OXCGN’s EB Expo 2012 Snapshot 3: More Games

Yes, MORE games!

by Daniel Geikowski

©2012 Daniel Geikowski

You know the drill. The third and final day of the EB Games Expo saw even more game previews.

Although not as many as Day Two, we at OXCGN continue to bring you devout readers a sneak peek of upcoming games.

Game impressions are rated as follows:

Green: game looks fantastic, polished and basically a guaranteed winner

Yellow: game looks great, but there’s a bit of uncertainty or something that didn’t quite work right

Orange: game is shaping up, but needs some work.

Aliens: Colonial Marines

Preview: Hands-Off

Impression: Solid

Thoughts: I took a  look at the Aliens: Colonial Marines demo, which pitted players taking control of Marines against the developers at Gearbox as the Aliens.

The multiplayer mode looked fairly solid. The game mode demoed was the standard deathmatch.

The graphics looked good, but the demo had a bit of lag due to the hectic nature of the competition.

Environments looked dark and dingy, which suits the Aliens, who stalk the Marines from the shadows.

The Marines have a motion device that can sense where the Aliens are, to give them a fighting chance in the battle.

From what I saw, the Aliens are supremely more powerful than the Marines, which forces them to work together to take out the Xenomorphs.

The Xenomorphs are lightning quick, and have the ability to walk along walls and roofs. They are also able to execute Marines should they sneak up on them from behind.

The Marines will no doubt put up little fight should they become separated.

While the game looks decent, it has plenty of time to be tightened up and polished before the February 2013 release.

Metro: Last Light

Preview: Hands-Off

Impression: Great Potential

Thoughts: Metro: Last Light looks like yet another great FPS.

Following on from the well received Metro 2033, Last Light once again follows the life of Artyom, a year after the events of the first game.

The demo was a hands-off gameplay demo by one of the fellows at THQ.

The walkthrough involved Artyom and an unnamed soldier traversing throughout the surface in the hopes of scavenging items and returning to the Metro.

The surface world is still hostile. Players must watch their oxygen supply before it empties.

The tension of watching a depleting oxygen timer in conjunction with battling enemies is a great method of inciting fear into players.

Artyom made his way into a crashed airplane. Searching through the dilapidated aircraft, Artyom’s gas mask got covered in cobwebs and spiders.

In a neat little addition, the player has to manually wipe away the spiders to clear their view. This can also make for another outside factor in combat.

Once in the cockpit, a flashback triggered, detailing the pilot’s view as the nuclear bombs hit.

After regaining consciousness, Artyom and his buddy left the plane, and were promptly attacked by a flying creature.

He’s then immediately swooped up Artyom and rudely dropping him on his face, the two soldiers made their way underground toward a Metro entry. Seems like nuclear armageddon is just a perfect excuse to lose manners!

After defending their position against swarming enemies while the blast doors opened, Artyom and his partner made their way to safety, ending the demo.

Metro: Last Light looks fantastic. The environments look desolate and bleak. The visual effects while wearing the gas mask increase the claustrophobic feeling.

Fans of the novel, as well as the original game will no doubt enjoy what Metro: Last Light has to offer.

I for one will be looking forward to returning to the Metro.

South Park: The Stick of Truth

Preview: Hands-Off/Demo video

Impression: Hilarious

Thoughts: THQ were also showing the new South Park: The Stick of Truth.

I had very little expectations for the game, but boy am I glad I had a look.

South Park looks great. The graphics are virtually identical to the TV show, which helps maintain the game’s authenticity.

All voices are provided by Matt Parker and Trey Stone themselves, instead of some random voice actors, or Nolan North. [Ed.: Now Nolan North will have less money to eat.]

The game revolves around the arrival of a new kid in town (the player), who tries to fit in to the town of South Park.

The kids in South Park are caught up in a Live Action Role Playing game (LARP), and the new kid joins Cartman’s group.

The game then evolves into an RPG, where players pick a class such as soldier, mage, or ranger.

Combat is turn-based, with various attacks that lead into special moves.

These special moves are grossly offensive, much like the entire game. I can’t really describe what happened while trying to keep things PG.

Let’s just say that the trademark South Park humour is ever present in The Stick of Truth, from the narrative to the attacks and mechanics.

The demo video ended with Cartman and the player attacking a bunch of vampire kids in search of the Stick of Truth.

It’s safe to say that the game will be geared toward any South Park fan, and also looks to cater to the RPG fans out there.

The mechanics looks solid, and along with the offensive humour, Stick of Truth looks like a surprising hit in the near future.

Winding down

Well there you have it, a vast number of games OXCGN have previewed over the past three days.

Hopefully they have gotten you excited for a particular title, or given you an insight into a title you were perhaps unsure about.

I can’t wait for the next couple of months; I’m going to be knee deep in games.

Be sure to stick around for more EB Games Expo news.

©2012 Daniel Geikowski

Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Demo impressions, EB Expo 2012, EB Expo 2012, Game Impressions, Game Industry News, New Game Information, New PS3 Games, New Xbox 360 Games, PC Previews, PS3 Game Previews, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 3rd Party Games, Xbox 360 Game Previews Tagged: | 360, Aliens Colonial Marines, FPS, games, Metro 2033, Metro Last Light, OXCGN, PS3, RPG, South Park The Stick of Truth, THQ, Xbox 360