Although seemingly monotonous and tired, it's become such a tradition for me to enjoy the Summer events every year now. I felt so excited leading up to it, relished in it, and now feel a bit sad that it's over. I don't feel nearly as empty as I do every year (maybe I'm getting used to the feeling), but I can definitely say I enjoyed the Summer events this year: E3, Summer Steam Sales, Summer Games Done Quick, and EVO Championship. E3 was discussed in last month's post.
To say I "bought some games" would be an understatement. Between May and now, I've accumulated 50 games. In early May, I picked up Mass Effect: Andromeda for $35 just to play online multiplayer with a friend since I wasn't quite ready to play the campaign. Multiplayer is a survival kind of mode and I was a little disappointed. It's still fun, but there aren't that many levels and enemy types so it can get a bit stale. Mid-May, I pre-ordered Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada and grabbed Tales of Xillia and XenoBlade Chronicles at check-out. I didn't get to play much of Samurai Warriors: SoS, but I plan to right after I finish up NieR: Automata. I was willing to pick up an Early Access game called Dead Cells that is influenced by Metroidvania games. It's a challenging Rogue-like Action-platformer that's a lot of fun, but is one of those unforgiving games I might never finish. It's hard to imagine that I had bought Shadow Warrior 2 back in May since it felt like a long time ago that I got together with friends and played it a bunch. It's a wild game and I had a lot of fun with it. At the end of May, I was really excited to pick up Tekken 7 and Guilty Gear Xrd -Rev 2- and actually played a decent amount of them so far. I got through all of arcade and story mode for Tekken 7 and have been just enjoying Treasure Battle and trying to improve playing certain characters. It's been a very long time since I've actually sat down and tried to learn a character in a Tekken game and it felt really nice. Guilty Gear Xrd -Rev2- I have mostly played multi-player with a few arcade mode so far, so there's actually a LOT more I'm going to get out of playing it. I had went through GGXrd -SIGN-'s story right before Rev 2 released so that I'd be up-to-date story. I did the same with BlazBlue Chronophantasma (which I swear took 20-30+ hours to do) before I picked up Central Fiction during the Steam Summer Sales. I pre-ordered Valkyria Revolution and sadly had to push it back in queue since I'm getting through NieR Automata right now. For Steam Summer Sales, I picked up a lot of classic type genre games like Fighting games, Shoot-em-Ups, and Platformers. One particular game to note I picked up was Killing Floor 2. It's finally out of Early Access and most of my friends had it already. After picking it up, we've played it together quite a lot and has become the most played game the past month. I picked up a lot of other multiplayer games to play with friends and it's been kind of wild how much I bought to do so. Summer Steam Sales was surprisingly great this year. I was really happy with most of my purchases, if not all, and I've been having a lot of fun getting through them. Summer Games Done Quick was a bit disappointing this time around. I saw a lot of games I wasn't interested in seeing run throughout the event, but then I quickly realized that most of them were streamed in the middle of the night. I skipped a lot of runs throughout the week either because I haven't played through the game yet (preventing spoilers) or I just wasn't interested. It was still a week I enjoyed relaxing, talking to friends while we watched the streams and played games together.
EVO felt like a mixed experience, but it was overall entertaining and a great way to end the Summer events. I paid more attention to Anime EVO this year and saw some really fun tournaments for games that I like that generally don't get much attention. Unfortunately, I don't see any uploads of the tournaments for Anime EVO for this year. At the end of the first day was the King of Fighters 14 Finals. It was a pretty good final and that reversal on the very last round was EVO moment material.
Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2's Grand Finals was okay. I was sad that there weren't any Millia players in Top 8, but there was a Jack-O player. Omito's Johnny was fairly consistent throughout his journey through Top 8, so it wasn't too surprising to see the outcome. Leo can be a tricky character to deal with, so the Grand Finals had some interesting moments.
I didn't really bother watching Injustice 2. I watched it for a bit and got bored. I kind of knew that would happen since I didn't particularly enjoy watching Injustice 1 either as it felt slow and kind of clunky. It was fun playing through Injustice 1, but it's not a game I particularly like watching. Moreso, a lot of stages in the 2nd game are so dark!
Super Smash Bros. Melee was a bit disappointing. It was clear that the Smash elites would make it to Top 8 and the three former winners of EVO were fighting hard for another win to their record (Mang0 has won 2 while Armada and HungryBox have won once each). Armada put Mang0 into losers brackets early in the Top 8 and it was a bit painful to watch as Mang0 was making the same mistakes he made going up against Armada 2 years ago at EVO. Aside from multiple Self-Destructs (SD), Mang0 tends to get zoned out to the edges of the stage by Armada and easily gets punished whenever Armada waits for him in the middle of the stage.
Mang0 managed to beat HungryBox in losers bracket to make it to Grand Finals and hopefully learn something from the matches he had against Armada earlier. But as expected, the same mistakes were being made (although lessened) and Armada had complete control over the flow of the fight in too many instances. Armada earned his 2nd EVO win and he stuck with his Peach pick this time around. I suppose that's at least better than seeing another Fox mirror match.
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was also pretty disappointing in the same exact fashion as Super Smash Bros. Melee. The finals for UMvC3 was fairly early and would end around 10AM in the morning, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to wake up for that. The night before, I saw that Justin Wong was still in the tournament and I wondered if he made it to Top 8. I was going to go back to bed if he wasn't and sadly he was knocked out before then. But then I saw ChrisG's name on the list and was curious if he was able to win a 2nd time at EVO.
ChrisG was put into loser's bracket by RyanLV's unusual team consisting of Morrigan, Phoenix and Chun-Li. I don't remember the last time I saw Chun-Li at a tournament. In fact, I kind of forgot that she was even in the game. RyanLV would utilize Chun-Li's aerial kicks to stay suspended in mid-air to burn out ChrisG's infamous wall of Morrigan's Soul Fist and then engage after the super wears off. Climbing back into Grand Finals, ChrisG tried to find an opening in RyanLV's defense as he did his usual combo of Soul Fists and Doom missiles, but RyanLV's tactics and engagements seemed to really confuse ChrisG and RyanLV was able to capitalize on some of the desperation attacks ChrisG put out. It wasn't exactly a one-sided match, but it really felt as if RyanLV was able to control the match in his favor the entire time. His team has a high risk, high reward output just from having Phoenix in his team. Phoenix is the squishiest character in the game, but with one of the scariest damage output when she transforms into Dark Phoenix from a level 5 super meter. That risk certainly paid off as it was the key to winning the last round for RyanLV. Although it was a bit boring for a Grand Finals, I have to praise RyanLV for finding an answer to ChrisG's strategy that many competitors couldn't get past for so many years.
BlazBlue: Central Fiction was so exhausting to watch. It's really scary just how good players can get in this game where even one mistake might cost you the entire match. A friend and I joked about how glad we were that the Arakune player didn't make it into Grand Finals. Arakune's main weapon is "curse" where a homing fog follows the enemy player until they touch them which causes bugs to fly all over the screen and either open up the player to an attack or keep them in block-stun while their health is being chipped away. It's a bit boring and disheartening to see.
Ryusei is quite the character. I've never seen a pro fighting game player so energetic and happy all the time. Even when losing he's seen smiling and laughing. His pressure game with Carl is pretty disgusting and leaves little room to engage. Fenritti played Jin and relied a lot on resets and poking into hit confirms. So it was quite a treat to see him fight against such pressure and make some great plays throughout the match. BlazBlue CF was one of the better Grand Finals we saw this year at EVO.
I felt like I was able to enjoy watching Tekken 7 a lot more this year since I actually got to play the game and understand the mechanics a lot better.
Having actually played the game now, I'm able to see the little details that make this game fun to watch as much as it is to play. The environments are so beautiful. The effects and art style makes the game feel more modern but not so realistic that it takes away the magic of it being a videogame. The slow-motion, camera zoom when both players are close to being knocked out and both pull out an attack really adds to the suspense and excitement. It was a pretty good Grand Finals, but I have to say that the last game was pretty brutal.
I was rather conflicted on who to root for on Super Smash Bros. Wii U's Grand Finals. I like ZeRo as a player and would be happy to see him win at EVO a 2nd time. But at the same time, I like Bayonetta as a character and Salem is one of the few pro players to stick with her after she was nerfed so hard where she fell from top tier down to middle tier.
It was a grueling fight between the two players and it brought them to the last round. ZeRo with still two stocks left and Salem already up to 101% on his last stock, who would win? It was definitely an EVO moment right at the end.
Street Fighter V was certainly something else this year. There were a lot more character variation in Top 8. New up and coming pro-players made their way to the finals. And the Grand Finals will certainly be a match fans will talk about years later.
Having reached Top 8 three times in the past 6 years that I've watched EVO, Tokido was quite familiar with the fierce competition that awaited him. Up and coming pro player Punk has been garnering quite the attention the past half year and got to Grand Finals without losing a single match throughout the EVO event. The first set, before the bracket reset, was quite nerve wracking. Both players demonstrated why they reached Grand Finals with careful engagements with little to no error. It was quite the tug-n-pull between Punk immaculate reactions and execution in defensive play against Tokido's fast and aggressive pressure. After the bracket reset, Tokido just went super saiyan and went in without hesitation. It's as if it was an entirely different person playing. After the match was over and Tokido had a chance to speak to the crowd. He said something quite simple, but carried so much weight, meaning and sincerity behind it that it left commentator James Chen in tears.
"Fighting Games is something so great." -Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi 2017
It's not a new sight to see James Chen cry as he's a passionate man who cares deeply for the Fighting game scene and the community that supports it. It was an exciting and emotional end to EVO and I was happy to share the experience with my friends (through voice chat) and even my sister this year. She got to go to EVO and watch the tournaments on site and we exchanged more text messages with each other talking about it than we normally do from an entire year. EVO was so much fun to watch this year.
My Short Rant on Fighting Games:
I've talked a lot about fighting games in the past. I love seeing the different techniques and skills each character has, the story behind each one, the music, the art, the presentation. Fighting games have so much depth to them. But there's something else that Fighting games brings to videogames that I don't talk about much, and that's a community. Fighting games were created just for the pure entertainment like any other game back in days of Arcades. Many other arcade games have competitions on the highest score, but fighting games are a little different. Fighting games have players directly compete against one another. This sort of competition is much more intimate and personal. You would think that this sort of competitive game would cause animosity between players (and of course it does in some cases), but somehow it has brought many strangers together because of the love they have for a particular game. Many players would try to prove themselves to be the best at the game that they love playing and soon it became a chain reaction of competitions between cities, states, and now regions. What was a showcase to show who was the best slowly became a community of fans who get together to meet new people, better themselves against new opponents, and the celebration of the games that they love. Now we have people who play on a professional level and people who watch who may not even play the games. Through fighting games fans gather to share their passion and love for the games with others. Competitors find reason to improve themselves to be able to triumph over others. I do talk a lot about how videogames bring people together, but fighting games take it one step further as it creates an intimate relationship by nature because it has one player directly in confrontation with another player. By now, pro players are so used to seeing each other at tournaments that it's like a mini-reunion every time they go compete. Through fighting games, friends are made, names are cheered, journeys are taken, rivalries are created, and tears are shed because there are so many people willing to invest so much time and energy into these games that they're so passionate about. It is because of this that Tokido's words hold so much weight behind them. Fighting games are truly great.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Thursday, June 15, 2017
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.
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
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]
[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
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