June 8, 2011

E3 2011: My Thoughts, Opinions, Reactions, and Such

With the mass amount of debuts and stuff that comes out for E3, there's a wealth of things that interest me, and then again, there's a wealth of things that do not interest me... what can I say, I don't like XBox. I also have a hard problem caring about half the shit that PS3 can come out with.

That said, I'm just going to go through this E3 stuff via http://e3.gamespot.com. Whatever interests me, I'm going to talk about. Whatever doesn't interest me doesn't show up here. If there was something that I want to say something about but I'm not interested enough in it to click it (probably via bias), then you will see a nice little [DNC] tag that means, "Did Not Click." Essentially means that I didn't click on it, but still had something stupid to say about it.

And well, here we go.

Sonic Generations!




You should already know that I'm crazy hyped about Sonic Generations. Now while Green Hill Zone was a given, it's still a nice looking level. Certain sources that I had read made City Escape pretty obvious, but it was still an awesome reveal and it looks awesome. At the end of the City Escape trailer, you see Spagonia, a level from Sonic Unleashed, which is pretty cool as long as we're not playing as a Werehog. (Actually, I think Classic Sonic should fight the Werehog...)

I also noticed that skateboard monitor... that was definitely in Sonic Triple Trouble... this leads me to believe that, at least in the portable version that has been confirmed to be on the Nintendo 3DS, that Robotnik Winter, the Sonic Triple Trouble level that had a snowboard monitor, might be in there somewhere.

Speaking of the portable version of Sonic Generations:


Launch Base has been confirmed! FUCKING AWESOME.
Lol that's the legendary boss that could fucking destroy Super Sonic... love it.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 [DNC]
lol really?

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Okay, so I love Metal Gear as much as the next guy... but it has MGS2, MGS3, and MGS:Peace Walker... where's Metal Gear Solid 1? No Twin Snakes treatment here?

Now granted, if the Sony Store has MGS1 on there somewhere, then that means you can eventually obtain the entire series in as few physical pieces as possible, which is cool. But I am highly disappointed that MGSHDC doesn't have the game that started it all (in 3D anyway... cause you know... Metal Gear 1 and 2 and stuff).

Everything Zelda
So apparently, Zelda's having a 25th Anniversary soon. Nice. And with Nintendo and anniversaries, the trend has become of re-releases of old games that you can already snatch up for free via ROMs and emulators. Whatever. Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, and such. Whatever.

And then there was Skyward Sword. As usual, the game looks like it's presenting something slightly new to the series. The Dark World concept introduced in A Link to the Past is still present with something about stuffing a sword into the ground to change things, and there's a bird. This bird is Link's new ride, and according to what I've read, it's one of those learning experiences.

Game looks okay, but I'm not that big of a Zelda fan... I've only beat two Zelda games, and I have a hard ass time trying to re-beat them, so take any opinion here with a grain of salt... there's probably more to be excited about than I'm giving off here.

Mario Kart 3D
Wow, didn't see this coming </sarcasm>
Looks like standard affair, although there seems to be some kind of kart kustomization feature. They also brought up the return of Gold Coins(!), but they speculate that the coins are for purchasing upgrades rather than speeding up your kart like it did in the original Super Mario Kart.

Super Mario 3D
So Mario missed out on the Nintendo 3DS Launch. And looking at this game, it looks like a stupid decision for Nintendo to have not had this out... game already looks awesome. You get the raccoon suit in this... which is pretty nice (although I personally prefer the SMW cape... it was infinitely much better than the raccoon suit). The game also uses the 3D function seemingly like a Nintendo game would, with spikes and platforms going in and out and stuff like that. Seems like a nice, headache inducing experience that should have been a part of the 3DS launch... Nintendo's gotta do better than this for future launches. There should be no reason that a top Mario game is not launching a Nintendo system, period. He's the top franchise player for Nintendo, he's going to draw, period. And he's more likely to draw if players see him at launch. Compare SNES and N64 to GameCube and Wii. Obviously Wii's a different scenario, but I'm sure that the Wii launch would have been even better if there was a Mario game to go along with Wii Sports.

Tekken 3D
Sounds like fun. I have evolved into this basic Tekken fan over the past year or so.

Wii U
Well... a touch screen controller has been confirmed. AND it has a fucking camera on it. So like, how much is that controller going to cost? And what's the point of having all this stuff on it?

It will be able to pull off HD. As I said before, does that mean we get Nintendo's vibrant worlds in HD or do we the bland "realism" that plagues the vast majority of video games these days?

It will be backwards compatible with the Wii, including both games and controllers. Doesn't quite hint at GameCube compatibility though.

Additionally, there is a Smash game in the works. It's really gotta be more like Melee for me to care about it long term. And I wouldn't be surprised if Sonic and/or Snake doesn't make the roster. There will also be a Smash game for the 3DS. And there's supposed to be some kind of interactivity between the two games. I'm not sure if I like how that sounds...

Furthermore, Nintendo has chosen to make the console tech such that it will be easier to port games to the system and such. That's always nice for more uniformity.

Luigi's Mansion 2
lolwut

SSX Avalanche
I actually didn't see this coming. Haven't heard about an SSX game since what... the one after Tricky?
It looks nice though. Doubt it'll actually interest me that much though.

Kirby Wii
This game looks more like a traditional Kirby game as opposed to Kirby's Epic Yarn. There's also other playable character such as Waddle Dee, King DeDeDe, and the muthafuckin MetaKnight. They also say that this game will be more like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, with multiplayer and such. Kirby will be able to steal the powers from enemies and his friends, which leaves characters that are MetaKnight assed out. (Don't give a shit what you say, MK doesn't need to steal powers... he's a beast.)

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. MII!!!!!
HOLY SHIT I CAN PLAY AS MARKO MAN IN A MARIO GAME?! THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME!

This is gonna be on the Wii U, I believe. I think I'd rather play it on a Wii controller though... that Ipad Wii U controller looks intense.

*sigh* I'm reading that this is just a tech demo... that's not a smart decision in my opinion. Make this a game, damnit.

Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online
*sigh* This game... I forgot to make my blog post about why I don't actually like Turd Strike, and how parrying ruined it.

Halo Stuff [DNC]
I mean... like... I thought Halo 3 ended it... so why a Halo 4? Further more, Halo 1 in HD... whatever.

Rayman Origins [DNC]
I didn't realize that people cared that much about Rayman to want to get to understand his origins. Maybe we'll figure out why he has hands and feet but not arms and legs.

PlayStation Vita
I'm not sure I like the name "Vita." I'm also not sure if this is going to be something worth looking at. It does have Street Fighter X Tekken, which is better than the 3DS off the bat, since it only got SSF4, and not even AE....

It looks like it should be able to emulate N64 much better though since it has an extra stick on the right. ;-)
It would be hilarious... if the PlayStation Vita ends up with the superior version of Smash on it compared to the 3DS... Nintendo better step up.

Street Fighter X Tekken
Cammy and Hworang game play was revealed. I believe that I had seen Sagat gameplay as well, but I'm not sure if that had to do with E3. Also, some guy named Cole from a game named Infamous is going to be in the Sony versions of the game.

Now I've never played an Infamous game before, but the fact that Sony systems stay with exclusive characters in fighters when XBox doesn't makes me laugh.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Last time I even heard about Sly Cooper... well, I don't know. Still looks like a good game on the horizon. The premise wasn't well defined, but it looks like the story here will be interesting. Good to see Sly back in action.

X-Men Destiny
This is an X-Men game that doesn't actually have you play as the tradtional X-Men, but rather some seemingly made up characters. The game seems to revolve around choices that one makes dealing with the heroic X-Men or the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. There's also something called an X-Gene which allows you to customize one of the three characters you choose. This is cool and all, but when I hear things like this, I think to myself, "If you're going to go down the route of player choices, why not just have character creation instead?"

Still, this game should be interesting.

New Contra Game?


lol. Nice.

Frogger 3D
This is going to be for the Nintendo 3DS. I'm not sure why 3D would be necessary, but apparently there's a boss battle with a truck. That sounds lolworthy to me.

Saints Row: The Third
Only reason I found interest in this is because I have two friends that play this game online pretty intensely, and they stories they tell me are just too much.

So when I read this and I hear that this game is trying to be an over-the-top version of Grand Theft Auto, I can't help but think that Jacko and Jeff are the reason why... they don't play Saints Row for the missions or the stories. Nope, they enter codes, and just kill each other for free, without regard to goals, or anything of that nature. And now they wanna make this game "over-the-top."

Sounds like another Unauthorized Win for the Badguy.

Wipeout 2048
I clicked this for two reasons.
1) remember San Francisco Rush 2048? What's really good with that year?
2) Nintendo, pay a-fucking-tention. Don't wait till this game comes out and sees success to be like, "Wow, futuristic games are in, let's make a new F-Zero already." NO! MAKE IT NOW! I've played Wipeout games in the past, and they're cool and all, but something about them... they just aren't F-Zero. Get to it Nintendo.... get that F-Zero going... especially since F-Zero was absent this year at E3... smh.

WWE '12
The SmackDown vs. Raw name is gone since the brand rivalry doesn't seem to exist anymore, but this is more than just a name change... supposedly. The goal is to make the game more strategic (return of a second counter button?) with simpler controls (maybe not?) and smoother, faster paced gameplay. Randy Orton seems to be the face of this game. I didn't see any gameplay though, but if someone else knows any gameplay trailers, then by all me, show me.

I played SvR every year since '06, and every game definitely does something new that sets it apart from the older games. However, I feel like WWE '12 needs to take all of the good from the past games and integrate it into this. SmackDown: Here Comes the Pain had the BEST, Most In-Depth create a wrestler mode I ever seen (I used to spend hours just tinkering with the CAW, pulling off all different types of characters, both male and female, and sometimes animal... that game did things with CAWs that you just can't do anymore). SvR '06 had the best challenge mode ever. SvR '07 had the most intelligent (or at least the most challenging) A.I. in all of the series, and it had the create a PPV mode that could take your creativity beyond epicness. SvR '08 introduced wrestling styles that made wrestlers feel even more different than they already were. SvR '09 sucked in my opinion, so I didn't play it, but I'm sure there's something about that game that separated it from the rest and could be used in WWE '12. SvR '10 had introduced more specifications on abilities. SvR '11 introduced dynamic weapon physics.

I feel like most, if not all, of that needs to be brought into WWE '12. I get that these games come out every year on the year, and that it's not easy to continue to pull off these games of such high quality in such a short time span. So maybe WWE '12 won't get all of this is. But WWE '13 should.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time
This is supposed to be the follow up to Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Don't really have much to say about this game... I've seen and played Shattered Dimensions, and I was impressed with it. If Edge of Time is anything like it, then it'll be good as well.

Little Big Planet
I am really am going to have to cop one of these LBP games one day.
In any event, and new Little Big Planet game is going to show up on the PSV. They say that's it's pretty much going to more of the same that it already was, which isn't a bad thing at all. LBP is a pretty big deal, and with good reason.

There you have it. E3, as usual, brought a lot to the table in the world of video gaming.

The hype that I have for Sonic Generations may seem dormant, but trust me, it's there.

The Wii U is going to generate some buzz, but I think that Nintendo has not learned its lesson when it comes to console launches, and a lot of the Wii U launch, whenever that may be (I hear something about 2012) won't be strong, which is going to hurt it. It does look like a gimmick at this point. I plan on getting a Wii U regardless, but as for other gamers... they haven't actually presented something to believe in, which on one hand, is ridiculous, but then on the other hand... the game selection on the Wii and the DS is pretty fucking atrocious.

The number of "collection" shown here kinda upsets me, but video game "collections" have existed for years... remember Super Mario All-Stars? Sonic Classics? Yeah, that isn't new.

Overall, there was a nice selection of games coming through. I'm not going to say "It's going to be a good year for video games." I think someone says that shit every year. lol But this E3 was pretty nice.

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