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E3 2017 Hopes vs Expectations Part 2

Ubisoft

Hopes… Hopes… Hm, that the new Assassin’s Creed game looks interesting enough to get me back into the series? That would be nice. I don’t really play a lot of Ubisoft games.

Yet I expect many things here. First, of course, is MADNESS. Even without the oddly terrible hosting of Aisha Tyler, I fully expect Ubisoft’s show to be very weird. Normal would actually be strangely disappointing. I think we’ll get a fair bit of info about the new Assassin’s Creed game and Far Cry 5. There will be some mention about a Tom Clancy game, be it about the recent title (new content, perhaps?) or a tease for yet another entry in the franchise. Possibly something about For Honor or Star Trek: Bridge Crew, though I think it’s too early to hear about another Watch Dogs. Of course, there will be some spectacle around another Just Dance game. And lastly, there seems to be a pretty solid chance of a Nintendo Switch title, though we might not hear much of that until Nintendo’s show.

Sony

Hopefully we finally get some solid details on the Spider-Man PS4 game Sony seems to have been teasing everywhere. Getting some solid information on the Final Fantasy VII remake would be fantastic, of course, but who knows how long it will take that to get made and released. Speaking of Square Enix, it would be great to see a third entry in the rebooted Tomb Raider series, which I’ve immensely enjoyed (I’m hoping Square would be publishing again).

As for expectations, Last of Us 2, Gran Turismo Sport, and the new God of War seem like the surest things in the universe. That Detroit: Become Human game seemed to get a lot of attention last year, so it would be good to see more of that. Maybe Destiny 2 or a new Killzone? There’s got to be an FPS in there, right? Of course there will be good bit of VR promotion for PlayStation VR.

E3 2017 Hopes vs Expectations Part 1

EA

My biggest hope for EA is in regards to Star Wars. First off, in terms of the new Battlefront II that they really prove that they’ve learned a lesson from the issues of the prior game. This certainly seems to be the case, with the prominent inclusion of a single player campaign, but that wasn’t the only thing that made 2015’s Battlefront so mediocre. The multiplayer could also use a good deal of mechanical improvements, especially in the case of the vehicles and turrets. At the very least I certainly hope we see gameplay footage.

Beyond that, I want EA to do more with [their stranglehold on] the Star Wars licence than just churning out installments of an FPS and keeping their MMO afloat. I know many people would love to see a new entry in the Knights of the Old Republic series, again, beyond the MMO. Which would be amazing, I’d be ecstatic to see just about anything new related to KOTOR, even just a remake with updated visuals and mechanics. But there’s more to Star Wars games than just FPSs and RPGs. What about a new flight/space sim game, similar to the old X-Wing or Rogue Squadron series? Or a new action-adventure game like The Force Unleashed or that cancelled 1313 game? I just want more quality Star Wars games, and it looks like EA is going to be the only game in town for the foreseeable future.

Of course, I expect pretty much none of that. Oh, I think we’ll see a fair bit on Battlefront II, and we’ll hear that The Old Republic MMO is “still doing great, you guys!” But that’ll be it for Star Wars. Other than that, they’ll talk about how Mass Effect Andromeda totally isn’t as “meh” an entry in the series as the internet has made it out to be, and BioWare certainly isn’t a ghost of it’s former self. I mean, that or they’ll just avoid mentioning BioWare at all. And, yes, they’ll have their ever-present “SPORTS!SPORTS!SPORTS!” segment, obviously. We’ll also hear more about the new Need for Speed game, whose trailer looks more like a Fast and the Furious movie than a NFS game.

Microsoft

My hope? Forget about the Scorpio, just give me a reason to be excited about the XBox One. A system for which I own less games than for the just-launched Nintendo Switch. I know there are still XBox faithful out there, but for me Microsoft really fell flat on their face this ‘gen’. The Halo series doesn’t hold the status it once did and it seems to be the only ‘big deal’ XBox exclusive now. I mean, they swing some timed exclusives, sure, but not much else. They seem to especially be at a low point among my fellow Action-Adventure and Open-World fans, since both Nintendo and Sony currently each have a fantastic title out (Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Horizon Zero Dawn, respectively).

My only expectation is disappointment. I mean, there might be some cool trailers and stuff, but I doubt there will be anything that makes me happy to own an XBox One. I’d guess a lot of time will be spent on talking up the Scorpio, which I fully expect to be officially named the XBox 36O (three-six-oh) in following the genius naming of the XBox One. I bet they’ll be pushing to release some Halo thing for it’s launch.

Bethesda

ELDER. SCROLLS. SIX.

That’s all I want, Beth. It can just be an over-hyped announcement teaser. It can be a screen with nothing other than the words “Elder Scrolls VI”. I will take it. I’d also be thrilled to hear of another Obsidian developed, non-numbered Fallout game.

I don’t really expect that, of course. Though I’m not really sure what, if any, actual Bethesda-developed titles they’d have to talk about otherwise. I’m sure we’ll hear about ZeniMax Online’s Elder Scrolls MMO and their recently released Morrowind content. DLC for the new Prey game, maybe? Perhaps some news on some of the series they publish? I’d actually be pretty excited to hear about a new Wolfenstein game. Probably too soon for another Dishonored, but maybe some DLC news. Also it just feels like the time for news on a new Doom, but that’s a bit of a wildcard.

PC

Nothing. This is where hope goes to die.

I mean, there might be some interesting news, or a cool demo, sure. But these have been… not the best. And I’m a pretty big PC gamer, so I’m arguably the target audience. But hey, maybe this is the year they turn it around!

E3 2014 Highs and Lows

Another year, another E3! Were there winners? Losers? Was it a party or a travesty? I’ve given ample time for the news and excitement to settle, and my own hype to dissipate. So let’s find out what announcements, trailers, and gameplay still left an impact.
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Elder Scrolls Online Review

eso I’ve been a huge Elder Scrolls fan ever since I first played TESIII: Morrowind in the early 2000s on an original Xbox. These are games I spend ludicrous amounts of time playing, usually getting so sidetracked in the world that it takes me years to get around to completing the main questline. I’ve even gone back and played the earlier titles on the PC and having moved to almost exclusively buying the series’ games on the PC and greatly appreciative of the modding community surrounding the game series.

On the MMO side of things, I’ve been a MMORPG gamer even longer, starting with Ultima Online in the late 90s. I’ve tried out more games in this genre over the years than I could possibly bother to name. The biggest standouts being the aforementioned, Ultima Online, City of Heroes/Villains, Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. The question is, has Zenimax managed to blend the TES franchise with this genre to create a great game? Even a game worth playing?

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E3 Hopes & Expectations

Another year, another E3. It’s that time of year when the biggest players of the industry come together and try to outdo each other’s big announcements. I have high hopes for what we could see from Nintendo, Sony, and surprisingly, Electronic Arts. Will those hopes be met? Here are the lists of my top 10 hopes and expectations for what we’ll see at this year’s E3.

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Tomodachi Life Review

tomodachilifeboxart Tomodachi Life is a Life Simulation game. It is actually a sequel game (the original being out for the DS), but the first game was Japan only. I always thought this game looked like a lot of fun so I was really excited when I heard we’d be getting one. While the game is a Life Simulation and definitely has some things that remind you of the Sims, I’d say it actually feels closer to a Pet Simulation game. That isn’t necessarily bad, but it means a lot of their actions are much more passive and there isn’t as much free will for the Miis. You pretty much oversee them completely with your realistic hands helping out every so often. Though, if you’ve seen my playthroughs you probably already know about the basic game play.


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Mario Kart 8 Review

mk8boxart Mario Kart 8 is the newest (and 8th if you couldn’t guess, minus the Arcade versions) installment of the Mario Kart series. It brings quite a bit of new stuff while still retaining many old features. While the courses are fun to race on, I feel that’s the main thing the game has going for it. The game sadly brings back several things I’m not too fond of which kind of ruins the enjoyment, despite the creativity of most of the tracks. I will start by saying if you’re expecting to hear tons of good things about the game, this may not be the review for you as I’ll be offering a bit of a different point of view. That said, if you enjoy the Mario Kart Series, you should still enjoy this one and the graphics are lovely, if you care about that kind of stuff.

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Disney Magical World Review

dmw Disney Magical World is a Simulation Adventure game for the 3DS based off a Japanese-only Web game. This game has many different activities you can do while being in a world with many of your favorite Disney characters. It is often referred to as similar to Animal Crossing, but other than customization/collecting and being in real time, I’d say it’s closer to Fantasy Life or Harvest Moon/Rune Factory. However, if you do enjoy Animal Crossing and/or Harvest Moon (or Disney in general), I do think the game is worth looking at. The game isn’t perfect, but its good outshines the flaws and it has a lot more layers and difficulty than you’d expect.
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Animal Crossing: New Leaf Review

acnlAnimal Crossing: New Leaf is the next installment in the Animal Crossing series and the first for the 3DS. If you read my Anticipation Article, you will know I’ve been anxiously looking forward to the game. After playing for about a week non-stop, I decided to take a break (well, leave my game open and hope some of the villagers ask for new public works) to write up a review. The game features tons of new features and there were only a few I wasn’t too fond of. Regardless, I hope the series will continue in this direction with the future games in the series…although, maybe with less exclusives per region.

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Style Savvy: Trendsetters Review

stylesavvytrendsetters Style Savvy: Trendsetters is the sequel to Style Savvy for the DS and while the story isn’t much different, it does have a lot of advancements from it’s predecessor. Of course, it does have it’s flaws as well and some changes weren’t always for the better.

The game involves your character getting ownership of a fashion store and slowly making it your own while also helping your customers find exactly what they are looking for. Plus, having some fun with customizing your own character. Despite being relatively simple, the game is also rather addictive.

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