From: JOECAT@IX.NETCOM.COM Public To: ALL Date: 05/13/95 at 07:34 Re: Tronix at E3 DAY2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Temporary E-mail address for the sole purpose of this report. Please use our regular E-mail address (joecat@phantom.com) for any inquiries. E3 NEWS from Tronix - [Day 2] Friday, May 12th 1995 ========================================== Let's jump right in.... Two more 32X titles spotted - SoulStar X (CD) and the 3D racing game from Core Design, B.C Racers. Soul Star X is basically the same as the Sega CD version, with a new layer of color and detail, and BC Racers...ah, needs plenty of work. Actually, there's a lot more 32X titles scattered around Sega's booth - I still have to conquer this massive area once again tomorrow morning. Grand Chaser on Saturn looks awesome. It's another high- speed, futuristic driving game that blows away Daytona's frame-rate . It's somewhat like Wipeout on the Playstation from Psygnosis though the resolution does seem lower. No big deal - it's eye-pleasing enough, believe me! Another two Saturn games very early in the works were Vertigo, a 3D pinball-like game with outstanding effects, and Blackfire, a first person chopper mission game similar to Commanche on the PC. Forget a Pentium - wait 'till you see this landscape in this 3D battle sim. Virtua Fighter 2 was running - though it was a non-playable demo. This is already turning out quite nice! I only saw two of the characters - but the leap in graphics compared to VF 1 is quite obvious. Sega has a football game in the works for the Saturn called Prime Time NFL Football (also coming for Genesis as I mentioned in my first report). Acclaim announced Jaguar NBA JAM: TE (I think we've heard this news already). The Jag VR system is quite nice - I finally found some time to give it a whirl, and I must say, it's quite responsive considering the state of the consumer level VR systems. I did notice the game (see Report Day 1), was running from an Atari TT computer, and we were told the Jaguar version will be very close in speed/response time as far as tracking. Batman Forever, Acclaim's monster movie license is coming out on SNES, Genesis, 32X, Sony PS-X, Saturn and PC. I saw a fairly long clip from the actual movie - and I must say - this will be THEE summer hit! We just got back from the Acclaim party - taking up the entire 26th floor (Polaris room) of the Hyatt Regency. It was wall-to-wall people huddled in endless groups. Across a center room, Acclaim had a large display showing off the box art work for their up-coming titles. It was wild seeing a string of Saturn boxes lined up next to the 16-bit formats. They already have the layouts for Judge Dredd, Revolution-X, NBA JAM:TE, and even Alien's Trilogy! Obviously the Sony isn't out yet - so no one knows what the game packaging will look like. Still, every new Acclaim game is listed as coming for '95! I had a long chat with someone from a major company in a very respectable position (name withheld to protect the innocent...or not so innocent I guess) that we could be seeing the Sony in July? Also - I did hear a lot of third party companies didn't sit well with Sega's sudden "Pre-Launch" because of their own products still under construction - which were simply not ready for this sudden industry shocker. Looks like Sega's going to clean up as they are the only ones with Saturn titles at least 'till mid-summer. Earth, Wind and Fire (well, one of them - not sure which element ) was in the 3DO area signing autographs while adding to the promotion of Panasonic's new adventure game, ISIS. 3DO M2 newer demo added! There's some new footage of a Doom-like game running on M2 simulated technology that makes Doom on the PC look like a a Gameboy running out of batteries. Your jaw will drop below the earth's surface. Picture effects similar to the warping tile floor in T2 as a living room carpet comes alive, attacking the character at a frightening speed with resolution only seen on big-time workstations. Boy oh boy I still can't believe it! The crowd went wild - applauding the video wall production. Speaking of Doom, I got a quick glimpse of 3DO Doom, like a two-second shot - and it looks absolutely nothing like the others. This version has all new graphics - which look rendered! 3-D Baseball Saturn!! Just saw it this afternoon - on a video but it was indeed the Saturn version. It's also coming for Sony Playstation - and the zooming, panning, and animation of the polygon players will leave you speechless . I know my enthusiasm has repetitive tone - but the quality of the games at this show has reached an all time high! Played some Wing Commander III 3DO. Still needs a bit of fine tuning as certain scenarios still seem a bit on the choppy side. Same goes for the speech effects. NBA JAM: 32-bit! Hey, just found the Saturn version - right opposite the Sony. Same deal as the 16-bitters, only smoother, and better color/sound. Both look identical. I found some video footage showing some kind of preview of Robotech on the Ultra-64 from GameTek. Couldn't tell if it was the game - or an opening title - but whatever it was looked damn impressive. The guys at GameTek didn't have a clue either....hehe. Strange as it seems, Solar Eclipse from Crystal Dynamics is not only listed (and showing) on the Saturn, but a Playstation version is also in the works....yet Total Eclipse is running on the Playstation at the show. Total Eclipse looks exactly like the 3DO version, while Solar Eclipse on Saturn (as I said in my first report) will blow your mind. A much larger viewing area, navigational speech commands, larger than life ultra-backgrounds and an excellent frame-rate! Crystal Dynamics is also showing a Sony PSX RPG/Action game called Legend of Kain (I forget the exact name). Nice 3-quarter perspective with rooms that expand before your eyes ...not to mention a intro to die for. EA's booth was quite a spectacle. With a video presentation that looked like it cost a pretty penny! EA's doing their hot new skiing/snowboarding game (Shred-Fest I believe) for the Sony Playstation (early version shown). It has a similar alternative-rock soundtrack to 3DO Road Rash (same groups), and some mighty fine 3D that's leaps and bounds beyond any game relating to this sport. Another EA game in the works for Playstation which surprised me was Viewpoint, yup, as in Neo Geo . Of course, the graphical effects (only one level looked done), and color scheme have been revamped to the max! Wing Commander III is making its way everywhere - despite the complexity of the PC original, EA/Origin already had very early versions (basic opening story line) of both Saturn and PS-X versions up-and-running. If you walked by EA's booth too fast, you might of missed Origin's Prowler on 3DO. It's an awesome mech game with a smooth-moving environment. The beautifully-textured mech itself is huge, and well animated . Looks like a potential winner for 3DO! Another hot 3DO titles is EA's "Foes of Ali". An incredible boxing game featuring the legend himself, in fantastic 3D, which can be viewed in many angles. The boxers are totally detailed - not polygon-ish as you might have suspected. I headed back to Any Channel to check out the status on PO'ed for the 3DO. The final product is going to be quite a surprise. Get your 3DO samplers and use them for reflectors, the version shown at E3 looks moocho better. Wait 'till you see the power-drill weapon. You actually get to grind up aliens, watching the deep-red, yet transparent blood splatter across the monitor as this hand suddenly shoots the sceen and wipes away the mess to restore your lovely view. Simply clever stunts! Po'ed will also be coming for the Playstation which I believe will be distributed by Accloade. Folks, just wanted to say. This E3 show is really packed with product. Everywhere you look you'll discover something new. There is no way in hell you're going to see the whole thing in three days. My mind is racing, trying to remember everything I took in within the last two days. I'm basically writing flash messages as the day's events re-work their way back into my brain. This is a tough one - so I'm going to sign off, take a breather - and try to compile some more info later on. If not later - tomorrow for sure. 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