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 0 (Part 2) -- The EA and Ubisoft Press Conferences

Written By: Tyler

Image from: http://e3expo.com

Welcome back. With this post, I will be giving a mostly live rundown of the EA and Ubisoft press conferences. What I mean by "mostly live" is that, outside of any point where I have to leave my PC, I will be writing this post as I watch the press conference so that's why it will seem very "in the moment."


EA Press Conference

Star Wars: Battlefront 3. After that popped up, EA dropped the mic and left the stage. No, but they did start it off by talking about Star Wars, showingvery brief in-game footage and then ending it by saying that the new Battlefront will show up in Spring of next year.

Unfortunately at this point I had to leave my PC so from this point on I just had to go through articles and get my news. I take it I missed a game demo of Dragon Age: Inquisition and they teased a new Mass Effect that will take place in *gasp* space, and a new IP that will tell "contemporary" stories.

I came back during the new Sims, in which personality is supposed to play a big role in the stories of the Sims. The concept is "smarter sims" and Sims 4 is supposed to be deeper in that regard. For example, one old woman annoyed a guy in the footage we were shown, and the next day at the gym the guy worked out harder because he was frustrated. Then they threw him a party to cheer him up... and he laughed to death. Whether this will work as they intended remains to be seen.

Next up is EA UFC. It started with Bruce Lee... no really, the video did. The MMA fighters talked about how Bruce Lee was the father to MMA, and then we were told we can be Bruce Lee. Next came the video game footage... the 5th round between BJ Penn and Bruce Lee. Having played the demo, I found that the AI brawled way too much on the feet, and this video was no different. I won't dissect all the gameplay, but this video hasn't really done anything to calm my nerves concerning the full game.

Onto a new sport now -- hockey. NHL '15 is on its way to the surprise of absolutely nobody, and apparently everything is supposed to change. So the pucks will be cannon balls and knives are allowed. Just kidding, but it's the typical spiel about how it's going to be more realistic. Then an emotional video of hockey players played in which we got to see a cinematic of the great Canadian game.

Then we were showed an extremely early example of the new Criterion Games game, in which they have expanded beyond cars... we will now be able to play with helicopters, jet skis, cars, etc in a first-person view. 

Frostbite 3 is coming to EA Sports PGA Tour. So get hyped for the... most... exciting... sport on earth.

With Madden '15, they're working hard on defense since defense is apparently "nearly" half the game. Well, I'd say it's exactly half, but I'm not nitpicking.

Dawngate is an upcoming moba that is supposed to build on existing mobas, not just clone them.

As the show starts to wind-down, Mirror's Edge 2 is shown off. This is one of my more anticipated games, so of course I got excited. They talk about Faith, attitude and the style of Mirror's Edge and we see footage of the conceptual prototype. Turns out, Mirror's Edge 2 is going to be heavy on parkour. Who woulda thunk it? I don't think they expanded as much on the reveal from last year as they should have.

And next is Fifa '15, and once again we're told how Fifa is going to be more realistic with man to man battles, more agility, authentic atmosphere and visuals. Nothing out of the ordinary, but something that is sure to be a lot of fun if you're a soccer fan.

Then Battlefield: Hardline shows up to the party. It's time for cops and criminals this time. The plot is supposed to be more like a great cop TV show, but the focus is obviously going to be on multiplayer.
They showed us footage of a heist in-game from multiple perspectives -- the cops and the criminals. It looks and feels like Battlefield, but I have to admit that taking it away from the military based gameplay to this intrigues me. The game looked incredibly exciting and dynamic, like a Battlefield game should. I was already sold, but after I watched the crane come down and be the catalyst of a ton of destruction... give it to me right now. October 21 can't come soon enough.

After that awesome footage, they launched the beta of Battlefield: Hardline.


Closing Statement: I wasn't terribly impressed with the EA Press Conference but it had its moments. It looks like they're doing something neat with Sims, and ending it with Battlefield was a great thing because that game looks astonishing, but mostly we just get some updates on sports games. I also think that Battlefront should have gotten more than it did, because while it's exciting enough that it exists, we've been waiting so long for it that some real game play would have been welcome. Same with Mirror's Edge.



Ubisoft Press Conference

The Ubisoft press conference starts with a pretty shot of a mountain. Aww. What this mountain means is Far Cry 4. After a lengthy cinematic, Dan Hay shows up on stage, saying that it's the first five minutes of the game. 

Then we apparently get some stand-up comedy. I got to give it to them, putting Aisha Tyler up there every year now is probably a good idea because she's entertaining. What's next? Just Dance 2015. Yay?

We get to hear Happy for the millionth time in the last 24 hours, and it shows off footage of the game. I'm not excited at all, but I can't even slow dance so what do I know? The big news is, now you can play it on your phone! Sweet! I'm going to do that...

After talking about how dancing makes people happy, Aisha does a nice transition to relate that to post-apocalyptic New York. Here comes The Division. All they did was show a movie of it, so how the online aspects tie-in are still a mystery to me, which sucks because that's all I wanted to know.

Next up we have The Crew. In the video, the car is going F-Zero fast while a moody song plays in the background. There are two one-hour missions in the game. There are co-op missions, open-world driving... basically The Crew sounds like a pretty inventive racing game. You can get the "beeta" on the Crew website, and the game is coming out November 11 on Xbone, PS4 and PC.

 It was only a matter of time, so here comes Assassin's Creed Unity... a game that actually impressed me during the Microsoft press conference. There's another cinematic with more moody music
but no actual gameplay. It's a really cool video, though. Afterward we're told that the core experience has been changed. Then the gameplay comes and it looks like a lot of open-world fun, with a neat ending where the other players show up. 

So what did we all want? A fitness game. Thanks Ubisoft for bringing us Shape Up. Instead of doing boring stuff, we will jump on trains and shit. We see a video of the presenter stepping on piano keys against himself, and it doesn't actually look terrible. Then we get to see push-ups! This party doesn't stop! This is an S Club party! I believe Shape Up is a fitness game I can get behind.

From fitness to World War 1, we have the puzzle game Valiant Hearts. The game has a pretty artstyle and revolves around a dog and the letters that soldiers wrote back in WW1. It was an incredibly touching trailer but I'm not really sure what the game play will be like, nor will it be any good. What I do think is we'll get an emotional game that sticks with you, even if it isn't the most fun to play. 

How do we end it? With pre-alpha footage of Rainbow Six: Siege. I'm beyond excited for some tactical shooter gameplay, such as blowing up the floor in order to ambush your opponent and rescue the hostage. I cannot wait for this game to come out, because even in pre-alpha it looks like a beast (not graphically, but just gameplay wise).


Closing Statement: Ubisoft tends to have really theatrical press conferences, which is a double-edged sword for me. On one side, it makes for an extremely entertaining, lively and comical presentation, but on the other side, sometimes it goes on way too long when you just want to see games. They are definitely the "least corporate" of the companies presenting, in the sense that they seem to have more fun with the whole ordeal, and right now they're tied for the best presentation of the show... with Microsoft, who played it more bland but gave us a ton of great games.

News Round-Up For February 2 - 8: Shit Gets Delayed, Microsoft Says The Net Sometimes Lies

Written By: Tyler

Hello people, I am back for yet another News Round-Up. Every week I do a run through of some of the most important news of the week... or at least the news that is a) important to me or b) easy to make fun of. Let's see what this week had for us.


It Turns Out That People Like Minecraft
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/03/minecraft-sells-14-million-on-pc-series-total-over-35-million

Notch confirmed that the PC version of Minecraft has sold 14 million, with the total sales on all platforms figured to be over 35 million. Despite the fact that Notch thinks Mario Kart isn't a real game (GRRR), I have to give praise to the game for how innovative it is. It's hard to deny that Minecraft is a cash magnet, with how many copies it has sold and how much attention it gets on Youtube just by making a video about it.

I mean, I'm only reporting the news to get more views for my blog. Did I mention Minecraft?


Is Duke Returning In A Game That Isn't A First-Person Shooter?
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-duke-nukem-game-teased-for-playstation-and-pc/1100-6417484/

According to this article he is. The game was teased for Playstation and PC, and won't be a first-person shooter. The game is going to be called Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction and it will have experience points and tech trees. To be honest I don't like the idea of Duke leaving the FPS genre but I do welcome evolving with RPG elements thrown in.

I guess it doesn't matter though, since I'm 28 now and by the time it releases I'll be dead.


Titanfall Developer Has Fears of the Upcoming Launch For The Greatest FPS To Ever Exist
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-dev-has-a-bit-of-fear-over-game-s-release/1100-6417483/

The Titanfall developer is excited for the release next month of their wildly hyped FPS but they are also a little scared because they want the launch to be smooth.

I won't even make an EA joke here because I feel for Respawn.
But EA sucks.


Microsoft Is Going To Release News on Xbone Free Games Soon
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-free-game-promotion-news-coming-soon/1100-6417482/

So news that isn't really news. Or is it news within news? News within news within news? Yes Internet, you know where I'm going with this:

Wait, I think I screwed that up. I mean Newsception! That's what I mean! Whew that was close, almost looked like an idiot.

New Lord of the Rings Game Is Only Single Player, Also Not On Wii U
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-lord-of-the-rings-prequel-won-t-have-multiplayer-not-coming-to-wii-u/1100-6417481/

Promising LotR game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor isn't going to have multiplayer and it's not going to be on Wii U. I don't know why I wrote that out again. I guess I just feel obligated to say something about it. Hey, I did say it was promising at least.

Microsoft Says That They Aren't Planning On Making Xbones $399
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-exec-responds-to-399-xbox-one-rumor/1100-6417473/

They also said you can't believe everything on the internet.

Somebody Leaked The Games That Are Available In the Playstation Now Beta
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-now-beta-games-include-killzone-3-shadow-of-the-colossus-few-more/1100-6417469/

In another shocking turn of events, someone on the internet couldn't be trusted to keep a secret and leaked the list of games that you can play if you're involved in the Playstation Now beta. 

I'm not going to support foolishness like leaks so I won't be posting a list of the games. I'll just post a link to a site that does. You're welcome Sony.


Bungie Says They Won't Have Mounts in Destiny, Also Kinda Blasts PETA
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bungie-s-destiny-won-t-feature-animal-mounts/1100-6417485/

Bungie said that Destiny wouldn't have mounts because the heavy-armor of the Titans kept breaking their backs and PETA would go berserk, which I can't imagine being the case. I mean really now, the people who made Mario Kills Tanooki (IT WAS JUST A JOKE, NOT DAMAGE CONTROL) would never ever kick up a fuss.
 


Ubisoft Abandons A Watch Dogs Trademark, Game Is Cancelled
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-abandons-watch-dogs-trademark-what-does-that-mean/1100-6417495/

But don't worry they have five more! The game is still coming! It'll be okay, just take a moment to curse me for the title. 

Okay, ready? Now move on.

UPDATE: Then it turns out that whoever abandoned the trademark did it without the knowledge of Ubisoft.  

UPDATE VERSION 2.0: They reinstated the trademark. Quit playing with my heart.


Hyper Light Drifter Delayed
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/03/hyper-light-drifter-delayed-until-holiday-season

Alex Preston stated that "[the money received from the Kickstarter exceeded expectations so now the game has to go from Awesome to Awesomer]" and he cited health issues. So on a serious note, I hope all is well with him because you don't fuck around with your health.


ReRoll Looks To Generate (Most) Of the World, Might Catch You Doing Dirty Things
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/03/ex-ubisoft-ea-devs-reveal-ambitious-rpg-reroll

So... I'm just going to pull down the blinds on my window now...

In all seriousness, ReRoll is extremely ambitious, with them sending drones up in the air to generate the environments of the world, all within reason of course. If this succeeds, it could be pretty awesome, or at the very least memorable for that reason alone.

It isn't really going to catch you doing dirty things, by the way.

Or is it?

 


Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes Isn't Going To Be A Very Long Game
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mgs-5-ground-zeroes-campaign-may-only-take-you-two-hours/1100-6417524/

AND I DON'T EVEN CARE, JUST GIVE ME MGS5: GZ RIGHT NOW. Take me as you wish, Metal Gear.

Even the rain is full of nanomachines!

Jordan Amaro basically stated that length has nothing to do with quality, and brought attention to Dear Esther and Journey, which I definitely agree with, but those are also cheaper... oh who am I kidding? See my comment above the picture.

UPDATE: It seems that lots of people have commented on this. Kojima himself said he believes people will be satisfied and that Phantom Pain will be hundreds of times larger, while the Shadows of the Damned director said that creators having to justify the length of their games is a problem with the industry.

Again, I actually agree with these people to a certain extent. I think people complain way too much about length in games, even if they offer 10 hours of gameplay. Games got more expensive because our technology is better. If people want these triple-A titles with amazing graphics and whatnot, they have to be prepared to pay for that.

However! A possible $40 dollars for two hours is a little much, even if it is Metal Gear. Drop the price and the controversy goes away, especially considering we still have the actual full game coming too. 100 buckaroos for one game? Unfortunately I'll still get it because I fiend for MGS like a junkie.


Kinect Based Tech Is Protecting Borders
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kinect-based-tech-being-used-to-protect-korean-border/1100-6417491/

So apparently Kinect is being used for something, um, useful? It's protecting the border between North and South Korea. You can do your fantasy football league, talk to the Kinect and now you can use it for security!

Finally found its use. Dem feels.

 
 

Yasumi Matsuno Talks About His New Game, Unsung Story
http://www.destructoid.com/final-fantasy-tactics-director-talks-new-game-269947.phtml

Unsung Story is a biographical game about this very blog!

No, it is actually a turn-based RPG with a job system and no main character. Given his expertise in such things, it's very easy to be excited for this.


The Uncharted Movie Is Still Going To Happen
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-movie-still-happening/1100-6417526/

While the Uncharted movie is still going to happen, the director of Identity Thief and Horrible Bosses is the most recent name attached to the project.

But I think we've forgotten one man:

Uwe Boll, our savior.

Super Mario Is In Happy Meals
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/help-nintendo-post-a-profit-by-eating-these-super-mario-happy-meals/1100-6417539/

In the UK they're going to have a Super Mario Happy Meal for a limited time, and this is the only time ever I've been jealous of the UK. Give me Happy Meals, I live in North America!


Warface, Crytek's New Free-To-Play Shooter Came To Xbox 360 This Week...
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/04/star-wars-the-old-republic-getting-two-expansions-in-2014

...But it's not really free. You need Xbox Live Gold in order to play it.

I'm going to save you some time. Don't play this game. The stupidity doesn't stop at the name, so you're better off playing something else.


Microsoft Planning Two Updates -- One in February And One In March
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/05/upcoming-xbox-one-updates-to-fix-party-chat-add-features

The first update, which comes Feb. 11, will fix party chat and some other issues. The update in March is going to get the Xbox One ready for Titanfall.

EA Talks About Their Free-To-Play Remake of Dungeon Keeper
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-responds-to-dungeon-keeper-free-to-play-criticisms/1100-6417571/

EA has responded to the hate that players have thrown at their remake of the classic PC game Dungeon Keeper. But I won't quote it here, and instead I will just say... EA, please just...

Stop while you're, um, ahead?

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain May Not Be Released Until December, 2015
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain-might-not-come-out-until-december-2015/1100-6417568/

Konami has stated that depending on the development stage, the release date for the game I'm most anticipating may be pushed back until next year, at least.

To which I reply down on my knees, face in my hands, crying enough manboy tears for twenty people. I could deal with a Watch Dogs delay, but Metal Gear is just going too far. Something must be done. Sign my petition.

Editor's Note: Petition doesn't exist. Well not mine, maybe someone made one.
Editor's Note: I'm actually the editor too. Which is why there's no editing done in any articles.


Speaking Of Delays, Titanfall For the 360 Is Delayed And Will Now Be Released Two Weeks Later
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/06/titanfall-delayed-on-xbox-360

Sorry guys.


Rust Removes Zombies In Latest Patch
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/06/rust-update-removes-zombies

Because there are too many ways to die already, the developers of Rust have removed zombies with their latest patch. Since they were the only game to have zombies, this leaves a large hole for all you zombie fanatics, but don't worry, I got your back.

Naughty Dog Are Considering A Sequel To The Last of Us... Or New IP
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/07/naughty-dog-contemplating-the-last-of-us-2

I pretty much sum it up in the title, but after developing the DLC for The Last of Us, they are taking a breather. However, they are brainstorming ideas... some of which include a sequel to the hit The Last of Us.

I'll give this one to you. You're welcome.

Take-Two Talks About Development For Various Platforms
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/07/take-two-ceo-tablet-gaming-not-quite-there-yet

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick (cool name!) has talked about a variety of platforms over the past week. In a nutshell he said mobile gaming isn't quite there yet but knows there's a future, the Oculus Rift is interesting and he is hesitant about developing for the Wii U.

Developers not wanting to make games for the Wii U, in 2014? Man... join the club.

You can go where the red arrow is Take-Two... wait your turn.

Sledgehammer Games Developing The 2014 Call of Duty
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/06/sledgehammer-games-developing-2014s-call-of-duty-release

It was reported this week that now the Call of Duty games will be on a three year cycle, so three different CoDs, three different developers. I full expect innovation. The influences that I expect to seep through in the future CoDs are; Minecraft, River City Ransom, Bubble Bobble, Final Fantasy and Shadow of the Colossus. Or or or, let's just have it take place in Silent Hill. Yes, let's do that one.


BREAKING NEWS -- THERE ARE A GROUP OF PEOPLE TERRORIZING EVERYONE ON RUST
http://www.destructoid.com/rust-if-you-see-the-penis-brothers-take-off-your-pants-270096.phtml



Proof of why video games are superior to everything.


Flappy Bird Is Going Away (Thank God!)
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/flappy-bird-creator-taking-game-down-but-not-because-of-legal-issues/1100-6417612/

Or it may already be gone. Kurt Vonnegut once said that if God exists than music is the best proof of him/her. I disagree, Kurt, you wonderful bastard... Flappy Bird going away is proof of God.

Anyway, the developer said he just can't take it anymore and the game is going to disappear. He won't be selling it anymore, so it'll almost be like Flappy Bird never existed. Only it did... and people kept talking about it, over and over and over and over and over and over and over.

Bye Flappy Bird!

Don't Worry, The Division Is Not In Trouble
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-xbox-one-game-the-division-not-in-trouble-dev-insists/1100-6417600/

I didn't even know it was suggested that the game was in trouble. Had I known, I probably wouldn't have been alive to write the News Round-Up for this week. I guess most people would say that'd be a good thing, but I digress.

So don't worry, The Division is still going to come out, and it's still going to be awesome. The two studio approach doesn't mean shit, and it's just "classic team size management." So rejoice, because you will still get to see the light shine through the bullet holes in the signs you shoot. Yay next gen!



Well that's it for this week. Geez these things are long. Can you believe that I edit this post every day? Yes, I put real work into being this crappy.

If there is any news I missed, feel free to write this thing your damn self. Or just reply in the comments below or on my Twitter @ArtBathednCrime. Thank you for reading!

My Most Anticipated Games of 2014: 15 - 1

Written By: Tyler Selig

15: Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PS4, PC, Vita)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beUrlDwf56w

                I’m not unfamiliar with cactus, so when I played Hotline Miami 2 I wasn’t surprised that it was dark and weird. What I was surprised with the gameplay. You couldn’t just shoot, you had to plan your next move. It was video game chess, and it got frustrating sometimes (also because of bugs) but damn, the story was sufficiently nuts, it was really fun, and the game was just memorable as a whole.

                Give me more of that, you have a winner.

14: Destiny (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufeImJJEqqU

                No monthly subscription fee, Bungie, not an MMO but actually is an MMO? Yup, that’s Destiny in a nutshell. It’s hard not to be hyped for Destiny because of all of these things. Try watching that video and not get excited for it.

13: EA Sports UFC (PS4, Xbox One)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkDED86sskU

                Whenever a new Fight Night or MMA game comes out, I always play it for hours upon hours, always telling myself “just one more fight” but then being unable to resist to urge to build my fighter more and beat more people up. They’re really the only sports games I play.

                Though MMA hasn’t had a great track record in video game format (good games, not quite there yet), I still look forward to seeing what Next-Gen can do for the sport, especially considering it’s EA doing it this time so I want to see what they bring to UFC.

12: Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls (PC, PS4)

http://ca.ign.com/videos/2013/11/26/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-video-preview

                I’ve gone to bat for Diablo 3 because I put over 100 hours into it and I did genuinely enjoy it. However, I can acknowledge the flaws that it has, namely the levelling up system which is one I understand but don’t prefer.

                Reaper of Souls is trying to right a lot of the wrongs, and adds another class in… so I’m really excited for it.

11: Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dFfVBdRWmw

                Partially because it’s a Wii U exclusive so I have to support it, partially because Bayonetta was a silly, action-packed, fun, crazy romp, I really want to play this. I think Nintendo  has a winner on their hands here.

10: Lily Bergamo (PS4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb6BVCfAxdU

                I don’t know much about this game other than Suda51 is making it. That’s enough for me because I’m almost always a fan of his stylish, batshit-insane games. I am one of the few people who loved Lollipop Chainsaw.

                Here’s hoping this game is his best.

9: Final Fantasy XV (PS4, Xbox One)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3xKbPooKAo

                I have to admit something: I haven’t loved a Final Fantasy since 10, but my love for 10 is not that of 7, so really it’s been like 15 years since I’ve felt incredibly passionate towards a Final Fantasy (though like I said, I loved 10, and I thought 9 was great too). I skipped 11, hated 12, skipped 13 because it didn’t look appealing and haven’t played 14.

                With all of that said, Final Fantasy is in my veins, and I’m hoping that this is the next Final Fantasy that I love. It looks a lot different than others, and it better end up being awesome because in my eyes, Final Fantasy needs to return to glory – though to be fair, A Realm Reborn looks great… I just hate subscription fees.

8: Titanfall (PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caiIamHIzBY

                Incredibly hyped first-person shooter, but as far as I can see, it’s warranted. It really does look incredible, and different than the others. I’m sure it doesn’t dethrone Killzone as my primary online shooter, but if any shooter can, it’s this one. It will most likely sit comfortably in second, because being able to jump around as much as you can in this opens up the gameplay and gives us something different.

7: Starbound (PC)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyMJE9ZHIqQ

                I love Terraria, and Starbound looks to be a worthy successor. It really seems like it’s being improved in all ways – it’s a little more epic, a little more RPG, a little more buildy-buildy, and that soundtrack is incredible. Peep the trailer and try not to get pumped for it.

6: Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU7tXqYplA8

                It’s Mario Kart. I will always love the series, because it’s chaotic racing with characters we love. I was sold on it before I saw footage, but it looks to change up the gameplay a little bit by adding different types of vehicles, more-so than in previous entries. Pre-ordered.

5: Tom Clancy’s The Division (PC, PS4, Xbox One)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njfj6KwEAfg

                This was the game that blew me away the most at E3 this year. It just looked like a solid co-op third-person shooter, which would be reason enough for me to buy, but then at the end of the trailer when other players come in. I sat there thinking, “Holy shit, this will be cool.”

                I think to this day, there isn’t a lot of information but we’ve seen how interactive the environment is and some other details. As far as I know, it’s not totally clear how the online aspects work, but I’m ridiculously excited for this.

4: Super Smash Bros. (Wii U, 3DS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvudMu-5kIU

                Super Smash Bros. has been my favourite fighting series since the first one, though Street Fighter will always have a soft spot in my heart. I love the chaotic nature of the series and disagree with anybody who says it doesn’t take skill. The idea behind it is to be able to control the chaos and make it work in your favour. By chaos I mean that the levels always shift and change, and you can play with four people on screen. I also like how it sort-of has a health bar but it doesn’t work like other games.

                Like a lot of Nintendo things, there’s crossover appeal too. Want to beat up Link with Kirby? Sure, you can do that. With this installment, you can finally play as Mega Man, which should be awesome. I also look forward to trying out the Villager.

3: Earth Defense Force 2025 (PS3, Xbox 360)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu7HqyHTJ38

                I mention this every time I discuss Earth Defense Force, but if you just want a game that is a game in the purest sense of the word, this series is where you go. It’s hilariously low-budget, with buildings collapsing easily, and all you do is shoot hordes and hordes of giant ants, spiders, and robots. There isn’t anything complicated here.

                I love it.

                The reason it’s not number two on my list is mostly because it’s last-gen. Since it’s already out in Japan, this is only coming to PS3 and Xbox 360. It’s a shame because even though I know it won’t ever be a AAA title, I want to see what they’d do with it if given more power.

                Still… it’s Earth Defense Force. It’ll be fun to shoot aliens again while listening to funny one-liners.

2: X (Wii U)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APWTJMyM4qg

                Do you own a Wii and haven’t played Xenoblade: Chronicles? Stop reading this and go play it right now. It’s one of the best RPGs ever and is one of the top three or four of the last ten years.

                Why does this matter? The same developers are unleashing X onto us, and even though there hasn’t been a lot announced concerning the game, we know there are giant robots and that the developers at Monolith Soft are awesome people who make legendary games.

                I didn’t even have to see the game, I just needed to know who’s making it. It helps that they’ve promised a bigger, more expansive world and it’s probably going to be RPG of the year.

1: Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw5t45tEPWQ

                There could only be one, even from the beginning of the list. There were no other games that could touch this. Any year that there’s a core Metal Gear is a year that it gets number one in something. I have never been let down, and it doesn’t look like this will change with the newest in the series.

                Kojima is giving us a more open Metal Gear this time around, and even though I’m the first to admit that open-world games are becoming a tad oversaturated, I’m still curious to see what they do with a less-linear Metal Gear.

                The trailers already look fantastic, and I’m sure that the story will be as emotional and deep as they have been in previous entries. I’m sure the classic stealth gameplay will be as thrilling as it has been. I can guarantee that the bosses will be as weird and sometimes whacky as they have been in the past.

                What I’ve always loved about the series, at least since Solid, was that the game is serious but they do throw in humour. The game is a great example of games being art, but it never forgets that it’s a game at its core. I know some will say it has too many video scenes, but it’s never bothered me because I’m so invested in what’s going on.

I actually need to play Peace Walker because I never had a PSP before (I know they released an HD remake as well), but I intend to play that in anticipation, right before The Phantom Pain comes out.

                What this all means, of course, is that I need a better job so I can buy all these games. 

                What did you think? Did I miss a game that you are excited for? Let me know in the comments below or follow me on Twitter @ArtBathednCrime and tell me you hate me there. Make sure to check the blog daily from now on because the Awardicons – Best of the Year Awards – have officially started.