Initial Impressions on E3: Part 1
Josh 'Moxie' Sprague, 2005-05-26

Being handed my first press pass was a fairly golden experience and the fact that this pass was for E3 made it all the much more. My itinerary was chock full of interviews and I tried my darnedest not to be star struck or late (both of which I failed at some points). Regardless, there was an extensive roster of titles showing this year and the odds are in the RPG fan's favor that there will be at least one satisfying game coming in his or her near future.

I do have quite a bit of material to write up and some recordings to put online as long as the extreme volume at the expo didn't make them unusable, but in the meantime I wanted to give you guys a quick summary of the upcoming RPG's that I was able to check out. These will be in chronological order as not to show any preference.

Tactica Online:

Even though this title has been covered on RPGDot, I have to admit that I really knew nothing about it when I received an e-mail about seeing it at the show. However, what I read about the game's unique strategy approach really intrigued me. My meeting with Luke and Tess confirmed that this is a relatively unique title and inspired confidence that this title will see completion in a world where MMO's fall away fairly easily. Tactica's approach to strategy and team building seems to coalesce into a game that will attract MMO player's looking for a more engaging combat experience and possibly collectible card players looking for a storyline and personality.

Auto Assault:

Creating a game that's like Twisted Metal, but online and an RPG is such a fun idea and this is what came through in the demo that I saw. The action was exactly that: action. It was fast paced and looked like a blast to play. The destructible environments and the ability to make one's own path added to the fun, frenetic ambiance.

Tabula Rasa:

I was extremely curious about this one. Anything with Garriott's mark on it is something to watch and the revamp announcement last month really left me in suspense. At E3, Starr Long demoed a game that now has a more war-torn, future feel. Combat is active, but not twitch-based. The system that they've developed seems to keep combat fun and a bit more interactive than we're used to with MMO's. There's also a strong team-based element to the game and it's being made with it's own voice-over software.

City of Villains:

The City of Heroes expansion looks like it will deliver on giving players a chance to create their own arch-nemeses, but I think this game's strongest feature is in base-building. Players and Super-group's can now use their money and status to build their own diabolical lairs and justice headquarters. After putting together the basic blueprint, players can then alter aesthetics and buy traps and decor. The base can then act as a vault for bonus-granting artifacts which other Super-groups can raid the base and steal.

Guild Wars:

Guild Wars isn't trying to be the only game you play and that is definitely its strength. The developers affirmed this as their strategy and explained how the pricing scheme had this in mind. They gave an overview of free content so far and showed a demo of some of the free updates coming this summer. If anything, Guild Wars should definitely win an award for bang for the buck (if they haven't already).

The Witcher:

This is the best demonstration that I missed. It had all been set up, but due to unfortunate circumstances, I couldn't be there. However, I did get to spend some time chatting with Adam who is working on the project. It seems that they've gotten the idea in their heads that "action RPG" means more than just speed-clicking on enemies. I think they'll deliver solidly here and let's hope it catches on. The world from the novels also has a grittiness to it that might cause reviewers to overuse the word "dystopia." Let's wait and see.

Tony Tough 2:

Adventure games seem to be doing better across the pond at the moment and this is one example of why I hope more make it over here. I really like how they stylized the artwork. The scenes and characters have the feel of the old Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer cartoons, but with better lighting. The most amazing part of this game is that whenever Tony gets an item he actually picks it up and puts it into his shoulder bag. The demo also showed off multiple rabbit trails. Tony will attempt much more than the one right solution and it is entertaining to watch the trial and error involved in adventure games actually offer some reward along the way.

Ankh:

This game looks really nice and there is a lot of life in the details. Canvas awnings softly blow in the background along with the foliage. The characters faces are coolly stylized and are expressive of their emotions. Humor is advertised as a strongpoint, but the small part I saw was more slapsticky. So, I can't comment on the comedy as a whole. I did appreciate the ancient Egypt setting and the well-done music adds to the atmosphere.

Battle Mages: Sign of Darkness:

Though I never played the previous installations in this series, I'm interested in what I saw in my demo with Buka. The mixture of RTS and RPG looks like it works well in this game. Units gain experience and have the option of choosing different skill trees to level up along. The environments look to be filled with quite a bit of content and I'm interested in taking it for a test-drive at some point.

Pathologic:

The collection of unique elements in this game definitely makes it the most original title that I saw at the show and the hardest to put my finger on. In some ways it is like a survival horror, but there aren't any zombies or a visible menace. In other ways it's like an RPG, but the stats resemble something more akin to the Sims than to a traditional RPG. Everything takes place in 12 real-time hours and in a single, very detailed town. The player's goal is to first keep himself alive and anything beyond that is bonus. The whole thing just oozes intrigue and I'm looking forward to playing more. Spread the word as much as you can on this one, because we definitely want to see an English release.

That wraps it up for Day 1. Check back soon for Day 2 which includes Dungeon Siege II, Gothic 3, and Oblivion.