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]
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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.

Summer heat is gettin' hazy and makin' me lazy

Oh, I was a fool to think I could finish a remix of 5 songs in 2 weeks!  It's been 5 weeks and I've finished 4 of the songs to the 5 part orchestral remix.  I just need to buckle down and I should be able to finish the last one this week.  The problem is that I've been having a serious case of lethargy this past month.  I don't feel as motivated to work.  I've been skipping going to the gym a lot.  And even when playing games, I feel tired.  It could be because Summer is approaching and the heat is wearing me out.  It could be because I've been conditioned to feel this way since most of my life was spent going to school and studying hard all year long and then always getting ready to relax during Summer Break.  It could be that no matter how hard I work right now, there's no guarantee that it'll help me find a job whatsoever.  All I know is I don't feel like doing much other than relaxing.  It's true that I've been feeling kind of down for the past 2 months or so (not depressed, just down), and I'm not quite sure what the reason is.  I just plan on finishing this remix project and try looking for a job once more before going back to more music projects I have lined up.  As much as I want to remix more music, I'd really like to do some more composition and create original music.  I'm stuck in a place in my life where the path is hazy.  I'm not sure what I should do or where it will lead me.  I know where I want to go in my career, but I don't know if I'll get what I want out of it seeing how the Videogame industry has drastically changed throughout the past few years.  I'm still going to keep at it, though.  I can' imagine doing anything else in life and I really do enjoy creating music a lot at the moment.

I haven't really been watching that much animé compared to the previous months as I haven't completed a single series yet.  Actually, no.  I finished Kiniro Mosaic today!
I've been watching that and Accel World for the past month but have been leisurely watching it during Breakfast or Lunch.  Accel World has its moments and it's pretty interesting, but it got to a point in the story where it made me feel angry and frustrated (due to a villain in the story, not because it's bad).  I'm almost done with it (5-6 more episodes, I think?)  So instead, I've been switching off with Kiniro Mosaic because it's cute and makes me feel happy with each episode.  I was a bit sad finishing it today and wanted more.

Looking back at my completed games list, I realized I've been on a rampage since my last post.  I've completed 18 games from then till now!  X-Blades actually turned out to be really fun and unique and reminded me a bit of Chaos Legion.  I've started up Blades of Time right after, but have only completed the first level.  Another game I finished was DmC: Devil May Cry for PS3.  It was actually a pretty fun game!  It was really weird in the beginning because the character designs, the music, the style and dialog wasn't the Devil May Cry I knew and love, but it was one I could tolerate.  You get most of your abilities outright near the beginning of the game, yet they were able to keep the game interesting and engaging throughout the play through.

I made the (possibly poor) decision to buy two bad games earlier in the month and suffered through one of them.  Day One: Garry's Incident was a notorious title to the community due to the developer's act of trying to shut down a game critic's channel after releasing a negative opinion on the game despite having given the authority to review it by the developer themselves.  Well, I played through the game and it truly was as bad as people have said it was.  There were tons of glitches and bugs throughout the game.  The enemies were numerous and obnoxious.  The survival aspects were arbitrary and didn't really add anything fun to the game.  And the level design for the middle portion of the game was a monster I had no patience for.  How I would break down the game is this: Prologue - Tons of monkeys throwing rocks at you - a large, boring labyrinth you have to navigate - more monkeys with tons of traps everywhere - End.  The game is about 3 hours long and had little going for it throughout the play through.  The other seemingly bad game I bought was "Depths of Fear :: Knossos".  It was an indie game that popped up on the list of new games for Steam and I got curious when it advertised itself for being a First-Person Rogue-like.  The game revolves around the ancient Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.  Theseus must go and defeat the 8 guardians before receiving the only sword that could slay the Minotaur.  The game is really janky with outdated graphics, inappropriate music that doesn't match the theme of the game, glitches left and right of the game, dumb AI, and a lot of anti-climatic boss battles.  Despite all that, I actually ended up having fun with the game.  It was hilarious scaling up walls I wasn't supposed to, phasing through buildings on rooftops, and luring every boss into the lava and killing them instantly.  The game had a simple concept and it worked out for the game: Go through 3 randomly generated dungeons by grabbing the key and escaping, each level has a guardian that can't be killed until you go into the 4th dungeon of the level where you grab a coin/orb (whatever that golden thing is) before you can fight it (or lure it into the lava where it dies instantly).  You do that 8 times and then you fight the Minotaur and then you've beaten the game!  It only took me 2.5 hours to beat the game as it got pretty easy once I figured out how the game worked.  Honestly, the game had a pretty good presentation.  You're in the dark a lot and have to use light to see where you're going, but you also have to put out the light when the guardian is close so that they don't catch you.  There's a lot of stealth, running away and trickery involved which I found very interesting.  Each guardian is a creature from Greek mythology such as Medusa, the hydra, the griffon, and others.  Sneaking, hiding, and running away from the guardians was a thrilling and exciting experience.  The game could certainly be infinitely better, but I enjoyed it for what it was and wouldn't mind playing it again for its infinite dungeon mode.  Sadly, I think I might have enjoyed it more than Eldritch.

I wasn't planning on buying anymore console games until I finish some more up, but then I saw Zone of the Enders HD collection for $12 or something close to that and couldn't resist.  Amazon doesn't offer free shipping unless it's over $35 now, and so I ended up buying 3 games.  The other two I got with it was Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Star Ocean: The Last Hope.  I played Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance right away and completed it fairly quickly.  It was fast-paced, stylish, and was pretty fun despite being so short.  On the same day I beat it, I also completed MadWorld for Wii which I've had for a few years now.  It was funny that I completed both games on the same day since both games were made by Platinum Games and the protagonist's name for both games was "Jack".  MadWorld had some pretty frustrating controls, but I think I had a lot of fun with it.  It was hilariously violent that it was almost therapeutic.  Other games I've completed are: Rock of Ages, The Typing of the Dead: Overkill, Beatbuddy, Dysfunctional Systems, Akane the Kunoichi, Hard Reset, Iesabel, Symphony, How to Survive, Valdis Story, Ravensword: Shadowlands, and SteamWorld Dig.  Some were good, some were bad, most of them I have mixed feelings about.

I guess I'm mainly trying to finish up a lot of steam games so I could delete them and start new ones because I have quite the list of games I'd really like to get around to playing on Steam that I've already bought.  There are other games that are taking me quite a while to complete such as Project X Zone for the 3DS.  I'm sure that I still have about 20+ hours to go on that game.  Whelp, that's it for now.  Hopefully I get more things done.  If not, I hope June will be a lot of fun for me.