Nintendo
Out of the three, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, I felt that technically, in terms of the general gaming world, Nintendo "won" the E3 conference with the announcement of these games for the Switch: Metroid Prime 4, a true main-line Pokemon (as opposed to an off-shoot), Super Mario Odyssey, and then for the 3DS, remake of Metroid 2:Samus Returns.
I'm no longer interested in the Metroid series since Nintendo effectively killed Samus in Metroid: Other M. Samus, destroyer of planets, was depicted lower than a door mat to her commander, despite literally stating that she hates taking orders in prior Metroid games.
Further, Metroid: Federation Force was disastrous. You don't even play as Samus, but rather one of the generic federation members. This is like having a Star Wars game but instead of being Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, or hell, even Princess Leia, you instead play as a generic storm trooper, with Han and Luke playing secondary roles. Let's say, Han and Luke, as NPCs, are bartenders in-game, which no one wants. I want to be Luke!
So, Samus went from lower than door mat to even worse, not even the playable character. I have a feeling that Metroid Prime 4 may diminish Samus even further in favor of Sylux as per the director's "interest" in the character. Another red flag is that Retro Studios (who developed the Prime series) will not develop this game, but rather a "talented" team. You can see why I'm not convinced.
Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R), which is a free fan-made game, initially made me pre-order the official Nintendo remake of Metroid 2: Samus Returns for the 3DS, but then I cancelled when I found out about the anti-consumerist stance of Nintendo. Nintendo placed a cease and desist against this developer, even though it was FREE. Further, when one of my YouTube buddies on a stream mentioned that he barely made any money (but made Nintendo at least $100) being a member of the Nintendo "White List" YouTube program.
I'm sorry, but does a billion dollar company really need that extra $100, whereas $100 means a lot to us?
Microsoft
The XBox One X is an impressive console, but the only game I was interested in was the sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, which I don't feel needs the graphical power of the XBox One X. Further, I noticed that the upgraded console didn't seem to include the Pro Elite Controller which again, is the absolute best controller on the market.
So I most likely won't get the X because it appears that game developers, to maximize resources and to save time, develop for the least powerful console. It doesn't make sense to program to maximize Playstation 4 Pro, and then program another set for the XBox One X.
It's more cost-effective and time-saving to develop for XBox One (which will also be almost the same code for PS4), and then the upgraded version for Playstation 4 Pro (with almost the same code for XBox One X).
At any rate, I teared up when I heard the piano music and then the trailer, so this is a pre-order for me, but for my regular One.
Sony
Out of the three E3 console conferences, I was the most excited about the multi-platform Monster Hunter: World in a simultaneous world-wide release. In the past, we poor Westerners got the game one year later than Japan.
When I saw what suspiciously looked like a high definition version of the Bone Kris weapon, I was thinking, no this couldn't be Monster Hunter so as not to get my hopes up. Further, I wasn't convinced since it appeared that Nintendo's 3DS has a monopoly on this series.
But then I saw the main character carving a dead monster, and collecting items, which became even more suspicious. When it was revealed, I shrieked with not just excitement but incredulity. It was the same reaction I had at the God of War 4 reveal during last year's E3 conference: when I saw Kratos's ugly face, I shrieked like a banshee: "KRATOS!!!", never expecting this series's revival.
The 3DS Monster Hunter series was problematic due to the dreadful draw distance and pop-ins, not to mention the 240p (?) graphics. I saw what appeared to be a blue herb that I should collect for the Insect Glaive weapon, but upon approach, it was actually a blue Velocidrome monster. That's pretty bad. This will not be a problem with the much more powerful current consoles and PC.
My friend was going to do co-op with me, but when he saw Monster Hunter Generations on my new new New New large 3DS (there is yet another iteration of the 3DS called 2DS), he said it hurt his eyes, so understandably, he refused out of health concerns.
At any rate, this was the biggest announcement to me in the whole E3 Conference, even surpassing the Beyond Good and Evil 2 announcement, and I already knew about God of War 4, the Horizon Zero Dawn DLC, and Ni No Kuni 2, so they didn't hold the same surprising excitement.
However, I was very impressed with the Spider-Man trailer as it brought something new to the table. Peter Parker actually came across as instantly likable in Insomniac's game, which was lost on Hollywood's past Spider-Man movies. How is it possible that Andrew Garfield came across as bland, despite being a charismatic actor?
If what was shown is true gameplay footage, I'm extremely impressed with the polish, steady frame-rate and interesting game mechanics with use of web-shooter. Further, Insomniac Games is a superb game developer. I'm hoping that Sony doesn't pressure Insomniac to publish this game this fall to "compete" with Super Mario Odyssey, as I would prefer it to be delayed to 2018 if needed for extra polish.
Because of the Monster Hunter World announcement, and the never before seen gameplay of Spiderman, as well as upcoming God of War 4, Horizon DLC, Ni No Kuni 2, for me, Sony "won" the E3 conference.
The How of Happiness Review
Out of the three, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, I felt that technically, in terms of the general gaming world, Nintendo "won" the E3 conference with the announcement of these games for the Switch: Metroid Prime 4, a true main-line Pokemon (as opposed to an off-shoot), Super Mario Odyssey, and then for the 3DS, remake of Metroid 2:Samus Returns.
I'm no longer interested in the Metroid series since Nintendo effectively killed Samus in Metroid: Other M. Samus, destroyer of planets, was depicted lower than a door mat to her commander, despite literally stating that she hates taking orders in prior Metroid games.
Further, Metroid: Federation Force was disastrous. You don't even play as Samus, but rather one of the generic federation members. This is like having a Star Wars game but instead of being Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, or hell, even Princess Leia, you instead play as a generic storm trooper, with Han and Luke playing secondary roles. Let's say, Han and Luke, as NPCs, are bartenders in-game, which no one wants. I want to be Luke!
So, Samus went from lower than door mat to even worse, not even the playable character. I have a feeling that Metroid Prime 4 may diminish Samus even further in favor of Sylux as per the director's "interest" in the character. Another red flag is that Retro Studios (who developed the Prime series) will not develop this game, but rather a "talented" team. You can see why I'm not convinced.
Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R), which is a free fan-made game, initially made me pre-order the official Nintendo remake of Metroid 2: Samus Returns for the 3DS, but then I cancelled when I found out about the anti-consumerist stance of Nintendo. Nintendo placed a cease and desist against this developer, even though it was FREE. Further, when one of my YouTube buddies on a stream mentioned that he barely made any money (but made Nintendo at least $100) being a member of the Nintendo "White List" YouTube program.
I'm sorry, but does a billion dollar company really need that extra $100, whereas $100 means a lot to us?
Microsoft
The XBox One X is an impressive console, but the only game I was interested in was the sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, which I don't feel needs the graphical power of the XBox One X. Further, I noticed that the upgraded console didn't seem to include the Pro Elite Controller which again, is the absolute best controller on the market.
So I most likely won't get the X because it appears that game developers, to maximize resources and to save time, develop for the least powerful console. It doesn't make sense to program to maximize Playstation 4 Pro, and then program another set for the XBox One X.
It's more cost-effective and time-saving to develop for XBox One (which will also be almost the same code for PS4), and then the upgraded version for Playstation 4 Pro (with almost the same code for XBox One X).
At any rate, I teared up when I heard the piano music and then the trailer, so this is a pre-order for me, but for my regular One.
Sony
Out of the three E3 console conferences, I was the most excited about the multi-platform Monster Hunter: World in a simultaneous world-wide release. In the past, we poor Westerners got the game one year later than Japan.
When I saw what suspiciously looked like a high definition version of the Bone Kris weapon, I was thinking, no this couldn't be Monster Hunter so as not to get my hopes up. Further, I wasn't convinced since it appeared that Nintendo's 3DS has a monopoly on this series.
But then I saw the main character carving a dead monster, and collecting items, which became even more suspicious. When it was revealed, I shrieked with not just excitement but incredulity. It was the same reaction I had at the God of War 4 reveal during last year's E3 conference: when I saw Kratos's ugly face, I shrieked like a banshee: "KRATOS!!!", never expecting this series's revival.
The 3DS Monster Hunter series was problematic due to the dreadful draw distance and pop-ins, not to mention the 240p (?) graphics. I saw what appeared to be a blue herb that I should collect for the Insect Glaive weapon, but upon approach, it was actually a blue Velocidrome monster. That's pretty bad. This will not be a problem with the much more powerful current consoles and PC.
My friend was going to do co-op with me, but when he saw Monster Hunter Generations on my new new New New large 3DS (there is yet another iteration of the 3DS called 2DS), he said it hurt his eyes, so understandably, he refused out of health concerns.
At any rate, this was the biggest announcement to me in the whole E3 Conference, even surpassing the Beyond Good and Evil 2 announcement, and I already knew about God of War 4, the Horizon Zero Dawn DLC, and Ni No Kuni 2, so they didn't hold the same surprising excitement.
However, I was very impressed with the Spider-Man trailer as it brought something new to the table. Peter Parker actually came across as instantly likable in Insomniac's game, which was lost on Hollywood's past Spider-Man movies. How is it possible that Andrew Garfield came across as bland, despite being a charismatic actor?
If what was shown is true gameplay footage, I'm extremely impressed with the polish, steady frame-rate and interesting game mechanics with use of web-shooter. Further, Insomniac Games is a superb game developer. I'm hoping that Sony doesn't pressure Insomniac to publish this game this fall to "compete" with Super Mario Odyssey, as I would prefer it to be delayed to 2018 if needed for extra polish.
Because of the Monster Hunter World announcement, and the never before seen gameplay of Spiderman, as well as upcoming God of War 4, Horizon DLC, Ni No Kuni 2, for me, Sony "won" the E3 conference.
The How of Happiness Review
It's PC for me again this year for sure, While I'm excited for Ori and Ni No Kuni 2, PC got me excited pretty much overall rather than having one or two good titles. I loved the look of Lawbreakers and the Beta with Muse has been crazy fun this past weekend. Really want to get my hands on Wargroove, it's my kind of game, by a developer wjo's really impressed me with all their recent titles (Chucklefish games: Starbound, Stardew Valley, Risk of rain,) Destiny 2, while not strictly PC, I feel will be much bettermto play on M&K where you can truely explore the games wealth of control, Cygames revealing the latest Shadowverse expansion was really nice (and a beautifully fan favoured way too), with honourable mentions to Mount and Blade 2 and Total War: Warhammer 2 which I will probably play at somepoint and enjoy, even if they are lower on my list.
ReplyDelete-CheesusAlmighty
Although I play more on consoles due to ease of use, PC is absolutely brilliant with more exclusive games! Also, I very much appreciate the emulators so I can actually play the Japan-only version of Monster Hunter on my laptop in full 1080p, with translation by downloading patch (I have the PSP and the Japanese version disc so no pirating, lol)!
DeleteSpeaking of Ori, I believe Steam has a sale for Hollow Knight, a Metroidvania game, and I went so far as the first boss. The gameplay is fantastic with pinpoint controls, and extremely addictive combat and sound-effects! If you love Ori, you'd enjoy Hollow Knight.
I've heard wonderful things about Mount and Blade, but never played the games, which I really need to look into. I'll have to also look into Lawbreakers and Muse once I get a more powerful PC, which is in progress :)
Cheers and welcome to the blog,
Alice
I loved Hollow Knight, still got a little left to play with it, not much mind you. The sound is top quality, you can feel the fantastic foley work they've done, bringing the game to life in a way. There's something really beautiful about simple, snappy control's, left to go left, jump to go up, release to stop going up, attack to attack, less focus on combo's and more on positioning and watching your opponent. Salt and Sanctuary was another similar game, with all those same plus points, your focus is on keeping yourself safe rather than crazy combo's, and in my opinion that enriches the combat dramatically how they've designed the game around it.
DeleteI loved playing Mound and Blade, but be warned, the game is a little outdated now. Graphics are old, gameplay has problems that haven't been patched, but take it with a grain of salt. You look past it, and you're looking at one of the most unique, cool, medieval games I've played yet.
-CheesusAlmighty
Once I memorize the entire Dark Souls 3 maps and items (I'm not sure if I'm going to do that for the DLCs), I'm definitely going to finish Hollow Knight. I completely agree with your description of tight controls!
DeleteI believe simple controls made me fall in love with these games, and how there's more emphasis on positional awareness and use of environment for cover such as Dark Souls and Monster Hunter. MH might have slightly more complex combo's but not at the level of God of War and Bayonetta, so I can concentrate on judging how far I need to be away from the monster, and position myself to attack certain parts.
Indeed, I have to get Salt and Sanctuary--I have this feeling that it may be a free game for PS+ users--especially as Until Dawn is now free for subscribers!
Would the newest Mound and Blade be less dated? I definitely don't mind it, since I played Chrono Trigger and FFVII when I started out in gaming a few years ago!
With Mount and Blade, you want to buy basically any of the warband expansion packs. good ol' Warband was my choice based on setting, but nepolianic wars was fun too, didn't play vikings so I couldn't tell you about it. Gameplay is largely the same regardless of which one you get, except the first one which is missing features. The only problem I would point out with Mount and Blade, the reason I say it's dated is the graphics, oldschool textures and animation technique's that you kinda need to look past to enjoy the game. There are also problems, you might not see them in the first 100 hours of gameplay, but as you really start to explore the game you'll find paths that come to dead ends, things that don't link up properly or work as maybe they're supposed to. It's a little indie game biting off a little more than they could chew.
ReplyDeleteUnderstand though that I'm not bashing the game at all, it's one of those games where you actually have to play for 100's of hours for the flaw's to start showing, and once you know about them you can easily ignore and continue enjoying yourself. it was scarily easy for me to play for a couple hundred hours and still enjoy myself. A quirky little medieval life game, where you're dropped into this world of war and conquest, of bandit's and theives, and you're given the freedom to do whatever you want. Most commonly people will gather a small army, introduce themselves to a kingdom, and fight under them in a war between factions, asserting their way through the ranks of knighthood. I personally, found the most enjoyment becoming a merchant, gathering a small mounted caravan and travelling between cities buying and selling wares, researching the games excess and demand for goods, setting up shops and building an enterprise. Maybe you just want to be a freedom fighter and hunt down bandits and deserters troubling the lands, maybe you want to roleplay a character you like from somewhere else, you get so much freedom I have no doubt you'd be able to make a rule set for something like that.
-CheesusAlmighty
I'll definitely have to check out Mount and Blade once my backlog of games is reduced. I already splurged on the Last Guardian, due to the hype of the upcoming remastered Shadow of the Colossus, which I have (remastered for the PS3), but never got around to playing it!
ReplyDeleteWould you say Mount and Blade 2 has the same elements of 1, but more polish? I hope the sequel isn't "dumbed down", because your description of the first one sounds amazing with a lot of deep gameplay elements!
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ReplyDeleteWe have yet to see, they're keeping the game reletively in the dark at the moment, however from what they have revealed I want to say yes it's going to live up to it's predecessor.
ReplyDelete-CheesusAlmighty