E3, the video game expo, is going on right now in Los Angeles. It's a great time for a video game geek, or someone who is just a casual gamer. If you're not a gamer, the trailers are still cool to look at, or to keep note about if you have a child, spouse, or friend who is into video games. That way, you have gift ideas for the future.
Last year was the console announcement, and Sony went all Red Wedding on Microsoft and destroyed them in every facet. And it worked. The PS4 has wildly outsold the XBone (or XBox One, they really should have thought of how it would be shortened...), and not just within Japan. XBox never sells in Japan, but now even in North America and Europe, PS4 is the console of choice. So, this year they were all going to talk about games. Because hell, that's why people buy game consoles.
Microsoft was the first conference of the show, and I was asleep while it was on, so I'm not going to share any videos. I am a Sony girl, but I don't hate XBone. However, Microsoft's conference was mostly them saying "derp, we fucked up - here's how we're trying to fix shit." It was backpedal central. And Kinect wasn't even mentioned. Like.... AT ALL. It was like Kinect was the family member that was disowned and never spoken of again.
After that was the Electronic Arts conference, who pretty much make every sports game EVER CREATED. So you know it's going to be sports heavy, which is snore. But they also are a huge company that owns smaller publishers, like BioWare and other such people. The first trailed that I was jazzed for was Dragon Age: Inquisition. I love Dragon Age. Even Dragon Age 2, which everyone else seems to loathe. I don't know why. But, I also didn't hate the ending of Mass Effect 3, and that broke the internet.
Here's the trailer for Dragon Age: Inquisition that they showed. I love the cello music that they used to accompany it. Other game doods were all like "I can't handle class", but I thought it was fucking pretty - and the graphics... Jeebuz.
Most of the other EA stuff was SUPER prototype. It's like they had barely anything to show, but they have to do a conference every year, so they just threw in some shit that won't be ready for, like, two years. The sports stuff looked super realistic, but I like to watch sports rather than play them. The only other thing of interest (for me) in the EA conference was this segment on PGA Golf. Usually golf game trailers are as big of a snore as golf itself, but I lost myself in a laughing/coughing fit at this little reveal about 'fantasy' courses:
I wonder what other fantasy courses there are. I'd love something where it was like all dead bodies or zombies. ROFL. I'm not even going to talk about Mass Effect 4 or the new Star Wars game, because they're so early in development, that there's no bother. At least we got to see them WORKING on Star Wars, but Mass Effect 4 was just kind of this 'idea' of something, rather than any actual something.
Next up was Ubisoft, who make such famous titles as Assassin's Creed. They always have Aisha Tyler from Archer hosting, and she's pretty excited about the games. Here's a cool trailer for Assassin's Creed: Les Miserables... or Unity. Takes place during the French Revolution. This trailer also has a cool Lorde cover of "Everybody Wants To Rule The World". And it also has ARCHITECTURE PORN!
Mannnnn. I'm an Ass Creed fan anyway, but this looks like it's going back to the greatness of Assassin's Creed 2. I hope that it doesn't rely TOO much on co-op with the other Assassins that show up besides Arneaud, the main dude. I'm a loner gamer. I hate forced co-op. HATE IT. When you hate people, you hate them even when you can't see them, and especially when you can't see them and they're ruining your gaming experience.
Annnnd, then to Sony. They had a lot of cool shit, and once again stomped the competition into the ground with wicked game trailers. However, Sony tends to do this thing where they start their conference with a BANG, and then in the middle they drag it out with what I call 'shareholder masturbation', where they talk about connectivity and numbers and boring shit, and it never seems to end, because the first part of the conference was so fucking awesome. And then just when you're starting to fall asleep... BAM! More awesome stuff.
The first trailer is for a game called Destiny that's been announced before. It will come bundled with a white PS4 (too fucking awesome and slick) on September 9th. Ten days before my birthday! .... except that for birthday and Christmas, I'm getting money towards convention dolls, so I can't ask for this. Oh well. Here's a trailer, and I think the narrator is Idris Elba:
Pretty cool, huh? Of course, it wouldn't be a video game show without ZOMBIES. I'm pretty zombied out, but this is the best zombie trailer I've ever seen. So fucking hilarious. And best zombie dancing since Thriller: It's for Dead Island 2, and I'm pretty sure the voice at the end is Jack Black:
I don't know that I'll play the game, but I've repeated the trailer a few times because it's just so well put together. They also had a mini-play session with Little Big Planet 3, and it was cute. Sackboy now has some new friends, but it's pretty much the same formula. So, it will be really fun to play with friends. Little Big Planet is just the kind of game that puts a smile on your face, no matter who you are. Even my dad thinks its cute. They also are re-releasing The Last Of Us and Grand Theft Auto V on next-gen consoles. They both looked fantastic with the upgraded graphics and hardware. At this point in graphics, there isn't the giant leaps that we used to have, but more with motion and textures and crispness. And they had all that in spades. I've been wanting to play The Last Of Us for a long, long time, but now I think I'll maybe wait until I have a PS4, because the upgrade looked that good.
Ahhhhh, now HERE'S the game that makes me want to buy a PS4. The Order: 1886. It's essentially steampunk werewolf/zombie hybrid hunters. And it looks FUCKING AWESOME and creepy and AWESOME. How can you go wrong with steampunk werewolves???
Love his coat. Love that "I mean fucking business, guv'na" mustache. Now that's the kind of mustache you wear when you are hunting steampunk zombiewolves. WHO TALK BACK. But, The Order wasn't the only game shown that really touched me right in my survival horror touchy-feelzey place. There was a game called Bloodborne, and I honestly thought it was going to be a new Silent Hill game or something when it was shown (ahh... my kingdom for a Silent Hill game that is as good as 2 and 3 were). It's also got a steampunk kinda vibe, and looks SO GOOD OMG.
*chills* Can't wait. Also in the horror vein, there is a game coming out called Let It Die, and the trailer reminded me A LOT of the PS2 game Manhunt. The original Manhunt, not the shitty second one. The original one where Brian Cox is voicing Starkweather. God, that game! It got a lot of shit for being really violent but it was so damn good, and some of the stuff that Cox was saying was so damn funny. The logo for Let It Die also has a Grim Reaper on a skateboard... just 'cause, I guess. Why not?
And, kinda finishing in the 'horror' section of trailers, is the big one. FINISH HIM! Yes, that's right. Mortal Kombat X. I'm not a fighting game fan. Like, at all. But I LOVE Mortal Kombat. I don't know if it's because it's such a nostalgia trip wayyyy back to the SNES, or that it's a very simple mechanics for fighting, so you don't have to spend hours mastering it to be any good (although you CAN, and be even better), or just the crazy over-the-top attacks and fatalities. If you played Mortal Kombat 9, the x-ray attacks are back, and this trailer shows two new characters, as well as the classic Sub Zero vs. Scorpion. (Scorpion forever! Fuck you Subpar Zero... hahahahaha). I really like the look of the Queen Bee, or whatever her name is going to be:
omgggggggggg, I can't wait. I also love the look of the Aztec or Mayan dude, spraying heart blood all over his face. Mortal Kombat 9 was really made with love, after all the shitty sequels beyond 3, and it showed. So, I'm hoping that X will have that same level of care and love put into the game. I honestly can't wait.
Getting out of blood and gore games, this game had my jaw down on my chest the whole time. It was like stepping into the cover of an Isaac Asimov or Arthur C. Clarke novel. Intergalactic exploration where EVERY person starts on a different planet. EVERY PLAYER. That's fucking incredible!
Isn't that awesome? You are going to planets that other players discovered! My eyes were huge the entire time that No Man's Sky was on the screen. It's one of the biggest deals for me this show. There was also a Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain trailer that looked pretty neat. Of course, being Metal Gear Solid, it was all cinematography. I do like MGS, but sometimes the hour long cutscenes are a bit blah. They also showed a trailer from the Ratchet And Clank MOVIE. Yes, a movie. I will see it. Clank is so cute!
And then there was THIS:
Grand Theft Batmobile! JESUS, this game looks fucking AWESOME, and I'm not just saying that as a rabid Batman fangirl, or just a rabid fangirl of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City (I didn't play origins). Batman: Arkham Knight looks AMAZING. Like, did you SEE Batman just leap out of the Batmobile going ten thousand miles an hour?! And it was amazing that it seemed like the feed was crapping out, and then the main baddie of the game, The Scarecrow, showed up. And he actually looks fucking TERRIFYING. OMG I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS GAME.
And speaking of Nolan North (I didn't, but I am now), he does the voice of The Penguin in this game. He's gotten flack for all his characters sounding the same - like Nathan Drake. Who's Nathan Drake, you ask? Well, he's the main character for probably the most critically acclaimed game series in a really long time, Uncharted. And why am I mentioning the awesomeness of Uncharted? Because a new one was shown!
Pretty ominous. Someone's dying. I'm calling it.
Those conferences were all yesterday. Today was Nintendo, and of course they had their stable of Nintendo stuff, like Super Smash Bros., a really cool thing called Mario Maker, where you could make your own Mario levels. Kinda like Little Big Planet, but with Mario. There was THIS one, that kind of makes me want to get a WiiU, called Yoshi's Wooly World. As a knitter, it looks like one of my acid trips:
Heeeeeeee. I love how they were interviewed in a yarn shop. Most of the other stuff was standard, though adorable, Nintendo fare. But then there was THIS trailer for Bayonetta 2. Now, I'm one of the few people who actually loved Bayonetta 1 for more than just her perfect ass and the cheesy cheesecake of Bayonetta herself. I had a LOT of fun with it. It's so over-the-top like the Devil May Cry series that I just love it to bits. And now I'm MAD AS HELL that Bayonetta 2 is only going to be on the WiiU. Fuck. I have enough dolls and shit to spend money on, and now I need a PS4, so why you tryin' to hurt me, Nintendo???
Gotta admit, this game looks so fun, and I adore the fandom mashups, like Bayonetta wearing Samus armor from Metroid, while quoting Dante from Devil May Cry with "Flock off, feather face".
whew! There were some noted absenses, like Final Fantasy XV and The Last Guardian, and any news on Dead Or Alive Xtreme 3, but I think those will be shown at Tokyo Game Show later in the year. Did you see enough trailers? Maybe now you have some gift ideas for that gamer in your life, or maybe you're not a gamer, and want to be one now?
... no? Thought this was boring and want me to go back to talking about dolls? Well, go fuck yourself. (But I will go back to talking about dolls very soon)
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