GDC 2006 Reporter's Notebook

DISCover (cont’d) and the Microsoft and CDV parties

However, DISCover's efforts are not just about making your PC games easier to find. They also have an interface that, much like that of the Xbox 360, allows people to download games from partners like Trymedia, along with game demos and links to pay for games at retail sites like EBGames. McCullough also told us that they plan to add community-based features like reviews and cheats for games to the interface. And what about Windows Vista, the next major Microsoft OS due out in the fall of 2006? He told us that DISCover already has plans for a 2.0 version of their My Games software that will launch alongside Vista, but declined to go into too many details at this point.

DISCover's goals are straightforward as McCullough told us. "We want to make installing and playing a game as easy as playing a CD or DVD," he told us. PC gamers have sometimes complained that installing games should be more like a console title and DISCover's efforts in that area could lead the way towards making that a reality for all gamers.

Parties and Parties

For some odd reason, Micosoft decided to hold a major press event showing off their new and upcoming Xbox 360 titles at San Fransisco on Tuesday night, despite the fact that a ton of reporters were in San Jose for GDC. I managed to find a way to go to the event which was held at the Supper Club. The club was set up so that people could lie down in almost a bed while playing Xbox games. In addition to newly released titles like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, a number of upcoming games were playable at the event. The highlights for me?

Nighty Nine Nights, the Japanese action title in the style of Dynasty Warriors with lots of characters on screen and lots of cool combo attack moves; Tomb Raider Legend, which looks like it will finally bring Lara Croft back to her original Tomb Raider moves; and Saints Row, THQ's answer to the Grand Theft Auto open city crime action games (but a lot better looking).

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The big highlight for me though was Dead Rising, the Capcom "lots of zombies in a mall" title that is simply one of the best-looking Xbox 360 games I have seen yet. The game allows the player to pretty much take anything in the environment, from sledgehammers to stuffed bears, against the flesh eating horde. The zombies look good (and that's not a misprint) the combo moves you can do are varied and it's simply one of the best times I have had with an Xbox 360 title. I even saw some upcoming Xbox Live Arcade games, including Street Fighter II which I think will be a huge hit when it was released.

I got a ride back to San Jose in time to attend the CDV party. The game publisher showed off a bunch of playable builds from their upcoming PC game line-up and we will be doing a lot of coverage of those games in the near future. At the party we were most impressed with Pacific Storm, a WWII naval combat action-RTS game and Dark Star One, a Freelancer-like space based action-adventure game with 400 star systems to explore. CDV is branching out from its strategy roots and we think their upcoming game line-up (including games that we didn't get to see Tuesday) is very promising.

That's all for this edition. Tomorrow I'll write up some more thoughts on today's events and interesting things at GDC.