E3 2009 – Microsoft Press Conference Part 1 – Great Games

Ok, so here we go. Part one of the Microsoft Press Conference is going to cover the first half of the game announcements that were made by Microsoft.

Some were expected and others were absolute surprise shockers.

Click through the link and find out what all the fuss is about.

The press release started off with some multi-platform titles that they obviously wanted to be shown at their show, for obvious reasons, so let’s get those out of the way first.

Boards, Beatles, Warfare and Fantasies

Rockband Beatles was shown and pimped off by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Tony Hawk also came out on stage to show off the final design of Tony Hawk Ride’s skateboard peripheral, as well as a trailer, but unfortunately, no gameplay. I must say that I am really not sold on the peripheral and the game and even though it may sell well, I think that it was not the right direction, especially with a price of $120 and yet another peripheral to squeeze into your living room.

Modern Warfare 2 was also shown, with an actual live demo being played on stage. The game is looking really fantastic, and very, very white and snowy, also bringing in new features like motion sensors to help you get around and survive. Microsoft also revealed that Modern Warfare 2 will get two map packs only on Xbox Live at first.

There will surely be more proper information about Modern Warfare 2 this week, so stay tuned.

Final Fantasy was also shown running on an Xbox 360 and is looking fantastic as well, JRPG fans of the series and newcomers alike really have something great to look forward to with this new and now multiplatform offering from Square Enix.

Ok so now onto the major announcements.

It’s Like Crack

What is that sounds that I heard? A familiar sound, one that I remember so well. Hang on a second, isn’t that the sound of a Crackdown orb? Oh yeah, out of the blue, a trailer for Crackdown 2 starts running, showing off an infected city that is going to prove quite dangerous for our Super Agent.

While it was known that a “Crackdown 1.5” was possibly in the works, it was basically confirmed that there would be no proper sequel. It’s looking awesome and will hopefully come with 4 player co-op, although no multiplayer details were revealed, only a trailer.

Crackdown was one of my favorite multiplayer games on the Xbox 360, the fun was plentiful and the action great, so hells yeah on a Crackdown 2.

Before The Body Was Even Cold

Next up, and a really big shocker was the announcement from Microsoft and Valve, especially since a lot of people were wondering if Valve would even announce anything, with most people wondering about Episode 3 for Half Life 2. But instead, a trailer comes up showing a country town, and then Zombies, and the would you believe it, it turns out to be a trailer for Left 4 Dead 2, not even a year after the first game was released.

Shocking because it’s so early since the release of the first, and shocking because absolutely no one saw it coming. Interesting none the less and coming exclusively for Xbox 360 and PC.

Convicted

But now for a game that really surprised me, because I can honestly say that I wasn’t really that interested in it.

I can tell you one thing, I’m damn interested in it now, and it’s Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Sam Fisher has lost the Emo hairdo and is looking ready to kick some ass. A live demo of the game was done, and it is looking incredibly impressive. Visuals are stunning and the gameplay looks like a ton of fun. Parts of the game were shown where Sam used a broken piece of a mirror or glass to look around corners and scope some things out before moving in and making the kill. Check the videos that will be put up later because you won’t want to miss it.

Epic Contra

Epic Games also finally made their announcement of a new IP and it was somewhat of a disappointing one, initially that is.

The game that they announced is called Shadow Complex and is actually being developed by their minions, Chair. The game is going to be released on Xbox Live Arcade and runs on the Unreal Engine.

It basically looks like a steroid-overdosed version of Contra, which is actually pretty awesome when you think about it. They showed some of the gameplay and it’s all looking rather fun. Check out the videos that will be posted up soon.

That brings part one to an end, check out part two for some more amazing game announcements from Microsoft.

Last Updated: June 2, 2009