While it’s still no E3–at least the old E3 of 60,000 attendees focusing on games, not the new E3 of under 5,000 attendees set for this July–the 40th Annual CES did offer some previews of great next generation games for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. And anyone who has a PS3 knows that Sony definitely needs some good games for that console.
One of the most impressive playable games at the Sony booth was “Lair,” a fantasy game that puts players on the back of a firebreathing dragon and let’s them wreak havoc both in the air and on the ground. Forget about “Eragon,” this is brutal combat that allows a rider to ram his dragon into another in mid-air, jump on the enemy’s dragon, kill the rider, and then jump back on his dragon. You get the idea, this exclusive game, which sports amazing HD visuals, is exactly what Sony needs.
“MotorStorm” is another exclusive game that Sony had playing in HD on its Bravia TVs. While anything looks good on these plasma screens, this muddy off-road racer brings the dirt into your home. Players can choose from an assortment of vehicles, including motorcross bikes, dune buggies, and trucks. Each vehicle class handles differently and they all make a mess as they wreak havoc through the off-road terrain. Besides the photorealistic visuals and rapid framerate, what impresses me about this game is how the AI takes the crashes of non-player cars and brings them to life. There’s mayhem all around you at all times.
Microsoft had several HD games on display at its massive booth. Most notable was the Electronic Arts fighter, “Def Jam Icon,” which also ships for PS3 this March. The game features about 40 rappers that duke it out in interactive environments. The music impacts the gameplay with car washes and gas station pumps synchronized to the beat. The rappers like Ludacris look lifelike and the animation is unbelievable.
Fans of “Guitar Hero II” will be happy to know that Activision is bringing that killer app to Xbox 360. The game looks much better than its PS2 counterpart, and it’s likely that Xbox Live will allow you to download new songs. Other good news for guitarheads–Nyko is bringing out PS3 ports that allow any PS2 controller, including guitars, to plug into the next gen system.
