June 2016 - Page 4 of 6 - Samantha Lienhard

E3 2016 Part 2: Bethesda’s Surprises

Video games 1 Response » Tagged with: e3

Jun 122016

I’m not a huge Bethesda fan, but last year’s E3 show has some great moments, like the Dishonored 2 reveal. Let’s see what they have in store for us at E3 2016…

EA
Bethesda
Microsoft
PC Gaming
Ubisoft
Sony
Nintendo Treehouse & Miscellaneous

Bethesda’s E3 2016 Press Conference

Bethesda’s press conference didn’t begin quite when it was scheduled. Instead, it began about 17 minutes later. After that late start, however, it kicked off with Quake Champions.

I’m not a Quake fan, but I know it’s a huge announcement.

Then, after recapping their releases from the past year, they discussed Elder Scrolls Legends, the upcoming card strategy game set in the Elder Scrolls universe. After that, they moved on to upcoming Fallout 4 DLC and updates to the mobile game Fallout Shelter.

Plus, Skyrim is being remastered.

After the Skyrim announcement, a new game was shown… and this one looks pretty interesting.

Horror? Experiments? Psychology? Aliens?

I like it!

Apparently Prey is a reboot of the 2006 game Prey. I never played it (or knew what it was), but this is one I definitely want to keep my eye on.

For me, that was the high point of conference. From there it was Doom DLC and Snapmap updates, along with a free demo available for the next week, new additions to The Elder Scrolls Online, virtual reality, and a large focus on Dishonored 2.

Dishonored 2 still looks really cool to me, and I might play the first one before this one comes out in November. November 11, to be precise. Preorders of the Collector’s Edition include a free copy of the first game’s Definitive Edition.

And that was that.

I enjoyed it more than EA’s trailer, but it still didn’t thrill me. Tomorrow, though, we have even more press conferences to look forward to!

What was your favorite part of Bethesda’s E3 2016 press conference?

E3 2016 Part 1: Schedule and EA’s Press Conference

Video games 2 Responses » Tagged with: e3

Jun 122016

Another E3 has begun!

E3 2016 Press Conference Schedule:

EA – June 12 at 1 PM Pacific Time / 4 PM Eastern Time
Bethesda – June 12 at 7 PM Pacific Time / 10 PM Eastern Time
Microsoft – June 13 at 9:30 AM Pacific Time / 12:30 PM Eastern Time
PC Gaming – June 13 at 11 AM Pacific Time / 2 PM Eastern Time
Ubisoft – June 13 at 1 PM Pacific Time / 4 PM Eastern Time
Sony – June 13 at 6 PM Pacific Time / 9 PM Eastern Time

Although Nintendo does not have a press conference or digital show, Nintendo Treehouse will begin streaming on June 14 at 9 AM Pacific Time / 12 PM Eastern Time.

This year, I have a new set of pipe dreams as well as some serious predictions, so let’s begin our look at E3 2016.

EA
Bethesda
Microsoft
PC Gaming
Ubisoft
Sony
Nintendo Treehouse & Miscellaneous

No surprise announcements ahead of time this year, so let’s start with the first press conference.

EA’s E3 2016 Press Conference

EA has a lot of franchises I don’t particularly care for, so its press conferences aren’t often high on my list.

This time, they started off with Titanfall 2. Unlike the original, it has a single-player mode. This makes me moderately more interested, but I’m still not sold on Titanfall.

After that, sports games took center stage, as often happens with EA.

Now, there are a few EA games I’m interested in… such as Mass Effect: Andromeda!

I was really looking forward to Andromeda news, but I don’t feel like I know much more than I did yesterday. The premise of entering an alien galaxy is interesting, but the trailer didn’t really show much. I want to know more about Andromeda’s story and how its gameplay will compare to the previous Mass Effect games.

They promised more details for the fall, so I’ll be patient.

Andromeda’s time ended far too quickly. After a brief explanation of EA Access and a new feature called Play to Give, they moved on to FIFA 17… which has an all-out story mode. Story mode, however, is not enough to convince me.

Then they referenced last year’s E3, where they showed Unravel. Although I haven’t played that adorable little platformer yet, it interested me. This gave me hope I’d like whatever they showed next… and I did!

EA has launched a new program called EA Originals, designed to work with small developers to deliver unique experiences, and the first one is a game called Fe.

It looks cute and pretty interesting, so I’ll be keeping my eye on Fe.

And then it was Star Wars time! Yeah! I love Star Wars games!

Well, they didn’t have too much to show. There’s going to be a new Battlefront, as well as a couple other Star Wars games.

Visceral Games and Amy Hennig are making an action-adventure Star Wars game that tells and original story with new characters.

They showed off some concept art (pictured) and a few seconds of gameplay.

Respawn Entertainment is also working on a third-person action-adventure Star Wars game, which is set in “different era.” They showed motion capture work for a lightsaber duel.

I’m excited for more Star Wars, so I can’t wait to learn more about these two games.

After that, EA moved on to Battlefield 1. And that was that!

As usual, EA’s show at E3 only had a few games that caught my interest. But this is just the beginning. E3 will continue tonight with Bethesda’s press conference. While we wait, let me know your thoughts on EA’s show.

My Hatoful Boyfriend Plushies

Video games 2 Responses » Tagged with: crowd-funding, hatoful boyfriend

Jun 102016

Remember the Hatoful Boyfriend Plush Project Kickstarter I supported back in November?

They’re here!

Pictured above, you can see my four Hatoful Boyfriend plushies, along with the other bonuses given to backers. You can also see my inexpert photography, so let’s take a closer look at each of these birdies!

My favorite, to no one’s surprise, is our mad scientist Dr. Shuu Iwamine. Here he is along with the character tag showing his human form.

How much do I love Shuu? Well, I named him among my top 5 favorite video game mad scientists. (Note: I hadn’t reached my beloved Kingdom Hearts mad scientists at the time I wrote that list.)

Moving on, here is our crazy “fallen angel,” Anghel Higure.

Remember, while Anghel may live in a strange little world all of his own, the Anghel-verse has its own manga. I reviewed it and definitely recommend it to Anghel fans.

Of course, I couldn’t get Hatoful Boyfriend plushies and ignore sweet little Nageki Fujishiro.

If you’ve played the games, you know there’s more to Nageki than meets the eye… and don’t forget, there’s a rare conversation between Nageki and Anghel that becomes fascinating once you’ve played through the BBL route.

And speaking of characters who become more interesting the more you know about them, I also got a plushie of the character who gave me my first Hatoful Boyfriend ending, narcoleptic teacher Kazuaki Nanaki.

He frequently topples. Even a Kazuaki plushie can’t stay awake!

Finally, along with the Takaba Lab lanyard you can see in the big picture I posted first, we also got pins of Labor 9, the King, Miru & Kaku, and the St. Pigeonation’s crest.

Remember, if you know who none of these characters are, you should play Hatoful Boyfriend and its sequel, Holiday Star.

Is the premise absurd? Of course! They’re about a human girl attending an all-bird school! But despite all of that, they’re actually really great games.

When I reviewed the first game, I couldn’t stress enough how unexpectedly good it was. Meanwhile, while the second game is different, I consider it a perfect companion to the first.

As for the plushies, they’re soft, wonderfully-made, and everything I could ask for from Hatoful Boyfriend plushies! Each is five inches, and here’s a shot of Shuu in my hand so you can better judge the size.

Not all crowd-funded projects work out, but here’s one that definitely did. I’m so happy to have received my Hatoful Boyfriend plushies (they actually arrived a few days ago, but Kingdom Hearts prevented me from blogging about them then), and I think they’re fantastic!

Let me know what you think of them… and don’t forget, we’ve got an exciting few days coming up, because next week is E3 2016!

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