Monday, June 11, 2018

E3 2018: Microsoft

For those of you who remember, whenever the video game conference E3 comes around, I make it a point to look at what's coming.

Only this year, they decided to start E3 ON SATURDAY.  The bastards

There's Anthem ... which really looks like a combination of Titanfall and Destiny. I'm not sure that any of it is interesting enough to entice me for it it comes out in February.

Crackdown 3 ... does anyone care by now? Aside from Terry Crews chewing the scenery? They've only been piming this thing since ... I can't even keep track.

Sigh. Anyway, Microsoft started with an amazingly lackluster Halo: Infinity announcement trailer. And let's face it, that's all it was. An announcement...



And yes, this is lackluster to a guy for whom Halo actually brought me back into gaming.

We were then lectured for what felt like an hour (longest three minutes ever) and "artisans" (sigh).

And then there's Ori and the Will o the Wisps



I'll admit, this looks cute. It's the most impressive side scroller ever. I like the artwork and visual design. Though really what carries this is the music.

Then we had a trailer for Sekiro Shadows Die Twice



Holy ... well, they have some nice fire graphics. To be honest, this first trailer that makes me think "Wow, I might want to try this." Then again, it has gameplay.

On the one hand, this looks like a cross between Onimusha (which was an awesome game with a strong story) and Dark Souls (which was dark as hell for no story).

On the other hand, this looks an awful like like another game, Ghosts of Tsushima.

Let's see, more Fallout 4 updates, again.

Fallout 76 ... a prequel? Supposedly 4x the size of Fallout 4. Set in West Virginia.


Graphics are nice. But then again, at this date, they better be flipping photo realistic....

Then again, my first Fallout game is my only game thus far. Fallout 3 was just that inspiring.

Captain Spirit is... cute. From the same people who did Life is Strange, so that be entertaining.  No, I don't see that the trailer is worth sharing, really.

Metro Exodus ...


While I like the graphics, in an in-game engine. this looks too much like a Fallout setting with Wolfenstein: the New Order gameplay, all with a Russian accent.

And Kingdom Hearts 3 ... on Xbox?



Is it just me or are the voices off? Especially on Sora?

Anyway, the visuals are pretty nice. And obviously, they're doing their darnest to jam in as many Disney properties as possible. Also, a little too much Frozen-esque music, and too little feel that this is a Kingdom Hearts game. One of the nice things with the KH series is that it felt like it's own thing, with a layer of Disney on top. I had actually considered that KH3 could do without Disney, and just use the lore they already have.

Obviously, someone insisted MUST BE MAOR DISNEY.

Then again, I've only seen four Disney properties total around KH3 (Frozen, Monsters IncTangled and Toy Story), which is a lot less than I recall in the other games.

Sigh.... They have a Sea of Theives expansion. How nice. They may even have a story this time. Are they going to admit that the initial release was just a beta that they wanted to test out first? Also, why does it look like that Pirates of the Caribbean is sailing into Mordor?

And then there's an EA game.  It looks nice. It's in Japanese for some reason ... eh, it's Battlefield V, and it's only there fore a few seconds.  Sorry, but EA has burned through most of my goodwill a while ago, and I've been waiting on Battlefield: Bad Company III for years now.

Forza Horizon $ ... Nice graphics. Nice cars. Cute trailer. About it.

And then there's this....


Why does it look like Bioshock's latest dystopia is being run by the Joker? Let's see, it's in the British isles, and emotions you can take in a pill. Sounds like a Doctor Who episode.

Is anyone else suffering from Dystopia burnout?

Let's see, there's another commercial for glorified MMO shooter Battlegrounds.  Again, eh.

Am I the only one decidedly unimpressed by some of these reveals? Or am I just cranky.

Tales of Vesperia ... hey, someone tell Jon that we have his next year's Dragon Award video game. It looks nice. But I think you're supposed to know what's going on to understand anything.

Then there's this ... I could tell what it was going in. The Division 2.



Oh look. they may have plot this time.

But no thanks. I don't think so. Fool me once .... well, they tried, but didn't succeed. And IT'S STILL AN MMO.  I don't want another MMO. I would like a plot please.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider



... Oops. It looks like Lara just started the end of the world by accident.

It also looks amazing.



And ... Devil May Cry? 5? So they're not doing the reboot? Or are they? I can't tell  Because their reboot was simply Devil May Cry.

And ... is that the brunette from DMC3? Because I don't remember her being Southern.

Okay, I'm a little confused....

Okay, according to the rest of the conference, this is actually a sequel to DMC4.

About time.

And ... an Anime based video game called Jump Force. With Dragonball Z and .... Death Note?


Jump Force ... huh.

Let's see, a Dying Light 2 trailer that makes me even less interested than in the first game. Meh.

And... what the hell? Battletoads? They're bringing back Battletoads? I wasn't even that good at the first game, and I'm getting Nostalgia flashbacks.

Just Cause 4 ... [shrug]. Part of the problem I have is that this looks like a dozen different games, and our hero is so visibly interchangable with every other action hero trope, I have no interest.

ANOTHER GEARS OF WAR GAME? Geez. Aren't they done with this series yet? And mobile? AND a tactics game?

And Cyberpunk 2077 .... apparently, it's coming eventually. But no, this isn't grabbing me as much as the previous trailer. Sorry guys.

So, there are four of five games here that have actually caught my attention. We'll see how well they develop.

.... And if you have no horse in this race because you'd rather read than play games, have my novels.



The Dragons are coming.
If you don't have your ballot filled out already (either IRL or in your head,) here's my list. It includes the lists of other people, so there are options.
Just remember to vote.


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