I have no idea what these things were or what purpose they served, but they were very pretty.

This year’s Eurogamer Expo is fast becoming little more than a distant memory, so I thought it was about time to get the rest of my coverage out of the way (links to all Expo articles published by CG writers thus far can be found at the bottom of this article). I originally planned for each of these four games to have an article each but, for various reasons, I found that I had little to say about them. Those four games are Infamous 2, The Shoot, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and the game I’ll start off with; Killzone 3.

Matt’s already said pretty much all that needs to be said about this game in his preview from the Tokyo Games Show, where he played it in 3D using PlayStation Move. I include it here because it was only available at the Expo via joypad control. I seem to have played the exact same demo, also in 3D. I have to say that the 3D in Killzone 3 is the most impressive I’ve seen in any game or movie so far; and I also have to say that if you enjoyed the first two Killzone games, you’ll certainly enjoy the next instalment – because it looks like being exactly the bloody same as its predecessors.I don’t know if this was perhaps due to the controls for the demo being hastily ported from Move to the joypad, but aiming with the thumbstick was floaty and imprecise. Worse still, there was no option in the menus to tighten things up. This will (surely?) be rectified in some way by the time the game hits shelves. It’s a shame, because the iffy controls masked the intentional accuracy issues with the weapons, which demanded players actually try aiming rather than adopt a ‘run and gun’ attitude.

I was really looking forward to getting a taste of Infamous 2. The first game certainly had its problems, but I loved it; in fact, I played it so much that I earned my first (and at time of writing, still only) platinum trophy. Imagine my disappointment, then, when the rather brief demo managed to pack in several elements that suggest a nasty case of Killzoneitis; that is, this might end up feeling more like an expansion pack than a sequel.

The demo starts off pitting you against a group of enemies imaginatively described as ‘swamp monsters’. I thought I recognised them as reused assets from the first game, until I realised they are in fact copyright infringingly close to Baraka from Mortal Kombat II. Anyway, you have a weapon to fight them off. Hang on; this guy can shoot lethal doses of electricity from his fingertips, and he needs a weapon? A melee weapon that looks for all the world like a cattle prod? Oh well.

The melee combat at least was surprisingly painless. What could easily have been random button bashing (which is what sometimes threatened to happen in the first game) turned out to be a smooth, directed experience. I had to swing the camera round now and again to keep track of the surrounding enemies, but I turned from enemy to enemy easily enough and had no trouble hitting my opponents rather than the empty spaces next to them. I always felt in control of the fight.

With the initial fight over, Cole is tasked with chasing a limousine through the city (something that caused two people in a row, presumably unfamiliar with the Infamous controls and superpowered parkour, to quit the demo before the end). As with familiar sequences in the first game this involved a mix of riding electrical cables, climbing up walls, and jumping/flying across rooftops. What I found particularly alarming about this was not the familiarity of the chase mechanic, but the staggering level of laziness on display regarding the city itself. The section in the demo at least is virtually identical to the first game’s city in every single way. Yes, it is the same city, but the plot device of The Beast’s wave of destruction should have been used to initiate more changes than a few fires and the odd bit of collapsed masonry. Hell, I even had enemies firing at me that were saddeningly similar to the gas mask toting goons of the final section in Infamous 1.

The two style choices that are presumably meant to distance this game from the prequel are 1) STUFF BLOWING UP AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY DOOOOOD and 2) Slow motion being used for kills and actions seemingly at random. Hmm, that could get annoying.

After catching up with (and being knocked off) the limousine, a heavily armed helicopter appears. This then triggers an into – the – screen chase away from the chopper, which can – I knew from watching others play – be cut off by tossing an electric tornado thingy earlier than the game prompts you to do so. With the helicopter destroyed in spectacular fashion, you’re encouraged to wreak general death and destruction and then… the demo ends. Little was revealed, but what was shown wasn’t very encouraging.

The Shoot is due for release in just a few weeks, and is basically a lightgun game for PlayStation Move. The Move controller works well as a lightgun in the bit of plastic provided at the Expo, but The Shoot isn’t perhaps the best game to showcase this use of the peripheral. It doesn’t do much wrong; but it doesn’t do much right, either.

The game is based around the idea of making a movie, giving the title The Shoot a double meaning (fetch me a needle and thread, for my sides have split). Unfortunately, this idea of being in the middle of a film set is used as an excuse for hastily designed cardboard cutout enemies that slide out from behind pillars, and dangle from the ceiling on string. It’s like walking through an army assault course made by the Blue Peter team. There was a boss that was more like a huge walking robot that shoots rockets, but still.

All the clichés that make a lightgun game what it is are present and correct; innocent targets to avoid shooting, bosses with specific weak spots to destroy, projectiles to shoot before they reach you, headshots are rewarded with more points than body shots, etc etc etc etc.

The game seems to be narrated by an overexcitable American, the sort of person who would scream with delight if he saw you open a bag of crisps by yourself. It’s a cheap looking lightgun game; you already know if you want to buy it or not.

I didn’t even know Skyward Sword was at the Expo until I arrived; Nintendo waited until the last possible second to confirm their lineup of games (which was surprisingly short). All three days of the Expo saw a permanent queue outside a black, curtained booth from which a few small bits of cardboard with the Skyward Sword logo hung on bits of string. I was convinced that, rather than a demo pod, this booth contained nothing more than a burly Nintendo employee who would hold a gun to your head for ten minutes growling ‘Tell them it was brilliant. Tell them it was brilliant!‘ into your ear. Sadly, this was not the case.

The demo starts “near” the beginning of the game, and was on a timer. I only got about ten minutes of play, which makes any valuable judgement on the game completely impossible. This is because 1) The game is so far from release, this section could change completely – or disappear – by that time. 2) It’s a Zelda game, which means the final product will contain dozens of hours of gameplay, and 3) Trying to guess exactly what Nintendo are going to do with anything is a quick and easy way of making yourself look very foolish indeed. I’ve spent most of this article moaning and, even though I love Zelda games, I have no intention of stopping now.

The game was demoed with the MotionPlus attached, but it seemed entirely unnecessary. Your sword swinging motions aren’t mimicked on – screen; in the demo at least it’s the same up/down, left/right slash limitations as in Twilight Princess. Using the bow and arrow was easy and fun however, even if that too seemed to have no use for the MotionPlus. You aim with the remote and, whilst holding the C button, pull back the nunchuk as if pulling back on a real bow. Releasing C releases the arrow – easy.

My biggest problem in the demo was the weapon wheel. Every time I wanted to change weapons, I had to hold down B to bring up this slightly fiddly contraption to choose my deathdealer. This was in realtime too, which was particularly irritating during the boss fight at the end, with a huge scorpion for some reason covered in eyes (though I got timed out before my inevitable victory). Again however, there is so much time left until release, this (and hopefully, the lack of manual camera control) will be fixed before then.

When faced with a door with a huge eye, my Zelda instinct told me to shoot it with an arrow; but this did not work. The demo pod babysitter told me that what I needed to do was to hypnotise the eye by making a circular motion with my sword, then to jump forward and slash it while it was dazed. There was nothing in – game to even hint at this, but as the game isn’t due for release… etc.

So you can surely see now why I’m not dedicating a whole piece to this game. Things that almost certainly won’t change between now and release day are the graphics (competent, but no better than Twilight Princess) and the sense of familiarity that pervades the entire series (forests, climbable vines, skeleton and shrubbery based enemies, ocular weak points, heart pickups, etc). I know little more about Skyward Sword after playing it than I did when it was first announced; but I still feel oddly grateful for the privilege.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution preview

Crysis 2 preview

The Witcher 2 preview

GoldenEye preview

Rage preview

Bulletstorm preview

Dragon Age II preview

Rock Band 3 preview

Donkey Kong Country Returns preview

Gran Turismo 5 preview

Gears of War 3 preview

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit preview

Paul Wedgwood (Splash Damage CEO) interview

Ed Stern (Brink lead writer) interview

Tim Willits (Creative Director for Rage) interview

Alex Evans (co – founder of Media Molecule) interview

Yuji Naka interview

Grumpy Gurevitz +1 at Eurogamer Expo 2010

With Killzone 3 I popped both my 3D and PlayStation Move cherry. As with most firsts, there was a lot of fumbling and nervous laughter and ultimately, it was a mixed bag. I have never been a big fan of motion controls as I feel they are rarely used to great effect, and Killzone 3 did little to convince me otherwise. It felt tacked-on to what otherwise seemed like a solid continuation of what was achieved by the first two KZ games. With my crosshairs flying all over the screen I had difficulty in maintaining a steady aim, and turning corners was far more difficult and time consuming than it should have been.

However, the 3D was rather impressive, and at the same time relatively unobtrusive. In fact, after the first two minutes, if it weren’t for the fact that the glasses were digging into the back of my ears, I could have almost forgotten all about it. This impressive level of integration is exactly what was lacking with the motion controls. On occasion, flecks of dust or empty shells came flying towards me, with bullets constantly hurtling across screen. These small touches did wonders for the atmosphere, making the demo that much more memorable.

As for the game itself it replicates the dull, industrial palettes of Killzone 2 and the combat will be instantly familiar to anyone who played the previous instalments. Trudging your way through a number of interconnected, rusting structures you move from one small skirmish to the next, culminating in a showdown with a couple of jet-pack Helghast. The handgun and machine gun, the only two weapons on offer, were more than up to the task, and gave a real sense of weight behind each burst of fire.

Killzone 3 certainly looks the part, but then so did KZ 2. The 3D elements were well utilized and served to heighten the experience, but for this title at least, I can’t say the same about Move.

Sony Conference: June 15^th 8:00pm GMT

Predictions going in: a little hard to judge this time. The new subscription level of PSN played up like it’s a good thing is probably a given. Other than that? I’m curious how down played the failure of the PSP Go will be or if they’ll take their lumps and just admit it. Please don’t be as Move focused as the Microsoft was Kinect.

• The show opens with a flashy trailer montage followed by Jack Tretton taking the stage. Sadly, due to some technical hitches I missed the first minute or two but that turned out for the best as I missed an insane speech about a future proof entertainment product.
• I join the party just in time for Kaz Hirai to take the stage. His mic is way too big. “What Playstation did for Blu-ray, we’re doing for 3D.” And now he moves on and introduces Killzone 3, a live demo in 3D.
• “Tougher and scarier enemies than ever before” the demonstrator states. The audience is told to put on 3D glasses and are reminded that it is a live demo and not a recording.
• So for me, no glasses naturally, it looks a bit fuzzy as a result. ‘Pre Alpha Code’ stays printed on the demo throughout. Other than that it just looked like Killzone 2 with different enemies, but I’m sure the 3D will add to the immersion. How much will branded Sony 3D glasses cost I wonder? Place bets now for $599.
• Lots of new jet pack bouncing around action and exploring through a decaying ship of some kind. Controlling the character seems a lot less cumbersome than in Killzone 2 and less difficult to twist and aim.
• Scene switches to manning a gun on a flying ship to being tasked to take out AA guns. On the rails stuff you’ve seen a million times before (granted, not in 3D). Much shorter than the first section. The release date is February 2011 and it will be fully compatible with Move.
• Hirai is back and his mic is still way too large. That button on his shirt and the wire of the mic makes it look like he’s wearing a fashionable question mark. He lists a few games coming out with 3D integration including Gran Turismo 5, Mortal Kombat and Tron Evolution.
• 3D + Move = Win. Paraphrasing an overly long sentence there.
• Audience is told to stick their glasses back on again for another 3D video. A football match, golf match and some misc animal footage all flash on screen quickly followed by a floating PS3 and accessories. Why? Because they can. Would you look at that; official Sony 3D glasses. Gameplay of other 3D games including Crysis 2 and others take turns appearing on screen, some mixed with Move.
• Tretton is back now and he has not one but two oversized mics stuck to his person. Talking about the past, PS2 and so on. Distracted by his very gold watch – is he the Origami Killer? Moving on and the PS3, Netflix and so on being spoken about. Ah, now we are onto Move.
• Peter Dille is on stage now (oversized mic as per) with the Move sex toy. I mean wand. I mean…whatever. “How does it work and what makes it special?” he asks as he points out that it uses the Playstation Eye for “ultimate precision and interaction”. Get on with showing it working, Peter.
• Nope, still talking about sensors and things. They should just say: “Take the camera stuff from Kinect and take the controller stuff from the Wii and you’ve got Move.”
• An awful and incredibly patronising (granted in an effort to be ‘funny’) advert for Move. So far not going a good job selling me on this at all. Wii and Kinect are safe, so far.
• Now he’s talking about the usefulness of buttons, I mean seriously. You don’t say! Buttons are useful! I’m stunned. I need to sit down, give me a minute.
• Something big now…hopefully. A new game or two revealed. Sorcery is the first up, a third person action game for Move. I suppose they had to go with Sorcery because Harry Potter was copyrighted. The person doing the demonstration limbers up before doing so, as if he’s about to participate in some strenuous event. His stance and posture are near enough identical to using a Wii. Better graphics, though.
• The purple glowy bit of the Move sex toy matches the colour of the blast that the ‘apprentice’ is unleashing in the game. He freezes enemies, shatters some, harasses a bookshelf for some reason and gets a morphing potion. Changes to a wind spell (Whirlwind) and the tip of the remote changes to green to match on screen.
• Mixing of spells, Whirlwind plus Firewall. An AOE blast to end on, making a rune shape on the floor. Next a puzzle is shown by using a mending spell on a broken stone bridge to fix it. It’s out in 2011.
• Tretton is back yet again. For some reason higher up than before and for a few seconds his stupidly large chest mic stops working. Next up is Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 for Move.
• Andrew Wilson demonstrates how to play golf using Move. If you’ve played a golf game on Wii then you already know everything you need to since it’s identical.
• He hits into the bunker twice. On purpose? He’s going to show the wrist action of hitting the club correctly to get it out of there. Does a good swing, not bad. Thanks to these camera angles, when he bends into his swing position and holds the Move remote down like that it looks very, very wrong – like he’s coated something in neon paint that he really shouldn’t have. Manages to make Par and everyone claps.
• One final title for Move is about to be introduced. Heroes on the Move (working title), a trailer plays. Takes characters from numerous exclusive titles (Ratchet, Sly, Jack, Clank, Daxter) and joins them together for what looks like an adventure game.
• Something about Coca-Cola now supporting active living. Do people know how many calories a can of coke has in it? This is new; using an E3 conference to plug a brand partnership.
• Ugh, Kevin Butler takes to the stage with a coke in hand. No jacket and rolled up sleeves. looks like he was shaken awake five minutes ago and that coke is the only thing keeping him standing.
• We learn that he can’t pronounce ‘Lara’.
• “I love gaming,” he declares. Then pauses. Someone in the audience says they love him. “I love head shots, I love staying up till 3am earning a trophy that isn’t real…but is,” he adds. I love getting to the point while the audience is still interested, Kevin.
• “…And girls who know that the way to a man’s heart is with a melee attack.” Alright, that made me laugh. Good job. He’s working the audience far better than the so called comedian at Ubisoft.
• Terribly heroic music plays as Kevin begins an epic and deliberately over the top speech about fanboys and in the background is a great picture of him using two Move remotes as a bow. He ends with saying that we all support gaming. I feel like I’m ready to go to war. With who? Don’t really know.
• Move launches at a price point of $49.99 with the controller being $29.99. The Eye, Sport’s Champion game and the Remote for $99.99. A console bundle is available for $399.99. Released September 15^th in Europe, 19^th in American and October 21^st in Japan.
• Another trailer for Move and the various actions that can be preformed with it. All things that a Wii remote can do as well, but don’t tell them that. “This Changes Everything” – no, it changes nothing. Well, except I now hate ‘I like to move it, move it’, even more.
• Oh! The PSP and PSP Go is shown, how brave of them. Talk about how badly it’s done. Do it. “We’re kicking off a new campaign to support the PSP” – about damn time! A fairly amusing advert plays followed by another one, both staring young Marcus plugging various aspects of the PSP.
• Really annoys me when non-Japanese refer to Japanese as -san when not addressing them directly. That is all.
• God of War: Ghosts of Sparta trailer plays, all cinematic and nothing substantial.
• Another trailer to plug…basically everything ever including the camera attachment for PSP. The stream got a bit choppy here, I was secretly thankful. Amusing that 90% of the PSP game footage is shown being played with a Go.
• First gameplay footage of Parasite Eve 3 – The 3^rd Birthday, looks good. As does Valkyria Chronicles 2. Some in-game footage of Ghosts of Sparta is shown for approximately three eights of a second.
• Now we’re back to the stage and the plugging of PSN. This will be the new membership option, just you wait and see. Build it up to justify charging for very little. Go on, I dare you. Or not.
• Time for Little Big Planet 2. Alex Evans takes the stage to demo. Talks about expanding features, the grappling hook and Sackbots. Demos made within LBP2 are shown starting with a quick moving button bashing game they have dubbed ‘Super Block Race’.
• Next a level they have called ‘Crashy-crash’ which is a top down sumo type game, a tiny bit like Hungry Hippos in terms of visual angle and design.
• Last is…what looks like a Smash Brothers parody of sorts, but with helmets on the Sackboys that shoot rockets. This is followed by a trailer with some other types of things you can do with the new construction tools. They invited developers to come meet them and gave them a day to see what they could come up with, some impressive stuff here.
• Next we’re back to…ha! Playstation Plus. A year’s subscription for $49.99. Things thrown in include some free mini games, something to do with Infamous, others things I missed due to choppy feed, and then some utter BS about “elevating your gaming experience” in some undefined, illogical manner.
• We’re back to more Medal of Honor and Greg Goodrich (amazing facial hair) is on stage to talk about it. A trailer is then shown with nothing amazing within it, other than the silhouette of the soldier next to the title having the same facial hair as Greg. The multiplayer is being built by Dice.
• Unlockable beards. You heard me.
• A multiplayer map is demonstrated from various perspectives, once again you’d need to do a double take to make sure it wasn’t Modern Warfare 2 or really any modern day shooter from the last year or so. The beta, as stated in a previous conference I think, is June 21^st.
• A remastered HD version of Medal of Honor: Frontline will be coming exclusively to PS3.
• Dead Space 2 next, hopefully the live demo they are about to show is not the exact same as at the EA conference. Ah, it isn’t. It actually picks up just about where the previous one left off with a monster screaming in Issac’s face. The battle against it is then shown with lots of visceral flinging about and explosions. Issac ends up outside and on the side of a ship still fighting with the boss, which is where it cuts off.
• A limited edition Dead Space 2 with Dead Space Extraction (now with Move support – that isn’t surprising, really) is exclusive to the PS3.
• Tretton is back and welcomes to the stage for the first time…GLADOS. Oh, and Gabe Newell. Talking about his previous negative comments (specifically regarding the PS3) and in the background Portal 2.
• He bigs up the PS3 something rotten. Portal 2 is coming to the PS3. The sign behind you throughout that speech kind of gave it away, Gabe. Steam on PS3 and the first look at Portal 2.
• “I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster.”
• Tretton is back yet again and Newell is gone. Time for a new preview video of Final Fantasy XIV. Lots of in game stuff for a change including some big monsters. Make that very big. Just noticed how annoying “Playstation” being said in a high-pitched voice at the end of every trailer is.
• Next is Mafia 2, but just like that he then skips over to Ubisoft and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (mentioning that the PS3 version will have an exclusive set of features and PS3 is the only platform to get the beta).
• A multiplayer trailer for Brotherhood plays. What looks like a Templar running from an Assassin across rooftops and streets. Various different classes (?) are shown and some unrealistic techniques like teleportation and instant disguises.
• “Exclusive is my new favourite word” – took a few years though didn’t it, Tretton?
• A quick video now to show the ‘biggest’ titles coming to PS3. Ignore the fact that more than half are also on 360 and/or PC. The music for this montage is awful. I know you can’t hear it – jab a pencil in your ear to recreate the same sensation.
• And now we have…Gran Turismo 5. Hurray for cars. This is going on way too long. Novemeber 2^nd release date.
• InFamous 2 now with a gameplay trailer. If you ever really wanted to see Cole’s backside or shoes then this trailer is for you. The new voice actor is less impressive than the other, more annoying though. Ends with ice powers and a big black monster.
• “One last surprise” and a jump into another video. Is this…talking about what I think it is? An ice cream van’s chime is heard. Twisted Metal? Yup. An ice cream van takes to the stage with a couple of developers to talk about Twisted Metal, exclusively on PS3. Gameplay follows of online team deathmatch and begins with the player in control of a helicopter and then a motorbike rider wielding a chainsaw. Sixteen player online matches. Very destructible scenery as usual, but not exactly realistic destruction.
• One new weapon is a granny riding a rocket. That deserved its own point.
• Another mode is shown and introduces class based play. It’s called ‘Nuke’. Camera pans around various areas. The objective of Nuke is to destroy the huge statue of the opposing team before yours is destroyed. You must catch the opposing team’s leader in order to drag them to a yellow ring around a missile launcher and if they are kept there long enough a missile will fire on that team’s statue. It’s playable at the Sony booth.
• Tretton is back and talking about Playstation history again. Sounds like he is wrapping up here. Wonder if there’s one last surprise? Doesn’t seem like it. That’s all she wrote. The Sweet Tooth cosplayer in the ice cream van is left to wave at people on stage.

Not as Move focused as I was worried it would be, so that’s a good thing. It seems like Sony are sick of losing out on exclusives and have tried to fix that which is a good thing. The fact they are finally bothering to market the PSP is also a good thing.

Futuristic warzone shooter Killzone looks like it is getting another sequel with some juicy information on the third outing in the latest issue of Gamepro. According to a poster over at the Gamespot UK forums, the mag apparently includes the following details:

- Will show the Helghast have humanity left in them.

- Will have the feeling that “of being in a place far away from home, outnumbered by people who want to kill you.”

- All of the characters in the screenshots are flying in… jetpacks?!

- Will include arctic levels.

- One mission in the game involves rescuing ISA Captain Narville.

- Game is playable in 3D!

- Have to wear 3D glasses (if you want to play in 3D, it is optional), apparently the 3D effects are “crazy.”

- Combat is “unchanged from predecessor.”

- Or is it? Hand to hand combat involves you “Unloading a string of different (and often brutal) attacks on stunned enemies.”

- The scale is supposed to be “bigger this time.”

- The Jetpacks are “surprisingly lightweight and agile, Killzone 3′s jetpack is easier to manoeuvre compared to the sluggish incarnations of the gadget found in other games.”

- New weapon called the Wasp, basically shoots a “flurry of rockets” at an enemy.

- Will show off the Helghast culture.

- There is actually a Helghast language, which will be explored in the game.

- Will have “diverse locales.”

- 3D in this game is called a “Game Changer.”

- Going to have “Intense Action”

- Jetpacks double as a weapon, which basically means a machine gun mounted right on top of it.

- If you shoot Helghast with jetpacks, they’ll “explode like roman candles”

- To control the jetpack, you “have to activate bursts of speed in midair, propelling yourself across further distances.”

- The Jetpack resembles something you’d do in platformers such as Super Mario Bros. or Uncharted.

- In one mission, you have to use the jetpack by “launching yourself from glacier to glacier”

- Everything is more spread out in this game.

- The game looks very complete.

- Guerilla wants a deeper conflict.

Looks like we have a lot to be excited about for Killzone 3. Who’s looking forward to jetpack kill sprees and 3D, brutal hand to hand combat? It has also been revealed that Naughty Dog have been involved with some of the graphical tinkering. Hopefully we’ll get another glimpse at E3. Fingers crossed.

Spotted on VG247