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Newbie Joined: 31 May 2004 Posts: 1	Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 12:54 am    Post subject: E3 2004 - 32 Console Games Previewed   Advance Wars: Under Fire Platform: Gamecube Developer: Intelligent Systems Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Strategy Release: September 27, 2004 There was much excitement brewing before the show when the existence of an Advance Wars title for Gamecube was leaked. Most people expected a large scale turn-based strategy game like the first two games released for the Game Boy Advance. But Nintendo surprised everyone again when they revealed this game. The game plays like a cross between Dynasty Warriors and Advance Wars. You fight alongside the troops with the ability to command your entire army and switch over to any unit on the fly. The game still retains the basic unit strategies of Advance Wars looks like it will turn out to be a worthwhile addition to this fifteen year-old franchise. Astro Boy: Omega Factor Platform: Game Boy Advance Developer: Treasure Publisher: Sega Genre: Beat-‘em-up Release: September 2004 Though you may have never heard of Treasure, they have created piles of classic beat-‘em-ups games and shooters. I have played the Japanese version of this game and it lives up to their reputation. I can't say much about the story because I can't read their crazy moon language, but you fight your way through over 40 levels using your fists, feet, or special moves that include laser beams and a machine gun attached to your ass. As you progress, each of your abilities can level up as you find up to 46 secret characters. I will be looking forward to giving treasure more of my money when it is released this September. Destroy All Humans Platform: Xbox, Playstation 2 Developer: Pandemic Studios Publisher: THQ Genre: Action-Adventure Release: Spring 2005 This was one of the more surprising things to come out of E3. In Destroy All Humans you play as an alien that needs to collect DNA from humans and find his brother. To accomplish this you'll need to use a mixture of stealth, manipulation, destruction, and exploration. About one quarter of the game takes place in your spaceship where you can fly anywhere you please while cloaked or just wage an all out, balls to the wall assault on the human race and admire the beautiful effects of the Havoc physics engine. The rest of the game takes place on foot where you have to, with the help of your many abilities, remain hidden from the government while trying to accomplish your goals. Among these is the ability read minds, transform to disguise yourself, hypnotize others, and use telekinesis to defend yourself. Destroy All Humans looks like it will be a blast to play because of the amount of freedom and variety of gameplay types it incorporates. Devil May Cry 3 Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Genre: Action-Adventure Release: December 7, 2004 The original Devil May Cry was one of the best games of the time, but the sequel was lackluster at best. The third installment is a prequel and is shaping up to be much better than the second. The antagonist is Dante's brother Virgil who gave in to their demonic heritage and is on the side of evil. The gothic locations and grotesque enemies shown in the trailer are what you'd expect from the Devil May Cry series. The improved combat system allows significant customization of your fighting style. As you progress, you can level gun attacks, sword attacks, acrobatic moves, and defensive moves to provide a unique gaming experience. In addition to the new combat types, you can equip four weapons at once for on the fly switching and a variety of combos. Hopefully all these good ideas can come together so Capcom doesn't drop the ball again. [page] Fable Platform: Xbox Developer: Big Blue Box Studios Publisher: Microsoft Genre: Action RPG Release: September 2004 One of the most ambitious projects ever coming from the king of ambitious projects, Peter Molyneux, is finally coming together after many years of development. The actual combat isn't very important because that isn't the main focus of the game. What you do outside of combat has a direct effect on the game through the reputation system. In the demo at E3 there was a meter that displayed how many people could see you at any given time. Depending on what you did while people could see you, people will hate and fear you or respect and like you. Another part of the reputation system is that you can set your own goals for quests. You can stand in the town square and brag about how you will defeat somebody with your bare hands and, depending on how you fare, tales of your power or hubris will be spread throughout the land. Along with other little things, like your character tanning if outside often, it looks like Molyneux is going to deliver one many of his promises. Final Fantasy I +II Platform: Game Boy Advance Developer: Square Enix Publisher: Square Enix Genre: RPG Release: July 2004 (Japan) Square Enix announced this title earlier this year and has recently announced some of the non-graphical changes to these classics. The first game will have a new randomly generated dungeon named the Soul of Chaos that will feature many special items and bosses from other Final Fantasy games including the Phantom Train in the picture. The second game will feature a second story called the Soul of Rebirth that will feature four characters that die in the main story. The American release date isn't set yet but the Nintendo site confirms that it will be released here. You can check out the official Japanese site here. Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis Platform: Phones Developer: Square Enix Publisher: Square Enix Genre: RPG Release: Winter 2004 Square Enix is making a new Final Fantasy VII game for cell phones. That's all I bothered to find out because nobody is ever going to play it. Final Fantasy XII Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Square Enix Publisher: Square Enix Genre: RPG Release: February 14, 2005 Square Enix continues its streak of making better looking Final Fantasy while making the main character look more and more homosexual. I can't wait to see the main character of Final Fantasy XV with assless leather chaps, a mesh tank top, a big bushy moustache, and a heavy lisp. Character design aside, the Final Fantasy games always end up being fun. Final Fantasy XII takes place in Ivalice, the same world as Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Our petite-vest wearing friend's name is Vaan, his parents are dead and his main goal in life is to become an air pirate. Eventually he joins his girlfriend and a princess to battle against an evil empire that tries to take over his homeland. During combat you assign scripts to the AI characters and move around the field adding more strategy to the traditional Final Fantasy battles. Despite my qualms about the artistic direction, I'll still be in line picking up this game. [page] Front Mission 4 Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Square Enix Publisher: Square Enix Genre: Strategy RPG Release: July 15, 2004 Front Mission 4 is a strategy game that takes place in the near future where combat is done in gigantic, customizable robots called Wanzers. The game has two parallel stories; one takes place during unrest in modern Europe and the other is a much cooler story about three rouge Wanzers running off with a a ruthless South American dictator's gold stockpile. The Wanzers are very customizable allowing you to have a wide variety of assault and support Wanzers on your squad. The coolest feature of the combat is the link system which allows for group attacks or counterattacks with linked Wanzers. My biggest complaint is that half the story takes place in Europe allowing you to experience the gambit of atrocious accents. If you want to try out this game too, you can go here to get a free demo disc from good ol' Square Enix. Geist Platform: Gamecube Developer: n-Space Publisher: Nintendo Genre: First-Person Shooter Release: November 1, 2004 One of the few original properties Nintendo is launching; Geist is FPS where you play as a soldier sent to investigate a paranormal research facility. Early in the game your spirit becomes separated from your body and you gain the ability to possess living and inanimate objects. This leads to as much puzzle solving as shooting because you cannot possess anything living until it has been thoroughly frightened. To accomplish this you have to possess inanimate objects and make creative use of them. Another notable feature of Geist is the multiplayer which allows up to four people to play a game of ghosts vs. humans. This unique hybrid FPS looks like it will an excellent game to look out for when it is released in November. Gran Tuismo 4 Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Polyphony Digital Publisher: Sony Genre: Racing Release: November 2004 The hottest name in racing simulation continues with another title that includes improved graphics and many new features; the most prominent being online play. Online play will allow for up to six people to compete with an undetermined number of spectators. Another new feature is the photo mode, it allows you to take pictures of your cars and share them online, create slideshows, or print them out with a USB printer. Photo mode is perfect for taking pictures of the more than five hundred cars form more than eighty manufacturers that you can race with. There are also graphical improvements like the addition of fully animated drivers and spectators. All these features and the over fifty courses that you can race on will probably make Gran Turismo 4 the best racer of the year. Guilty Gear Isuka Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Arc System Works Publisher: Sammy Studios Genre: Fighting Release: November 9, 2004 The guilty Gear series has a gigantic fanbase that it has garnered with just two games. The series is known for its fast combat, balanced gameplay, beautiful 2-D sprites, and hard rocking soundtrack. The newest installment is going to have new secret characters, but that is the least of the changes. Characters can now switch back and forth from the foreground and background which will change gameplay significantly but is still not the biggest change. The biggest change is that four players can play simultaneously which will crank up the speed of combat to an insane level. This game might give Smash Brothers a run for its money in the four-player fighting arena. [page] Halo 2 Platform: Xbox Developer: Bungie Publisher: Microsoft Genre: First-Person Shooter Release: November 5, 2004 The first Halo was an obscure little game from a tiny publisher named Microsoft and was not fun at all. If you haven't figured it out, that last sentence was written on opposite day. Halo 2 is the most anticipated game for Xbox; over 250 people have reserved it at my local Gamestop. The biggest change for Halo 2 is that the battle has been brought to Earth; you're no longer fighting the Covenant in an alien world. That, and the Xbox Live multiplayer which was shown in a demo this year make Halo 2 look even better than the original. The demo had two new useable weapons, the plasma blade and a combat rifle that can zoom in for sniping or fire three round bursts. Most of the major changes in combat occur in the vehicles. You can carjack opponents or actually destroy vehicles this time. This makes them significantly weaker and shifts more importance to foot combat, which also has some changes. You can give up your ability to throw grenades and wield two guns and spray the hell out of your adversaries. These changes in combat make it much more balanced and will probably make Halo 2 the killer app for Xbox Live. Jade Empire Platform: Xbox Developer: Bioware Publisher: Microsoft Genre: Action RPG Release: Winter 2004 Xbox owners are lucky to have Bioware, one of the best non-Japanese RPG developers, working with Microsoft. Last year they released the excellent Knights of the Old Republic and now they are branching out with their first game based on their own intellectual property. Jade Empire takes place in ancient China and the gameplay centers around various forms of martial arts. Unlike Bioware's previous offerings, the combat is real-time and not turn based. The combat is intense and straightforward, while assaulting your foes you can change your martial art, over thirty different types, on the fly to create amazing combos for massive damage. You can also use your Chi for various force-like effects or slowly drain your Chi in focus mode bullet time. Another main part of combat is the ability to transform into over a half dozen gigantic creatures to wreak havoc on your foes. Jade Empire is going to have some tough competition from Fable this holiday season, and we'll have to wait and see if Bioware's first independent foray into the RPG realm can overpower Molyneux's "greatest RPG ever." Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Platform: Game Boy Advance Developer: Jupiter Publisher: Square Enix Genre: Action RPG Release: December 2004 This semi-sequel to Square's previous Kingdom Hearts game has very little to do with its semi-predecessor. The action takes place in an isometric perspective with an emphasis on platforming Once battle starts you notice the major changes, the battle system is card based,. The combat boils down to a character playing a card and the defender getting a chance to counter with another card. Whichever player plays a card with a weaker power rating takes damage and loses the card the played while the stronger card is returned to its owner to be reused again. The only thing I can say about the developer is that they make one mean picross game. Kingdom Hearts 2 Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Square Enix Platform: Square Enix Genre: Action RPG Release: September 14, 2005 Kingdom Hearts 2 is a direct sequel that takes place one year after the excellent Disney-Squre Enix hybrid from two years ago. Kingdom Hearts 2 features everything you'd expect in a sequel; improved graphics, new environments, new characters, and everybody you loved form the first game. Very little is known about the story. All that has been shown is new enemies that are mysterious cloaked foes and Mickey Mouse dressed as a ninja kicking their ass. Kingdom Hearts 2 looks like it will take everything we loved about the first one and give us more. [page] The Legend of Zelda Platform: Gamecube Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Action RPG Release: 2005 The biggest surprise of the show was the trailer for a new Zelda game that was shown during the Nintendo press conference. You can see the trailer here. One of the few things known about this title is that it is made on a modified version of the Wind Waker engine. Besides that, we know that the camera system has been refined to allow a better vantage point in dungeons while returning to an over the shoulder view when engaged in combat. This should not be confused with Wind Waker 2 which is still under development. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap Platform: Game Boy Advance Developer: Flagship Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Action RPG Release: November 2004 The first new Zelda Game for the GBA is being made by the team that did the Link to the Past port, Four Swords, and the Oracle games for the Game Boy Color.. The main mechanic of The Minish Cap is size. The story centers around Link finding a hat that is also a bird and has the ability to shrink Link down to two pixels so he can go places previously accessible to only the Minish people, which link needs to save. This title will probably be worth buying since Flagship has proven that they know what they are doing with the Zelda franchise. Mario Golf: Advance Tour Platform: Game Boy Advance Developer: Camelot Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Sports Release: July 2004 First of all, this game looks amazing. But that's not all, this game keeps on giving. The finely-tuned Mario golf engine has been beefed up with the addition of a deep RPG mode. The goal of the RPG mode is to complete the tasks given to you by the characters you meet and eventually defeat the four pros at the club. Camelot has been putting out hits with the Mario Golf series since the Nintendo 64 days so we can be sure that this will be another excellent title in the series. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Genre: Action-Adventure Release: November 2004 Hideo Kojima, the slightly eccentric Metal Gear Solid creator, has said that the first Metal Gear Solid was about genes, the second about MEMES (memories), and this one will be about scene. Say what you will about Kojima, but he makes some great games. Snake Eater takes place in 1967 in a Russian base deep within the Soviet Union. The goal of the mission is to investigate rumors of a new nuclear weapon, which is a primitive version of Metal Gear. Since the majority of the game takes place outside, the new gameplay elements focus on survival. You have to hunt and eat wild animals to keep your stamina high, which allows you to heal faster and keep steady aim. The other major survival element is camouflage. You can select from various fatigues and face paint patterns to match your surroundings and increase your stealth rating. Hopefully Kojima still has some surprises in store for us with the story when it's released this November. [page] Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Platform: Gamecube Developer: Retro Studios Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Action-Adventure Release: November 15, 2004 Bounty hunter Samus Aran is called into action to investigate the disappearance of a federation squad on the planet Aether. Upon arrival she finds that the world fluctuates between two realities, a dark and a light world. She eventually partners with the light world to stop the dark world from destroying the light. The game takes place in a much grittier environment than its predecessor and Samus is given new weapons including the screw attack and a dark and light beam which are effective against their opposites but have limited ammo. The most exciting feature revealed has been the addition of multiplayer. So far the only mode revealed was a deathmatch mode with support for up to four players. Even though they look similar on the surface there are enough changes to make it seem like an entirely new game and something to be excited about. Odama Platform: Gamecube Developer: Vivarium Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Pinball Release: 2005 Odama is the most unique Gamecube game and probably the most unique game of the entire show. It is a pinball game made by the developers of Seaman for the Dreamcast that takes place on historical Japanese battlefields. You use your Odama, pinball, to blast your way through enemy forces and buildings to clear a path for your forces that you deploy. This adds a dash of strategy as you have to avoid flattening your troops while keeping up an offensive so the enemy forces can not regroup and rebuild structures. This is a game to keep an eye on as more information becomes available. Paper Mario 2 Platform: Gamecube Developer: Intelligent Systems Publisher: Nintendo Genre: RPG Release: October 11, 2004 The sequel to the popular Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64 and the fourth game in the spiritual series of Nintendo RPGs is shaping up to be one of the best. It continues the tradition of having simple combat with timed attacks which allow you to press a certain series of buttons before every attack to make them stronger. The major change in combat comes from where it takes place. The battle takes place on a stage and depending on how well you fight you will draw a crowd which will throw things at your enemies and give you items if you do well enough, or they will throw garbage at you if you perform poorly. The game keeps the tradition of humor and beautiful, vibrant colors and everything else that have made this series a classic. Phantom Brave Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Nippon Ichi Software Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software Genre: Strategy RPG Release: August 31, 2004 Phantom Brave is Nippon Ichi's third strategy RPG in as many different publishers. Their first game, La Pucelle, was just released here and their second game, Disgaea, was a sleeper hit of last year. They are two of the best RPG's on the Playstation 2 and it looks like their streak of hits will continue. The main difference between Phantom Brave and their previous games is that movement and attacks are based on spheres rather than a grid system like Final Fantasy Tactics. It still retains the basis of the great battle system that has been refined through the past two games allowing for a very high replay value because of the deep customization of characters and a level cap at 9999. If you a fan of strategy RPG's at all be sure to try and track down a copy Disgaea, which was re-released on May 25th, before they become impossible to find again. [page] Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green Platform: Game Boy Advance Developer: Game Freak Publisher: Nintendo Genre: RPG Release: September 15, 2004 Fire Red and Leaf Green don't advance very much in the gameplay department; it's the same tried and true Pokemon formula. The major change comes in its use of the Nintendo wireless adapter. The adapter allows players to battle and trade with anyone in a fifty foot radius. It also has a built in chat room that allows up to thirty players to send messages and trade. Prince of Persia 2 Platform: Xbox, Playstation 2, Gamecube, PC Developer: Ubisoft Publisher: Ubisoft Genre: Action-Adventure Release: October 2004 Prince of Persia 2 (technically Prince of Persia 5) is the sequel to the excellent, but poorly selling, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It features the same prince from the previous game, but Prince of Persia 2 has a much darker tone as you battle to save yourself from your predetermined death. The game runs on the same engine with a few tweaks to combat. You will now be able to wield two swords and possibly other weapons and attack multiple enemies instead of targeting just one. You will also have more abilities like using an enemy as a shield and an improved control over the flow of time. Prince of Persia 2 looks like it will be just as fantastic as the previous title, let's hope that critical acclaim can turn it into a commercial success this time. Resident Evil 4 Platform: Gamecube Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Genre: Survival Horror Release: November 16, 2004 The latest addition to the Resident Evil series is also the most different. Gone are the days of the Umbrella Corporation, slow-moving zombies, and the clunky controls that have become a staple of the series. Resident Evil 4 begins with Leon Kennedy working for the president in a mission to rescue his daughter in an undisclosed European country. Upon his arrival he is assaulted by crazed villagers who move much faster than the rigimortis-stricken assailants of the previous titles. The story changes aren't the most important part, but rather the new control scheme tjat allows for a free camera behind Leon that can zoom to an over the shoulder view giving you a front row seat to witness the beautiful environments. Fans have long been awaiting a new control scheme, and this should be enough to make Resident Evil 4 one of the best in the series. Silent Hill 4: The Room Platform: Playstation 2, Xbox, PC Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Genre: Survival Horror Release: September 2004 The opposite end of the survival horror spectrum from Resident Evil 4 is also going to depart from the standards set by its predecessors. Much like Silent Hill 2, The Room features a new cast of characters that presumably has nothing to do with anyone we've seen before. It also doesn't take place in the town of Silent Hill. The game starts as Henry Townsend wakes up in his apartment, in the neighboring town of Ashfield, to find his apartment chained shut with no way to escape. On the fifth day, Henry awakes to find a hole in his bathroom leading to an alternate reality. Along with the story changes there have been a few gameplay changes. There is a new menu system that is accessed on the fly and doesn't break up the action. You will also need to return to your room frequently to store items because of the new limits on your inventory. But the coolest thing to come out of E3 was the booth for this game. Konami built a disturbingly faithful replica of Henry's apartment from the game. [page] Starcraft: Ghost Platform: Xbox, Playststion 2, Gamecube Developer: Nihilistic Publisher: Blizzard Genre: Third-Person Shooter Release: October 2004 The much anticipated departure from Blizzard's usual real-time strategy games was finally playable at E3. You play as Nova, a Terran Ghost, taking orders and infiltrating various Zerg and Protoss installations. Ghost illustrates a new perspective on the Starcraft universe by letting you get in the shoes of a minion and see everything to the correct scale. Assisting Nova in her task is her various psionic abilities. She utilizes her psi cloak, partial invisibility, psi sight, night vision, and psi speed, bullet time. One of the cool non-psi based abilities is the call down. Once you select a worthy target, a Protoss cannon for example, and complete a small timing puzzle, a gigantic laser abolishes the enemy. Even though the focus is on stealth, Nova will be able to pilot various vehicles form the Starcraft universe including siege tanks and Goliaths. Ghost is something to look forward to as it will provide a fun and engaging shooter while remaining true to its roots in the Starcraft universe. Star Fox Platform: Gamecube Developer: Namco Publisher: Nintendo Genre: shooter Release: November 29, 2004 Two years ago the thorough mediocrity of Star Fox Adventures left a bad taste in fans' mouths. Nintendo is finally returning to the roots of the series in the latest addition. Along with a beefed up version of the classic Star Fox space shooting, there are now ground missions that allow the use of numerous weapons and other vehicles like tanks. The multiplayer deathmatch mode is also shaping up to be fantastic. Players can battle through large, beautiful environments on foot, hop in vehicles for an Arwing dogfight, or jump in a tank to relive your childhood memories of Battlezone. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 – The Sith Lords Platform: Xbox, PC Developer: Obsidian Entertainment Publisher: Lucasarts Genre: RPG Release: February 2005 Knights of the Old Republic 2, the sequel to the best RPG of last year on the Xbox, has surprisingly switched hands from Bioware to the newly founded Obsidian Entertainment, a group formed by many members of Black Isle after Interplay gave them the axe. Knights of the Old Republic 2 takes place five years after the end of its predecessor. The Jedi order has disbanded and there has been a mass Jedi genocide. You awaken on a remote mining station as the only known Jedi remaining and no memory. Your main goal is to carry on the ideals of the Jedi and battle against the Sith Lords. There is very little change in graphics or combat, as it is based on the same engine, and there will still be battle with morality as you progress by choosing between the dark and light sides of the force. Knights of the Old Republic 2 is in capable and experienced hands and seems like it will be as deep and entertaining as its predecessor. Viewtiful Joe 2 Platform: Playstation 2, Gamecube Developer: Clover Studio Publisher: Capcom Genre: Beat-‘em-up Release: October 20, 2004 The quirky hit from last year is back with the greatest feature any game can have, a co-op mode. Joe's girlfriend Sylvia, who was kidnapped in the first game, can now fight alongside Joe with a gun that stuns enemies. The co-op mode works by having the characters work off one VFX bar and when one character activates an ability it effects both characters. This mechanic could lead to some interesting teamwork. Along with the special effects from the first game, slow, mach speed, and zoom, they now have the power of replay allowing them to record moves then replay them up to three times to inflict massive damage. It's promised that Viewtiful Joe 2 will be much longer and delve deeper into the movie world. I cannot wait for this game; the first game was my favorite Gamecube game of last year. Now you should have a good idea of what to look for this year. There are a lot of amazing games on the verge of release, as well as a few to avoid. Enjoy your 2004 console gaming!
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