E3 2014 Closing Ceremony/Awards

Written By: Tyler

 

Well, this is it, ladies and gentlemen. There's only one more E3-related post to be made and it's one to celebrate the whole event. I will not be doing individual awards like, "Best Action Game" or awarding games for being the best game on a particular system. Unfortunately, since I'm not there, there are a lot of games I never got to see because I had to rely on feeds.

I appreciate anybody who tuned in and read my numerous articles throughout this entire thing. Now let's get on with this.


Game Of The Show

Winner: Evolve

Before I talk about the winner, I have to explain that I had a hard time choosing this. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with the game that I am most excited for, because then Metal Gear Solid V would have gotten the nod because I've been excited for that since before it was even announced. Or maybe I wanted to go with the game that had the best presentation... not necessarily the game that I think will be the best, but the game that had the best video. Battlefield: Hardline might have won that because the one video where we actually watch a heist was so intense I couldn't wait. Games like Super Smash Bros. didn't get the nod because I know I'll love it but E3 did nothing to further that... Smash Bros. is Smash Bros. and it will be glorious. So, to get my winner, I kind of put the two elements together and came up with Evolve.

Evolve was not a game that I was super into before E3. I watched the videos, saw the gameplay, but it was during E3 that I came to love it. It just finally clicked with me how original, daring and exciting it is. It's still not the game I anticipate most, because there are a bunch of games in the honourable mentions that I'd rather play, but Evolve totally won me over, and that's reason enough to make it Game of the Show in my eyes.


Honourable Mentions
Sunset Overdrive
Battlefield: Hardline
The Witcher 3
Batman: Arkham Knight
Rainbow Six: Siege
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Super Smash Bros.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Far Cry 4



Surprise Of The Show

Winner: Let It Die

My logic for why this won is more simplistic than my logic for Game of the Show. I love Suda51 and I didn't know this game was being made. So thus, I am excited to see what the crazy bastard does. It beats out the announcement of Star Fox because I had read articles about it beforehand, and I didn't mention the Zelda announcement because that was pretty much a guarantee. Mursaki Baby looked lovely, and #IDARB has one of the neatest concepts of the entire show. Splatoon is also an interesting concept and the fact it's a cool Wii U game made me care more.


Honourable Mentions
Murasaki Baby
#IDARB
Splatoon
The Star Fox Announcement




Press Conference of The Show

Winner: Nintendo followed by Sony, then Ubisoft, then Microsoft... then a distant EA

When I first wrote about the Nintendo Digital Event (yes I know it isn't technically a press conference), I was more warm about it than hot. But then I have thought about it since and it was an excellent mixture of games and theatrics. It was funny, but all about the games, and Nintendo did a great job.

Sony is my primary system so I was emotionally invested in it, but it lost some momentum throughout, until it eventually came back in a big way.

Ubisoft is a great company with interesting games and their presentation was extremely theatrical. It was kind of a nerdy concert.

Microsoft did a great job and made it all about the games.

EA was boring and they didn't focus enough on actual gameplay.



Disappointment of the Show

Winner: No Metroid

Nintendo killed it anyway, and announced two big franchises, but damn it Ninty, where is my Metroid?


Honourable Mention
No mention of The Last Guardian



Unrealistic Desires For E3

Announcements for Timesplitters 4, The World Ends With You 2 and a new installment of The Last Vikings. I knew none of this would happen but I hoped that they would be announced.


As a closing statement, I would just like to say that I noticed a lot of co-op games, whether it was new IPs, or old IPs that are now implementing co-op, it seemed like there was more of a focus on it, which is thrilling for me because I'm a huge fan of that. I also noticed that they're bringing a lot of "old" games to new systems. In cases such as Grand Theft Auto 5, that's exciting, but what do you think about it? Will you re-buy games you already own just because they're now next-gen? Let me know in the comments below or tweet me @ArtBathednCrime.

With that, I close down my last remaining feed (a Gamespot wrap-up show) and bid you farewell, and goodbye to E3 until next year. Now it's time to go outside. Well, maybe I'll sleep first.

E3 Day 3: This Is The End, My Friend

Written By: Tyler

It's the third, and final day of E3, so like the previous days, I will be giving my impressions and reporting news -- that I ripped from other sites of course -- about the games that I see today. I try my best not to repeat games, but at this point, after so many hours, it's hard to remember what exactly I've already seen. If I see new footage of games though, I will be sure to let you all know, because I know you all flock to an obscure blog for your E3 information.


Final Fantasy Explorers Is Coming Out For 3DS
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/12/final-fantasy-explorers-announced-for-3ds

Final Fantasy Explorers is a multiplayer Final Fantasy where players search for Crystals while murdering Summons. You can choose from a variety of job classes. It sounds a little bit like Crystal Chronicles, and that's not bad because I played the first one and enjoyed it, despite the fact I never got to play it multiplayer because I didn't have a Game Boy (Advance, I think?) and it required that.



Fantasy Life -- Fantasy Life is the new Action-RPG/Life Simulator for the 3DS and it looks charming. There seems to be a bunch of choice in this game, as there are a bunch of different classes you can choose such as Paladin or Woodcutter, along with the numerous quests. You get a house eventually, and customization seems like a big deal... it seems like you can customize a lot of things, such as what you wear, to your house, to upgrading your bag so you can carry more stuff. For those who are really into co-op, they're saying that you can fully explore the world with a friend, which is a huge bonus for me. I already had this pre-ordered before I actually saw it, but after seeing some video and hearing more about it, I am definitely excited for this.


Road Not Taken --  A puzzle-Roguelike, where you play as a Ranger who has to rescue kids in the forest. Oh good, there's finally a game about my life. The Ranger can only pick up things and throw said things, and the limitation is... interesting. As you carry things, you lose energy so throwing them instantly is the most efficient way of doing things. Enemies react in different ways, such as a wolf who won't harm you unless you corner it, and enemies move when you do. Even though everything is procedural, they do have custom rooms that are littered throughout the thing that are more complex puzzles to solve. I'm not in love with Roguelikes, though there are certainly some I love, but Road Not Taken looks like a pretty refreshing take on it.


Codename S.T.E.A.M. -- It's a combination of American comic books, Steampunk, shooter and turn-based RPG. Instead of a top-down view, it is a third-person view so exploration on the battlefield is important since you can't just see everything. You have multiple characters with you, and the game operates on steam. With each action your steam reduces until your turn ends, or if you manage your steam and don't use it all, you can attack an enemy during their turn if they come into view. It looks extremely promising.


Not A Hero -- Not A Hero is a side-scrolling cover-based shooter with a ridiculous story that they literally only put in there because they felt they needed so so they made it silly. You basically just pick one of a few different characters and move from room to room, shooting things, but each level has a primary challenge and three optional challenges. Some levels involve you being in a building and it gets assaulted and you have to escape, to go along with the levels where you're doing the assaulting. You have a slide mechanic that when used allows you to take cover. I think Not A Hero could be fun, and if there's a lull in games when it comes out in January or February of next year I will give it a whirl, but it's not a must-play.


 Hyrule Warriors -- There's something really cool about being on a battlefield with massive hordes of enemies and beating them down as the Zelda theme plays. The gameplay will probably get criticized if it's like Dynasty Warriors -- it certainly looks like it -- because button-mashing gets frowned upon these days, but I dig it once in a while. They put elements of Zelda in there like treasure chests, and the co-op is local: one person uses the screen on the Gamepad and one person uses the TV screen. As the game progresses you can open up new combos and whatnot, and there are huge boss battles, where the bosses just appear and "go crazy," and you will have to find their weak points. Basically, the game looks pretty awesome for fans of Dynasty Warriors. Fans of Zelda will also flock to it I'm sure, but since the core gameplay is Dynasty Warriors I reckon it's more for them.


EA UFC -- Okay, I already have this pre-ordered and I was going to get it regardless because I love MMA and every so often I just like to binge game combat sports games. I've played the demo, and I have to say this: I'm a little worried about this game and I'm really hoping for a good career mode. The moves are way too flashy for everybody that they've shown, which comes off as more of a "what non-MMA fans think it is" opposed to what it really is. The game looks gorgeous, and there are elements of it that are beautiful, but the AI in all the videos is terrible, and I'm not sure if I'm sold on the ground yet. I guess I really just have to get it, put hours upon hours into it, and then do a review. I do enjoy the free roster update idea, though. I'm extremely cautious with this one.


#IDARB -- #IDARB is an interactive sports game. Basically, two teams try to shoot on the opposing goal in a side-scrolling environment. Sounds simple? Yeah, in theory, but this game allows players to manipulate the playing area by hashtagging certain things. They can Rick Roll you, turn out the lights, get rid of all the white platforms and a bunch of other things. The only thing that I saw that pisses me off is the monster because a monster flashes up on screen and that's all you see for a split second, and that's more annoying than amusing. From what I am understanding, the players that you play as are actually created by people like you and they make it in the game. #IDARB makes me forget about my dislike of hashtags, and I'm really excited for this.


Project Spark -- I enjoy that we're at the point now in gaming where developers can give us these game creation tools and they actually look pretty sweet. I remember playing RPG Maker on Playstation 1 and while it amazed me at the time, it was a really bad version of a game that was fairly deep on PC. Project Spark looks great: so great in fact, that I was going to go get the beta for PC but then realized that it's only for Windows 8. 


Hitman: Sniper -- The free mobile Hitman game comes out in Fall of this year. I'm conflicted about it,  because this really isn't what I want from a Hitman game, but at the same time, it's free and there does appear to be different ways to kill someone... within the context of you being a sniper. I might get it since it's free and I can pick it up and play at work or something, but I don't really care about this at all.


Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham -- When the video started, all I could think is Resogun. They seem to be doing interesting things with the next incarnation of the hit series. I haven't played a Lego game in quite some time, so it's nice seeing where it was and where it is now.


The Crew -- What makes The Crew interesting to me is the focus on teamwork. As the developer said countless times during the presentation I saw, it's less about individual performance and more about working together. You don't often see that in a racing game, and it's a welcome diversion from the usual same ol' same ol'. Another example of this is, if you are playing alone, the game will send out invites to everybody who is playing the area you're in, and they can choose to accept. After the race, the game will ask if you want to make friends with the people. The game looks pretty and the driving mechanics are fine as well so it's another racing game to look forward to. Look for it November 11 of this year.


Habitat -- Want to know what everything is going to be like in 11000? Forget 2050 or something in the near future like most games, we're moving ahead milleniums and Robbie Williams ain't coming. In the future, we will be floating through space, using "space junk" to build space habitats. You choose want to want to add to your habitat, and then it's there. But watch out because there are exterior threats like enemy habitats and the nanomachines that pop up (I guess Solid Snake failed). You have to be smart about what you build though, because survival isn't easy in the vast universe. It's a fun premise, and it looks like it has a sense of humour as well, so I look forward to it. The guy representing the game also was one of the more lively developers that showcased their game, so he probably pumped me up more than I would originally have been. Seriously, I enjoyed listening to him talk.

P.S. There's a space dog who is, and I quote, "a real dog, he's just out for a walk right now."


Aztez - This is a game I was curious about and I saw a little bit of the combat in action and the beat 'em up aspects look like they function well. You can jump through the air and do some crazy moves, and it all seems fluid, even now. The art style is black and white but the blood is red, which works quite well. There's a strategy aspect to the game but I don't entirely understand it right now but it's a game to keep your eye on.


Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime -- It's a co-op game where you have to run to different stations and defend your ship. I'm always all for co-op, and it appears that it's truly co-op in the sense that you're always going to be something. It looks like you don't die individually, but you die as a team. I love that mechanic. Like Aztez, this is an indie game for ID@Xbox that is definitely worth paying attention to.


Elegy For A Dead World -- You are a writer, and you explore a bunch of worlds inspired by British romantic poets and you... write about it?  At first you just fill in the blanks, but you can actually just delete everything and write whatever the hell you want. There is also a mode apparently where there are no prompts to write and you just scribble notes down wherever you want. Your notes are visible to other players. It's a pretty game with a neat synopsis and gameplay concept, but even as a (wannabe) writer myself, I'm not sure if I want to play it, which is really strange because the game is literally blending together the two things I'm most into -- games and writing. I think it's a novel exercise and I can see how it'd encourage creativity though, so I'm going to keep an eye on it and see how this unfolds.


Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain -- First of all, I love listening to Japanese people talk Japanese when discussing Metal Gear because it's funny hearing "Snake-uh" in the middle of it. Aside from that, I wasn't really told much else today and I didn't see anymore gameplay. This is my most anticipated game because I'm a huge Metal Gear fan, so I felt it necessary to at least mention it on the final day of E3. It looks awesome and it will be awesome.



E3 is over now. The wrap-up shows have commenced, the Nintendo Tree House is over, and I am going to click the pretty publish button and be on my way... to write one more post about E3. Yes, that's right. Check back in a while if you're reading this as soon as it was published, because I'm going to do an awards post for E3.

E3 Day 2 - Did You Know That E3 Has Games? Bayonetta 2, DubWars, Rainbow Six, Payday 2 And More!

Written By: Tyler

Here we are ladies and gentlemen, the second day of E3 2014. Today I will just be doing impressions of some of the games I watched today.



Evolve -- Evolve is really shaping up to be a great thing. I know I've been pretty positive throughout E3, but a lot of these games just look so good. Of course, I'm really digging the premise of Hunters vs Monster in this game, but the fact it has an ecosystem where the monster you're hunting isn't the only threat is wonderful. I enjoy that the other creatures within the ecosystem can eat the food that the monster needs. If this game ends up sucking, which it doesn't look like it will, there will be a lot of disappointed people.


Broforce -- It looks like a chaotic, retro romp through the shooters of days gone by, with a sense of humour to boot. It should be entertaining. I don't think it's going to do what Mercenary Kings did with the genre, but this will be a blast to play with friends.


Dead Island 2 -- Am I the only one who isn't excited for a Dead Island MOBA? I actually enjoy the Dead Island games, flaws and all, but this? No thank you. Dying Light is where it's at for me.


Dragon Age: Inquisition -- I was pre-ordering some games during the demo of it, so my attention was divided, but Dragon Age looks pretty and it may be my first journey into the world of Dragon Age.


Star Citizen -- This is a game that a lot of PC gamers are hyped for. They showed a demo that was mostly flying through space, and the mechanics of the ship when you are flying. The game is shaping up very nicely.


Lara Croft & The Temple of Osirus -- This is a sequel to Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light and I have never played that. I've seen some videos, and it looked fun, but I just never took the jump and bought it. However, I have a bias towards co-op games and Temple of Osirus looks like it is going to be bigger and better, with completely solid puzzle/action co-op where you can troll people and have them fall to their death in spikes (seriously, we saw that for a while during the video).


H1Z1 - We're in a time where we have a bunch of MMO survival games, but none of them are done. H1Z1 is no different, and it's very much like DayZ and Rust. They didn't show us a lot of actual gameplay because it's still early, but I'm excited for this, more than I am DayZ.


Guns Up! -- From the video I saw, this game succeeds despite its title. Seriously, what a god awful name for a game. However, don't judge it based on that because it actually looks like a need little tactical/strategy shooter.


Rainbow Six: Siege -- The biggest fear of a new Rainbow Six is that it'll just be another dumb shooter. Despite the fact that it's very early in its development, Rainbow Six looks like it's a real Rainbow Six -- tactical with a need for teamwork. That's all R6 fans want.


The Evil Within -- I think The Evil Within will be scary because it's very easy to scare me. I'm sure there will be some memorable gore and jump scares, but I am not psyched for the game. I just don't see it as being a horror game that ranks among the best. It kind of looks like just another scary game. I hope I'm wrong, and perhaps other people see things I don't, but I haven't gained any new appreciation for it over the course of E3.


Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age -- This looks a bit like a Left 4 Dead but with a more Southern Gothic feel -- not in the way it feels or plays because it's 3rd person as opposed to 1st, but because it's set-up like L4D. I am glad it isn't just zombies we're shooting, and in the video shown we got to see them fighting a witch. I think that in itself, changing the scenery up, is reason enough to at least keep an eye on this one. So many shooters look alike that it's hard to tell at this point if it'll be just that, but I have some hopes for this one.


Hohokum -- Here we have a colourful indie game that appears to be you just flying around. But that's the point. The world reacts to you, and since there isn't anything telling you what to do, everything you do is right (I can get behind that logic). It's got a simplistic visual style, but the blend of colours makes it a bright and gorgeous game. It strikes me as a very relaxing game, and the type of experience that you want when you just want to unwind after a tough day... like when you want to watch a movie but you really don't want to have to think about it so you watch something dumb. I'm not saying this game is dumb, I'm just saying it looks like it'll have the same affect. It will be released on August 12th of this year on PS3, PS4 and PS Vita. I will more than likely get this.


Payday 2: Big Bank Heist -- Payday 2 is a good game, and much better than the first. I'm not as obsessed with it as I should be, since I love the concept, because there are little things that would make the heists better that they just haven't included. It's a big improvement over the first but there's room to grow. This DLC looks like more of the same, but more missions is a good thing.


Bayonetta 2 -- I didn't even need to see videos because I have it pre-ordered. It's still as zany and nuts as the original... but what happened to her hair! I'm excited for this.


DubWars -- A shooter where you're character shoots based on the sounds of the song, so if it's silent, you can only avoid enemies. This music-based gameplay makes this a game worth playing and while the graphics are really not that appealing, I love the concept. I could be wrong here, but apparently the launch is Friday... only I thought I heard that the "launch" was actually not the full game, but early access. If I'm right, I have to ask... is that what is considered a launch these days? I won't rant about this, because maybe that's a post for another time, but I'll leave it at that.


Well readers, this is all I got for the day. I know I've missed games over the past few days, but video game journalism is hard and I quit! No, not really, I don't quit, but it is quite difficult to catch everything, especially when you factor in that there are some games I just don't care about.

Anything I missed that you're into? Message me on Twitter @ArtBathednCrime or leave a comment below, and I will see you tomorrow, where I'll do another post like this, and do an E3 Awards post.

It's E3 Day 2 But I Need To Finish Day 1, So Here's Some More Before Day 2 Officially Starts

Written By: Tyler

If you've been following my coverage of E3 -- and I know you have, because IGN, Gamespot and Twitch are rookies -- then you know I went to bed pretty early last night. Because of this, there were some titles and some news that I may have missed that I am now catching up on today. Before coverage starts for today on sites like Gamespot and IGN, I think it's best to throw up a post to round up some of the stuff I missed because unfortunately I have a job.


Freedom Wars Looks Like An Incredible Vita Game
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/11/e3-2014-freedom-wars-vitaas-most-promising-new-exclusive

I don't own a Playstation Vita because at the time I was considering buying one, I was turned off by the fact that I had to buy a memory stick on top of buying the actual Vita itself. I then decided to just go back to Nintendo and get a 3DS. I don't regret this purchase at all, but as time goes on, I'm really wanting a Vita more and more. Freedom Wars has a great premise: People can be given a million years in jail time for small crimes, and in order to knock years off your sentence, you have to do things for the State. Damn you State!

Aside from the fact that it gives you a reason to do a bunch of quests, the action looks fast and exciting. There seems to be quite a bit going on on screen and there's a lot of creativity on display. Freedom Wars is definitely a game to lookout for.


Final Fantasy 14 Is Getting Gay Marriage And Two New Classes
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/11/e3-2014-final-fantasy-14-getting-two-new-classes-gay-marriage

Are you gay? Do you like Final Fantasy? This one is for you. When the next patch comes out you will be able to play as the Rogue, who dual wields weapons and uses enhanced movement skills and poisons. Then the Ninja can be unlocked afterward, who does all this but adds magical abilities. Whoa, magic in a Final Fantasy?

You will also be able to marry anybody. But not everybody, because that would be weird.



Impressions

Below -- I haven't gotten a chance to play Super Time Force, but I loved Sword and Sworcery and while these are completely different games, I have high hopes for Below. I don't love Roguelikes like the rest of the indie community seems to, but I enjoy them, and Below looks like an atmospheric, interesting take on the genre. I have faith that Below will be a nice mixture of visuals, music and gameplay. The choice to have the camera so far back on your character is neat, and the things said about the game in the demo I saw gives me faith that this will be special, such as the sense of exploration.

Helldivers -- This is interesting, a co-op game that kind of encourages you to be a dick, or at the very least lends itself to your friends being dicks. It's a top-down shooter (which we don't see enough of), and when you die, your friends have to call in a respawn. Oh yeah, there's also friendly fire. The action looks wonderful, and I'm a bit of a sucker for this type of game so I'm excited. I think the name is terrible, though.


Murasaki Baby -- I'm very impressed by this game. I feel like I heard of it before, maybe just that it was coming out, but I absolutely adore the hand-drawn, surrealist (I'm a big fan of surrealism) art style. It's disturbing and beautiful all at the same time. I'm also not usually a fan of touch-screen controls, but there are certain genres where it works well. Murasaki Baby looks like a game that will benefit from the touch-screen controls rather than succeed despite them. This is one of the games of the show I have been most invested in, and it's yet another reason I need a Playstation Vita.


No Man's Sky -- I have loved what I've seen so far, but I just listened to the developer joyfully discuss the story, multiplayer and -- most importantly -- the gameplay. Even though I have been positive and excited since I saw the reveal of the game, I would say there's a bit of cautious optimism because I was scared that the game wouldn't be that fun to play. The developer has soothed these fears for me because he explained how if you're a fan of combat, there can be a lot of it, or if you just want to explore there's certainly a lot of that, or maybe you just want to focus on building your suit. There seems to be a lot of variety, and the idea that we start on the outside of the universe really adds to the mystique of... what is at the center of the universe?


 Well that's pretty much it for me. It's a little late, but Day 1 is done for me. Bring on Day 2!

E3 Day 1 (Part 2): The Other Stuff Of The Day

Written By: Tyler

Image from http://e3expo.com

Now that the main press conferences are over, it's down to whatever news trickles out and gameplay impressions. It's time to open up multiple Firefox windows and watch a few different live streams at a time. I will use this post to sum up some of the news and whatnot of the day that caught my attention, and I will divide the post into "News" and "Impressions."


News

Devil's Third Is A Wii U Exclusive
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/10/e3-2014-devils-third-is-a-wii-u-exclusive

It looks like Nintendo has picked up another exclusive game, and this one is a more adult-oriented third person shooter, with gore and dismemberment. Whether it'll be something special or a dud will only become clear in time, but it's a good thing for Nintendo that they're getting this.


Star Fox Exists!
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/10/e3-2014-star-fox-coming-to-wii-u-miyamoto-reveals-new-projects

I didn't catch the tease in the Nintendo Digital Event because I must have been asleep or something, but this is huge news for Nintendo.


Mario Party 10 Is Coming To The Wii U
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/10/e3-2014-mario-party-10-coming-to-wii-u

I haven't actually played a Mario Party in years but a new one always has the potential for fun. This one will have a new "Bowser Mode" that allows the person using the Gamepad to become Bowser and give trouble to the other players.


Fantasy Life Is The Next RPG By Level 5... And It's For The 3DS
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/10/e3-2014-level-5-announces-fantasy-life-for-nintendo-3ds

So far, for me, the 3DS has been a combination RPG/Life Simulator machine, and Level 5 is continuing that for me... literally releasing a game that is both. From IGN:

Fantasy Life is a RPG where you'll be able to have different jobs and make a life for your character. You'll be able to set out on adventures to save the world, or take up more leisurely activities like cooking or fishing.

Mario vs Donkey Kong Is Coming To The Wii U
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/10/mario-vs-donkey-kong-coming-to-wii-u

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/10/art-academy-on-wii-u-gets-october-release-window

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Is Coming To The PS4 And Xbox One
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/10/final-fantasy-type-0-hd-announced-for-xbox-one-and-ps4

There's a remastered version of the Japan only, Playstation Portable RPG, Final Fantasy Type-0 coming to next-gen consoles. There's no release date yet, but it looks cool and it'll be nice to see it localized for the first time ever. Yeah, America rocks!


Impressions
These are the games that I got to see more of today.

Sunset Overdrive -- It still looks like one of the funnest games that was at E3. Just pure craziness, colourful and fast.

Fable Legends -- I think it looks okay, and the co-op should be fun. I still feel the same way as I did when I saw it during the press conference. It's probably going to be solid but I'm not unbelievably hyped for it by any means.


The Division -- Even though all I saw was the same video that we saw at the press conferences, it had developer commentary over it. I'm really excited for it still and love how it has RPG elements like loot drops and whatnot. They explained the multiplayer a little bit more, and it sounds like it's going to be fluid and not be a typical, generic MMO.

Heavy Bullets -- I had never heard of this game before so I was curious about it. In my mind, I expected a grim cover-based shooter or a really silly shooter, but it's a lot different. The first time I saw the visuals I was caught off guard, but not really in a good way. It's colourful, and the concept of the game -- very limited bullets so you have to aim well -- is interesting but from the video I've seen, I'm just not feeling it.

Xenoblade Chronicles X -- It looks like an evolution of the first Xenoblade Chronicles, which isn't a bad thing. The combat looks deeper, the variety in weapons is nice, the world still looks huge and oh yeah, giant robots. I can't see anybody who loved the first one hating this.

Homefront: The Revolution -- I'm sure it'll be decent, but it honestly just looks like another shooter to me.

Driveclub -- The video I saw was not the most exciting thing ever, since it didn't have online connectivity. All they did was drive, but everything looked pretty already. I am not a big racing game fan but I hope this ends up being good, especially considering all the delays.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor -- This still looks like one of the best games coming up, mostly because of the way relationships and the world changes based on your actions. If this game lives up to what they're promising, this will be truly special, and seeing the demo of it just confirms the potential.

Destiny -- I saw some multiplayer footage of Destiny, and the mechanics look solid. It looks and feels like Halo in a lot of ways to me, at least looking at the video. I can't wait to try this bad boy out.

Some footage I wanted to see but missed: The Order: 1886, No Man's Sky



Okay, I have work early in the morning and I've already stayed up too late. I know that the day isn't over yet, but I will have to catch up on the rest of Day 1 tomorrow and maybe do a quick little shout-out to today in my Day 2 post.

What have you liked about Day 1 of E3? Let me know in the comments below or tweet me @ArtBathednCrime.

E3 Day 1 (Part 1): The Nintendo Digital Event

Written By: Tyler

Image from http://e3expo.com

I'm not going to lie to you people, but the Nintendo Digital Event is what I was most forward to seeing. Partially because in my heart, I'm a Nintendo guy (despite the Playstation being my primary system) and partially because I need to see them do something great. I'm writing this thing live, so it may not be the best writing I've ever done because I'm going for pure reactions.


Nintendo claymation is a thing, and the Digital Event starts with it. It brings the trademark Nintendo creativity. Fight scene.

Then Super Smash Bros. shows up and we watch Smash Bros. versions of Iwata and Reggie duke it out. Then Mario gets brought into the fight via figurine and beats up Reggie Fils-Aime. Mario wins again!

Super Smash Bros. will allow you to use your Mii as a fighter. You can choose any of the three varieties of Miifighters... the brawler, swordfighter and gunner. You can also choose your moves. It's an interesting idea in a game that is already going to be awesome. 

There are also going to be a bunch of different modes in Smash Bros.

Amiibo is coming this year. You will be able to put your figurine on the Gamepad and the statistics of the character will be put into the game you're playing and you can use it, if I'm understanding correctly. Super Smash Bros. will be the first game to use this feature, but it will show up for games like Mario Kart 8 as well.

Then they talk about yarn and Yoshi's Woolly World. It looks like it could be fun with interesting ways of manipulating the world with your yarn, and two-player mode is always welcome but this isn't really what I want from the Digital Event.

Don't call it a comeback. It also looks like the little Toad mini-game in Super Mario World 3D is coming back. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker. 

Then we have another claymation skit where Bowser apologizes to Princess Peach for kidnapping her so much. This is a... strange lead-up to none other than the new Legend of Zelda game for Wii U!

It turns out they're really going for making the world of the new Zelda vast and open. After a little bit of it in action, it says 2015 and then we cut to a real-world boy wandering in a forest. This leads to some footage of the new Pokemon remakes.

The next game we see is Bayonetta 2, a game that I am personally looking forward to. It looks as crazy as the first one, and that's definitely a good thing. If there's one thing Platinum Games is good at, it's making intense action games that are absolutely nuts. It's awesome that they're packaging the first game with the second.

Hyrule Warriors gets the spotlight next. Yup, still looks like Dynasty Warriors meets Zelda. I'm completely okay with that, and I'm not even a big Zelda fan. Every so often I'll play a new Dynasty Warriors because it's nice sometimes to just button mash and kill hordes of enemies. Hyrule Warriors gets released at the end of September, 2014.

Next there is some footage of Kirby. Kirby and the Rainbow curse hits in 2015, and it looks just like a Kirby game. Like the Yoshi game, it should be fun but it's hardly a system seller.

However, right after that, we get some more footage of Monolith Soft's X (apparently called Xenoblade Chronicles X now)... my most anticipated Wii U game and a game I'm already calling one of the best RPGs of all-time. It looks awesome, even if it isn't more actual gameplay.

Next is the game that got leaked, where you design your own Mario levels. It's called Mario Maker and I definitely think it's a cool concept, and one that we should have had before, but again, it's not a system seller. I still dig the idea a lot though and will probably pick it up. It will be out in 2015 and it also reminds me that we really need a new Mario Paint.

Splatoon shows up next. It's an eight player 4 on 4 online multiplayer action game where people fight for territory. Yeah, gang warfare! It's colourful and family friendly, but definitely has a charming creativity to it, such as being able to shoot ink up walls and travel up those walls really fast. You use your ink to claim your territory.

Then we get an animated video of Link fighting Kid Icarus. But then Palutena shows up and gets rid of him. Guess we got a new character for Smash Bros. Then of course we see some footage of her in action.

Next Miyamoto talks about the gamepad and new experiences and it's over. I'm really disappointed that they chose to end the digital event this way.

Closing Statement: What I like about Nintendo is that they spend more time showing actual gameplay than just pretty cinematics. Say what you want about their games, but their way of announcing things in that regard is better than everyone else. I can't help but feel disappointed as a whole though. I'm one of those guys who eagerly anticipates each Nintendo Direct, only to be disappointed. I feel the same way. It was a good, entertaining, humorous presentation, and Zelda is big news (even if people already knew it was going to be announced), but they did not come out and kill it like they should. No Metroid, Star Fox, F-Zero, no new IPs that we don't know about outside of something like Splatoon (which does look fun, don't get me wrong). They really had to go for broke here and they didn't.


Edit: Wow I'm an idiot. I completely missed the Star Fox tease. I also feel like I was a little hard on the presentation, even though I enjoyed it. Nintendo did a good job.

E3 Day 0 (Part 1) -- The Microsoft Press Conference

Written By: Tyler

Image taken from http://e3expo.com

First thing's first, I have to do the obligatory Eminem reference when you've been gone from something for a while. Guess who's back? Back again, Tyler's back, tell my friends (because seriously, they have assumed I'm dead). Yes ladies and gents, I have been gone for almost a month. I went away, and I wasn't sure if I'd even bother writing anymore, but once in a while I'd check out the stats on this blog and I was still getting some views so I figure why not?

And now, what better time to come back than the Superbowl of gaming? It's E3 time, and here's my game plan: I am not a professional blog -- if you can't tell by now -- so I have no E3 press credentials or anything, and I have a real job to go to, but I intend on watching as much as I can during the next few days. At the end of each day, I will make a post talking about the day. Now, because of my work schedule (I have some really early mornings), there may be some press conferences or news I miss, but if I do, I will talk about that the next day.

As the Microsoft Press Conference went on, I realized just how big it was. I don't want to bombard you people with one completely massive post, so I tell ya what... this post has just become a Microsoft-only post, which means you will be getting multiple posts each day, depending on how long the posts are. I imagine EA and Ubisoft won't be as huge, so I might pair them into a single post. We'll see how it goes. Look at me adapting.



The first press conference of the day was Microsoft and it was great.

When the lights went down we were bombarded with a lot of flashy images and a countdown. Once the countdown hit 0, the Xbox symbol came up and Phil Spencer got beamed down from space (okay he walked out). After the typical corporate talk about how awesome games are and how great we are, he said that this presentation is all about the games this time, which is welcome because we all remember how bad last year went.

The first game that is shown is, of course, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Xbox owners will be the first to play all additional content for the game. I'm glad that Call of Duty is going a little more Sci-Fi this time around, and the footage looked like it could breathe fresh air into the franchise, but to be honest, I'm like a lot of gamers at this point where I'd need to play it and see how it is because I'm just not hyped. It definitely looks more interesting than the previous few, though.

There's a new, free track for Forza 5... and you can get it now. So, you know, do that.

Then there's Forza Horizon 2. It's 1080p and has stuff like dynamic weather. It also apparently has no lobbies so you can get right into the action. You can get it on September 30th of this year. I've never actually played a Forza and I'm not a huge racer fan so I'm not real excited, but it does look like it'll be a good time so I think any racing game fan should be excited.

And here we go... Evolve. It gets its beta and DLC first on Xbox. A lot has been said about how incredible the potential is for this game, with original multiplayer, and I really hope it's good because the trailer they showed was exciting. We get to see a new monster -- and oh yeah, it's the Kraken.

Assassin's Creed Unity is next and I'm not an Assassin's Creed guy. You can join with up to three friends on Xbox Live, which might actually be a selling point for me. I mean, I don't own an Xbox One, but I'm assuming it will be this way on PS4 and whatnot.

I'm not expecting the series to be completely re-designed and the footage shown doesn't indicate that it will be. However, I have to admit, seeing the co-op in action has me jazzed for Assassin's Creed for the first time... ever. This will add a whole new dynamic to the experience. It really looks like they're doing this right... if you can play through the story completely in co-op, I am all in.

Then we get a feature about the first games of people. Then people are burning. No this isn't the opening scene of Parasite Eve, it's Dragon Age: Inquistion. Confession time: I've never played a Dragon Age. But I want to play it.

From Fantasy to military shooter. Oh wait no, it's SUNSET OVERDRIVE... the game I'm most pumped for. Nice trickery, Insomniac Games. They show us a fun little teaser trailer before Ted Price comes out and introduces us to some actual gameplay. His favourite game is Super Metroid which makes him okay by me.

So what does Sunset Overdrive play like? It's fast, chaotic and silly.  It's colourful and fluid, and I cannot wait. You can play co-op with up to 8 friends, which would be awesome for me.

Next is Dead Rising 3 DLC. It has a really long name but it could definitely be fun. I know, I'm positive.

Here we go with something I really don't care about at all. On October 21, we have Disney Fantasia Music Evolved. You remix your favourite songs through "impressive motion play." In September, there's a digital-only title called Dance Central Spotlight. To anybody who likes this kind of thing, good for you, but it wouldn't see my money if I had an Xbone.

Fable Legends has joined the fight. I'm all for any game that allows me to play the campaign/story with friends, so the game is of interest for that reason, but Fable is not something I'm emotionally invested in. However, you are able to play as the villain and control the world from up above. This is an interesting gameplay mechanic, which I think is a nice addition because the rest of the game looks fine but not awe-inspiring. Looks like another solid Fantasy third-person action title where teamwork might actually be important.

Project Spark is up next, only for Xbox and PC. It looks like there's a lot of variety to the type of games you can make with it. I'll have to see what comes out of it... oh crap, is that... Conker? That's interesting. While I'd rather just have a new Conker, he will apparently be in Project Spark. As I was saying, I'll have to see what comes out of Project Spark but it definitely has a lot of potential.

Moon Studios is coming out with what appears to be a very artistic, side-scrolling platformer called
Ori and the Blind Forest (I think, as I was looking away briefly and I'm not sure if I read the title correctly).

The Halo music that everybody is familiar with hits, and we actually get some real footage of a new Halo. It's pretty epic and it appears that there's someone like Master Chief out there. Bonnie Ross comes out and she's pretty. Hey, I'm a guy.

On November 11th, you can get Halo: The Master Chief Collection and play all the core Halo games (featuring Master Chief of course) on Xbox One. I'm not really excited because I've played them all and I'm not the type of guy who buys this type of thing, but there's no doubt that this is a huge release. It does look like they're putting a lot of care into it... retouching "every part of the game," and they're keeping the Halo 2 multiplayer exactly the same. It has every map in all four of the games, running at 1080p, on dedicated servers and on their original engines. It will also ship with 4000 gamerscore if... you know, that matters to you.

Halo: Nightfall is a digital series and that's included in the collection. Okay, I said I'm not the type of guy who would buy this kind of thing but as the presentation goes on, I'm into it.

 In December, the Halo 5: Guardians beta shows up as well. There's a whole lot of Halo in your life.

After people were done filling the cup (Kevin Smith orgasm reference), Phil Spencer shows up to cuddle everyone with some upcoming 2015 games.

The follow-up to Limbo, Inside, is dark, moody and it looks like you're trying to escape from somewhere. I was sold on it before I saw anything just because Limbo was great.

There's a lot of indie games coming, and we see a little bit of some of them. There are too many to talk about, but I will say, there are some truly incredible looking indie games coming. This is why the indie scene is a hotbed for creativity.

Then we have a world premiere of the new Tomb Raider. It doesn't show any gameplay, so it's really hard to tell what it's going to give us.

Then we're treated to some new gameplay for The Witcher 3, one of the most hyped upcoming RPGs.
I don't know what to even say... it just looks like a big, bad RPG. The combat looks solid and the hunting looks fun.

Then Ken Lobb comes out and starts talking about Killer Instinct. But wait, he's bringing sexy something else back. What is it, you ask? None other than Phantom Dust, and I feel really ignorant because I don't even know what that is. The footage only shows us a cinematic of two people throwing fireballs at each other, basically, so I don't know what to think.

Oh man, now we talk about The Division, one of the games I'm most excited for. The video starts with some pretty Christmas music, but I'm going to guess that something goes wrong. You know, just a hunch. Christmas Day is treated so poorly in fiction.

After the squad meets up, we get to witness a battle. I'm well aware that the people playing it are going to play more "professionally" and thus cooler than a lot of players, since they're trying to hype the game up and make it more like real team work (as opposed to a lot of gamers just playing stupid), but damn it looks like a lot of fun. The combat, of course, doesn't go as planned and things get chaotic. Cover gets blown up and the enemies seem to be relatively intelligent. I still don't get how the multiplayer is going to work in the sense that where do opposing players fit in?

Next Scalebound gets shown off with a nice cinematic that once again really tells you very little about the actual game. All these games look cool.

The next exclusive Xbox One game is Crackdown 3. I've always wanted to play Crackdown but haven't gotten around to it. Again, it's all cinematic with lots of explosions so Michael Bay would be proud. What is it going to be like as a game? I'm sure it'll play like the others, but you can't tell much from it.

Oh hey, Phil Spencer is back to wrap it up. He talks about how awesome Xbox is going to continue to be. The press conference ends with a montage of games in a variety of genres


Closing Statement: I think it would have been hard to mess up this press conference because of the focus on games. We know that Microsoft was bound to get some awesome games, and they did a good job of giving the stage to what gamers truly care about. It was a successful conference to me and made me want an Xbone even more than I already do, as its the only next-gen console that I don't currently have.


What do you think? Did I report anything wrong? Don't kill me if I did, because I have a hard time multi-tasking so watching video and writing made my head explode and I was replaced by an incompetent robot. Tell me what you think in the comment section below or yell at me on Twitter @ArtBathednCrime