E3 2014

[VHS]

http://www.ign.com/videos/2014/06/09/ign-live-presents-e3

I'm watching all these games be announced and even though the titles & settings are different, they all look like the same thing. Video games don't even feel like video games anymore, more like cinematic experiences. You're just along for the ride like in games such as Sunset Overdrive and Fable Legends. You always being shooed through every map without having the time to just... enjoy the sights. These are really pretty looking games, but what's the point when you're supposed to zip through every level without a care in the world about your surroundings? Not only that, but you pretty much have the same powers/abilities like freezing, energy bolts, etc. Same gameplay - different game title. And seeing each of these games revealed one after the other makes them all the more generic.

Game protagonists are also vastly similar. They're mostly stylishly designed characters with childish attitudes, parkouring around while yelling "Awesome! Cool! Whatever, dude!"

And Halo is the same thing it's always been.

The only games that made me want to play them were Ori and the Blind Forest and INSIDE because... they look like actual video games. And they're both technically side scrollers, go figure. I guess it goes to show how much I dislike what "video games" have become. I miss when game announcements showed you what a game was going to be like instead of trying to make the coolest cut scene ever.

The crowd seems pretty :blah: as well, except for the occasionally pity clap or hurrah for Halo 5.

edit. Witcher 3 though, looks wonderful.

[The_Mike]

I'm in almost complete agreement with you there. I've felt burnt out on the AAA gaming industry for a couple of years now, it just seems like it is a different product altogether. It being a product is probably my biggest problem: they package and sell something but it's really just being sold on hype and name value, not what you can actually do with it. It's like a designer sweater - the name gets people to want it and be willing to pay a ridiculous price for it, and that price is necessary because the materials are super expensive and there was a giant campaign in all the fashion mags... but for all that you can't throw it in the washing machine. You're not really getting 'a game' the way I traditionally defined it. The imaginative experience and ability to plug yourself into a world is hugely undermined by the gimmicks of selling you something. I remember descending into the depths playing Diablo I and II as if I was practically in that church myself, it was an experience that gripped me and felt truly immersive, but my memories of Diablo III are of rolling my eyes at a video game constantly offering me chances to give it more real-world money.

I can't recall the last time I gave a toss about anything shown at E3. All we get are a bunch of trailers that are showing you a visual experience then asking you to pretend that has something to do with a game you'll get to play maybe next year. Spectacular visuals are meaningless now. It's just noise to me. Tell me why I would want to play your game, not why I should drool over your CG explosions.

[Bill Casey]

Sturgeon's Law...

[The Rick]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsV4E0JUlsw

[Mortalis]

Rainbow Six: Hostage might just be one of the coolest games I've ever seen. Wow.

Edit: However you'd probably need to play with friends to have it be really fun. A game like that with randoms would seem pretty frustrating.

[The_Mike]

Yeah, I have to admit that does somewhat impress me.

[Bert]

Yeah, but Watch Dogs looked amazing initially also.

I don't trust Ubisoft anymore.

[The_Mike]

Also a good point. At least this was actual gameplay, but it could so easily wind up the case that this was just a super optimised demo level and the real thing doesn't allow you to do half that stuff on a regular basis. And as fun as that round looked, being able to shoot through walls constantly might get tedious if round after round boils down to just spray and pray.

[Mortalis]

I still love Watch Dogs so I can't speak on the let down on that. The atmosphere is what I enjoy the most in the game. Hostage most likely will be vastly different considering it is pre alpha.

[The_Mike]

Isn't it called Rainbow Six: Siege?

[The Rick]

Okay Sony just announced a remastered version of Grim Fandango.

[Kyle_242]

I'm not going to pretend that there's no abundance of AAA shooter/over-the-shoulder action games, and it's easy to get jaded by the overhype PR of E3 but I continue to argue that as a 2014 gamer, we have access to the widest variety of games in gaming history with maybe the exception of the PS1 era.. Even going beyond indie games, I'm always surprised that games like Dark Souls and Bravely Default not only jump through all the hoops and get released, but do exceptionally well in the West.

[The_Mike]

I'm not going to pretend that there's no abundance of AAA shooter/over-the-shoulder action games, and it's easy to get jaded by the overhype PR of E3 but I continue to argue that as a 2014 gamer, we have access to the widest variety of games in gaming history with maybe the exception of the PS1 era.. Even going beyond indie games, I'm always surprised that games like Dark Souls and Bravely Default not only jump through all the hoops and get released, but do exceptionally well in the West.

All right, maybe I am jaded or just not looking any more. Give me three games coming (or at least hyped) in 2014 that are similar to Bravely Default.

[The Rick]

Nope. You just to jaded to see it.

[The Rick]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6Bpc1XFkAQ

[Mortalis]

It is called Siege. My bad.

[The Rick]

Batman gameplay, and Uncharted 4 teaser to end the show. Nice way to go out. Very slow at first, but I figured there'd be some spots in that long of a conference. I'll have to go back and watch the whole X-box presser, but I don't think one was way better than the other.

[Olympus]

I thought Sony blew Microsoft out of the water. I didn't think it was even close.

[The Rick]

I thought Sony blew Microsoft out of the water. I didn't think it was even close.

I dunno. Sony finished strong, but they had some really big dead spots. Sony has a bunch more "indie" titles that I care about, but X-Box has more of the "bro" titles.

Also I did like the Mortal Kombat X character reveals.

[Kyle_242]

All right, maybe I am jaded or just not looking any more. Give me three games coming (or at least hyped) in 2014 that are similar to Bravely Default.

Well, let's be clear, Bravely Default is awesome and it scratched an itch that we've had since Final Fantasy V. But there are some cool JRPG's that have either just come out or should be out later this year:

Child of Light (ok, not really a JRPG, but the combat and tactics make it feel like one):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN-l03tLuUA

Trails in the Sky Second Chapter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVHVgsWNim0

Tails of Xillia 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cpftYIQC6Q


There's also a new Xeno game called "X" that's getting a lot of buzz, although no release for the West is announced AFAIK. Cosmic Star Heroine, which was a Kickstarter project, will hopefully be worth checking out as well. There's also a new batch of Persona games around the corner, which is a series that somehow, despite its popularity, I've always felt was a little underrated.

[The Rick]

Ubisoft Presser


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWvJq-pLeko

[Mortalis]

Was I the only one who missed Jack Tretten? It just didn't feel the same. Some cool games. PS TV was cool. But overall underwhelming. I consider myself a Sony fanboy, but I was expecting Sony to really knock it out of the park to solidify what they did last E3.

I was also anticipating some actual Final Fantasy 15 gameplay and there wasn't even a word said about it.

[The Rick]

Yeah, but Watch Dogs looked amazing initially also.

I don't trust Ubisoft anymore.

I'm playing FarCry 4.

[The Rick]

EA's Presser


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCHM4QTMJVg

[VanillaJello]

Valiant Hearts - trailer alone got me a bit misty eyed.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP8q5F6dFqQ

[mr sabu]

can we just have the new mortal kombat game release now...

that shit looked fucking wicked

[LOCONUT]

Uncharted was built for guys like me. Cannot wait.

[Matthew]

only game i was like "oh, cool" thus far has been that tom clancy game

[Bert]

Uncharted was built for guys like me. Cannot wait.

Yeah, that was a great looking logo.

[The Rick]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GisRY6h100U

[VHS]

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/11/running-for-your-life-in-the-order-1886

The Order 1886. Looks beautiful, probably the best of the bunch. But it's the same shit we see for every other new game out there. You're forced to slowly walk through a dark area with your lantern out, and nothing happens until you make it to the end of the room and BOOM long ass cut scene. Switch to small gameplay of you just aiming while the character runs backwards. Doesn't matter if your shots land or miss, you still get your weapon knocked away in the following cutscene. Press triangle to heal... oh, that requires so much skill. Another cut scene. Then another pointless aiming sequence.

These aren't video games. These are the equivalent of Dragon's Lair back in the day.

[Bill Casey]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n5xaRXJ8Z4

Cuphead caught my eye...
Incredible art style based on old cartoons...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLS458ekSEI

Mario Maker looks interesting...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGhapv-U3wY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uai5Kw5mVKI&index=89

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i217wYvJ_PA