I don't really have enough information to formulate an opinion of KH3DS, but I'm pretty confused by the screens and the description of the trailer. If I had to guess, I would say that this will probably be another game where stuff doesn't happen in the "real" world, ala Chain of Memories and Coded.
On the subject of playing as Riku, I'm fairly ambivalent. Sure, it might be nice to see how he got his Keyblade in KH2, but I don't think it's any more necessary than 358/2 Days was. I also don't want to have to retread the same worlds we've already seen more than once. They need to take their cues from Birth by Sleep and at least introduce new worlds if they're going to make side-games. And I really don't want them to keep bringing up more questions to be answered. We have quite enough as it is, thank you.
Watching some of the Nintendo trailers and here are my thoughts:
Skyward Sword
- I was massively disappointed. Though it doesn't use the super-deformed character designs of Windwaker (at least not for Link), it goes back to that god-awful cartoony, cel-shaded design. Ick, Nintendo. Just...ick.
Goldeneye 007
- I was so excited when I first started watching this trailer. Now...I'm just horrified. I know I'm harping on graphics again, but they were AWFUL in that trailer. Seriously, even the Wii is capable of better than that. I really, REALLY hope that this is just an alpha build, because it looked like a very early PS2 game. I also have to scratch my head at their choice to use the Daniel Craig Bond. Don't get me wrong, I love Daniel Craig, but Goldeneye was Pierce Brosnan. Nintendo, PLEASE don't screw this up. If this game is good, it could honestly convince me to purchase a Wii.
Epic Mickey
- I'm digging what I'm seeing so far, though I don't like the cutscene design. Looks like it was coded in Flash.
Metroid: Other M
- I'm definitely liking what I'm seeing.
Kid Icarus: Uprising
- Looks quite good. Though I'm a little irritated that they seem to have just imported some of the character models from Brawl.
Donkey Kong Country Returns
- I think this was the best trailer out of the lot. It looks excellent.
I'll admit that from Ubisoft, I thought Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Ghost Recon looked DAMN good. And I might actually use their Kinect exercise program. But the rest was just horrible. Joel McHale was the worst part. He was being such a total ****** the entire time. I heard him make two slightly funny jokes the whole night. The only thing that made his presence tolerable was the stone-dead silence his "jokes" were met with.
And honestly, I don't know why everyone is so upset about Microsoft's presentation. It was exactly what I was expecting it to be. I knew that they were going to spend most of their time pumping up the Kinect. That was pretty much inevitable. And honestly, it got me a little bit excited. It's essentially a Wii with good graphics and without the stupid-looking controllers.
For me, the presentation that gets a solid D- is EA's. They spent half the presentation on EA Sports rather than giving the floor over to Bioware, the developers of probably the single most anticipated MMO since World of Warcraft.
I really don't like Aqua. It doesn't sound like her voice actor is really trying. Terra doesn't sound like I imagined, but I think his voice will grow on me. I like hearing Jesse McCartney back voicing Ven. I thought he did a good job with Roxas. I really like Mark Hamill as as Master Eragus, and I LOVE Leonard Nemoy as Master Xehanort. Who knew Spock could sound so intimidating? But the gold star in the trailer goes to (hidden just in case some might consider this a bit of a spoiler)
Haley Joel Osment as Vanitas. I was a bit worried about how he'd do, but he's great.
At least I assume it's him. It does sound like him at any rate.
Um...Gears of War 3? Fable 3? Halo: Reach? All of the games for the Kinect, including Forza and the new Star Wars game?
Do none of those count?
Of course the conference was about Kinect. I don't think anyone was expecting it not to be. Besides, this was MICROSOFT'S portion of the conference. If you were expecting more developer games, you'll have to wait for the conferences by those developers.
Watching the Kinect presentation. I have a feeling that we might be witnessing the death knell of the Wii. Kiectimals was the single cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life.
Good lord! They even have a game that makes Wii Sports look like an Atari game! I approve!
it could be covered in pictures of Tidus from FFX and I would still be happy.
...Okay, that's taking it a little too far. Nothing could possibly be worth having to see his face every day. Still, the point stands. Performance is the most important thing.