Erif
...is magical
So yeah, E3 started today, and so far it has been a mixed bag. With Microsoft's presentation lackluster and Sony's meeting the expectations of many, gamers have been left both pleased and displeased. We still have to see what Nintendo has in store for us, which may be the unpredictable show of the even, the the conferences of many other developers and publishers.
As a whole, Mircrosoft was very lackluster this year. Basically, their presentation comprised of unending onslaught of (mostly) first-party Kinect titles, and (gee-gasp!) Halo 4, which seems like it's being renewed for a second trilogy. All interest has been diminished for a Third-Party Fable Kinect
title due to it being "on the rails", even though its initial designs and concept looked rather appealing.
Ubisoft was very lackluster as well. AC Revelations was by far the best thing shown by them; the gameplay and trailer were both great, and the graphics look better than ever. But with the exception of Farcry 3, which failed to impress many through first looks, and perhaps Ghost Recon, which may be incredibly inferior and and overshadowed by the likes of BC3 and MW2, most of everything else was just meh.
Ea was cool, though. Aside from the sports ( the whole Madden ordeal was laughable), Mass Effect managed to show some great footage, and it looks like a spectacular final installment. The Star Wars trailers was great, too. Totally changed my stance on the game.
Anyway, thoughts on Sony's conference:
I'd probably give it a B+, overall. Some excellent games were shown, a mix of a sequels with a few new IPs sprinkled here and there, and so good coverage regarding the NGP, or Playstation "Vita", as they now call it. Although I still haven't received a solid answer regarding the stack of UMDs that lay on my shelf, we did get a price, which was much better than expected. A lot of games showcasing the unique and innovative specs of the Vita spurred my interest, but there was a lot left to be desired. One of the biggest deciding factors on whether I purchase this or not are its launch titles, which I only got a small taste of in Sony's conference. Still, the Vita is an amazing piece of equipment that shits all over the 3DS, and I can't wait to see what it has in store for us gamers.
Now, one of my biggest problems with Sony was that they were basically showboating throughout the whole show. Despite the ample supply of amazing games, Sony was either trying to endorse 3D, bundles, or the Playstation Move. Especially the Playstation Move. Almost every developer announced their upcoming games would support the Move, or that they were trying to "open a gateway of gaming" by experimenting with it. This is okay and all, but I think I saw more said about the Move than I saw footage. It almost amounted to just a constant stream of game trailers with little said or shown about them, with the few exceptions (Resistance and Uncharted).
While this may have been the biggest downside to Sony's E3, the games were excellent. From Uncharted 3 to a new Sly, the trailers shown really raised my anticipation. Dust 514 was one of my personal favorites of these, and I also found Uncharted 3 to be spectacular. Just a lot left to be desired.
Can't wait to see wait to see what Nintendo has in store. It's really make it or break it for them. They'll need a slew of good titles for the 3DS to compete with the upcoming PSVita, not to mention the new HD console and controller they'll be unveiling. We're all watching to see if Nintendo can pull it off. This may be the year Nintendo finally redeems themselves in the minds of countless "hardcore" gamers, especially mine.
As a whole, Mircrosoft was very lackluster this year. Basically, their presentation comprised of unending onslaught of (mostly) first-party Kinect titles, and (gee-gasp!) Halo 4, which seems like it's being renewed for a second trilogy. All interest has been diminished for a Third-Party Fable Kinect
title due to it being "on the rails", even though its initial designs and concept looked rather appealing.
Ubisoft was very lackluster as well. AC Revelations was by far the best thing shown by them; the gameplay and trailer were both great, and the graphics look better than ever. But with the exception of Farcry 3, which failed to impress many through first looks, and perhaps Ghost Recon, which may be incredibly inferior and and overshadowed by the likes of BC3 and MW2, most of everything else was just meh.
Ea was cool, though. Aside from the sports ( the whole Madden ordeal was laughable), Mass Effect managed to show some great footage, and it looks like a spectacular final installment. The Star Wars trailers was great, too. Totally changed my stance on the game.
Anyway, thoughts on Sony's conference:
I'd probably give it a B+, overall. Some excellent games were shown, a mix of a sequels with a few new IPs sprinkled here and there, and so good coverage regarding the NGP, or Playstation "Vita", as they now call it. Although I still haven't received a solid answer regarding the stack of UMDs that lay on my shelf, we did get a price, which was much better than expected. A lot of games showcasing the unique and innovative specs of the Vita spurred my interest, but there was a lot left to be desired. One of the biggest deciding factors on whether I purchase this or not are its launch titles, which I only got a small taste of in Sony's conference. Still, the Vita is an amazing piece of equipment that shits all over the 3DS, and I can't wait to see what it has in store for us gamers.
Now, one of my biggest problems with Sony was that they were basically showboating throughout the whole show. Despite the ample supply of amazing games, Sony was either trying to endorse 3D, bundles, or the Playstation Move. Especially the Playstation Move. Almost every developer announced their upcoming games would support the Move, or that they were trying to "open a gateway of gaming" by experimenting with it. This is okay and all, but I think I saw more said about the Move than I saw footage. It almost amounted to just a constant stream of game trailers with little said or shown about them, with the few exceptions (Resistance and Uncharted).
While this may have been the biggest downside to Sony's E3, the games were excellent. From Uncharted 3 to a new Sly, the trailers shown really raised my anticipation. Dust 514 was one of my personal favorites of these, and I also found Uncharted 3 to be spectacular. Just a lot left to be desired.
Can't wait to see wait to see what Nintendo has in store. It's really make it or break it for them. They'll need a slew of good titles for the 3DS to compete with the upcoming PSVita, not to mention the new HD console and controller they'll be unveiling. We're all watching to see if Nintendo can pull it off. This may be the year Nintendo finally redeems themselves in the minds of countless "hardcore" gamers, especially mine.
