Game makers push envelope to impress consumers

By Mike Snider and Andre Montgomery
USA Today

"Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"

After previewing the in-development action game "Half-Life 2" from Valve Software, the actor-comedian is pumped.

"It's like you've been seeing two-dimensional, and now you can see 3-D," says Williams, a devotee of the original 1998 sci-fi game.

Just like average consumers, stars have taken to video games. At the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, many Hollywood types were strolling the aisles among the 63,000 game industry figures on hand to check out the 1,300-plus new titles on display .

Christina Aguilera was checking on the progress of "The Sims 2"; Snoop Dogg sampled the sports games for Microsoft's Xbox.

Four out of 10 Americans plan to buy at least one computer or video game this year, according to the Interactive Digital Software Association, and that could push the game market beyond last year's record revenue of $10.3 billion.

Helping drive sales: Video games are more movielike than ever. Their story lines run deeper, too, and the characters are more customizable than they've ever been, as increasingly more powerful computers and game systems come to market.

Says Valve founder Gabe Newell, "We couldn't even have dreamed of making a game like this when we were working on 'Half-Life.' "

Among other games pushing the envelope:

At the movies

Video games with movie tie-ins are not simply marketing fodder anymore. Some of last year's best sellers were rooted in theatrical releases, including "Spider-Man," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone."

This year, "T3: Rise of the Machines," due for all platforms in November, is the first game to digitally capture Arnold Schwarzenegger. The actor says the added realism persuaded him to allow Atari to use his likeness and voice; the game developers used face and body scans, plus motion-capture movements done for the film by Schwarzenegger, Claire Danes and others. "I've never been involved in anything like this," he says. Compared with past proposals for games, Schwarzenegger says, the "T3" developers "could be much more accurate with the images and the moves and the facial expressions, not getting the square kind of look but the roundish look. The game became part of the decision-making" during filming, he says.

"Seven Samurai 20XX" (Sammy Studios, for PlayStation 2, winter 2003), is based on Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic "The Seven Samurai" and has been approved by Kurosawa's son, Hisao. French artist-designer Jean "Moebius" Giraud ("Alien," "The Abyss," "The Fifth Element") and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto ("The Last Emperor") are collaborating to elevate the samurai-fighting genre. As a young Ronin warrior, you must gather a band of warriors to protect a holy child. "We're trying to create a video game that is beautiful and lyric," Giraud says.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (EA, for PS2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance and PC, out this fall) will have footage from the film, due Dec. 17, and lets you play as Gandalf, Frodo, Sam or — as in last year's "The Two Towers" — Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas. A collaborative multiplayer mode "simulates that whole 'Fellowship' experience," says EA development director Arcadia Kim.

"Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup" (EA for PS2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and PC, out this fall) lets fans compete for Hogwarts' trophy and in "competitions" in Japan, the United States and other sites.

New heroes

With "Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg" (Sega, for GameCube, early this fall), the team that designed "Sonic" delivers a new protagonist, a young boy in a rooster suit — yes, you read that correctly — who must fight an evil power. In this vividly colorful game, Billy collects eggs, inside of which are magical beasts waiting to hatch and help in his crusade.

A young boy also is the star of a new Xbox game from Rare Software ("GoldenEye 007") called "Grabbed by the Ghoulies" (due in October). Gamers play as Cooper, who must rescue his girlfriend from ghosts. He can punch and kick the ghoulies, or fend them off by tossing hamburgers at them or bopping them with a ham.

An unlikely pair, a weasel named Spanx and a rabbit named Redmond, star in "Whiplash" (Eidos, PS2 and Xbox, fall). The duo have become mutants in the mold of the X-Men as a result of animal experiments. Shackled together, they must escape and destroy the lab and the evil corporation behind it. Spanx uses Redmond like a chain whip and a mace to pummel enemies

Play your way

Many of the new titles allow you to make your game as unique as your name. Among the upgrades:

Activision is revamping the "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" franchise to "Tony Hawk Underground" (all platforms, this fall) to allow individuality. You create a character and move through the ranks of street boarders; you also can create tricks. PS2 owners can send a photo to Activision to make their character more lifelike. "The intention is to let kids download and trade games and ideas," Hawk says.

Similarly, "Stage Debut," a GameCube/Game Boy Advance game (Nintendo, no release date), lets you take a digital picture and put yourself into the game. Then you can outfit and customize yourself, and explore a virtual playground.

Online sports competition will get even more realistic on the PS2 and Xbox as Sony, Microsoft and developers add more voice features to games this fall. Trash talking will be standard on games such as EA's "NBA Live 2004," Microsoft's "NFL Fever" and Sega's "NFL 2K4." Microsoft and EA both plan online expansions that will allow gamers to compete in tournaments.

989 Sports is adding voice recognition to "NBA Shootout 2004" and "NFL GameDay 2004," so you can use PS2's USB headset (due in September, $29) rather than hit buttons.