GDC, Day 1

It's the first official day of the Game Developers Conference. And although this day is known for being a bit slow, there were some big announcements and surprises today. As a reminder, these posts consist of the news for that day, a description of that news, and my personal response. So without further crap, let's get to it.

Tiger Woods 11 announced, with PS3 motion controller functionality and a new cover athlete.
The very successful golf game is getting another sequel. Many were wondering where this series would go due to the Tiger Woods controversy of recent news. It appears that EA Sports is keeping the name but focussing much more on the sport itself than the athlete. The game will focus on the Ryder Cup, and will apparently involve more athletes. The game will also be one of the first games to be PS3 motion controller able. It is interesting to note that Tiger Woods 11 comes out in the summer while the PS3 "Wand" is slated for a fall release. Also, for the first time, Tiger will be sharing the cover with another athlete, Rory McIroy, another sign of the focus on the Ryder Cup.
-Just because EA Sports sticks by their man Tiger doesn't mean they can't be affected by the media and the public. Although they are keeping the name, the fact that the game has another cover athlete, is focused on the Ryder cup, and will focus more on other athletes all show me EA Sports want to seperate themselves a bit from Tiger Woods. All of these things indicate to me that they are slowly trying to put themselves in a good situation. If Tiger does come back to golf and the controversy blows over, they still have the name. If he doesn't, they have started to set up enough to let go of the name. This is just smart. PS3 Motion controller is neat too, but as we all saw with the WiiMotion Plus functionality in Tiger Woods 10, this does not sell games.

Battlestar Gallactica Online is announced.
NBC, SyFy channel, and Bigpoint games have announced a new browser-based MMO based on Battlestar Gallactica. The game will draw from the successful show, and the game will be released initially on the SyFy channel website. After 30 days, a new website will be created. The game promises to be a "tactical adventure" with missions, combat, and exploration. It is currently slated for this fall.
-Meh. I'm not a big Battlestar fan myself, but I guess this is cool news. The interesting thing is that it is completely browser-based. This could be the chance for a developer to actually make a good browser-based MMO, because Free Realms and Runescape suck. I wouldn't hold my breath, though. The fact that it is slated the year it was announced and it is being published by a TV channel leads me to believe the standard of quality might be strained or non-existent. Time will tell.

Rock Band 3 is announced.
The extremely successful series of music games from Harmonix and EA is coming back this year with the third iteration in the Rock Band series. Not many details were given on the actual game besides the announcement and general release, but Harmonix has promised more details are to come this week. Rock Band 3 will continue to "innovate the music genre" in some way. No word on backwards compatibility with DLC, peripherals, or music in the game.
-I like this news. Although I really hate the way music games are going, Rock Band is definitely the exception to the rule. RB has stuck with an aggressive DLC strategy, and this has brought them tons of money and made the overall game a much more enjoyable and replayable experience. In order for me to really fall in line, Rock Band 3 needs to have a couple things. First, I need to be able to play all my songs from RB1 and RB2, DLC and disc. Second, I either need to see a valid reason to buy another peripheral or I need my peripherals to work completely. Third, I need to see innovation. Harmonix should deliver on most of these, in my opinion. My best guess? Rock Band 3 will have some type of tool to teach you how to play music. And I mean notes, tablature, and actual instrument training. This would be so cool. Instant buy for me if this is true.

World Series MVP Curt Schilling's new gaming studio, 38 Studios, announces a new "fantasy RPG" that will be developed with Todd McFarlane and R.A. Salvatore.
Codenamed "Project Mercury", this game will be the first for 38 studios. 38 Studios has also announced they will be joining EA Partners, the highly successful internal publishing conglomerate that consists of great studios such as Double Fine and BioWare. The biggest news to come from this is the two names attached to it. Todd McFarlane will be adding his numerous years of artistic mastery to the game, and the legendary fantasy author R.A. Salvatore will be writing and producing for the game. The game will also be headed by Ken Rolsten, the previous head of the last two Elder Scrolls games. More news should come later this week about the game.
-EPIC. This has so much potential. 38 Studios is taking everyone they can to make the best game they can. And my God, do they have a team. Todd McFarlane is legendary, and the thought of his artistic abilities going into a game is awesome. Ken Rolsten heading this game also guarantees the experience factor, as he knows his RPGs. But by far, the biggest thing about this announcement is R.A. Salvatore. His books are what some games use as inspiration. It's comparable to The Beatles returning to music or something. This is gigantic as R.A. Salvatore is a proven fantasy god.

Final Fantasy XIII PS3 owners will get exclusive "gifts" for Final Fantasy XIV.
Although this was not elaborated on much, PS3 owners who purchase FFXIII will get some perks for FFXIV. There is nothing known as to what this could be, but it sure is great news for PS3 owners. Speculation is that it could be either a beta key to FFXIV, a demo of some type, or exclusive in game items or rewards.
-Damn you PS3 owners. I'm just kidding. This is no surprise to me, as Square Enix loves to do this stuff with their games (Kindgom Hearts, anyone?). It certainly is a kick in the pants for 360 owners, though. This probably wasn't intentional, though, as FFXIV is being developed only for the PS3. I'm sure if it was being developed for 360, it would be in the 360 version too.

Portal 2 details surface.
Lots of new details have emerged about Portal 2, even before Gabe Newell's speech on the 11th. The biggest news is that the game will take place hundreds of years after Portal, with a damaged and forest infested Aperture Science. Interestingly enough, the protagonist of the first game will return as the protagonist in this game somehow. The game will also contain a completely seperate co-op campaign and new physics puzzles, including the ability to "paint" some surfaces different colors to add new physics effects, such as super speed.
-AWESOME. I have nothing else to say. If you aren't exciting about this game, something is drastically wrong with you.

A new music game is announced with some very interesting features.
Seven45 Studios has announced "Power Gig: The Rise of the Six String". This game will have a fully functional electric guitar as the controller. The controller will have six strings and a full fretboard. The game aims to not only be fun but to truly teach people how to play the guitar. Apparently, many artists have already signed up to be included in the game. The controller can be used in other music games, and other controllers can also be used to play this game's lowest difficulty. As stated, the controller can be plugged into an amp and used like a real electric guitar. Nothing further than this besides a tentative release date of this fall.
-This is pretty cool, and it was inevitable that a game would go to this step. Many people, and many bands, have stated that they would love games to really teach how to play guitar, and this game seems to be directly aimed at that. The guitar controller is quite awesome, and in my opinion, should not be classified as a peripheral, especially if it can be used as a real guitar. I am still sceptical, however. Pulling something like this off, especially from a new developer, can be super risky. But hey, Rocksteady did it with Batman, so why not?

Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 rumored to include Robin.
Many rumors have surfaced out of GDC that Robin will be included in the next Batman game. This report comes from a cast listing of the game, naming an actor for the role of Robin. What this means, or even the validity of it, is unknown. Rocksteady has commented that they have no idea where this comes from and do not confirm it is true. GDC should reveal some more about this.
-Let's remember a couple things, guys. First, let's trust Rocksteady. They made the first good superhero game, and they should be trusted with whatever the hell they want to do. They've earned that much from us. Secondly, Robin doesn't have to suck. There are many examples in the comics and even in the animated series that Robin can be done correctly and respectfully. Third, this really doesn't say anything. This could range from a playable Robin in a co-op game or even just the voice of Robin like Oracle in the first game. Lastly, this is all rumor, and nothing is confirmed, so take it with a gigantic grain of salt. One last thing however. I'm not hearing a no on this one, Rocksteady. What does that mean?

That's it for the big stuff of the day. Here's some smaller stuff that just take a line or two. That or I just don't have anything to say about it.
-Bodycount is announced by Codemasters as the spiritual successor to the popular last-gen shooter, Black.
-Microsoft has announced that all Fallout 3 DLC will be discounted from 800 to 400 MS points each.
-Lady Gaga will be heading to Rock Band DLC with a four pack.
-Windows Phone 7 games will include achievements, gamertag integration, and gamerscore.
-PS3 motion control rumored to include a nunchuck attachment, much like the WiiMote.
-The new CryEngine is set to be shown at GDC this week, inevitable with Crysis 2.

That's all for today, folks. Hope I didn't wear you out. Stay tuned for continued coverage of the event as the biggest announcements are (hopefully) still to come!