The quality of the gaming titles wasn’t too much of a surprise, because the Xbox 360 has boasted a strong catalogue of high quality games since its release. But both Project Natal and Milo were something else altogether; not only did they expand the potential of Microsoft’s gaming platform, but they came completely out of left field. Microsoft’s 2009 press briefing nailed its audience’s collective jaw to the floor and set the bar so impossibly high for other keynote presentations that nothing has come close to it since.
And that includes Microsoft’s press briefing this year. While it seems unfair to say so, there was no way Microsoft could match the shock and awe which greeted its keynote in 2009. Project Natal and Milo were bolts from the blue when they were first unveiled. This year, the media that trooped into the Wiltshire Theatre for the Xbox 360 showcase knew, at least in part, what to expect. They knew a large portion of Microsoft’s E3 keynote would be spent revealing video games and Xbox Live applications for Project Natal – renamed Kinect. Some of them would already have a good idea about what these titles would be like having seen them the previous evening in an elaborate and surreal performance involving the Cirque du Soleil.
Kinect is certainly an impressive piece of kit. Using a motion-sensor, camera and voice recognition software, this hands-free interface offers a smooth, intuitive, and above all else, incredibly simple way to enjoy video games. During the Microsoft presentation we were treated first to a demonstration of its functional capabilities. These included using voice activated commands to use applications such as Zune or Netflix, and simple gestures to navigate through menus on Xbox Live. Microsoft also demonstrated a video chat function called VideoKinect. As a social media tool, Kinect showed that it still had some tricks up its sleeve.
The video games unveiled for Kinect, however, were a little more predictable. Since Kinect is obviously a major part of Microsoft’s bid to make inroads into the massive casual gaming market created by Nintendo, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to expect at least some of the Kinect launch titles to take some design cues from Wii games.
First out of the blocks was Kinectimals, an adorable little game in which players are able to collect and interact with cuddly cubs. It’s sure to be a hit with small children, but then, so was the game that seems to be its biggest and most obvious influence, Nintendogs. Kinect Sports promises hours of fun, but its structure – that of a collection of mini-gaming events such as boxing, bowling, track & field sports and ping pong – bears more than a passing resemblance to Wii Sports. Granted, players will never have interacted with their Wii games in the manner offered to them by Kinect. But the content of the games – at least on the surface – look all too familiar.
Kinect’s potential shone through with some games that really took advantage of the interface. Ubisoft’s Your Shape: Fitness Evolved may look, on the surface, to Microsoft's take on Wii Fit, but it uses Kinect’s full-body interface to completely rewrite the rule book for games of this type. Dance Hero, developed by Harmonix, builds on the Dance Dance template to provide a fun and all-inclusive experience. Microsoft even showed that Kinect could work its way into entertainment for hard-core players; both a new Star Wars game and a newForza title have been announced for 2011.
Even though Kinect – and its casual gaming bid – was given the lion’s share of stage time at this year’s press briefing, Microsoft demonstrated that it was still in tune with the desires of its core audience. The Xbox 360 has primarily always catered to hard-core gamers, and the titles at this year’s keynote didn’t disappoint. In fact, as if to counterbalance all the family-friendly fun of Kinect, Microsoft pulled out its big guns early.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops kicked off the briefing with a slow crawl over corpses in a Vietnam foxhole, and then an explosive battle involving a helicopter strafing anything in its path. It was followed by the new Metal Gear Solid title, which demonstrated a gameplay mechanic that allows players to slice up opponents like sashimi; Gears Of War 3 has taken the testosterone-fuelled shooter/chainsaw template the franchise has become known for, and then gone completely over the top; Fable III contains hints of humour, but looks far darker than its predecessor; and Halo:Reach showcased some smooth, beautiful first-person shooter action, and then went widescreen; the audience at the Wiltshire let out an audible gasp as the action switched from run-and-gun to a dogfight in planetary orbit.
It’s this strange dichotomy of visceral hard-core and all-inclusive casual gaming that is the lasting impression of Microsoft’s keynote speech. It was all neatly tied together by the announcement of a new sleeker, smaller and quieter Xbox 360 console. Microsoft are striking out into casual territory, while taking pains to keep their core audience satisfied.
Its press briefing poses more questions than it answers – will Kinetic be a success? Can it attract hard-core gamers? Are new gamers prepared to invest in the Xbox 360 as their trial gaming experience? – but at least some vague direction has been hinted at.
For now, those monitoring E3 turn their attention towards Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft’s briefing may not be as mind-blowing as that of 2009, but it’s a tough act to follow nonetheless.
from Nick Cowen, Video games correspondent
