Jun 142014
E3 2014 is over, and it’s time for me to compile my thoughts about everything I saw.
Spoiler: Nintendo won.
Okay, so no one really wins E3. It’s not a competition, it’s a way to show off new games and appeal to fans. Still, people always talk about who won E3, and for me, Nintendo beat the competition hands-down. I was still a little disappointed at the end, because Gyakuten Kenji 2/Ace Attorney Investigations 2 wasn’t announced for localization, but we have plans to deal with that. There wasn’t a Majora’s Mask remake announcement, either, but that’s a far lower priority on my list than Ace Attorney.
But I’m getting ahead of myself! I’m going to discuss all of E3, not just the games I wanted to see that weren’t there. We’ve got a lot of stuff to cover, so here’s a handy table of contents to help you out:
Microsoft
EA
Ubisoft
Sony
Nintendo
More From Nintendo
Conclusion
Let’s start with the first day of E3 and the first company to deliver its press conference…. Microsoft!
Any guesses on what caught my attention?
Last year, Microsoft soundly lost E3 (at least in my opinion), but Phil Spencer started shaking things up the moment he was put in charge of Xbox. He got rid of the Xbox Live Gold paywall for apps like Netflix, introduced the Kinect-free Xbox One Microsoft previously swore would never exist, and maintained a focus on games, rather than other entertainment options.
He carried out his promises at the press conference, which only mentioned one thing that wasn’t a game–Ridley Scott’s live action Halo series. That was great news for me. I use my game consoles to play games, so the more games Microsoft showed, the better chance it had to convince me to get an Xbox One.
First up was Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. I’ve never cared about Call of Duty, but I’ll admit that the original story trailer for Advanced Warfare caught my attention. The gameplay shown at E3 didn’t do much for me, but it was worth it just to hear my friend–who mocked me ever since I admitted to being interested in the game–say, “Hey, this actually looks fun!”
Once they were done with Call of Duty, it was time for Forza 5. Racing games don’t interest me unless they’re along the lines of Mario Kart. Next!
Then they showed Evolve, the 4-versus-1 multiplayer game everyone is excited for. Everyone except me, that is. Next!
Assassin’s Creed Unity is yet another game that everyone wants except me. I’ve never gotten into the Assassin’s Creed series, although I plan to give it a try sometime since I got a couple of the games with my PS3. Anyway, Unity looked nice, but I’m not too interested. I am curious about how none of the NPCs noticed the super-conspicuous assassins.
No one will notice us dressed like this.
After some good old fashioned decapitations, it was time for a game near and dear to my heart–Dragon Age: Inquisition. I still haven’t played DA2, but Origins was fantastic. Even though the second game gets pretty mixed reviews, this new one looks like it will be amazing, and I can’t wait. (Well, I can wait… long enough to catch up with DA2 and maybe finish some of the other games in my backlog…)
A trailer that opened with a scene worthy of any generic, grim shooter quickly exploded into the colorful chaos that marks Sunset Overdrive. Now this is one that makes me wish I had an Xbox One.
Sunset Overdrive is a zombie apocalypse (or the Awesomepocalypse as dubbed by Insomniac) game with the philosophy that fun is better than realism. The people of Sunset City have been turned into monsters by some sort of evil energy drink, and you need to save the city by fighting back with style and a variety of insane weapons, like explosive teddy bears.It was probably the most colorful game at Microsoft’s conference, and it looks like it’ll be a blast to play. Once that was done, Capcom poked some fun at itself with the Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus α. Just DLC, but it maintained the levity.
Fantasia: Music Evolved. Not interested. Dance Central Spotlight. Same.
Fable: Legends was up next. I’ve never played any of the Fable games, but I like RPGs. It could be interesting. You can play the villain, too. I believe this is another 4-versus-1 multiplayer setup.
Then they showed Project Spark, a game-creation thing that doesn’t appeal to me personally, but I can understand why a lot of people would want to play it. It sounds like it has a lot of possibilities and could lead to some great things.
Then a squirrel cut the logo in two.
Conker is back… not getting a game of his own, but as a part of Project Spark. I guess fans are supposed to make their own Conker sequels? I’m not sure how that’s going to work out, but okay, that’s something. While I was still puzzling over that, the next game was shown. Ori and the Blind Forest was one of those that only got a trailer and no explanation, which is too bad, because the trailer was pretty neat.
When the Halo music started, I jumped up and down in delight, because I’m the kind of crazy Halo fan who reads the books and everything. A new trailer for Halo 5: Guardians was revealed. It shed a little more light on the story (yes, I play Halo for the story, not the multiplayer) and the new Spartan, and best of all, it showed one of the things I really wanted in Halo 5.
And while I was still delighting over Thel ‘Vadam (the Arbiter) returning, 343 Industries went on and announced the Master Chief Collection, which will include games 1-4, and some other stuff, including the live action show I mentioned earlier. I’ll admit, I’m tempted. If I had an Xbox One, I’d be getting this for sure. Considering I have all the original games, though, it’s not a system-seller for me, not even with the remastered Halo 2.
Halo was the focus for a long time, but then it was time for a creepy game called Inside, by the same developers who created Limbo. Limbo was okay, not one of my favorites. This could be good.
Indie game montage. Nothing really grabbed me, but it could be too early to say.
The next trailer was intriguing, and it proved to be for Rise of the Tomb Raider, a sequel to the Tomb Raider reboot, which I have yet to play. If I play it and like it, I’m sure I’ll be interested in this, so it’s one for me to keep my eyes on.
CD Projekt RED took the stage next to show new gameplay from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The Witcher is another RPG series I still need to try. I’m excited for this game even without playing its predecessors, though, because it looks really cool. It’s also one of the few games that got me to comment on graphics, because it looks beautiful.
When the next developer promised to be reviving an old, beloved franchise, a lot of possibilities ran through my mind, and none of them were Phantom Dust, which was what was shown. Sorry, Phantom Dust fans, but I didn’t even realize the original existed. Wikipedia helped me out and taught me about the original Phantom Dust, a “pseudo-card-based action/strategy game” from 2005. Okay then.
Tom Clancy’s The Division, another game I’m not interested in even though everyone else seems to be.
Platinum Games arrived to show Scalebound, which looked cool, but I’m not sure what it’s about except action, dragons, and monsters.
Crackdown. Very explosive. The series never interested me.
Closing montage of games, and then it was over after 90 minutes. I was impressed, but not blown away. You might say I was mainly happy for Microsoft and the Xbox One, since they redeemed themselves from last year. There were several games that caught my eye, but keep in mind that exclusives are what will convince me one way or another about a console.
Sunset Overdrive, Ori and the Blind Forest, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection. I’m interested, but not convinced enough to get an Xbox One yet. Well, that’s about it for my thoughts on Microsoft’s showing at E3. Ready for something else?
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