5.17.2009

"The Art of Hype" or "Bioware Teases with Teasers of Teasers"

How to make a videogame trailer.
Step 1: Do not show anything of the gameplay, use only cutscenes with the GUI turned off
Step 2: Use music that will most likely never even be in the game at all
Step 3: Title your trailer something edgy that is bound to get attention.
Step 4: ???
Step 5: Profit

Humor aside (though only like 1 person who reads my blog got that meme), I have been looking forward to Dragon Age: Origins for quite some time. I like what Bioware has done in the past with titles like MDK2, KoToR, and Mass Effect. I find the concepts behind this game interesting, especially the fact that the characters you create completely changes where and how the story begins and affects the whole story of the game.



On another note, Bioware has put up a video teasing what they will be showing of Mass Effect 2 behind closed doors at E3. So, this is essentially a teaser... for a teaser. Bravo, and yet the internet still exploded and my girlfriend talked about it for two days.

5.06.2009

"Wii MotionPlus" or "E3 is Next Month People"

In recent years publishers and console makers have kinda stolen their own thunder a bit in regards to the Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3. There always seems to be announcements the month or so before hand showcasing games that would have been pretty big news at the conference. This year Nintendo seems to have dropped the ball a bit. Last year they had a horrible E3, showing almost no titles that a more old school gamer (I refuse to label gamers casual or hardcore anymore) could get into save for Animal Crossing, and that itself is more than a bit of a stretch.

This month has seen Nintendo Power spill the beans on Red Steel 2, a sequel to the Wii launch title from Ubisoft that, despite annoying controls and shallow storyline, went on to be the best selling third party title in the launch period.

Last year at E3 Nintendo unveiled the Wii Motion Plus, a attachment for the Wii remote that gives it almost flawless one-to-one interpretation of the remotes position. Techradar.com has said: "Playing a tennis game with Wii MotionPlus after playing the same game without the new, improved controller is the equivalent of taking the stabilisers off of your first bike. It is taking your first baby steps into a world in which gaming is going to be a whole lot more fun than ever before. It's like going from VHS straight to Blu-ray."

Many games announced so far (mainly sport titles), use MotionPlus. These include all of EA Sports titles for the Wii, and the aforementioned Red Steel 2. And I'm sure many many more will be announced at E3 this year. It's next month, and it looks to be exciting with all three console manufacturers expected to make very big announcements (though oddly, Sony has been talking mostly about PSP rather than PS3.)

Today the trailer for Red Steel 2 went up, I leave you now with that trailer for your enjoyment.