Spyder's Corner

Gaming and Entertainment News & Reviews

E3 Conference Coverage – Days 1 & 2!

Hello everyone!  Welcome back to Spyder’s Corner.  I know I’ve been quite the absentee writer in the past few months, but I’m hoping to fix that and what better time than with E3!  Geek Christmas in June is upon us and the first 1.5 days have past, so I wanted to put some of my thoughts to paper (or computer data, whatever).  The way I’m planning my coverage this year will be a blurb about my overall thoughts about each conference and then a bulleted list of the items covered within and my thoughts on each title.  Well, with that said, I’m going to combine my coverage of days 1 and 2 since only EA presented on the first day.  Let’s get to it, starting with a summary video and then my more in-depth write up!

 

 

Unrelated but shameless self-promotion of the podcast I work on with Taylor of Scrapt Productions (mentioned in the above video):

Popcorn & Nerds

Full summary below, feel free to skip to the developers/conferences you’re interested in, there’s a lot of text here:

 

 

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EA E3 2018 Press Conference

 

 

EA’s conference overall was pretty bland.  They didn’t have much in the way of new or crazy or surprising but rather decided to stick with their staples: A few indie unveilings, their sports lineup, and DLC/refresh announcements for current titles.  I would have loved to see EA come out swinging with something big, especially since they were the first press conference of the year, but as it stands, I think we’ll be hard pressed to find a more boring conference (with a few exclusions).  Their indie titles stood out the most again this year, and notably the passion from the head of Jo-Mei Studios, who came to unveil Sea of Solitude.  You could tell she put a lot of love and emotion into this title and that’s not to say people who work on sports games don’t bring that to their games, but rather you can see and feel it with the indie teams.  Anthem continues to intrigue, but EA/Bioware have done a relatively poor job of showing off the game properly.  Additionally, their trailers seemed to be on a loop or something and kept replaying the same bits, which, all-in-all didn’t help the already mediocre conference.

Battlefield V – Set in World War 2, Battlefield V was announced a couple of weeks ago.  The trademark destructible environments are present with a few other added features such as being able to dive through windows or move weapon emplacements with other vehicles.  Much to the pleasure of the crowd, EA announced that there will be no loot boxes and no premium pass for Battlefield V.  After the Star Wars Battlefront 2 fiasco, that’s probably the safe play.  Lastly, they teased a battle royale mode, as well as a special story mode.  Big open battlefields are what I remember most about the series back in the day on PC, so I feel like battle royale mode is very fitting here.  Battlefield V will release this year on October 19th, with a few options for early access through preordering and Origin Access

FIFA 19 – The only cool thing I really have to say about FIFA 19 is that Hans Zimmer helped work on the music for the trailer.  For people who care, they’re adding the UEFA champions league to the game and Alex Hunter will return in the story mode.  Additionally, they released a free update to FIFA 18 to include the World Cup.  FIFA 19 releases on September 28th, 2018.

Tech demo – EA showed off a very brief video of game streaming from the cloud, all in HD, which they said would be the future of games but isn’t quite ready yet, then they moved on.  This seemed like an odd segment and didn’t really serve a purpose other than to let us know EA is considering moving to cloud-based gaming and to tie into Origin Access.

Origin Access Premier – All of the company’s new PC will be available at launch through Origin Access Premier.  The new subscription service was not given a date or a price, but they did mention that FIFA 19, Battlefield V, Anthem, and Madden 19 (back on PC for the first time in nearly a decade, I believe) would be available, as well as access to the Vault, which contains an older catalog of games.  This is a similar offering to the Xbox Games Pass, but EA was actually ahead of the curve here.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – Vince Zampella from Respawn Entertainment was sitting in the crowd and teased us with the announcement of the title and timeline for this game.  It’s set to take place between Episodes III and IV when the last of the Jedi are being hunted down.  In his words, “It’s amazing” but he literally gets paid to say that, so time will tell.  The release window was a tentative holiday 2019.

Star Wars Battlefront II – The Fallen Order chat was a nice segue into new content for Battlefront II.  A member of the team at DICE came out and apologized for the rough start but restated the company’s commitment to delivering a game that people love.  Extraction mode was announced as well as a new squad system that makes teaming up and playing with your friends easier than before.  A new dogfighting mode featuring hero ships was briefly mentioned as well as large-scale multiplayer sandbox modes (battle royale, possibly/probably?  Everyone’s doing it!).  As far as other content, heroes and locations from Solo are set to release this coming week and further down the road, the team is set to focus on content from the Clone Wars.  General Grievous, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Count Dooku where all announced to be playable heroes in addition to the map of Geonosis, which will be the largest level they’ve ever released.

Unravel Two – The sequel to Unravel (surprise!) looks to be another fun and touching adventure.  As soon as the trailer started, you could hear people in the crowd chanting, “YARNIE! YARNIE! YARNIE!” This new game is made to be played cooperatively but can be played as a solo adventure.  The game director said it’s friendlier and more challenging, but also more playful.  Additionally, it is available right now!

Sea of Solitude – The next dev from EA Originals, Jo-Mei Games from Berlin, came out on the stage and you could feel her passion for the game she was creating.  The premise is when humans become lonely, they become monsters, so it’s a story about bringing emotions into balance.  The game is very stylized and reminds me a bit of Rime.  It is currently set to release in early 2019, so keep an eye out.

NBA Live 19 – The only notes I have here say “Includes streetball, releases 9/7/18.”  I think that’s enough…

Madden 19 – This is the second year Madden will be utilizing Battlefield’s Frostbite engine and the graphics do look good, but it’s a new Madden.  It will likely be released in August, as per usual.

Command & Conquer Rivals – This was a bit of an odd unveiling.  A few popular internet streamers and shoutcaster came out on stage to show off a mobile game that’s a MOBA/RTS mash-up.  The players sit down and face off in a match.  You build from a small set of units and try to control points on the map to fill a gauge and launch a missile at your opponent’s base.  Two missile strikes win you the game.  It wasn’t until after the round was over that they announced it is a Command & Conquer title.  Android users can sign up for the pre-alpha today, but the game will eventually release on iOS as well.

EA Play To Give (charity) – This wasn’t a game, but it was announced that EA donated $1 million to 3 charities based on gamers’ participation in events in a few of their games.  Since I participate in Extra Life every year, I’m always happy to hear about other ways that gamers are making a difference and working towards change.  The charities EA donated to were HeForShe, Ditch the Label, and the National Bullying Prevention Center.

Anthem – The final, and most awaited game of EA’s press conference had kind of a lackluster showing, but we did get a decent amount of info.  The concept Bioware is going for is “Our world, my story,” meaning the world is shared with other players, but the story is driven along through your interactions/quests in the main city hubs.  The premise of the world is that there are tools that were left by the gods that have come into conflict with one another and are causing discord across the world.  As a freelancer, the players pilot Javelins (Iron Man-esque suits of armor, they even do the “superhero landing” in the trailer a couple of times) to survive in the harsh environments outside of the cities.  There are 4 classes: Ranger, Colossus, Interceptor, and Storm, each with their own abilities and aesthetics.  To personalize your Javelin, there will be gear, parts, paint jobs, and updated geometry for the suits.  Cosmetic/vanity items will be made available but there will be no lootboxes or the ability to pay your way into powerful items.  Additionally, the team noted that the game can be played solo but is meant to be played cooperatively.  Even though the presentation wasn’t the best, I’m still interested to see more.  It reminds me of Destiny but with the ability to fly and go underwater, which both look pretty sweet.  Time will tell, and the game is set to launch on February 22 of next year.

 

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Microsoft E3 2018 Press Conference

Microsoft kicked off day 2 with a pretty solid press conference.  It was heavy with trailers and footage, keeping the chatter to a minimum in a no-nonsense kind of way.  They came to show off games and that’s what they did.  Starting with a new Halo title and ending with Cyberpunk 2077, Microsoft definitely brought the content with them.  From a pure volume perspective, Microsoft crushed everyone else so far.  Going into the press conference, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Microsoft has been relatively quiet on the release front as my catalog for PS4 and Switch has grown, so it was good to see the number of interesting releases they have lined up for the next year or so.

Halo Infinite – Right out of the gate with a new Halo game.  Powered by the Slipspace Engine, the game will focus on Master Chief once again saving humanity.  The end of the trailer showed a Spartan plugging an AI into the Mjolnir armor, possibly hinting at Cortana’s return or a new AI companion?  Time will tell.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Shown at last year’s E3, the game continues to look fantastic.  The color palette of the game, the smooth animations, and overall crisp visuals make it hard to look away from.  It seems in this game, we’re getting an owl friend to help us traverse certain stages.  I guess I need to go play the first Ori before this comes out…

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – A new game from From Software and Activision, our samurai-like main character gets his left arm cut off and replace with a fancy Swiss Army knife arm.  In the trailer, the multi-tool produces an axe, a shield, and a grappling hook, all used in various ways from combat to traversal.  It’ll be interesting to see if this game is as challenging as the Souls games, even though combat appears to be a bit faster paced.  A release window of 2019 was all that was given.

Fallout 76 – Prior to Bethesda’s own conference, Todd Howard came out to show off Fallout 76 on the Microsoft stage.  The game is a prequel to all the other Fallout games and is 4 times larger than Fallout 4.  Set in West Virginia, the game is the first online multiplayer experience for the series.  More on this title in the Bethesda summary.

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit – Set in the Life is Strange universe; the game follows the story of a creative young boy and his imaginary alter-ego of Captain Spirit as he copes with hardships of life around him.  Currently set for a June 26th release date.

Crackdown 3 – Terry Crews voiced the entire trailer as he is one of the characters in Crackdown 3 and, needless to say, it was hilarious.  The game looks even more over-the-top than its predecessors, which is no small feat.  With the cloud-based processing that was touted a couple of years ago, the level of destruction in the game should be unreal.  Let’s hope it’s more like the first game and less like the second…  Crackdown 3 was given a release window of February 2019.

Nier: Automata Become As Gods Edition – Nier: Automata is coming to Xbox One with all the available DLC.  On my ever-growing backlog of games to play, Automata was pretty well received, even though the original Nier was more of a niche, cult classic type game.  Xbox owners can get their hands on the game later this month when it is released on June 26th.

Metro: Exodus – Gameplay footage of several varied environments and enemy types but not much in the way of specifics here.  Exodus is set to release on 2/22/19.

Kingdom Hearts 3 – A new trailer debuted on the Microsoft stage for this long-awaited sequel.  Showing off worlds from Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled, Hercules, and Toy Story, we were given a decent look at the plethora of content we’ll be seeing in this game, but by no means an exhaustive look.  The Gummi Ships were also shown to be back for the first time since Kingdom Hearts 2, I believe.  Along with a new song from Utada, we were finally given a release date of January 29th, 2019.  This is slightly later than anticipated, since it was said that the game would be releasing in 2018, but Tetsuya Nomura issued a statement thanking fans for their patience and that it would be rewarded as they polish and make this game the best it can be.

Sea of Thieves expansions – Two expansions for Rare’s open-world pirate game were announced during the conference:  Cursed Sails set for July of this year and Forsaken Shores, set for September.  Cursed Sails will likely introduce NPC ships and crews to the game that had previously been discussed in a Reddit AMA.  Forsaken Shores dropped the line, “A new land is revealed” in the trailer, which would seem to indicate just that, a new map/area to explore.  Along with the Hungering Deep, these new DLCs plot of course of continued support for the game for several months to come and I’m sure there’s more on the horizon!  (Sea what I did there?  I’ll see myself out…)

Battlefield V Nordlys – A brief trailer was shown for the dramatic war story mode of the new Battlefield game.

Forza Horizon 4 – Set in Britain and with a new season system that affects gameplay and area accessibility, the new Forza looks like a solid addition to an already fantastic series.  They’ve taken open world racing to a new level, as you’ll be online with the entire community, in real-time, able to see and challenge other players on the fly or seamlessly enter co-op for challenges.  There will also be world challenges that anyone and everyone can participate in, signaled by a blimp floating in the game world.  Additionally, Forza Horizon 4 will be included at launch on October 2nd in the Xbox Game Pass.

Microsoft Game Studio acquisitions – In addition to the studios already under their umbrella, Microsoft announced the acquisition of 5 new studios:  The Initiative, Undead Labs, Playground Games (makers of Forza Horizon), Ninja Theory (huge win for Microsoft here), and Compulsion Games.  As I mentioned in my blurb, releases for Microsoft have been pretty skimpy as of late, so adding these developers to their first party brand should be a solid boon for them.

We Happy Few – New trailer looks pretty creepy.  Taking a page out of Equilibrium’s book, people are controlled by taking pills to control their emotions.  In this case, to keep them happy.  But things aren’t as happy-go-lucky as they seem on the surface.  The game releases on August 10th and looks like it’ll be an interesting one.

PUBG – New maps and content coming to PUBG, exclusively on Xbox this winter.

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition – One of the highest rated games in the Tales series, Tales of Vesperia is getting an all-inclusive version for current generation consoles.  I’ve been told I need to play this game by a few people, so may give it a look when it releases this winter.

Division 2 – Pre-empting Ubisoft’s conference, the Division 2 was announced to thunderous applause.  The trailer showed the new setting of Washington DC and gave a glimpse into back story of how things ended up the way they did, followed by a bit of gameplay.  The Division 2 is set to release on March 15th, 2019.

Game Pass – Microsoft took a brief moment to discuss the success of Game Pass and some upcoming developments for their subscription platform.  They announced Fast Start, which will use machine learning to help get games ready for users based on how they use the games.  If that sounds a little ambiguous, I feel like it was.  I assume this means it’s going to be able to download portions of the game you need to start playing and keep downloading in the background as you go, but it a smarter, more efficient way.  This is supposed to be launching this month.  Additionally, Microsoft announced that Fallout 4, Elder Scrolls Online, and The Division are available on Game Pass right now and that Forza Horizon 4 and Crackdown 3 will be on Game Pass on their respective launch days.

Indie Montage – A decent portion of the 50 titles Microsoft showed were sped through in this indie montage.  There wasn’t really time to get a good look at any of them in particular, but it’s nice to know they’re working with indie studios as well to be the content to Xbox.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider – A new trailer showing Lara becoming one with the jungle, blending in to the trees/underbrush and mercilessly taking down enemies.  The game looks just as good as the others since the reboot which have been fantastic, so I’m looking forward to giving this one some playtime when it releases on September 14th.

Session – A new skateboarding title with a relatively lackluster trailer.  People were upset that EA didn’t unveil Skate 4, so maybe this will hold them over until that happens or Tony Hawk makes a new game.  No further details were given.

Black Desert – A Korean MMORPG that has been on the market for a while now and praised for its visuals is making its way to Xbox.  From what I’ve heard, the game is very grind-heavy, but is nice to look at, so if that’s your thing, look forward to this one landing on Xbox in the future.

Devil May Cry 5 – Nero is back and with a terrible haircut.  It looks like he’s lost his demon arm and it’s been replaced by a mechanical one created by a FFXV Cindy-wannabe (complete with a terrible fake Southern accent).  He does still have his motorcycle-handle sword.  It’s been 10 years since Devil May Cry 4 and we did get the reboot of DmC a few years ago but no true sequel.  Dante shows up at the end of the trailer, riding in on a motorcycle and looking a bit worse for wear, as well.  The game was given a release window of Spring 2019.

Cuphead expansion – The Delicious Last Course.  Adds new stages, bosses, and a new playable character in Miss Chalice.  I still haven’t played Cuphead but heard it can be infuriatingly difficult.  A generic 2019 release window was given.

Tunic – Heavily inspired by the old school Legend of Zelda games, Tunic follows a tiny fox on a big adventure.  The trailer showed our fox friend finding a sword, cutting grass, smashing pots for spare change, and fighting a variety of enemies in an isometric view.  In all honesty, I will play this game.  As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  No release details were provided.

Jump Force – I’m excited for this game.  The trailer started off with a statue of Madara and Hashirama from Naruto (I believe, correct me if I’m wrong), then the Thousand Sunny, and lastly, Frieza’s spaceship.  We’re then treated to a scene of Naruto, Luffy, and Goku fighting Frieza in an urban environment.  The game is apparently going to be a 3v3 action brawler to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Shonen Jump, so expect the roster to grow from here.  At the end of the trailer, Light and Ryuk are standing on top of a building looking over the chaos.  2019 was the only date provided.

Dying Light 2 – PARKOUR!  The team behind Dying Light has made their parkour system more fluid (heavily reminiscent of Mirror’s Edge) and updated their melee combat as well.  The game was described as taking place in the Modern Dark Ages and now, you have choices to make that will bear fruit and have you reap the consequences or benefits.  The game directors showed a branching chart of how a single decision can affect the game world.

Battletoads – FINALLY!  Phil Spencer has been wearing Battletoads shirts to conference for the past few years and we’ve heard nothing.  We got them as playable characters in Killer Instinct, but no other news was offered.  The announcer starts talking about how they knew the time would come when the three of them would be needed again, and the eyes from the logo popped up on a few of the screens in the theatre then he was interrupted as one of the speeders from the underground level crashes into a stone wall.  A tongue sticks to the speeder and pulls it off-screen and then the old theme song kicks in and it’s full-on nostalgia time.  The game tout “body morphing genre mash-ups, 3 player couch co-op, and 4K hand-drawn 2.5D graphics.”  Anyway, I played the original Battletoads on the NES and don’t think I ever made it past the underground corridor stage.  Partially because that game is hard and partially because my brothers and I would play and there is friendly fire in that game.  Battletoads is set to release some time in 2019.

Just Cause 4 – This series just keeps getting more and more ridiculous…  The world looks more varied, the weather patterns affect gameplay (there’s a freaking tornado!), and it is as over-the-top as you would expect from this series.  Just Cause 4 is currently slated for a December 4th release.

Gears Pop! – So, the Gears logo came up and everyone went nuts, then the wall is broken down and standing there is a little Funko Pop! Vinyl of Marcus Fenix, and everyone is a little confused…  He’s joined by a few other characters and then they start getting shot at and we get a screen indicating this is going to be an app, set for release in 2019.

Gears Tactics – Following the Pop! announcement, we’re shown a trailer for a tactics-based Gears game set 12 years before the events of Gears 1.  It’s new ground for the series but it seems very fitting as well.  We were told more news would be shared “soon.”

Gears 5 – Finally, they dropped the announcement everyone was hoping for when the Pop! Vinyls appeared.  Gears 5 is in the works, and like every developer states, “It’s our most ambitious title yet!”  We were given a trailer showing some familiar faces and that the focus of this game will be on Kait as she searches for answers to some strange dreams/premonitions she’s been having.  A 2019 release window was announced so that gives me some time to go and play through Gears 4 finally…

New Xbox – Only a brief mention, but it was noted that the hardware team at Microsoft is working on the next iteration of Xbox, which is to be expected.  We may hear more about this next year, but I don’t think a release will happen until at least 2020.  Time will tell.

Cyberpunk 2077 – Last but certainly not least, we were treated to a trailer for CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077.  This is the first time we’ve actually seen footage of the game world and the character who looks to be our protagonist.  The game looks great, as expected, and the development team has stated before that it is much larger than even the world in the Witcher 3, so expected plenty of content to keep you busy here.  During the intro to the trailer, there was a brief section in DOS and as the text was scrolling, I noticed what appeared to be Xbox Codes.  I got a screen grab and tried to redeem around 8 of the codes and ALL had been claimed already.  THE TRAILER WASN’T EVEN OVER YET, NERDS!  But that’s ok.  Afterwards, I looked up what they were for and it was to redeem a copy of The Witcher 3 and its DLC, which I already have on PC, it was just crazy to me how quickly people jumped on that.  Anyway, I’m definitely looking forward to diving into the world of Cyberpunk 2077.  I’m way behind on the Witcher series, so being able to start at the ground floor with this series will be appreciated.

 

 

 

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Bethesda E3 2018 Press Conference

 

 

The Bethesda conference has been my favorite to this point.  Based on the content they unveiled, the entertainment value of the event, and how much I enjoy their games, they’ve pulled ahead in my E3 rankings here.  It was nice to see that Bethesda is the #1 ranked publisher in the world.  I also enjoyed that the Switch as well as the Champion’s Tunic and Master Sword in Skyrim appeared in the hype reel at the start of the conference.  The main takeaways for me were the new entries in each of the company’s main franchises, including an entirely new one.  Fallout 76 looks fun and I’ll give it a try in the multiplayer environment, but apparently playing solo is an option (and more my style).  Bethesda also teased (and I use that word lightly, because it was basically just title screens) Elder Scrolls VI and Starfield.  We all knew Elder Scrolls VI was in the works, but it’s great to finally get confirmation and hopefully that means we’ll see something more concrete next year.  Additionally, Starfield is the company’s first new IP in a while and is basically going to be Elder Scrolls/Fallout in space.  I’m 100% behind that.  The jokes were great, as well.  From making fun of the Walmart Canada leaks, to their very self-aware trailer for Skyrim Very Special Edition (coming soon to Amazon Echo, Etch-A-Sketch, pagers, and smart fridges everywhere!), they made the presentation fun and not just an info dump session.

Rage 2 – Bethesda kicked off the Rage 2 announcement with Andrew W.K. coming out on stage and playing a song to a very unimpressed/confused crowd.  Once the gameplay started, people took notice.  We were told “if you can see it, you can drive it.”  Gruesome deaths and vulgar language ran rampant along with the color palette of this game.  They even took a brief aside to show a commercial on a TV in-game to announce the collector’s edition of the game.  All-in-all, it looks fun and should be better received than the first one was.  Rage 2 is set to release in Spring of 2019.

Elder Scrolls Legends – The game is currently available, but they announced overhauled visuals coming to the game in preparation for the launch on Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.  Your progress from the PC/mobile versions will transfer over to consoles and vice versa through your Bethesda.net account.

Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset – ESO has seen a decent amount of success, touting over 11 million players (over 1 million of which are new within the past year) and has won MMO of the year for three years in a row now.  Two new updates are set for the near future.  Wolfhunter is focused on werewolves, and Murkmire, which takes players to Black Marsh and delves into Argonian culture and lore.  Maybe they’ll discuss the origins of the Lusty Argonian Maid…

Doom Eternal – Back and bigger than ever, the directors of Doom announced that Eternal will have twice as many demons, a more powerful Doomslayer, and will bring hell to Earth.  No further info was given but we were told to expect more at QuakeCon in August.

Quake Champions – The big news was if you go to www.quake.com this week, you can download a free to play version of the game and if you do so this week, you’re able to keep playing, even after the trial closes.  Quake is a bit faster than I can manage, but it’s fun to screw around with friends at LAN parties like Extra Life and such.

Prey – Huge free update launched on Sunday night with 3 new modes:  A new story mode, New Game+, and Survival mode.  Outside of this, the Mooncrash DLC was announced.  It’s said to be infinitely replayable since items and enemies are spawned at random and you play to see how long you can survive.  Typhon Hunter was the last mode described, which is a 1v5 mode where it’s human versus mimics.  Enemies could be hiding as everyday objects and it’s your job to hunt them down.

Wolfenstein Youngblood – Set in the 1908’s, Youngblood follows BJ Blazkowicz’s twin daughters.  As such, the game can be played cooperatively as well as alone.  Wolfenstein Youngblood is set for a 2019 release.

Prey VR & Wolfenstein Cyberpilot – Both VR games in the works but not a lot of info was given.  We’ll probably see me at QuakeCon.

Fallout 76 – The same trailer from the Microsoft conference was used, but then more information and some gameplay were provided.  The game will be entirely online, with dozens of players in a persistent world with dedicated servers (supposed to be after the apocalypse, not an amusement park according to Todd Howard).  New monsters are being added to the series based on legends and myths from West Virginia, where the game takes place.  All progress made remains with the character but it’s unclear what happens to settlements if you end up on another server.  The map also has several nuclear missile silos, which you can capture and fire on whatever area of the map you wish.  So, if you have a pesky group of players who has been a thorn in your side.  Nuke them off the map!  There will be a B.E.T.A. (the Break-it Early Test Application), which you can sign up for when you preorder the game.  A Power Armor Collector’s Edition was also announced, containing a glow in the dark map of the game world, figures for the map, the game, and a T-51 power helmet with working headlamp and voice changer that you can actually wear.  Eventually, Bethesda will release enough collector’s editions of Fallout games, that we’ll have a full power armor set.  The Power Armor Edition is already sold out everywhere but keeps popping in and out of stock as more quantity trickles in.

Fallout Shelter – The game is now available on PS4 and the Switch, and it’s still free!

Elder Scrolls: Blades – A new mobile app that will eventually be on every platform up to and including VR.  This is a full-fledged Elder Scrolls adventure with a mixture of handcrafted and procedurally-generated dungeons and a few different modes.  Abyss, which is a survival mode, essentially, Arena for PvP, and Town, which is the hub for the story mode.  While playing on mobile devices, the game can be played landscape or in portrait (meeting mode as Todd Howard calls it, because in landscape mode, you’re clearly not working).  You can sign up for early access by preordering on the app store.

Starfield – As mentioned in my summary blurb, I’m excited for this one even though next to nothing was shown.  We had a brief glimpse of a planet seen from space and some sort of wormhole opening, then it cut to the title screen.  Still, an Elder Scrolls/Fallout-esque game in space?  Sign me up!

Elder Scrolls VI – Bethesda wrapped up their showcase with another teaser, this time for Elder Scrolls VI.  A view of a city from afar and the title (no subtitle) were all we were given.  Rumor is that this title will be on whatever the next gen of consoles looks like.

 

 

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Devolver Digital E3 2018 Press Conference

 

 

Devolver Digital is odd in their approach to E3.  Their showcase is very tongue-in-cheek, clearly mocking the state of the industry as well as society, and can be a bit overly aggressive.  They only showed like 3 games and Lootbox Coin.  Some people love it, some people hate it.  I’m somewhere in between.  Their games, much like themselves, tend to be very over the top and the jokes are building from year to year now.  I honestly don’t know that I’ll play any of the games they showed this year but keep reading if you want to see what they did show.

Scum Season 2 – An open world survival game that appears to put you in the role of a supermax prison in-mate.  Coming to early access in August of this year, you can see more on Steam.

Lootbox Coin – Marrying loot boxes and cryptocurrency, Devolver actually released these printed coins on their merch site that have no apparent use or value.  The site was down when I first went to see if they created these coins, then I saw them at $75 apiece, and as of writing this, they went from being sold out to being up to $250.  Time will tell what they’re good for, if anything.  I could easily see this being like the Cards Against Humanity stunt where they said, “You give us $5 and we give you nothing.”  And that’s exactly what they did.

My Friend Pedro – A ridiculous looking 2D slow-motion shooter.  Very Deadpool-esque.  Coming to Switch and PC in 2019.

Metal Wolf Chaos XD – Originally, this was a From Software game from back in 2004.  It is now being remastered, but retaining its pretty terrible original voice acting.  Much like Devolver’s conference, it looks to be pretty ridiculous and is coming to Xbox One, PS4, and PC later this year.  You can find out more at www.mechamericagreatagain.com

 

And that is it for days 1 and 2.  This may be the longest post I’ve ever typed up and I’ve still got two more days to go.  If you made it this far, thank you.  If you skimmed to the parts you wanted to read about, thank you.  If you just skipped all the way to the end hoping for something more, thank you and I’m sorry.  I’ll be back with my day 3 and 4 impressions over the next few days, but in the meantime, I appreciate you stopping by.  Let me know if you want to discuss anything posted above or have any suggestions for the blog/video content.  Take care!

Now THIS Is Podcasting!

Hello everyone!  Mark here with some exciting (or at least exciting to me) new!  My good friend Taylor of Scrapt Productions, makers of dope sh*t, asked me if I was interested in doing a podcast with him and I agreed to it.  Thus, Popcorn & Nerds was born!

IMG_4722

(Logo by the lovely & talented Nicole Yang)

Basically, the podcast combines my love of junk food and entertainment, as well as Taylor’s background as a television/digital producer and all-around media junkie also feeds into this setup.  We start the show by sharing a random (sometimes weird) snack, then talk about games, movies, TV shows, what have you.  The fact that we’ve known each other for many years and are still friends even after all our arguments (and a broken PSP which he never replaced), and we thought we could be at least mildly interesting/entertaining/argumentative.  Part news, part reviews, some excitement, and junk food.  If you’ve got some time to kill and/or are a podcast consumer, please check us out!  We’re available on Apple Podcasts as well as streaming directly on the Scrapt Productions site.  Please also subscribe, rate us, and leave comments/feedback, it’ll help us as we navigate this process and we want to get better for you.  Yes, you.

Our first podcast covers the announcements of the mini Nintendo Direct that was released on January 11th, as well as the announcement of Nintendo Labo (which is kinda nuts) on the gaming end of the spectrum.  The main focus is then the Netflix series THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD.  So if any of that sounds interesting, give us a listen.

Outside of the podcast, I have been streaming a bit more regularly as of late.  Wednesdays are still my normal streaming nights, but you can normally catch me on at other random times as well.  Notifications of when I go live can be found on my Twitter or my Facebook page.

As always, thanks for stopping by.  If you like the content you’re getting here (or if you don’t, I’m not here to make up your mind for you), feel free to leave comments on any of my pages and I will try to respond and take suggestions under consideration!

State of the Gaming Union

Hello all and welcome to the end of 2017!  As we look forward to a new year, I wanted to put my thoughts to e-paper about the current status of the Big 3 in gaming.  The year has been a pretty resounding success for gamers in general, with a slew of fantastic titles released this year as well as new hardware from each of the companies in some form or another, but hasn’t been without its challenges.  Each company could do a few things better and the new year is an excellent time for them to begin.

Nintendo has had a fantastic year all-around.  The Switch has become a commercial success, topping the PS2 for the fastest selling console in Japan for first-year sales.  Worldwide, it has been topping sales charts month after month and many retailers reported it as a top seller, even though the hardware wasn’t on sale.  Seeing as this is the hybrid’s first holiday season, that isn’t wholly unexpected, but it’s nice to see Nintendo bounce back from the relatively unsuccessful Wii U (even though I really liked the Wii U….).  On top of the success of the Switch, Nintendo has been winning plenty of awards with its newest entry in the Legend of Zelda series, as well as the latest offering in the Super Mario franchise.  Rounding out their accomplishments for 2017, Nintendo seems to be doing a better job of stocking the SNES Classic Edition consoles compared to the debacle that was the NES Classic Edition release.  Righting that wrong, Nintendo has stated that it will have a re-release of the NES Classic Edition this coming summer for those who missed out initially.  All-in-all, Nintendo has done well for themselves in 2017.

For 2018 and beyond, Nintendo needs to keep pushing the Switch.  They’ve had a solid flow of first-party titles to release and are garnering decent third-party support more so than in past years and on past consoles.  The indie scene has led a good bit of the success here and Nintendo needs to keep the momentum going.  Giving smaller developers exposure on the eShop and bringing fan favorites to the hybrid gives them new life as the option to take these titles on the go with you is all too enticing.  Getting more of the third-party AAA titles would be great, but doesn’t seem wholly necessary since Nintendo is still mostly relegated to a second console option after you decide on Xbox or PlayStation.  Until they’re willing to compete on the grounds of power as well as innovation, I don’t see that changing much for the Big N.  VR or a potential “expansion pak” are other areas of opportunity for the Switch, but being still relatively close to the console’s launch, I don’t see these as being near-term initiatives.  Lastly, appropriately gauging customer interest is a must.  They seem to be on track given the steady stock of SNES Classic Editions that have been hitting store shelves, but certain other things, like store-exclusive Amiibo and collector’s editions, have still been hot commodities.  I have yet to see a box of the Super Mario cereal in stores and I even went out on the morning it was supposed to be released to look!

Sony has been relatively quiet this year, riding the success the PS4 has seen since launch, as well as the boost received by the PS4 Pro and PlayStation VR.  Having released a slightly updated VR headset for the holiday season will give them an extra boost in the near term, but they’ll need more to remain on top.  Console exclusives remains Sony’s strong suit.  They’ve invested significantly in having experiences and titles come to their platform and it shows.  Horizon Zero Dawn has been a perfect example of this.  For a new IP, it has received much acclaim and won several “Best of” awards as well.  Let’s not forget entries in the Uncharted, Persona, Nier, Yakuza, and Gran Turismo franchises, as well as a smattering of remakes and remasters, rounding out an already excellent console library.  Looking at the release calendar for next year, there’s plenty more where that came from, too!  The remake of Shadow of the Colossus, Last of Us 2, Monster Hunter World, Ni no Kuni 2, Spider-Man, God of War, and many more have me excited for the coming year!  It also has me wondering how I’m going to find time to play them all…

For 2018 and beyond, Sony needs to decide how it’s going to approach console iterations and life spans.  Now that they don’t have the most powerful console anymore, are they going to push for a PS5 or take a similar approach to Microsoft and release more powerful versions of the PS4, allowing gamers to use their existing library as well as offering new graphical updates that come with additional power?  They need to continue to push VR.  They’ve done well in bringing VR to the mainstream with a relatively cost-effective solution for the average person to gain entry to an otherwise expensive endeavor.  The refresh of the headset this holiday season wasn’t enough.  Simplifying the cables for better management and allowing HDR pass-through are steps in the right direction but the unit needs better resolution, better tracking for its motion controllers, and more power to accommodate all of this.  They’ve proven the concept works and people are willing to buy in, now they need to expand what is possible.

Microsoft’s year was also relatively quiet.  For a while, they had been ramping up to the release of the Xbox One X, the world’s most powerful home console, but weren’t really focusing on software.  After spending time playing second fiddle to Sony and the PS4, Microsoft had enough of hearing how the Xbox One was underpowered comparatively and the Xbox One X rectified this.  It is the only current home console that does true 4K gaming and the only one to offer 4K blu-ray playback (besides the One S), solidifying Xbox as THE current console for all your UHD content.  On the software side of things, Halo Wars 2 was released early this year.  Between offering the original Halo Wars as a pack-in for the collector’s edition and the option for the Xbox Play Anywhere program to play on a Windows 10 PC, this was a pretty enticing deal for Halo, RTS, and gaming fans in general.  Forza 7 was the other big title Microsoft released this year.  Having its own cult following, the Forza franchise has been successful with each iteration for sure, but having the racing sim make the jump into 4K on the One X is glorious.  Weather effects, the detailed car interiors, the plethora of cars (and non-car options), as well as the revamped progression structure make this entry stand out from its predecessors.  Microsoft did release a remaster of Phantom Dust in lieu of the new entry, which still appears to be MIA currently.  Outside of these titles, a decent number of indie games made their home on Xbox and most notable of these were Cuphead and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (or PUBG).  Both titles have been receiving acclaim in their own rights and are only garnering larger followings with the added exposure they’re finding on Xbox.  The added backwards compatibility title list that is ever-growing and the improvements being made to older games retroactively through the power of the One X are additional wins that Microsoft has scored with fans in the past year.

For 2018 and beyond, Microsoft needs to focus on exclusives.  Just having the most powerful console isn’t enough if there are no games people want to play on the platform.  Crackdown 3, Sea of Thieves, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps are the only exclusive titles I could think of coming out in 2018.  Inevitably, we will see a new Halo (and it will be stunning in 4K and 60fps, but is likely still a year or two away) and probably another Gears of War title, but those two franchises can only carry Xbox so far.  Also worth noting is that Microsoft signed a partnership with Oculus Rift that has yet to bear any fruits on their console.  With Sony seeing the success of the PlayStation VR, now would be the time for Microsoft to unveil their plans for VR with the power of the One X.  Having killed off Kinect production and games not taking advantage of the sensor, it doesn’t seem like the Kinect will factor in to the future plans for the console.  Lastly, announce a new Battletoads game.  You have the rights for the franchise, Phil Spencer has worn the shirt to a few events, you added the guys to the Killer Instinct roster, stop teasing and gives us a new Battletoads experience.  Let’s introduce Rash, Zitz, and Pimple to a new generation of gamers.

Did I miss anything on any of these platforms that you have particularly strong feelings about?  Be sure to let me know and we can discuss.  All-in-all, 2017 has been a fantastic year for games and here’s to hoping 2018 is even better!  As always, thank you for reading and if you haven’t yet, follow me on Twitch and watch me play some of the games I talk about here.  See you all in the new year!

The Next Big Thing For Your Nintendo Switch: Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I was a huge fan of the original Xenoblade Chronicles.  I followed it when it was part of Operation Rainfall and it seemed unlikely to be released in the States.  I was one of the first people to preorder it at my local GameStop (even though they screwed me out of the artbook you were supposed to get for preordering…).  I spent somewhere around 180 hour running around the game world, taking in the sights (which were pretty spectacular for the Wii and its much bemoaned lack of power), the side quests, the gameplay, and the characters.  It was a great RPG experience that a lot of people probably missed out on, even after it became available on the 3DS and on the Wii U eShop.

The follow-up, Xenoblade Chronicles X, while visually pleasing, didn’t pull me into the world the same way the original did.  For a Wii U title, it was stunning graphically, and the gameplay was smooth and reminiscent of the original, but it didn’t have the same draw for me.  Additionally, I played the original after work when I was working 12 hour night shift in a lab, so my social options were limited anyway.  That might have been a factor…

But now, a new title in the series is about to be released that looks very promising.

All images from Nintendo’s Xenoblade Chronicles 2 site unless otherwise noted.

Nintendo dropped a new Direct early this morning about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 with a decent mix of new and old information.  The first announcement, which was music to my ears, was that a Japanese voice over pack will be available as free DLC on day one!  JRPGs often have notoriously awful English dubs (no offense to the talent of the voice actors involved), so the option to switch to the original Japanese vocal track is always a welcome one.  I wonder if Japanese people think the Japanese audio sounds terrible and prefer the English dubs….

The trailer proceeded to show a brief story description.  As I was watching it, I couldn’t help but think it seemed very familiar and then it hit me!  The main portion they showed was very similar to the beginning of Granblue Fantasy, a mobile RPG/anime series I had seen a few months back.  Borrowing story and plot devices is nothing new and I doubt it will detract from the game, but I figured it was worth mentioning.  My Japanese teacher always did call me an otaku…  :'(  The trailer showed off a plethora of characters, including a giant white tiger-Red XIII-esque Blade named Dromarch!

Worth noting is that the trailer called out that this game will feature a day and night cycle, as well as weather effects.  This has an effect on the type monsters that will show up in the wild and the conversations that could be available, as per the other entries in the series.  Also making a return is the fast travel mechanic to specific landmarks within the game world.  This feature was particular impressive in the original game on the Wii because there were no loads times between fast travel points within the same areas (which were very large).

Interesting logo wallpaper, also featured on the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Pro Controller

A dive into game mechanics followed the story trailer segment, describing Drivers and Blades.  Blades, like the main character Pyra, are artificial lifeforms with a variety of powers and serve as weapons for the Drivers, like the main character Rex.  Drivers are able to bring up to 3 Blades into battle with them and each Blade is classified in a traditional RPG role: tank, damage, healer.  The combinations of Blades you equip affect your characters’ class and add variety to the gameplay.  As your Blades level up, they open up new segments of a skill tree for you to drive a unique style of fighting for yourself.  This feeds into a social aspect of the game, where gaining your Blade’s trust through social events, as well as use in battle, raises their affinity with you and opens up further options of customization.

In combat, there are 3 combo types at your disposal.  Driver combos are created by chaining together Arts (abilities) and triggering physical effects like knockdown and stun.  Blade combos are created by chaining together special Blade abilities through elemental attacks and damage.  If enough Blade combos are chained, an elemental orb will appear around the enemies.  The final type is Fusion combos.  Fusion combos link together Drive and Blade combos into one cohesive attack.  Chain attacks can be initiated at certain points when a meter is filled during the course of battle.  This meter can also be used to resurrect party members, so use it wisely.  If you complete a Chain attack while an elemental orb is on the enemy, the chain will link a bit further, causing more damage.  The system seems to borrow a decent amount from past Xenoblade games, while introducing a bit more variety through the Blades.  It’ll be interesting to see how the system plays out.

An Expansion Pass was also announced for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 during this Direct.  Between the game’s release and next Fall, the Expansion Pass will unlock new support items, a new story quest, a rare new Blade, a challenge mode, and a new story and adventure, released in that order.  No further details were given on what each item means for the game, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

The final announcement was that starting November 9th, a new quest will be added to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that will earn Link Rex’s outfit from Xenoblade Chronicles 2.  No cost was mentioned, so I assume that will be free to anyone who owns the game.  See below:

Image from Polygon

With release less than a month away at this point, I’m excited to see how this new entry is received.  If it’s even half as sprawling and engaging as the original, coupled with the fact that it’s portable with the Switch, this game could be a solid contender for your gaming time for the foreseeable future!

 

What’re your thoughts on the game?  Did you catch the Nintendo Direct?  Feel free to shoot me an e-mail or find me on Twitch the next time I’m streaming, and thanks for stopping in!

Streams, Sales, & Random News!

Hello again!  Bit of an eclectic post for you this evening, so I’ll jump right in!

 

Extra Life 2017 Quickly Approaches

Photo from www.extra-life.org

Extra Life is next weekend!  If you haven’t donated yet, there’s still plenty of time.  This is a really great cause and since 100% of your donations go to the kids, every little bit does truly help.  You haven’t heard the last of this just yet, but if you’re able, please consider giving a little.  It is greatly appreciated.  We’ll try to have a segment at the end of the stream/evening shouting out our donors.  Big thank you to everyone who has donated so far, I’m about 1/3 of the way to my goal.  I’ve done better with each successive year and think we can continue that trend!

https://www.extra-life.org/participant/mark-goings

Now, on to more fun things!

Streaming Weekly!

I’ve been working on streaming a bit, so please check me out on Twitch and be sure to give me follow while you’re over there!  If you catch me online, say hello and let me know what you think of my content so far or if there’s anything specific you’d like to see from me, either here or on Twitch.  My current plan is to stream Wednesday nights, starting at 8pm ET.  Any other streams outside of that will be random for the time being.  Mostly, I’m streaming Destiny 2 and I haven’t been playing it outside of the stream, so you can monitor my progress.  Seeing as I don’t play a lot of FPS games, feel free to come and mock me for being a n00b!

 

Target Buy Two, Get One Free Sale!

Target logo from Target's corporate site

So, this week only (10/29 through 11/4), Target is having a buy two, get one free sale on video games and board games.  You can mix-and-match and the lowest priced item is free.  However, Switch titles are not eligible and neither are any of the Cards Against Humanity sets.  While that’s disappointing, there’s still plenty of other options here, especially with the plethora of fantastic titles released recently or releasing soon.  South Park: Fractured But Whole, Assassin’s Creed Origins, Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Destiny 2 PC, Call of Duty WWII, etc.  If you order online, it works with preorders, too!  Good news for people still interested in toys-to-life (Amiibo, LEGO Dimensions, Skylanders, etc), these are included in the sale too!  All around, it’s a great deal if you have some games you’ve been thinking about grabbing or a few you missed.  Head over to Target’s home page and you can’t miss it!

Nintendo Switch: A New Home For Indies

Nindies photo from GoNintendo.com

The Nintendo Switch has been hugely for the indie scene.  If you go and log in to the eShop, 8 of the top 10 sellers are not Nintendo titles (maybe 7 out of 10 with the release of Super Mario Odyssey).  Many of the titles have been released on other systems before but are receiving new life on Nintendo’s successful new console.  Stardew Valley has been fantastic so far on the system and only promises to get better once the multiplayer update is released (on consoles first)!  Axiom Verge, Golf Story, Overcooked, SteamWorld Dig 2, and The Flame in the Flood to name a few.  The ability to take your titles on the go as well as play on the big screen is also an enticing proposition.  Especially with the limited release of actual Nintendo titles, there’s plenty of room for indies to fill in the release gaps and be successful on the platform.  We’ll see if that continues to be the case.  While the indies won’t have the benefit of something like the Steam Sales, Nintendo did just add a sale section to the eShop.  Time will tell how good/frequent the discounts are in that section, but it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on!

Ding Dong, Kinect Is Dead!

Kinect photo from Xbox.com

I just thought this was kinda funny.  Microsoft announced earlier this week that production of the Kinect peripheral is dead.  In an interview with Co.Design, Alex Kipman, the original creator of the Kinect, and Matthew Lapsen, Xbox Devices Marketing general manager, announced it was given the axe.  After doubling down on the device and including it with all launch bundles of the Xbox One, Microsoft took a step back and decided the extra processing power reserved for the Kinect would be better served being opened up to developers to help close the gap in performance between their console and the PS4.  Very few games in recent years have taken advantage of the device, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s being allowed to die.  If you’re so inclined, give Kinect Sports a dust-off to send it off in style!

 

That’s all for my random weekend post.  Thanks for stopping by if you made it this far!

Extra Life 2017 & My Triumphant Return!

Hello all!  It’s been a while, but I’ve taken care of some things in the real world, situated myself in a new apartment, and I’m ready to get back to work here.  First stop on the reunion tour is Extra Life 2017!  Anyone who knows me knows this has become a tradition, with this year being my 4th year participating.  It’s a great event for an even better cause.  Each year, we have friends fly and drive in from all over the country, we take over our friends’ house, and we game for a fantastic cause.  I’ve prepared a video for the occasion, as well as a bit about my return.

 

For the uninitiated, Extra Life is a charity event supporting the Children’s Miracle Network.  Gamers for all over the world pledge to participate in gaming marathons for 24 hours to raise money for kids in need.  100% of the proceeds go to helping local children’s hospitals to give kids a fighting chance.  That being said, every little bit helps, so if you’re able to give a little or a lot, it’s all greatly appreciated!  You can find my donation page here, as well as more information around this most excellent annual event!

My friends and I will be streaming again this year with a variety of games.  Some in-house LAN ideas have been thrown around and I’m working on making a final roster of titles I’ll be playing solo, as well.

With the event just under 2 weeks away, we’re getting down to crunch time.  Thank you all in advance for your generosity and I look forward to making more updates on my various channels in the near future, so stay tuned!

 

E3 Is Upon Us!

E3 logo from E3expo.com

Today starts one of the biggest weeks in gaming news for the entire year!  Nerd Christmas in June!  The big show!  More exclamation marks!!!

Sorry…  It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything new.  I’ve got some other content in various stages of completion, I just need to get my butt into gear and get it done.  I’ve been a bit removed from the latest gaming news, so if I missed any announcements that contradict what I’ve written here, I apologize in advance.  That being said, I felt I would be remiss if I didn’t make a post about E3, so here it is!

The Events

For the past few years now, the main keynotes have been from Microsoft, Bethesda, EA, Ubisoft, and Sony (with Nintendo presenting in their own way, directly 😉 to consumers).  Below are kind of what I expect to hear about and what I’m excited about.

EA

In an unusual turn of events, the conference is beginning on a Saturday (today, June 10th) instead of the usual Sunday evening kick-off which has been led by Bethesda in recent years.  EA has taken up the mantle and is set to go live here very shortly.

If I’m being honest, EA games have never really wowed me and always seem to have a generic quality to them.  I know that’s a harsh assessment, but that’s how I see things, and their presentations are generally no different.  We will see the new iterations of their sports titles and they’ll tell us how different and improved they are since last year’s version.  Most likely, they’ll have one of the cover athlete’s present to talk about how excited they were to work with EA to bring the next latest and greatest entry of the sports game to fans.  This year, that may be Tom Brady, as he was chosen as the cover athlete for Madden 2018.  FIFA will receive its time in the spotlight as well.

Outside of their sports games, EA will definitely be showing of the new Star Wars Battlefront game.  Set to release this November and with the beta recently announced, they will definitely have some new gameplay footage and hopefully show off some new modes/content in the meantime.  I didn’t play much of the last release outside of my time with the beta, but I know it was heavily bemoaned as an unfinished game due to the lack of content out of the box and strong leaning on DLC/season pass.  EA should definitely be cognizant of this fact and make sure there is enough content in the base game to warrant gamers’ money.  I’m already intrigued just knowing that they actually put a story mode back into the game (#SinglePlayer4Lyfe) and learning more about Inferno Squad’s place in the Star Wars expanded universe.

Now, the above are the sure bets I would make for EA to show off.  As for other titles, I’m not so sure.  I don’t believe the Mirror’s Edge sequel was successful enough for EA for them to put more money into a new chapter so soon.  Battlefield 1 hasn’t even been out for a year yet, so we may see and expansion to that rather than a true follow-up.  Maybe they have a few new IPs up their sleeves.  I guess we’ll know sooner rather than later.

The EA press conference goes live today (June 10th) at 3pm EST.

 

Microsoft

I’m tempted to just put “Project Scorpio” here and then move on, but they will need to have more than that.  A more powerful version of their current console isn’t a showstopper.  Microsoft has already doubled down on keeping the platform as the Xbox One for now and allowing the games to be played on any version of the console, simply scaled to the power of the hardware, so they need to have games to back this up.  Price point could be a huge swing in their favor as far as the console wars go.  Touting that this is the most powerful video game console ever released isn’t enough if the price point is astronomical.  I’m guessing it’s going to launch in the $599 range, unless they’ve found some excellent discounts on parts.  It seems Microsoft is positioning this for a select subset of gamers who feel the need to be on the bleeding edge of technology (for console gaming specifically, before PC Master Racers come in and say something).

As for games, it’s already been announced that Halo 6 will not be at the show and honestly, most of the people I know that loved Halo have abandoned the series after the mediocre attempts following the original trilogy.  I think its presence will be missed, especially if they had some particularly epic in-game footage on the Scorpio.

Sea of Thieves is a likely candidate for screen time at the Microsoft conference.  After piquing interest last year, the game has largely fallen off the radar.  The premise seems very cool, we just need more details around how everything works and when we can expect to play it ourselves!

I’m not honestly sure what else to expect from Microsoft.  They could bring out the Phantom Dust sequel, especially considering the recent re-release of the original title as a free download on both Windows 10 and Xbox One.  A new Forza or Gears could show up but it’s not really been long since we had releases in those franchises, so these aren’t necessarily guarantees.  Scalebound may also see some kind of resurrection, considering Microsoft renewed the trademark for the game last month.

My big wish for Microsoft would be a new Battletoads game.  They’ve been teasing it for a while, with Phil Spencer rocking a Battletoads shirt at a few press conferences.  If done right, this is a franchise that has plenty of notoriety both from nostalgia and from time spent as a go-to trolling tactic for video game stores.  Soon, they may be able to answer that yes, they do in fact have Battletoads.

The Microsoft press conference goes live on June 11th at 5pm EST.

Bethesda

Bethesda usually kicks things off for the conference on Sunday evening but that does not appear to be the case this year.  Going live quite late for the East coast, Bethesda will technically be the first conference Monday morning.

I’m honestly not sure what to expect from Bethesda this year.  ESO just released the Morrowind expansion, so I don’t know that we’ll see any content updates for their MMO endeavor at this conference.  Fallout 4 content is winding down and other than the VR support for the title, I’m not sure that this will receive a lot of show time.  Doom is similar in that they may speak about the VR for the title, but I don’t know that much else will be said on that front.  I think the two certainties will be the Elder Scrolls card game and the new mobile app they’ve been hiring for that has seen some news circulating the web.  With Arkane Studios having recently released Prey, we may see something new in the works from that team but it may be too soon for anything concrete.

In a perfect world, Bethesda would have an unveiling of the next Elder Scrolls game.  I sank over 200 hours into Skyrim and never even touched the final expansion, so the opportunity to get lost in another realm of Tamriel is a tantalizing prospect.

Speaking of Skyrim, we may see some details around the Switch port of the title.  It was shown during the various announcements for the console and then vanished almost entirely.  Also, this title needs to be dropped from the $60 price point.  While I think it’s worth every dollar and then some, the game is nearly six years old at this point.  Regardless that it has never appeared on a Nintendo console, that would still be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of consumers.

The Bethesda press conference goes live on June 11th at midnight EST.

Ubisoft

Ubisoft always has a few tricks up their sleeves.  Aisha Tyler and her lady boners will almost certainly be present and appreciated for her comedic excitement in presenting.  You can also bet they will announce the new version of Just Dance, because apparently there are a lot of dancing fools out there buying up these titles each year.

As far as established franchises go, I think the Rabbids have been relatively quiet for a while, so it’s about time for them to make another appearance.  The collaboration with Nintendo for a Mario x Rabbids game may fit this bill and outside of what appears to be box art, we haven’t seen or heard much about the title.  Watch Dogs and the Ghost Recon franchise have recently seen releases, so I don’t anticipate any announcements in those areas, but For Honor seems to have been relatively successful for Ubisoft and we may see some expansion content here.

Assassin’s Creed is the other announcement that can pretty much be guaranteed at this point.  The number of leaks and images surrounding a new entry all indicate we can expect to see this one when Ubisoft takes the stage.

The Ubisoft press conference goes live on June 12th at 4pm EST.

 

Sony

PlayStation.  So many things to show.  So many things we’d like to see.

The new God of War.  The trailer last year looked amazing and we’ve needed a new Kratos adventure for a while now.  It seems highly likely that Sony would want to bring this back for another showing, based on the reaction it got last year.  Maybe they’ll show more about the setting of the game, an in-depth look at the parenting system that seems to be in place, or maybe just Kratos and his son whooping all kinds of mythological ass.  All are viable and entertaining prospects.

The new Spider-Man from Insomniac is another likely contender for some of the limelight.  The brief showing last year to illustrate the power of the PS4 Pro and HDR left us (or me, at least) wanting more.  Spider-Man 2 is still probably the licensed game that I’ve spent the most time playing and if anyone can do it justice, I think Insomniac can.  The free-roaming in Infamous seems right in line with what I’d expect from a Spider-Man experience.  Couple that with the capabilities of the PS4 and I’m excited at the potential this title has!

Final Fantasy VII Remake and Kingdom Hearts 3 are potential participants in Sony’s conference.  After announcing that the titles are still a few years away from completion (and bringing development of FFVII in-house), they may forego the show to alleviate the massive letdown of knowing we’re no closer to playing these games than we were at this time last year.  Or maybe they’ll continue to tease and tantalize, who knows?

PlayStation VR will undoubtedly have a segment allotted.  When the VR system launched late last year, it was nearly impossible to find for months.  Being the cheapest point of entry into the VR ecosystem did wonders for it, as well.  While adoption and titles have been scant, Sony has the opportunity to rectify this by showing that they will continue to support the headset with new and innovative titles to keep the momentum going.

I assume there will be some mention of Call of Duty WWII, since Sony has timed exclusive rights to the DLC for the series for now.  This does not excite me.

An interesting turn of events would be the announcement of a new Patapon or Loco Roco.  Both franchises saw their first entries remastered for the PS4 recently, so new titles for one or both could be possible.  Less likely would be a new PS4 model that would rival or surpass Scorpio’s power to continue taking the wind from Microsoft’s sails (or sales, whatever).  This seems highly doubtful as the PS4 Pro is already selling well and is currently sitting at a price point that I doubt the Scorpio will match, regardless of how powerful it is.

The Sony press conference goes live on June 12th at 9pm EST

 

Nintendo

In classic Nintendo fashion, they are not holding a traditional press conference, but rather hosting a Nintendo Direct (this year called the Nintendo Spotlight, I believe).  Super Mario Odyssey has been said to be heavily featured for the presentation and I wonder if it will be akin to how Zelda was the focus of their show last year.  After a disappointing Pokemon Direct this week, maybe they will have saved more Pokemon news (namely, for the Switch) for the E3 presentation.

Riding on the momentum the Switch has built up since its release, Nintendo will almost certainly focus on what’s to come for their new console through the end of this year and into early next year.  Nintendo needs to clarify how their online service is going to work, what’s included for the price, and what is up with the friends list app configurations for voice chat and such.  Early images have people worried about splitters, headsets, and the distance from their console (NES Classic controller all over again!), so Nintendo needs to get in front of this, let people know how it all works, and why we should give it a chance.  Additionally, the Virtual Console needs some love and attention.  With as powerful as the Nintendo nostalgia is, the possibility of having 30+ years of Nintendo titles on the Switch is a fantastic opportunity.

The 3DS will have a segment devoted to it, as it still holds significant market share in the mobile space, but Nintendo seems to be cannibalizing a bit of that thanks to the portability of the Switch, not to mention the 3DS itself is just over 6 years old now.  An odd move would be to announce a successor to the 3DS this year, which I don’t believe will happen seeing as they announced the New 2DS XL for release next month.

I would like to see some news about the SNES Classic Edition which was rumored to have leaked earlier this year.  Arguably more popular than the NES, if a Super Nintendo version was released that addressed many of the issues people had with the NES Classic (supply, cord length, no expansion opportunities for titles, etc.), Nintendo could stand to regain a lot of good will that was lost over how the NES Classic Edition was handled (all the while, making money hand over fist).  It’s a win-win for the Big N and hopefully they can do it right this time.

The Nintendo press conference goes live on June 13th at 11:30am EST.

 

I’ll be keeping an eye on the E3 announcements as they roll out and writing up my thoughts on each presentation as time allows.  In the meantime, everyone enjoy your weekend and look forward to the gaming goodness we have headed our way in the coming week!  If I missed anything you’re looking forward to or you’d just like to drop your ideas out there, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll try to respond to them.  Thanks, as always, for reading and please share this around if you like what you’ve read.

Time To Switch It Up!

Nintendo Switch Launch Review

Now that I’ve had nearly a month with the Nintendo Switch, I wanted to put down some of my thoughts about Nintendo’s new home console hybrid.  For the reading impaired/averse, I’ve prepared an abridged, video version of the write-up:

The Launch

Looking through the list of physical releases for launch day, it was easy to feel a bit uneasy.  For most gamers, the only title of interest was Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but seeing as it was being released on the Wii U as well, it’s hard to think of it as a system seller.  1-2 Switch will be fun for a party game but most of the other titles didn’t do much for me or would be relegated to purchases simply to feed my need to have things for my new toy.  The eShop has had similarly bleak start.  I am Setsuna and Snippeclips being the shining stars of the digital lineup and even here, I am Setsuna is already available on PS4/Vita and Steam.  With the thin launch day release, it begs the question, “What was Nintendo thinking?”  The answer is they had full faith in Breath of the Wild and it was not misplaced, though my thoughts on that are still forthcoming.  So, while the launch day lineup was weak in quantity, the quality was solid and I am still playing Breath of the Wild, Snipperclips is a great puzzle game to play in co-op (up to four players), and there are more titles on the way that would fall into the Switch’s launch window (roughly 6 months or so after release).

The Interface

The interface for the Switch is pretty straight forward.  You have a line of user accounts in the top-left of the screen, a line of game titles that you’ve played from cartridges or downloaded from the eShop, and a row of various options and settings below that.  The two of note from the bottom row are the News and eShop buttons.  News presents a feed of tiles curated by Nintendo, displaying new releases, eShop promotions, videos, and more.  It’s a great place to check out the latest updates and you’ll have a little notification bubble when there are new items to check out.  The eShop is very bland at the moment.  You’re only given the options to check out Upcoming Releases, Recent Releases, or to Redeem Codes.  As the shop’s offerings grow, I assume this area will become more robust as well, with breakouts for Virtual Console, demos, eShop exclusives, etc.  The whole interface may potentially change as time moves on.  The Xbox 360’s interface changed drastically from its original look back in 2005, so anything is possible as Nintendo gets feedback and lets the system get more exposure.  Overall, nothing particularly thrilling about the current interface, but its minimalism serves functionality.

The Hardware

The Switch hardware itself, while not perfect, is pretty sweet.  With multiple ways to play, I wanted to sit down and give them all their fair shake before passing judgement on them.  By far, I’ve spent the most time playing on the TV, with a variety of controller configurations.  The Pro Controller feels the best and most natural for traditional gaming.  The controller is a solid size, the buttons are larger for people whining about the size of the JoyCons, and it has all the features of its smaller brethren as well.  Rumble, NFC, accelerometer/gyroscopic motion sensors, and around 40 hours of battery life on a single charge.  Nintendo also hid a neat little Easter egg behind the right joystick.  If you look through the clear portion to the circuit board inside, printed there you will see, “THX2ALLGAMEFANS.”  A cool little note that anyone would appreciate.  The Pro Controller can be a bit of a challenge to find, but if you can get your hands on one, I absolutely would.

Moving down the configuration line, my next preference is with the JoyCons in one of the JoyCon Grip shells.  Mimicking a standard controller pretty deftly, the JoyCon Grip configuration works reasonably well for those seeking a more standard gaming experience.  Adjusting to button configuration/layout takes a few moments, but I was able to play comfortably, without incident, for a good while.  I also tried using the JoyCon in separate hands, similar to how you would have held the Wiimote and Nunchuk.  While not normal, this setup also worked pretty well and allowed me to sit back on the couch with my hands at my sides (optimal laziness achieved!) to play my games.  I don’t necessarily see myself playing like this often, but it was a bit more comfortable than sitting with hands front-and-center holding a traditional controller.  I did experience a bit of the JoyCon sync issue with my left JoyCon, but honestly, incidents were few and far between so it ended up being a pretty minor inconvenience.

The above configurations worked well in both TV and Tabletop modes, which brings me to Handheld mode.  The Handheld mode is a mixed bag for me.  I love the portability and the screen on the Switch presents a very nice image, but due to the weight of the system and me being me (that is, terrified of dropping electronics I paid good money for because I don’t have extra just lying around), the adjusted grip necessary to play in the mode is the least comfortable for me.  That’s not to say it’s bad or unplayable by any means.  I’ve enjoyed my time taking the system of the dock to lie in bed and play just a bit longer before going to sleep (and the occasional bathroom break, as well).  My hands just naturally sit lower on the JoyCons in this configuration to add more support for the console.  This makes reaching for the +/- buttons a bit more of a stretch than they would be normally and also contributes to some hand cramping after long play sessions.  Obviously, not everyone will have this issue.  I’ve had friends mention the Handheld mode has been their most played format.  Since portability is a huge draw for the Switch and the console functions admirably in this mode, I’m sure I’ll be playing my fair share this way, hand cramps be damned!

The best part about all of these controller options is that switching (ha!) is a snap!  Any time the system detects a new controller, you’re given the option of which controller you’d like to use.  Additionally, from the Home menu, you can change configurations and sync/player order with equal ease.  With so many options, it’s great that jumping from one to the other is so simple.  Playing on the TV with a Pro controller but need to go take care of something?  Remove your Switch from the dock and if you have JoyCons attached already, just click the triggers and you’re on your way.  Settling back in after you’ve addressed your other responsibilities?  Dock the Switch, press any button on your preferred controller, and you’re back in the game.  Nintendo really nailed the functionality here and it will be especially appreciated once some more couch multiplayer titles are released.  Drop-in/drop-out functionality just got much easier.

Jumping from docked/TV mode to Handheld mode and vice versa is really as easy as it looks.  Lift the console off of the dock and the image appears on the screen split seconds later.  Drop (read: gently place) the console back into the dock, and you’re up and running on the TV with comparable speed and ease.  The ability to take my console-quality experiences on the go has been fantastic.  It’s such a compact device when compared to the likes of the PS4 or Xbox One when travel is concerned, especially since all you really need is a USB-C charging cable/AC adapter and the console.  I even tested it a bit using my backup battery (previously purchased for Pokemon Go!) and was able to slowly charge the system even while playing.  I’m sure it will put a heavier strain on my backup battery but knowing I can extend the relatively short battery life of the system should I need to is great for peace of mind.  Granted, if I’m out and about, the short battery life isn’t really an issue since I’m not generally going to play for an extended amount of time away from an AC adapter/dock, but you can always find extenuating circumstances for such needs.

The Conclusion

While not perfect, the Switch has managed to successfully marry portability with home console-quality experiences.  Nintendo is not interested in going toe-to-toe with the power of the likes of the PS4 or Xbox One, but the Switch is a very capable machine that showcases Nintendo’s drive to try new things and be an innovator in the gaming industry.  Don’t let the smaller issues like the JoyCon sync or thin launch lineup, dissuade you from this new offering.  The Switch is still fantastic after a month of hands-on time and we’re just getting started!  Stick with me for more as Nintendo continues to switch up the way we play!

The Day I’ve Been Waiting For!

Hello everyone!

It’s finally here!  The Switch has arrived and I went a little crazy with my purchases.  I grabbed a bit of everything and hope to have some impressions and/or informal reviews soon.  For now, I made a couple of unboxing videos.

Nintendo Switch & Accessories Unboxing

The first video is the unboxing of the main console and the wealth of accessories I snagged from the launch lineup.

Mostly just a quick look at the system and such in familiar hands.  Also, at my awkwardness on camera (and new, snazzy Breath of the Wild t-shirt).

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Master Edition Unboxing

The other video I have for today is an unboxing of the Master Edition of the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as well as a look at the amiibo released for the launch of the title.

 

If it’s not clear, I love the Zelda series and am extremely excited to play this new entry, especially given the ratings it has been receiving pretty much universally.

I hope you guys enjoy the videos.  Please feel free to share them if you do or the blog in general, even if the videos aren’t your cup of tea.  As always, thanks for checking this out!

A Wild Video Appeared!

Hello!  Nothing crazy here, just a short introductory video to give you a face for the blog.  I’ll let the video do the rest of the talking.  It’s my first attempt at video content creation (and being filmed), so be gentle…

 

Comments welcome and, as always, thanks for stopping by!

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