This blog serves as a space for me to talk about the things that my wife and friends have absolutely zero interest in discussing. One of those subjects of disinterest involves my passion for video games.
E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), the biggest video game trade fair in the country, is going on this week and there is a ton to be excited about as a gamer. Monday night, all of the major players held press conferences to unveil their latest projects providing a sneak peak of what is in store for us over the next year. There has already been a lot of discussion about who will come out as the unofficial winner of the conference. While there are some clear favorites among the perennial big title games, I believe that there were some real gems that are deserving of greater attention.
Horizon: Zero Dawn. This is a new game that went unannounced prior to the press conference, yet it held my attention and has left me scouring the internet for more information about this upcoming game. The six minute trailer showed a post-post-apocalyptic world (similar concept to the movie Waterworld) where there are only myths of an ancient technologically advanced human civilization. There are ruins of skyscrapers that now serve as root beds for expansive forests. Machines rule the land, but with no human memory of a world without them, they are seen as part of the ecology. There are grazing, deer-like robots as well as giant predatory machines, yet the human tribes seem to have a cautious respect for them (think of Avatar meets Terminator). Outside of what was shown in the trailer, little else is known about the game, but this is what we do know:
- It is set to release sometime in 2016
- It is an open-world, RPG, single player
- Guerrilla Games has been working on it for 5 years
- Exploration is key to this game
- It is an action/adventure game with a heavy combat element
- You will play as a female protagonist, called Aloy
- Both humans and machines pose a threat
- Your character will be equipped with an expansive arsenal that will require skill and tactical expertise.
Star Wars: Battlefront. This game brings me back to the N64 glory days of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, taking down an AT-AT with a snow speeder. The creators of Battlefield (EA DICE) have put so much work into this game and it is very apparent in the gameplay trailer that they unveiled. They have used a considerable amount of photogrammetry, which involves taking pictures of an object at every possible camera angle, then using computer software to transform those pictures into a computer generated model. The game team had the awesome opportunity to go to the sacred Lucas Ranch and interact with the all of the Star Wars relics in order to recreate them in a way that would please fans. This element is incredibly important for a Star Wars game as there are so many cosplayers that know this universe inside and out and they will scrutinize every detail of the game's authenticity. I'm really excited for this game as it will allow fans to live in the universe that they have grown up with and they can play the characters that they idolize. One of the game modes that they showcased during the conference was called survivor and it was interesting because it reminded me of Call of Duty's Nazi Zombies. Check it out.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 - I'm so sick of this franchise. Treyarch left a bad taste in my mouth with the original Black Ops, but then the new advanced warfare crap really pushed me over the edge. Won't be buying.
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate. How is it that Ubisoft always pick the best songs for their Assassin's Creed trailers?! I know there are many out there that are very sick of this franchise, but I am still a loyal disciple of the creed. Every new game in this franchise provides a new detailed world for me to explore. I love being able to walk down a bustling city street and feel like I am really there. When my wife and I went on our honeymoon in Florence and Rome, at certain points I would get the sense of deja vu as I remembered being there as Ezio Auditore. While nothing new was really revealed at E3, I am still excited about every new trailer and I continue to count down the days until October 23rd. In that trailer, did any of you beer lovers notice the line giving a tip of the hat to the introduction of English bitter ale? Seriously, the attention to historical detail in these games is insane!
Nintendo's press conference was one big yawn fest. I grew up on Nintendo and all of the familiar characters. I even had a Mario Bros. cake for my fifth birthday. Nintendo fills a niche as the perfect console for a younger gamer with easily understandable game mechanics as well as family friendly games. For an adult gamer though, there really isn't anything to keep you coming back. All I really want from Nintendo is a good Legend of Zelda game (which probably won't be coming for another two years) as no game will ever compare to Ocarina of Time. Nintendo needs to accept their fate, bow down to Microsoft and Sony, and give up their console endeavors. They could really take a note from Sega and become a developer of really good franchise games. However, their cash reserve is so deep that they could fund mistakes for decades to come.
UPDATE: I just got done watching a discussion with the guys from Kinda Funny who have a stage at E3 this year. The subject of discussion was the future of Nintendo. During the discussion (14:39 mark), they propose the idea that I just suggested, Nintendo bowing out and becoming a game developer. They gave some really good points and provided some other possible directions that the company could take. Watch the discussion here.
For Honor. Like Horizon, this was another new game that left me wanting to know more. In this game, you command one of three armies; the samurai, the vikings, or the knights. As a resident of Minnesota, I will definitely be choosing the fierce viking warriors. From the world premiere trailer and the gameplay trailer, it looks like a medieval Halo game where you can play against your friends in an effort to control the battlefield. Not a lot of information yet, but I did sign up to be selected for the beta, so hopefully I'm lucky and get to be one of the first to play.
South Park: The Fractured but Whole. Ha! Get it? I never played Stick of Truth, but I do remember how much I loved playing South Park on N64. Once again, you play as the new kid in town, but instead of playing as the Lord of the Rings characters in Stick of Truth, you now play as one of the super hero members of Coon and Friends. While I don't anticipate a game that will introduce some huge development in the world of game play, I do anticipate a hilarious new story from the comedic geniuses, Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
No Man's Sky. The enormity of this game is astonishing. From what I have seen thus far, this game looks similar to Spore. It is an exploratory game that allows you to discover a universe full of procedure generated planets with unique alien species. You could play this game for the rest of your life and you would still never see everything that this game has to offer. The concept is mind blowing, but without an official release date and the size of the game, I am worried that it may not actually hit the shelves for quite some time.
There were many other great games announced this week including fan favorites like the new Mass Effect, a Final Fantasy 7 remake, and of course Fallout 4. There were also some interesting developments announced such as backwards compatibility for the Xbox One, an a-la-cart TV service through PS Vue, and the jaw dropping demonstration of the augmented reality hardware, Hololens.
I have been glued to my computer this entire week watching and reading all of the gaming news. There are so many games that I am anxiously waiting to play. My Christmas list is going to be quite full this year.
Here's mud in your eye!
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