My 200 Favorite Video Game Themes - Part 11: Over the Hill

100.

Sim Broadway

from Sim City 3000

Composer: Jerry Martin

Maxis; 1999

Sim City 3000 makes its first appearance on my list with the theme Sim Broadway.  Playing occasionally during gameplay, this tune chimes in to add a little energy to the proceedings.  It is a classic, early 20th-Century-style jazz ensemble piece highlighted by superb composition.  The steady build of the song, the whimsical trade off between instruments and the way it all comes full circle in the end make this an excellent tune.  I love Jerry Martin’s work on this game and this is one of his best.

99.

Freeway

from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)

Composers: Mutsuhiko Izumi, Miki Higashino

Konami; 1989

A few entries back I featured the stage 1 theme from this arcade classic.  I have always loved scrolling beat-em-ups and TMNT is one the all-time best.  It is a fun, fast-paced game with a ton of great tunes to back it up.  The Freeway theme is one of those songs that I have heard for a large portion of my life and I smile every time it plays.  I just brings back so many memories.  It is  high-energy theme with a great hook, fitting the pace and theme of the level perfectly.

98.

Act 4-2

from Ninja Gaiden

Composers: Keiji Yamagishi, Ryuichi Nitta

Tecmo; 1988

Like the rest of the Ninja Gaiden soundtrack, this is a layered, energetic theme that features some of the most complex riffs on the NES.  It still has the old-school feel but it is so well-constructed as a theme that it feels ahead of its time.  It is bouncy and high-impact, which adds a sense of urgency to the level.  It is a fittingly-powerful theme for such an unforgiving game.

97.

Crystal Snail

from Mega Man X2

Composer: Yuki Iwai

Capcom; 1994

Crystal Snail is one of the more sophisticated tracks of any of the Mega Man titles predating Mega Man 8.  The mood and pace of the song has a nice feel to it, matching the imagery of the level, and the time signature is definitely captivating.  MMX2 was released in a time when games were starting to become less about quick-fix entertainment and more about unique and interesting artistic ideas.  With the PC gaming market growing more rapidly than ever before, the mid-90’s saw a sea change in gaming tropes and ideas and console franchises like Mega Man and Final Fantasy were forced to evolve with them.  I think this is a theme that reflects the ideas of its time as the series soundtrack went from being about heavy guitar rock to being about smooth, captivating themes.

96.

Mad Forest

from Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse

Composers: Hidenori Maezawa, Jun Funahashi, Yukie Morimoto, Yoshinori Sasaki

Konami; 1989

Castlevania III has already appeared on my list a few times and Mad Forest is just another example of how great this 8-bit classic really is.  It has that well-known Castlevania feel, conveying a classic Konami sound, full of strong melodies, upbeat rhythms and a rock-inspired minor key.

95.

Intro/Title

from Mega Man VI

Composer: Yuko Takehara

Capcom; 1993

I like the main portion of this theme because of just how much energy it brings.  It is a lively piece and paves the way for a solid entry in this storied franchise.  Mega Man VI’s intro brings back a lot of memories for me, too.  This was the last game I ever got NEW for my NES.  Then ten or eleven years of age, I had already jumped onto the Super Nintendo bandwagon at this point and, being a dedicated Mega Man fanboy at the time, I saw this game sitting carelessly in a bargain bin at a local Mall toy store.  The box was slightly beat up and the sticker had the price scribbled out.  I begged for this game and I got it.  I took it home and was completely happy.  It was so good to experience a new installment in what was, at that time, my favorite game franchise.  Period.  

NOTE: I chose to share this16-bit Mega Man 7 version of the theme as I was unable to locate a suitable version of the original in its entirety at the time of this post.

94.

Sky Garden

from Illusion of Gaia

Composer: Yasuhiro Kawasaki

Enix; 1993

Illusion of Gaia appeared once on my list already and, at the time, I did not mention one important detail about this game:  Illusion of Gaia is my favorite RPG of all time.  It is an odd choice, for sure, but I love the game’s fun design, fast pace, interactive story, and use of real-world locations like the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Giza.  it is a game that does a lot right in my opinion, and features a great deal of clever ideas done so well, they are unforgettable.  The soundtrack is a mixed bag, however.  Unlike other RPG soundtracks, Illusion of Gaia is not packed full of original themes that play at very specific points.  It has about twenty or so tracks that often repeat as the game progresses.  The Sky Garden, like the other “dungeons” in the game, does feature its own theme, however.  It is a good one too.  It is adventurous and eerie, a perfect dichotomy for a level with a very literal dark underbelly.

93.

Tifa’s Theme

from Final Fantasy VII

Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

Sqauresoft; 1997

I am sorry.  I really am.  As I sorted this list I KNEW there would be some people shocked by how low this beloved Final Fantasy classic is.  In some gamers’ eyes, this is one of the best songs ever, and while I agree it is good, I defer to one of my previous entries' statements where I described some songs as “sleepy”.  I do like the melody and mood of the song, hence its placement in my top 100, but I do think it is a little too soft for me to feature it so high on my list as some would say it belongs.

92.

Intro Stage

from Mega Man 8

Composer: Shusaku Uchiyama

Capcom; 1997

Now this is an energetic song.  This is the first song you hear shortly after launching Mega Man 8.  The intro stage is a short introduction to the core mechanics of the game.  It does not take any time at all to get through but the song is so much fun.  It is a great precursor to the rest of the game’s epic soundtrack as well.

91.

Battle Theme

from Final Fantasy VI

Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

Squaresoft; 1994

The battle theme from FFVI is one of the best battle themes in the franchise and I do not think many fans would disagree with that sentiment.  It has a tone that really gets you psyched to get into the spirit of combat, and Final Fantasy VI’s impressive loadout of characters with countless combat possibilities makes for a fun romp to go along with this high-energy theme.  It is also a classic in the sense that it is probably the most heard song in one of the most beloved games of all time.  Final Fantasy VI was a game that helped propel video games into a new era of storytelling and visuals and, to this day, ranks among the undisputed best games of all time (Unless you ask G4... Idiots.).

My 200 Favorite Video Game Themes - An Introduction

Cartoon by Chris McElfresh; 2014

I love video game music.  This is a niche, for sure, but I do know that I am not alone in this.  As someone who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, during the height of the Nintendo Generation, reading Nintendo Power while eating the Nintendo Cereal System, video games have been a tremendous part of my growth into a pop culture nerd. Therefore, it is undeniable that video games have been a huge part of my life as a whole.  So, factor in the fact that I am also a music nut, always gravitating towards good melodies, I have spent hours of my life humming the music to the games I have played over and over through the decades.

Now, I cannot say narrowing this list down was easy.  I had to pick 200 themes, the 200 that I knew deserved to make my list.  I would say it is pretty diverse, too.  That said, there is an abundance of music from the Mega Man and Final Fantasy series on this list.  This is mainly dictated by the fact that I wanted to make an honest list first and foremost.  I could have made it a little broader but I would not have been sincere with that choice.  In the end, I think I made a list of 200 themes that best reflects my taste, as well as my childhood in many cases.  It is an entirely subjective countdown.  I am, in no way, declaring these 200 themes as the “Greatest of all Time”.  I try my best not to fall into that trap.  

Most of the entries on my list made it out of nostalgia or simply my pure love for the song. There aren't any songs on this list that made it because I felt like they HAD to be on there. Every song and its place on the list made it where it is because of how that song impacted me personally.

So, without further ado, prepare for a long trek through almost three decades of game music as we kick off this series with entries 200-191!

E3 2012 - Update - Forza: Horizon

I love the Forza Motorsport franchise and Forza: Horizon, while being a huge departure, appears to be a positive step forward for the excellent driving series.  The biggest superficial change for this installment  is the inclusion of an open world to explore.  Inspired by the ranges and valleys of Colorado, the world of Forza Horizon is vivid and expansive.  Very little of the world has been shown from E3, but what I've seen takes place in a desert environment surrounded by rock formations that are distinctly American in their appearance.  I can only hope there's more verity than this as I fear the onset of Borderlands Fatigue may result for too much continuous play in the same freaking desert world.



Still, what I've seen of Forza: Horizon is promising.  There seems to be a major emphasis on the thrill of driving and, by developer Turn 10's own admission, a love for cars.  The game looks to be a top-shelf project from one of the most reliable developers out there.  I have included a video from IGN showing off this game's gorgeous graphics and gameplay.  This one is scheduled for release near the end of 2012, so keep your eyes open.

E3 2012 - Update - NBA Baller Beats

Another motion rhythm game, NBA Baller Beats uses Kinect to capture your dribbling skills and uses music to help you improve your handling. In NBABB you use your own real ball, dribbling to the commands as they appear, the circle on the left of the track meaning you use your left hand, the right, your right hand. Icons for crossovers a shot motion and more also add to the difficulty, the idea being to make the ball make contact with the ground to the beat of the music. It looks like a solid game, if it works. I revert back to my previous statements about Kinect technology. It's just not there yet. Still, this looks like it could be a fun experience if the gameplay is tight and responsive.



This is one of those games that has the potential to be an addictive and fun party game, but it has even more potential to be broken and unplayble, given the track record of most games that use Kinect. Now, I had a hard time finding good gameplay videos that actually show how this game works so here is one from GameXplain that I found that does show simultaneous player motion and real time game footage.  Expect this one sometime late summer/early fall 2012.

E3 2012 - Update - Demon's Score

It's undeniable that moble devices and tablets are one of the fasting growing gaming platforms out there, so it is no surprise that major developers are starting to develop more and more high-profile games for them.  Demon's Souls is a new rhythm/action title from Square Enix that uses touch screen technology to fight baddies as a comically-endowed woman and her furry pet fly through a looping corridor.



Gameplay wise it resembles Elite Beat Agents only with slightly worse graphics.  The game, as shown in the demo here looks incredibly easy, but I'm sure this is either an earlier stage or a lower difficulty level.  This genre never really caught my attention but it may bridge the gap and attract more people to popular titles on other major platforms, and I'm always for expanding the gaming market.  It's also good to see that companies are making titles that appeal to wider audiences that aren't Cooking Mama and crappy motion-controlled shovelware.

E3 2012 - Update - Avengers: Battle for Earth

I honestly do not know much about this game at this time.  From first-hand accounts it is a fighting game that allows you to choose from a large number of popular Marvel characters and offers several different modes of play.  The thing that sets this fighter apart from other, traditional, fighters however, is the implementation of Kinect or Wii U controls.  I'll kick off this little spiel with the amazing trailer shown at the Ubisoft press conference.



That trailer looks amazing, and I wasn't sure what to expect from gameplay, but I didn't expect this.  The game has a series of reactive poses you can take that appear on your side of a split screen.  You take the pose or make the action that is shown and the character performs the move associated with that action.  Now, while this sounds like a good idea on paper, the motion controls, especially those of the Kinect, are less-than-accurate.  Fighting games requite a degree of twice-reflexes that don't manifest well in the clunky motion controls 360 players are currently used to.  Unless they've refined how accurate the Kinect actually is, they will be issues with gameplay.  Also, there's the big issue of space.  Playing the Kinect takes up a great deal of space  and to have two people playing side by side, you would need a lot of floor room to pull this action off.  I have to admit, as excited as I was by the trailer, I'm a little skeptical after seeing these videos.



Now, these appear to be Kinect (obviously) and the Wii U's controls may be a little more refined, so we'll see how that version is when it launches.  I'm just not convinced that the Kinect is really ready for a fighting game that is actually meant to be fast-paced.  The gameplay videos above look slow and almost turn-based in their pacing.  I honestly don't know about this one guys, but I could be wrong.  If this works, and is successful, it could open up a brand new world for fighting games, and that is an exciting proposition.

E3 2012 - Update - DmC: Devil May Cry

Dante is back with a new look and the trailer looks great.  The teaser shows a futuristic city in a world run by the demons.  They contol our food, our media and watch our every move.  We open on Dante crashing a club where, after the demons realize who he is, the very building takes the form of a demon, warping and shifting as Dante is dragged into Limbo.  The animations in the trailer look spectacular and the fluidty of motion sparks some curiosity about how the actual in-game combat may appear.



Well, we get an answer for that in a second gameplay trailer that shows Dante taking on a mob in Limbo.  The combat shifts between weapons almost seamlessly as Dante uses a sword, his guns, a scythe and some sort of grappling attack to continuously chain enemies with rapidity, a staple of the series.  The combat appears to be more fluid than ever and the animations look superb, obviously taking a few notes from another Capcom title, Street Fighter IV.  I love, love, LOVE the way the streets and buildings warp and shift, revealing an evil that is all around you.  Everything looks superb and I am looking forward to kicking some Hellspawn ass in January of 2013.

E3 2012 - Day 2 - Part 2: Nintendo Press Conference

A skit featuring Shigeru Miyamoto surrounded by the tiny creatures featured in the new Pikmin.  There was a breif introduction of the concept behind Wii U, the fact that the next Nintendo would have a dedicated screen independent of the TV.  The controller, at first glance appears sleek, light and seem to be just the right size.

The first game announced was Pikmin 3, a lush-looking game that features the little strange creatures in a wooded environment.  The WiiU allows there to be a second screen for use as a map so that the TV can
show the pikmin closer.  The game looks good and seems to be a solid start to the Wii U's coming cycle.



Following that we saw Reggie Fils-Aime present the Wii U and we were given a quick rundown of the Wii U GamePad.  The device has a lot of great features that operate independent of the WiiU, making it a great standalone piece of hardware.



MiiVerse is the new social feature on the WiiU.  It shows what games your friends are playing, and it also shows you players you recently met while playing other games.  It appears as a large 3D field populated by icons representing different games.  The Miis gathering around the icons represent players currently playing that game or using that software.  It adds a level of openness that feels as though you are part of their world.  I like this menu.  In addition to showing players online, you can also use the GamePad to write messages that will be displayed and can send messages to other players or broadcast them in the MiiVerse.



We got to see one game that is going to be one of the big ones for the Wii U, New Super Mario Bros. U.  The game looks great, allowing four-player simultaneous play and even offering a new game mode called Boost Mode, which allows a player using the GamePad to create special blocks to aid the other players as they attempt to complete the level.



Next up was Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition.  The game is a re-release of the great Arkham City with Wii U GamePad implementation.  The second screen, touch, and motion controls allow for more use of Batman's various gadgets and attacks.  The video shows the GamePad touch used to set off explosive gel placed around a room and to guide a flying Baterang as it navigates tight corners.



Scribblenauts: Unlimited was announced for release on both the 3DS and Wii U and promises to be limited only by your imagination.  The demo is sort of dopey but does show the range of things that can be made.  There isn't a whole lot on gameplay though on this one, at least not during the press conference.



It seems Nintendo is trying to get the hardcore gaming crowd with their next mash up, which included a few games for the big kids.  Darksiders II looks to have a nice graphical touch and some slick action.  Mass Effect 3 has the potential to be a killer app on the Wii U if the GamePad is used properly.  A new party-based action game called Tank! Tank! Tank! pits you and two friends in tanks against big monsters.  Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a pleasant surprise.  Trine 2: Director's Cut offers yet more cool possibilities for the GamePad.  Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge looks as bloody as ever.  Lastly, Aliens: Colonial Marines is a dark shooter that takes place in Ridley Scott's acclaimed world.



Wii Fit U seems to be more of the same, just with new GamePad features including the ability to continue training on the separate screen while watching TV independent of the Wii U.  Still, there's nothing wrong with trying to get us fat gamers off the couch.  I know I would do good to lose a few pounds.



The new social music game SiNG (as it's currently titled) is basically expensive karaoke, only without the smelly bar.  The lyrics appear on the GamePad which allows you to face your friends rather than the TV and  your friends can follow along with additional group features.  It looks kind of lame to be honest, not really the big leap forward in music games you'd expect given the buildup Fils-Aime gave the game.



The 3DS took the stage next, revealing New Super Mario Bros. 2, a brand new, separate New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo's handheld system.  An August, 19 release date brings Mario closer than expected for 3DS owners.



Next up was Paper Mario: Sticker Star, an RPG that takes the Paper Mario formula and adds stickers that change how the game plays, acting as weapons that unlock special abilities.  This is a pretty cool idea, going so big as to creating a giant table fan that arises from the horizon and blows enemies away.



Luigi's Mansion 2 for the 3DS promises 3D adventure gameplay, new features and new challenge.  Luigi's Mansion seems like an odd choice to be honest.  The game is a sequel to a mostly-derided game that has its fans, but has many detractors.  I would have expected them to bring out a more beloved game to attract a few older gamers to the 3DS who have thus far snubbed it.



Lego City: Undercover is the next Wii U game on display that seems like a lot of fun.  It features a large open world and lots of challenges.  It uses the GamePad as a map, a communicator and for its motion controls.  The game seems to have a nice blend of different play styles and humor.  Fils-Aime also announced a "portable version" that is presently under development.



Just Dance 4 allows a person to use the GamePad to control the moves that come across the screen.  This seems like a cool idea for a party game.  ZombiU was next and I do like the look of this game, though I already covered it in the Ubisoft article.



We got a first glimpse another new social feature for WiiU.  NintendoLand is a theme park-like hub that allows you to explore different games.  It is sort of a theme park, but it really just seems like a series of mini games.  It seems... okay.  It promises twelve games (five of which are available at E3) and each one seems sort of weak to be honest.  I do think the best one of the few that I saw appears to be The Legend of Zelda: Battlequest, which is a party-based action game in which you control your Mii dressed as Link and fight off different mobs with different weapons and tactics.  Luigi's Ghost Mansion is really just a Pac Man clone with invisible ghosts, nothing very innovative there.



The the amusement park setting of NintendoLand is fitting, but neither it or the games seem all that thrilling.  It may be fun to play, that remains to be seen, but we need to see more games, Nintendo.  I say this after watching the press conference and leaving rather underwhelmed.  Given all of the excitement around the Wii U I would have expected a little more from the House that Mario Built.  Not so much.  The press conference, as a whole, was pretty boring.  Nothing as awe-inspiring as Beyond or as fan-pleasing as Halo 4.  I would like the Wii U to be a step up from the Wii, and by that I mean I would like the Wii U to actually have fun games on it, so we'll see, in the future, if the Wii U can survive the fight, because this next year, given the rough economy and the limited number of AAA titles coming out this holiday season, is going to be an uphill battle for everyone including, and especially, Nintendo.

E3 2012 - UPDATE - Previews, previews, previews

Here are my thoughts on a few games I haven't fully covered yet.

Sound Shapes - Sound Shapes is a new puzzle/music/platformer from Queasy games that creates music as you play.  The faster and better you are, the better the music you create.  It looks like a solid game.



Lego Lord of the Rings - This franchise is still going strong and a Lord of the Rings game was inevitable.  The game looks good with solid graphics and characters that all play differently.  It looks to be a fun, family-friendly title and a must-have for Tolkien fans.



Zombi U - After seeing some gameplay for the upcoming Wii U title, I can honestly say I'm excited about this game.  In a dark lot, lit only by a few sparse fires, the player embodies a named character, attempting to survive as long as possible against the zombie hordes.  Using the Wii U GamePad the player was able to take pictures of the game, as though he was holding a camera in-game.  When that hero died, the player took control of another survivor in an apartment, where looking into a box revealed its contents on the GamePad, as though the box is in your hands.  This is very, very clever stuff and you can expect to see more Wii U implementation that resembles this, rather than using it as a tacky gimmick, like motion controls often are.

E3 2012 - Day 2 - Part 1: EA Press Conference

The EA press conference opened with the statement "Less like the Oscars, more like Sundance."  This coming from EA is more than a little comical, but the event continued with a straight face.  The first game shown was the third entry in the Dead Space franchise.  The graphics looked solid and the game featured a snowy waste with vicious monsters and the game promises drop-in-drop-out co-op!  The live co-op demo presented a dark mechanical deathtrap of a structure where a massive drill spun menacingly, flinging sparks and danger everywhere.  Trapped in a small, circular room with a deadly spinning drill whirring in random directions, the two fight off an ambush from menacing beasts and but the drill itself, which almost seemed possessed.  It was truly a spectacular show, and judging by this alone, Dead Space 3 promises to be a great experience.  Things didn't stop there though, as the two faced off against a massive, amazing-looking boss which sucked our heroes into it like freaking Unicron!  We watched as he is forced down the creature's digestive tract in the show ends with him facing off against a threatening form in what appears to be the beast's stomach.



The followup of that was was the obligatory EA Sports trailer for Madden 13.  Gameplay changes include the utilization of the Infinity Graphics Engine which will create all new animation possibilities and new ways a player's size and movement effects how they play and how they get hit. No longer does getting grabbed mean the end of your play as you will now be able to struggle a little further thanks to the power of the new engine.  Michael Irvine came on stage to present the career creation which allows you to start as a new player, embody a legend and even a coach.  The career uses RPG elements to "level up" your player as their abilities and strength increase.  There's a story engine that generates a history and story around you as you play.  Integrated Twitter and other social media elements and the ability to manage your team from your smart phone or from the Web increase the immersion in this great-looking game.



Up next is a presentation from Maxis for the introduction of a brand new Sim City.  The new engine creates randomized pedestrians and traffic that lives in your city and the new graphics are spot on.  This looks great and I'm a huge fan of the Sim franchise, Sim City in particular so I'm especially excited about this one.



Next up was a presentation from DICE and EA to reveal Battlefield 3 Premium, which offers new fetures to members including new expansions, stats, units, ect.  The 5 expansions featured promises hundreds of additional hours and are slated for a release over the next 9 months.  The service will cost an additional $49.99 and is already available!  For fans of the series with the extra scratch, who know they are going to get the use out of the service, this seems okay.  However, asking an additional $50 for a game that is already $50-60 is a little excessive if you ask me.  It does offer a lot though.  and if you consider an expansion costing $10, at five expansions, you're basically getting all of the other content free.



Star Wars: The Old Republic took the stage next to promise even more updates.  Including new PvP features, raids, species, and companions.  Increased level caps, character transfers and even a new planet round off the list of additions to the game.  It was also announced that the game will soon be available free-to-play up to level 15.  the trailer for the update was quite exciting, and I will jump on that free-to-play bandwagon (:D).


Medal of Honor: Warfighter is going to be one of EA's biggest games and the demo opens in an engagement with Somali pirates.  We aren't in Normandy anymore, people (God, I'm sure I'm not the first person to say that... sorry).  However far from France we are, however, our trailer still has us storming beaches of a crumbling city, under heavy fire from unseen forces populating a towering wreck a football field's distance away.  Flashes of gunfire flicker in a second floor window and progress to the building is treacherous indeed.  We get a preview of a slow-motion, bullet time system that allowed the player pick off enemies from in close-quarters quickly as you storm a room.  We then get a preview of the expansive ideas in the game when you take control of a rover armed with automatic weapons as you creep through cracks and low places, picking off enemies safely from a remote location.  This looks good.  So, so good.



We received a brief presentation from EA Sports covering their other popular franchises and introducing Madden NFL Social.  Following that we got a preview for the new FIFA highlighting the impact soccer has around the world.  EA Sports Football Club is a highlighted social aspect to FIFA 13 which connect soccer fans and it was also announced that Club members will be able to carry all their experience over to 13 from 12.  Additional, exclusive features and bonuses are all available through this feature.  Lastly a new iPhone app that connects to FIFA's growing network.  Legendary player Lionel Messi was the backbone of the new FIFA engine, which encourages more strategy and offers new offensive and defensive options.  The gameplay trailer showed stunning visuals and swift movement including a powerful new dynamic dribbling feature that allows precise and finessed movement of foot and body.



Next we got the trailerfor the upcoming EA/UFC collaboration that literally shut THQ down.  We got to see a teaser, but not much from the actual game.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is back.  Most Wanted is arguably the best in the series so far and the open world driving game bringing us the best parts of Most Wanted.  Criterion already nailed the open world driving game with Burnout: Paradise and now they tkae their expertise to the next level with stunning graphics, an intense sense of speed and a high-tension time run through a brilliant urban landscape.  Touches of Burnout: Paradise are evident in the level design, and that is a positive.  This one is going to be awesome.



Crytek's presentation of Cysis 3 looks great, promising a multi-platform launch and a Feburary release date.  The event closed with this amazing presentation of a massive battle on a dam amid a fallen city.  Since it's Crytek, it looks awesome and the action seems perfectly tense and epic.



Thus closes the EA press conference, which showed some nice shooters and a few cool surprises.  Stay tuned for more throughout today and the rest of the E3 coverage.

E3 2012 - Part 4: Microsoft Press Conference

Okay.  This is going to be a long one.  The event opens with a full-motion trailer for Halo 4.  It was big, bold and exciting, but it still seemed a little dopey, but it got the message across.  The trailer was massive in scale and utterly beautiful, as we'd expect form a showing of Halo.  We transitioned into gameplay with Master Chief's helmet HUD that looks stunning.  From here we go directly into gameplay we say earlier today.  Halo 4 is definitely one of the top titles of the year.



We were then treated to exclusive footage from Splinter Cell: Blacklist that looks very, very good.  It appears to utilize a sold mix of stealth gameplay and reactive action called Killing In Motion, a new Kinect-integrated gameplay element that uses the Kinect voice and motion controls to enhance the gameplay.  It looks quite good.  It is an understatement to say that Ubisoft has thus far made an impressive showing at E3 this year, and Blacklist is no exception.



We then received a presentation from EA Sports regarding Kinect.  Madden 13 and Fifa 13 were both announced as having Kinect support.  The demo showed the player using voice commands to quickly sub out players and change tactics without using menus, even give commands to other AI players while you play.  An angry reaction can even get you flagged by the ref!  Very cool stuff.

In Madden 13, Joe Montana took the stage and we got to see how Kinect will allow you use voice commands to call plays and communicate with individual players and issue commands, even calling and audible!  It definitely brings a new layer of immersion into already deep and exciting games.



Following EA Sports we got a glimpse of the Kinect-integrated Fable action title that more closely resembles a rail shooter than an actual Fable game.  Kind of disappointing and it points to a lack of imagination on the developer's end.  Fable, being an innovative and immersion experience, is above this mess.  Still, you never know, it may turn out to be good.  I have been wrong before.



Gears of War: Judgement made a showing with a teaser followed by Forza: Horizon which promises the classic Forza experience in an open world.  This is a truly exciting proposition.  The teaser was quite exciting but with an October 23, 2012 release date, I would've liked to see some gameplay.  Maybe on the floor coverage.



We got to see Kinect used to search new movies using Bing and Kinect Voice.  When you search a movie you can chose from a list of providers that off the movie, so instead of browsing Netflix, then going to another provider, you can see all the providers that host the movie or show you want to watch.  After a brief demo of the 360's multilingual capabilities, we saw a demo of additional studios including Nickelodeon, Univision, Machinima and Paramount.  UFC on Xbox is supposed to offer additional content and we were introduced to NBA and NHL on Xbox as well, hosting more highlights and sports content on the Xbox Live network.  Xbox is also providing 24-hour streaming ESPN content live.  Popular shows and sports coverage are included in HD!  This is an example of integration of interactive television, ESPN being, thus far, the only network forward-thinking enough to capture this technology.  There will, however, be more to come.

Continuing on the path of entertainment media outside of gaming, Xbox Music was announced.  An integrated music experience that offers streaming on multiple Smart Glass devices.  It essentially appears to be similar to the interfaces we're used to, just a little more polished and part of a larger existing network.



We also saw more from Nike and Kinect for their interactive fitness training system that uses all of Microsoft's best technology to further enhance the fitness gaming experience.  This feature is called Nike+ Kinect Training.  It was designed by real trainers from the major leagues to get the most advanced, real-life training and it offers online training with others around the world.  The trailer shows some of the interface but doesn't really get into the guts of the game.  It still seems like impressive technology nonetheless.



Xbox SmartGlass was given a big introduction, offered as a means to provide additional supplementary material through your smart phone, tablet, ect.  Smart Glass offers streaming from the tablet and easy transfer to your TV through the 360.  Once the streaming switches to the TV, the tablet transforms to a page containing additional information about the film, which the movie continues on the 360.  This sort of integration allows for more expansion and immersion in the story, encouraging interactive elements for movies and TV at home.  We then saw the same footage from before regarding SmartGlass' integration with Madden NFL as an interactive playbook, which is a cool feature.  In Halo 3 it displays interactive menu content, maps and data about that game as you play it, as well as your progress through the game.  It is definitely a nice touch.  It was also added that SmartGlass can be used as a remote, so you can use your smart phone to control your 360 menus, even a web browser in the form of Internet Explorer for Xbox that is controllable with voice or your smart device.  We saw a specially-formatted version of the website for the movie Prometheus that allows easy interactivity for the website through the 360 menu.  We received a demo of the smart phone used as a touch pad to control a cursor on screen.  This leg of the demo was closed with an announcement of 360 integration with Windows 8 for gaming and entertainment.



Next up we got to see new footage from the upcoming, long awaited Tomb Raider title.  The game looks great, obviously taking a few pointers from Uncharted.  The action is big and explosive, and looks to be quite fluid.  The environmental graphics are lush and dynamic, with interactive world elements and destructible surroundings.  The demo exudes a sense of danger, something welcome in a game of its type.  if the gameplay is good, it definitely stands to be a lot of fun.



Ascend: New Gods is a new IP demo'd on the event that integrates Xbox live with Windows Live Games.   The teaser looked good, but doesn't offer a great deal of information as to what type of game it is going to be.  Thought the battle at the end with the colossal fella was quite intense.  Following that we saw a trailer for a new title called LocoCycle from Twisted Pixel and a look at the teaser for a game called Matter, a Kinect title that, once again, offers no information on gameplay.



Resident Evil 6 was on display next, looking polished and as grim as ever, the game looks like it is attempting to renew some good will after the backlash from RE5.  The game looks good, with a stunning city scene and lots of lovely gore.  The fast-paced gunplay on display was a lot of fun to watch, and possibly could be fun to execute, if the game plays well.  The climax of the demo featured cars falling down around hour heroes as they attempt to GET TO THA CHOPPPAAAHHH!!  The obvious inclusion of quick time events is kind of a downer though, I was hoping we were past that by now.  I guess not...  I did like the trailer overall though.  Resident Evil 6 looks like a lot of fun.



Wreckateer is a new Kinect title that allows the player to demolish massive castles with balls using catapults and trebuchets.  This is kind of a bleh idea, but the way Kinect is used to manipulate the projectile as it if you were using wind to put spin on the cannonballs.  It looks okay for casual gamers.


Immediately following that was the brand new South Park title the Stick of Truth, which appears to be a fun arcade-style action game with all of South Parks signature humor.  The game was introduced by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone themselves and they gave their insight on the development and how, for the first time, we will be able to explore South Park in its entirety.


Next up was an introduction of Dance Central 3 for Kinect complete with a bad live performance by Usher!  The game doesn't look bad, and the previous games were fun, though I'm not really cut out for that level of activity, lol.  I can appreciate a game that gets you off your butt, especially one that encourages it with bouncing music.



We closed with Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.  A solid demo for a game that looks great.  This is going to be one epic game, with beautiful scenery, massive set pieces, intense action and high-tension pacing.  Black Ops 2 is going to be one of the big ones and from what I've seen, we have a lot to look forward to.



Well, that's it for E3 Day 1!!!  We made it!  Whew!  I'm beat, even thought I never left my chair!  I will pick up with day 2 coverage as soon as coverage starts tomorrow.  Stay tuned everyone!

E3 2012 - Part 3: Sony's Press Conference

All eyes are on Sony to pick up their game after a massive FAIL year with very few quality games from major developers outside of Uncharted 3 and a few downloadable games and after a devastating network breach that resulted in a massive loss of revenue.  Sony needed to bring their A-game to this event but the result was, honestly, less-than-impressive, with the exception of two games: Beyond and the Last of Us.

The event opened with a new ip from quantic dream called BEYOND: Two Souls that actually stars Ellen Page.  The trailer was spectacular with movie-quality animation was so stunning that I was lost in it.  The stunning trailer speaks for itself and showcases the amazing technology that lies in our future.



After that impressive showing we got a rather underwhelming demo of Playstation All Stars: Battle Royale, a Super Smash Bros. clone that features popular Sony characters including Kratos, Sly Cooper, Sweet Tooth, Fat Princess, Nathan Drake, and Big Daddy.  Using regular attacks, players build up power to perform a super attack that scores points when they hit othaveer players.  This is the key to victory.



We then got a series of upcoming downloadable games for the PS3 and Vita through PSN, as well as some upcoming features for Playstation Plus.  Sony also made a point to push the first and third-party entertainment services available on PSN and Vita as well, including YouTube, Hulu Plus, Crackle and more.

Following that time sink, we got previews for Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified as well as Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, a tie-in for the Vita that features a female assasin.  We then saw more form Assassin's Creed 3 and Far Cry 3 (more filler, really).



Playstation Move was also heavily pushed, with emphasis on using to enhance gaming for the player.  To achieve this, Sony announced a new feature that uses Move to interact with books.  It is an augmented reality program that uses the Playstation Eye called Wonderbook.  You place a special book on the floor before the camera, the game then overlays interactive elements onto the screen as if they are in the room with the player, coming out of the book.  The principle game on display was from a collaboration with Harry Potter-author J.K. Rowling called Book of Spells wich integrates Wonderbook with Playstation Move in which you use the Move controller as a magic wand and interact with the story.



God of War: Ascension keeps the same ultra-violent action the series is famous for on a much grander scale.  However, the gameplay shown was rather lacklustre.  It looked nice, but it didn't appear to be any different that what we've been playing for seven years.  I was rather disappointed.



Sony closed the event with some polished gameplay footage of their new AAA title from Naughty Dog, The Last of Us.  The game looks incredible.  It certainly lives up to its pedigree.  The stunning city scape, flooded and overgrown seems so desolate and so lifeless, yet so beautiful.  The action gameplay is a step up in the violence department from their previous games and the title definitely seems to be aiming for a more mature audience.  It looks impressive and was definitely the highlight of the Sony press conference for E3 2012.  I'm surprised Sony had the nerve to show up with no actualy real footage or news about the new Sly Cooper or the Last Guardian, both of which were AWoL during the press conference.  Still, we'll see what the coming days shall bring.



Okay!  I shall return tonight for the Microsoft press conference.  Stay tuned for more updates and thanks for all who have been reading!

E3 2012 - Part 2: Ubisoft Press Conference

Ubisoft had a strong showing today at E3 2012.  They opened with a title we expected (Let's Dance 3) in a rather unexpected way.  Hip-hop star Flo Rida rapping while sexy babes dance and the game fills the screen behind them.  It was definitely bombastic.  While I'm not all that excited about Let's Dance, what Ubisoft had in store for us following that display... Wow!

Farcry 3 gave an impressive showing this year.  The distinctly NSFW trailer/demo shows the game to be a strong, gorgeous entry into a solid action series.  The island motif is amazing, with stunning graphics throughout. This is going to be a good one.  I was impressed by what I saw, and it only got better from there.  We then followed that up with a teaser for the new Splinter Cell title Blacklist, which looked great.

We then saw Ubisoft's first implementation of Wii U with Rayman Legends, a fun-looking co-op platformer that uses the different Wii U controllers to manipulate the different characters.  Following that up was ZombiU, and though all we got was a teaser, it was a good one.  Showing a moment frozen in time spread all across the city of London at the height of a zombie attack.  We pan through blood splatter frozen in the air and a car frozen  in time as careens off the London Bridge.

Moving on, we all expected the new Assassin's Creed to be good, but what was showing on E3 sets the bar so much higher than before.  From the captivating opening trailer to the beautiful gameplay footage, Assassin's Creed 3 did not fail to please.  The audience erupted in excited applause as we watched our new hero Connor glide through a frozen forest and infiltrate a British camp in the heart of the Revolutionary War.

Ubisoft also gave us a glimpse of what they have to offer in the world of social and online multiplayer gaming in the form of Shootmaina and Ubisoft Worlds.  Shootmania is an online multiplayer experience that is Ubisoft's entry into the online competative shooter world dominated by Counter Strike and Team Fortress 2.  Ubisoft Worlds Online is a combination of new smaller IPs and free-to-play game experiences available as part of an online community.  The games shown included a 2D motocross game called Trails Evolution and an online version of their classic Settlers series.  The showcase game in this run was Ghost Recon Online, a free-to-play multiplayer shooter that looks like a AAA title.

Last, but far, far, FAR from least was the official reveal of their new IP, Watch_Dogs.  Set in the not-too-distant future where everyone has a digital footprint, you take control of a man who has the ability to hack and manipulate virtually every single piece of technology around him as everything in the city is run by a central computer.  During the gameplay demo we see our character jam all cellular communications around him to create a distraction to sneak into an exclusive event.  Countless icons representing computer cameras and things that can be hacked populate the scene, giving a number of options on how you can apporach any scenario.  Scanning nearby people reveals their information, as it's all at your fingertips.  You can see their age, their jobs, and their darkest secrets, all gathered from their digital footpring.  The traffic lights are hacked causing a massive pile up, all as part of the core gameplay.  This is one amazing-looking game.  The character models are amazing and the lighting is unbleievably realistic this is way on-par with, if not better than, Naughty Dog's best work.  This is going to be one of the ones to keep your eyes on people!

E3 2012 - Update: EA - What to Expect

You can always count on EA to go big.  They've got the money and the power and they are gobbling up intellectual properties like the freaking Nothing from The Neverending Story.  This year, expect to see more of the same from EA in the form of returning EA Sports franchises and a few mainstay sequels.  However, I believe their big push is going to come in the form of product integration.  Using your smart phone, tablet, laptop or PC in tandem with your gameplay.  We've seen some of this in the form of a teaser trailer; planning plays in Madden on your iPad and executing them in game.

I believe this level of integration is the future of gaming and EA is going to be on the forefront of this.  I would like to see an end to their greedy online DRM and a little streamlining, as well as more availability on the Playstation Store and Xbox Live Arcade.  I wouldn't count too much on the latter two though.  EA is going to continue to be that big ugly, greedy blob that needs to be there (Yin and Yang and all) but really needs to lighten up.  Really.

E3 2012 - Updating: Ubisoft - What They Need To Do!

Ubisoft is still young compared to most other A-list developers and built their house on Rayman.  Over they years, however, they grew up and made some of the best games of the 2000s, including Assassin's Creed and Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time.  Their list of AAA titles is comparatively small, but the titles they do own are so huge that they may not have as many guns, but damn are they big ones!

As far as Ubisoft's press conference goes, what do they need to do?  The need to show us some games.  There is a rumor that they are going to go the direction of Skylanders and  make a tie-in line of "toys" to go with a new game.  This is bad.  Don't go there Ubisoft.  We want games that are ready to play and that are exciting. After the very poor showing with the recent Prince of Persia game, they really need to bring their A-game.  I would like to see a new Tomb Raider that lives up to the popularity.  I rather liked Tomb Raider: Legends and would love to see a new game along those lines.  Also look forward to more on the new Assassin's Creed, taking place in Revolutionary War-era America.  We shall see what surprises they have in store shortly when their press conference begins.

E3 2012 - Update: EA and UFC

It was announced at an E3 press conference that E3 is teaming up with UFC to launch a brand new EA Sports franchise.  All we got to see so far was a teaser trailer with zero gameplay footage or in game graphics, but EA Sports is a solid developer and if anyone can capture that bone-crunching, high-tension action of MMA, it's those guys.  They did it with football, soccer, baseball, basketball, golf and boxing.  They made golf exciting!!!  Seriously!  I think MMA fans (and there are a lot of them) would appreciate an amazing high-profile UFC game starring all of their favorite celebs in the sport.  This is going to be a major blow to rivals THQ, who currently own the UFC brand in gaming but EA is a powerhouse and things don't look good for the little guy.  Stay glued for any more information about this game and I will keep updating throughout the week.