly highly anticipated by the respective franchise lovers and will fulfill the expectations however none of these did show something particularly "spectacular" as far as innovations are concerned and I wonder how the 4-players campaign in GOW3 will be handled: just like in GOW2 or with a new system (similar to Lost Planet 3, maybe?).
They were all bigger and better version of their predecessor so will certainly be enjoyable and enjoyed by many!

On the other hand we only saw a title for the new Crytek exclusive Kingdoms but nothing more and just a filmed presentation of Fable 3 too (again, seemed more of the same, so to speak).

As far as Kinect is concerned I think that they showed what what mostly expected: a peripheral for "alternative" gaming: sport, family games and dance.
Perhaps they spent too much time showing it but to be honest this was Kinect's E3 and they certainly have bet on it so it's just natural it was the center of the stage.

As for its appeal, I think that what they're trying to do it widening the XBOX360 experience to the whole family.
You have a X360 at home and you want to buy Kinect for your wife and kids and so on. At least, that's what I perceive as being their target audience for what they have shown.
It's hard to think they are actually targeting casual gamers with a 299$ console + 150$ peripheral vs Wii, it makes much more sense to "widen" the X360 usage to the whole family.

That said however the Star Wars Kinect game wasn't very impressive... although it was the only one that was trying to be a "real game" and perhaps there's more to it that was shown.

We also should not forget they presented the new X360 although the built-in wi-fi and larger HD aren't exactly WOW innovation factor and... is it slimmer?
More aggressive but not really "new" apart from the re-styling.

On the other hand it's always fun how they like to call Kojima on the stage to present someone else to present a Metal Gear on X360... he he.
By the way the new Metal Gear rising really looks cool and interesting, a game to look forward too, for both X360 and PS3 fans!


Nintendo (8):
It seems that people are really excited about the big N conference, I can just say: they finally showed an interesting line-up for gamers!
And tens of pretty girl with a 3DS attached to their belts :P.

They did mentioned NintenDogs(+cats) but then rather focused on the more interesting stuff: Zelda shown on stage, Disney's Epic Mickey, Metroid, GoldenEye, Donkey Kong and Kirby's Epic Yarn. A good lineup with different games for different tastes and definitely something that can be called "real games".
After all, no need to focus on Balance boards or something like that, those are things that you sell through TV ads rather than through E3 but show Zelda and you've won the conference hands off: at least that's what seems to have happened for the majority of journalists.

I'm not a Zelda fan so I can't really understand all the excitement about this new chapter however the game seemed pretty nice and with interesting mechanics.
I don't think everyone can really expect big graphic/gameplay/effects leaps or improvements as long as there is no hardware advancement that allows for them.

Disney's Epic Mouse really looked interesting. They presented it as a carefully thought-out and interesting game, a real game for everyone to enjoy with its own peculiarities and mechanics: certainly something to look forward for Wii owners.

The Mario sports game on the other hand it's more of the same Wii-casual-stuff, a Wii-sport with Mario etc. etc. but Nintendo must have Mario on stage every year, that's it.

3DS was also unveiled and it will certainly be an interesting one to check out although I wonder about retro-compatibility as this has only 1 touchable screen (I'm not sure I didn't pay attention or it wasn't mentioned).

The last note is about myself since while I haven't got any Nintendo console yet after they showed Kirby's Epic Yarn I just have to buy the Wii... Yeah, that's the good of being a gamer girl, you can revel in such cuteness with no second-thoughts!
Anyway apart from the super-cute graphic the new Kirby also featured a very interesting style and the nice 2D platform mechanic that is always be fun so I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Sony (8):
To me Sony's conference was the most anticipated and also interesting if a bit difficult to follow for "buffering" problems.
I also have to say though that their very dark stage and a bit too serious mood didn't convey the same gay atmosphere of the MS and Nintendo conferences; next year, just opt for something less dark and a bit more sparkling, after all it's about games and fun!

I'd say they wanted to convey a more serious approach and show facts but the conference could have been a bit more "brilliant" even though I didn't really find it so boring and anyway Tretton's way of speaking isn't more important than the news and games shown.

Sony has really shown an impressive line-up of games and not just exclusive and the take on Move it's what I was hoping/expecting: something perhaps not as "innovative" as Kinect but probably more versatile as far as games are concerned and more easily adaptable for more "hardcore" games.

They showed great exclusives: SOCOM 4 (with and without move support), Killzone 3, Little Big Planet 2, Infamous 2, Twisted Metal, Motorstorm Apocalypse, GT5 (for real, finally), echochrome 2 together with Move compliant Sorcery, Heroes on the Move etc.
Not many were demonstrated on stage, true, but most were available at the conference for live play.
And anyhow all were shown with in-game footage which is important.

The support for PSP bit sounded a tad "forced" so to speak, like telling we don't have a PSP2 to show because PSP is enough already however they almost exclusively featured PSP3000 rather than the GO which probably means it wasn't a giant success and certainly didn't replace the more classic PSP models.
Truth be told anyway the PSP does have a great collection of games and the most important (first party) PS3 exclusive have almost always a portable counterpart: GOW, Motorstor, LBP, Ratchet and Clank, Modnation Racers.
And perhaps now that 3DS is out they'll take a look at its 3D screen and make a 3D-PSP2!

The coca-cola partnership also did not spark any interest for me, it's junk food in my notes so it's not something that interests me the slightest but I guess that business-wise it's something for them that deserves stage-promotion.

On the other hand the Kevin Butler moment was quite fun and Gabe Newell on stage a BIG surprise, it would be really nice to know what he really thinks after all the bad-mouthing about the PS3 however I'm also certainly looking forward to Portal 2 on the Ps3.

PSN+? Don't know, I want to check out the details but if it's not something that really has impact on the gaming experience (like X360 own servers) it's still interesting but not so exciting.
Still, it sounded like a good deal so for people that are a lot into gaming may certainly be worth it!

On the 3D side if there is a someone that can make 3D gaming a reality it definitely is SONY and they certainly are working to make it come true.
Not using the glasses would be awesome but that's probably not something that can happen in the very near future although there are those working on the technology already (and nope, it's not the same having it work on a DS screen than on a large TV).

Missing: The Last Guardian, The Agent (but them Rockstar hadn't shown anything at all).

CONCLUSIONS:
In the end I think we can safely say that SONY had the most impressive lineup as far as games quality, variety and technology (3D etc.) are concerned so apart from the conference itself that maybe wasn't particularly "brilliant" the truth is PS3 owners will only be spoilt for choice in the forthcoming months.
Their take on the Move device also seemed to please gamers since they showed it as a device even for real games and not just casual ones.

Nintendo raised the bar mostly because they actually focused on the real games this year and presented some very nice novelties (Kirby and Disney's Epic mouse) and actually responded to their core gamers requests.
They also presented 3DS which is certainly an interesting piece of news.

Microsoft seemed to "fail" expectations because they spent much of the conference on Kinect (not to mention the infamous poncho presentation) but actually also did show the next iterations of their exclusive and most important franchises (Halo, Gears of War, Fable and a new exclusive from Crytek) and a re-styled and more aggressive X360 finally with wi-fi and a large HD, so apart from the crazy dances etc. it wasn't so bad.

By the way and whatever you side, just enjoy gaming, there's something for everyone!
Ivy

The 7 things Modnation Racers did wrong

While I really, really love modnation racers (see my review here: http://thechickgamer.blogspot.com/2010/05/modnation-racers-review-funtastic-game.html) after playing like 50 hours with it and finishing the career mode I can say I gathered enough experience to look at it from a more critical standpoint and highlight some of the things that didn't make it a "perfect" (or almost) game/experience.

1- Badly programmed AI for challenges that makes the game very frustrating
This is something that many complain about and with reason.
While the challenges do indeed add a lot to the gaming experience some are simply badly designed (I'm talking about some of the 4th/5th level).
Not only the challenges are hard on their own but the AI is simply ruthless, it's programmed to not make you achieve the final goal.
This also seems true in the first levels but ones you gain experience those challenges become easier but later in the game, when you already race as perfect as you can it's just a matter of being nuked to not get to the goal.

And it's definitely not a matter of "false impression" because when you can arrive (fairly easily) first unless you fulfilled the challenge requirements it's pretty clear that the game it's just programmed to make you fail, which isn't a very nice feeling.
So what? You simply have to try again and again and again until for a stroke of luck you arrive first.
When something is more a matter of luck than skill then there's something wrong with the design decision because a game should reward a player commitment and experience not him/her being lucky enough.

Ok, however there's plenty of very hard games, just think about Wipeout (although there is still a matter of skill rather than ruthless AI) but the point is, the challenges are necessary to obtain parts for your mods, karts etc. They are strictly linked to the Create part of the game so by not completing them you're also missing items for your own creation: perhaps this is the focal point: not being able to get all available parts.

2- No possibility to create TEAMs or invite friends to XP races
nowadays most games include an online/multiplayer part, even those that mostly focus on the single players campaign experience, such as Uncharted or Resident Evil 5, for example.

While playing online with people you have never met is fun the social part of multiplayer, sharing the experience with friends is VERY important.

I really find it stunning that Modnation Racers does not have a create Team feature and, at the very least, the ability to invite or join friends to and XP race (or join a friend to join an XP race together, like in Resistance 2 which featured a very effective team join system!)

3- Awful match-making (and region locked)
There are tens of messages/discussions online that talk about how awful the match-making of Modnation Racers is and it really IS that awful, unfortunately.
Waiting for 10 to 15 or even more minutes for a race to start because there aren't enough players in the same room is awful.
And no, it's not the lack of players (not just that, at least), it's just that the online players aren't put together, they are scattered across many different rooms that have to be filled.
So if you're online with a couple more friends you're very likely to end up in 3 different rooms with 2 players for each room and have to wait for enough players (4) to start a race.
Racing with more than 4 players (12 is the limit) is almost a mirage.

Also, those of us European that thought the situation would improve when the game released in the US were certainly disappointed that the game is region locked.
Of course the reason behind that is sound: to offer anyone a smoother and better racing experience, however, as someone pointed out they could just add and ON/OFF option for the region lock as is not that usual that gamers have friends in other parts of the world and want to play with them (just in private matches though since, you remember, you can't invite friends to XP races...).

By the way, it seems they are working to improve this so let's be hopeful (I have to say I just put the game apart until I heard any news about patches and/or improvements)

4- No highlighting original creations
I have to confess I'm a bit sick of Mario in every form and shape, maybe it's because I don't find it so charming, style-wise.
He certainly is an icon but an icon with his very own games and space.
Of course it's not a crusade against Mario as if you look at the first 50 pages (and perhaps more) or the most-popular mods you can hardly find any original creation.

In fact while it is cool to have the ability to re-create characters and sort-of fan-art mods (I did a J.T.Kirk myself since I'm currently watching the TOS) it would be much, much nicer if original stuff were highlighted in the modspot along with the most downloaded mods (Mario, Luigi, Spiderman, Ironman... who will be next?).
Someone (a moderator, PR) could look at the uploaded mods (s/he won't have to check everyone in detail, nice ones can easily be spotted) and maybe choose 3 original mods each week to focus on the really CREATIVE part of the CREATE side of the game, or just have people post their mods in an official thread for consideration as "original mods of the week".

5- Mix race XP and create XP
When taking certain decisions is not always easy to understand how they are going to affect the game, what kind of impact they will have etc. etc.
However it really wasn't a sound decision to mix race XP and create XP. Why? Because this game is first and foremost a racing game and the XP level of players should be based on how good they are at racing, on the fact that they have mastered the peculiarities of MNR karts and tracks and so on.
A player that has raced two times but is 30th level (which IS high) because s/he has done a Mario-clone mod IS ridiculous.
Racing XP and creation XP should simply be separated! And this is something that could be done even now since the racing and creation stats are separated already: why not make the change?

6- 250k trophy
Some trophies (or achievements) are really out of scale and this definitely IS one of those.
While no one should play to (just) get trophies they certainly play a part in the gaming experience.
In this case I really think that a 250.000 create points trophy is really a bad choice for 2 main reasons:
- 1: it's really VERY hard and nearly impossible to earn that much points unless you create a very popular mod (Mario-clone preferably... and there we go again). You need to have tens of thousands of downloads to earn that much points and that's gonna be almost impossible
-2: such a trophy won't make people be more committed to the create part but just look for other people to exchange downloads, ratings and so on.
Since the 250k mark is really too high people will just post in forums to earn create XP simply by asking other to download and rate their creation regardless of the creations quality and worthy.

This is really a "lottery" trophy, almost impossible to achieve without making Mario/spiderman etc. or without "exchanging" votes with other players.
If you think about it really doesn't stimulate to create because any player that just creates original mods and shares them on the quiet will never get it.

7- No direct contact with the creators
There's no official forum or other way to get in touch with modnation racers creators, the official forums are actually the playstations ones, different for every region and language which means it's very hard to see what other complains/suggestions have been posted already or if there is any communication from MNR stuff people and so on.

I think it's a pretty common practice for a developer to have a central communication hub where users can post their suggestions/complains and have everything so scattered won't certainly help gather such information in an efficient way.

Moreover there's no link from the Modnation Racers site to the official forums etc., you just have to google for them and realize it's the official playstation forums.