Microsoft brought out its top developers to showcase the titles. Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux was flown in from England to show off Fable 2, Mistwalker’s Hironobu Sakaguchi gave presentations on Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, and BioWare co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka previewed the action role-playing game Mass Effect. Microsoft also showed off Forza Motorsport 2, Shadowrun, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, and a host of new titles for Xbox Live.
With Fable 2, Molyneux revealed each player will have his own dog, and prefaced this announcement by saying it was the kind of revelation that would be greeted with, “It’s time for you to go back to your padded room now.” The dog, however, is only a means to an end, and it’s Molyneux’s goal to make people feel genuine love in his action-heavy role-playing game. The dog will love its owner unconditionally, and Molyneux thinks players will return the favor.
“Once you care,” he said, “I’ve got you.”
The creation of genuine human emotion in the context of Fable 2 is but one of three great innovations in the game, Molyneux said. On a tight leash, he would not reveal what the other two were.
The dog, Molyneux said, will morph according to its master’s alignment. If the player performs evil deeds, the dog will become more feral and adopt the appearance of a Doberman. Dogs under a benevolent master’s care will gradually develop into cuddly sheepdogs. Further, the dog will operate independently of its owner, but will play a real part in adventuring, pointing out paths, alerting its owner to danger, and attacking foes.
Sakaguchi's RPG
Sakaguchi showed off the English-language version of the RPG Blue Dragon, and announced the game will have downloadable content made available for Xbox Live. The cartoonish Dragon was eclipsed by the more realistic Lost Odyssey, which uses the Unreal 3 engine and features characters who are, in essence, immortal. For Odyssey, little was revealed; the game will feature turn-based combat with some as-yet-unspecified real-time component. It also has a battle system featuring front- and rear guards, with different roles for characters in the ranks. A brief cut-scene involving a stinking drunk immortal arriving late for a meeting with his peers (apparently because of the triplet prostitutes he staggers in with), was indeed humorous, but offered no real context.
The Mass Effect walkthrough highlighted the game’s introductory stages, offering battles with space zombies, a glimpse of the primary villain, and the opportunity to slug people in the mouth for talking crazy. Equal parts beautiful and sprawling, Effect may have been the most tantalizing of all the games shown at the event.
Although the rest of the games shown were certainly not lacking, they did take second stage to Microsoft’s role-playing titles. Forza Motorsports 2 is so hardcore its demonstration devolved into a discussion on tire physics. The first-person shooter Shadowrun provided adrenaline and gore in great doses, and will prove to be a wonderful online multiplayer title. Age of Conan was plagued with technical difficulties that potholed many of its demonstration sessions. Xbox Live titles such as Pinball and 3D Ultra Minigolf seemed standard fare and were easily forgotten amid the more appealing Boom Boom Rocket, Bizarre Creation’s rhythm-based title.
The event was capped with a brief panel discussion, suitably, on RPGs. Molyneux, Muzyka, and Sakaguchi took the stage to offer their thoughts on the genre and its possibilities, and was highlighted by Sakaguchi making a personal plea to Microsoft Studios’ Corporate Vice President Shane Kim to let him make an online title.
Source
With Fable 2, Molyneux revealed each player will have his own dog, and prefaced this announcement by saying it was the kind of revelation that would be greeted with, “It’s time for you to go back to your padded room now.” The dog, however, is only a means to an end, and it’s Molyneux’s goal to make people feel genuine love in his action-heavy role-playing game. The dog will love its owner unconditionally, and Molyneux thinks players will return the favor.
“Once you care,” he said, “I’ve got you.”
The creation of genuine human emotion in the context of Fable 2 is but one of three great innovations in the game, Molyneux said. On a tight leash, he would not reveal what the other two were.
The dog, Molyneux said, will morph according to its master’s alignment. If the player performs evil deeds, the dog will become more feral and adopt the appearance of a Doberman. Dogs under a benevolent master’s care will gradually develop into cuddly sheepdogs. Further, the dog will operate independently of its owner, but will play a real part in adventuring, pointing out paths, alerting its owner to danger, and attacking foes.
Sakaguchi's RPG
Sakaguchi showed off the English-language version of the RPG Blue Dragon, and announced the game will have downloadable content made available for Xbox Live. The cartoonish Dragon was eclipsed by the more realistic Lost Odyssey, which uses the Unreal 3 engine and features characters who are, in essence, immortal. For Odyssey, little was revealed; the game will feature turn-based combat with some as-yet-unspecified real-time component. It also has a battle system featuring front- and rear guards, with different roles for characters in the ranks. A brief cut-scene involving a stinking drunk immortal arriving late for a meeting with his peers (apparently because of the triplet prostitutes he staggers in with), was indeed humorous, but offered no real context.
The Mass Effect walkthrough highlighted the game’s introductory stages, offering battles with space zombies, a glimpse of the primary villain, and the opportunity to slug people in the mouth for talking crazy. Equal parts beautiful and sprawling, Effect may have been the most tantalizing of all the games shown at the event.
Although the rest of the games shown were certainly not lacking, they did take second stage to Microsoft’s role-playing titles. Forza Motorsports 2 is so hardcore its demonstration devolved into a discussion on tire physics. The first-person shooter Shadowrun provided adrenaline and gore in great doses, and will prove to be a wonderful online multiplayer title. Age of Conan was plagued with technical difficulties that potholed many of its demonstration sessions. Xbox Live titles such as Pinball and 3D Ultra Minigolf seemed standard fare and were easily forgotten amid the more appealing Boom Boom Rocket, Bizarre Creation’s rhythm-based title.
The event was capped with a brief panel discussion, suitably, on RPGs. Molyneux, Muzyka, and Sakaguchi took the stage to offer their thoughts on the genre and its possibilities, and was highlighted by Sakaguchi making a personal plea to Microsoft Studios’ Corporate Vice President Shane Kim to let him make an online title.
Source
