E3 2004: Activision's Line-Up
Santa Monica giant to lead its E3 line-up with Doom 3 and Spider-Man 2 and Shark Tale from DreamWorks.
Activision has anounced its E3 line-up, with Doom 3 featuring as the publisher's central showcase for the third year in a row.
The anticipated FPS title, to be shown on both PC and Xbox, first debuted at E3 2002 where it amazed crowds in an enclosed screening booth with the most stunning FPS visuals ever seen running on the PC.
Two years on and the game still looks decent, but has a lot of stiff competition. The Xbox version was looking decidedly below-par in the first batch of screenshots released by conversion team Vicarious Visions, but as if to put out the fire raging on various gaming forums, Activision was quick to release a couple of new, prettier screens today.
Also featuring in Activision's line-up are Shark Tale, based on the forthcoming movie from Dream Works, Spider-Man 2 and X-Men Legends.
Doom 3 (PC, Xbox) - the FPS that needs no introduction - on show at E3 for the third year running. And it wouldn't surprise us if, yet again, it's not playable. But we could be wrong, and we certainly hope so.
Shrek 2 - Based on the upcoming DreamWorks movie. The story picks up from the ending we were left with in the original Shrek, and things couldn't be rosier for the newlywed couple. But danger awaits the couple as they return from their Honeymoon - and meet the in-laws (played by John Cleese and Julie Andrews). Along the way, they'll meet the Fairy Godmother (played by British Comedienne Jennifer Saunders), a disgruntled and pride-stripped Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) and, in what is shaping up to be the finest casting choice of the roster, Antonio Banderas plays the feline Ogre Slayer, Puss in Boots. See our preview here.
Spider-Man 2 (All) - Another licensed title based on this summer's massive Spider-Man sequel. Spider-Man has one more enemy that he has to deal with, namely a vengeance-consumed Harry Osborne (James Franco) who'll stop at nothing to see Spider-Man pays for the death of his Father. As luck would have it, it's a botched Osborne Industries experiment that fuses the exoskeleton to the spine of Dr Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), giving Harry a means by which to confront, defeat and unmask his elusive prey. See our movie preview here.
Shark Tale (All) - Licensed game based on the forthcoming DreamWorks movie, another underwater themed outing with the voice acting of huge names of Will Smith, Robert DeNiro, Renee Zellweger, Jack Black, Angelina Jolie & Martin Scorsese. One to watch, we'll have to wait and see about the game.
X-Men Legends (All) - Action RPG based on the Marvel franchise sees Magneto devising a plan to give mutants the power to reign supreme over humans. The X-Men are then forced to battle Magneto to prevent global chaos. Woah!
A Series of Unfortunate Events (All) Based on the forthcoming film from Brad Silberling (you didn't think a game would have a curious name like that did you?) in which three wealthy children's parents are killed in a Fire to be sent to a distant relative who tries to kill them and nick their cash. We've prebooked our tickets already.
Call of Duty: United Offensive (PC) - WWII title from Gray Matter that offers a robust multiplayer experience introducing new maps and modes of play.
Rome: Total War (PC) - The latest installment in The Creative Assembly's Total War series.
Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines (PC) - Continues the famous White Wolf gaming tradition in a new role-playing adventure with FPS elements.
We'll have more on all these titles next week. Here's the line-up in full.
Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com
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