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Roundtable: Best of E3

E3 ended on Friday, and after some debating and deliberation, PSU concluded that Killzone was the best PS3 title shown at this year’s event. However, whilst we’re all gamers, we each have different tastes. Here’s what we all thought about the titles shown at the all new E3. Note that we’ve tried to avoid discussing Nintendo and Microsoft’s showings, as although we have opinions on their titles too, we’ve tried to remain focused on PlayStation.


Bhavin Shah, Editor & Journalist:

Killzone 2 silenced the critics. Though the first Killzone isn’t really acclaimed to be special, this second iteration is nothing short of incredible. The lighting, the shadows, the detail on the characters and the environments, the crazy warzone…all the waiting and all the hype really came to fruition.

MGS4 also impressed. A six minute trailer was shown this time (available now on PS Store), and as Kojima stated on a couple of occasions, it was running in real time on the PS3. It will look like it did in the trailer when you actually play it. We have a graphically beautiful game, with a solid storyline, made by one the greatest developers in the world, exclusive to PS3.

Things are looking good.

 


 

Dustin Spino, Journalist:

When E3 came around Sony fans had 2 things in mind, Metal Gear and Killzone. Luckily Sony pulled through with trailers of both games that wowed the crowd at the E3 conference and then again at home with PSN.

Killzone lived up to the hype and surprised many gamers with an in-game trailer that looked very, very close to the stunning E3 05 trailer.

Killzone was easily the best PlayStation game shown at E3 this year. Spectacular visuals, outstanding game play, and an intense gaming style. Then to follow things up with blogs and interviews, Guerilla revealed an amazing storyline. No other game has offered some of the effects Killzone is bringing such as destructible cover, realistic wound shots on enemies, and extremely realistic AI.

The title really got people talking, with a pre-E3 event and an in-game, realtime trailer. I’m excited, and anyone that saw the trailer probably is too.

 


 

Rob Zwetsloot, Journalist:

Although I’m rather skeptical over the Killzone 2 hype, the gameplay demo they showed seems pretty damn good (if you look past the lip synching). Graphically, it looks stunning, and the scenario of the level shown seems suitably chaotic and desperate.

If they remove the context sensitive melee attacks as well as keeping up the eye candy, this game could shape up to be quite the venerable shooter.

Assasin’s Creed is another favourite of the show, and with this one the hype has taken over. The story is compelling (you’re a Hashshashin in Crusade era Jerusalem. Inspired), the gameplay is highly reminiscent of GTA and Crackdown, and the game looks great to boot.

Both games are shaping up very well it seems, but for sheer hype and amazement, Killzone 2 has had a far better E3 then AC.

 

 


 

Greg Bergen, Cheats Editor:

While Killzone 2 certainly stole much of the show, followed by MGS4 cleaning house with its graphics and announcement of PlayStation 3 exclusivity, there was one game that still made a huge impact at E3 2007. That game is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Though no game footage was shown for the PS3 version, Infinity Ward did release a lot of in-game gameplay footage for the Xbox 360. And this game looks stunning to say the least. Many fans of this title say its graphics are either on par with Killzone 2 or surpasses it.

Furthermore, the AI in the game seem far more intelligent then in previous CoD games. Whether or not some of their movements are scripted remains to be seen, but for the most part, they seem to contain almost human like ingenuity and their animations seem smooth and fluid.

The attention to detail in the CoD4 environments seems to have drastically improved since CoD3. Forests look lush, small middle east towns look gritty, and stormy seas look chaotic and intimidating. Infinity Ward seems to be bringing gamers a more varied environment then the previous CoD titles, not to mention it’s a relief that the company finally moved the franchise away from its World War II roots.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is definitely a game to watch out for. Do not lose this title amongst the hype that Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 have generated.

 

 


 

Matt S, Journalist:

Killzone 2 was by far the best way to end Sony’s showing and stole the show away from the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer. The crisp animations, mind blowing lighting effects, and great gameplay all coming out of a game that’s in its pre-pre-alpha form sets the stage for a fantastic title.

There were a couple of other games that left their marks that definitely needs to be noted. Echochrome showed that innovative gameplay doesn’t need to come with great graphics.

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, a prequel to Gran Turismo 5 to show off what we should expect from Polyphony Digital by the game’s release in 2008, looked incredible. From what was saw it blows every racing game out of the water, in terms of graphics. And the rumored inclusion of Ferraris makes it even more appealing.