Microsoft kept the action going with gameplay footage of Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Kojima’s new masterpiece appears to be all about Raiden and his super ninja skills, exclusively with his high tech sword. At the end of the demo, Raiden was shown cutting a watermelon, along with cutting an enemy into pieces at his choosing. With the way the on screen HUD was reacting to his aiming, it definitely seemed that the cutting was being controlled with a motion device.
Previously known as Project Natal, Kinect debuted at the Galen center last night with a production imagined by Cirque Du Soleil, the infamous Canadian acrobatic group. Kinect is Microsoft’s way to change the way you game forever. With 16 announced titles, some 1st party and some done by studios like Ubisoft and Harmonix, Kinect seems to be living up to it’s promises as well as exceeding a few expectations. Microsoft unveiled Kinectimals and a sports title that easily rivals Nintendo’s Wii Sports. Ubisoft showed off their fitness experience, entitled “Your Shape Fitness”, and simultaneously made every other fitness program obsolete with all of it’s features and customization.
Perhaps the most surprising, and in my opinion the best announcement from Microsoft, was ESPN3. Xbox Live Gold members will be allowed to view NCAA, MLS, MLB and certain NBA events directly from their consoles. There will be trivia and other entertainment extras during events with the events being broadcast in complete HD. The NHL and NFL are absent from this deal, but for fans of college events, baseball, basketball and soccer, this is a very sweet offering. Also exclusive to Xbox 360, at least for the first month, will be all new Call of Duty downloads for the next three years.
At the end of the conference, and with very little excitement, Microsoft announced the newly designed Xbox Elite. The new model will have built-in wireless-n, a hidden 250gb hard-drive and is advertised as “whisper-quiet”. This, combined with a sleek new look, had journalists yelling and twittering with excitement. Little did they know that Microsoft, in what seems like an attempt to garner favor, would offer free Xbox 360 Elites to all in attendance. The new console will be available immediately for $299.99, and the old Elites will be reduced to $249.99.
