Yesterday was the official first day of E3 and it was complete sensory overload. Wandering through the seemingly endless labyrinth of corridors, I felt like I was lost in a vendor's bazaar.
The words on everyone's lips is about the console war between the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, especially after the bashing Xbox took the night before at the PlayStation media briefing.
Here we are on the second day with the big three (Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo) pulling out the big guns with playable demo stations, promotional giveaways, booth models and smiling game company reps. Security is a bit tighter this year as you have to show both a valid badge and ID in order to get into most areas.
The old days of badge swapping are over as E3 isn't playing that game anymore.
It's uncommon to see people engaging in light cosplay at E3 since it's a trade-only event, but that didn't stop a couple of people from paying tribute to their favorites. We spotted a Samus Aran cosplayer who got a lot of love at Nintendo's gigantic booth. The area also had photo stations where attendees could take photos with statues of their favorite Nintendo characters like Mario and Donkey Kong. One of the most popular was the Bayonetta booth where fans of the baddest witch in the game could be immortalized with a picture. In addition to taking a photo with Bayonetta, there were gaming stations set up to test drive Bayonetta 2.
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Never one to be outdone, PlayStation trucked out their brigade of video game superstars as well. Kratos, Ratchet, and Fat Princess took time from patrolling the show floor to pose with excited fans. Lines to play demos of Watch_Dogs and Beyond Two Souls were epic, with up to an hour long wait for some hands-on time.
We got our hands on 505 Games insane first person shooter Payday 2. The game puts the player into a four-person crew that pulls bank robberies and other heists. Up to four people can play in co-op mode. While in single player mode, the built-in artificial intelligence takes care of the three other bandits for you. What's sets Payday apart are its interesting role playing game elements.
As players set off about knocking off a bank, their choices will make an impact on whether the heist is a success or a failure. For example, it's possible to equip massive body armor, but as real-life would dictate, if someone sees you walking into a bank in full armor, they're going to alert the cops. When the police roll up early into your robbery, things get complicated very fast.
505 also showed Takedown which will be the most challenging shooter you'll ever play. There are no heads up displays, no radar and if you get shot you die. There is no such thing as a health meter. Takedown was make with the mindset of putting together a pure tactical shooter, so running in with guns blazing won't help at all. You creep around and try to get the best strategic advantage on the enemy without getting a hole put between your eyes.
You can look out for Payday 2 and Takedown this fall on Steam, XBLA and PSN. Stay tuned for our day 3 recap tomorrow.
