Topic: Your mid-E3 thoughts

[theANdROId]

So...I guess E3 is kinda still going, but what have you seen so far that you're excited about?  What are you still hoping to see?


I haven't watched any videos of Microsoft or Sony yet, but I will soon.  I am a bit of a Nintendo "fanboy", but I also just tend to like the type of games they put out better than their competitors.  Sony does have some cool games though!  Microsoft...they've never really wowed me with anything. :-/

Anyway, from the Nintendo videos, I'm pretty excited about the upcoming Smash Bros games.  Still crossing my fingers that Ness will join the battle before it's too late, though I'm losing hope. :-/

Hyrule Warriors looks neat.  I may be checking out Dynasty Warriors too because of it.

I'm really excited about the Mario Maker game!  That looks like it could be fun!  I remember watching my dad play the original Super Mario Bros. game and being amazed at how awesome he was, and at all the secrets he knew!  (So many hidden 1-ups!  The world 3-1 infinite lives trick!  He was amazing!)  It'll be fun to make some levels of my own to challenge him!

The Amiibo things look like they could be neat -- like they could have some potential...or be expensive and/or crappy.  I'm curious to see what more they do with those down the road.

I don't know that there's anything I'm still hoping for though.  Something Castlevania would (maybe) be great, but I don't expect it in the least.  I wouldn't mind some ports/remakes/sequels to a handful of certain older (and/or less popular) games, but I don't expect that either.

[Kingshango]

Out of the big three, I think Nintendo handled their software presentations with the Digital Event and the Treehouse.

[RichterB]

I haven't seen everything yet. I watched some of the EA and Sony Press Conferences, and I watched Nintendo's Digital Event. Here's some of my notes:

As has been the trend, there are a lot of games that are blending together, and they seem more focused on cinematic presentation and a rigid style of gameplay. Stuff like The Order and Bloodborne have some interesting ideas behind them as concepts, but not necessarily as games. While it's not my genre, I think Battlefield: Hardline is going to be a huge success for FPS fans.

Really surprised that Devil's Third is coming to Wii U exclusively, and also that Bayonetta 1 will be released for Wii U, as well.

I think Yoshi's Wooly World is shaping up to be a much better game than I ever expected--engaging visuals and some really tight gameplay concepts that look more balanced than some previous Yoshi outings. Captain Toad was a surprise--I thought it was Galaxy 3--and it might be the most complete 3D game I've seen presented so far. It looks like a mix of Super Mario Bros 2, Mario Galaxy, Mario 3D World, and Luigi's Mansion. Just not totally sure how I feel about a Toad-based game yet. I've found the Dynasty Warriors series repetitive and a one-trick pony in the past; Hyrule Warriors looks like it has a little more variety and some extra fan appeal for Nintendo fans, but I'm not sure it can hold my interest.

Zelda: Wii U...I really need to see more, and thought they'd show some gameplay. I love the idea of an open world, but I have mixed feelings about the art direction of certain elements, especially the enemy shown. I did like the new Link's hair, which was more classic with the long sideburns, but now I'm hearing that might be Zelda or some other characters, and not Link. I've felt burned by the 3D Zeldas post-N64 era, and unfortunately, the little bit shown wasn't enough to give me 100% confidence. The visual effects, such as lighting and physics, are clearly right where they need to be, though. Worried we're seeing too much technology slip into the series with that "laser arrow" thing. I'm worried Zelda is mixing too many aesthetics.

Mario Maker is intriguing, but I've seen these types of level-editor games have lackluster results before. Miyamoto's secret projects of Star Fox, Giant Robot, and Guard didn't overwhelm me from what little I saw, but I'm happy to see that these sorts of things are being done. Splatoon is a really neat game that brings to mind Mario Sunshine and Nickelodeon; but it requires multiplayer, and I don't usually get into those kinds of games. I'm excited that Megaman X3 for SNES, Megaman 7, and Demon's Crest are all coming to Wii U's Virtual Console. Xenoblade Chronicles looks nice, but that kind of game isn't too appealing to me. The new Pokemon remixes look good, but it's a series that may be overplayed in terms of releases.

That's my takeaway so far. I'd really like to hear Castlevania: Bloodlines and Contra: Hard Corps are coming to Wii U. That would put things over the top.

Honestly, I haven't had that "totally blown away" moment from E3.

[GummiCandyful]

Obviously, as always Nintendo has been delivering whereas other companies seem to be giving either meh to poor reveals (Capcom). Aside from me wanting another Metroid to make up for the disaster that was Other M, it really feels as though Nintendo is the only gaming company that I can seriously put my faith in these days.

[RichterB]

Obviously, as always Nintendo has been delivering whereas other companies seem to be giving either meh to poor reveals (Capcom). Aside from me wanting another Metroid to make up for the disaster that was Other M, it really feels as though Nintendo is the only gaming company that I can seriously put my faith in these days.

I don't know that Other M was a disaster, so much as an interesting experiment and counterpoint to the Metroid Prime series with a lot of mixed results. I'm glad it happened. Disregarding the questionable handling of Samus' character in certain scenes and the Fusion-style hand-holding, Other M succeeded in something that the Prime series failed at--showing how agile and acrobatic Samus is in the traversal of her world. I really hope that we don't get a verbatim Prime game again that disregards that fact about Samus and how it allows you to create some new dynamics in environments and platforming. Metroid needs more 3rd-person options in 3D to really capitalize on its gameplay concepts and the expansion of them via innovative new items. If developers act wisely, the best design elements of Other M and Prime will be two parts of an amazing future Metroid entry. I fear that the next Metroid may be a regression to Metroid Prime verbatim, which, as great as it was and is, its style holds Metroid back a great deal as a franchise.

[Inccubus]

I'm watching the Microsoft presentation with commentary by Super Best Friends right now.
Already saw Nintendo's and as a Wii U early adopter I have to say that Nintendo is bringing their best game this year.
That Iwata vs. Reggie battle was pure awesome.
And to borrow a SBF term, I'm super hype for Zelda, Yoshi and Bayonetta 1 +2.

Update:
Microsoft left me mostly meh. Sunset Overdrive and the Dead Rising 3 stuff was cool. I'd play those two. It's sad that pretty much only those two games showed any kind of imagination and creativity. And project Spark can go suck my balls. I'd rather have a new Conker game.
Let's see if Sony can do a better job.

Update:
Half way through the Sony conference. OMG! Get Shawn Layden the fuck outta there! The man has less personality than a wet paper bag. And he gives me the vibe that the man didn't know video games existed until he was hired.
So far it's been boring with the only interesting games only presented through movie trailers that didn't tell me a damn thing about the games.
Oh, and now they're droning on about tv bullshit just like MS did last year... -_-

[GummiCandyful]

I don't know that Other M was a disaster, so much as an interesting experiment and counterpoint to the Metroid Prime series with a lot of mixed results. I'm glad it happened. Disregarding the questionable handling of Samus' character in certain scenes and the Fusion-style hand-holding, Other M succeeded in something that the Prime series failed at--showing how agile and acrobatic Samus is in the traversal of her world. I really hope that we don't get a verbatim Prime game again that disregards that fact about Samus and how it allows you to create some new dynamics in environments and platforming. Metroid needs more 3rd-person options in 3D to really capitalize on its gameplay concepts and the expansion of them via innovative new items. If developers act wisely, the best design elements of Other M and Prime will be two parts of an amazing future Metroid entry. I fear that the next Metroid may be a regression to Metroid Prime verbatim, which, as great as it was and is, its style holds Metroid back a great deal as a franchise.

Yeah, story wise, Other M was just horrible, IMO. Gameplay wise, I enjoyed the 3rd person perspective and allusions to Super Metroid. I'm certain the Prime series is done with considering the release of Trilogy way back on the Wii so my guess (and hopes) are that the next installment will play differently, like Other M but obviously a better story.

[Viskod]

Nintendo had done a really good job with there constant Treehouse live streaming events. I keep checking in each day during work just to see what they're showing next.

Bayonetta 2 is what I'm looking forward to most of all, followed by Hyrule Warriors, X, and then Zelda U.

[theANdROId]

Microsoft and Sony didn't really have anything very exciting to me.  I ended up kinda "speed watching" most of their videos because nothing was really sticking out to me.

The Smash Bros reveal of Pac-man joining the battle was pretty cool!  Still hoping for Ness. :-/  He's been there since the beginning, I hope they aren't getting rid of him...though it looks that way.  Seems to be a no-show for Jigglypuff and Captain Falcon too -- who have also been there from the first game.
I never used Captain Falcon.  Jigglypuff was fun to use if you could win, beating your competition with a puff (Kirby just seems tougher than Jigglypuff).  I often played as Ness though (and I'm a big fan of Earthbound), so I hope he makes it back.

[uzo]

I don't think there's any way they will drop Captain Falcon. Ness would also be a really weird oversight.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Ness, Luigi, Jigglypuff, and C.Falcon are usually tucked away somewhere, as they have been since the N64 (sort-of).
Meaning, they'll most likely be available, but they won't have big reveal videos.

I just hope they don't get rid of anyone already out.  I suppose I can deal with R.O.B, Lucas, and Wolf being cut, though.

There's actually an update on the Metroid news:
Possible plans for both 2D Metroid AND 3D Metroid Prime

[VladCT]

fusion sequel pls

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I LOOOOOVED the Prime games.  Would love to see more.
In HD.
On Wii-U.

[theANdROId]

As far as Smash characters go, they've already announced Luigi.  No word or hint on any of the others yet, though of all the previously used characters that haven't been announced for the 3DS/WiiU games, the only ones I'd actually miss are Ness and Jigglypuff.  Particularly Ness because he's been one of the main characters I play as since Smash on the N64.


Great news on the Metroid front though!  I'd be glad to see another game in either style, really!

[uzo]

Really not a fan of the Prime games. Give me the 2D style.