E3: Microsoft Plays It Safe and Casual

The first hour of Microsoft’s press conference was earmarked
by teleprompter dependability and corporate predictability. Senior Vice
President Don Mattrick was visibly nervous when the event started, and quickly
handed over the reins to Todd Howard of Bethesda Software. Howard played through five minutes of Fallout 3, which unsurprisingly, looked like Oblivion with a
new post- apocalyptic texture set. Combat was an interesting mix of real time play,
interrupted with a tactical element where players could target individual body
parts.

Much like the Oblivion, the game offers players the ability
to play in first and third person.  The
user interface allowed a Bioshock-like set up for variable player upgrades, and Howard
mentioned that multiple methods of play were supported from combat oriented to
a more stealthy approach.

Next, Resident Evil 5 was shown, and a very brief co-op
level was demoed. To deflect accusations of racism, main character Chris
Renfield shot both Black and White zombies. Overall, the game looked like a
refinement of the RE4 engine.

Two sequels were shown next- as Fable 2 was introduced by
Peter Molyneux, and Cliff Bleszikski played through Gears of War 2. Both looked predictable, yet capable extensions of the game play introduced in their
predecessors.

For the next half hour of the show, Microsoft coasted,
showing little innovation and margin refinement. Their fall dashboard update
showed Wii-like Avatars, You’re in the Movies aped the action of Sony’s Eyetoy
Play minigames, while Lips was nearly indistinguishable from Sony’s Singstar. The
aptly named Viva Pinata: Trouble in ParadiseEye of Judgement showed -like
cards. British singer Duffy gave the conference one of the few moments of
spontaneity, as she sang an Amy Winehouse-like number. The singer was able to
answer a question for the ages- How well would a performer score, when singing
their own song in a karaoke game? The short answer: Very well, but not perfect.

The show did conclude on one, unexpected high note as Final
Fantasy XIII was announced for the Xbox 360, we’re sure someone over at Sony is
losing a job over the loss of that franchise. Overall, Microsoft played it conservatively safe,
offering sequels to their popular franchises, while attempting to secure the
ever-growing ‘casual’ market. Time will tell, if this seemingly over cautious
strategy will be effective.

Also Shown:
Geometry Wars 2
South Park
Portal: Still Alive
Galaga Ledends
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Rock Band 2
Scene It: Box Office Smash