While this was my first Expo I'm not going to be talking about the expo itself, the only reason we went was to check out the games so below is my take on what I got to see.
Fable 3
The game as a whole looked really good, and after playing the game for about 15 minutes I had already built up an idea of what I thought about the game. The idea of having an easily accessibly hub area for weapons outfits etc is a good one, and while what I got to play was only in the early stages of the game which meant that I didn’t have much in the way of choice i could see that it should work as a concept. My problem with this game was the fact it was mentioned that the combat has been updated to make it flow more smoothly, I don’t believe that this has been ultimately achieved. The changing from melee to Magic is seamless as it should be however the melee-melee-gun shot combo leaves a lot to be desired. You have to wait 2 seconds while you wait to put away you’re sword in order to whip your gun out and shoot a fool which in the midst of a battle with 4 or more enemies isn’t going to work, as while your changing your weapons said fool will be all up in your grill giving you a slap around the chops. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t going to put me off the game, just using a gun.
Assassins Creed Brotherhood
This was another good looking in fact i don’t think there was a bad looking game at the expo. This was also one of the games that was showing off the Multi-player mode. Where there was some multi-player in Assassin’s Creed 2 I didn’t play it the thing about Assassins Creed is the story, and you can’t really have a story in Multi-player. However much like Bioshock 2 and its take on multi-player it’s different which means that it sets itself apart from everything else out there. I only got one match which didn’t really give me enough time to get to know what was going on but it was enjoyable.
F1 2010
I was purely interested in this game for its aesthetics as i had seen a screen shot in Official Xbox Magazine and it looked amazing. I can now confirm that it does indeed live up to expectations the visuals are stunning but I still won’t be getting this game. It’s a proper Racing game, and I am rubbish at those games. So if you are into those types of games then you won’t be disappointed.
Enslaved Odyssey to the West
I was interested in this game because I know that it’s based on a story, which means there is more to the story that what your playing. Which is something I really like in games, it’s also the reason why I've got all the Mass Effect novels. However I have now had a chance to play the game and I can see that the side character is going to be annoying as hell. I also get the feeling that the game would become a bit of a button masher.
Crysis 2
Again this was a game that was showing off the multi-player mode rather than the story and to be honest the multi-player mode hasn’t sold this game for me. You can choose your role when you respawn and this gives you a different ability for each class as well as specific weapons beneficial for the class. However it did feel and play like every other multi-player shooter I've played which is a deal breaker for me.
Gears of War 3
It was while I was at the Expo that I read that it had been delayed by 5 months, but I did get a chance to have a go on the beast mode that was being shown. It’s something new for a multi-player shooter which isn’t a bad thing. It’s enjoyable and while I haven't played Gears 2 yet the delay means i have a chance to play it before I get Gears 3.
Dragon Age 2
I was a little worried as i knew that Bioware had changed the focus from 6 possible characters to one and that they had made some changes to the combat. After playing the demo i like the change to the combat. it makes it feel more like an action RPG as i did think that just pressing one button to launch an attack put a barrier up between yourself and the game and you didn’t get the immersion that you might want however that has changed each button press translates to an attack. The other change is with levelling up, instead of all the skills there there are smaller skill trees and you can spend the points on the trees you want which is an idea I like. One thing that did confuse me was when it was set but I wasn’t paying that much attention to the story as I wasn’t going to be able to get into it.
That’s it for the first part of the Expo. Stay tuned for Castlevania Lord of Shadows, Halo: Reach, Brink, Bulletstorm, Hunted Deamon’s Forge, Mafia II, and Fallout New Vegas.
Fable 3
The game as a whole looked really good, and after playing the game for about 15 minutes I had already built up an idea of what I thought about the game. The idea of having an easily accessibly hub area for weapons outfits etc is a good one, and while what I got to play was only in the early stages of the game which meant that I didn’t have much in the way of choice i could see that it should work as a concept. My problem with this game was the fact it was mentioned that the combat has been updated to make it flow more smoothly, I don’t believe that this has been ultimately achieved. The changing from melee to Magic is seamless as it should be however the melee-melee-gun shot combo leaves a lot to be desired. You have to wait 2 seconds while you wait to put away you’re sword in order to whip your gun out and shoot a fool which in the midst of a battle with 4 or more enemies isn’t going to work, as while your changing your weapons said fool will be all up in your grill giving you a slap around the chops. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t going to put me off the game, just using a gun.
Assassins Creed Brotherhood
This was another good looking in fact i don’t think there was a bad looking game at the expo. This was also one of the games that was showing off the Multi-player mode. Where there was some multi-player in Assassin’s Creed 2 I didn’t play it the thing about Assassins Creed is the story, and you can’t really have a story in Multi-player. However much like Bioshock 2 and its take on multi-player it’s different which means that it sets itself apart from everything else out there. I only got one match which didn’t really give me enough time to get to know what was going on but it was enjoyable.
F1 2010
I was purely interested in this game for its aesthetics as i had seen a screen shot in Official Xbox Magazine and it looked amazing. I can now confirm that it does indeed live up to expectations the visuals are stunning but I still won’t be getting this game. It’s a proper Racing game, and I am rubbish at those games. So if you are into those types of games then you won’t be disappointed.
Enslaved Odyssey to the West
I was interested in this game because I know that it’s based on a story, which means there is more to the story that what your playing. Which is something I really like in games, it’s also the reason why I've got all the Mass Effect novels. However I have now had a chance to play the game and I can see that the side character is going to be annoying as hell. I also get the feeling that the game would become a bit of a button masher.
Crysis 2
Again this was a game that was showing off the multi-player mode rather than the story and to be honest the multi-player mode hasn’t sold this game for me. You can choose your role when you respawn and this gives you a different ability for each class as well as specific weapons beneficial for the class. However it did feel and play like every other multi-player shooter I've played which is a deal breaker for me.
Gears of War 3
It was while I was at the Expo that I read that it had been delayed by 5 months, but I did get a chance to have a go on the beast mode that was being shown. It’s something new for a multi-player shooter which isn’t a bad thing. It’s enjoyable and while I haven't played Gears 2 yet the delay means i have a chance to play it before I get Gears 3.
Dragon Age 2
I was a little worried as i knew that Bioware had changed the focus from 6 possible characters to one and that they had made some changes to the combat. After playing the demo i like the change to the combat. it makes it feel more like an action RPG as i did think that just pressing one button to launch an attack put a barrier up between yourself and the game and you didn’t get the immersion that you might want however that has changed each button press translates to an attack. The other change is with levelling up, instead of all the skills there there are smaller skill trees and you can spend the points on the trees you want which is an idea I like. One thing that did confuse me was when it was set but I wasn’t paying that much attention to the story as I wasn’t going to be able to get into it.
That’s it for the first part of the Expo. Stay tuned for Castlevania Lord of Shadows, Halo: Reach, Brink, Bulletstorm, Hunted Deamon’s Forge, Mafia II, and Fallout New Vegas.
