Hands on with Borderlands 2

E3 2012 was host to many big titles coming out soon. One such title was "Borderlands 2," developer Gearbox's highly anticipated sequel to their award winning open-world role-playing game. It was playable on the show floor this year, and man did it look great.

This time around things have changed. A new antagonist has risen known as Handsome Jack and he aims to take over all of Pandora. The people of Pandora aren't taking this lying down and have risen against the would-be tyrant. This means there are new characters and new classes to play as. I was only able to play as the Siren, Maya, and the Assassin, Zero, and they differ entirely from their counterparts from "Borderlands."

Maya is a Siren.

When the demo started, I was given 20 skill points to level up my characters with, and this gave me a chance to see the new menu and skill trees.  The menus are more fluid and have better presentation than past ones. Guns were easy to select, and managing items was way easier. The skill tree itself has been expanded greatly so no two classes are ever the same - even if it is the same character.

Mayas skill tree was varied between either being a healer and buffer of sorts or being focused on her new phase-lock ability. Zero's was centered on being a stealthy ninja with his sword or dealing out all sorts of elemental damage.

Both characters have there own individual ability which is unique to each character. Zero's is that he'll create a hologram of himself and turn invisible to enemies so he can sneak around and surprise melee them with his sword to cause huge damage, while Maya can lift her enemies into the air and hold them there for a few moments to cause serious mid-air damage. One thing I noticed is that both characters' abilities cool down times were shortened immensely, so now they can be more streamlined into the combat unlike the previous iteration in which players would have to wait quite a while for powers to be available again. Once I finished off my leveling up, I quit the menu and started the mission.

Makes you wanna scream "mommy," huh?

The objective I had was to find and destroy four Handsome Jack statues around a city to get rid of his influence. Once I found one, I opened fire on it only to realize my shots were ineffective. I was then told by our old familiar friend Claptrap to find a decommissioned overseer (a big beetle-like robot with the ability to fire a laser) and reactivate it to take down the statues.

As my appointed partner and I searched for it, we were caught up in a fire fight, and this is were I got to see the bread and butter of the game.  As I ran for cover I noticed that the more damage I took, the more shield buildup there was on screen and then when my shield finally went down it crumbled straight off the screen.

One thing to note is how much faster the game is than the original "Borderlands." The framerate has been bumped up and it leads to a way better looking game.

 As I reached cover, I noticed that robots were the main force of Handsome Jacks army, but these weren't your normal Claptrap robots. The robots varied from simple mechs to overseers to giant mechs that just make you want to scream and run away, and all are tough adversaries. This just shows the players are going to be in for a good fight this time around.

The first set of enemies was a good chance to show off the new weapons in the game. It has been shown in trailers that there will be an absurd amount of guns in "Borderlands 2," all of which will have very different attributes and styles. I only got a taste of this in the demo but from what I saw the number of weapons is staggering. Defeated enemies dropped guns like it was going out of style.

There were at least 30 different guns to find in the demo alone, each varying in damage style, class, etc. My favorite gun of the demo was a rocket launcher that never had to reload because after expending all the rockets my character would throw the weapon towards the enemy, exploding on contact before respawning in my hand ready to fire again. It seems as if Gearbox is really stepping up their game (pun definitely intended) this time around.

From left to right: Axton, Maya, Zero, and Salvador.

After destroying all of the statues, I was treated to Claptrap telling me to make the giant overseer robot dance by pushing a button on its side. It self -destructed from boogie fever.

It seems there will be no lack of humor in "Borderlands 2," which is alright with me. Soon after the explosion, a giant mech shot down in front of us and started to attack us. This caught us off guard and we were wiped out. "Borderlands 2" drops on Sept 18, so be ready for all the crazy, jokes, guns and powers.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 E3 preview

The trailers have been everywhere. It was a big deal when they aired all over TV that the return of "Call of Duty: Black Ops" was imminent in this newest installment of the "Call of Duty" franchise. I won't talk about how somehow Woods survived jumping out a window with a man holding a grenade in his hand, or the crazy Michael Bay-esque cornucopia of explosions that filled television screens. What was interesting was what the commercial didn't show and what gaming press got a taste of at E3 2012.

In the bowels of the Activision pavilion, a demo was shown to display the shiny new "Call of Duty." "Black Ops" developer Treyarch has really worked hard to compete with what Infinity Ward, of "Modern Warfare" fame, has laid down over the last decade. With "Battlefield 3" storming through shelves there's been a lot of worry in the competitive multiplayer shooter bracket as to what can now become the new giant.

"Black Ops" took place in the Vietnam and Cold War era, while "Black Ops 2" seems to have leaped forward into the near future. The pitch a Treyarch spokesman gave was the what-if scenario that of all the world's nations' automated and un-manned technology being turned against them in a full-scale attack.

The setting: Los Angeles. Appropriate for the expo and ironic as the demo showed a demolished skyline, a smouldering Staples Center and a battered freeway. Escorting the president through this hellish glimpse into the future, the player was assaulted by drones running strafing patterns and camouflaged enemies hiding behind freeway walls and broken-down cars.

Luckily for Mason, the player character with the same name as the hero from the original "Black Ops" (relation or coincidence is up for interpretation until more is known), he wields a rifle that fires charged rounds through cover and swats his enemies down.

While the game asked Mason to provide cover for the president and her guard, the spokesman for Treyarch mentioned that it was entirely possible for the player to rappel down and fight alongside the honor-guard as opposed to provide covering fire from above.

"Black Ops 2" depicts a future with quadrupedal war mechs.

After driving through a crowded freeway tunnel full of enemies, Mason and his team enter L.A. proper and begin to fight their way through city streets while drones bomb and strafe from above. That's the least of their worries as boar sized quadruped mechs ram and blast their way through the local forces.

Explosions! Violence! Tiny little RC helicopters that attack the enemies you target from the first-person-perspective! But that's not all! Taking a page from "Battlefield 3's" book, Mason jumps into a hover-jet to provide air support.

It looks like Treyarch has hit everything on the checklist for a current shooter. The most impressive addition to the game was a group of missions where the player can command ground forces to take objectives.

Now, it's hard to describe exactly how this works, but it works almost completely like the mission in the first "Black Ops" where the player positions the team from the Blackbird above. Except instead of a jet thousands of feet above the team, it looks like there's a helicopter. As the mission goes on, mechs or small helicopters can be sent to assist the ground forces. Not only that, but the player can control any of these from the first-person perspective, humans and robots alike. Alternatively, the entire mission can be played from the overwatch perspective.

Unmanned drones are now part of the player's arsenal.

Of course, the shooter fans who mainly buy this franchise may not enjoy this micromanagement. It's a risky move, but it might be what is needed to reinvigorate the shooter franchise by proving this method may work and then incorporating it into future games. Fans of other games like "Total War" or "Company of Heroes" may become interested in a shooter like "Call of Duty" if this works.

Yohei Shimbori talks Dead or Alive 5

"Dead or Alive 5" has been announced over half a decade after the previous installment in the fighting game franchise, and is set to come out Sept. 25. I was lucky enough to sit down with Team Ninja leader Yohei Shimbori at E3 2012 to talk about the long-awaited sequel

During the interview, Shimbori was playing a match with a previously unannounced character, Sarah from "Virtua Fighter," whom wasn't shown or playable on the E3 show floor against returning "DOA" favorite, Bass, in a circus arena full of traps and fun to give me insight into the game.

Sarah from "Virtua Fighter" gets in on the action.

[Ed. note] The interview will be presented here in a question-then-answer format. The bold text is the question to Shimbori, and the following standard text in quotes is his response. 

Something big that you have revealed in recent trailers is the inclusion of "Virtua Fighter" characters Sarah and Akira, what brought on this addition to the game?

"Well, 'Dead or Alive 5' will mark our anniversary with the series so we wanted to do something special. We've always been huge fans of 'Virtua Fighter,' and it goes without saying that if there was no 'Virtua Fighter' there would be no 'Dead or Alive.' So, with permission of Sega, we decided to bring Akira and Sarah to 'DOA 5,'" Shimbori said.

Now with the Sega booth literally right across from the Tecmo booth here at E3, you'd have to stay true to the 'VF' fighting styles while adding in the 'DOA' flair for the fans’ sake. Was that a major goal for you?

"Yes it was. Our goal from the beginning was to have fans of 'Virtua Fighter' come into the game and play as Akira or Sarah and still feel right at home. We wanted them to still have their same moves and skills while giving them some 'DOA' traits."

As he was mentioning this, I noticed that Sarah’s fighting style was in tune with her "Virtua Fighter" move set. She literally acted and attacked as she would if you were playing "Virtua Fighter." The same thought crossed my mind as I realized later when I got to play as Akira that he was really in tune with his "Virtua Fighter" heritage.

Something I've noticed in the trailer is the inclusion of a kind of super move in which during a certain part of a combo the screen goes black and white and pauses for a second or two before sending the opponent flying. What is this?

Kasumi, at left, takes down Akira.

Shimbori was then quiet for a second and focused his attention to pull off the move I had just described. Sarah had launched Bass into the mouth of a giant clown which then launched Bass from his nose in an explosion. He then fell at Sarah's feet defeated and knocked out. Shimbori put down the controller and turned back to me.

"It's called a Power Blow. We introduced this move as a way to add more strategy while also showing off the visuals and the stages of the game. Once the Power Blow is launched, the attacker controls where the opponent is to be sent towards. Parts of the environment are highlighted red to signify where to send the victim. Sending them to certain parts of the stage will activate the Danger Zones which include falling off buildings and suffering from explosions."

He also went on to show me another stage in which Sarah and Bass were on top of a building under construction. He started the match by attacking Bass with a 5-hit combo that resulted in Sarah launching Bass into an energy conduit which exploded and sent Bass over Sarah and onto the floor. She then comboed him into a Power Blow, sending him off the crumbling building. Bass tried to grab the edge to save himself, but Sarah ran and punched him down towards the ground. The battle resumes on the ground level where wreckage lay around them. "Dead or Alive" is mostly about what Shimbori calls fighting entertainment, and cinematic and fast-paced action is the goal that the team is aiming for.

He went on to explain that they've gone through various versions of the move. With pre-order of the game and purchase of "Ninja Gaiden 3," buyers received a "DOA 5" demo, and Team Ninja used feedback from players of the demo to adjust the move so it went from a cheap spam move to a skillful addition to anyone's arsenal. They used the demo as a kind of beta for the game, tweaking characters' attacks and damage to fit each one perfectly. He also said that the feedback they received from the demo was great - only a few tweaks were necessary, but they still plan to work it until they are satisfied.

As he finished the match, Sarah posed in a victory stance, and that made me notice something else.

Kasumi's changed over the years.

Sarah and the rest of the characters in the game look way more detailed and real compared to the glossy dolls of "DOA 4." Also, Sarah is sweaty and has realistic sweat effects on her body. What brought this on, and how far does it go? Will we see bloodied up Ryu or Kasumi?

"Well, when 'DOA 4' came out, we were barely getting used to the power of the new console, and now that we've gotten a hold of it we wanted to see how far we can push it to the point of realism by adding detailing and freckles to help with the experience. We also wanted to add immersion to the game and we realized that these fighters just went through a tough battle. Why wouldn't they be sweaty? As the player fights, the character starts showing how hard he or she has been attacking. Also, clothing will react to sweat as well. Meaning white clothes will become see through. If a character is damaged enough, parts of their clothing will rip off to show damage. As for blood, we felt that fans would be a bit upset seeing their favorite characters bleeding and damaged - especially the women of 'DOA.'"

Hitomi's post-battle look.

Do you plan to add more "Virtua Fighter" or returning "Dead or Alive" characters to the roster, or even new, never-before-seen characters to the game?

He laughed. "We're not ready to announce what else is coming to the game, but we do advise you keep an eye open to any news in the next couple of months."

I had a feeling he'd say something like that, but a reporter’s got to try! "Dead or Alive 5" is looking great and should be a contender for one of the top fighting games this year. Watch for it when it drops in stores Sept. 25.

Hands on with Papo & Yo

Quico has to placate the monster in order to solve puzzles.

Tucked away in a corner of the massive PlayStation booth at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo was a single demo station for for a game that puts players in the bare feet of a young boy named Quico trying to coax a giant rhinoceros-like monster through the world to solve puzzles.

“The creator had a rough childhood, and this game is his way of expressing it and dealing with it,” Stéphanie Landry, environment artist for developer Minority Inc., said.

Landry went on to explain that the monster, whom is addicted to eating frogs, represents a disinterested and aggressive father figure, and that Quico is analogous to the creator of the game, Vander Caballero.

The monster is largely uninterested in Quico's activities in the demo level, so he must be coaxed through levels with fruit because the only thing the monster likes more than sleeping is eating, according to Landry.

The level I demoed revolved completely around moving the monster from point A to point B, which required puzzle solving and manipulation of objects in the world and reach the other side of a courtyard.

The controls are a little stiff, the graphics are decent, but not amazing and character animations don't seem to mesh well with the environment, but “Papo & Yo” is not yet ready for release and seems to be aiming more at storytelling than impressive graphics.

The game will be released later this year, according to Landry.

Visualizing E3 2012: Day 3

Photos by Parker Shannon

Visualizing E3 2012: Day 2

Photos by Parker Shannon

Adam Sessler talks E3 2012

Former "X-Play" host and veteran video-game journalist Adam Sessler takes a minute to tell us what he's excited about at E3 this year.

The big three at E3 2012

John and Jesus round up the offerings from Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft from the E3 convention floor.

The opinion of the people

Attendees at E3 2012 speak their minds and let us know what they're looking forward to as well as the things they couldn't care less about.

Retro gaming showcased at E3 2012

Mike gives a quick peek of the booth paying homage to gaming's yesteryear at E3 2012.

Visualizing E3 2012: Day 1

Photos by Parker Shannon

E3 2012: Nintendo Press Conference

Nintendo's E3 2012 press conference this morning was all about the games.

Shigeru Miyamoto opened the event with a look at the upcoming "Pikmin 3," which is being developed for the company's upcoming Wii U console. The game itself looks cute and colorful just likes a Pikmin game should. The big feature touted was the ability for players to take control of four leaders (none of which are Captain Olimar) and use them all simultaneously to change up the normal gameplay strategy.

A black model of the Wii U console could be seen on stage and the image popped up sporadically onscreen throughout the presentation.

Reggie Fils-Aime took the stage after Miyamoto and proceeded to show off a ton of games, all of which make use of the Wii U gamepads's touchscreen. Games shown included "Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition" and "Mass Effect 3" as well as "New Super Mario Bros. U."

A game called "Sing" was shown and appeared to bring all the awkwardness of karaoke to your living room. The promo video featured a few friends gathered around one girl who was facing toward the group and singing lyrics read from the gamepad.

The 3DS had a small showcase of games including "New Super Mario Bros. 2" and "Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon." 3DS games were sparse during the press conference because Nintendo is hosting another event specifically aimed at showcasing game for their handheld tomorrow night.

"NintendoLand" will showcase the possibilities of the Wii U gamepad.

"Lego City Undercover" was shown to be a sort of open-world crime solving game. The game will feature voice acting and looks to feature the clever parodies Lego games have come to be known for.

The showcase was closed with a look at "NintendoLand," which seems to be a sort of Playstation Home for the Wii U in which players congregate in a central hub area and can play mini games together that are designed specifically to show off the versatility and usefulness of the gamepad.

Nintendo fans are likely to be pleased with the official announcement of a new installment in the Pikmin franchise, but there was no hardware information or a price and release date for the Wii U.

All the E3 announcements from Nintendo throughout the week can be found at e3.nintendo.com.

E3 2012: Ubisoft Press Conference

So if you didn't watch the Ubisoft press event, we're going to give you a recap of what happened! This marks the start of our E3 2012 coverage!

After a somewhat fog-filled and anxious wait in the venue, the crowd was greeted by a cacophony of sights and sounds of music and dancing. A very energetic preview of the new music and moves of "Just Dance 4" was accompanied by a performance from rapper Flo Rida which was...interesting. There seems to be a theme going around of celebrities making appearances at E3 press events.

While the dancing was entertaining, we really didn't see anything more than what a person can see online via trailers. It just seemed to be another dance game.

The first actual shot of gameplay footage we had was during the "Far Cry 3" portion of the presentation. I hadn't actually done any sort of research on the title, and apparently I needed it as I had absolutely no idea what was going on in the demo. What I did see was that there were people on an island, the player character had a bow and a gun, and he shot a lot of people while another person seemed to yell at him from off-screen.

Despite my canonical confusion, the footage was beautiful and apparently there's an entire system of islands you can explore in the game. The gameplay seems very reminiscent of "Bulletstorm," which means a lot of shooting but some close-quarters combat. There was a moment when a tiger was released from its cage and it ran amok on some of the enemies while the player picked them off from afar, but other than that there seemed to be an overwhelming sense of indifference to the game. It was impressive, but it was just another shooter.

What really picked the audience up was the new "Rayman Legends." Three players cooperatively working together on the Wii U gave us all quite a show. While two players controlled Rayman and his buddy, another used the touchscreen to cut ropes, lower ramps and move obstacles out of their way so they could continue on their path.

The grand finale was all three players working on some sort of constantly moving chase scene where the player using the touchscreen hit points on the path which created the music to the entire portion of the level. It was a beautiful show of streamlined gameplay and a fun design of old platforming. The audience cheered and clapped not just for the pleasant surprise of Rayman, but also for an excellent demonstration of the Wii U's capabilities.

There were several more trailers featured during the event, including one for Wii U exclusive survival-horror game "ZombiU" and an Avengers game as well. While those were interesting ideas, a lack of gameplay footage made us just feel like we were watching clips from any press-packet we could get online.

Then the big gun, "Assassin's Creed 3." A trailer and then a gorgeous demo from the team working on it wooed the crowd. The environment, the fighting, the character models and even the voice acting was spot on. Building upon the framework of past installments in the Assassin's Creed series, subtle - and not so sublte - changes to the gameplay could be spotted during the demonstration. A bow and arrow replaces Ezio's crossbow for the newest protagonist, most likely implemented to keep in theme with his Native American heritage. One of the smaller additions to the game that we all noticed was the ability to pick up weapons on the go and seamlessly transition from a kill to running. It was beautiful to watch, and of course we're still eagerly awaiting the game to see if it lives up to what we've seen.

The newest assassin, Connor, has a more sleek fighting style than his predecessors.

"Shootermania" followed "Assassin's Creed 3," which seemed to be a letdown for the crowd. The blatant battle of the sexes that was put on between girl "Counterstrike" stars and male "Counterstrike" stars was a little awkward to watch and we really didn't see all that much gameplay. I'm not sure if the game is just player versus player or if there's a story, but really it just seems like Ubisoft is creating a competitor for the online gaming gun circuit for E-Sports.

The best was saved for last. The crowd was built up with "Rayman." It was on the edge of its seat after "Assassin's Creed 3." Now they got what Ubisoft was holding back with. "Watch Dogs" seemed to be an amalgam of "Assassin's Creed" and "The Bourne Identity." The combination of stealth, technology and narrative had the crowd cheering and asking for more than the demo could give us. Just watch:

I can't even begin to describe it. It's just so amazing looking. I just hope the game itself is as good as the demo we were shown.