Super Smash Bros. Ultimate E3 2019

So the day before the Nintendo Direct and the start of E3's Show Floor opened up, I wrote this post on Facebook:

"I know it, you know it, Sakurai hinted it: there's going to be a Smash Bros. DLC character reveal on tomorrow's Nintendo Direct. The question is, who is it going to be?

There was that rumor that the protagonist of Dragon Quest XI was going to be the next character.

There was another rumor that suggests Nintendo was working with Square-Enix on a character so maybe DQXI Protag is true, or maybe it's Sora?

Maybe it's a Hunter from Monster Hunter to battle the Rathalos?

Maybe it's something crazy like Dante from Devil May Cry?

Maybe it's Phantasy Star representation? The last time I mentioned Phantasy Star, the series wasn't relevant, but as of yesterday, it's EXTREMELY relevant!

Maybe it's a surprise indie character like Gunvolt from Azure Striker Gunvolt or Miriam from upcoming release (next Tuesday!) Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night?

Maybe Nintendo thought "screw what Sakurai said, we're putting in Goku!"?

MAYBE IT'S MASTER CHIEF FROM HALO?

With how things are right now, it's very difficult for Nintendo to make the next character reveal as exciting as the last one. These character reveals can be polarizing. As excited as I was for announcements like Cloud, Bayonetta, and Simon/Richter in the past, I noticed there were a decent amount of people that didn't care for the characters or were upset about it. The reality of it all is that the character reveal tomorrow is going to disappoint someone...I just hope it's not me.....

Maybe it's Banjo-Kazooie or Crash Bandicoot like everyone wants and then I'll be left wondering how I feel about it.....?"


This is what I wrote a few hours after watching the Direct:

"Luigi's Mansion 3 looks pretty fun. The first game was both entertaining and frustrating. So while I'm interested in 3, I'm not excited for it.

LoZ - Link's Awakening remake looks cute. I'm still not sure how I feel about the art style, but it should be just as fun as the original.

Trials of Mana; Seiken Densetsu 3 Remake! Now THIS was the one announcement that got me super excited. Omg, it looks so good. I was also surprised to see they're bringing over the Mana series collection. I've never played Seiken Densetsu 3 (even though I have a fan-translated rom sitting on my hard drive since high school.....) so I'm thinking of picking the collection up.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses already pre-ordered, so nothing more to say.

No More Heroes 3. Ugh, I wish I had bought No More Heroes 1 & 2 back on the Wii. They were hard games to find and when I did find them, they were kind of expensive. I know it's a series I'd enjoy. It's cool they're making a 3rd one in the main series.

Contra Rogue Corps. I've been wanting another Contra game forever, but I have to admit that this one looks kind of ugly. But it has online co-op, so that's good enough for me. I just hope the PC version also has online co-op.

Daemon X Machina. I had my pre-order canceled by Amazon for some reason. It might have been done so for all those who pre-ordered it with the 20% off deal so now I have to pay full price. I am super interested in the game, but not sure if I want to pick it up at full price after playing the beta.....

Panzer Dragoon. I'm so confused. Is this a Remake? A Reboot? Or an entirely new one?

Omg, I'm so ready for Astral Chain. Already pre-ordered.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order does look fun, but I have no one to play it with.....

Cadence of Hyrule. As much as I like Crypt of the NecroDancer, It's a stressful game. I'll keep this game in mind, but it'll be lower on my priority list.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons looks cute. Probably lower on my priority list considering I never have time to play Animal Crossing games (I barely touched the last one I bought).

Oooo, LoZ - Breath of the Wild sequel. I'm reminded that I really should continue playing through Breath of the Wild.....

Okay Smash Bros. Time.
The Hero. I feel annoyed that this was leaked months ago and that it was accurate. Seriously, leaks are ruining these reveals. I also feel sad that I'm not a super fan of Dragon Quest, having played all the games and really feeling a deep connection to the series. I've always wanted to get into the series, but feel overwhelmed by the amount of hours I'd need to put in to finish it all. I've played a few spin-offs and really liked them and have no doubt I'd enjoy the main series. Still, I thought this was a cool reveal with nice cinematics. His moveset looks like a mix between Roy, Link, and Robin. An even nicer touch, it looks like we get different skins with the protagonists from Dragon Quest 3, 4, and 8 from the default 11. And I know the smash community is sick of sword characters, but I love swords so I'm happy enough with the addition of this character. I think I'd be way more excited if I was a super fan (and I wish I was). Despite that, that main theme! I never get sick of hearing it! Despite not being a super fan of Dragon Quest, I feel like the main theme is one of the greatest, most memorable and iconic themes in videogame.

Banjo-Kazooie. I.....had a feeling Banjo-Kazooie was going to make it in. They were an important part of the N64 and really set the bar on what a 3D Action-Adventure game was capable of. And it's obvious there's desire for them in the community. So I felt they had a higher chance of being added to the roster over anyone else. Here's the thing: I used to hope that they would add Banjo-Kazooie in the past because they have a strong tie to Nintendo's history and they have a lot of moves for a somewhat interesting moveset in Smash. HOWEVER, ever since Cloud's announcement, I feel like the possibilities were limitless. All of a sudden, there were a lot more interesting characters that could be added in instead. So it's cool that they added in Banjo-Kazooie, but I also couldn't help but feel like the moveset they've shown are a bit bland. Maybe I'll feel differently when I actually play them.

Overall, both characters for smash are cool additions to the game, but I also have to admit that they didn't cause the same amount of excitement in me that Joker from Persona 5 did.

As for the rest of the direct, I'm interested in Luigi's Mansion 3, LoZ Link's Awakening, No More Heroes 3, Contra Rogue Corps, Daemon X Machina, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Cadence of Hyrule. I'm already sold on Trials of Mana Remake and collection, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Astral Chain. So overall, I thought it was a good direct showing quite a few games to look forward to."


The Hero from Dragon Quest XI had a strong reaction from Japan while Banjo-Kazooie was a huge deal in the West.  I'm happy to have both characters, but wasn't nearly as excited as everyone else.  It was nice seeing their reactions and being happy for them.




Oh, except for the announcement of Phantasy Star Online 2, I pretty much reacted the same way.

E3 2019 Deprived of Show Floor News

The games announced at this year's E3 were pretty interesting and I feel like we got a decent amount of things to look forward to, but I feel like this year's E3 wasn't as exciting.  The one thing that really bugs me about this year's E3 was that I found little to no information on Floor Show games.  All news outlet just followed up or repeated everything we've heard at the conferences before the E3 Show Floor opened up.  Were there no other games and companies there?  Has that many Japanese companies really backed out of E3 in favor of Tokyo Game Show now?  Is E3 just the conferences and not the Show Floor now?  In any case, let's jump into what was shown and talked about.

Games I'm Excited For:

[Astral Chain - NS]

I'm so ready for Astral Chain!  Platinum Games' newest Hack-n-Slash Action game is set in a really cool futuristic metropolis with some crazy visuals exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.  I'm more excited about this game than any other Switch title coming out this year (possibly even more than Fire Emblem: Three Houses)!  It releases on August 30th, 2019.

[Code Vein - PS4, XB1, PC]

We were supposed to get this game last year in September, but was said to have been delayed.  I have to admit that it looked rather rough from what they showed last year.  When it reappeared a month or so ago, it showed a much more polished game with a richer environment.  I'm pretty interested in this animé-esque Dark Souls that I could co-op with my friend.  I'm also excited that Go Shiina composed the music!  Code Vein arrives on September 27th, 2019, hopefully without any delays this time.

[Daemon X Machina - NS]

So I wasn't sure if I wanted to re-pre-order this game after I had pre-ordered it with 20% off only to receive an email months later that canceled the order (possibly by Nintendo, the publisher).  I tried out the beta and it was kind of fun, but also a bit underwhelming.  After watching some more gameplay footages and looking at what games we were getting this year for the Nintendo Switch (which isn't much), I decided to make another pre-order at full price and support the game.  I've been itching for a mech game and I did feel the potential for this game.  I just hope it really is better than what I played in the beta.  Release date is September 13th, 2019.

[Doom Eternal - PS4, XB1, NS, PC]

I had a lot of fun with the Doom reboot.  It had the fast-paced action of old-school First-Person Shooters with the interesting design choices of modern day games that made a challenging, but totally satisfying experience.  From what I understand, this next Doom will be open-world with new weapons, new mechanics, but a lot of the same satisfying combat.  They gave us a release date of November 22nd, 2019.  Not a game I'm going to pick up on day one, but one I'll definitely pick up sometime in the future.

[Final Fantasy VII Remake - PS4]


So they gave a release date of March 3, 2020, but for the first episode of who knows how many.  The game is looking incredible and faithful to the original, the combat system seems streamlined and fun, and it really looks like it will live up to the hype it has garnered over the years.  For me, I want to play the whole friggin' game all at once, which might not be for a while.  I might honestly have to wait until 2030 before I can play the full game, and that scares me a little.  But in terms of what they've shown us so far, it looks great.

[Fire Emblem: Three Houses - NS]


The newest iteration in the series looks fairly different from its predecessors in art style and in gameplay in terms of relationship building.  My Fire Emblem backlog is weeping as Three Houses is close to its release date of July 26th, 2019.  I eventually get around to playing the Fire Emblem games, but I think I'll try to finish this one when it comes out first.

[Granblue Fantasy Versus - PS4]

I'm going to wait for the PC version (and hopefully there is one), but I'm already excited for the game.  I do play Granblue Fantasy, but I'm not an avid player.  It's certainly not the franchise I was expecting Arc System Works to make into a fighting game next, but it's a welcome addition.  There's still no release date and the roster is still seemingly limited, but that just means there's time to change that.

[Halo Infinite - XB1, PC]

I'm usually not excited for Halo games because I don't have an Xbox to play them on or know anyone that owns one.  But this one is being developed for PC as well, so that changes everything.  I love Halo from its simplistic and engaging gameplay to its rich lore.  It was also a great multiplayer game in the past, being able to play 2-player co-op with my friend or to play 4 v 4 on 2 Xbox 360s when there were a lot of us playing at once.  But it's been a really long time since I've had any access to an Xbox and I miss playing the game.  I just hope it'll be available on Steam when it hits PC.  I'm super excited that the Master Chief Collection is coming to Steam PC and have wanted that for a long time.  Now I'm going to be able to play all those Halo games I missed out on as well as revisit the first two games.

[Oninaki - PS4, NS, PC]

I haven't played Tokyo RPG Factory's other 2 games, but a friend told me they were rather underwhelming.  I never got to try them since they're always expensive (even on sale) and I'm intimidated from buying another long RPG.  Oninaki looks a lot faster-paced and seems like a lot of fun though.  The other two games seemed more about the story, art style and music as its selling point while the gameplay they've shown for Oninaki has me really interested.  I'll still wait for a sale before picking it up, but I'll probably play this one before the other two games.  Oninaki releases on August 22nd, 2019.

[Phantasy Star Online 2 - XB1, PC]


Did this seriously drop in the middle of Microsoft's conference?  I was totally blindsided by this news.  I was eating breakfast with my mom sitting across from me on the table while I was watching the live stream of Microsoft's conference.  Sega's logo pops up and the first thought that popped into my head was "oh, it's a new Sonic game."  As the music started and I heard the first 5 notes, I thought it was Sonic Forces' main theme for a second and hummed along with the next 7 notes.  All of a sudden, I slammed both my hands on the table and went "WAIT, THAT'S NOT SONIC, THAT'S PHANTASY STAR!"  There was no way what I thought was happening was reality.  As soon as I saw the Hunter's back walking up to the port, a sight I'm very familiar with from all the times I've watched the trailer and started up the game on the JP servers back 7 years ago, I started slamming on the table even more and screaming with my half broken voice from coughing so much from whatever I got sick with the past week "OMG, OMG, AFTER 7 YEARS OF WAITING, IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S HAPPENING! 7 YEARS!  7 YEARS OF WAITING!"  My mom was just going "What?" while my dad ran downstairs with his own screaming of "WHAT HAPPENED?  WHAT'S WRONG?"  Barely able to speak, I just kept repeating "7 YEARS OF WAITING!  IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!"  After calming down a bit and explaining what I just saw, my dad's response was "isn't that an old game?"  Yes, but this point, it's an old game and it took this long for Sega to finally make some sort of deal to bring it over to the West so we can freaking play it.  I wondered year after year if I should just give up waiting and go back to the JP servers to play the game.  I feared that if I didn't, the servers would shut down and I would definitely not be able to play it.  In fact, I had planned on finally starting it up again this Summer and told my friends "I gave them a fair shot and waited for so many years."  One of my friends joked and said "And THAT'S when they decide to release it for the West."  Rather close to the mark, I laughed at the thought.  It seems like the West will get ALL content already available from the JP servers which means we get stuff all the way up to Episode 6.  As excited as I am to FINALLY play Phantasy Star Online 2 in English, I'm also a bit cautious because E3 2012 promised us PSO2 in Summer of 2013 and we haven't heard any news since then until now.  But the fact that it seems Microsoft has a hand in this makes me feel a bit more confident that they'll follow through.  Phantasy Star Online 2 will be available Free-to-Play on Xbox One and PC in Spring of 2020.

[The Outer Worlds - PS4, XB1, PC]


It's the "Totally not Fallout: New Vegas" game that Obsidian Entertainment has been working on.  While it has no connection to the Fallout universe, it seems it has a lot of similarities to New Vegas to warrant the comparison.  It does seems like a really fun and colorful adventure to partake in, but my friend (who has a terrifying amount of hours in Fallout: New Vegas) believes it's best to stay cautiously excited.  It'll release on October 25th, 2019.

[Trials of Mana Remake - NS, PC]

Out of all the new games announced at E3 this year, this was definitely the one I'm most excited for.  I have not played Seiken Densetsu 3, and it seems like they're going to bring the Mana Collection over in English as well so we'll finally have an officially translated version of it.  But to get a remake like this was not something I expected.  It looks so good!  It puts the Secret of Mana remake to shame!  They showed what kind of world it takes place in, what kind of characters were going to be in it, and most importantly how the combat was going to play.  There were an obscene amount of new games that just showed a small teaser or a cinematic that explained nothing about what kind of game it was, what it was about, or what the actual game will look like.  So it was nice to get a trailer that gave everything I wanted to know about the game, I'm sold!  It's coming Early 2020.  I hope it avoids March because March 2020 is already jam packed with games.


Games I want to talk about:
[Borderlands 3] - So we already know about Borderlands 3 and I'm already excited for it.  It's unfortunate that it'll have a half year exclusivity with the Epic Game Store (better than one year, but still).  So it'll be a while before I pick it up and play it.

[Cyberpunk 2077] - I'm still very confused on what sort of game this will be.  I'm guessing it'll be a bit more like Deus Ex.  I'm just highly fascinated by the environment and the immersive world they've created.

[Darksiders Genesis] - So it seems like they're making a top-down Darksiders that'll play a lot like Diablo and I'm totally okay with that.  At the very least, they showed gameplay to us in the trailer.

[Deathloop] - Arkane Studios' newest game didn't show any gameplay, but I trust their work and the concept sounds like being able to use a lot of cool powers similar to the Dishonored series, but in a much more action-orientated environment over their usual stealth-style gameplay.  I'm pretty excited to see more of this in the future.

[Death Stranding] - Okay, I'm still confused on what kind of game this is and it's releasing this year.  I'm more interested in knowing what kind of kooky story this game has than actually getting my hand on it to play.

[Dying Light 2] - Dying Light was a fun game and did a lot of things right, so I'm curious to see how it's evolved since then.  I'm a little iffy on the whole "choice changes the story drastically" idea because I rarely see it done well.

[Elden Ring] - FROM Software's newest game, that's all I needed to know.

[Ghostwire: Tokyo] - This graphics and art style they showed was really impressive, but I'm really sad they didn't explain anything about gameplay or story.  I love Shinji Mikami's work, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of this game in the future.

[The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel] - I need to get back to play Breath of the Wild.....Still, the fact that they're making a direct sequel to a Zelda game is surprising and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with what they already have.

[No More Heroes 3] - I hope they bring No More Heroes 1 & 2 to switch since I never got to play them, but it's cool they're making a 3rd game in the main series.

[Outriders] - Another game with very little information.  But it's by the creators of Bulletstorm and it'll be a drop-in, drop-out 3-player co-op game so that certainly caught my attention.

[Tales of Arise] - Wow, they're really just stepping it up with each iteration of the Tales series.  It looks incredible and will definitely pick it up in the future, if not to finally play my ridiculous Tales backlog, then at least to add to the collection.

[Tom Clany's Rainbow Six Quarantine] - So Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege had a special event where it was a co-op mode of sorts fighting mutated enemies.  It was a big hit in the community and fans asked for a stand alone game that's more refined and focused for that sort of gameplay.  It'll be nice for another option of a co-op game to play with my friends.


Overall, it was an "Okay" E3.  Everything I'm excited for, we already knew about.  All the new games announced that I'm interested in, we don't know nearly enough about.  The most interesting games, otherwise, are all the indie games that showed up at E3.  That's one thing down for Summer Events.  I also just found out that Summer Games Done Quick is on the same week as Steam Summer Sales again like last year.  It's unfortunate to have both going at the same time, but I also find myself watching the live stream for Games Done Quick less and less each year.  We're only 5 days away from the release of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and that's what I'm looking forward to most at the moment.


New Games I'm Interested in / Keeping an eye on:
Baldur's Gate 3
Bite the Bullet
Bleeding Edge
Chivalry 2
CrisTales
Darksiders Genesis
Deathloop
Devolver Bootleg
Dragonball Z Kakarot
Elden Ring
Enter the Gungeon: House of the Gundead
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Gods & Monsters
Hellpoint
Keen
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel
Marvel Avengers
Minecraft Dungeons
No More Heroes 3
Outriders
Roller Champions
SkateBird
Spiritfarer
Steambirds Alliance
Star Renegades
Super Crush KO
Tales of Arise
The Messenger: Picnic Panic
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Quarantine
Trials of Mana Remake
Watch Dogs: Legion
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
Zombie Army 4: Dead War


Update on Old Games I'm interested in:
Anew: The Distant Light
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Astral Chain
Battlefield 5
Battletoads
Biomutant
Borderlands 3
Boyfriend Dungeon
Cadence of Hyrule
Catherine: Full Body
Children of Morta
Code Vein
Control
Crash Team Racing
Creature in the Well
Cyberpunk 2077
Death Stranding
Daemon X Machina
Doom Eternal
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Dragon Quest 11 S
Dying Light 2
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy VIII Remaster
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Foregone
Gears 5
Grandia HD Collection
Granblue Fantasy Versus
Greedfall
Halo Infinite
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Luigi's Mansion 3
Mana Series Collection
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
My Friend Pedro
Oninaki
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Persona 5 Royal
Phantasy Star Online 2
Phoenix Point
Pokémon Sword and Shield
PsychoNauts 2
Remnant: From the Ashes
Shenmue III
Spyro: Reignited Trilogy
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Super Mario Maker 2
The Outer Worlds
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint
Trails of Cold Steel III
Trine 4: the Nightmare Prince
Valfaris
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
Way to the Woods
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin

Brief look at E3 2018

I've been so busy with working on music that I didn't get to talk about E3 at all.  At least I finished it:



Steam Summer Sale began on Thursday and Summer Games Done Quick begins tomorrow, so there isn't much time to talk about E3.  Still, I want to briefly skim over some of the games I saw this year (and a lot of good ones were announced this year).


New Games that impressed me:

Control


Control looks pretty wild with its physics based combat and trippy presentation.

Cyberpunk 2077


Cyberpunk 2077 is actually not a newly announced and was teased 5 years ago.  Despite not showing any gameplay, the new trailer really sets itself up for what kind of world we're going to get to see in this game and it looks crazy.  It's lively, colorful, and imaginative with a very immersive feel to it.  Whether we're going to get to play it within the next two years or not is questionable, but I'm certainly a lot more interested in it now.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses


We finally get to see something for the new Fire Emblem game on Switch and it looks beautiful!  I was a little surprised when the music turned into Drum 'n Bass, but I think I like it.  My only worry is that it's called "Three Houses" and I don't want them to split it into three games again like they did with Conquest, Birthright, and Revelations.

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise

I honestly wasn't sure if we were going to get this game or not in the West.  I'm glad we are because this looks really good.

Ghost of Tsushima

There aren't enough games with realistic Katana swordplay and I've yearned for one for many years.  Ghost of Tsushima was certainly a surprise at E3 and I was really impressed by the dynamic combat they showed off.  I'm looking forward to this game.

Jump Force

I'm not sure how I feel about this announcement yet.  I love the visuals and it seems to be a much bigger budget of a game than J-Stars Victory VS, but I don't know enough about the gameplay.  If it's just a nicer looking version of J-Stars Victory VS, then I might pass on this game.  But if it's a completely new game with a new combat system that's faster-paced and not as clumsy along with a lot more characters, then I'll be super interested.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

When this game was teased last year during the The Game Awards, I was a little confused.  I had suspected Bloodborne 2, but then I saw all those writing in the background.  "Was Bloodborne 2 going to take place in Japan?"  I didn't expect it to be a whole new IP.  To me, it looks like Tenchu meets Dark Souls, and I couldn't be more excited.  I'm definitely looking forward to this one.


There could be a ton more I can talk about, but I'll just stop right there so I can get back to trying out all these indie games I just bought from Steam Summer Sales.

Teasers that just showed a Title Logo:
Babylon's Fall
DOOM Eternal
Nioh 2
Starfield
The Elder Scrolls VI

Games I'm Excited For (and possibly pre-order):
Anthem
Code Vein
Daemon x Machina
Dead or Alive 6
Devil May Cry 5
Mega Man 11
Resident Evil 2 Remake
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal
Shining Resonance Refrain
SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy
Soulcalibur VI
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
Total War: Three Kingdoms

Games I'm Interested in / Keeping an eye on:
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Battlefield V
Battletoads
Beyond Good and Evil 2
Call of Duty Black Ops 4
Catherine: Full Body
Days Gone
Death Stranding
Dragon Quest XI
Dying Light 2
Fallout 76
Gears 5
Halo Infinite
Hitman 2
Insurgency: Sandstorm
Just Cause 4
Kingdom Hearts III
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk
Mary Skelter 2
Metro Exodus
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
Nelk and the Legendary Alchemists: Atelier of a New Land
Octopath Traveler
Overkill's The Walking Dead
Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee!
Rage 2
Red Dead Redemption 2
Serious Sam 4 Planet Badass
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Spider-Man
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
Team Sonic Racing
Tetris Effect
The Division 2
The Last of Us II
The Quiet Man
Tunic
Valkyria Chronicles 4
Valneer of the Dragon Star
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Yakuza 0 / Kiwami for PC
Yakuza: Kiwami 2

E3 2017 - 2 New Metroid Games!

I feel a lot more positive about this year's E3 than I have in the past 2 years of following E3 news.  We got a new IP from BioWare with gameplay footages of the player flying around.  Nintendo announced that Metroid Prime 4 is being developed with it being 10 years since the last Prime game, then they reveal a remake of Metroid 2 for the 3DS as Metroid: Samus Returns which makes it the first 2D Metroid game to release in 13 years.  Monster Hunter World will have a release on the PC in the US for the first time in the series.  Arc System Works is developing the newest Dragon Ball Z fighting game and it looks spectacular.  And Beyond Good & Evil 2 had a surprise teaser for the fans.  Let's dive into detail on some of the games.

Most Exciting News:

[Anthem - PS4, XB1, PC]

Anthem is a new IP created by BioWare.  It's an Action-RPG with, what seems like, the capability to freely fly around a gigantic open-world.  Its beautiful presentation, fluid movements, and explosive combat really caught the audience's attention.  It looks like an immersive and dynamic experience and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for this game.

[Blade Strangers - PS4, Switch, PC]

  I was surprised to see an article that talked about a fighting game where Solange from Code of Princess is fighting Curly Brace from Cave Story.  It's definitely not a combination I would have ever expected, but I'm all for it.  As far as I know, it's being developed by the same people who created Blade Arcus from Shining: Battle Arena.  The game aims to keep the controls as "simple" as "Super Smash Bros." which I'm guessing is making specials come out with one direction, one button rather than having motions like QCF or HCB to Forward.  The characters will be from the games of Studio Saizensen and Nicalis.  I'm a bit worried that the roster will be limited and small, but so far the gameplay looks really fun.  The preview shows Solange, Ali, and Mr. T from Code of Princess, Curly Brace from Cave Story, and Kawase from Umihara Kawase.

[Dissidia Final Fantasy NT - PS4]

I'm just glad this got announced for consoles in the US.  I'm still worried that I might not enjoy this because I was extremely frustrated with the first game on PSP (and still haven't played the 2nd one because of how frustrated I was with the first).  But it's exciting to see the game on a home console rather than a handheld in full HD and beautiful graphics.

[Dragon Ball Fighter Z - PS4, XB1, PC]

It's being developed by Arc System Works.  I have no doubt it'll be great.  But seeing it in action, it's just so unreal.  This may possibly be the best Dragon Ball Fighting game ever made!  Thankfully it's coming out next year and not this year.  I am so jam packed full of fighting games this year.

[Extinction - PS4, XB1, PC]

An Attack on Titan inspired game, Extinction has you fighting gigantic ogres with the ability to jump really high, run along walls, and other interesting method of movements that make this game really stand out.  It's one of the few Indie games shown at E3 I'm keeping a close eye on.

[Kirby and Yoshi 2018 - Nintendo Switch]

I love Kirby and Yoshi games and was excited to see new games from them release on the switch.  The problem is that I haven't really been buying that many Kirby and Yoshi games in the past recently because they're usually expensive, are very short games, and rarely get discounts.  I really enjoyed Yoshi's Woolly World, but once I finished it (which was only a couple of hours), I didn't feel compelled to play it any longer.  With the amount of games I buy and amount I spend on them, I often don't find the purchases as worth it.  But man, these two new games look really good and I want to play them.....Nintendo really brought it this year.

[Metroid Prime 4 - Nintendo Switch]

Let's get real for a second and think about what this really is.  There's no gameplay, no mention of the developer, and no release date.  All this teaser did was created build up, played the title theme of the Metroid Prime series (which is derived from the original Metroid title theme), and showed the logo for Metroid Prime 4.  With this, we got reactions like this:

I like how flabbergasted everyone is to even reaction to Yoshi anymore and I seriously don't blame them.  I probably would've reacted the same way if I had watched the stream live, but it was way too early and I didn't wake up for it.  When I saw the headlines for Metroid Prime 4, I flipped out and was a little sad it wasn't a 2D Metroid.  But then I saw Metroid: Samus Returns and flipped out again.  I agree with a lot of people's reactions this year when they said "Nintendo just won E3".  It was definitely the pinnacle of this week's event and the reason why we even follow E3 news: for the hype, excitement, and prospect of future games.  Nothing else made me as excited as watching Nintendo's conference video.  Again, all they showed was the Title logo and said it was in development, and yet it garnered such reactions from the fans.

[Metroid: Samus Returns - 3DS]
I'm glad there was a 3DS games to be excited for this year at E3.  But I would have never imagined that it'd be a 2D (technically 2.5D) Metroid.  I was beyond elated when I saw the headlines, but then I got a little worried when I watched the video and found out that it was being developed by MercurySteam.  They developed Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate for the 3DS of which I was disappointed in.  The game itself wasn't bad, but it was rather boring and forgettable.  What's worse is the story stomped all over the actual Castlevania timeline and lore: Gabriel becomes Dracula, Trevor becomes Alucard, Simon is Trevor's son instead of grandson, etc.  The thing with this 3DS Metroid is that I don't really like the art-style of it.  The models are rigid and a bit ugly, the bright and almost cel-shaded look creates a sort of cheap feeling, and the original Metroid 2 was super creepy and yet I'm not getting that from what I've seen so far.  BUT, the gameplay and combat looks amazing and it makes me really want to play it.  I can't wait for this to release (this September).

[Monster Hunter World - PS4, XB1, PC]

Holy smacks, Monster Hunter World looks incredible!  I was sad to learn that Monster Hunter XX won't be brought over to America for the Nintendo Switch, which is a shame because that'd be a great game to bolster the sales for the system.  Not only will Monster Hunter World be a return to the Playstation console system, but it will be the first game in the series to release on PC in the US.  I'm looking forward to playing it.

[Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin - PC]
I came across this game from a list of games that was "supposedly" at E3 this year.  I looked the name and found the trailer and was blown away by the combos you can perform.  I did some research and found out it was developed by Edelweiss, of which I've played every single one of their games that was brought over.  One of those games was Fairy Bloom Freesia, which also was a 2D Action Beat-em-Up that had incredible combos you can do.  But Sakuna looks a lot more higher quality and polished.  This is a game I'm absolutely looking forward to playing.

[Starlink: Battle for Atlas - PS4, XB1, Switch]

I'm not excited for this game, but I felt like it was worth mentioning.  It's a game where you can build a spaceship using parts like a toy and then transfer it to your game to use.  If I were a kid, I'd be all over this and super excited.  This is a really cool concept and I had to mention it.

[The Darwin Project - XB1, PC]
A new IP which seems to be a competitive hero fighter.  It looked like a cool concept with interesting characters and abilities and so it was something I wanted to mention.  That shoutcasting bit was silly though.  No one knows how the games works or what mechanics are behind it.  The whole purpose behind it was to put the audience in a position to believe this game had the potential to be a widely played e-sports game.  I don't play that many competitive multiplayer games anymore, but this certainly caught my attention.

[The Evil Within 2 - PS4, XB1, PC]

I have very little interest in horror games and skip most of them.  But there are a few that I play and really like.  When I heard that The Evil Within was being lead by the original creator of Resident Evil, I wanted to give the game a chance and check it out.  It was an amazing game of suspense, trippy presentation, and satisfying combat.  It was a challenging game that wasn't super scary, but certainly made me feel uneasy.  I enjoyed the game a lot and like the story, but was left with a lot of unanswered questions at the end of it.  So I was happy to see that the sequel be announced at E3.

[The Last Night - XB1, PC]

I have no idea what the game is about or how it will play, but the art style really stood out to me.


There's a lot of games to look forward to in the next few months and next year.  It was a fun E3 to follow this year and I hope there will be more excitement and surprises next year.

Most Exciting News:
-Anthem
-Blade Strangers
-Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
-Dragon Ball Fighter Z
-Extinction
-Kirby 2018
-Metroid Prime 4
-Metroid: Samus Returns
-Monster Hunter World
-Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
-Starlink: Battle for Atlas
-The Darwin Project
-The Evil Within 2
-The Last Night
-Yoshi 2018


Gonna Pre-Order:
-Blade Strangers
-Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
  -Code Vein
-Dark and Light
-Destiny 2
-Dragon Ball Fighter Z
-Fire Emblem Warriors
-Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
-Metroid Prime 4
-Metroid: Samus Returns
-Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash
-Xenoblade Chronicles 2
-Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana


Interested:
-13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
-Accel World vs. Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight
-Agents of Mayhem
-Anthem
-Assassin's Creed Origins
-Cuphead
-Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
-The Darwin Project
-Days Gone
-Dishonored: Death of the Outsider
-Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
-Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth
-The Evil Within 2
-FarCry 5
-hack//G.U. HD Remaster
-Indivisible
-Insurgency Sandstorm
-Kingdom Hearts 3
-Kirby 2018
-The Last Night
-LawBreakers
-Lost Sphear
-Metro Exodus
-Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
-Monster Hunter World
-Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom
-Pokémon for Switch
-Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
-Sonic Forces
-Sonic Mania
-Super Mario Odyssey
-Uncharted: Lost Legacy
-Wolfenstein II
-Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection


Keeping an eye on:
-Absolver
-Aegis Defenders
-Aerea
-Age of Empires Definitive Edition
-A Hat in Time
-Ashen
-Asura
-Away: Journey to the Unexpected
-A Way Out
-Aztez
-Battlerite
-Beyond Good & Evil 2
-Brawlout
-Call of Duty: World War II
-Crackdown 3
-Culdcept Revolt
-Dandara
-Death Stranding
-Detroit: Become Human
-Extinction
-Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age
-Fortnite
-God of War (4)
-Harvest Moon: Light of Hope
-Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds DLC
-The King's Bird
-Kingsway
-Legrand Legacy
-Life is Strange: Before the Storm
-Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
-Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle
-Matterfall
-Metal Gear Survive
-Moonlighter
-Mystic Melee
-Need for Speed Payback
-Nidhogg 2
-Ori And the Will of the Wisps
-Quake Champions
-Phantom Trigger
-Pokken Tournament DX
-Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology
-Raiders of the Broken Planet
-Red Dead Redemption 2
-Riverbond
-River City: Knights of Justice
-River City: Rival Showdown
-Shadow of The Colossus (Remake)
-Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux
-Songbringer
-Spider-Man
-Splatoon 2
-Star Wars Battlefront 2
-State of Decay 2
-Strange Brigade
-Sundered
-Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido
-Tower 57
-Tunic (Formerly Secret Legend)
-Vampyr
-Wargroove
-Wild Guns Reloaded
-Yakuza Kiwami
-Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
-YIIK: A Postmodern RPG


Not interested:
-Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
-A Duel Hand Disaster: Trackher
-Aftercharge
-Anamorphine
-A Plague Tale: Innocence
-Archangel
-Arms
-Aven Colony
-Battlefield 1: In the Name of the Tsar (Expansion)
-Battle Chef Brigade
-Battlesloths 2025: The Great Pizza Wars
-BattleTech
-Blasters of the Universe
-Bravo Team
-Call of Cthulhu
-Chess Ultra
-Community INC
-Conan Exiles
-Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy
-Doom VFR
-Dunk Lords
-Fable Fortune
-Fallout 4 VR
-FIFA 18
-Final Fantasy XV: Monsters of the Deep
-Forza Motorsport 7
-Gang Beasts
-Golf? For Workgroups
-Gran Turismo Sport
-Griftlands
-GUTS
-Harvest Moon: Lil' Farmers
-Hello Neighbor
-Hey! PIKMIN
-Hidden Agenda
-Ironcast
-Joggernauts
-Just Dance 2018
-Kingdoms and Castles
-Knack 2
-Knights and Bikes
-Lego Dimensions
-Light Fall
-Lone Echo
-Madden NFL 18
-Manifest 99
-Minion Masters: Forced to Duel
-Moss
-NBA LIVE 18
-NBA 2K18
-Ninjin: Clash of Carrots
-Observer
-Ooblets
-Osiris New Dawn
-Overland
-Pictlogica Final Fantasy
-Pixel Ripped 1989
-Redout
-Road Redemption
-Robocraft Infinity
-Roto Color Rhythm
-Runner 3
-Sea of Thieves
-Semblance
-Shakedown: Hawaii
-Skull & Bones
-Skyrim PSVR
-South Park: The Fractured But Whole
-South Park Phone Destroyer
-Starlink: Battle for Atlas
-Star Child
-Steep: Road to the Olympics
-Stifled
-Sumer
-Super Hot VR
-Super Lucky's Tail
-Surviving Mars
-Tacoma
-The Artful Escape
-The Crew 2
-The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind
-The Elder Scrolls Legends: Skyrim
-The Inpatient
-The Swords of Ditto
-Total War: Warhammer 2
-Tornado Tower
-Transference
-Tropico 6
-Unruly Heroes
-Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
-Wuppo
-Xcom 2: War of the Chosen
-Yoku's Island Express
-Ylands


Pre-order Plans this Year:
-Valkyria Revolution (PS4) - June 27
-Warriors All-Stars (PS4) - August 29
-Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash (PS4) - August 29
-Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA (PS4) - September 12
-Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) - September 15
-Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (PC) - September 19
-Destiny 2 (PC) - October 24

Reflecting on E3 2016

I remember I wasn't thoroughly impressed by last year's E3 despite the major 3 announcements from the Sony conference (FF7 Remake, Shenmue 3, The Last Guardian project resumes), and I feel bad for even thinking so after this year's E3.  It felt so underwhelming this year.  There were quite a few games where I thought "that looks cool", but I wasn't excited for it.  Out of the newly announced games, I'm looking forward to playing the ones that were least mentioned by the media.  This time around, I've only listed games that caught my interest.  Maybe I should have the whole list of games.

Newly announced

Most inclined to buy and play:

[Akiba's Beat] - It's a follow up to Akiba's Trip and the combat looks a lot better this time around.

[Ever Oasis] - A new IP for the Nintendo 3DS.  It's kind of like a mix between Monster Hunter and Animal Crossing.  It reminds me of Fantasy Life.  I'm not sure if I'll get it, but it's one of the few new games announced I feel most compelled to play.

[Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star] - I haven't kept up with all the new Fate series content that's been put out, but this new game is a hack 'n slash by Marvelous and that makes me excited for it.

[Rhythm Heaven Megamix] (Released it during the live stream) - I really want to play the game, but I don't really want to put down $30 for it.  I'll definitely get it when it goes on sale.

[Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity] - This is the third Touhou game I've seen announced for a Western release in the past month and it's the one where it's kind of like Ys.  It's definitely a game I'll pick up when I get a PS4.

Keeping an eye out for:

[Agents of Mayhem] - It looks like an entertaining 3rd-person shooter, but there wasn't enough from it that really made me really want it.

[Battlefield 1] - While many fans aree raving about the game for going back to World War 1 as its theme and praising them for "innovating" the theme of military First-Person Shooters, I found myself feeling disappointed with the choice.  It's back to the days where everything is of a muddy brown/tan/grey color, iron sights that can barely target the enemy, and everything is dark.

[Days Gone] - What they showed at the Sony conference for this game was really impressive presentation wise.  Lots of zombies were on the screen at once with a very steady frame rate.  But it wasn't really enough to get me excited for the game just yet.  It does looks good though.

[Dead Rising 4] - Frank West is back!  But everything is so dark and muddy in color...it's looks a bit more colorful than Dead Rising 3 and the goofy nature of the game seems to be back, but I feel a bit disppointed with how gloomy the environment looks.

[Death Stranding] - It's no surprise that Kojima is working on a new game, and they announced the name of the game at Sony's conference with a teaser.  The teaser was trippy, but it says nothing about what it's about, what kind of game it is, or what to expect other than that weird stuff is going to happen.

[Detroit: Become Human] - The creators of Heavy Rain is back with another adventure game that has a lot of branching paths and outcomes.  The quality of the graphics is really high and it seems like there's a lot of choices to make, but I don't feel entirely convinced on getting it.

[Farpoint] - No real gameplay to show, but it's one of the very few VR games that seems promising.

[Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age] - I'm not sure if I should play the original FFX/X-2 and FFXII games since I have them but haven't played them yet or if I should just pick up these remastered versions where they have stuff like speeding up battles by 4x.  Not to mention how shiny and pretty they've remade everything.

[God of War] - God of War?  More like God of Tomb Raider.  The gameplay is similar to what a lot of recent Tomb Raider games look, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  It seems like the series is going into Norse mythology now and some speculate that it'll be about Kratos becoming Odin and his son is Thor.  After playing through the first two GoW games, I'm not much of a fan for the series.  But this new one does look pretty good though.

[Quake Champions] - It was only a teaser, so I'm only excited in the fact that it's a new Quake game.  I hear there will be characters with abilities (like Overwatch and Battleborn), so it's definitely one FPS to keep an eye out for.

[Prey] - (Initial work started in 2006, resurfaced at E3 as a re-imagining of the first game)  I haven't heard this name in forever.  I never played the original, but I remember it.  What they've showed off so far looks pretty cool.  The problem is that it looks kind of like the new Doom, but not nearly as impressive in terms of gameplay.  Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[Resident Evil 7] - I was shocked when the trailer we were watching that looked like P.T. or some Slender Man game turned out to be Resident Evil 7.  I'm concerned that it'll turn out to be a generic, western-developed horror game.  These sort of horror games have become rather popular in the past few years because of the many Youtubers and streamers that play and react to them.  I'm hoping it'll be as involving and exciting as its predecessors.

[Shadow Warrior 2] - I really enjoyed the first game and am happy to see a sequel.  There wasn't anything new that surprised me, so I'm not as excited for it as other games at the moment.

[Touhou: Genso Wanderer] - Another mystery dungeon game.  I would much rather have them bring this to PC rather than keep it console exclusive.

[Watch Dogs 2] - I'm not sure what to expect since I still haven't got or played the first game, but I think it's one game worth keeping an eye out for.

Previously revealed (Not within the month. Revealed dates may not be accurate)

Most inclined to buy and play:

[Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (May 2015)] - My friend to got meet and take a picture with Koji Igarashi!  I'm jealous.  But it also let me know that there was a demo there and that means gameplay footages.  It looks pretty good so far; I can't wait!

[Dishonored 2 (June 2015)] - The first game was phenomenal and the new abilities they showed off within the game this year convinces me even more that it'll be as fun as the first one.

[Dragon Quest Builders (July 2015)] - Yay, we're getting the game in the West!  I'm honestly concerned about getting this game.  I had skipped out on Minecraft in fear of game addiction.  And the fact that this will be available for PS Vita makes it that more dangerous for me.  But it does look like a lot of fun.  I think I'm willing to take the risk.

[Final Fantasy XV (June 2006)] - Wow, is it really going to finally release after 10 years of development?  This is definitely the first game I'm getting if I purchase a PS4.

[Guilty Gear XRD – Revelator (May 2015)] - I haven't even played through SIGN yet...But I'm definitely looking forward to the day I get this iteration so I can play all the cute girls: Jack-O', Jam Kuradoberi, Kum Haehyun!

[Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X (August 2015)] - I'm not sure how I feel about this one yet.  It's not on PS3, and I'm not sure if I can use my special Miku controller on PS4.  I'll have to make a decision of getting it on PS Vita or waiting until I get a PS4 to get it.

[The King of Fighters XIV (September 2015)] - I've given this game a LOT of flak for its poor graphics and character models.  But despite that, I really want to play the game.  50 characters!

[The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (January 2013)] - This is possibly the game I'm most excited for from this year's E3 show.  I was concerned about the pacing of the game as it's slower than the usual Zelda game, but it plays very similarly to many other Open-world RPGs such as Skyrim and Dragon's Dogma.  As I watched more gameplay footage of the combat system and utilization of Link's abilities, I warmed up to the idea of this new take on a Zelda game.  I'm probably going to pre-order it as it nears launch next year.

[Mass Effect Andromeda (November 2012)] - Having shown a bit more of the game this year, I was awestruck by how incredibly beautiful and immersive the environment looked.  I still need to get around to playing the trilogy, but this is one game I'm definitely keeping an eye out for.

[NieR: Automata (June 2015)] - It was just an announcement last year, but they showed actual gameplay this year and it looks amazing!  I was instantly excited for the game when it was announced last year that Platinum games was working on the title.  Now I just got to get a PS4.

[Nioh (October 2004)] - I remember this name from years ago when I was still in High School.  The fact that the project resume again is miraculous in itself (much like Prey).  The game looks challenging, gritty, and fun.

[Persona 5 (November 2013)] - I gotta get through Persona 3 and 4 quick...

[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice (September 2015)] - I didn't even know this was at the show floor until my sister (who went to the convention) mentioned that it was there.  I'm sad that we missed out on another Ace Attorney game, but at least we're getting this one.

[Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (April 2015)] - I have two other Star Ocean games that I need to get through...But this one looks really good.

[Tales of Berseria (June 2015)] - This looks pretty different from other Tales games, but I like what I see so far.  I'm still set on getting physical copies of Tales games to collect them.

[Tekken 7 (July 2014)] - They finally gave us a potential release time.  And it's coming to PC as well!  I wonder if I should get it for PC or wait until I get a PS4...

[Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (January 2013)] - I excited to play this when it releases next week.

[Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands (June 2015)] - Is this the only FPS I listed being excited for?  Seems like it.  There were over 25+ First-Person/Third-Person Shooters shown at E3 this year.  But ever since I saw this last year, it really caught my attention.  I think this would be a really fun co-op game.

Keeping an eye out for:

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (February 2016)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare HD (February 2016)

Cuphead (June 2014)

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (April 2015)

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (US release announced November 2015)

Eitr (June 2015)

For Honor (June 2015)

Furi (October 2015)

Horizon: Zero Dawn (June 2015)

I Am Setsuna (June 2015)

Killing Floor 2 (May 2014)

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 (December 2015)

The Last Guardian (June 2009)

Let It Die (April 2013)

Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 (US release announced January 2016)

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows (February 2015)

Monster Hunter Generations (US release announced March 2016)

Necropolis (March 2015)

ReCore (June 2015)

River City: Tokyo Rumble (US release announced April 2016)

Scalebound (June 2014)

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (September 2013)

Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse (October 2015)

Titanfall 2 (March 2015)

Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr (July 2015)

World of Final Fantasy (June 2015)

Zero Time Dilemma (2012/2015)

All Newly Revealed Games:

Absolver

Agents of Mayhem

Aragami

Death Stranding

Crash Bandicoot Remasters

Spider-Man PS4

Days Gone

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

FF15, Batman Arkham, Star Wars X-Wing Missions VR

God of War

Trials of the Blood Dragon

Grow Up

Just Dance 2017

Steep

State of Decay 2

Dead Rising 4

Forza Horizon 3

Gwent: The Witcher 3 Card Game

Fe

FIFA 17

Madden 17

Prey

Quake Champions

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim - Special Edition

Fallout 4 and Doom VR

Ever Oasis

Detroit: Become Human

And that's it for this year's E3.  Though it didn't wow me with new stuff, there are quite a few games to look forward to.

Reflection on Steam Summer Sale & E3 2015

I can't believe the week is already over.  It just blew by like a blur and now that everything has settled down it feel like it never really happened.  It's been a tiring week trying to keep up with Steam Summer Sale AND E3 at the same time.  I wanted to spend the week finishing as many games on Steam as possible so I can move onto new ones, but I only ended up completing one old game and 3 others that I got during the sale.  I pretty much got what I wanted out of the Steam Summer Sale, but not at prices I had hoped for.  As for E3, it wasn't particularly special this year other than the few surprise announcements that really caught everyone off guard.  Let's talk a little bit about it the event:

Note: I might have missed some games, and it's hard knowing what there is when I'm not actually there as I experienced first hand going to E3 once before.  Names marked in BOLD are ones I'm interested in.

New Games (Existing IP)
Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations
ANNO 2205
Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Assetto Corsa
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
Dark Souls 3
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Dishonored 2
Disney Infinity 3.0
EA Sports FIFA 16
Fallout 4
Fallout Shelter
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Gears of War 4
Gears of War Ultimate Edition
God of War 3 Remastered
Halo 5: Guardians
Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories
Hyrule Warriors - 3DS
Just Dance 2016
Kingdom Hearts: Unchained Key
Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends
Lara Croft Go
LEGO Jurassic World
LEGO Dimensions
Madden NFL 16
Magic Duels: Origins
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash
Mass Effect Andromeda
Mega Man Legacy Collection
Metroid Prime: Federation Force
Minions Paradise
NBA Live 16
Need for Speed
NHL 16
NieR (New)
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
Ratchet & Clank Remastered
Rare Replay
Resident Evil 0
Roy McIlroy PGA Tour
Shenmue 3
Skylanders SuperChargers
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
Skullgirls 2nd Encore
Star Fox Zero
The Elder Scrolls Legends
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes
The Walking Dead: Michonne
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
Trackmania Turbo
World of Final Fantasy
WWE 2K16
XCOM 2


New Games (New IP)
Abzu
Ark: Survival Evolved
Ashen
Beyond Eyes
Brave Tank Hero
Dreams
Firewatch
For Honor
Gotcha Racing
Horizon: Zero Dawn
ION
Mad Max
ReCore
Relics of Gods
Rocket League
Sea of Thieves
SOMA
Thumper
Unravel


Follow Up News (Previously Announced)
Adr1ft
Alone With You
Amplitude HD
Batman Arkham Knight
Battleborn
Battlecry
Below
Broforce
Capsule Force
Chasm
Cosmic Star Heroine
Crossing Souls
Cuphead
The Division
Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition
Doom
Drawn to Death
Dungeon Defenders 2
EarthNight
Enter the Gungeon
Elite Dangerous
Fable Legends
Fat Princess Adventures
Fire Emblem Fates (Formly Fire Emblem IF)
Fortnite
Forza 6
Future Grind
Galak-Z: The Dimensional
Gang Beasts
Gnog
Guitar Hero Live
Guns Up!
Heart Forth, Alicia
Homefront 2: The Revolution
Hollowpoint
I Am Bread
Just Cause 3
Kill Strain
Kingdom Hearts 3
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Mighty No. 9
Mirror's Edge: Catalyst
Moon Hunters
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
Ninja Strike
No Man's Sky
Nuclear Throne
Overkill's The Walking Dead
Overwatch
Persona 4: Dancing All Night
Persona 5
Relativity
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Rock Band 4
Ronin
Salt and Sanctuary
Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem
Snow
Star Wars Battlefront
Street Fighter V
Super Mario Maker
Superhot
Sword Coast Legends
Teraway: Unfolded
The Banner Saga 2
The Last Guardian
The Tomorrow Children
To Leave
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Until Dawn
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Yoshi's Wooly World



Most Surprising Announcements
Fallout 4 - I can't say I'm a Fallout fan since I've never played the originals and only played Fallout 3 and never even finished it.  But I can say that I enjoyed Fallout 3 a lot and still plan on going back to it and actually trying to finish it.  Seeing Fallout 4 in action was quite a spectacle.  Particularly interesting was all the weapon customization and crafting you can perform in the game.  This is certainly a game to look out for.  Fans of FO3 have been waiting for 7 years for this.

Final Fantasy VII Remake / Shenmue 3 / The Last Guardian - This trio of announcements blew peoples mind, drove the crowd wild, and pretty much won everyone over during the Sony Conference.  The Last Guardian has been on Hiatus for the longest time and didn't even show up in the past few E3 events.  So it was quite an eye opener to see that the game was still being developed and even showed gameplay at the conference.  I finally got around to playing through ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, so I have a better understanding of why people like them so much.  The Last Guardian is a lot like ICO, it seems.  I thought ICO was okay.  It felt a bit slow, tedious, and frustrating.  Shadow of the Colossus was amazing though.

When they got down to talking about Square-Enix and "how they brought a classic to the Playstation 1" and leading up to the reveal, I couldn't really think of anything except Final Fantasy VII.  But I refused to believe it because the fans have been denied of such a thing for ever and ever.  Upon hearing the first heartbeat from the song "Beyond the Wasteland" from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in the trailer they were showing, my own heartbeat sped up a little.  "Was this a new movie?  Another spin-off?"  When the words "Remake" popped up, I was freaking out!  I couldn't believe it was actually happening!  I'm sure there were many others freaking out even more than I was because I never actually played through Final Fantasy VII.  I know a lot about it, I know most of the songs by heart, and I even own the original PS1 game as well as recently buying the Steam version so that I could actually sit down and play through it myself; however, the fact is that I haven't played it yet.  I certainly have an incentive to play through it before the remake comes out now.

I never played Shenmue 1 and 2, but it's a franchise that I constantly hear about.  The fact that Sega is more focused on publishing and mobile games made the hope for a Shenmue 3 a pipe-dream.  And so it took everyone by surprise to see Shenmue 3 announced by the director, Yu Suzuki, himself on the Sony Conference stage asking for support from the fans on Kickstarter.  It fulfilled its funding goal by the end of the day.  To me, Shenmue is the game that brought quick-time events into gaming.  But to many others, it was a special adventure with a story that the fans obviously love enough to want a 3rd game after more than a decade wait.

Horizon: Zero Dawn - Besides "For Glory", this was the only newly announced, new IP game that looked interesting to me.  The rich environment and large scale combat they showed in the trailer looked immersive and engaging.  I was hoping to see more new games like this one announced during E3, but there wasn't.  This is the one new game that wowed me more than any other this year.

Let's Talk About:
Call of Duty Black Ops 3 / Dark Souls 3 - This year's E3 was definitely about sequels.  Both Call of Duty Black Ops 3 and Dark Souls 3 look amazing, but I don't feel very excited.  I'm trying to pull away from Call of Duty because I always end up paying more than I actually play to make it worth it.  I love Call of Duty and I really enjoyed Advanced Warfare from last year (albeit multiplayer breaking for me), but I can't really justify buying it every year only to play 10-20 hours ($60 at full price, $30 at lowest).  I used to play it more before because I didn't play many other games, but now it just seems difficult to find the time to play it.  As for Dark Souls 3, I haven't even played 2 yet.  2 is still under plastic wraps and I kind of know what to expect.  As opposed to CoD:BO3, I'm definitely going to get Dark Souls 3.  I'm just not that excited by the announcement like I was for Bloodborne (probably because Bloodborne is different and new).

Below / Chasm / Cuphead - I've been keeping an eye on these 3 indie games and am really interested in it.  Below looks like a top-down Action-RPG.  Chasm is a Metroidvania, I believe.  And Cuphead is like Megaman with an old-school Disney art style.  These are games I want to play.

Dishonored 2 - I'm actually a bit surprised by this announcement, even though I shouldn't.  I loved Dishonored a lot and felt like it's one of those games to be considered a classic.  To deliver such an extraordinary experience to the Action-Stealth genre in Dishonored seemed to be a one game sort of deal.  So there's a lot of expectation to fulfill in creating a sequel.

The Division - Announced back in E3 2013, we all knew we wouldn't see the game for a while.  Now that it's starting flesh out and getting close to a final product, I'm getting excited.  I've played a lot of open world, survival games and have always been left with a poor impression.  But this game looks promising and has the cooperative gameplay aspect that I'm looking for to play with my friends.  So I'm hoping for the best and keeping an eye out for this game.

Doom - I didn't like Doom 3 that much, so I wasn't too interested in the announcement of the newest Doom last year.  But when they showed gameplay this year, I became interested.  There was a lot of high jumping, fast blasting action that's rather reminiscent of old-school shooters.  I can't say I really like all the gore and blood, but the pacing and action that I saw from the trailers looked exciting.  What's more, it seems like it will come with a level editor of sorts.

Fable Legends - After showing a bit more gameplay this year, the game does look interesting.  But since it's Free-to-Play, I'm kind of wondering what kind of game it is.  Will it be lots of grinding and going to the next level?  Or will it be progression based and then have a hard mode and a harder mode?  I can't say I'm convinced yet, but it's something to look out for.

For Honor - "This is what 'War of the Roses' should've been like" is what I want to say, but I actually haven't seen enough of the game to really pass judgement.  Although it's a new IP, it's a game we've seen before in the market with games like Chivarly, War of the Roses, and on a looser case: Mount & Blade.  Still, the game is looking pretty good and could turn out to be a popular multiplayer game on console.

Horizon: Zero Dawn - As I mentioned above in the surprising announcements, this new game announcement is the only one that really caught my attention that stands out from the rest of the games and makes me want to play it.  It might be a while before we can actually play it, though.

Metroid Prime: Federation Force - I was very sad looking at this game.  Why slap on the name "Metroid" when it doesn't really look, feel, or sound like Metroid?  I guess it kind of has the concept of Metroid Prime's combat mechanics, but it's not Metroid.  Every year, I'm hoping for a new Metroid game, but this is not I asked for and not what the fans want.  There's even a petition people are signing to have all production and development of this game halted.  That's pretty extreme, and I'm wondering how Nintendo will handle this.  They might just ignore the hate and release it anyways.  I can't say I'm too happy with how this game looks.

Mirror's Edge Catalyst - So it seems like the game is called "Catalyst" because it's supposedly a prequel to Mirror's Edge 1.  It seems like fans want to see more of Faith and so there will be more cinematics actually showing her in action rather than keeping everything entirely in a first-person perspective view.  The game's supposedly going to be open-world as well as opposed to its finely crafted linear gameplay of the first one.

NieR (New) - I haven't played (or taken off the plastic wraps) of my copy of NieR since I wanted to get through Drakengard 3 first (a friend told me that NieR was better).  So it was unexpected to see a sequel to the game as it seemed like the first game was actually a spin-off of the Drakengard series.  But what's really exciting about this announcement is that Plantinum Games is going to be the one developing the game this time around.  Could you imagine what the game would be like?  Over-the-top action in an RPG?  I'm excited for this one, but it might be 2-3 years before we get to see it.

Nintendo - Nintendo's Conference was entertaining, but overall underwhelming this year.  There were new games, but nothing that really got the fans excited.  The most exciting news coming from Nintendo was the Nintendo Direct right before E3 which revealed Ryu from Street Fighter as a DLC in Super Smash Bros. as well as the return of Roy of Fire Emblem and Lucas from Earthbound (Mother).  At the very least, they announced Hyrule Warriors for 3DS which made me happy.

Overwatch - It's kind of weird to see a Blizzard game mentioned at E3, but I welcome it.  Overwatch is looking pretty interesting, but how long will it take before we get to play it?  It was a very long wait for StarCraft 2, then Diablo 3, then Heroes of the Storm.  Waiting for Blizzard games is tough.

Playstation Vita - If it weren't for Atlus, the PS Vita would be a very sad system to have right now.  With Persona: Dancing All Night and Lost Dimension, what else is there to look forward to on the PS Vita that you couldn't get on any other platform?  Honestly, all I want and need for PS Vita is Phantasy Star Nova.  Sega, please!

Salt and Sanctuary - Boasting itself to be sort of a 2D Dark Souls, I first got interested in this game when it was announced last year because it's supposed to be like a Metroidvania.  I keep craving for Metroidvania games, but not many seem to satisfy me.  I hope this will be a good game.

Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson - I need to remember to pre-order this next month.  I've already listened to the soundtrack and am really looking forward to playing this game.  Senran Kagura does a very good job of satisfying my craving for Hack-n-Slash / Beat-em-Ups.

Street Fighter V - More characters were shown and the game is looking pretty good.  I wasn't sure how they were going to innovate the game from IV, but the new ability mechanics looks like it will change the pacing and strategies for the game.  I even got excited enough to buy Ultra Street Fighter IV during the Steam Summer Sale.

Super Mario Maker - When they showed it last year, it was kind of a cool idea.  But when they showcased it this year at the Nintendo World Championship 2015 event, they revealed the limitless possibilities for the game.  I'd like to get this game if I ever get a Wii U.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands / Rainbow Six Siege - Rainbow Six Siege was shown last year and I was bit worried because of the competitive nature of the game.  But then they showed cooperative gameplay in scenario based missions and it immediately reminded me of the fun I had playing games like SWAT 4 with my friends.  Now I really want Rainbow Six Siege.  Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a newly announced game and it looks amazing.  It's an open-world, online-multiplayer, cooperative experience like no other game from what they've shown so far.  These are two games I really want and convinced me the most of why I should be excited for their games this year.



Now let's take a look at I wanted and what I actually got during Steam Summer Sale.

What I wanted from Steam Summer Sale as posted 2 posts ago:

Lords of the Fallen - I wanted it below $20 but got it AT $20.  I was very hesitant on picking it up because of the myriad posts on how the game constantly crashes, problems with controls, graphic glitches, and countless other problems.  So far, the only problems I've faced is frame rate dropping, even at lower settings.  The game's not properly optimized, but otherwise it seems to be running fine.  I think I can make the $20 worth it as I'll probably be playing the game more than once.

Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires - I kind of knew it wouldn't drop below $20, so I was hoping it'd at least go down to $25, of which it did.  This was another game I was afraid of picking up because of countless reports of problems with the game, but I've never played the Empires expansion and kind of wanted that sort of depth in a Dynasty Warriors game.  So I bought the game and tried it out for myself.  The graphics is downgraded from the original DW8, I can't play with native resolution, I can't play full screen without the graphics pushed off to the side, and there isn't English voice overs.  Despite all that, I'm still enjoying the game with the plethora of customization, RPG and Strategy-like elements, and new weapons.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor - I didn't get this one.  I was expecting to see it for less than $20 since it's been at $20 the last three times it went on sale.  But this time, it was $25.  I found out that they bundled it with the DLCs as GOTY Edition and forced players to get it as the original game was no longer available to buy.  The game's about 14 hours long and I didn't want to pay more than $15 for it, so I skipped this game for now.

Dying Light - As I suspected, the game dropped down to $45.  But the game is fairly new, so it's fair that they're keeping it at a decently high price.

Borderlands Pre-Sequel - This actually had an okay deal with the game around $20 and the Season Pass bundle for $25 (while getting the Season pass separately is $20).  But my friends and I felt like we can wait for a larger discount since we weren't in any rush to play the game.

Divinity: Original Sin - The game only got a $3 discount from its regular sale price.  But I still picked it up around $24 because I wanted to get a game I could co-op with my friend.  We're kind of running out of games to play together.

Hotline Miami 2 - Barely even a $5 discount.  Passing for now because I want to get the soundtrack with it.

Titan Souls - I found out it's only about 3 hours of gameplay.  I didn't want to pay $9 for 3 hours of gameplay.  It looks really interesting though.

Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure - This didn't even have a discount.  Perhaps it's too new.

Broforce - It's not out of Early Access yet and it's still $10.

Freedom Planet - I got it!  I haven't played it yet, but I started it up and found out it has voice acting.  Kind of strange for a 16-bit looking game.

Wings of Vi - This game is hard!  I barely got through the 2nd boss in the game and I've already died 100 times.  But so far the game is really fun!  I like these type of difficult games where it's fun, challenging, and engaging enough to keep going even after dying countless times.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth - I have mixed feelings about this remake.  But overall, I think it's a great game.  I'll admit that I miss the music Danny Baranowsky created for the original.

The Shadowcrypt - I bought it and then asked for a refund after 12 minutes of playing it.  I didn't plan on ever asking for a refund on Steam, but the game was so monotonous and boring that I got sick of it after one session of playing it.  I've played plenty of games like it in the past and saw the warning signs.  It's unfortunate, but it's not what I thought it'd be.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes - It really did go down to $5!  I immediately bought it and then immediately completed it the next day.  For a 1 hour game, I was thoroughly impressed.  The new engine they're using is highly optimized, making the graphics incredibly beautiful yet run smoothly.  The gameplay is highly refined and is what you'd expect from a MGS game.  Despite being only 1 hour, I accumulated 3 hours.  There was 1 hour of cinematics, 1 hour of listening to audio logs (which were really expensive), and there's also a bunch of side missions I haven't even played yet.  I think for $5, the mini prologue game to the Phantom Pain is well worth it.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R - It's too new, so it didn't go down past its initial launch sale.

Bladestorm: Nightmare - This is also too new and didn't go on sale.

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim - This was surprisingly cut down to 50% off at $10.  I didn't pick it up yet, though.  I still have Ys Origins and Ys 1 & 2+ to get through before I think of getting Ys VI.

Axiom Verge - It didn't go on sale.

Dragon Age: Inquisition - DA:I did go on sale on Origin like I predicted it would for 50% off at $30.  But since my friends didn't want to get it and play multiplayer, I held off on it.  I'd love to play multiplayer on it, but I don't think I can find anyone to play it with.  So I'm just going to wait for a bigger discount before I pick it up for playing the single-player campaign.


Overall, both Steam Summer Sale and E3 were kind of underwhelming this year.  Steam Sale had all sorts of shady dealings such as game prices being hiked up right before the sale so that even on sale it won't be be as much.  There were bundles created to force players to buy a more expensive version of the game or bundles were taken out so the best deal wasn't readily available.  Games that should have gotten a bigger discount got a lesser discount.  Despite all that, I ended up buying 16 games (and some DLCs, mostly soundtracks) and received 4 games from friends.  I wish I got better discounts on the game I bought, but I at least got the games I mostly wanted from the sale, regardless.  E3 had some interesting announcements, but they're all sequels that we all pretty much expect to get from the game industry.  Even with surprising announcements that blow people's mind like FF7 Remake and Shenmue 3, there wasn't much to offer at this year's E3.  I guess I had a fun week, but I kind of want to continue lazing about until I feel ready to get back to work.  But I guess I'll try to work hard until EVO comes around.

E3 2014

This week just flew by.  The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) came and gone with a lot of exciting news for just about everyone except PS Vita owners.  There are plenty of interesting projects set for PC, PS4, XB1, Wii U, 3DS, and a few for PS3 and Xbox 360 shown at E3 this year.  But it seemed a bit empty on PS Vita announcements.  I came up with 5 lists of games, categorizing games: I feel like I want to play right now, games I'll eventually get, games I'm on the fence on, games I may or may not look into, and games I'm not interested in.  I'll just talk about the game I really want to play right now.  It was difficult to keep the list short as there were so many games I want to talk about.  I wanted to make everything alphabetical, but I'm too tired and lazy to do that.


I want it! (Feel like playing it now!):
[Tom Clancy's The Division]

Let's talk about Tom Clancy's The Division.  This was teased last year and even showed some gameplay footage.  This year, they presented a cinematic trailer and some more gameplay footages.  My friends and I have been looking for a cooperative shooter with survival aspects but never found one to be really solid.  Games like WarZ (now called "Infestation: Survivor Stories), Nether, and a bunch of other new comers like H1Z1, 7 Days to Die, DayZ Standalone, Rust, The Forest, and The Dead Linger all have potential and the works, but don't feel refined or filled with as much content.  It worries me that there might not actually be that much to do in the game, but if there are a lot of clear and defined objectives that my friends and I can fulfill and be able to do more than just survive and kill other players out right, it might just the game we're looking for.  So far, the game shows off some great cover-based gun-fights and very clean user-interface menus.  I'm looking forward to the launch of this game.

[Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege]
-
Ubisoft obviously has a set of winners in its hands with Assassin's Creed Unity and Far Cry 4 being among some of the most talked about games this E3.  But Ubisoft throws us a surprise reveal of their new Rainbow Six game that, not only shocked the audience, but impressed gamers with this gameplay trailer.  Although it's clearly scripted, the video does a good job of showing off the capabilities in detail to presentation and mechanics within the game.  Walls and ceilings can be blown off or shot down.  Hostages react to the environment around them.  Various gadgets changes up the strategies in approaching, disengaging and planning a fight.  I've recently played Takedown: Red Sabre with my friends and did enjoy the game to a certain extent despite how poorly designed it was (or enjoyed it BECAUSE it was so bad) and talked about how great games like SWAT 4 and the older Rainbow Six games were like.  So it was such a delight to see such extensive and deep gameplay mechanics in this trailer.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of the game as it reaches a launch date.

[Bloodborne]
What do I say about this?  It's From Software's new project, so I'm definitely ecstatic.  The trailer; however, was confusing and ambiguous as it does little to tell a story or how the game plays.  In fact, there were one too many game trailers that was all cinematic with no gameplay and that really bugged me.  I did see the leaked footages when the game was still being called "Project Beast" and I do like how it looks a bit more hack 'n Slashy than previous Souls games.  What I'm left with is wanting more.  I really shouldn't even be getting this excited about Bloodborne when I haven't even gone through Dark Souls 2 yet...

[Lords of the Fallen]
Lords of the Fallen certainly screams "Souls clone", but I think that's what has me interested.  What new twists and game mechanics did the developers add to the formula that makes it stand out?  I'm very curious on the end result and hope that this turns out to be a good game.

[Hyrule Warriors]
I love Dynasty Warriors.  And I mean I LOVE Dynasty Warriors.  I have Dynasty Warriors 3-8 and own the Xtreme Legends add-on to almost all of them.  I've played through Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce, Warriors Orochi, and other spin-offs in the series.  The developers have a solid combat mechanic that makes for a fluid and action-pack Hack 'n Slash game.  Hyrule Warriors isn't new to the world as it was announced a while ago, but that doesn't make me any less excited when seeing more of it shown at E3 this year.  This is another game that makes me want to get a Wii U.

[Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus]
I still remember the first time I saw the first Senran Kagura game and thought it'd be a dumb and die out after the first game.  I was just so mesmerized by the in-game combat system that it left an impression on me.  When Senran Kagura Burst came out in North America, I decided to give it a try and fell in love with it.  The story, the music, the characters, the fluid combat, and the light-hearted humor as well as the dire tone it takes when talking about death and what it meant to be a shinobi all sunk in and stuck with me after I played over 50 hours of the game.  I became a fan and was really hoping they'd bring the PS Vita iteration over after I realized how much I liked the series.  I'm sad that it's always advertised for the nudity, but I guess it was the designers' intention to do so when it was being made in Japan (At least this trailer shows a lot of combat).  The gameplay is very similar to Dynasty Warriors with its own unique twist on aerial combat (if it's anything like the 3DS version, at least).  I don't have a PS Vita yet, but I want to pre-order it just to make sure I get a physical copy of the game.  I'm very happy I'm going to get the chance to play this game.

I'm also going to note that they're bringing over the Music Rhythm, Cooking game over as well: Senran Kagura Bon Appétit!).  I'm not as excited about that game as I'm picky on Music Rhythm games.  The gameplay looks boring and I haven't heard a song that I like from it so far.  I'll still keep an eye out for it though.

[Guilty Gear Xrd]
It's been much too long since there was an actual Guilty Gear game (after about a dozen ports) and so it's hard to contain my excitement for this.  I had ignored Guilty Gear when the series began as the darker theme and crazy looking characters made me disinterested in it.  When I had stumbled across some music for it and realized it was from the Guilty Gear series, I became curious because I thought the music was incredible.  I eventually played a few of the games and loved the stylish and fluid combos and combat mechanics.  It is not an easy fighting game, that's for sure.  After falling in love with the music and gameplay, I started learning more about the characters and then got sucked into the story.  It's convoluted and confusing, but it brings out a lot of personality out of the game once you start to understand what's going on.  One of the biggest changes the game has in the newest installment in the series is having the game run in 3D while still looking like it was 2D.  The first time I saw it in motion and found out it was in 3D, it blew my mind.  To have such fluid motion in 3D space while retaining the clean look of a 2D fighter was not something I was expecting.  You can tell that it's in 3D whenever there's a special or finish pulled off at the end of a round or match and the camera pans around the characters.  I'm excited, but also worried as my PS3's Hard Drive is filled to the brim with mandatory fighting game install data.

[Bayonetta 2]
 
Nintendo took the community by surprise when Bayonetta 2 was finally announced exclusively for the Nintendo Wii U.  It seems like it was a smart choice since the reveal of more gameplay footage and a release date for the game this E3 has hyped many gamers into wanting a Wii U.  Bayonetta was such a solid Action game with a strong presentation, it's no wonder so many people are excited for the sequel.

[Xenoblade Chronicles X]
There's nothing to be said about this game.  I'm just so excited for it.  I'm also really sad I didn't buy Xenoblade Chronicles when it first came out as the only copies left are held by sellers who want over $100 for it.  I will find a copy of that game and play it.  I'm glad the Western audience don't have to petition and argue to get this iteration of the game over here.

[Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2]
Last year, I bought Hatsune Miku Project Diva F on impulse on the first day in fear that it might become one of those games where it gets sold out and all available copies rise in price (like Xenoblade Chronicles).  I wasn't going to get the game, but did when I found out that it was a physical copy.  Alongside that, I looked up and bought a mini controller for the game for over $100 just to improve my experience with the game (and it did).  I liked it.  The graphics were colorful and vibrant, the gameplay was simple to understand but challenging as you play harder difficulties, and I liked a majority of the songs picked for the game.  With 40 more songs in this next game, I'm willing to get it.  I need to justify the purchase of that controller!  And also because it's fun.

[Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS]

WINNER OF THE SHOW!  Maybe...It's kind of hard to announce a winner this year since there were so many exciting news this year (albeit, no news about Final Fantasy 15 or Phantasy Star Online 2/Phantasy Star Nova)  I know I dubbed Super Smash Bros. as the winner of the show last year, but it's different this year!  Last year, it was a reveal.  This year, it's a hype for the release!  With the game close to launch, Nintendo wants to get everyone excited.  During the show, they revealed Palutena, Pac-Man, Mii Fighters, the Amiibo concept, some of the content that will be in the game, and they also allowed players around the nation at select Best Buys to try out the game.  I'm just so excited for this game and it's possibly the one I want most out of the list.  I can't wait to play as Mega Man, Pac-Man and Palutena!


I'll get it, Eventually... (Will Buy)
-Battlefield Hardline
-Mirror's Edge 2
-Dragon Age Inquisition
-Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX+ Alpha
-Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
-Mass Effect 4
-Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
-The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
-Assassin's Creed: Unity
-Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
-Far Cry 4
-Below
-Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
-Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright
-Devil's Third
-Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
-Broforce
-Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
-Abyss Odyssey
-Kingdom Under Fire 2
-Gauntlet (2014)
-Batman: Arkham Knight
-Homefront The Revolution
-Tales of Hearts R
-Tales of Xillia 2
-Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
-Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age
-Dying Light
-Fairy Fencer F
-Ultra Street Fighter IV
-Xblaze Code Embryo
-Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
-Final Fantasy Agito


Looks interesting. (Will decide as I learn more)
-Scalebound (XB1 Exclusive for now...)
-Mortal Kombat X
-Lara Croft: The Temple of Osiris
-Battlecry
-Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
-Enemy Front
-Titanfall 2
-Dead Island 2
-Destiny (I want PC version!)
-Yoshi Woolly World
-Zelda Wii U
-Captain Toad Treasure Tracker
-Splatoon
-Starfox Wii U
-Sonic Boom
-Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix
-Fantasy Life
-Senran Kagura: Bon Appétit!
-The Evil Within
-Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed
-Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call
-Tales from the Borderlands
-Rollers of the Realm
-Deep Down

Maybe I'll look into it... (Might check it out)
-Sunset Overdrive
-Ori and the Blind Forest
-Rise of the Tomb Raider
-Evolve
-Let it Die
-Abzu
-LittleBigPlanet 3
-The Order: 1886
-Arena of Fate
-Mario Party 10
-Mario Maker
-Dreadnought
-Project Guard (Nintendo)
-Project Giant Robot (Nintendo)
-Galak-Z
-No Man's Sky
-Brandish: The Dark Revenant
-Corpse Party
-Story of Seasons
-Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution
-Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment
-Fantasia: Music Evolved
-Art Academy
-Mario vs. Donkey Kong (New)
-Pokémon Art Academy
-WiiSports Club
-Hitman Sniper
-Mad Max
-Dragon Quest XI
-Nosgoth
-Assassin's Creed Comet
-Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
-Dawngate
-Kingdom Hearts 3
-Not a Hero
-Persona 5
-Project Spark
-Puzzle Heroes Saga
-Quantum Break
-Ratchet & Clank Remastered
-Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem
-Tetris Ultimate
-Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
-Lifeless Planet
-Summoners War: Sky Arena
-The Witness
-Samurai Warriors 4


No, Thank you. (Not interested)
-Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Now if it was for PC...)
-The Sims 4
-Phantom Dust
-Crackdown
-Fable Legends
-Halo 5: Guardians (If only it released on PC...)
-Forza Horizon 2
-Drive Club
-Transformers Universe
-MECH
-Valiant Hearts: The Great War
-Grim Fandango Remastered
-Entwined
-Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
-Doom 4
-Pokémon: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
-Black Gold Online
-Alien: Isolation
-The Crew
-Counterspy
-Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes
-Citizens of Earth
-Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
-Velocity 2X
-Invizimals: The Resistance
-Lemmings Touch
-Final Fantasy VII G Bike
-Elite Dangerous
-Dragon Ball Xenoverse
-Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn
-Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2
-Tenkai Knight: Brave Battle
-Fossil Fighters Frontier
-Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth
-WWE 2K15
-Just Dance 2015
-Just Dance Now
-Shape Up
-Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
-Grid Autosport
-Hohokum
-White Night
-Skylanders: Trap Team
-The Playroom
-Road Not Taken
-Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom
-Alphadia Genesis
-A-Train: City Simulator
-Chariot
-Costume Quest 2
-Criterion Racing Game
-Defense Grid 2
-Disney Planes Fire & Rescue
-Disney Violetta: Rhythm & Music
-EA Sports UFC
-End of Serenity
-Eve Valkyrie
-Falling Skies: The Game
-FIFA 15
-Gabrielle's Monstrous Duel
-Game of Thrones (Telltale)
-Gears of War 4
-Grand Theft Auto 5 (For Next Gen)
-Grey Goo
-Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley
-Heroes of Gaia
-Hometown Story: Pocket
-How to Train Your Dragon 2
-Inside
-Killer Instinct Season 2
-Kingdom Come Deliverance
-The Last of Us (PS4)
-Madden NFL 15
-Metro: Redux
-Natural Doctrine
-NHL 15
-Ninja Strike
-Reel Fishing: Master's Challenge
-Reel Fishing Pocket 2: Ocean
-Star Wars Battlefront
-Star Wars (Visceral Project)
-Taichi Panda
-Threes
-Tiger Woods PGA Tour 15
-Warhammer 40K: The Eternal Crusade
-Winx Club: Saving Alfea
-Happy Wars
-Fru


Look at this list!  I probably missed quite a few games too considering how many games don't get coverage on gaming media (as experienced first hand going to E3 back in 2010).  It's getting more and more difficult to keep up with games nowadays.  I'm really glad to see such a great show presented this year at E3, but I can't help but wonder how I'm going to be able to get through all the games I want to play shown when I'm still struggling with a backlog...haha.