I was pretty sure they were going to start their Direct by announcing their newest DLC character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. I was right, but I was taken completely by surprise with who it was. It's the Hero from Dragon Quest XI. Everyone I've talked to speculating who would be the new character never brought up DQXI. How did no one see this coming?! Anyway, it doesn't look like it's just him, though. There were at least three other characters as well. How will that work in the game, I'm not sure. Will they be alternate versions of his character, or assist trophies or what?
Then there was another DQXI trailer. I think it seemed to be a different one from the SE conference. I got to be honest, I'm a bit tempted by it. I thought revisiting previous games in 8-bit fashion was a cool feature.
Yoshiaki Koizumi was on screen to introduce Bowser, who came on next wearing a tie, ready for business. But, there was a bit of confusion, and Koizumi meant to say it was Doug Bowser. The villain Bowser got really confused and walked off. I thought that was a humorous way to introduce Doug Bowser to his first Nintendo Direct. I like him better than Reggie already.
Next up is one of the games I've been waiting a long time for: Luigi's Mansion 3! This time, it takes place in a luxury hotel. It looks like the lovable ghost dog will be back. Luigi's Poltergust will have new features, such as a Slam that will knock one ghost into others, Suction, which will pull doors off the wall and such, and Blast for when you get ganged up on. Luigi will also get a copy ability that will make clone of Luigi made out of goop called Gooigi. Cute. Control will be then be passed over to it and will allow him to cross through gates and spikes but will be vulnerable to water. It will also provide some co-op opportunities. There's something called the Scare Scraper, which I don't remember what it was. There's some cool bosses as well. It releases sometime this year.
A new Dark Crystal game was shown, which took me by surprise. I'm currently getting back into the Dark Crystal universe. I've read the comics and am looking forward to the Netflix series. The game looks like it's a tactical RPG. I'm so on this! Age of Resistance Tactics is what it's called.
A new trailer for Link's Awakening was shown, and it looks to be turning out great. Still not really sold on Link's design. It's just too cutesy. but I'm still going to get it. There also looks to be a dungeon creator where you can build your own dungeons and explore them for rewards. It will be coming September 20th.
A trailer for a new Square Enix game played. The game's called Trials of Mana, which appears to be a remake. It's an action RPG and it looks pretty cool. I wonder if it's related to Secret of Mana. Speaking of which, a compilation was announced right after called Collection of Mana, which includes all three Mana games, including my favorite Secret of Mana and the third Mana game that was never released in English. I might have to get this.
There were rumors about the next announcement for months The next trailer finally confirms Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition. I got to admit, I am tempted. Seems that the Witcher will benefit from portability just as much as Skyrim did, but do I really want to play a downgraded Witcher, though... I'll wait for the benchmarks.
A new Fire Emblem Three Houses trailer played showing off beautiful animated cutscenes. I'm so far behind on Fire Emblem games, though, so it's low on my priority list. It releases July 26th.
The next video shows a couple teens walking into a spooky house. They pull out their Switch and begin playing the first Resident Evil game, which looks like the Remake. Afterward, they announce that RE 5 and RE 6 will be coming to the Switch. Thanks for tainting the Switch, Crapcom!
The next trailer showed a guy with a beard dressed in a robe getting out of his house due to a disturbance. I got a strange No More Heroes vibe from this trailer and suddenly, a suit of armor came over him Iron Man style and he took to the skies to attack a floating pyramid. He slashed away at enemies in the sky and yelled "GET SOME!" and that's when I saw his laser sword. IT IS! IT'S NO MORE HEROES III!
Next was a trailer for a new Contra game called Rogue Corps. I'm not sure about this one. It doesn't look like the rest of the Contra games, almost cartoonish in nature. Afterward, a Contra Collection was announced.
A new Daemon X Machina trailer was shown, but I played a demo for it last year and I'm not excited about it at all. They have a lot of work to do if they expect it to be a quality game. It releases Sept. 13th
And what the flying fuck?! A PANZER DRAGOON REMAKE IS COMING!!!!! Level of hype through the roof! I own the original on the Saturn but I don't think I ever finished it. This remake looks gorgeous! I can't wait to play it!
Shinya Takahashi took the screen to talk about Pokemon. I'm not really into Pokemon so I just kinda zoned out.
A new trailer was shown for Astral Chain and the game's shaping up very nicely. It releases August 30th. I'm hoping it turns out well, because I'm thinking of making this my game for August.
The next trailer showed a cinematic of what looks like a messed up casino having its chaos unfolded in reverse. It begins to show gameplay of an isometric shooter that looks like it could be cops vs gangsters. Maybe set in the prohibition era? It's called Empire of Sin and it will release in Spring 2020.
A new trailer for Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order was shown, but for some reason, it's not making me excited. It just looks generic. Maybe it's because I'm not impressed by the moves' special effects. Seriously, they look bad. Anyway, it will release on July 19th. I never played 2, so I'll probably never get to the third.
A trailer was shown for Cadence of Hyrule, which is this quirky little Zelda game where you fight to the beat of the music. It looks fun, honestly. It releases June 13th.
The next video unveiled a new Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. There will be plenty of new sports for them to play in. I saw some rock climbing in there, but is rock climbing even an Olympic sport? Anyway, it will most likely release during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
AND HERE IT IS! ANIMAL CROSSING! Just like SE's conference last night where the chat kept spamming Avengers, this chat was spamming Animal Crossing. Anyway, we learn what the theme of the game will be. You fly to a deserted island via plane where you immediately set up your tent. You'll use Tom Nook's workbench to craft items. Will this take the place of Nook's store? Not sure. You can also set up campfires when you want to relax. One new feature I thought was amazing was being able to pole vault across a river. Man, I can't tell you the amount of time I wasted running around rivers to cross the bridges. I'm going to absolutely enjoy this! You'll also be able to clear paths via the grass, which will be very welcome. Then, very bad news. The release date was pushed back to March 20th 2020. Koizumi even apologized for the delay, promising that they'll make it the best Animal Crossing they can.
I feel like someone held that wonderful meatball sandwich under my nose again, but instead of putting it down my shorts, they threw it over the neighbor's fence. Fuck... I mean... FUCKING NINTENDO! I usually don't get upset at delays, but this one hurts. I had plans to play it THIS YEAR. I bought my mom a Switch and bought a family plan with the intent of putting people on it to play AC with them THIS YEAR. Had I known it was going to slip to 2020, I would have just waited. I know the reason for the delay... but it doesn't make it sting any less.
There was a montage of games being shown, but honestly, I was in too much of a fugue about the AC release date, and I just didn't care to pay attention. I don't remember a single game shown during that montage.
Another Smash trailer was shown, and I caught a glimpse of a golden puzzle piece bounce across the screen. Some Smash characters in a cabin rushed to the window to see what was going on, and there was a silhouette of what looked to be Banjo-Kazooie, but it turned out to just be the Duck Hunt dog with a duck. Great troll. But then, Banjo-Kazooie actually dropped down from the sky and landed on them! Haha, great! So we got a second DLC character reveal, Banjo-Kazooie! Could this lead up to an actual Banjo 3? Here's hoping.
Koizumi bid adieu, but not before showing off one last teaser. It showed Link and Zelda with torches walking down a very dark path. I'm guessed at first that this would be a new Zelda DLC, but as it turns out, it will be a sequel to Breath of the Wild. It also showed what looked to be a zombie corpse of a king. Not just any cutesy zombie you'd see in a Zelda game, but a really terrifying zombie with glowing eyes. Plus, the music that played was very chilling. I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it. Wow...
To say Nintendo won the show this year is to say a sober person won a dancing competition while everyone else was drunk. MS was passed out at the punch table. EA was throwing up in the bushes, while Bethesda fell over them at the same time having his pants pulled down by SE, who somehow managed to stay on their feet all because of one game. Nintendo just walked into the dance hall and claimed their trophy, but they did so in such a gleaming fashion that they knew they'd win it even if their competitors showed up on the floor.
Nintendo has had one of their best showings in my recent memory. There was a lot of excitement to be had this time. It started and ended off with reveals of new Smash characters. We got to see new footage of Luigi's Mansion 3 and Link's Awakening. We got a few surprise announcements with the Dark Crystal game, a Panzer Dragoon remake and of course, NO MORE HEROES 3! That NMH 3 reveal was the height of the show in my opinion, even surpassing my hype for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Speaking of Animal Crossing, I loved all the new stuff that I saw, but even though I understood the reason for the delay, that slippage into 2020 took a good portion of my enjoyment out of the show. An entire letter grade just for that. I'd have rather them never gave me a release date this year and instead just kept it at TBA 2020. I wouldn't have been so disappointed. Also, the fact that they showed us a little bit of what the follow up to Breath of the Wild would look like was a great way to end their show. I mean, that dark aesthetic though...
FUCK! I was so impressed with this showing, I forgot that they STILL didn't show a new F-Zero! I should flunk them for that... Naw, I'm not THAT bitter...
Overall grade: B
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Monday, June 10, 2019
SE E3 2019 Thoughts
It should come as no surprise that Square-Enix would lead off their show with Final Fantasy VII Remake. After all, they did finally confirm the release date for 3/3/20. The rendering of cutscenes sure is beautiful, just like their FF movies. Yoshinori Kitase took the stage to talk about the game, but he needed an English translator. He had a lot to talk about, but waiting for him to finish and then have it translated became boring. The first game will be so massive from the looks of it that it will be stored on two Blu-Rays. It still sounds episodic, even though the first part "will be its own game in its own right". I'm worried that the project may possibly never be finished. Hopefully, they're much further along with the following chapters so we don't have to wait so long as we did for the first part.
Neal Pabon walked on stage to talk us through the gameplay. The main combat style is hack and slash, but there's a tactical mode that slows things down to a crawl where you can choose different actions without pressure. Cloud and Barret were shown, each having completely different abilities and play styles, and can be swapped to and fro with a press of a button. It also looks like they're bringing back staggering from FFXIII. The demo footage ended with a boss fight that looked really cool. There was all sorts of action all over the place, but my concern is that some boss fights might be a little too grandiose and may overstay their welcome.
Tetsuya Namura, director of the game, came out to talk more about it. Again, all the talk in Japanese and having to wait for it to be translated was boring me. It will be playable today at their booth, so lucky dogs for those there. A new trailer was shown and Tifa was revealed. The crowd went completely ape shit, and we also got to see her in action. Sephiroth was shown as well, and more people went ape shit. The game will release on 3/3/20, but I'll believe it when I see it.
After more than 20 minutes in, a trailer is finally shown for a new game. This turns out to be Life is Strange 2. For some reason, SE thought it was necessary to show clips of streamers reacting to the ongoings of the game. It was just distracting. Anyway, it looks cool, but I've yet to play the first. Doubt I'll ever get to it.
A new trailer played revealing Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered for PS4, Switch and Mobile. I passed on this game for the GameCube, and nothing about this remaster sparks a desire to try it again on other platforms. But cool for people who do, and it could be a perfect fit for Switch as well.
Then there was a trailer for Octopath Traveler comin to Steam. Anyone who doesn't have a Switch but loves JRPGs will be in for such a treat.
The next trailer announced The Last Remnant Remastered on Switch. I don't think I known anything about the original game, but hey, any new JRPG for the Switch is good news.
There was a video showing Dragon Quest Builders 2. It showed a lot, bigger worlds, lots to build and harvest. There's also combat as well. I never was into Minecraft-style games, but I heard that the first was actually really good and the second looks to be just as good. July 12th will be the release date with a demo on June 27th.
Then there was a trailer for Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age S: Definite Edition. Holy shit, what a long name. What caught my eye is that it looks like you can swap to 8-bit style at any time during the game. That's neat!
The next trailer was a montage of games. Some developers were talking about a new driving game coming next year. It'll be a top down racer. It reminded me of the Micro Machines games from a long time ago, and I know they showed the title, but I can't recall it. I'll most likely pass on it.
A video of a game called Battalion 1944 was shown. I don't know why this was E3 worthy, It looked just like the hundreds of generic war shooters that I see kids at my library playing. Hard pass.
There was a video advertising Square Enix Music, which is apparently a service that allows you to listen to all of the Final Fantasy soundtracks, and it will available on all streaming services.
Next up was a trailer for Kingdom Hearts III: ReMind, which is the game's next DLC. It kinda looked like a Dragonball fighting game from what I saw...
Naoki Yoshida to come out to talk about Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, but I'm taking a blackout on this, so left to get dinner. When I came back, it was still going and I caught the end of the cinematic, and it looks fantastic. July 2nd will be the release date, but I already have it preordered, so I'll be able to access it about a week earlier. I'm looking forward to it, but not really looking forward to trying to catch up from when I last took a break.
A new video from Techland was playing, so this was unmistakably Dying Light 2. It focused on parkouring and it just looks so much fun! Just like the first, this is Mirror's Edge, but with zombies! This is a definite must buy for me, even though I'm not really into zombie games at the current moment.
A video played announcing that two games were getting remastered. One was Romancing Saga 3, and the other was Saga Scarlet Grace Ambitions. Not really a fan of the Saga games. The last one I remember playing, I don't remember which one, wasn't really that good.
Apparently, every fucking company has to talk about a mobile game now in their conference. SE decided to show a video for War of the Visions, a new game in the Final Fantasy Brave Exvious universe. Pass.
A new trailer from developer People Can Fly showed cinematics from their new game Outriders. That studio was responsible for Gears of War and more importantly, Bulletstorm, so this game has my attention. Sebastian Wojciechowski came out to talk about the game, but unfortunately didn't SHOW anything from the game. Instead, a video played showing developers talking about their game. Would much rather see the game itself than all this talk. Anyway, next year.
A new trailer for Tokyo RPG Factory's Oninaki was shown, and I got to say, it looks a lot more promising than I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear. I'm going to keep my eye on this one. Some of the moves during combat look really sweet.
Well, it looks like someone finally found the master for Final Fantasy VIII, because there was a trailer for it. Now, I'm of the unpopular opinion that FFVIII was the better game between it and FFVII, so it's nice to see that it will join the other FF remakes.
Just as we all knew Square-Enix would open with Final Fantasy VII, it was a certainty that they'd end with the Marvel's Avengers game. The trailer showed the usual suspects of Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow and the Hulk enjoying a celebration called A Day. During the same time, an attack on the Golden Gate Bridge occurred so they jumped into action. I was having a hard time differentiating gameplay from cinematic, but it could all be cinematic. There's just something about the graphics that's bothering me.
Anyway, a couple people come out to talk about the game, and then a video played featuring the voice actors, one of which was Nolan North as Tony Stark. Then another video of a cutscene played followed by more Crystal Dynamics people coming out to talk about it. I've roughly followed the Youtube chat since this show started, and I could just feel their frustration through the screen. Even during FFVII's showing, they were screaming for Avengers. They finally got it, but instead of being shown gameplay, they were just met with more and more talk. Ohh god.. they just announced it as an ongoing game that will last for years. It will be a four-player online co-op game. What does that sound like to you?! A game that rhymes with BANTHEM? Wait, did they just say all upcoming content was free? Was that right? If so, that's already a step in the right direction. I just hope the game stays on course. One last video plays showing Ant-Man shrinking a giant boss. That was pretty cool. The game's release date will be May 15th 2020.
I already told someone that if SE lead with a sizable demonstration of the FFVII Remake, they would win E3 so far, and that's exactly what happened. Although there was a little too much talk for my taste, it was really nice to see just what the combat was going to be like. Now, I know there are opponents to this game because of the myriad number of changes, but all I've been getting from this game has been good vibes. It's going to be extremely fun! Nice to know that a company that makes RPGs is still making a lot of RPGs, and it's also very comforting to know that someone finally found the FFVIII master. The mention of another mobile lost them a point or two, and although they ended big with Avengers, they stumbled by not showing any gameplay, even though they have the game playable at their booth right now. Still.. they won E3 so far... That speaks volumes of just how... underwhelming this year's E3 has been.
Overall grade: B-
Neal Pabon walked on stage to talk us through the gameplay. The main combat style is hack and slash, but there's a tactical mode that slows things down to a crawl where you can choose different actions without pressure. Cloud and Barret were shown, each having completely different abilities and play styles, and can be swapped to and fro with a press of a button. It also looks like they're bringing back staggering from FFXIII. The demo footage ended with a boss fight that looked really cool. There was all sorts of action all over the place, but my concern is that some boss fights might be a little too grandiose and may overstay their welcome.
Tetsuya Namura, director of the game, came out to talk more about it. Again, all the talk in Japanese and having to wait for it to be translated was boring me. It will be playable today at their booth, so lucky dogs for those there. A new trailer was shown and Tifa was revealed. The crowd went completely ape shit, and we also got to see her in action. Sephiroth was shown as well, and more people went ape shit. The game will release on 3/3/20, but I'll believe it when I see it.
After more than 20 minutes in, a trailer is finally shown for a new game. This turns out to be Life is Strange 2. For some reason, SE thought it was necessary to show clips of streamers reacting to the ongoings of the game. It was just distracting. Anyway, it looks cool, but I've yet to play the first. Doubt I'll ever get to it.
A new trailer played revealing Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered for PS4, Switch and Mobile. I passed on this game for the GameCube, and nothing about this remaster sparks a desire to try it again on other platforms. But cool for people who do, and it could be a perfect fit for Switch as well.
Then there was a trailer for Octopath Traveler comin to Steam. Anyone who doesn't have a Switch but loves JRPGs will be in for such a treat.
The next trailer announced The Last Remnant Remastered on Switch. I don't think I known anything about the original game, but hey, any new JRPG for the Switch is good news.
There was a video showing Dragon Quest Builders 2. It showed a lot, bigger worlds, lots to build and harvest. There's also combat as well. I never was into Minecraft-style games, but I heard that the first was actually really good and the second looks to be just as good. July 12th will be the release date with a demo on June 27th.
Then there was a trailer for Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age S: Definite Edition. Holy shit, what a long name. What caught my eye is that it looks like you can swap to 8-bit style at any time during the game. That's neat!
The next trailer was a montage of games. Some developers were talking about a new driving game coming next year. It'll be a top down racer. It reminded me of the Micro Machines games from a long time ago, and I know they showed the title, but I can't recall it. I'll most likely pass on it.
A video of a game called Battalion 1944 was shown. I don't know why this was E3 worthy, It looked just like the hundreds of generic war shooters that I see kids at my library playing. Hard pass.
There was a video advertising Square Enix Music, which is apparently a service that allows you to listen to all of the Final Fantasy soundtracks, and it will available on all streaming services.
Next up was a trailer for Kingdom Hearts III: ReMind, which is the game's next DLC. It kinda looked like a Dragonball fighting game from what I saw...
Naoki Yoshida to come out to talk about Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, but I'm taking a blackout on this, so left to get dinner. When I came back, it was still going and I caught the end of the cinematic, and it looks fantastic. July 2nd will be the release date, but I already have it preordered, so I'll be able to access it about a week earlier. I'm looking forward to it, but not really looking forward to trying to catch up from when I last took a break.
A new video from Techland was playing, so this was unmistakably Dying Light 2. It focused on parkouring and it just looks so much fun! Just like the first, this is Mirror's Edge, but with zombies! This is a definite must buy for me, even though I'm not really into zombie games at the current moment.
A video played announcing that two games were getting remastered. One was Romancing Saga 3, and the other was Saga Scarlet Grace Ambitions. Not really a fan of the Saga games. The last one I remember playing, I don't remember which one, wasn't really that good.
Apparently, every fucking company has to talk about a mobile game now in their conference. SE decided to show a video for War of the Visions, a new game in the Final Fantasy Brave Exvious universe. Pass.
A new trailer from developer People Can Fly showed cinematics from their new game Outriders. That studio was responsible for Gears of War and more importantly, Bulletstorm, so this game has my attention. Sebastian Wojciechowski came out to talk about the game, but unfortunately didn't SHOW anything from the game. Instead, a video played showing developers talking about their game. Would much rather see the game itself than all this talk. Anyway, next year.
A new trailer for Tokyo RPG Factory's Oninaki was shown, and I got to say, it looks a lot more promising than I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear. I'm going to keep my eye on this one. Some of the moves during combat look really sweet.
Well, it looks like someone finally found the master for Final Fantasy VIII, because there was a trailer for it. Now, I'm of the unpopular opinion that FFVIII was the better game between it and FFVII, so it's nice to see that it will join the other FF remakes.
Just as we all knew Square-Enix would open with Final Fantasy VII, it was a certainty that they'd end with the Marvel's Avengers game. The trailer showed the usual suspects of Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow and the Hulk enjoying a celebration called A Day. During the same time, an attack on the Golden Gate Bridge occurred so they jumped into action. I was having a hard time differentiating gameplay from cinematic, but it could all be cinematic. There's just something about the graphics that's bothering me.
Anyway, a couple people come out to talk about the game, and then a video played featuring the voice actors, one of which was Nolan North as Tony Stark. Then another video of a cutscene played followed by more Crystal Dynamics people coming out to talk about it. I've roughly followed the Youtube chat since this show started, and I could just feel their frustration through the screen. Even during FFVII's showing, they were screaming for Avengers. They finally got it, but instead of being shown gameplay, they were just met with more and more talk. Ohh god.. they just announced it as an ongoing game that will last for years. It will be a four-player online co-op game. What does that sound like to you?! A game that rhymes with BANTHEM? Wait, did they just say all upcoming content was free? Was that right? If so, that's already a step in the right direction. I just hope the game stays on course. One last video plays showing Ant-Man shrinking a giant boss. That was pretty cool. The game's release date will be May 15th 2020.
I already told someone that if SE lead with a sizable demonstration of the FFVII Remake, they would win E3 so far, and that's exactly what happened. Although there was a little too much talk for my taste, it was really nice to see just what the combat was going to be like. Now, I know there are opponents to this game because of the myriad number of changes, but all I've been getting from this game has been good vibes. It's going to be extremely fun! Nice to know that a company that makes RPGs is still making a lot of RPGs, and it's also very comforting to know that someone finally found the FFVIII master. The mention of another mobile lost them a point or two, and although they ended big with Avengers, they stumbled by not showing any gameplay, even though they have the game playable at their booth right now. Still.. they won E3 so far... That speaks volumes of just how... underwhelming this year's E3 has been.
Overall grade: B-
Ubisoft E3 2019 Thoughts
Of course, their show began with an Assassin's Creed trailer. I was expecting it to be a reveal of the next AC game, but then I noticed it looked like a montage of their past games. It was accompanied by a live orchestra, and it turned out to be a build up for a "Worldwide Tour" of the AC Symphony. Who cares. Ubisoft, did you not learn from Sony last year? Opening a show with live music only bores people.
A couple people from Ubisoft came out to get the crowd cheering, but all they got me doing was rolling my eyes. Come on, we got to get the show moving.
The first trailer began playing and almost instantly, I knew it was going to be Watch Dogs Legion. It's going to be a set in London this time and what do you know, they're actually showing gameplay for it! THIS is how you start the show, with a gameplay demo! So, it started off with a main character named Ian who was talking to his AI Bagley. Ian appeared to be scanning NPCs for some reason, possibly looking for a recruit. He found one that specialized in drone tech but almost immediately, the guy gets confronted by a cop. Ian engaged the cop, but then was immediately being attacked by a drone. It shot him critically and an option arose. He could surrender or fight, so he chose to fight and cloaked himself before running off. He got in a taxi and fled, but then crashed and had to run on foot. He eventually got killed, and that's when the game's twist was revealed. Instead of retrying the misison, the player then pulled up a list of other characters. Now an old woman was chosen, and she turned her purse into a spider drone to infiltrate a compound while she started taking down guards with a tazer. A new character was now chosen, Namoi, who proceeded to take down guards in combat. She climbed a giant drone riding it around to find the recruit they were looking for, where the demo end with the recruit now playable.
Clint Hocking came out on stage to talk more about it. It sounds like a very ambitious project because every NPC you see you can play as, and it will affect every aspect of the story. He ended his time with another trailer. It looks fun, but I'm really skeptical about that ambition. Every single NPC can't possibly be very interesting, so there's got to be a lot of filler NPCs because no way can anyone write that much dialogue for a whole city of inhabitants, but we'll see. The game releases March 6th, 2020.
Rob McElhenney from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia came out next to announce a TV show he's making with a few other people from It's Always Sunny. It's called Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet. It's about people who are making an MMORPG and they're just about to release their first expansion. I kinda got a little The Guild vibe from it, so I'm hoping it will be good. However, I think I just heard it's for Apple TV+? That's a major deal breaker. A trailer played and it looks kinda funny.
Some eSports caster came on the screen to talk about what's new in eSports. Who cares. Some Rainbow Six game was shown in the montage and revealed to have Battle Royale, because of course.
Next was a trailer for an Adventure Time game, but it turned out to be an expansion for a game called Brawlhalla, which looked like a cheap Super Smash Bros. knock off. Whoop dee doo.
The next trailer that played showed a rendered Jon Berthnal giving a rally to his troops. He kept mentioning ghosts, so this must be the new Ghost Recon. It was, subtitled Breakpoint. Jon then took the stage with a dog named Bam Bam. I'm guessing he'll be in the game? His speech actually ended up being a bit cringey, however. Another video followed, but showed no gameplay. Someone came out on stage to talk about the community, someone else came on after to talk more, and then announced the release date of October 4th with a beta on September 5th. Sounds like a games-as-a service game as they said it will be live for years, so that's a hard pass from me. Oh, and a teaser played to announce a Terminator: Dark Fate tie in. Really? First it was Gears 5 and now the new Ghost Recon. I wonder if they'll tie Dark Fate in with the new Just Dance. That would be funny as hell!
Next up was a trailer for a mobile came called Tom Clancy's Elite Squad. Trash is trash. We've all be en waiting for a new Splinter Cell for years, but at least we can get Sam Fisher in a mobile game...
Another video played that showed a guy giving a pep talk in a locker room. They were all wearing dance outfits, so clearly this is the new Just Dance 2020. After the video, the whole squad came out on stage and began dancing. At least they didn't lead the show off with them this time. And no, it looks like there won't be a Terminator: Dark Fate tie in. Small victories.
The next video that played showed a Japanese village and began to tell a tale bout a samurai who became the "Spirit of Death". I started to get interested until I got a suspicion that it might have something to do with For Honor. I was hoping I was wrong, but I wasn't and as it turns out, it's an expansion for For Honor called Shadows of Hitokiri Pass, so I will pass.
A trailer began playing showing a guy breathing heavily, aiming a gun at something with something creeping up his arm. His heartbeat monitor was on the rise. A squad found him and rescued him. Turns out it was Rainbow Six Quarantine. I don't really follow the series, so I didn't bother to pay attention as the developer came out to talk more about the game.
The next trailer looked like it was more Division 2 stuff, which it was. I don't care for the Division games at all, so I went back to playing my game, but I did hear someone say a Division movie is coming to Netflix. Will it have Battle Royale? Most likely.
Brenda Panagrossi ,Vice President of Global Management came out to announce a new gaming service called Uplay+. 14.99 a month will get you access to over 200 Ubisoft games that will also be playable via Google Stadia. Yay....
A new video played showing a woman dressed up in roller derby gear with what looks like her little brother being inspired by her. The game is called Roller Champions. Stephane Drapeau came out to talk about it, but I immediately lost interest when I heard it was going to be team-based PvP. Pass.
Yves Guillemot came out to close out the show, but before it ended, He brought out Marc-Alexis Cote to show off a new game. Usually when one last trailer is shown after someone thanks everyone for coming out, it's usually a showstopper, but not this. What was shown was beautiful, but the artwork definitely was inspired by Breath of the Wild, and after the title was shown to be Gods and Monsters, available 2/25/20, that was it...nothing more.
Well Ubisoft, you managed to start out wrong, end weak and not really have anything exciting outside of more shooters that appeal to a certain crowd. You did do right by actually showing a gameplay demo from the new Watch Dogs, but then you just kinda did what everyone is doing and showed more gameplay-less trailers. I can't think of a single game that got me excited except for Watch Dogs Legions, and you managed to waste time by talking about a mobile game and a TV show, let alone mention a Division Netflix movie. I got to say, this is one of the worst showings I've seen from you. I'm actually kinda missing the bad jokes from Aisha Tyler. Hell, even Joe McHale. Fuck it, bring back Mr. Caffeine, anything, to prevent the next one from being so bland.
Overall grade: D
A couple people from Ubisoft came out to get the crowd cheering, but all they got me doing was rolling my eyes. Come on, we got to get the show moving.
The first trailer began playing and almost instantly, I knew it was going to be Watch Dogs Legion. It's going to be a set in London this time and what do you know, they're actually showing gameplay for it! THIS is how you start the show, with a gameplay demo! So, it started off with a main character named Ian who was talking to his AI Bagley. Ian appeared to be scanning NPCs for some reason, possibly looking for a recruit. He found one that specialized in drone tech but almost immediately, the guy gets confronted by a cop. Ian engaged the cop, but then was immediately being attacked by a drone. It shot him critically and an option arose. He could surrender or fight, so he chose to fight and cloaked himself before running off. He got in a taxi and fled, but then crashed and had to run on foot. He eventually got killed, and that's when the game's twist was revealed. Instead of retrying the misison, the player then pulled up a list of other characters. Now an old woman was chosen, and she turned her purse into a spider drone to infiltrate a compound while she started taking down guards with a tazer. A new character was now chosen, Namoi, who proceeded to take down guards in combat. She climbed a giant drone riding it around to find the recruit they were looking for, where the demo end with the recruit now playable.
Clint Hocking came out on stage to talk more about it. It sounds like a very ambitious project because every NPC you see you can play as, and it will affect every aspect of the story. He ended his time with another trailer. It looks fun, but I'm really skeptical about that ambition. Every single NPC can't possibly be very interesting, so there's got to be a lot of filler NPCs because no way can anyone write that much dialogue for a whole city of inhabitants, but we'll see. The game releases March 6th, 2020.
Rob McElhenney from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia came out next to announce a TV show he's making with a few other people from It's Always Sunny. It's called Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet. It's about people who are making an MMORPG and they're just about to release their first expansion. I kinda got a little The Guild vibe from it, so I'm hoping it will be good. However, I think I just heard it's for Apple TV+? That's a major deal breaker. A trailer played and it looks kinda funny.
Some eSports caster came on the screen to talk about what's new in eSports. Who cares. Some Rainbow Six game was shown in the montage and revealed to have Battle Royale, because of course.
Next was a trailer for an Adventure Time game, but it turned out to be an expansion for a game called Brawlhalla, which looked like a cheap Super Smash Bros. knock off. Whoop dee doo.
The next trailer that played showed a rendered Jon Berthnal giving a rally to his troops. He kept mentioning ghosts, so this must be the new Ghost Recon. It was, subtitled Breakpoint. Jon then took the stage with a dog named Bam Bam. I'm guessing he'll be in the game? His speech actually ended up being a bit cringey, however. Another video followed, but showed no gameplay. Someone came out on stage to talk about the community, someone else came on after to talk more, and then announced the release date of October 4th with a beta on September 5th. Sounds like a games-as-a service game as they said it will be live for years, so that's a hard pass from me. Oh, and a teaser played to announce a Terminator: Dark Fate tie in. Really? First it was Gears 5 and now the new Ghost Recon. I wonder if they'll tie Dark Fate in with the new Just Dance. That would be funny as hell!
Next up was a trailer for a mobile came called Tom Clancy's Elite Squad. Trash is trash. We've all be en waiting for a new Splinter Cell for years, but at least we can get Sam Fisher in a mobile game...
Another video played that showed a guy giving a pep talk in a locker room. They were all wearing dance outfits, so clearly this is the new Just Dance 2020. After the video, the whole squad came out on stage and began dancing. At least they didn't lead the show off with them this time. And no, it looks like there won't be a Terminator: Dark Fate tie in. Small victories.
The next video that played showed a Japanese village and began to tell a tale bout a samurai who became the "Spirit of Death". I started to get interested until I got a suspicion that it might have something to do with For Honor. I was hoping I was wrong, but I wasn't and as it turns out, it's an expansion for For Honor called Shadows of Hitokiri Pass, so I will pass.
A trailer began playing showing a guy breathing heavily, aiming a gun at something with something creeping up his arm. His heartbeat monitor was on the rise. A squad found him and rescued him. Turns out it was Rainbow Six Quarantine. I don't really follow the series, so I didn't bother to pay attention as the developer came out to talk more about the game.
The next trailer looked like it was more Division 2 stuff, which it was. I don't care for the Division games at all, so I went back to playing my game, but I did hear someone say a Division movie is coming to Netflix. Will it have Battle Royale? Most likely.
Brenda Panagrossi ,Vice President of Global Management came out to announce a new gaming service called Uplay+. 14.99 a month will get you access to over 200 Ubisoft games that will also be playable via Google Stadia. Yay....
A new video played showing a woman dressed up in roller derby gear with what looks like her little brother being inspired by her. The game is called Roller Champions. Stephane Drapeau came out to talk about it, but I immediately lost interest when I heard it was going to be team-based PvP. Pass.
Yves Guillemot came out to close out the show, but before it ended, He brought out Marc-Alexis Cote to show off a new game. Usually when one last trailer is shown after someone thanks everyone for coming out, it's usually a showstopper, but not this. What was shown was beautiful, but the artwork definitely was inspired by Breath of the Wild, and after the title was shown to be Gods and Monsters, available 2/25/20, that was it...nothing more.
Well Ubisoft, you managed to start out wrong, end weak and not really have anything exciting outside of more shooters that appeal to a certain crowd. You did do right by actually showing a gameplay demo from the new Watch Dogs, but then you just kinda did what everyone is doing and showed more gameplay-less trailers. I can't think of a single game that got me excited except for Watch Dogs Legions, and you managed to waste time by talking about a mobile game and a TV show, let alone mention a Division Netflix movie. I got to say, this is one of the worst showings I've seen from you. I'm actually kinda missing the bad jokes from Aisha Tyler. Hell, even Joe McHale. Fuck it, bring back Mr. Caffeine, anything, to prevent the next one from being so bland.
Overall grade: D
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Bethesda E3 2019 Thoughts
Bethesda's conference started off with a video of developers talking to us saying without us, there'd be no games. Then, a montage of games was shown hinting at what could possibly be talked about at their conference. I saw a flash of Fallout Shelter and sadly, I would learn nothing new of the game would be announced. Shame, I enjoyed playing that game when there was stuff to do.
President of global marketing Pete Hines came out on stage, and I already like him more than Phil Spencer, even though he pretty much did the same schtick of talking about "the games the game the games." The crowd was much more receptive of him as well.
Todd Howard came out next and started to talk about games such as Fallout 76. A boo was heard in the crowd, which I thought was hilarious. He talked about how poorly it was received, and how feedback helped shape it to be a better game. He even made jokes about it. Then he mentioned Elder Scrolls Blades in early access and brought out some people to talk about Blades, which is also coming to Switch, which will be free. Bethesda always showing love for Switch!
Some people came out to talk about Fallout 76 and a new mode called Wastelanders. They mentioned the return of NPCs. That got a major reaction. New quests and dialogue trees would be added, so basically they're adding everything they should have added to Fallout 76 to begin with. Then, a new mode called Nuclear Winter was announced, which turned out to be a fucking Battle Royale. I damn near flipped my laptop off my table! Why must Battle Royale be in everything?!
Todd Howard something something. Oops. I used that a placemaker which I was supposed to return to to finish writing what he was talking about. I honestly cannot remember. Sorry.
Shinji Mikami of Tango Gameworks took the stage to talk about a new game called Ghostwire Tokyo. It's an action/adventure game that seems to have horror elements to it. Ikumi Nakamura came out as well to talk more about the game. They both had heavy Japanese accents, so it made it hard to understand what they were talking about. Then a trailer was shown with people on their day to day commutes. Suddenly, they started disappearing literally out of their clothes. Weird figures began to appear, and some spacial distortion started to affect the world. The trailer ended with a line of spoken dialogue. "Don't fear the unknown. Attack it." Okay! This game sounds intriguing. I want to learn more about this game.
Another video played, this time with every day people talking about their jobs when they're not playing games.
Matt Firor came out to talk about Elder Scrolls Online, which I've no interest in. A video was shown, but at this point, I went back to playing more Plague Tale (really, you should check that game out). When I heard Matt talking again, I returned to my screen to see a woman talking about a Commander Keen game. Turns out it's a free to play mobile game. Back to Plague I went.
Hines returned to talk more about their mobile games and showed a video for Elder Scrolls Legends, their card game, which allowed me to return to Plague yet again. Then he talked about Rage 2. A trailer showed off new content presented in a goofy old TV sitcom style. Got to love how Bethesda presents their games. What's weird is that the person who's in charge of streaming this has Wii sounding music going on... There was a constant string of random noises around this point in the stream. Not aware at all what they're doing.... Anyway, the expansion is called Rise of the Ghosts.
Jerk Gustaffsson (sp?) from Machine Games came out to talk about two new Wolfenstein games. Cyberpilot will be a VR game and looks decent. Will it be a full-sized game, though? Wolfenstein Youngblood was talked about next. It will be a co-op game, although you can play single player if you'd like. It's set in the 1980s in Nazi occupied Paris. It follows the journey of two daughters looking for their father BJ Blazkowitz (sp?). Looks like your typical Wolfenstein game, which is not a bad thing at all. I loved the last two Wolfentsteins. So far, it looks great. It will also be coming to Switch, but after playing such a downgrade with Wolfenstein II, I've no desire to play another downgraded game on the Switch.
People from Arkane came out and showed off a trailer for their next game called Deathloop. It's set in a place called Black Reef. It shows two black people, a male and a female, in juxtaposition to one another. We learn that they're assassins and they're hunting each other from the looks of it. There also seems to be mention of time-based elements. It looks really cool, so I'm going to put this one on my radar. I wish I could see some gameplay, though.
Now we have yet another video with everyday people talking about the community of Bethesda games. Not really a fan of these videos. They're just filler.
Some people come out to talk about their software engineering innovations. This was a lead up to their new tech called Orion, which will optimize gaming for streaming. They showed someone playing Doom 2016 on a mobile device mounted to an Xbox controller, and they've made a claim that regardless of bandwith consumption in the household or distance from a data center, you'll still be able to play Bethesda games at 60 FPS at 4K with max settings. Hmm.... I doubt that. I think they've got a bridge they're trying to sell people. That's a large claim.
Now what all we know Bethesda would close with, and that's Doom Eternal. A trailer plays and then developers come out to talk more about it. They show a gameplay montage that shows a lot of cool platforming and brutal combat. Definitely Doom. Now they show an actual gameplay video. How refreshing! These are rare so far. The Doomslayer immediately runs into an onslaught of demons and he's running and jumping very quickly trying to stay alive. There are new glory kills shown, some new weapons and what looks like a shoulder mounted gun as well, which could be in place of the gas powered chainsaw. The demo video ends with a Hellknight about to get blasted by what looks like the BFG. The game will release November 22nd, which kinds sucks for me, as I made Fallen Order my game for November. There will also be a multiplayer mode called Battlemode. It'll be a 1-on-2 mode where a fully loaded Doomslayer will go up against two demons. It'll be what they say is Strategy vs Skill.
Peter Hines ends the show by saying that Doom celebrates 25 years. Jesus, I'm old. Also, one of the collector's edition bonuses was revealed to be a full-sized Doomslayer helmet that someone in the audience was already wearing. Cool.
So right off the bat, I recognized that the crowd's energy level was much higher than MS's. Whether or not you want to chalk it up to paid screamers, it did effectively make the presentation seem more alive. The overall catalog of games wasn't as impressive, but there were a couple of intriguing titles that were announced being Ghostwire Tokyo and Deathloop. We got to see a good bit of Doom Eternal as well, but I thought I heard that a new Evil Within was supposed to be revealed? Maybe it was just a rumor. Even though the crowd was livelier, Bethesda lost a couple points for focusing too much on mobile games. I admit my bias against them, but I honestly don't feel they have any business being mentioned in an exhibition that focuses on a PC/console driven market. When you start talking about mobile games, you lose me instantly. WITH THAT SAID THOUGH, I'm really disappointed that nothing new was shown for Fallout Shelter. Bummer.
Overall grade: C
President of global marketing Pete Hines came out on stage, and I already like him more than Phil Spencer, even though he pretty much did the same schtick of talking about "the games the game the games." The crowd was much more receptive of him as well.
Todd Howard came out next and started to talk about games such as Fallout 76. A boo was heard in the crowd, which I thought was hilarious. He talked about how poorly it was received, and how feedback helped shape it to be a better game. He even made jokes about it. Then he mentioned Elder Scrolls Blades in early access and brought out some people to talk about Blades, which is also coming to Switch, which will be free. Bethesda always showing love for Switch!
Some people came out to talk about Fallout 76 and a new mode called Wastelanders. They mentioned the return of NPCs. That got a major reaction. New quests and dialogue trees would be added, so basically they're adding everything they should have added to Fallout 76 to begin with. Then, a new mode called Nuclear Winter was announced, which turned out to be a fucking Battle Royale. I damn near flipped my laptop off my table! Why must Battle Royale be in everything?!
Todd Howard something something. Oops. I used that a placemaker which I was supposed to return to to finish writing what he was talking about. I honestly cannot remember. Sorry.
Shinji Mikami of Tango Gameworks took the stage to talk about a new game called Ghostwire Tokyo. It's an action/adventure game that seems to have horror elements to it. Ikumi Nakamura came out as well to talk more about the game. They both had heavy Japanese accents, so it made it hard to understand what they were talking about. Then a trailer was shown with people on their day to day commutes. Suddenly, they started disappearing literally out of their clothes. Weird figures began to appear, and some spacial distortion started to affect the world. The trailer ended with a line of spoken dialogue. "Don't fear the unknown. Attack it." Okay! This game sounds intriguing. I want to learn more about this game.
Another video played, this time with every day people talking about their jobs when they're not playing games.
Matt Firor came out to talk about Elder Scrolls Online, which I've no interest in. A video was shown, but at this point, I went back to playing more Plague Tale (really, you should check that game out). When I heard Matt talking again, I returned to my screen to see a woman talking about a Commander Keen game. Turns out it's a free to play mobile game. Back to Plague I went.
Hines returned to talk more about their mobile games and showed a video for Elder Scrolls Legends, their card game, which allowed me to return to Plague yet again. Then he talked about Rage 2. A trailer showed off new content presented in a goofy old TV sitcom style. Got to love how Bethesda presents their games. What's weird is that the person who's in charge of streaming this has Wii sounding music going on... There was a constant string of random noises around this point in the stream. Not aware at all what they're doing.... Anyway, the expansion is called Rise of the Ghosts.
Jerk Gustaffsson (sp?) from Machine Games came out to talk about two new Wolfenstein games. Cyberpilot will be a VR game and looks decent. Will it be a full-sized game, though? Wolfenstein Youngblood was talked about next. It will be a co-op game, although you can play single player if you'd like. It's set in the 1980s in Nazi occupied Paris. It follows the journey of two daughters looking for their father BJ Blazkowitz (sp?). Looks like your typical Wolfenstein game, which is not a bad thing at all. I loved the last two Wolfentsteins. So far, it looks great. It will also be coming to Switch, but after playing such a downgrade with Wolfenstein II, I've no desire to play another downgraded game on the Switch.
People from Arkane came out and showed off a trailer for their next game called Deathloop. It's set in a place called Black Reef. It shows two black people, a male and a female, in juxtaposition to one another. We learn that they're assassins and they're hunting each other from the looks of it. There also seems to be mention of time-based elements. It looks really cool, so I'm going to put this one on my radar. I wish I could see some gameplay, though.
Now we have yet another video with everyday people talking about the community of Bethesda games. Not really a fan of these videos. They're just filler.
Some people come out to talk about their software engineering innovations. This was a lead up to their new tech called Orion, which will optimize gaming for streaming. They showed someone playing Doom 2016 on a mobile device mounted to an Xbox controller, and they've made a claim that regardless of bandwith consumption in the household or distance from a data center, you'll still be able to play Bethesda games at 60 FPS at 4K with max settings. Hmm.... I doubt that. I think they've got a bridge they're trying to sell people. That's a large claim.
Now what all we know Bethesda would close with, and that's Doom Eternal. A trailer plays and then developers come out to talk more about it. They show a gameplay montage that shows a lot of cool platforming and brutal combat. Definitely Doom. Now they show an actual gameplay video. How refreshing! These are rare so far. The Doomslayer immediately runs into an onslaught of demons and he's running and jumping very quickly trying to stay alive. There are new glory kills shown, some new weapons and what looks like a shoulder mounted gun as well, which could be in place of the gas powered chainsaw. The demo video ends with a Hellknight about to get blasted by what looks like the BFG. The game will release November 22nd, which kinds sucks for me, as I made Fallen Order my game for November. There will also be a multiplayer mode called Battlemode. It'll be a 1-on-2 mode where a fully loaded Doomslayer will go up against two demons. It'll be what they say is Strategy vs Skill.
Peter Hines ends the show by saying that Doom celebrates 25 years. Jesus, I'm old. Also, one of the collector's edition bonuses was revealed to be a full-sized Doomslayer helmet that someone in the audience was already wearing. Cool.
So right off the bat, I recognized that the crowd's energy level was much higher than MS's. Whether or not you want to chalk it up to paid screamers, it did effectively make the presentation seem more alive. The overall catalog of games wasn't as impressive, but there were a couple of intriguing titles that were announced being Ghostwire Tokyo and Deathloop. We got to see a good bit of Doom Eternal as well, but I thought I heard that a new Evil Within was supposed to be revealed? Maybe it was just a rumor. Even though the crowd was livelier, Bethesda lost a couple points for focusing too much on mobile games. I admit my bias against them, but I honestly don't feel they have any business being mentioned in an exhibition that focuses on a PC/console driven market. When you start talking about mobile games, you lose me instantly. WITH THAT SAID THOUGH, I'm really disappointed that nothing new was shown for Fallout Shelter. Bummer.
Overall grade: C
MS E3 2019 Thoughts
So right off the bat, I already new I was going to have much more to talk about than EA's ... whatever that was. Unfortunately I made the mistake of watching it live on GameSpot, and their video player kept hanging up on me so for about the first 10 minutes, I missed a lot of stuff off and on trying to keep refreshing the page.
When it finally came up, I saw some footage for a game called Outerworlds. I don't really know much about this game at all, but from what I caught, it looked like a Borderlands style game.
Someone from Ninja Theory came out to reveal a World Premier for Bleeding Edge. What I did get from what they said was that the game was already in development before they got picked up by MS, which was good to know, because when the footage of Bleeding Edge got leaked a couple days ago, there was concern that MS was forcing Ninja Theory to start making multiplayer shooters. Since they were already making this before MS picked them up, it's safe to say that this is what NT wanted to do themselves. But what do I think of the game? I don't care. I'm not into those Overwatch style games. I will say this, though. Competitive shooters is a very competitive market and I don't think Ninja Theory has the track record to really contend. They're good developers, but they're not really outstanding enough to butt into the ring against Overwatch and Apex Legends. We'll see, though.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps was shown next, but ... this was shown already at E3 2017. Not that it's a bad thing, but we all know this was coming and it wasn't much of a surprise, even with the new footage shown. Still, it looks wonderful and I can't wait to play it. Like I said the past two years, I loved the first game, and this will be a treat for both fans of the first and those new to the series. I'll also have a 4K TV and Xbox One X to play this on this time, so I can only imagine how much more stunning the graphics will be.
Didn't expect the next one, which is a new Minecraft game called Minecraft Dungeons, a dungeon crawler style game with all the wonderful Minecraft aesthetics that fans will love. I'm not really that huge into the genre, but I think fans of both the franchise and the genre will probably really enjoy this one. Since MS has a deal with Nintendo for Minecraft, I wouldn't be too surprised if we see this come to the Switch. It will definitely be a perfect fit for the platform.
Phil Spencer came out to talk more of his usual filler. "Blah blah blah, games. Blah blah blah developers. Blah blah blah great games come from great developers. Blah blah blah this is me as I was ever since I started doing E3 conferences." Spencer, you boring fuck....
And then GS shit the bed again with its video player at the worst time, because a new trailer for Star Wars Jedi: The Fallen Order was shown and the only thing I really was able to see that got me hyped up was him climbing a FUCKING AT-AT!! I let out a major WOOOOOO at that, and that moment sold me on the game. I am pre-ordering it today!
Then a trailer for a horror game was shown, and I noticed in the chat that people were trying to figure out if this was a new Alan Wake or Outlast game, but as it turns out, it's actually a Blair Witch game. I didn't realize anyone actually cared about the franchise anymore. But, it does look good. The modern remake movie actually ended up surprising me, so who knows? Maybe this game will surprise me too. I'll keep an eye on it.
GS's shitty player hung up on me for the last time while Cyberpunk 2077 was showing. At this point, I told GameSpot to fuck off and switched over to Youtube at just the last moment when I saw a rendered version of Keanu Reeves crouching to get the player back up. Mr. Neo Wick himself comes out on stage to announce a trailer that reveals the game's release date of 4/16/20.
Another World Premier played for a game called Spiritfarer. This looks like an interesting game, kind of like a 2D life simulator in the vein of games such as Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. Looks very relaxing, but I doubt it'll stay on my radar.
The next reveal was like someone blowing the aroma of an amazing meatball sandwich my way, then pulling down my pants and shoving that sandwich down my shorts. The Battletoads start menu music played, that catchy UNCE UNCE UNCE, if you remember that. My ears perked up and I was like "HOLY SHIT IT'S COMING!" Jaws ready to receive MEATBALL SANDWICH AND THEN... that's when it was deposited in my shorts. This game's aesthetic is UGLY. It's similar to when they took the old Transformers cartoon and turned it into Armada. I can only hope the gameplay is good... but right now, I can't stop thinking of the unpleasant feeling of marinara, mozzarella, and meatballs in my shorts...
Next was a reveal of a really cool looking game called The Legend of Wright. It looks to be a side scroller with some puzzle solving elements in it, but it's all hand-drawn in a comic book. Plus, there's an overworld that looks to be inspired by the DIY Yoshi games I'll have to keep an eye on this one, too. I would love to have a game full of genuine imagination for my Xbox One.
The next segment was all about Xbox Gamepass preluded with a montage of games. Nothing really caught my eye. Someone from Gamepass came on stage to talk more about the games and services and said they'd all be available on Gamepass from day one, and everyone can sign up for just a dollar. Cool, but I'll never be into a game subscription service unless it's my only option.
Apparently, Microsoft's Flight Simulator franchise is still popular enough to reserve a World Premier
trailer. It looks very realistic, but it's certainly not my speed. I only really enjoy watching those Youtube videos of control tower people trying to manage the chaos. Looks like this is going to be a flight I won't mind missing.
Age of Empires II Definitive Edition was then shown. I know there's a following for this franchise, but it's also a genre I don't really play. Cool for people who do.
The next game caught my eye but only because it takes place in Colorado Springs. A prospector talks about how there's all this crazy action taking place in Colorado Springs and invites you down to try to strike it rich, but of course there's danger all along the way. The game's called Wasteland 3 and to be honest, I didn't even know there was a Wasteland 1 and 2. Most likely will pass on this game as well.
Phil Spencer came out again, and I almost ignored him and went back to playing A Plague Tale: Innocence, which is a really good game, mind you. Then I heard two things: Double Fine and Tim Schaeffer. WHAT?! MS BOUGHT DOUBLE FINE?! Apparently so, and Tim Schaeffer came out to reveal a new gameplay trailer for Psychonauts 2. Man, THAT got me excited! This is one of the definite exclusives I'm going to be buying for the Xbox One X. Absolutely loved the first and cannot wait for the second! Good job, Microsoft!
The next World Premier is for a Star Wars Lego game, which I thought was going to be based on Rise of Skywalker, but as it turns out, it's actually a compilation of all nine Lego Star Wars games. The collection will be called Skywalker Saga, which seemingly will have The Last Jedi that they never made and then Rise of the Skywalker. I might have to get this, just for The Last Jedi. But, if they release The Last Jedi and Rise of the Skywalker separately, I'll just get those two. I'm not looking forward to replaying a lot of segments again from the older games. I don't even want to imagine what the achievement list will look like for that...
The next showing was for a new Dragonball game called Project Z. It looks amazing, very beautiful, just like the anime, but I'm not really a Dragonball fan, so this is yet another game that won't be on my radar.
A World Premier for a game call 12 Minutes played after, and this is an intriguing little title. It starts off with a top down shot of a room with two adults, a couple probably married, and the woman has a gift for the man. Before he even opens it, he knows what it is. It's baby clothes, because she's pregnant, and she asks him how he knows that. He says this has happened before, and there's going to be trouble really soon. The cops then knocked on the door, and they fought them, but then there was a flash, and he was on the floor by himself, then another flash, and he's being arrested. Looks very interesting. I do enjoy a good thriller game, so I'll keep track of this ones.
I'm still waiting for Untitled Goose Game, but until then, there's Deer Simulator, actually titled Way to the Woods. It's a beautiful game about a deer and his fawn, and it looks like they're looking for their way back to the woods through the city. There was a funny little scene of the deer ramming a vending machine until some food came out. Looks good, so I'll follow this game.
Gears of War 5 was shown, but by a weird, trippy trailer of the female character, who I can't remember her name, was struggling with what looked like personas of other characters trying to escape from her. They got sucked back in, and then other characters tried to come out. Again, very trippy, and so was the music. The subtitle was revealed to be Bound By Blood and it will release on September 10th, so that will be my game for September. A trailer was also shown for a mode called Escape, which will be a three player co-op mode. Also, if people pre-order within the first week, they'll get a Terminator: Dark Fate character pack, which I don't really care about. Never was a fan of pre-order bonuses like those.
Xbox apparently thought it felt as if they needed to spend time revealing their new Elite controller. Now, if Xbox could spend the same amount of time and money getting high quality exclusives as they do with their myriad number of controller options they have, they'd be in much better shape.
Then we have yet another Dying Light 2 trailer. As much as I'm hyped for this game, seeing yet another trailer that was revealed at previous E3s didn't do much to elevate my hype level. Still, this is going to be one of the few must haves I'm going to get in the near future. Loved the first game, can't wait for the second.
When I saw Forza Horizon 4 as the next game, I groaned. WHY?! What on Earth could they possibly have to ... And then I heard the music. "Everything is awesome!" No way! LEGO has invaded the land of Forza with the LEGO Speed Champions expansion available next week. I just couldn't get over this! LEGO in Forza?! I was laughing so hard, I was in tears! I might have to check this out being the big LEGO fan that I am. It looks great!
But my excitement died down a little when I saw the next trailer. It was for the Funko Gears POP mobile game for iOS and Android. It looks cute... but, it's a mobile game. It's the exact same microtransaction filled crap we see all the time in this industry. It would be awesome to have an actual Gears of War game on the phone, but nope. We're stuck with this....
Then there's an announcement for a State of Decay 2 expansion called Heartland. State of Decay 2 didn't look good enough for me to get, but I know people who were really thirsty for an MS exclusive found enjoyment out of the game. I just wasn't THAT thirsty. Hell, I even passed on Days Gone, so I'm not really in the mood for zombie games right now.
Another World Premier played announcing that Sega's Phantasy Star Online 2 was finally coming to the States. I have wanted to play this game for a LOOOOOONG time and got excited when I heard it was supposed to come to the Vita a few years ago, but that never happened. Now that I decided to continue FFXIV with the upcoming Shadowbringers expansion arriving at the end of this month, I simply do not have the time for another MMO, which is a good thing, because if I thought I had it bad with FFXIV, I definitely had it bad with the first PSO.
World Premier has been used so often during this conference, MS should trademark it. The next one was for a game called Crossfire X. No gameplay (now that I think about it, most trailers in this conference didn't have gameplay), just cutscenes of bros with guns, but then it got a bit interesting. A building got blown up with them in it, and suddenly they're swimming in the water. I got to admit, that got me intrigued, so I want to see some gameplay to see what this game is like.
Tales of Arise was the next World Premier trailer that rolled out, and this fills a gap in Xbox's library that MS is slowly working on filling - JRPGs - and it looks like a great one. I'm so far behind in the Tales games, though, I doubt this is going to make it on my radar.
Borderlands 3 was shown, but since I haven't played any in the series, despite owning the Handsome Collection, I'm not interested in it at all right now. But, I know the following is huge, and it will be a fantastic game for fans. Sadly, it's been caught up in the whole Steam Vs Epic Store fiasco. I wish that feud would just end. All that happens with corporate feuds is that customers get caught up in the middle. Greed sucks.
We got a World Premier for The Elden Ring, which is the new From Software game that Hideko Miyazaki and George "ARR ARR" Martin are making. It's a teaser, though... showing nothing much of interest. I get some of these games are far off in the distance, but when you have one gameplay-less trailer after another, you get tired of it by the end of show. I really miss stage demos during conferences.
Phil Spencer came out again, this time to finally talk about their next console. He played a video showing team members talking about everything the next Box could do. I found it funny that they're talking about no more load screens, piggy backing on Sony when they did it first with the PS5. They mentioned that it will be roughly 40 times greater in terms of power compared to the previous generation's leap. We'll see. The current title of the next Box is Project Scarlett and I hope they just call it Xbox Scarlet, because MS sucks at numbers. It'll come out during the holiday season of next year and it will launch with Halo Infinite.
Of course, we all knew that MS would close their show with a trailer for Halo Infinite. Again, no gameplay was shown, just a cinematic trailer. It showed a pilot in a crippled ship that came across the drifting body of Masterchief. It's been a very long time since I've played Halo 3. I know I played Halo 4, but I have no recollection of that game and never bothered with Halo 5, so I'm not sure where this places Masterchief in the timeline. Regardless, it looks like they've nailed the direction, but MC still sounds like a fucking drone. He has personality in the books, and I seriously wish they'd start reflecting in the games. Anyway, I'm definitely sold on Scarlet and Halo Infinite because I haven't played a Halo game on a launch of a new Xbox since the first Halo. This should be pretty exciting, regardless of my reservations.
So how did MS do overall? Decent. I mean, they're pretty much winning by default at this point, because EA didn't really have a conference....? And Sony's not having one at all. Nintendo's is just a bunch of Tree Houses to talk about games that we already know are coming so I'm not expecting any new surprises. MS managed to play a trailer to sell me on Fallen Order and most likely Lego Forza, and Gears of War 5 was already a given before their trippy teaser. There's some cool looking indies in the pipeline, but I'm annoyed that Ori 2 still seems so far off after being revealed two years ago already. Yeah... MS pretty much just phoned this one in.
Overall grade: C+
When it finally came up, I saw some footage for a game called Outerworlds. I don't really know much about this game at all, but from what I caught, it looked like a Borderlands style game.
Someone from Ninja Theory came out to reveal a World Premier for Bleeding Edge. What I did get from what they said was that the game was already in development before they got picked up by MS, which was good to know, because when the footage of Bleeding Edge got leaked a couple days ago, there was concern that MS was forcing Ninja Theory to start making multiplayer shooters. Since they were already making this before MS picked them up, it's safe to say that this is what NT wanted to do themselves. But what do I think of the game? I don't care. I'm not into those Overwatch style games. I will say this, though. Competitive shooters is a very competitive market and I don't think Ninja Theory has the track record to really contend. They're good developers, but they're not really outstanding enough to butt into the ring against Overwatch and Apex Legends. We'll see, though.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps was shown next, but ... this was shown already at E3 2017. Not that it's a bad thing, but we all know this was coming and it wasn't much of a surprise, even with the new footage shown. Still, it looks wonderful and I can't wait to play it. Like I said the past two years, I loved the first game, and this will be a treat for both fans of the first and those new to the series. I'll also have a 4K TV and Xbox One X to play this on this time, so I can only imagine how much more stunning the graphics will be.
Didn't expect the next one, which is a new Minecraft game called Minecraft Dungeons, a dungeon crawler style game with all the wonderful Minecraft aesthetics that fans will love. I'm not really that huge into the genre, but I think fans of both the franchise and the genre will probably really enjoy this one. Since MS has a deal with Nintendo for Minecraft, I wouldn't be too surprised if we see this come to the Switch. It will definitely be a perfect fit for the platform.
Phil Spencer came out to talk more of his usual filler. "Blah blah blah, games. Blah blah blah developers. Blah blah blah great games come from great developers. Blah blah blah this is me as I was ever since I started doing E3 conferences." Spencer, you boring fuck....
And then GS shit the bed again with its video player at the worst time, because a new trailer for Star Wars Jedi: The Fallen Order was shown and the only thing I really was able to see that got me hyped up was him climbing a FUCKING AT-AT!! I let out a major WOOOOOO at that, and that moment sold me on the game. I am pre-ordering it today!
Then a trailer for a horror game was shown, and I noticed in the chat that people were trying to figure out if this was a new Alan Wake or Outlast game, but as it turns out, it's actually a Blair Witch game. I didn't realize anyone actually cared about the franchise anymore. But, it does look good. The modern remake movie actually ended up surprising me, so who knows? Maybe this game will surprise me too. I'll keep an eye on it.
GS's shitty player hung up on me for the last time while Cyberpunk 2077 was showing. At this point, I told GameSpot to fuck off and switched over to Youtube at just the last moment when I saw a rendered version of Keanu Reeves crouching to get the player back up. Mr. Neo Wick himself comes out on stage to announce a trailer that reveals the game's release date of 4/16/20.
Another World Premier played for a game called Spiritfarer. This looks like an interesting game, kind of like a 2D life simulator in the vein of games such as Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. Looks very relaxing, but I doubt it'll stay on my radar.
The next reveal was like someone blowing the aroma of an amazing meatball sandwich my way, then pulling down my pants and shoving that sandwich down my shorts. The Battletoads start menu music played, that catchy UNCE UNCE UNCE, if you remember that. My ears perked up and I was like "HOLY SHIT IT'S COMING!" Jaws ready to receive MEATBALL SANDWICH AND THEN... that's when it was deposited in my shorts. This game's aesthetic is UGLY. It's similar to when they took the old Transformers cartoon and turned it into Armada. I can only hope the gameplay is good... but right now, I can't stop thinking of the unpleasant feeling of marinara, mozzarella, and meatballs in my shorts...
Next was a reveal of a really cool looking game called The Legend of Wright. It looks to be a side scroller with some puzzle solving elements in it, but it's all hand-drawn in a comic book. Plus, there's an overworld that looks to be inspired by the DIY Yoshi games I'll have to keep an eye on this one, too. I would love to have a game full of genuine imagination for my Xbox One.
The next segment was all about Xbox Gamepass preluded with a montage of games. Nothing really caught my eye. Someone from Gamepass came on stage to talk more about the games and services and said they'd all be available on Gamepass from day one, and everyone can sign up for just a dollar. Cool, but I'll never be into a game subscription service unless it's my only option.
Apparently, Microsoft's Flight Simulator franchise is still popular enough to reserve a World Premier
trailer. It looks very realistic, but it's certainly not my speed. I only really enjoy watching those Youtube videos of control tower people trying to manage the chaos. Looks like this is going to be a flight I won't mind missing.
Age of Empires II Definitive Edition was then shown. I know there's a following for this franchise, but it's also a genre I don't really play. Cool for people who do.
The next game caught my eye but only because it takes place in Colorado Springs. A prospector talks about how there's all this crazy action taking place in Colorado Springs and invites you down to try to strike it rich, but of course there's danger all along the way. The game's called Wasteland 3 and to be honest, I didn't even know there was a Wasteland 1 and 2. Most likely will pass on this game as well.
Phil Spencer came out again, and I almost ignored him and went back to playing A Plague Tale: Innocence, which is a really good game, mind you. Then I heard two things: Double Fine and Tim Schaeffer. WHAT?! MS BOUGHT DOUBLE FINE?! Apparently so, and Tim Schaeffer came out to reveal a new gameplay trailer for Psychonauts 2. Man, THAT got me excited! This is one of the definite exclusives I'm going to be buying for the Xbox One X. Absolutely loved the first and cannot wait for the second! Good job, Microsoft!
The next World Premier is for a Star Wars Lego game, which I thought was going to be based on Rise of Skywalker, but as it turns out, it's actually a compilation of all nine Lego Star Wars games. The collection will be called Skywalker Saga, which seemingly will have The Last Jedi that they never made and then Rise of the Skywalker. I might have to get this, just for The Last Jedi. But, if they release The Last Jedi and Rise of the Skywalker separately, I'll just get those two. I'm not looking forward to replaying a lot of segments again from the older games. I don't even want to imagine what the achievement list will look like for that...
The next showing was for a new Dragonball game called Project Z. It looks amazing, very beautiful, just like the anime, but I'm not really a Dragonball fan, so this is yet another game that won't be on my radar.
A World Premier for a game call 12 Minutes played after, and this is an intriguing little title. It starts off with a top down shot of a room with two adults, a couple probably married, and the woman has a gift for the man. Before he even opens it, he knows what it is. It's baby clothes, because she's pregnant, and she asks him how he knows that. He says this has happened before, and there's going to be trouble really soon. The cops then knocked on the door, and they fought them, but then there was a flash, and he was on the floor by himself, then another flash, and he's being arrested. Looks very interesting. I do enjoy a good thriller game, so I'll keep track of this ones.
I'm still waiting for Untitled Goose Game, but until then, there's Deer Simulator, actually titled Way to the Woods. It's a beautiful game about a deer and his fawn, and it looks like they're looking for their way back to the woods through the city. There was a funny little scene of the deer ramming a vending machine until some food came out. Looks good, so I'll follow this game.
Gears of War 5 was shown, but by a weird, trippy trailer of the female character, who I can't remember her name, was struggling with what looked like personas of other characters trying to escape from her. They got sucked back in, and then other characters tried to come out. Again, very trippy, and so was the music. The subtitle was revealed to be Bound By Blood and it will release on September 10th, so that will be my game for September. A trailer was also shown for a mode called Escape, which will be a three player co-op mode. Also, if people pre-order within the first week, they'll get a Terminator: Dark Fate character pack, which I don't really care about. Never was a fan of pre-order bonuses like those.
Xbox apparently thought it felt as if they needed to spend time revealing their new Elite controller. Now, if Xbox could spend the same amount of time and money getting high quality exclusives as they do with their myriad number of controller options they have, they'd be in much better shape.
Then we have yet another Dying Light 2 trailer. As much as I'm hyped for this game, seeing yet another trailer that was revealed at previous E3s didn't do much to elevate my hype level. Still, this is going to be one of the few must haves I'm going to get in the near future. Loved the first game, can't wait for the second.
When I saw Forza Horizon 4 as the next game, I groaned. WHY?! What on Earth could they possibly have to ... And then I heard the music. "Everything is awesome!" No way! LEGO has invaded the land of Forza with the LEGO Speed Champions expansion available next week. I just couldn't get over this! LEGO in Forza?! I was laughing so hard, I was in tears! I might have to check this out being the big LEGO fan that I am. It looks great!
But my excitement died down a little when I saw the next trailer. It was for the Funko Gears POP mobile game for iOS and Android. It looks cute... but, it's a mobile game. It's the exact same microtransaction filled crap we see all the time in this industry. It would be awesome to have an actual Gears of War game on the phone, but nope. We're stuck with this....
Then there's an announcement for a State of Decay 2 expansion called Heartland. State of Decay 2 didn't look good enough for me to get, but I know people who were really thirsty for an MS exclusive found enjoyment out of the game. I just wasn't THAT thirsty. Hell, I even passed on Days Gone, so I'm not really in the mood for zombie games right now.
Another World Premier played announcing that Sega's Phantasy Star Online 2 was finally coming to the States. I have wanted to play this game for a LOOOOOONG time and got excited when I heard it was supposed to come to the Vita a few years ago, but that never happened. Now that I decided to continue FFXIV with the upcoming Shadowbringers expansion arriving at the end of this month, I simply do not have the time for another MMO, which is a good thing, because if I thought I had it bad with FFXIV, I definitely had it bad with the first PSO.
World Premier has been used so often during this conference, MS should trademark it. The next one was for a game called Crossfire X. No gameplay (now that I think about it, most trailers in this conference didn't have gameplay), just cutscenes of bros with guns, but then it got a bit interesting. A building got blown up with them in it, and suddenly they're swimming in the water. I got to admit, that got me intrigued, so I want to see some gameplay to see what this game is like.
Tales of Arise was the next World Premier trailer that rolled out, and this fills a gap in Xbox's library that MS is slowly working on filling - JRPGs - and it looks like a great one. I'm so far behind in the Tales games, though, I doubt this is going to make it on my radar.
Borderlands 3 was shown, but since I haven't played any in the series, despite owning the Handsome Collection, I'm not interested in it at all right now. But, I know the following is huge, and it will be a fantastic game for fans. Sadly, it's been caught up in the whole Steam Vs Epic Store fiasco. I wish that feud would just end. All that happens with corporate feuds is that customers get caught up in the middle. Greed sucks.
We got a World Premier for The Elden Ring, which is the new From Software game that Hideko Miyazaki and George "ARR ARR" Martin are making. It's a teaser, though... showing nothing much of interest. I get some of these games are far off in the distance, but when you have one gameplay-less trailer after another, you get tired of it by the end of show. I really miss stage demos during conferences.
Phil Spencer came out again, this time to finally talk about their next console. He played a video showing team members talking about everything the next Box could do. I found it funny that they're talking about no more load screens, piggy backing on Sony when they did it first with the PS5. They mentioned that it will be roughly 40 times greater in terms of power compared to the previous generation's leap. We'll see. The current title of the next Box is Project Scarlett and I hope they just call it Xbox Scarlet, because MS sucks at numbers. It'll come out during the holiday season of next year and it will launch with Halo Infinite.
Of course, we all knew that MS would close their show with a trailer for Halo Infinite. Again, no gameplay was shown, just a cinematic trailer. It showed a pilot in a crippled ship that came across the drifting body of Masterchief. It's been a very long time since I've played Halo 3. I know I played Halo 4, but I have no recollection of that game and never bothered with Halo 5, so I'm not sure where this places Masterchief in the timeline. Regardless, it looks like they've nailed the direction, but MC still sounds like a fucking drone. He has personality in the books, and I seriously wish they'd start reflecting in the games. Anyway, I'm definitely sold on Scarlet and Halo Infinite because I haven't played a Halo game on a launch of a new Xbox since the first Halo. This should be pretty exciting, regardless of my reservations.
So how did MS do overall? Decent. I mean, they're pretty much winning by default at this point, because EA didn't really have a conference....? And Sony's not having one at all. Nintendo's is just a bunch of Tree Houses to talk about games that we already know are coming so I'm not expecting any new surprises. MS managed to play a trailer to sell me on Fallen Order and most likely Lego Forza, and Gears of War 5 was already a given before their trippy teaser. There's some cool looking indies in the pipeline, but I'm annoyed that Ori 2 still seems so far off after being revealed two years ago already. Yeah... MS pretty much just phoned this one in.
Overall grade: C+
Saturday, June 8, 2019
EA E3 2019 Thoughts
Well, Electronic Arts decided to go with their EA Play format. I also looked at the playtime for this video and it was almost three hours long. Good thing I was at work so that way I could watch the uploaded video and trim the fat. I knew Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order would be up first, so I immediately skipped the talking and got straight to the gameplay video.
So, Fallen Order... I'm ... not entirely impressed. There's a certain slowness to the gameplay that I can't quite put my finger on. What got my ears perked up was the wallrunning though, because I really enjoyed doing that in Titanfall 2. The graphics look great, but the demo didn't really show much new in the way of action/adventure games. There's hack and slash. There's wall running. There's climbing. There's using slo-mo to get past fast moving objects. I am very partial to any Star Wars game that uses light sabers, so I know I'll have fun playing it, but as said earlier, I'm not entirely impressed. I'm sure there will be a lot of game that wasn't shown that will actually be truly fantastic.
There's a lot of new information regarding Apex Legends, but I don't care at all about the game since I don't play it nor want to. And this section was almost thirty minutes long! So glad I can skip.
And then when I skipped, I also noticed their schedule. They had Battlefield V up next, then Fifa, Madden and Sims 4. Not interested in any of those. I guess this EA Play thing was their big E3 show, and wow... talk about starting off E3 on the wrong foot. I know with a few companies not really doing conferences this year, E3 would be different, but this doesn't feel right at all. Man, I didn't even have enough to write a blog worth reading... Go Fallen Order I guess?
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