2404 - PC Gaming - E3 2004 Day 1

E3 2004 Day 1

Posted by Hengst June 14, 2004

E3 for the PC day 1 by Hengst

Well today is May 12, 2004, and as everybody knows, it is also day one of E3 2004. As this is actually my second E3, I was much more prepared for what I was going to see today, as well as where to look and which lines to get into and which to avoid.

Despite most of the hype for E3 belonging to the Console games, I was truly surprised by what I did see for the PC today. Today I managed to touch base with the folks from Dreamcatcher Interactive, Activision as well as the folks at ArenaNet. With all of that said, let me begin.

Dreamcatcher Games and the Adventure Company are best known for the recent hit for the PC, Painkiller, as well as a slew of point and click adventure game titles. While Painkiller was in fact on hand, it was a few of their other titles which truly caught my eye this morning.

Dungeon Lords was by far one of the more impressive titles that I not only got to see in action, but actually got to play with as well. This game is a 3rd person action RPG game which combines the look of a game like Everquest, with the hack and slash action of a game like Diablo. The difference here being the sheer level of detail that has been incorporated into this game. Little things like arrows sticking into you when you get hit with them, weapons and shields breaking upon prolonged use are just a few of the areas that this game was shining on.

The build that I played showed impressive use of shadows as well as a very robust graphical engine. As is the norm for action games these days, you will have the ability to handpick the stats and abilities of your character, as well as the direction you want them to take. I was told that the ability to multi-class was also included meaning you may be able to get that fighter-thief you always wanted as well. Overall from the bit I got to play, I found this game to be an engrossing experience. The look and feel of the game make this game stand out among the many Diablo clones we see on the market these days. This game is slated for a 3rd quarter release and promises 20-40 hours of gameplay.

Besieger was another Dreamcatcher title which looks poised to make a little noise in the RTS genre. Siege warfare is the name of this game, as you are able to gather resources and bud armies to both protect your fortress, as well as besiege you enemies. The build I saw showed 2 different playable races, the Sumerians and the Vikings. Each race had their own race specific units and seemed fairly well balanced. Promising a single player campaign as well as 4 online gameplay modes, this game appears ready to add to try and make a name for themselves in a severely crowded genre. This game will cap you at 75 units allowing you to have a sizable army at your disposal. The engine for this game was built from the ground up and was sporting some very cool models and textures. Even the blood from dead characters makes an appearance in this game. This game is slated to be released this June is currently being tested and balanced for online play. The Adventure Company is mainly known for their static, almost Myst-like adventure games. The Atlantis series itself includes 2 fairly standard adventure games already. That is all about to change. Atlantis Evolution is perhaps one of the best looking first person, 3d adventure games I have seen in some time. Gone are the day of pixel hunting amid standard pre-rendered backdrops. In one scene I saw, while aboard a ship you could see the room rocking back and forth as it moved with the rest of the ship. Sitting in a boat, I was shocked to see a shark swim by me. This doesn't even mention the beautiful cut-scenes that have been incorporated into this game. If this is the direction that all great adventure titles are going, then I can easily recommend this game to a much wider gaming audience. This game will also feature the ability to die within the game. Gone are the days of pixel hunting until the game is beaten. Now you will actually have to think in order to solve the game. Look for this game sometime during the 4th quarter of this year.

The next game I saw was known as Mu Continent of Legend. This is a Japanese 3rd person action game which bears a striking resemblance to Diablo. From what I saw of this game in action today Mu is in Fact a Diablo type of game which is situated in the realm of the MMORPG. This game is available via a 150 mb download and has relatively forgiving system requirements. While it wasn't that bad, I found the game a tad derivative and would easily recommend picking up a game like Beyond Divinity if you want the single player fun of this type of game. In the already crowded world of MMORPGs, this game has a long way to go before it can begin to make waves. Although the people in the strange costumes outside their booth at E3 were interesting to look at, if a tad scary.

Vampire the Masquerades: Bloodlines was also on hand today, looking even better than it did a year ago. Built with the Half-Life 2 source code, I was advised that the folks at Troika have actually built their own tools to use with the code to add to the lighting effects present in the game. This game will take place in the whole end of the world Gehenna scenario that White Wolf unveiled this past year in their World of Darkness game settings. This game will actually give you an idea of what happens in Los Angeles leading up to, and during the final nights, the time when the Antediluvian vampires will awaken and begin to kill their younger brethren. IF you don' know what I just said, don't worry it won't affect you from loving this game.

This game will have well over 100 different characters to interact with, as well as multiple paths and dialogue choices based upon the type of character you make, and the way you play them. The game features the ability to play in either the 1st or 3rd person perspectives, and I found that both had their uses in the game. Characters using Celerity have the impressive looking blur effects on them, and of course if you don't have celerity yourself, the only thing you may see when you get online with this game is the view of a dead character. I was advised that right now they are working on a team deathmatch for this game, something like humans from the Society of Leopold with uber weapons, versus the Camarilla vampires of the 6 clans and their ally the clan Gangrel. As expected, the physics engine for this game is top of the line. While watching a battle between a Tremere vampire and a large Gargoyle, you could see where the Gargoyle would destroy portions of the stairway above it. Now if combat isn't your thing, there is a way around the Gargoyle, using a little persuasion.

The sheer detail of the facial expressions, and the emotions they are capable of showing was also quite impressive. So to was the ability to greatly customize your character with different outfits and hats. If you haven't seen the Malkavian with the Dr. Seuss hat you have no idea what you are missing. Despite all the hype regarding Half-Life 2, this game looks poised to be every bit as big a technological marvel as HL2, and in some areas perhaps it will be better.

The last game I would be remiss not to mention is Guild Wars. Guild Wars is a MMORPG which promises to allow for guild based battles, essentially large scale player vs. player battles in large arenas. For all the hype I had been hearing about this game, it wasn't until today that I really got to see this game in action. Aside from having your standard MMORPG elements, like solo questing and leveling up, this game also features the standard adventure grouping (guess there is always safety in numbers). The best way to experience this game, is to go to the Guild Wars website and download their free beta of the game which will be live only as long as E3 is going on. http://www.guildwars.com/ look for the E3 for everyone link, download the game (a rather small download actually) and start playing. For this beta, everybody is capped at level 15, which is also good as it means everybody is equal.

Sporting some very pretty graphics and some amazingly smooth frame rates, Guild Wars looked about on par with the upcoming World of Warcraft game. The character models were very well-done and the monsters in the game were a true beauty. It is very obvious that a large amount of time went into designing the different units in this game, and its touches like this that will make this game a must have. After you follow the instructions for making your character, you are given the option of creating a dual class character. I chose to make a Warrior/Monk, which gave me a large hulking basher, who also had some great skills and abilities. From using a hammer strike to knocking my enemy onto the ground, to going into a frenzy and causing more damage, I found that I had multiple skills and abilities to use. I also had the ability to heal my character, another character, as well as use a resurrection ability to bring my fallen comrades back to life.

Believe it or not, ArenaNet pulled out all the stops for their E3 attraction, including a Guild Wars Arena 4 on 4 best of 3 melee. After spending 30 minutes by myself getting smeared by both the computer and other gamers, I decided to enter the competition. Bring my Warrior/Monk onto the field with 3 other Warriors I watched in amazement as my team proceeded to obliterate our competition. Before you knew it, we had swept both rounds and I won a nice 32mb USB storage device for my efforts. Not a bad way to end the day.n"

With all of the great games I saw, there were some that I didn't get a chance to view. Soldner for the PC was having network issues and I was unable to play much of it. The games for Sony Online, like Everquest 2 and Galaxies I will get a chance to see in action Friday in their closed booth. I will also get the opportunity to check out Vivendi Universal's booth and hopefully have some news on World of Warcraft and half-Life 2 among others. So for one day of non-stop lines, crowds of people and noise I came out okay. Check back tomorrow to hear about my day 2 experiences which will include, Magic the Gathering Online duels, Vivendi Universal's games, as well as hopefully a look at and some information on Doom 3.