The Microsoft X10 Wrap Up

12 Feb 2010 at 11:24:41 by

If you weren't aware, Microsoft has relaunched its X event with X10 this year, a showcase for the publisher's biggest titles. All the big titles were there from Halo Reach, Fable III and Crackdown 2 to Alan Wake. But we can't talk about Alan Wake, not yet anyway. You can find out everything you want to know about Alan and his adventures on 18 February, along with some very exclusive interviews, an in-depth preview and exclusive video content.

But let's start with Fable III.

Although we weren't able to play the game, we were able to witness Peter Molyneux doing what he does best...talking about his games. Now we love Molyneux, but something told me we were in for a big announcement. I was, of course, wrong, and instead we were told how Fable III was going to change, what it's new features were and how it would advance the franchise. If you're waiting for clarification on what it is exactly Molyneux said would "piss off players", then fasten your seatbelts. It's the removal of the health bar and experience orbs. Molyneux calls this the "simplification" of the game. The health bar, for example, will be replaced by a first person shooter type mechanic which bleeds colour from the screen as you take damage. The experience orbs will be replaced by a loyalty mechanic, which advances you through the game depending on how many loyal followers you have. Almost like Twitter. But not anything like Twitter.

The big news on Albion though is its time period, inspired by industrial Britain, which Molyneux was very proud of. Based on and influenced by Oliver Twist, the surroundings are very dirty and moody, and Lionhead really has created an atmospeheric setting. The game will also allow you to create and craft your own unique, custom made weapons, Molyneux said he was "bored" of making weapons for players and that this would be a good expression of character. Not only are you crafting your own weapons, but the weapons can also change and evolve, depending on how you use them.

Because the experience points are now based on followers rather than orbs, it's important to make the right decisions and stick to them, otherwise you could find that you're turning more people away than you're keeping. But before I get too carried away with Fable 3, let me just outline one last thing. This is the touch mechanic in the game, and no, it's got nothing to do with Milo, Natal or a Catholic priest. If you've played Ico you'll know what I'm talking about. It's a human interaction button which allows you to, well, interact, with others around you. You can hold someone's hand and lead them away, you can throw children in the air (in a good way, of course) or you can drag someone. Whatever you do, the character you're interacting with will react to your movements. For example, a crying girl can be hugged or played with thus lifting her mood. Although this isn't new, Molyneux is saying this mechanic will have a huge impact on the game, gaming and future developments on future titles. The game does look impressive, but then again it is a Lionhead game, so it's no surprise. Watch out for our video interview with Peter Molyneux next week where you'll hear some pretty exciting stuff.

Crackdown 2 was the other title we were looking forward to getting our hands on, but we only managed to see it from a distance. Pacific City has changed considerably  (there are freaks everywhere, it's great), iincluding its visual style which proved to be popular in the first game. But it's all about the gameplay, and although we've only seen very small parts of it, we can tell you that it looks like a mass murderer's heaven. Game producer James Cope spoke to us about it and you can find out about more about the game and its direction next week in our interview. 

It's Halo Reach, though, which really stole the show for me. Bungie has always managed to craft an intersting narrative with the Halo series and Reach looks to be no exception. A lot of attention has been paid to the way the characters in the story react to the increasing Covenant pressure and, as we all know, it ends up with the planet Reach being destroyed. It's how the planet gets destroyed which is the story Bungie want to tell us, and Brian Jarrard told us that this would be the "definitive Halo game". The game engine is being completely re-written and the AI and animation systems are undergoing a complete overhaul too. In addition to this, there will be more "sandbox elements" to the game - quite what that means, we're not sure, but perhaps it will work something like the hub area in Halo ODST.

Halo Reach will also bring back the video recording options, which were last seen in Halo 3, as well as some "excellent multiplayer games", Jarrard told us. He said that the studio wanted to pay homage to the Halo series, as this would be their last Halo game and wanted to go out in style. He wouldn't tell us what the studio's next project was, but he did say the whole team was very excited by it.

And that really wraps up X10 for this year. Unfortunately, I can't talk to you about Splinter Cell Conviction, Dead Rising 2 or Lost Planet 2, but their respective developers will next week when we post all our video and written interviews for your viewing and reading pleasure. We'll talk to Pat Redding from Splinter Cell Conviction, Peter Molyneux (needs no introduction), the guys from Remedy on Alan Wake, James Cope from Ruffian on Crackdown 2, Brian Jarrard from Bungie on Halo Reach, and much more. Stay tuned!

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