Ugh, I'm not looking forward to this...

I'll keep updating once I complete writing up the notes for each game

God of War 2
The E3 demo had essentially exactly the same gameplay as the original game
The combat system appears to be an exact replica of the original
That really isn't a bad thing, considering how great it was to begin with

Still contains those morbid overtones:
- Use a corpse to hold down a switch as opposed to a crate

Violent beyond reason, grab and reaction attacks are especially brutal
Reactions (moves excecuted through single button commands):
- Tear off one of the cerberus' head with your bare hands and use it to pimp slap the other head. Comedy gold.
- Take down a cyclops by using your blades to climb your way up to its head then plunge your arm into it's eye socket and tear out its eye in a shower of blood. Ewww doesn't do that justice...
Grabs:
- grabs an enemy and impale it with your blade, and swings it around into another enemy
- slams an enemy face first into the ground and stomp down violently onto its head

Looks to continue with the mythological references:
In order to pass through a door with a medusa's face carved into it, you need to collect the 'Golden Fleece' in order to deflect the doors stoner gaze. Stoner as in it turns you into stone.

Now that Kratos is a God, his power is well represented:
- Kratos deals with an enemy that throws bombs at your from atop a massive stone pillar by tipping the pillar from side to side with his bare hands (this is done by repeatedly tapping the O button)
- Kratos upturns a enormous stone stage-like area into a bog so he can use it as a bridge to reach the Golden Fleece (also achieved by tapping the O button)
- He launches his blades in a huge tree and uproots it to use it as a bridge (circle button again)

Presentation is as epic as ever.
There's an illusion of massive enviornments, but the play area is still relatively small and very linear.
Similiar score to the original game, orchestral
Graphics are stunning, even in light of the next generation offerings a few meters away

Mass Effect
The game has huge scope
You can explore the entire universe, from the universe, galaxy, solar system and planets.
Yet there's plenty of attention to the smaller details:
The beggining of the game

Conversations have been given a more real time feel to them:
Conversation options show up during the actual dialogue so you can make you mind up on what to ask during before they finish talking
It works well, and is more realistic
Conversations are presented in a cinematic style:
Close ups, over the shoulder shots, 2 shots

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 13th, 2006 at 3:21 pm and is filed under E3 General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.