Xbox at E3 2012

Written and Photographs by Sean Chin

Microsoft was the first of the big three to showcase what they have in store in the near future for gamers. Don Mattrick, President of Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft promised to deliver a spectacle for Xbox in 2012 and beyond.

Straight to the point, it was a good media briefing, but it was very predictable. They opened with a trailer and demo of Halo 4 in all of its stunning glory. Master Chief returns in this story as well. Splinter Cell was second up and I was actually more impressed with it than Halo…I’ve always preferred the third-person perspective than first person. Sam Fisher has gained some Assassin Creed-esque moves and the ability to take out multiple enemies in a seamless flow.

I was really excited to see the new Resident Evil 6 title but for some reason it didn’t have the same feeling as previous versions. Once I get some hands on time on the E3 floor, I will write a more in-depth preview.

The Smart Glass feature is a really neat concept that I am looking forward see in the near future. But essentially, Microsoft is aiming to evolve the home entertainment experience by combining Kinect, your TV set, tablet and smart phone.

For me, the show was stolen by the appearance of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park. They premiered the new game South Park: The Stick of Truth. In this game, you get to be a an actual character on “the quest to be cool”.

One thing for sure that I was stoked about was the return of Lara Croft in the origin Tomb Raider game being made by Square Enix. Lara has been completed redesigned and does not look like Angelina Jolie at all (lol). But the demo was absolutely jaw dropping.

Dance Central 3 was not just shown off, but was demonstrated to us by none other than Usher! It was definitely a surprise to see this hip hop megastar perform for E3-goers during the middle of the day.

Finally, the show ended off with Call of Duty: Black-Ops 2, which didn’t really blow my mind to be honest. However, it was interesting to observe LA Live being demolished by uncountable airstrikes.