10. PlatinumGames Dominates - PlatinumGames is one of my favorite developers. MadWorld, Vanquish, Metal Gear Rising and Bayonetta all came from this amazing studios. With Microsoft announcing that their next title, Scalebound would miss E3 due to Microsoft's already, it looked like we wouldn't be seeing anything from PlatinumGames this year at E3. We couldn't have been more wrong. Three titles were shown at E3, all being developed by the studio. Star Fox Zero, Transformers: Devastation and a new game in the Nier series. I'm not a big Star Fox fan so I don't care too much about that. I'm not a Transformers fan either but PlatinumGames has made some amazing and flashy combo filled titles. All but The Legend of Korra have delivered. I'll give the title a chance. The title I'm most intrigued by is the Nier title. I liked the original Nier but it just didn't capture me like I wanted it to. Like Square Enix, I'm hoping with that PG will be able to breathe life into this series. They've done it with Metal Gear so Nier can be the next series they help. PlatinumGames is putting in work! While we didn't get to see Scalebound from them, the announcements that we got made up for it. Here's hoping their games live up to the hype.
9. New South Park RPG coming – Yay! What a treat for RPG and South Park fans alike! The Stick of Truth was really a great adventure. It was brimming at the top with personality and deep enough combat to continue to hold me longer in the town of South Park. It worked enough to get an unexpected sequel. The world of South Park is filled with many characters and storylines. They didn't even scratch the surface when it comes to different environments or characters. The possibilities are endless in the next South Park RPG and I'm really looking forward to seeing what the team can do again.
8. ReCore announced – This was a pleasant surprise. When anything new or different is announced for Xbox One, I jump right on it. This is the case with ReCore, from the minds of Keiji Inafune and some of the designers who worked on Metroid Prime. If I was to judge this game based on the work of the past, then ReCord could be something really special when it’s released around this time next year. Could you imagine a Mega Man esque game mixed with the exploration of the Metroid games? It would be a match made in heavan! The only reason this isn’t higher on the list is because they didn’t show any gameplay for the game at all. It was ALL trailer, nothing to show what perspective it would be, what type of gameplay would be involved or just exactly WHAT your fighting for. That’s fine though as it add a bit of mystery until they do show something more. ReCore may not have had gameplay shown, but it won me over due to the fact that it was different, amidst the heavyweights of featured on the same conference in Halo 5 and Gears of War 4.
7. Star Ocean V is coming west – It’s not like this was breaking news or anything but it’s always good to get confirmation. During the Square-Enix presser, they announced that Star Ocean V would be coming to America in 2016 for the PS4. Sorry PS3 owners, time to upgrade. The lack of a PS3 version is good to me. It’s time for people to start looking toward the next generation of gaming anyway. You all know by now that I love a good JRPG so whenever one is announced to be coming to the US, I get excited. This time, it’s an established series that I have a history with. I’ve been a fan of the series since 3, although I’ve only ever completed 4 when it released on Xbox 360. I’ve been clamoring for a new title ever since. The thing that I like about this game is that all party members you get in the game will participate in battle. In most RPGs, you’re limited to the few amount they allow you to have in battle, which is either 3 or 4. I saw 5 and 6 in the gameplay trailer. While not a big thing, it’s definitely going to eliminate the biggest pain I usually have with JRPGs; picking who’s in the main party and who’s on the bench. It’s so hard when each party member has so much to offer. Do I do a straight melee party or do I balance it out with magic. I had to go through this problem recently with Xenoblade and even though I got to the end before on the Wii version, it was still a tough decision the 2nd time around! There isn’t much known about Star Ocean V but I do know that once it comes to North America, I’ll be getting it first day.
6. Cuphead shines – Microsoft’s press conference was SOOOOO bland. They claimed that huge exclusives Crackdown and Scalebound wouldn’t be shown because they had a massive line-up of games. Sorry, as cool as a Rare collection is, it shouldn’t have gotten time over a new game like Crackdown or Scalebound. 30 games people have already played got more time than 2 BIG titles? It was ridiculous. They showed too many multi-platform games and too many remasters. Did we really need a Castle Crashers remaster? Come on guys! That’s why when a game like Cuphead showed its face, I got excited. Cuphead isn’t an AAA title that features the latest graphical upgrade or rousing multiplayer action. It’s a game that features the art style of a 1930s cartoon and platforming gameplay. They didn’t show any enemies besides bosses so it will probably be boss heavy. The 1 minute they showed of this little title got me excited to see more. I enjoyed seeing Rise of Tomb Raider and Gears, but I love the smaller titles as well. This is a real gem that Microsoft has and I can’t wait to play it in 2016.
5. Sequels, Sequels, SEQUELS – KH3, Mass Effect, Dark Souls, Fallout 4, Tomb Raider, Just Cause 3 – As with any E3, sequels took center stage once again. It was the year of 3s AND 4s. 3s representing Kingdom Hearts, Dark Souls and Just Cause and 4 representing Fallout, Mass Effect, Gears of War and Uncharted. The most surprising sequel of the bunch is Just Cause 3. We knew it was coming as it was already announced but I did not think it would look as amazing as it does. I’ve played both of the Just Cause games but they really didn’t win me over that much. 2 was a great game though but it didn’t drop my jaw. 3 had me salivating. I seriously can’t wait to delve into this world and just explore, glide around in my wingsuit and grapple things with the hook. December can’t come fast enough.
Kingdom Hearts III looks like it’s progressing well. We got our first look at a new Disney world in the form of Tangled. I’m VERY surprised, based on all the success of Frozen that it wasn’t featured but maybe down the line. I’m assuming Rapunzel will be one of the new princesses featured in this game. Due to the massive space between the releases of Kingdom Hearts II and the eventual release of III, they have a lot of worlds to play around with. Tangled is the first of hopefully many new Disney worlds that we will see. The action looked fantastic and I loved the Magic Mountain summon. KH3 is probably still in the early developmental stages but I can’t wait to play the finished product.
The worse kept secret of this year’s E3 was Dark Souls III, which will release in early 2016. I’m still reeling from Bloodborne so a Dark Souls III announcement, while welcome, wasn’t really needed for me. That means that there was no real rest in between these types of games. Dark Souls II released in 2014, Bloodborne in 2015 and Dark Souls III in 2016. I don’t want these games to be an annualized series. They claim DS3 will be the last one in the series but come on, how many times have we heard that?
Whatever your series, there are some good titles coming to consoles soon. Fallout 4 AND Tomb Raider being released on the same day is going to hurt my wallet but I can’t wait to juggle playing both of them. Xbox exclusive Gears and Playstation exclusive Uncharted will do battle next year. Those two series were the crown jewels in the last generation and it’s good to see they aren’t done just yet. Whether you like shooting, sandbox or throwing your controller down in rage because the boss has killed you for the 34th time, you’re sure to have loved some sequel that was shown at E3.
4. Mario, Luigi, and…PAPER MARIO?!? – The one surprise I was hoping from Nintendo was a title that made up for Zelda not being around in 2015. I was really hoping for a new Paper Mario title on the Wii U since the last PM game kind of sucked. I just could not get into Sticker Star. Well, my dreams were half way answered. Next year, Nintendo is doing another game in the fantastic Mario and Luigi RPG series but this time, Paper Mario will be along for the ride as well. That’s going to be an interesting dynamic. Paper Mario and M&L are both RPGs and Mario but it really does feel like a crossover event. From the trailer they showed, it looks like Paper Mario will use his transforming abilities to help the brothers in their adventure. There was a creature chasing the brothers and PM using his paper ability to slow down the descent of the brothers’ jump. It looks interesting and Nintendo is 4-0 when it comes to the Mario and Luigi series. Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam should feature more of the same.
3. Xenoblade Releases in December – YES! Nintendo didn’t have much to offer in terms of hardcore games. I mean, they closed their digital event with Super Mario Maker. That’s not a title that’s going to sell me on my Wii U, which is collecting dust after since I got done with Smash, which by the way now features Ryu from Street Fighter. I didn’t want that but that’s awesome! Anyway, their ace in the hole, Legend of Zelda, wasn’t shown due to the fact it’s releasing in 2016. That left the only games I really wanted to see down to two for Wii U, Devil’s Third, which no showed the digital event and Xenoblade Chronicles X.
I finally completed my journey in Xenoblade Chronicles this month. It was a LONG journey and the last boss was tough due to being underleveled but I did it! All I was hoping for was to finally get a solid release date. Tales did it so I was hoping for a date that didn’t interfere with them. I got my wish. Xenoblade Chronicles X will release on Friday, December 4th, WAY after all the blockbuster titles come out. It releases the same week as Just Cause 3 though so that should be a fun week. I absolutely loved the original Xenoblade and it was a breath of much needed fresh air for the JRPG genre. If the sequel is anything like that, XBX will be stealing ALL my free time during the holidays.
2. Persona 5 IS coming in 2015 – They didn’t show anything new in terms of gameplay but Atlus did announce that Persona 5 would INDEED be coming to America in 2015. Why is this a big deal? Well, my love for Persona 4 is, or rather, SHOULD be well known. It’s my 2nd favorite game of all time. I’ve been waiting for a sequel to this since December 2008. I was still a senior in high school when I first played P4. I’m a married deacon now. I NEED to play Persona 5. The fact that we won’t have to wait much long earns P5 this spot on the list. It’s already July basically, which means, in reality, there’s only about 6 months left before Persona 5 is released. A 7 year wait is almost over. Almost over…
1. Sony’s lineup – Hands down, Sony won E3 for me. In my eyes, the other two didn’t come anywhere close to what Sony has lined up for gamers. They opened the show with the first gameplay from the title that has been in development hell for YEARS, The Last Guardian. I don’t know if gameplay will get deeper than what was shown but there is a HUGE demand for the game as the last two titles that the studio put out are critically acclaimed as the best Playstation 2 titles of all time. A 2016 released was announced so it won’t be long before we finally get our hands on this amazing title.
They showed a new IP from Killzone developers Guerrilla Games called Horizon: Zero Dawn, which is my vote for best new IP announced. This is what I like; a developer trying to tackle a different genre. All they ever made were shooters so I’m very interested to see how they will do in an action RPG setting. From the looks of it, they’re going to succeed. As soon as the video started playing, the game reminded me A LOT of Enslaved and Heavenly Sword looks wise. That’s probably because of the red haired heroine and the post apocalyptic world. The game looks amazing and the demo was filled with some great, tense 3rd person gameplay. While it looked like the other two games I mentioned, it for sure was it’s own game. I wish other developers, like From Software, would venture off and try new genres like Guerrilla is doing because this looks like to be a surefire hit when it releases in 2016.
Square was up next and we all were hoping for some Kingdom Hearts III gameplay. Well, we didn’t get it. What we did get was a look at a new Final Fantasy titled called World of Final Fantasy, which features chibi versions of Final Fantasy characters. It looked OK but what followed is what everyone really popped for. Square showed a tech demo for Final Fantasy VII 10 years ago to basically show the power of the Playstation 3. Ever since then, people have been clamoring for a remake. Can you believe it was 10 years ago when they showed that? Well, after 10 years of waiting, Final Fantasy fans everywhere got what they wanted as they FINALLY announced that the beloved Final Fantasy VII was getting a remake. This pleased the crowd. While not the biggest advocate for FF7, a remake is something the fans wanted and Square delivered. The trailer said play it FIRST on PS4, so it could potentially come to XBO eventually.
This next announcement was, at least for me, more shocking than the Final Fantasy VII remake. Sony announced that Shenmue III was going to be doing a Kickstarter campaign and if the goal of $2 million was reached, would start development. This is THE announcement from E3 for me. Persona, Tales, Xenoblade and Star Ocean are all great but I’ve been waiting for Shenmue III since 2001. They cut to a guy in the crowd, who got up out of his seat after the announcement and just put his hand to his head. We could have NEVER guessed that Shenmue III would have been announced that night. The goal of $2 million was shattered a mere 9 hours after the event which just goes to show you people want this title. Now, the game on the Kickstarter page said something about not being released until 2017 so the wait will be a bit longer, but at least it’s officially announced!
There were also some games shown from Devolver Digital, which all look amazing. They’ve really been one of the greatest sleeper developers that Sony has in their arsenal. There was the brawler/beat em up Mother Russia Bleeds, which looks disgustingly violent, the action RPG Eitr, a hybrid of turn based, action and platforming game called Ronin and the action adventure Crossing Souls. All 4 look amazing and will be Day One buys for me once they release.
Sony also showed Star Wars Battlefront and closed with the expected Uncharted 4 but the lead up to them turned out better, in my opinion, than the two games. The triple threat line up of showing The Last Guardian and announcing the development of a remade Final Fantasy VII and the most wanted Shenmue III was enough to seal the deal for Sony at E3. Horizon, Street Fighter V, No Man’s Sky and the Devolver Digital games were just the icing on the already delicious cake. Sony proved they still know what gamers want and are the company to beat in the coming year.
E3 is done! Coming up, 2nd quarter review post! WWE might have found a strong match of the year candidate in the 2nd quarter while gaming started to pick up. Post is coming soon...
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