3. Fracture -- Watching the demo of Fracture, I felt bad not only for the folks who made it, but also for those whose job it is to try and convince us that it's anything more than a jumped-up tech demo. The core of Fracture is a gimmick that allows your character to either raise or lower the ground, creating towers or craters as need be. The game that has been built around this gimmick, involving a war between the genetically enhanced Pacifican Army and the cybernetically augmented Atlantic Alliance, is depressingly generic and bland. The characters are dull, the action is ordinary, and what's meant to be the game's hook, the terrain-altering Entrencher, is interesting for all of about five minutes.
2.You're In the Movies -- Microsoft really, really, wants the public to believe that the Xbox 360 is great for families. Shane Kim's portion of the Microsoft press conferences was dedicated almost entirely to games directed at the non-core audience, such as the SingStar clone Lips and Scene It. He also demonstrated You're In The Movies (pictured), which makes EyeToy games look like masterpieces of game design brilliance. Essentially, the game uses the Live Vision camera to record your moves as you play a mini-game like swatting away wasps, then drops that footage into a B-movie style trailer. Technologically neat, perhaps, but fun? Doubtful. Also, I estimate You're In The Movies' time to cock at about thirty seconds.
1. Cammie Dunaway -- I have no doubt that Nintendo executive vice president Cammie Dunaway is genuinely enthusiastic about her company's upcoming lineup of games. I also have no doubt that she should never, ever be allowed on stage again. Her portion of Nintendo's press conference produced more cringes than applause, as she demonstrated a snowboarding game with Olympic Champion Shaun White and played Disc Dog, all while sporting a grin that makes the Joker look somber by comparison. She swears that she's "really a genuinely smiley, nice person", and I'm not about to call her a liar, but her performance came off as completely, utterly fake. I was thrilled that there was a woman on an E3 stage for reasons other than her ability to look hot in a t-shirt festooned with a company logo; it's just a shame she came off as such a buffoon compared to Reggie Fils-Aime, Satoru Iwata, and Shigeru Miyamoto.
