As usual on a Friday, I’m going to answer a few
questions this week that players have sent in to our feedback account. As always, if you
have a question send it to feedback@gameslice.com
and we will be sure to get around to it in the future. This week we look at some of the
aftermath from E3 and the dry spell of games due this summer.
Q: I really enjoyed your surprise game feature about E3, but I was wondering if
there were any disappointing games at the show?
A: It’s always hard to classify a game as a "disappointment" at the show
because I see things in various stages of development. Some games are nearly finished
(LucasArts’ Grim Fandango) and other titles are barely even started (Peter
Molyneux’s Black and White). So, when I cite games as being disappointing, it’s
often due to the fact I don’t believe what’s being pitched or don’t see the
potential in a game. Although I hate to name names, I was underwhelmed by a lot of 3D
action games that said they couldn’t use the Unreal engine because it simply
wasn’t powerful enough for some of the effects they were doing (I heard this same
story from the creators of Amen for Cavedog and Prax War for Electronic Arts). So, in many
ways I’m not very excited about all these teams trying to do their own 3D engines
because I think they would have been better off just licensing technology and making their
own games. Still, were there any games that I saw at the show and said "Wow, I was
expecting more"? Not really, although Tomb Raider 3 didn’t look very innovative
where it could have really been a top game at the show if Core had done something new with
it. In addition, Extreme Warfare from Red Orb, although heavily promoted at the show
– lots of banners and signs -- didn’t seem to be all it was cracked up to be.
Q: Which developer and publisher had the best lineup at E3 this year?
A: That’s a great question and very hard to answer, especially on the developer
side, since it’s hard to compare a developer with one product to a group that is
doing three or four games. The same on the publishing side: GT probably has 75 games and
then smaller publishers such as the new startup Mad Genius only have one game. But, I
digress – Since there were far too many developers that just had one solid title, for
multiple games that all looked great, I’d have to cite 3D Realms as a good example
along with Bullfrog and Shiny. Sure, Diablo 2 looked great, but that was the only real
title Blizzard was showing. 3D Realms had two huge hits behind closed doors with Prey and
Duke Forever and Max Payne also looks good, although I’m a little uncertain of where
the game is in there. I saw a few too many smoke particles and not enough gameplay to
convince me it’s going to be a blockbuster. Bullfrog had two solid hits with Dungeon
Keeper II and Populous: The Beginning, and Shiny had a solid lineup with Messiah, Wild 9,
and Stunt RC Copter – I think the miniature helicopter game is going to be fantastic
when it finally does come out. On the publisher side, LucasArts had a very impressive
lineup, although it would have been nice if Force Commander and the new Indiana Jones game
were playable. I was also very impressed with the lineup from Sierra Studios (Half-Life,
Homeworld, Gabriel Knight 3, Mask of Eternity, et all) – It finally looks like Sierra
is back on top for 1998. Unfortunately most of the really large publishers seemed to
suffer from the same problem they always do: A few good games and a lot of bad ones. As
usual, just about any publisher that is promoting more than 5-7 titles lacked focus.
Q: The summer seems like a dry season for games this year. Is there anything I
should be looking forward to playing?
A: Well, if you haven’t already played Unreal, I suggest you go buy a copy.
That’s probably as good as it will get for the next few months. Although games like
Sin and Half-Life are due out in the "summer" according to their publishers, I
think they will hit on the tail end of the season. Westwood Studios’ Dune 2000 is
probably going to make a big splash when it comes out in July with full Internet support.
It should benefit from a pretty clear stab at the RTS marketplace. Otherwise, I’m
also looking forward to Virgin’s Recoil (one of our five surprise games at the E3
show) due out in August, and obviously as we get into the September timeframe the big
holiday releases start to hit store shelves. Sure, there’s a bit of a dry spell for
the summer, but it’s not uncommon – All the marketing people think gamers are
out at the beach during the summer and not inside playing games.
