E3 2009 kicked off today in a big way with the Microsoft press conference that was jam packed with exclusives and announcements that were just mind blowing. The show kicked off with Beatles Rockband and a visit from the two surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. After seeing a good amount of that game Microsoft moved on to showcasing Modern Warfare 2 with a demo of a snowy level from the game, it looks like it is coming along great and I can't wait to see the finished product.
Then they moved on to Xbox 360 exclusives like the avatar game Joy Ride. They showed a trailer and demo for Splinter Cell: Conviction which looked amazing, a new trailer and demo for Halo 3:0DST which really sold me on the game and showcased a pistol with the same zoom feature as the pistol from Halo 1. They also announced a new Halo game Halo: Reach which will be coming out sometime in 2010. They showed the first ever gameplay from Final Fantasy 13 on the Xbox 360 and they showcased Epic Games new title for the Xbox live arcade. They also showcased a demo for Alan Wake a supernatural thriller that looks really great. Forza Motorsport 3 was billed as the "definitive racing game of this generation" and it looked really sharp but we will have to see if that is true or not.
They then moved on to new NXE features like integration with Twitter and Facebook to bring social networking to the console and they announced that full 1080p HD movies will be available with no downloads (streaming)this coming Fall, along with a new radio/music feature that will be available for free on Xbox live.
After showcasing this it was announced that Metal Gear Solid: Rising will be coming to the Xbox 360 (another big Playstation exclusive that has gone multiplatform) with Raiden as the main character not Solid Snake. Left 4 Dead 2 was also announced with a Novemeber 2009 release window.
Finally Microsoft dropped the biggest news in years when they announced their top secret project, project Natal. This is a fully interactive gaming feature that will eliminate the controller and allow you to browse the menus, control your avatar, and play games with just your body, and not only your hands but your feet, your head, and, well, the rest of your body. They showed Milo, an interactive character who recognizes your voice, comes up with his own responses to questions you ask of him, and he lives in a world that you yourself (with no controller) can interact with. The video demonstration showed Milo recognizing a woman (a real life woman) named Claire as soon as she said hi to him. They then had a conversation and she drew a picture which he was able to see through an incredible scanning technology that was instantaneous. The level of interactivity was amazing and a little scary (skynet anyone?)But the press conference was incredible and I doubt Sony or Nintendo can top that but stay tuned as I will let you know. Tomorrow Sony takes the stage for a scheduled 2 hours so hopefully (at least for them) they have something incredible up their sleeves.
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