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Day Two of Three” –>
The Calm After The Storm
As we mentioned previously, game consoles play the most important role this year. They have been doing well on the market in the past few years, and the result is that companies with the financial means are jockeying for an advantageous position here, while trying to maintain a hold in the PC segment. Even if no significant progress is made in the latter sector, those whose products get bundled with or installed on PC systems get the profit.
The smaller companies concentrate on this market and tend not to spend too much money, only to get a small piece of the pie. New players in the world of consoles are therefore long awaited! Even Microsoft, the last company to join the list, will have to wait until next year to reap the fruit of its labors. Numerous quality games from various sources will be coming out on the market in 2003. Sony’s favorite weapon in this battle: exclusivity! And it’s going to be a tough battle. This time, the situation is somewhat different, because the number of gamers is continually on the increase. Douglas Lowenstin, President of IDSA says, “I agree that the video game industry targets only gamers between 6 and 35. The question is how these gamers will behave in the future. It’s clear that the desire to play games is not temporary. The video game is indeed an important element in their leisure time.” The industry is gradually maturing, and therefore the danger is that it will get a bit boring.
RE: From Design To Reality
The Xbox shows off its technological muscle with games such as RE, which will be marketed by Infogames at the end of 2002. You start in a small garage, where you work on a single car. After the first success, you get new possibilities, gradually moving on to become a real automobile manufacturer who develops new models. The original feature here is that the concept cars here were sketched by design students from the best schools in Europe. You can choose from among 76 top-of-the-line models based on Mercedes, Aston Martin, Corvette, etc. There are a total of 50 circuits in all environments possible. The 3D surroundings were among the most impressive that we’d ever seen. This game will only be available for the Xbox, because it is the only console that can offer 60 fps.
Project Zero: From TV to Movie
An exclusive at this expo: Dreamworks bought the rights to this Japanese PS2 game and made a film out of it. The heroine is a young Japanese girl who uses her camera to fight against ghosts. If the photo turns out to be a good one, then the creature loses life points and ultimately disappears. After developing the film, clues are revealed that tell you how to progress in the story. However, the supply of film is limited, so you have to use it sparingly in order to reach the next level. Even though the quality of the scenery is amazing, the game never hangs or crashes when loading. The game is original and even frightening because the camera is your only weapon. In Japan, girls were especially fond of this game. It’s kind of funny that the heroine acquired a larger bosom for the western version.
Batman: The Original!
There were plenty of Batman games displayed on the PC monitors, but this one is the first one to officially don the DC Comics label. In addition, one of the co-authors of Final Fantasy 1, 2 and 3, Kenji Terada, had a hand in the script of Batman Dark Tomorrow. One thing has to be said: Gotham City and the Joker have never been better modeled. The developers insisted that the previous Batman games remained pure combat games. This time, there’s a story to go with it, chock-full of information that you have to interpret. This blockbuster from Kemco will be available for GameCube, PS2 and Xbox in November. The screen shown here depicts the GameCube version.
Sir, It’s a Game Sir!
Now that the real wars shown continually on the TV screen are becoming increasingly similar to video games, the US Army introduces a free game that was developed in order to recruit young Americans. America’s Army is a real and realistic FPS, developed by experts under the aegis of the Department of Defense. There are also ten multiplayer scenarios. The game is available on CD, or you can download it from the Internet.
Role Playing Games Will Never Be The Same Again
Next September, Neverwinter Nights will finally hit the market. The RPG from Bioware (creators of Baldur’s Gate) will be marketed by Infogrames. Next to Pool of Radiance, the new game will be the second game to take advantage of the license for Dungeons & Dragons (3rd edition) Wizards of the Coast. The scenery and the character modeling itself are almost perfect. When played alone, it offers 100 to 120 hours of gaming. However, the multiplayer game blew us away – in addition to the standard options, there is a Dungeon Master mode, which lets you play the game online, just as if you were playing the traditional D&D game with dice and figures. Simply amazing. And all the more so because you can edit your own scenarios as well.
Unreal: Three Is a Lucky Number
Infogrames introduced three new titles from the Unreal Saga that are due to come out at the end of the year. The frag pros will be getting a new and improved version of Unreal Tournament in July. This version has a new graphics motor that is really impressive. The software offers many new options that were unknown until now, which should please the aficionados. Xbox fans will also be able to get a special version of the game: Unreal Championship, which will be the second online game for the Xbox, in addition to Halo. The biggest surprise, however, is Unreal 2: The Awakening. This single-player game combines action and adventure. You take on the role of a police officer who needs to complete fourteen missions. Based on the same motor as Tournament, this game is awesome, and it simply looks great.
Visual Goodies and Other Accessories
Matrox Parhelia: Expanding Its Horizons
We’ve already had a look at the new Parhelia processor, which marks the return of Matrox on the world of 3D gaming. E3 was the perfect occasion for the Canadian manufacturer to show off its new product. Finally, we were able to see it live and in-person during a private showing at the Matrox booth. The internal demo (Reef) shows fish and other creatures in a coral reef environment, which was impressive and amazing. The larger fish, such as the sharks, were made to be perfectly convincing, which is no small feat. What was far more astonishing was how the smaller fish were made to be so realistic – the skin on the fish emanates per-pixel shading when you zoom in on them. This demo not only proves complete mastery of bump-mapping, but that the anti-aliasing level of FAA 16x is effective, even at 1024 pixels.
A feature that Matrox is particularly proud of is surround gaming capability, which is based on the simple idea that the image is projected across three monitors. You certainly have to have the financial means to go out and buy yourself three displays, but ultimately, you get an excellent experience. In a first person shooter, such as Quake 3, you only have to adjust the angle of vision to 150 degrees, and that’s it. Matrox used Jedi Night Outcast as a demo, and it has to be said that the effect is pretty cool. Not only are you more immersed in the game, but you can see your enemies better as well. We also played a special version of F1 2001 from Electronic Arts that involved three cameras, which was also great. Last but not least, we also played with Flight Simulator 2002, and here you truly got the feeling of being a real pilot. Matrox claims that most games only require a patch in order to enable surround gaming, and if this is indeed true, then the well-heeled among us can consider taking advantage of this new feature.
Thrustmaster and 1001 Accessories!
Thrustmaster is particularly active when it comes to accessories of all kinds. Let’s start out with the PC. The French manufacturer offers a new top-quality steering wheel with the F1 Force Feedback Racing Wheel. The form of the wheel is similar to the one that Michael Schumacher uses. The axes are based on a ball-bearing system, which makes for top performance. The pedals are massive and ergonomic. We also got a chance to briefly play with F1 2001. One thing’s for sure: the driving experience is tops. The force feedback is particularly powerful and the precision is beyond reproach. The driving position takes a bit of getting used to, but since the world champion drives this way, then you figure that it’s got to be worth the effort.
Thrustmaster still uses a Ferrari License with a PC pad that is similar to the PS2 Upad. It’s completely red and looks great. Even the ergonomics are unusually good. Thrustmaster is available for all three consoles. The PS2 will be getting the 360 Modena Force GT wheel (a force feedback model). Other items to note: a series of guns will be available on the market and an arcade stick is on its way for the Xbox. The GameCube will also be getting a new Challenge 2 Racing Wheel. That’s all we have to report from Day 2, but the list is by no means complete.
Follow up by reading E3 Expo 2002, Los Angeles Day Three of Three.
