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 3) -- The Sony Press Conference

Written By: Tyler

Here we are... the last press conference of the day/night. I don't have to remind you, but remember when Sony came out and Ether'd Microsoft? Can they do it again? What does Sony have to say for themselves? Read below.

We see the blue, we hear the calming, pretty music... and then there is black. When images and light return the stage, we see Mars. It looks exactly like Mars and I would know because I've been there. But what does this all mean? It's your destiny to know. It's um, Destiny, and spoiler alert, it still looks really cool, even if the opening video didn't really give us much in the way of gameplay footage.

Andrew House takes the stage and uh, rocks the house (okay I'll stop) by talking about understanding what it takes to be the best in the world. Then, he announces that Playstation gamers will get their grubby little hands on the Destiny beta first on July 17th. Also, starting on Thursday Playstation owners can play the first-look alpha of the game. If you act now you can actually help develop the game. One of these things is a lie made by me, I'll let you guess which.

There's also a white PS4 coming, with an exclusive Destiny bundle.

Next comes a new exclusive IP: The Order: 1886. It is a dark, third-person shooter and in the footage there's a lot of walking through the dark with only your flashlight. But wait, there's more, because you are not alone. I can't imagine. At least now we've seen some gameplay.

Jumping from dark, scary and depressing to light and beautiful, we have two bird-things flying through the air. It's Entwined, and it's apparently about two souls that are in love and can't be together. You have to guide two things at once using the dual sticks, and when you bring them together they'll transform into a dragon. Could be neat, but I wish my soul could merge with something and become a dragon. It is available right now for $9.99 so I think I may have to check it out tomorrow.

Infamous: Second Son is getting standalone DLC. You get exclusive content if you own Second Son but you don't need it. It's called Infamous: First Light.

Then Little Big Planet 3 hits the stage. I'm not real familiar with the previous two, despite buying the first (and not playing it yet) but it appears there are new characters. It looks charming like the first two did and this co-op play looks entertaining. I know they're slightly different but I feel like Little Big Planet 3 will be a better game than Project Spark.

Next on the agenda is the new game from From Software, Bloodborne. They appear to be trying something new by making a dark, gruesome game. You can get it in 2015.

Then Far Cry 4 flashes on the screen. We saw the first five minutes of the game earlier during the Ubisoft press conference, but now we see some gameplay. The video involves the player walking around, where he then picks up some equipment and starts grappling. Then he walks through the trees a little and after that the fun starts. In an unexpected twist, it looks like it's going to play like other Far Cry games, but that isn't even a criticism. Trust me, this looks like it's a lot of fun.

But they're not done, because this one seems to have co-op or at least some form of multiplayer. You can invite your friends to play with you even if they don't own the game... but only on Playstation. What?

What don't we see much of? Zombies. So we better make a game about zombies. We get to see go jogging while people get molested by zombies, things crash and an upbeat song plays. But then he transforms into a zombie himself. The video is silly fun. It's Dead Island 2.

Battlefield Hardline makes another appearance. I'm already sold, I didn't need this, but it's more of a mixture video of gameplay and cinematic. I'm more impressed with what EA showed us in their press conference.

There's an exclusive Disney Infinity collectors edition for PS3 and 4.

They talk about Destiny some more, talking about how Playstation owners will get stuff for owning it on a Sony system. Hulk also smashed during that, which made me chuckle.

They have a new partnership with Paradox Interactive. The first game they're working on is the new Magicka game, appropriately titled Magicka 2.

Grim Fandango is getting a remastering. I suck at Adventure games but I dig this one. It will be exclusive to PS4 and Vita.

After the biggest cheer of the night, we get a montage of a bunch of games who make their debut on Playstation platforms. I won't list them all because I've already forgotten the titles as I write this, but a lot of them look really cool. Some of them are Not A Hero, Hotline Miami 2, and The talos Principle. Wait I can do this... Titan Souls and Broforce as well. I may have missed some.

Oh god yes, here we go. The new Suda51 one game, that's only coming to PS4... I'm a huge Suda51 fan and up until now we only got a brief teaser that told us nothing about his new game. Only this is called Let It Die and it's not the game I thought he was making. What a confusing guy.

Then there's an awkward transition to Journey. Then we get to see the Giant Squid game, Abzu, and I'm not really sure what the point is. I don't think that's a criticism because it's intriguing and beautiful. It's another exclusive console debut for Sony.

No Man's Sky then shows up and it's even more gorgeous than I remember it being the first time I saw it. It's got the visuals and the scope is incredible, especially when you consider it's an indie game. It's a procedural universe, and every player will start on a different planet where the universe is supposedly infinite. Whether it'll be fun to explore these worlds or not remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic and anticipate this game.

After being inspired by No Man's Sky, Andrew House comes back to talk about the Playstation Camera and starts discussing Project Morpheus.

House introduces Shawn Layden, the new President and CEO of SCE. He starts talking about the PSN and statistics. Youtube will be coming to PS4 later this year. In the summer, their broadcasting will be enhanced. He also thinks that free-to-play is important, and there are a bunch of games coming in the next year, then we're treated to a montage of some of these games. Some look cool, some look crappy, but all will annoy a large portion of gamers who hate F2P.

Playstation Now is going to be available in beta on July 31st on PS4. Shortly after it will be on Vita
and PS3. I'm excited for this.

Layden then went on to talk about PS Vita. There are over a hundred games in development for the platform.

Playstation TV is a thing too. You can pair it with your PS4, and play your games via remote play on another TV. When it's released it will cost $99 but there's a bundle for $139 that includes a Dual Shock 3, a game, and an HDMI cable.

After that, we get the world premiere of gameplay footage of Mortal Kombat X, and guess what? That teaser trailer we saw a while back was not gameplay footage, to those who debated how much of it was. When did Mortal Kombat get gory?

After Mortal Kombat, Andrew House comes back and starts talking about movies and television on Playstation. Their first original program is a show called Powers, which is about superheroes.

If you didn't know, there's an animated Ratchet & Clank movie in the works. We got to see a little bit of it. 

Finally we get back to games... with the remastered version of The Last of Us. If you haven't played The Last of Us and you only own a PS4, you definitely have to check this out when it releases on July 29th because it definitely lives up to the hype. The footage presented also has a cover of a Nirvana song so that's a plus in my eyes.

I love Metal Gear, and Sony knows this, so they chose to show us a new trailer of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Not that I need a new trailer, but of course it looks awesome. The trailers for this game have been incredible.

Next comes Grand Theft Auto 5 for PS4. I'm really happy about this because the online aspect of the game seems really interesting and my PS3 broke a while back so I haven't gotten a chance to play it.

After stroking the audience with next-gen GTA5, we get to see the next Batman game, Arkham Knight. This was a must-buy before I knew anything about it. The video that they showed made me happy because now there is no doubt in my mind at all that the game is going to be awesome.

The press conference ends with Uncharted 4. If I'm being honest, I'm not real excited because I'm not a fan of the series, but it's nice to see that the game hasn't imploded with all the people leaving over the past year. It's just a short cinematic, but it says that it's coming out in 2015. There is a big applause at the beginning of the video and at the end.


Closing Statement: Sony suffered from some technical issues on occasion during their presser, but for the most part it was good. It's interesting that they were more like Microsoft last year than Sony of last year... focusing a bunch on their non-game features. Some of this is really interesting, but I felt like it went on a little too long and started clamoring for more game talk. After the talk about all their hardware and services, they came back in a huge way though, which I think kept Microsoft from edging out a victory here. The games that Sony showed are, for the most part, just more interesting.

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.

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

Weekly News Round-Up, May 4 - 10: New Unreal Tournament! Call of Duty Is Game Of Thrones! The Shaq-Fu 2 Apocalypse! The Gameboy Is Still Direct Competition! Exclamation Marks!

Written By: Tyler


Remember That Call of Duty Series? Here Are Some Details On The New Game, Advanced Warfare
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tons-of-call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-details-emerge/1100-6419415/

Try not to pass out from this news, but it appears that there's a new Call of Duty coming. I know, I know... craziness.

Here are some details about the new game, stolen from Gamespot:

• In development at Sledgehammer Games for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. A separate studio to be named later is working on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. There's no word on Wii U.
• The game runs on a new and unspecified game engine.
• The story opens with a catastrophic event that Sledgehammer Games cofounder Michael Condrey describes as "like a global 9/11." There's little more to go on, but major cities on multiple continents are affected by some kind of terrorism perpetrated by a terrorist organization called KVA.
• It is set in 2054.
• You play a character named Private Mitchell, who is voiced by prolific voice actor Troy Baker. You may know Baker for his recent roles in The Last of Us (Joel), BioShock Infinite (Booker), and Batman: Arkham Origins (The Joker). Mitchell only speaks during cutscenes; never during gameplay.
• Mitchell starts Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare as a Marine, who is squadmates with Will Irons, the son of Private Military Company Atlas Corporation CEO Jonathan Irons (played by Kevin Spacey). After their tour of duty is done, the elder Irons asks Mitchell if he wants to leave the Marines to join his company. Mitchell says yes and is outfitted with an "EXO" suit for his new job.
• Unlike past Call of Duty games, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has only one protagonist.
• Kevin Spacey says he was "very excited" about joining the game when he was originally approached.
• You'll earn points every mission that can be used to upgrade your EXO suit. Using the EXO suit, you can climb walls with magnetic gloves, boost-dodge toward cover, perform super-jumps that let you get to higher ground, use optic camouflage for cloaking, and hover in mid-air.
• Your arsenal includes "variable grenades," which can be switched from concussion to threat detection while they cook. The threat detection grenade reveals enemy locations and makes this information available via an augmented reality system visible in your visor.
• Some of your guns are energy-based, and do not use traditional ammunition.
• There is a rideable vehicle called a Pitbull, which is based on the real world Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle.
• There's no official word on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare multiplayer yet, but Condrey teases, "You can probably imagine the possibilities of a lot of the stuff you saw in single-player and how it would apply online." Activision also says it is "absolutely committed" to supporting eSports.
• Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will have some kind of co-op mode.
• Veteran Metal Gear Solid composer Harry Gregson-Williams is working on the game's soundtrack. Audio director Don Veca says, "I think Advanced Warfare is going to be the best-sounding and certainly the best-mixed game ever."
• In an effort to create a believable world, Activision consulted with "experts from production design in movies to experts in the military to scientists and futurists," according to Sledgehammer cofounder Glen Schofield.

Somebody took some influence from TITANFALL.


Guns Up! And Everything's Game Trademarked By Sony
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-sony-trademarks-discovered-before-e3-include-guns-up/1100-6419427/

Continuing their pursuit of trademarking stupid and silly names, Sony recently trademarked Guns Up! and Everything's Game. I can only assume that Guns Up! includes guns.


The Best Kept Secret Since Area 51 -- What Is The Dualshock 4 Light Bar Really For?
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/05/08/dualshock-4-light-bar-created-for-project-morpheus

What is the Dualshock 4 light bar for? When did it come here? Is it friendly or foe? Does it prove the existence of life outside of Earth? Is it alien technology? Does it make sandwiches?

I can answer one of those questions. The Dualshock 4 has annoyed a lot of people apparently, and they released an update that allowed you to dim it. But why is it here? Well... it is on the controller because it has to do with the construction of Project Morpheus, the VR system that Sony is working on.

http://thepsdualshock4disclosureproject.com/notarealurl.html


Phil Spencer Is Talking Again
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-boss-promises-new-ip-and-sequel-announcements-at-e3/1100-6419419/

Phil Spencer recently said that there will be new IPs and sequel announcements at E3, but he also said some other stuff. Again, from Gamespot:

• Microsoft is focusing on hardcore gamers for the show.
• Some announcements will be made in May, ahead of E3. "Yea, you'll get a couple of things before. May should be a good month for news. Took me a month to get plans set," Spencer said.
• Microsoft will announce new studios it's working with.
• Spencer is not allowed to talk about anything related to what Halo studio 343 Industries is working on.
• Microsoft's overall goal for 2014: "I feel like what we will show this year is stuff we are committed to, from top studios, for this year and future."
• Don't expect a Microsoft-made gaming handheld anytime soon. "I don't think we'll do a dedicated handheld gaming device, rather just focus on [Windows Phone], tablets, maybe with controller support someday," Spencer said.
• Spencer wants Microsoft's E3 2014 showing to be more "fan focused."
• Microsoft thought about using the voice of Cortana for their E3 show, but Spencer did not like this. Asked if the Cortana voice search functionality could come to Xbox One someday, Spencer said, "I like [Windows Phone] feature but don't want to overdo it."
• Gamers won't need to wait until the Tokyo Game Show (September) to learn about new Japanese Xbox One games.
• Microsoft is close to finalizing a release date for the Xbox One version of Minecraft.
• The Lost Odyssey rights are "a bit complicated," but Spencer would like to see the 2008 role-playing game come to Games on Demand some day.
• Details about external storage support for Xbox One are coming later.
• Why there hasn't been a Battletoads sequel: "Just time, lot's of things we want to build, all the teams are full right now and a long list of what they'd want to do next. You want to spend time because you want things to be as good as they can be, I don't want to do cheap ports," Spencer said.

Their E3 presentation will be titled "Xbox: Game On" and it will take place Monday, June 9 at  9:30 a.m. PDT.


First Screenshot From Tales From The Borderlands Has Shown Up
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/first-images-of-walking-dead-developer-s-borderlands-game-emerge-what-do-you-think/1100-6419425/

The game is told from the perspective of Rhys and Fiona, and is told through flashbacks. The loot that you can collect will be usable in other games in the Borderlands universe. 



NHL '15 Announced, Nobody Is Surprised
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nhl-15-announced-for-xbox-360-xbox-one-ps3-and-ps4-check-out-a-teaser-trailer/1100-6419423/

If you thought a new Call of Duty was a big surprise, then I have a whopper -- not to be confused with the delicious burger -- for you: there's a new NHL game from EA. There's a teaser trailer in the link above, but I can tell you exactly what it'll look like. I bet there's going to be two teams full of people with bad hockey hair, hitting each other and pucks. I know, I'm psychic. 


Mortal Kombat Will Not Show Up On The Wii U Virtual Konsole
http://www.destructoid.com/ed-boon-shuts-down-possibility-of-mortal-kombat-wii-u-virtual-console-releases-274268.phtml

It's important to know that this was called, "If video games were real."

Ed Boon said that the first few Mortal Kombat games will not show up on the Wii U Virtual Console. That's it, seriously. That's pretty much all he said.


Marek Okan Is A Tease
http://www.destructoid.com/the-last-of-us-concept-artist-teases-something-with-artwork-274281.phtml

He posted this picture and said, ""let me tease you something... Its coming."

It looks like a grown-up version of Ellie from The Last Of Us. After he realized people gave a crap, he said this:

Lol. This is how you know you are teasing your stuff the right way
So before its gonna get blown out of proportions - its gonna be strictly personal image.
Is it about TLOU2? Not really... Maybe... Its classified ;P
But seriously its gonna be just a fan art ;]

Oops I did it again, I played with your heart...

From Software Has A New Game?
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/05/05/from-softwares-rumored-to-be-working-on-project-beast

There are images in the link above, and if it is true, the game is titled "Project Beast" as of right now. Is this legit or is it fake? I don't know, but I will call From Software tomorrow.



People Are Going To Jail For Stealing In-Game Items
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/thieves-going-to-jail-for-stealing-in-game-items/1100-6419443/

Two people realized that they could make money by taking in-game items and selling them for real money in the game Dungeon Fighter Online. They were unemployed and dedicated so they got someones login information and cleaned him. And now they're going to jail.



The Danish Government Created The Entire Country In Minecraft
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/danish-government-creates-entire-country-in-minecraft-users-promptly-blow-it-up-and-plant-american-flag/1100-6419412/

The Danish Geodata Agency created the entire country on a 1:1 scale as a teaching tool. Then, because they forgot to disable the minecart with dynamite item, users started blowing stuff up... replacing things with American flags and tanks.

Ah yes, just like the good ol' days.


Microsoft Released Its Second ID@Xbox Game: Nutjitsu
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-s-first-sub-10-game-launching-this-week/1100-6419461/

On May 8th, Nutjitsu was released. This is big news because it's the second game released under the ID@Xbox program, but it's also the first Xbox One game to be under $10. $6.49 to be exact.



Get In On The WildStar Open Beta Between May 8 - 18
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/upcoming-pc-mmo-wildstar-gets-an-open-beta-this-week/1100-6419450/

Go to this linky right here in order to request a key so you can play the open beta of WildStar. If you are unaware of what the game is, it's an MMO because the market is getting a little shallow in MMOs right now. In the beta, you can advance to level 30.


The Shaq-Fu Sequel Has Reached Its Funding Goal
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/shaq-is-back-new-shaq-fu-fighting-game-reaches-funding-goal/1100-6419447/

Activision Is Giving Bungie $500 Million For Destiny
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-investing-500-million-for-bungie-s-destiny/1100-6419444/

It appears that it is their destiny (I'm sorry) to get lots of money, as Activision is giving Bungie $500 million to make Destiny. This is just pocket change to me, but I'll let Activision handle this one.



Here Comes The Doom And Gloom Again -- Nintendo Posted A $457 Million Loss
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/

Speaking of pocket change, Nintendo posted a loss of $457 million. Here's the article in a nutshell: The Wii U isn't selling (shocking), but the 3DS is doing better. Nintendo is still expecting to post a profit though.

If you want specific numbers of sales and whatnot, they're in the link above.


EA Will Announce 6 Games At E3, 1 Will Work At Launch
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-will-announce-a-major-frostbite-3-game-at-e3-what-do-you-think-it-is/1100-6419476/

EA's presentation at E3 is going to be called "EA World Premiere: E3 2014 Preview," and it takes place June 9 at 12 p.m. PDT. They are expected to show off six games and announce a "major" Frostbite 3 game. 


Nintendo Is Low On Money... Re-Releasing Pokemon Ruby And Sapphire In November
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-ruby-sapphire-remakes-coming-to-3ds-this-year/1100-6419483/

3DS owners will see the re-release of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire this November. They will be titled Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and they will make a lot of money.


Don't Start Is Going To Have Multiplayer
http://www.destructoid.com/multiplayer-is-coming-to-don-t-starve-274469.phtml

Entitled "Don't Starve Together," Don't Starve will be receiving multiplayer in alpha form in summer of this year. I look forward to maybe eating my friends. I also look forward to playing Don't Starve Together.


The Second Towns Developer Has Left... And You Probably Shouldn't Pay Attention To This Game Anymore
http://www.destructoid.com/towns-left-in-limbo-as-second-developer-quits-the-project-274462.phtml

"I'm putting this whole fucking town in my rear view."

Florian Frankenberger is making like Ben Affleck in The Town and putting Towns in his rear view. After the original developer left, he tried to do what he could, but he's not making money and has bills to pay and people to feed so he's out. And you should be out of Towns. Go to a nice village or something, avoid the city.


Stephan Frost Says That WildStar Is One Of The Most Feature-Complete MMO In The Last 10 Years
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/upcoming-pc-game-wildstar-is-one-of-the-most-feature-complete-mmos-of-the-past-10-years/1100-6419508/

From Gamespot:

"We decided to go with the subscription fee because we are a triple-A game," Frost said. "We are one of the most feature-complete MMOs to be coming out in the past 10 years. HBO, for example, is premium content. It has great shows like Game of Thrones and True Detective. They don't charge extra for those things, they're just charging that sub fee and people gladly pay it because it's good. If it wasn't good, they wouldn’t pay for it."

Except HBO is a channel that offers TV shows of various types... you're a single game that offers the same experiences all the time, because you're just one game. But besides that, yeah, you're right.



The Elder Scrolls Online Delayed For Consoles
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-online-xbox-one-ps4-delay-confirmed-bethesda-explains-why-it-was-necessary/1100-6419504/

If you're a console gamer and are waiting to be bored like the rest of us, you'll have to wait. It looks like The Elder Scrolls Online is delayed for consoles. They cited "unique problems," but they're trying to make us a deal: if you buy the game on PC now, you can transfer your characters from PC to Xbone/PS4 and get the game for consoles for $20. Why not... buy it twice?

Go PC Master Race!


Activision Is Comparing Call Of Duty To Game Of Thrones... Nobody Buys It
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-wants-call-of-duty-to-be-talked-about-as-much-as-game-of-thrones/1100-6419503/

Yup, another masterpiece by yours truly.

They want CoD to be discussed like people do with Game of Thrones. They are planning to make Advanced Warfare story heavy, hoping to hit emotional moments that resonate with players for years to come.

But people do talk about Call of Duty. It just... usually isn't nice anymore, it seems.


Nintendo Abandons The Wii U To Develop "New Consoles" In Other Markets
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-to-launch-new-console-not-the-wii-u-or-3ds-in-emerging-markets/1100-6419501/

I'm just kidding... Nintendo didn't abandon the Wii U. But they are developing different consoles for countries like China in order to get their foot in the door.


Nintendo Explains Why Mario Won't Be On iPhones Anytime Soon
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-explains-why-you-won-t-play-mario-on-your-iphone-anytime-soon/1100-6419502/

The President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, said, "Our games such as Mario and Zelda are designed for our game machines so if we transfer them into smartphones as they are, customers won't be satisfied. If customers aren't satisfied with the experience, it will decrease the value of our content."

To be fair, I won't be satisfied with the experience just because touch screen controls are the devil.


Nintendo Feels Responsible For Their Problems
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-president-i-feel-deeply-responsible-for-poor-performance/1100-6419499/

Satoru Iwata also said, "Posting an operating loss for the fourth fiscal year running is something unacceptable. I feel deeply responsible for this and I need to fulfill my responsibility by recovering the momentum of our business."

I guess the first step is admitting you have a problem.


Nintendo To Get Into Figurine Games
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/update-nintendo-to-integrate-skylanders-like-figurines-with-wii-u-and-3ds/1100-6419497/

Like Skylanders, Nintendo is looking to integrate figurines into their games. They're going to call it NFP-nfc. They also announced Mario Kart TV, which will tie into Mario Kart 8 and let you watch Nintendo videos, replays and see rankings.


Nintendo Plans To Quit Hardware Business At The End of 2015 And Focus Solely On Making Games For Microsoft


Gimme Gimme Gimme -- Monolith Soft's X Is Destined For 2014
http://www.destructoid.com/monolith-s-x-is-still-on-track-for-2014-for-both-japan-and-the-west-274523.phtml

X is going to rule the world. Seriously, after Xenoblade: Chronicles I have so much faith in them that I'd buy Farmville if they were making it. Good news for fans who are looking forward to X, because it should be released in Japan and North America in 2014.

They also gave a brief list of some other games and their release dates:

• Bayonetta 2 -- 2014
• Hyrule Warriors (temp.) -- 2014
• Yarn Yoshi (temp.) -- TBD
• Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem (temp.) -- TBD
• The Legend of Zelda (temp.) -- TBD

Dying Light Is Delayed Until February 2015
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/05/08/hopes-of-dying-light-in-2014-flicker-out-as-title-is-delayed.aspx

Techland said this week that Dying Light will be delayed until February 2015, so they don't have to compromise on any of their ideas. This is good news for quality, I'm sure, but I wanted to play it!


Here's A Doozy -- Epic Games Revealed The Free Unreal Tournament
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/05/08/epic-games-reveals-free-to-play-unreal-tournament

The next Unreal Tournament is coming in the not-so-near future, but it's going to be free and co-developed with the community so their mods and whatnot will be important post-launch. Free Unreal Tournament, and they stress it's "not free to play, just free."
 

Oh Yes, Sunset Overdrive Gets Its First In-Game Footage
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/462820/video-watch-sunset-overdrives-first-in-game-footage/

Ladies and gentlemen, our cherries have been popped, because we got some footage for Sunset Overdrive, that you can find in the link above. I'd post the video here but blogger is stupid and sometimes it just deletes the videos I post.

If you can't watch the video, basically it's crazy. It's an open world game but you can run across walls and movement seems to be really fluid. There are a lot of crazy guns because it's Insomniac Games, and it just looks like it's going to be ridiculous.

Anybody want to start funding my Xbox One purchase?


Harmonix Released The Free-To-Play Rhythm Runner "Record Run"
http://www.destructoid.com/harmonix-releases-free-to-play-record-run-for-ios-devices-274557.phtml

If you got an apple device, you can grab the new Harmonix game for free now. It's a rhythm runner where you avoid obstacles and whatnot, and you can import your own playlist. So finally you can use that grindcore-laptop-death-pop-jazz fusion-jelly-fishcake-thrash-rap song that you really like.

It's going to be coming to Android as well.



Believe In The Shield Because Portal Is Coming To The Nvidia Shield Next Week
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-s-beloved-portal-comes-to-nvidia-shield-next-week/1100-6419520/

On May 12, you can pick up Portal on the Nvidia Shield. So... do that.


Oculus VR To Create The Largest MMO Ever?
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-vr-aspires-to-create-an-mmo-world-with-1-billion-people-in-it/1100-6419518/

The Oculus CEO stated this week that he wants to create the largest MMO ever, using the Oculus Rift. He is planning on a billion people. He also had this to say, which I want to make fun of:

"Do we want to be Game Boy, or do we want to be iPhone or Android? I think Game Boy is an awesome platform, but I think you'll see that handheld gaming device largely disrupted by the mobile market. For VR, where we want to go, connecting a billion people, do you want to be building a platform that has a billion users on it, or 10 or 20 or 50 million?"

Released last century, still on competition today... apparently.

 It's fun that he mentioned the Game Boy since we're at the Nintendo 3DS. I know this is just semantics, but like I said I want to make fun of him. For someone so forward thinking, it's great that he chose such an old handheld.


Games I Kind Of Wish I Could Stop "Reporting" On -- TITANFALL and Battlefield 4

New TITANFALL DLC Is Called Swampland, Here's A Picture Of It
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-dlc-map-swampland-screenshots-and-details-released/1100-6419517/

DICE Give Up, Turn To The Community
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-4-dev-turns-to-fans-for-help-testing-new-improvements/1100-6419516/

It appears that DICE themselves realize that they can't fix Battlefield 4, because they have created the "Community Test Environment" that allows PC users to help them test out things.

You've spent your money on it, now you can help fix it. That seems... fair.

I kid Battlefield 4, I kid. I actually enjoy you.


GLAAD Is  Not ?Glaad? That Tomodachi Life Doesn't Have Same-Sex Relationships
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-responds-to-criticism-regarding-same-sex-relationships-in-tomodachi-life-update/1100-6419530/

It appears that GLAAD -- the LGBT group -- is not happy about Nintendo not including same-sex relationships in their odd, life simulator (that doesn't fully simulate life) game Tomodachi Life.

Wilson Cruz cruz'd to a criticism of Nintendo, stating, "In purposefully limiting players' relationship options, Nintendo is not only sending a hurtful message to many of its fans and consumers by excluding them, but also setting itself way behind the times."

The Big N had this to say in response, "We apologize for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to change this game’s design, and such a significant development change can’t be accomplished with a post-ship patch. At Nintendo, dedication has always meant going beyond the games to promote a sense of community, and to share a spirit of fun and joy. We are committed to advancing our longtime company values of fun and entertainment for everyone. We pledge that if we create a next installment in the Tomodachi series, we will strive to design a game-play experience from the ground up that is more inclusive, and better represents all players."

In my humble opinion, it would have been nice if Nintendo had included homosexuality in Tomodachi Life so I could finally come out of the closet in a safe environment (with myself?), but it's likely that a lot of people will just see this as silly, thus hurting GLAAD's crusade.

Can't we all just get along? #Ihatehashtags


Sony's E3 Press Conference Is June 9 At 6 p.m. PDT
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-playstation-e3-2014-press-conference-dated-for-june-9-6pm/1100-6419546/

Sony last year.

On June 9 at 6 p.m. PDT, Sony will be doing their press conference. If you remember, which if you're a gamer you probably do, Sony came in like a wrecking ball last E3. Will they do what they did last year and become the Heavyweight Champion of the World while they slap down the competition? Or will it be more normal? I can't wait to find out.




Well folks, that is it for the Weekly News Round-Up. We've had United States terrorism/imperialism, free Unreal Tournaments, DICE throwing in the towel, and lots of Nintendo saying things. We've had some good times, we've had some bad times, we've had some grey times because LIFE ISN'T BLACK AND WHITE MAN. Until next week -- or whenever I write another article that you will subsequently ignore -- I am Tyler, and you can tell me what you think on my pretentious Twitter account @ArtBathednCrime or in the comments below. You can even send a carrier pigeon to my house if that's what tickles your fancy. See ya!

Video Game History Month: The SNES Is The Best System Ever (Part 2) -- The RPGs

Written By: Tyler

In the previous installment of "The SNES Is The Best System Ever," I talked a little bit about the more technical aspects of the system, and discussed briefly why it's the best system ever. But now it's time to get down and dirty and start talking about what makes any system a success: the games (or in the case of the Wii -- a gimmick followed by Wii Sports).

The SNES has a lot of great games, and I'm not going to be able to cover every single game but I would like to drop dime on some of my personal favourites. To do this, I figure it will be more efficient to group the games into genres and write a few posts instead of just having one massive article that nobody will ever finish. Since I'm a role-playing game fan at heart, I reckon that the RPGs are a good place to start. I'm not going to talk about every single RPG on the SNES, but I will select a decent collection of them. So let's begin this party with some big-ass letters.


The RPGS

Final Fantasy 3/6 - Final Fantasy 6 (3 in North America for a long time) is probably the best Final Fantasy ever. It had a large cast of characters, but most of them were actually memorable. I can only think of a couple that weren't, and to be honest, they were optional characters anyway. FF6 managed to be incredibly dark and surprising, with excellent gameplay. It always amazes me that the villain basically "won" halfway through the game when Kefka destroys the world. Sure, you beat him in the long run, but he's also messed up everything at that point and it'll be a long time before they can rebuild society.

I once borrowed this game from a friend, and I ended up losing it... though to this day I feel like my mom misplaced it or something else happened. Regardless, it seemed to have disappeared. To pay my friend back, I gave him one of my games, and for the longest time I felt like he was getting a better deal out of things anyway. I'm not entirely sure I feel that way anymore, but the next game in the list is said game and it's a testament to how good both games are that I'm conflicted about which is actually better.


Chrono Trigger - One of the greatest RPGs of all-time. It is a story of time travel with very memorable music and characters. At the time it was a small but wonderful detail that added to the immersion, but I was impressed by how you just whipped out your weapons and scrapped on-site. Not many games afterward actually did this.

I spent a lot of time playing this as a kid, and if you haven't played it you should... you owe yourself that much.


Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - The marriage of two of the most influential companies in my life at that point: Squaresoft and Nintendo. Yes I know that Square developed games on the Nintendo platform before, but they literally took Mario characters -- along with creating some of their own -- and made an awesome RPG out of them. The battle system was still turn-based but due to the nature of timing your attacks, it added another dimension to it.

Super Mario RPG still has a line that I use to this day on occasion, "Are you leaking, my dear?"


Final Fantasy 2/4 - Though it's kinda sorta lightweight compared to the absolute monster that came afterward, Final Fantasy 4 (again, Final Fantasy 2 for a long time in North America) is still a completely solid entry in the Final Fantasy series, with incredible music and a lot of human sacrifice -- if only they hadn't ruined that at the end. There's actually a lot of emotion present throughout the game because of how much each and every character goes through. There are twins turning themselves to stone, love triangles, friend betrayals, Cid jumping down a massive hole, etc.

To this day, Kain is a favourite Final Fantasy character for me, and he brought about my love of Dragoons. Even in Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, I got giddy once I did my first "Jump" attack.


Final Fantasy 5 - This is a Final Fantasy that didn't touch down on North American soil until later on, unless you had an emulator because a bunch of Gods translated it. I don't go to this one for the story or the characters, but it had a pretty boss job system that encouraged replay.


Secret of Mana - Secret of Mana, what can I say about you? I spent many hours playing you by myself in a dark room with romantic music on and with friends. Outside of the fact that maybe the ring system is a little outdated -- it's not a bad system, but in magic heavy battles it's annoying being the guy who isn't casting magic -- it's one of the best RPGs ever and just an amazing game to play with a friend.

Seiken Densetsu 3 - This is the sequel to Secret of Mana, and it wasn't released here in North America. Luckily, like Final Fantasy 5, it was translated by some fine people and I was able to play it. Technically it's probably a better game than Secret of Mana because it offers more of everything, like multiple characters and classes to choose from with more plotlines to play, and enhances the experience while retaining the core gameplay. I usually say I prefer Secret of Mana due to the amount of time I spent with it but SD3 is awesome too.

Secret of Evermore - It's not Secret of Mana, which was a disappointment for some, but it had its own flair, style and gameplay mechanics that made it its own game. The story was more out there and Sci-Fi, which I think was actually more interesting than Secret of Mana, but it is a lesser game as a whole. Regardless, I'm not saying it's a bad game... it's just lesser compared to an RPG that's one of the best of all time. That's hardly even a criticism.


Earthbound - My brother told me that a nerd at Comic-Con said that Earthbound is "too mainstream." I remember a time when nobody knew it. I remember going to rent it and getting that massive instruction manual/strategy guide that is still the best instruction manual I've ever seen. I remember playing Earthbound for hours on end as a kid, being amazed by the humour, characters and music. Years down the road I remember digging deeper into the story and being impressed by how clever the game actually was.

What I'm trying to say is that as a kid I appreciated Earthbound on a base level. As an adult I appreciate Earthbound as a complete experience, as a classic of the genre, a deconstruction of the RPG and North American culture... and possibly a story about abortion.

Basically, screw you random nerd.


Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals - The first Lufia game is a classic too, but I want to group the two games together. I'm a huge Lufia "mark," to use a pro-wrestling term. Lufia 2 is a prequel, and the ending is literally spoiled within the first twenty minutes of the first game, but that didn't matter because it was one of the most heart-wrenching sacrifices in the history of gaming.

Aside from that, Lufia 2 took the elements of the first game and added things like Capsule Monsters, enemies you could see on-screen and... puzzles? Normally I don't really want puzzles in my RPG, but Lufia 2 is okay by me.


Shadowrun - Some people say that the Shadowrun on Genesis is actually better, but I never got to play it. Shadowrun kind of creeps me out to this day, and I can't really understand why. It's a dark, cyberpunk world where within the first half hour you've scared people so bad they left the room and won't open the door, talked to an ugly dude about you getting "geeked" and talked to a dog in an alley. Awesome.

We never got another Shadowrun that could match up to this one, but Shadowrun Returns came close.


Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen - Top 5 RPG of all-time for me. This, FF6, FF7, Parasite Eve and Chrono Trigger tend to be the RPGs I fall back on, which Earthbound as an honourable mention (depending on my mood, really, because you can rotate any of these and I'll be happy, with Parasite Eve being the only game that is always number one). Ogre Battle 64 was a worthy successor, but nothing has compared to the original SNES one. This amazing strategy RPG has incredible replay value because a) it's hard as hell to not be a bad guy, and b) the customization of your army encourages this kind-of thing. There are also secrets I've never even found.

This is a game that we need to see another sequel of. Right now.


Dragon View - This is probably one of the RPGs on the list that don't get nearly enough recognition. It was a sequel to Drakkhen, which itself was a decent take on the computer RPG, but didn't wow me in any significant way. The dungeons are in a side view and the game becomes an Action RPG, and I'll never forget the scene where you walk into a room and Giza beats the everliving piss out of you.


Super Ninja Boy - Super Ninja Boy is another game that doesn't get any recognition. It's not that the story is incredible, but it's actually a completely solid two-player RPG with a battle system that was rarely seen back in the day -- you could actually run around freely in the battle screen, jump, punch and throw enemies into holes that for some reason are in the ground. It doesn't seem like much now, but it was a big deal then, and when I played this game again years ago I still really dug it (outside of how many random encounters there were).


Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons - Just today my older brother (he loves when I mention him, and I know he reads this so I will keep doing it) said, "It's the first open world game I ever remember playing." I never thought of it that way but he could be right. Uncharted Waters 2 is a game where you pick one of, I believe, four characters (though I could be wrong), and they all have their own goals to accomplish. I remember that one guy has to map the world.

From there, it's a bit of an odd mixture. It's part strategy game, part simulation, but websites seem to classify it as an RPG so I had to mention it too. It's just out of my Top 5 RPGs of all-time, but it's very close and I do adore it more than my unborn children.

You sail the world, getting in ship battles, and I was always particularly intrigued by the one-on-one sword duels you could get into. Uncharted Waters 2 is actually one of the games that most influenced what I did outside. If you don't want to hear about younger me, then skip down, but I would go outside on my deck with a friend and basically  just re-enact the game. I would pretend that the deck was my ship, I'd create a fleet and attack other fleets, while creating my own story. So thank you Uncharted Waters 2 for impacting both my indoors activities and my outdoor activities too. Damn it I'm such a nerd.


The Others

There were other solid RPGs like Illusion of Gaia, Lagoon, Brain Lord, Breath of Fire 2, 7th Saga, Inindo: Way of the Ninja, Live A Live and Equinox as well. All of those are great in their own ways, and I'm not discussing them simply because I was trying to keep it to my all-time favourite RPGs on the SNES... but then I cheated and threw out these honourable mentions because I feel like it's a disservice to gaming if I don't mention them.


But Wait, There's More

However, my journey with SNES RPGs is not over, as their are two games in particular on deck that I intend to play someday. These were originally not released in North America and I can't read Japanese (well I can, just not successfully), but due to people being awesome and the internet, I will now be able to play them.

Star Ocean - I remember reading about this in, I believe, the same magazine that I originally read about Final Fantasy 7. I always waited for it and it never came. It's since been re-released for, I believe, the PSP, and I intend to eventually get it and finally play the game. I love love love Star Ocean: The Second Story, so I can't wait to play this one.

Terranigma - This is a game I never knew about until I got the internet, and I still haven't played it because all these new games keep coming out. I hear Terranigma has an awesome story, and from what I've heard of the soundtrack, that is great too. Eventually I shall sink my teeth into this and Star Ocean.




So there you have it people. Did I miss any SNES RPGs that you absolutely adore? Let me know in the comments below or tweet me @ArtBathednCrime. I'd love to hear about your own SNES experiences, and stay tuned for next time when I give you Part 3... though I'm not sure what genres I will be tackling next.