Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Random Shots: E3 2015 Makes Me Excited For Video Games Again

  • The season of E3 has come once again, leaving presents and a few stockings full of coal in its wake. There was a lot to get excited about this year. Here are a few things that caught my interest, arranged by press conference:

  • Bethesda - Far and away, the star of Bethesda's inaugural conference was Fallout 4. Considering the amount of time they dedicated to it, I'm sure Bethesda felt the same way. I don't have any special love for their games (I never got very far in Fallout 3 or Skyrim), but they sure make Fallout 4 look great.

  • Microsoft - Though not a game, the biggest surprise for the Xbox One was the announcement of Backward Compatibility with Xbox 360 games. I actually enjoyed the Xbox to Xbox 360 compatibility, so I was happy to see that feature come to the new console. If I had not already thrown in my lot with the PS4, the lower price and this announcement would have swayed me Microsoft's way. The most interesting game at the conference was Sea of Thieves, Rare's new pirate themed game. It seems to fill that long time dream of letting multiple people crew a ship together and take to the sea. And just like last year, Cuphead looks amazing. I hope it finds its way to PC because I would love to see that game in person. I might have put the Elite Controller on this list were it not for the $150 price tag. Yow.

  • EA - Were it not for Giant Bomb streaming the EA conference, I would have turned it off half way through. The only game of note was Mass Effect: Andromeda, and even that was just a teaser. A pretty cool teaser, but that's all I took away from the conference.

  • Ubisoft - I never did play The Stick Of Truth (even though I still mean to) but I couldn't help my excitement over the sequel, South Park: The Fractured But Whole. And if you get a laugh out of the Trials Fusion Awesome Level Max, you might want to check your pulse; you're probably dead.

  • Sony - As a PlayStation 4 owner, I watched the Sony conference with an extra helping of self-interest. Campo Santo's Firewatch continues to take shape. I pretty much know that I want to try it out, but I'm glad to have a great idea about what to expect. The surprise of the conference was Horizon: Zero Dawn. The robot dinosaur hunting game looked great and felt unique. I will have to see more before taking a chance on the game, but I am eager to see more. As a Destiny player, I was happy to see the announcement of The Taken King. As always, I am wary of the value proposition of their products. Finally, I was happy to see DLNA support added to the PS4. If we ever get a remote control for the console, I will be able to put my Xbox 360 away entirely.

  • Nintendo - First, if you haven't watched the Nintendo Direct from this E3, go do it now! The Muppet Nintendo characters are amazing. For games, I'm primarily interested in Super Mario Maker. I'll be interested to see just how powerful a tool it ends up being. However since I don't own a Wii U but do own a 3DS, I'm more likely to buy Yo-Kai Watch. I've heard so much about the popularity of the game in Japan that my curiosity meter has red lined.

  • Square Enix - Maybe it's better not to say anything about this one.

  • What did you think of E3? What are you looking forward to playing in the coming year(s)?

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