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Co-Opinion: How sporty are eSports?
This is Co-Opinion, where two Joystiq editors play a game and discuss their experience. This edition focuses on the merits of eSports and how they fit with traditional sports. .portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Jess Conditt: Let's lay out the foundation here: I'm a fan of eSports and sports in the same way. I play games from both categories, but I'm far from a professional in any sense (though I shoot a mean three-pointer). When I see sports fans lashing out at eSports players, or saying that these games don't require any sports-like skill, I'm equally surprised and confused. Those who argue that eSports aren't "real" sports are not simply stripping professional players of a title; they're de-legitimizing the time and talent it takes to compete on that level. The word "sport" itself may not matter that much, but the intent of those withholding it does. Many of the arguments feel like bullying, or at the very least, caustic comments from those wary of change. Obviously, eSports require different skills than those needed to play physical sports, but they take skill nonetheless: strategy, quick thinking, fast reflexes, communication, perseverance, creativity, teamwork. I understand that these are not necessarily physical attributes, but I don't think that negates their value. I wonder if "athleticism" is the issue here, rather than whether eSports are, in fact, sports.
Co-Opinion: Super Smash Bros. (Wii U)
This is Co-Opinion, where two Joystiq editors play a game and discuss their experience. This edition focuses on an E3 2014 hands-on session of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, by Nintendo. .portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Mike Suszek: Sam and I took a moment to throw down in a few matches of Super Smash Bros. on Wii U at E3. Let's get this out of the way: It's definitely still Smash Bros. The controls aren't wildly different from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the four-player action is still chaotic and I still manage to miss out on every Pokeball that appears. Sam Prell: Being "more Smash Bros." isn't necessarily bad, though. Fighting games aren't often torn down and rebuilt from the ground up - they're tweaked and tightened. Sometimes a surprise feature or two can sneak their way in and shake things up, though. I'm still not sure about how I feel about the addition of the Smash Ball in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, even six years after the fact. Based on our - admittedly short - time with the game this week though, I don't think we'll see a shift quite as dramatic as the one between Brawl and Melee.
Co-Opinion: Titanfall
This is Co-Opinion, where two Joystiq editors play a game and discuss their experience. This edition focuses on a Gamescom 2013 hands-on session of Titanfall, from developer Respawn Entertainment. .portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Richard Mitchell: So, Alexander and I got to play the PC version of Respawn Entertainment's Titanfall at Gamescom. Let's get one thing out of the way right now: We both had an absolute blast. Personally, I was already very interested in the game, and I was keen to see if its blend of infantry mobility and large scale mech combat would really work. But you, Alexander, went into it without many expectations, right? Alexander Sliwinski: I had no clue what to expect. I'd obviously followed the news and background details on Titanfall, but I knew nothing about the feel of the game going into it. I knew it was a shooter and I knew it had mechs. However, I was not expecting the level of locomotion given to the Pilots and the diversity of experiences available in a match.
Co-Opinion: Dark Souls 2
This is Co-Opinion, where two Joystiq editors play a game and discuss their experience. This edition focused on the E3 2013 demo of Dark Souls 2, from developer From Software. .portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Richard Mitchell: So you and I both got a chance to try out Dark Souls 2. I was prepared to die, and I did. Many times. There were a few pre-defined classes to choose from in our demo. I tried a dual swordsman first. I played until I realized that he only had a tiny shield, which probably wasn't the best choice. I restarted and picked a much beefier knight with a hefty shield and sword, and a massive two-handed sword to boot. What did you roll with? Xav de Matos: I rolled warrior from the start. There's no way I'm rocking through the unknown depths of From Software's evil mind without a shield at the ready. Even though I wanted to get right into the action, I had to stop and take a look around because Dark Souls 2 looks gorgeous. From Software's new engine really gets lighting and shadows right. Even the bright outdoors pop. Then there's the little stuff, like watching the grass sway from side to side in the wind. It's all really detailed and beautiful. Sadly, no one should ever stop to smell the roses, or they'll need to be plucked and put on your grave. %Gallery-191476%
Co-opinion: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (E3 2013)
This is Co-Opinion, where two Joystiq editors play a game and discuss their experience. .portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Dave Hinkle: As far as piggy back rides go, I think I've had the best one of my life in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on Wii U. You made me feel safe during our E3 demo, Jordan. You protected me. Jordan Mallory: Well it's Donkey Kong's responsibility to protect the well-being of his little nephew Diddy, Dave. There are a lot of dangerous viking walruses and perilous pits around this tropical paradise. %Gallery-191105%
Co-opinion: XCOM: Enemy Unknown multiplayer
.portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Richard Mitchell: So Alexander and I got a chance to try out the XCOM: Enemy Unknown multiplayer mode at Gamescom. Both of us played single-player before, so we had some idea of what we were getting into – but multiplayer is an entirely different beast. Using a pool of points, players "purchase" the units that will comprise their team: XCOM soldiers, aliens, or a mix of both. The standard match has a pool of 10,000 points and a turn time of 90 seconds. For this press demo, we had a whopping 20,000 points and 120 seconds. It sounds like a lot of time, but it wasn't – more on that in a bit. What units did you pick? (Keep in mind, folks, I had no idea what I was going to face on the field, and neither did Alexander.) Alexander Sliwinski: I believe in the power of humanity! Actually, no, it's mostly that I'd never played an XCOM game prior to the E3 demo, and I had no idea about each race's powers. So, I went with three human soldiers, two Thin Men and then spent a massive 7,300 points on an assault gunner with an alloy cannon. I figured I'd wipe out any alien scum you threw at me.%Gallery-162799%
Co-opinion: Avengers: Battle for Earth
.portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Mike Schramm: I'm sure at some point in this writeup, we'll probably talk about how Avengers: Battle for Earth is a Kinect game, and that means, like most Kinect games, it works much better in theory ("A fighting game where you control Marvel characters by making moves on Kinect") than it does in actual practice. But I don't want to get to that point yet, because here's the thing: I had a lot of fun playing it. There's something awesome about sticking your hand up in the air and then pushing it forward to make Thor fling electricity from his hammer, or crouching down and then bringing your arms up high to make the Hulk chuck some ground at his opponent. These are iconic characters from my childhood all the way up to the popular movie, and this game portrays them in a really colorful and fun way. Jess Conditt: Let it be known that Mike Schramm makes an impressive (nay, an incredible) Hulk. I wasn't so bad either, I think. Especially for rippling-muscle-challenged people like myself it's wonderful to embody the larger-than-life heroes in Marvel's repetoire, as Mike suggested. I played our multiplayer battle as Venom and Iron Man, two of my personal favorite characters, and they didn't disappoint. Most motions are shared by each character – punch, knee up, arms out and clapped together, etc. – but the resulting moves are different. With the same punching move, Iron Man shoots a beam of light from his palm and Hulk rushes the player, fists-first. It's a powerful feeling to throw a punch "at" your friend and watch his hero respond on-screen.%Gallery-160465%
Co-opinion: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
.portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Jess Conditt: First, I have to paint a picture for everyone: Mike Schramm, tall dude extraordinare, so giddy with anticipation that he resembled a puppy in a canine candy store -- that's how he entered the XCOM: Enemy Unknown preview room. I, on the other hand, had no previous experience with the franchise, yet by the end, my tail was wagging a bit as well. Mike Schramm: To be fair, I can look puppy-like at almost any time: Big ears, wet nose. But yes, I was excited to see XCOM, and as you may have already heard in all the hype from the show, the core turn-based gameplay did not disappoint. Turn-based strategy RPG scratches a core (flea-based?) itch in my soul, and between this game, Skulls of the Shogun, and iOS games like Outwitters and Hero Academy, this genre's on the cusp of a renaissance. XCOM's turns move easily and quickly, and the game's interface is great at getting out of the way and letting you make strong choices.%Gallery-157398%
Co-opinion: Metal Gear Rising Revengeance
.portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } JC Fletcher: What did you expect going into the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance demo? A mess? Something that reflected the troubled development? Xav de Matos: When that first gameplay footage was presented, Rising's vision didn't seem feasible. Slicing everything in the environment? That would have been a designer's nightmare. I would just cut a hole through every building and get to the end of the game! Up until Platinum was rumored to be helping on it, we were hearing the game was dead. There was even a report that it was canceled internally, right? Yes, it was canceled. And then Platinum Games took over, and made a game in which, even if you can't slice up everything, you have unprecedented freedom in your slicing. It's not the game Kojima Productions wanted to make at first, but I don't think many people are going to have a problem with that after playing. It's really fun to slice things, is what I'm saying. The slicing is good slicing. It also seems like it includes a lot of slicing opportunities, which is always key in slicing simulations. What I was worried about is that Rising would fall on the usual crutch of showing something super cool wrapped in quick-time events. I'm not down on QTEs, but that's not what I want from something featuring Raiden. I want to be in control. The Rising demo strikes a good balance, giving you direct control of the action without throwing too many random button presses in your way to fake something badass. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was pure, precisely sliced fun. That's all you can ask for when you're given fifteen minutes to play a demo at an event like E3.%Gallery-157338%
Preview: Portal 2 (co-op)
.portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Chris Grant: So, lucky us, after the first full day of E3, you and I were the only pair to play Portal 2 together, cooperatively, without Valve. Valve writer Erik Wolpaw has been giving the the demo while playing as the second player, but he said he thought we looked like we could handle it on our own. Richard Mitchell: It was surprising to me how quickly we fell into step, actually. If you've played Portal before, it's kind of amazing how soon you start thinking cooperatively -- figuring out how you need two people to solve a given puzzle. It's a different experience, but it's still Portal.
